{"id":5904,"date":"2017-05-25T13:46:48","date_gmt":"2017-05-25T20:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/?p=5904"},"modified":"2023-06-21T10:42:31","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T17:42:31","slug":"its-wsop-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/its-wsop-season\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s WSOP Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the words of Bruce Buffer, \u201cIt\u2019s time!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Already? The greatest unfairness of aging is that time passes more quickly, or at least it sure seems to. Seems like yesterday I was getting out of my chair for the final time as I got KO\u2019d from the 2016 Main Event, just short of the money. While I\u2019m still not done reliving that series of hands, I\u2019m also getting myself psyched up for this year\u2018s six-week slog of early morning and late night drives to and from the Rio, the unbearably high heat outside and contradictory chill inside, the 14-hour days of playing, the sleep-deprived nights of going over that day\u2019s key hands and anticipation of the next day, and the inevitable physical and mental exhaustion.<\/p>\n

So, why do I do it? Because I\u2019m also preparing for the excitement of getting deep in events, of seeing old poker friends who nowadays I see once a year, of once again being part of the scene at the absolute pinnacle of the poker world, as I\u2019ve done for the past 35 years. The World Series of Poker is part my personal tapestry, and, while it\u2019s getting harder and harder on my body and mind as I get older, I\u2019m not done yet.<\/p>\n

The WSOP is ever evolving, and this year is no different. Some changes:<\/p>\n

-The big one is that the November Nine is now the late July Nine. The final table will be played on July 20, with just a two-day break after the final table is determined, rather than four months. The November Nine concept was designed to let anticipation build, give ESPN a chance to air their edited coverage of the early days of the Main Event during the prime TV season, and give players a chance to study and arrange sponsorships. However, the concept was implemented in 2008, during the height of the poker\u2019s popularity. After Internet poker\u2019s Black Friday of 2011, the industry has been on the decline, ESPN\u2019s contract with the WSOP was up for renewal, and the November Nine had outlived its usefulness.<\/p>\n

-To accompany the new format, TV coverage has been radically changed. There will be no more taped and edited coverage. In the days leading up to the Final table, 2-4 hours of live coverage will be shown on ESPN and ESPN2. The Final Table will last three days, and every hand will be shown live. Of course, when I say live, I mean with a 30-minute delay, without which there could be all kinds of shenanigans.<\/p>\n

I liked the November Nine concept. I think it would have been cool to be in the limelight for that four months, not to mention the extended chance to study, prepare, and seek sponsorships. But, mainly I liked it because I need a while to recover after six weeks of hard play, and I\u2019m not sure two days is enough. And it will be a busy two days for finalists, with interviews and other press and TV stuff. In the past, many finalists hosted parties, flew in guests, and made a big social event of their moment in the spotlight. Sadly, there will be no opportunity for that now.<\/p>\n

-To combat the problem of slow play and stalling, the shot-clock rule has been altered, giving floor people much more leeway to deal with habitual offenders. I think this is long overdue. Players who think it\u2019s part of the game to take an absurdly long time to make routine decisions are not only selfish and rude to the other players, but are stupid, because the more hands you get, the better chance you have to accumulate chips and get deep in the event. I really hope this works well and is adopted universally.<\/p>\n

-The schedule has some added bracelet events:<\/p>\n

-$10k tag-team event, with 2-4 player teams competing. All players on the winning   team get bracelets.<\/p>\n

-A $333 online event.<\/p>\n

-A $365 event with flights each Friday, with the survivors reconvening on July 8, which I think is kind of silly, because it also happens to be the day of the first flight of the Main Event.<\/p>\n

There are some other schedule changes, but I have issues with these because I think it cheapens the value of the bracelet. A WSOP bracelet is very prestigious because it\u2019s so hard to win one, and I don\u2019t think these should be bracelet events. But, I don\u2019t think bracelets should be awarded in events played in Europe or Australia either.<\/p>\n

-I love the concept of senior\u2019s events, but I have some issues with the way the WSOP does them. For one thing, the playing schedule is identical to open events. Fourteen hour days are brutal for seniors, and I see no need to subject them to these rigors to get it over in three days. Why not make them four or five-day events, with play limited to eight hours. (Maybe even nap breaks!)<\/p>\n

Another issue is that the senior\u2019s events are once again scheduled on Father\u2019s Day weekend. I\u2019d think fathers and grandfathers would much rather be with their families than playing 14-hour poker days. And many participants have to travel to Vegas, thereby missing the whole Father\u2019s Day experience. I\u2019ll bet this has caused more than one family dust-up.<\/p>\n

Finally, and most importantly for me, they are always on U.S. Open golf tournament weekend. I need breaks during the month, and Open weekend was always one of mine. Now that I\u2019m a senior, it makes for a tough choice. Golf is still a big spectator sport among seniors, and I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not alone in this.<\/p>\n

-There are some other logistical changes that can be found here:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wsop.com\/2017\/2017%20New%20and%20Noteworthy.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Last year I played 24 events, and was a basket case by the end. This year I plan to pace myself more, and hopefully be fairly fresh when the Main Event comes around. However, I have a hard time sitting out events I want to play, and there are a lot of those. I\u2019ll see how it goes. Stay tuned!<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"youtube\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the words of Bruce Buffer, \u201cIt\u2019s time!!\u201d Already? The greatest unfairness of aging is that time passes more quickly, or at least it sure seems to. Seems like yesterday I was getting out of my chair for the final time as I got KO\u2019d from the 2016 Main Event, just short of the money. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[2,685],"tags":[1579,1517,1578,750,1189,200],"yoast_head":"\nIt's WSOP Season - Gambling With An Edge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/gambling-with-an-edge\/its-wsop-season\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It's WSOP Season - Gambling With An Edge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the words of Bruce Buffer, \u201cIt\u2019s time!!\u201d Already? 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