Phil Hellmuth has won more WSOP bracelets than anyone else in history, and he has as much a right to share his opinion about the series as anyone. But I have to respectfully disagree with his position that the WSOP Main Event is set up ‘unfairly.’
One of the things that make poker great is that when we play tournaments together, we are all playing with the same blind levels, the same schedule, and the same pool of dealers and players. It might not always be comfortable, it might be frustrating from time to time, but if poker is anything, it is definitely ‘fair.’ Phil also does his position disservice by threatening a boycott to try to force the WSOP to make the changes he wants to see. It creates an adversarial framing for the discussion.
That being said, while I don’t think the WSOP (or any poker operators) should change their rules to cater to a specific demographic (trust me, if I did, I’ve got a slew of suggestions for how to make the game better by catering to recreational players!) if there are changes that could make the experience better for all, or at least most of the players, I think we should be open to that.
Main Event is a marathon – and I know!
When I played the Main Event last year, I made it close to the end of Day 5 and it definitely felt like a marathon. I played Day 1D so I didn’t get a break between Day 2 and Day 3, and I freely admit that by the end of Day 3 I was already feeling it.
It’s not just the long days at the table: when you bag in the WSOP Main Event, you are PUMPED! Adrenaline is coursing through your veins, excitement is high, and sleep is hard to come by when you get back to your hotel in the wee hours of the morning.
In my own case, literally the only night I slept well was when the bubble burst on the morning of Day 4 and I had locked up a cash. I slept like a baby that night! Unfortunately, thanks to Jonathan Tamayo busting me on Day 5, I can’t weigh in on what it feels like on the later days, but while I felt rejuvenated on Days 4 and 5, I can imagine succumbing to fatigue after a few more days of that cycle.
Let’s face it, the Main Event IS an endurance challenge, and that’s not news – it has been for years, and that (along with its lack of re-entry and its two-hour levels) is one of the factors that make it so special and unique.
But while shortening the levels or allowing rebuys would drastically diminish the grandeur of the event, I do think that adding a day-off break after Day 4 is something we should all encourage the WSOP to consider. Getting to Day 7 or 8 would still be a hell of an accomplishment even with a day off halfway through, and no one who makes it that far is going to begrudge an extra night’s hotel stay. Plus, we already take a day off before the final table, so the concept is already enshrined in the structure of the tournament.
How the Main Event structure can be improved
Ultimately, if the current structure of the WSOP Main Event is too grueling, there are two solutions that can mitigate that without taking the shine off poker’s greatest tournament:
- Ensure a longer turnaround period between bagging at the end of the night and the start of play the next morning (this will make the tournament a day or two longer as fewer levels are played each day). Or...
- Add a day off after Day 4 (this will also make the tournament longer by a day).
Both of these solutions extend the same amount of play over more days, allowing for the current two-hour levels to remain intact. I have seen folks suggesting that we shorten them to make the tournament shorter. I think this is by far the worst idea. Add a day, shorten the days, do what you need to do to make players comfortable, but do NOT shorten the 2-hour levels. They are a key part of why the WSOP Main Event is still the best poker tournament in the world.
Jim Reid is a longtime lover of poker, a member of the PokerOrg Player Advisory Board, and host of the popular RecPoker podcast.
