For the second year in a row, the WSOP Main Event has broken records, drawing 10,112 unique entrants. Jonathan Tamayo took down the tournament for a $10 million score, outlasting well-known professionals like Kristen Foxen and Joe Serock, and online MTT legends like Lena900, a.k.a., Niklas Astedt. I was not one of the fortunate few to experience a deep run in this event. I didn’t even cash it. However, I did play in it. This year, I joined the club of WSOP Main Event First-Timers, a very special achievement on its own. In this article, I’d like to share some observations as a once outsider and now insider to this club of luckboxes.
Not Everyone Has $10K. How can I get in?
I had been playing poker for about 15 years and had never played the WSOP Main Event. In my poker-playing career, I had in the past won a Main Event ticket but opted to sell it for much-needed cash. Last year, my intent was to play but I ended up losing $9,000 in Main Event satellites, thus crippling my ability to get in there. Like many, I never had an extra $10,000 set aside to play this prestigious event.
$10,000 is a lot of money for your average poker community member. For many this summer, the $1k Mystery Millions was their big shot. And so, I want to acknowledge how special and fortunate someone is to even consider playing in the WSOP Main Event. But to those who aspire or even dream of playing, I’d like to say that it’s not as out-of-reach as you think. There are two common paths to the Main Event.
Selling Action
My dream has always been to play the WSOP Main Event for all of myself (i.e., to have 100% of my own action). That said, it’s a dream to play in the WSOP Main Event in the first place. For me to play this year, I had to sell 70% of my action. I put up $3,000 of my own money and reached out to my network for potential buyers.
Asking people for money to play poker might put you ill-at-ease but if you are a capable player, having demonstrated your competence to others, it’s actually quite easy to sell enough pieces of yourself to make your dream a reality. If you only have 10% of the buy-in, sell the other 90%. If you have half, sell the other half. The reality is that a significant percentage of players in the WSOP Main Event do not have all their own action.
READ MORE: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Selling Action in Poker
Satellite Your Way In
Registration for the WSOP Main Event closes a couple hours into the final Day 2 flight. Up until that point, there are several ways to qualify for your Main Event seat. At the WSOP itself, there are a variety of live landmark satellites at various price points, where 1/20, 1/10, and even 1/5 players contesting the tournament wins a seat.
Moreover, officials at the Paris/Horseshoe complex in Las Vegas run multiple daily landmark satellites that can help you grow your bankroll. You win two of the $580 satellites, each of which pays $5,000 cash, and use the proceeds to put yourself in the WSOP Main Event. There are also a few online poker rooms that run mega satellites for Main Event packages, which include extra money for traveling expenses with steps starting as low as $1. Don’t forget, 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion Chris Moneymaker got in via an online mega-satellite!
READ MORE: Mastering Poker Satellite Tournaments
What to Expect Once You’ve Bought into the WSOP Main Event
It’s cliche to say the WSOP Main Event is the best $10k of the year, but that’s what it is. I have been fortunate enough to play the $10K Bellagio Five Diamond event and the $10K WPT World Championship at the Wynn. As an online MTT full-timer, I can honestly say there is no tournament like the WSOP Main Event. It really is a must-play for two specific reasons: the incredible tournament structure and the caliber of the average player.
Tournament Structure: If you are experienced playing live MTTs, you will easily recognize the different between a well-structured tournament vs. a poorly-structured one. For example, your local casino early bird $50 tournament will have a very fast tournament structure: a smaller starting stack, short levels (10 to 15 minutes), and blind levels will be skipped.
Add to those factors a high fee relative to the cost of entry and you have a game that is “unbeatable” insofar as money is concerned. The WSOP Main Event is as far opposite as you can get. With 60,000 starting chips, 2-hour levels and no blind levels skipped, you really get the best possible bang for your buck.
Caliber of Average Player: Recently, there has been discussion about the use of the term “recreational” when referring to less experienced or non-professional poker players. Without chiming into that debate, I can honestly say some of the play I observed during the WSOP Main Event was no different than what I’d see at a local cardroom’s $1/2 No Limit cash game.
Bear in mind, however, table draw is very important. While my Day 2 table draw was quite soft, my Day 1 table draw was quite tough. Also worth keeping in mind, the cream rises to the top. It’s no surprise that players like the aforementioned Kristen Foxen and Niklas Astedt are there at the end of the race. All in all, there is enough value in this tournament with a $10 million first prize that should make it attractive to anyone who loves this game and takes it seriously. Even a top 100 finish can mean a six-figure score!
Play the WSOP Main Event
Having joined the circle of first-timers, I fully intend to make the WSOP Main Event a yearly play. If I have to sell 95%, I will. The structure, player pool and upside are so tremendous that passing on it solely due to the price point is a career mistake for aspiring tournament players.
Of course, it goes without saying that you should only gamble what you can afford to lose. Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money! It took me 15 years to finally pony up and make it happen, so don’t sweat taking your time. Do what works for you, your bankroll, and where you are at in your poker career. Hopefully that means joining the WSOP Main Event first-timers in 2025. See you next year!
