Is WSOP Worth Playing? (2 Viewers)

[emunster18]

I originally got into poker during the poker boom of the early 2000s. The WSOP on ESPN was a big part of my early poker playing life. I am now nearly 40, and have never played in any of their tournaments. I have played cash games and other tournaments in casinos, but never anything as large as the WSOP or others.

A regular to my home game and I are throwing around ideas about playing in it next summer. Any thoughts on whether it is worth the experience? We would not play the main event, likely a few $500-$1,000 entries.

 

[MrCatPants]

I originally got into poker during the poker boom of the early 2000s. The WSOP on ESPN was a big part of my early poker playing life. I am now nearly 40, and have never played in any of their tournaments. I have played cash games and other tournaments in casinos, but never anything as large as the WSOP or others.

A regular to my home game and I are throwing around ideas about playing in it next summer. Any thoughts on whether it is worth the experience? We would not play the main event, likely a few $500-$1,000 entries.

worth doing at least once, IMO.

 

[Kam]

I originally got into poker during the poker boom of the early 2000s. The WSOP on ESPN was a big part of my early poker playing life. I am now nearly 40, and have never played in any of their tournaments. I have played cash games and other tournaments in casinos, but never anything as large as the WSOP or others.

A regular to my home game and I are throwing around ideas about playing in it next summer. Any thoughts on whether it is worth the experience? We would not play the main event, likely a few $500-$1,000 entries.

Nice. I’m in the same boat. It’s a bucket list thing for me, would like to do the same and play in a couple of the <$500 games.

 

[Highli99]

The WSOP is a ton of fun and I highly encourage anyone into poker to check it out at least one. And I say that being on the record that tournaments are stupid.

Very cool to see the poker faces you follow online and sometimes even play with them.

It’s well run and the poker traffic during wsop is huge so all the room are bustling.

 

[ekricket]

You need to prepare if you are serious. Most home game tournaments last about 3-4 hours, but a WSOP event can last 16 hrs to multiple days. You can see this in action, after about 4 hours a lot of players bodies and minds are telling them “it’s time to wrap this up” and they start falling like dominoes.

Also don’t expect any kind of “book learning” play, especially in the PLO type games. In the lower buyin games it’s sometimes a shovefest in the first 2 hours. But the worst is the opposite- a tight table that never loses anyone. When that table breaks after a few hours, you are going to get put into a table that HAS been taking players out - which means you have starting stack or less and your new table has people that have 6-8 times the starting stack and they are agressive as hell.
Is s fun, and it’s always more fun to play than watch.
But for the average player the daily tournaments are a better deal that fits their play style better.

 

[emunster18]

You need to prepare if you are serious. Most home game tournaments last about 3-4 hours, but a WSOP event can last 16 hrs to multiple days. You can see this in action, after about 4 hours a lot of players bodies and minds are telling them “it’s time to wrap this up” and they start falling like dominoes.

Also don’t expect any kind of “book learning” play, especially in the PLO type games. In the lower buyin games it’s sometimes a shovefest in the first 2 hours. But the worst is the opposite- a tight table that never loses anyone. When that table breaks after a few hours, you are going to get put into a table that HAS been taking players out - which means you have starting stack or less and your new table has people that have 6-8 times the starting stack and they are agressive as hell.
Is s fun, and it’s always more fun to play than watch.
But for the average player the daily tournaments are a better deal that fits their play style better.

I have played in some tournaments that's are 8-10 hours long. However, I understand that stamina is a huge factor in these long form games. Also, I don't expect to make it to the money in any of the games. I would just aim to play my game, and enjoy the experience.

 

[H|Q]

Go for the experience. It’s a whole different world. The vibe changes in Vegas during the series for ALL the casinos that spread games.

The WSOP venues are an unmatched exposure experience for poker.

I cashed PLO in my first event and went bust with a bag in my hand. This year I was 5 out of the money for another PLO tourney on my second event. The first event I went broke in level 2.

I consider myself an OK-ish PLO player. My friends think of me as a mega fish.

Do take the mindset of a grind with you. Sleep well and eat well. Most players are very serious. I put myself in a box and only engage if the table chemistry is appropriate.

 

[MrCatPants]

Do take the mindset of a grind with you. Sleep well and eat well. Most players are very serious. I put myself in a box and only engage if the table chemistry is appropriate.

Echo this. Very little socializing.

 

[Anthony Martino]

I went and played my first ever WSOP event in Vegas during the summer of 2023, the $1500 Badugi, which I believe was brand new that year. I had plans for other events, but 3 days into my 8-day trip I wound up coming down with Covid and got stuck in my hotel room, ruining the experience quite a bit.

The moral of this story is: Get sick before you travel so you're immune while you're there, poker players are filthy and unwashed and they're spreading as much disease as they can

 

[Moxie Mike]

We would not play the main event, likely a few $500-$1,000 entries.

Just keep in mind the sub-$1k entries attract HUGE fields. Like 3-4000 players. It makes for some very nice prize pools - but navigating those enormous fields is a grind.