WSOP.com Online Championship Series Launches This Weekend
With the 2014 World Series of Poker (WSOP) underway at the Rio All-Suite Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, the WSOP is making sure there are plenty of synergies between the live poker festival and its online poker offerings at WSOP.com. Starting Sunday, internet players will be able to have their own little World Series of Poker with the WSOP.com Online Championship Series.
One interesting thing WSOP.com is doing with the Championship Series is synchronizing the events of both Nevada and New Jersey. WSOP.com has online poker rooms in both states, but because the two states have not formed an interstate poker compact, their poker rooms are ring-fenced from each other. So even though their players do not share tables, their respective Championship Series will be exactly the same. Well, we should say exactly the same except for start times, because while the times listed on each schedule are the same, they are pegged to local time, so New Jersey events will always be three hours ahead of the ones in Nevada. 
There will be one event per day for fifteen days starting on June 1st, with weekend tournaments starting at 3:00pm and weekday tournaments starting at 7:00pm. The only games spread will be No-Limit Hold’em and Omaha, as for whatever reason, those are the only ones allowed by law, though there will be some variety with freezeouts, knockouts, and re-buy / re-entry events. Buy-ins range from $55 to $530. The WSOP.com Online Championship Series will culminate with the $215 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event featuring a $200,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Looking at the tournament details in the WSOP.com client software, it appears that the payout structure for the events is flatter than in regular tournaments on the site. With fields of 10 players or fewer, everything is the same, but assuming these tournaments aren’t total busts, they will attract many more players than that. After that point, the Championship Series events pay to more places. For example, three players get paid in a Championship Series event with 11 to 20 players, whereas three players get paid in a regular tournament with 11 to 30 players. Moving up to a larger field, it requires a turnout of 151 to 200 players to payout down to 20th place, while it only takes 101-125 registrants in a Championship Series tournament.
As one would expect, WSOP.com is running satellites for the various events. Additionally, the winner of each of the first fourteen events will win a free seat into the WSOP.com Online Championship Series Main Event.
Here’s a look at the entire schedule:
June 1 – 3:00pm – $215 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (Freezeout) – $50,000 Guaranteed
June 2 – 7:00pm – $109 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (6-Max Freezeout) – $10,000 Guaranteed
June 3 – 7:00pm – $109 – Pot-Limit Omaha (Freezeout) – $10,000 Guaranteed
June 4 – 7:00pm – $109 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (Rebuy & Re-Entry) – $25,000 Guaranteed
June 5 – 7:00pm – $109 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (Freezeout) – $10,000 Guaranteed
June 6 – 7:00pm – $55 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (Freezeout) – $5,000 Guaranteed
June 7 – 3:00pm – $109 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (6-Max Rebuy & Re-Entry) – $20,000 Guaranteed
June 8 – 3:00pm – $530 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (Rebuy & Re-Entry) – $100,000 Guaranteed
June 9 – 7:00pm – $55 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (Rebuy & Re-Entry) – $10,000 Guaranteed
June 10 – 7:00pm – $250 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (Knockout) – $10,000 Guaranteed
June 11 – 7:00pm – $109 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (Freezeout) – $20,000 Guaranteed
June 12 – 7:00pm – $109 – Pot-Limit Omaha (Rebuy & Re-Entry) – $20,000 Guaranteed
June 13 – 7:00pm – $109 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (6-Max Re-Entry) – $20,000 Guaranteed
June 14 – 3:00pm – $215 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em (Rebuy & Re-Entry) – $50,000 Guaranteed
June 15 – 3:00pm – $215 – No-Limit Hold ‘Em Main Event (Re-Entry) – $200,000 Guaranteed
For those poker players who are making the trek out to Las Vegas during the next couple weeks, the WSOP is making sure everyone has all the opportunity and resources in the world to play in the Online Championship Series. The WSOP has established a “Grind Room,” complete with its own wireless network, a plethora of power outlets, computers for those who don’t have theirs on them, and other fine amenities. That comfortable room with your own television, bed, and bathroom that is just a few minute walk away? Forget that. Stick close to the poker room – its power will drift into the Grind Room and allow you to hit a two-outer at least once during your session.
And if playing during breaks doesn’t give someone enough time to play online poker, the WSOP is taking it one step further. It is letting players bring their laptops or mobile devices to the live poker tables so that they can squeeze in a few virtual hands in between live action hands. Now, just so things don’t go too far, players cannot be on their computers while they are still holding cards in the live hand. I mean, that is just too much.
As for those online poker player stuck in New Jersey during the WSOP.com Online Championship Series…just enjoy the comfort of your own home and be happy with the knowledge that your WSOP.com has more players than the Nevada WSOP.com.
COMMENTS