No poker event is quite as grandiose as that of the World Series of Poker. And the latest circuit is proving to be just as epic as that of past years. For those who are just getting into WSOP, and are looking for the latest news, make sure to keep reading.
Understanding the Game
Before we get into WSOP itself, we’d suggest learning more about poker. Without at least some sort of foundation of knowledge, you’ll end up feeling very lost and it could detract from your enjoyment.
Here, the most important aspect that you should focus on is understanding poker winning hands. This is because the aim of poker is to craft the best hand possible.
We’ll start this off with the highest-ranking hand which is the Royal Flush, with the lowest odds of appearing. It’s comprised of the Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten of the same suite.
Then we have Straight Flush, made of any five consecutive cards from the same suit. Should two or more players have this hand, the one with the highest card will win.
Four of a Kind, consisting of four cards of the same rank is next. And, Full House, a combination of three cards of the same rank and a pair of any two cards follows closely by.
Constituting of five cards of the same suite, Flush is the subsequent hand in the ranking. Then Straight is right after it made up of five consecutive cards of differing suits.
Then there’s Three of a Kind, which is pretty self-explanatory, along with Two Pair which is comprised of two cards of the same rank and two cards of another rank. Rounding up the rankings have Pair, where the player just needs to have two cards of the same rank.
Finally, we have High Card, which basically entails having the highest-ranking playing card. It only comes into play if no player has any of the previous hands.
So that’s a wrap on all of the poker hands and all the basics you needed to be able to follow WSOP. You don’t necessarily need to deep dive into the strategies as a viewer so by this point you should be more than set.
Brief History of the WSOP
Now, you know what to be on the lookout for while watching the talented professionals at work. But to truly appreciate the experience and their craft, you have to learn more about WSOP’s history, which is anything but boring.
Its roots can be traced all the way back to nineteen forty nine, however, it was only in the seventies that the first WSOP champion was crowned. From then on, every year, a series of poker events are played out in the USA.
While it didn’t enjoy a lot of popularity in the beginning, this slowly started changing in the late seventies – early eighties. It was around this time, in 1976, when the iconic WSOP bracelet was awarded to winners of every event.
There were plenty of players during this time period who changed the course of WSOP, such as Barbara Freer, the first woman who ever entered the series, and Hal Fowler, who inspired amateurs around the world to join. And we’d be remiss to not mention Stu Ungar, a poker champion who is credited with having attracted more publicity for the series.
Speaking of publicity, the era of modern TV has definitely helped propel this event further, especially once millions of viewers could tune in to the ESPN channel to watch it. This leads us to it now being one of the most followed events around the world, with the biggest payouts.
What You Need to Know About the 2024-2025 WSOP Circuit
The WSOP tournament started earlier on this year in July and are scheduled to run until the 27th of January. There are 18 scheduled stops, featuring both domestic destinations, such as in California, and international locations, like in Italy.
While the structure of this year’s circuit is similar to those of the past, to keep up with the steady growth in popularity, several new events were added. These include the 10,000 Big O Championship, the $800 Independent Day Celebration, and the $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot.
If you want to hear more about the main event, we’re happy to share that Jonathan Tamayo was crowned as the poker world champion. This win has cemented his status as a professional, swiftly turning him into a household name.
Plus, the prize of $10 million is nothing to scoff at, and neither is the main event bracelet he won. Made using 445g of 10-karat gold and over 2.2k gemstones, this flashy bracelet is the perfect memorabilia, albeit being impractical to wear.
Conclusion
From understanding the game to taking a moment to learn about WSOP’s history and ending it with the latest must-know details, this hopefully was the one-stop-shop you needed before diving headfirst into the series. There’s nothing left to do apart from marking your calendars for the next tournament.