The popularity of poker grew rapidly, thanks to the extensive promotional campaigns of the big poker tournaments too. In many countries, there are quite many popular local poker tournaments. But also a big interest provokes the international poker tournaments that gather at one place one of the most prominent poker players of all times. Meanwhile, those who love the game are eager to follow the biggest poker tournament as they are unpredictable and offer many thrills to both players and the public. Many of the most important poker tournaments are broadcasted live on TV or dedicated internet platforms.
The World Series of Poker is one of the biggest and most famous poker series of tournaments. It is an event that has always grabbed the attention of many poker lovers around the globe. But taking into the fact that it is quite a grandeur event, it has to be carefully managed. In the paragraphs below, you will learn about the major WSOP rules and the most important requirements of the World Series of Poker. Here are the main topics that we will discuss:
- Brief History of the Tournament
- Official Rules of the Tournament
- Entry and Registration at the Tournament
- Scheduling of the WSOP Event
- Seating and Prizes
- Poker Rules at the Tournament
- Betting and Gaming Formats of the Tournament
Brief History of the Tournament
WSOP is a series of poker tournaments that are held every year. The origins of the WSOP tournaments date back in 1970. Then, the gambling icon Benny Binion invited seven of the most prominent poker players to play in a single tournament at the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas.
Since 2004, the location was changed to las Vegas, Nevada. The tournaments gather at one place prominent poker players and poler lovers who visit the event every year. The WSOP tournaments are officially sponsored by the Caesars Entertainment Corporation which works in the sphere of the gaming hospitality services.
Since 2007 the WSOP expanded and tournaments were held around the world on different continents like Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific region. The number of tournaments that were held internationally also grew a lot. As of 2019, there were 90 events, including 15 in Europe. Throughout the years, the WSOP tournaments were annually hosted in countries like Canada, Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and others.
Official Rules of the Tournament
The WSOP is a grand event that requires a lot of preparations. Besides, many things have to be organized as good as possible so that the tournament runs well. The ever-growing popularity of the tournament throughout the years and the expanding of the events leading to the necessity of applying certain rules and regulations. The current format of the tournament has been established years ago, but the requirements and the regulations have changed a bit.
Organizing and conduction such a big event requires lots of efforts and this is why the list with the World Series of Poker rules and regulations is quite big. In the sections below, we will tell you what the major WSOP rule to date are and how the whole event is organized. We will also tell you about the various other procedures that walk hand by hand with the events.
Entry and Registration at the Tournament
First of all the World Series of Poker rules aim at providing a legitimate event that will meet different requirements concerning safety and fairness. This is why only persons who are aged 21 or older who prove their identity will be allowed to attend the event. Also, the casino where the tournament is being held keeps the right to refuse entry to a given person for any reason decided before or after the registration procedure. Only one entry per person is allowed.
Participants at the tournaments may register in person at the registration area located at the casino or online at the official website of the event. An important thing to mention is that for in-person registration, participants may only use certain payment methods. Those may include cash, Visa and Mastercard cards, Discover or American Express. Wire Transfers are also allowed. Besides, WSOP participants can also use gaming chips and tournaments buy-in chips form the casino that holds the event.
If participants choose to register online, they will have to fill in a special registration form and provide necessary details at the Bravo Poker Live websites. However, to make this, they will need to have an active Ceasars Rewards account as well as a Bravo Poker Live account.
Scheduling of the WSOP Event
The times of the WSOP events are not strictly estimated, and the casino that holds the tournament reserved the right to change the times and schedules at any time. Besides the casino has also the right to reschedule the event, to change the location of the event at any time, with prior notification of the respective regulatory authorities.
Moreover, the casino has the right to cancel the event or to modify it, if any interruptions such as technical failures or any kind of frauds may occur.
Seating and Prizes
One of the WSOP rules is that entries and prizes at the tournaments can not be transferred to other persons. Winners at the tournament have the responsibility to pay all taxes upon their winnings as well as registration fees and others associated with the WSOP event. To be able to collect their prizes, winners are obliged to fully verify their identity. They may be required to provide a passport, driving license, ID card, or any other official identification document.
Yet, there is another important thing concerning the World Series of Poker rules of poker that we have to mention. If for any reason at the beginning of the WSOP event, a given participant who has registered but is not present he/she will have all forced antes and blind bets removed from his/her stack.
If there is a single participant on a table for five minutes, the button will advance with one position every two minutes. In the end, the only participant will be granted both the small and the big blind.
Poker Rules at the Tournament
Well, the whole event is organised for poker and those who love to play the game. This is why one of the most important sections concern the WSOP rules of poker. We will present to you the most important ones.
- Fairness of the games is the top priority in the decision-making process on behalf of the manager and the supervisor of the tournament.
- English will be the official language during the whole event and it should be used only.
- Also, the official terminology should be used during the tournament. The professional terms should be simple and unmistakable declarations.
- During the tournament, all mobile phone and other similar devices that may ring or beep should be silenced not to obstruct the gaming session.
- Players are allowed to use electronic devices such as iPods, MP3 players as well as noise-reducing headphones. However, any devices that are used for filming and recording are prohibited.
- A dealer can not kill a hand that was on the table and was a winning one.
- Odds chips will be split on the smallest denominations during the gameplay.
- As for the new hands and limits, when the time of a given round has ended and a new level is declared, the new level will apply for the next hand.
- The so-called “rabbit hunting” is prohibited.
- All participants must be seated at their places by the time they are being dealt with hands.
- All cards and chip stacks should be properly kept visible, countable and manageable.
Betting and Gaming Formats of the Tournament
Among the details that shape the established World Series of Poker rules and regulations is the betting format of the event. The betting formats are as follows: “Limit”, “No-Limit”, “Pot Limit”. As for the game format, there are the following ones: “Texas Hold’em”, “Short Deck”, “Omaha”, “Omaha Hi/Low 8 or Better”, “Omaha Big O High-Low 8 or Better”, “Seven Card Stud”, “Seven Card Stud Hi/Low 8 or Better”, “Seven Card Stud Hi/Low Regular” and “Seven-Card Razz”.
Final Words
In this article, we outlined one of the most important details concerning the World Series of Poker rules and regulations. Of course, there are quite many points that we can not mention as the list is quite big, but we hope that the topics that we described will help you to get an overall picture of what are the basic World Series of Poker rules. This is an event with a long history that gathers together the most prominent poker figures as well as new emerging poker starts. In the end, the WSOP rules and regulations are essential for making the whole event as legitimate and well-organised as possible. Still, if your dream is to reach those tables someday, you must definitely start from somewhere and gather the oh-so-needed experience and knowledge about the favourite card games of the world! Therefore, we advise you to take a look at the best poker sites which can grant you access to a variety of tables.
WSOP FAQs
If you are still missing some details or you want to get more information regarding the World Series of Poker rules and regulations, then check the section below. We have prepared brief answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding the tournaments. We hope that they will be explanatory enough and will provide you with the information that you need.
