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Glossary of poker terms

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82-443: The following is a glossary of poker terms used in the card game of poker . It supplements the glossary of card game terms . Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon poker slang terms. This is not intended to be a formal dictionary; precise usage details and multiple closely related senses are omitted here in favor of concise treatment of the basics. See: semi-bluff Poker Poker

164-429: A blind bet (sometimes both). The dealer shuffles the cards, the player on the chair to their right cuts , and the dealer deals the appropriate number of cards to the players one at a time, beginning with the player to their left. Cards may be dealt either face-up or face-down, depending on the variant of poker being played. After the initial deal, the first of what may be several betting rounds begins. Between rounds,

246-461: A slot machine ; most video poker machines play draw poker, where the player bets, a hand is dealt, and the player can discard and replace cards. Payout is dependent on the hand resulting after the draw and the player's initial bet. Strip poker is a traditional poker variation where players remove clothing when they lose bets. Since it depends only on the basic mechanic of betting in rounds, strip poker can be played with any form of poker; however, it

328-668: A 2017 6th place final table finish makes Maria the only player to ever hold the title Last Woman Standing four times over and at both the WSOP and WSOPE Main Events. In 1995, Barbara Enright became the only woman to make the Final Table of the World Series of Poker, finishing in fifth place. She also finished in the money of the Main Event in 2005. An Ambassador of Poker League of Nations, Barbara

410-610: A World Series of Poker began in 1969 with an event called the Texas Gamblers Reunion . It was an invitational event sponsored by Tom Moore of Castle Hills, Texas , and held at the Holiday Hotel and Casino in Reno . This inaugural event was won by Crandell Addington . The set of tournaments that the World Series of Poker (WSOP) would evolve into was the brainchild of Las Vegas casino owner and poker player Benny Binion . In 1970,

492-438: A bet, they may only raise by X. In pot-limit poker, a player may bet or raise any amount up to the size of the pot. When calculating the maximum raise allowed, all previous bets and calls, including the intending raiser's call, are first added to the pot. The raiser may then raise the previous bet by the full amount of the pot. In no-limit poker, a player may wager their entire betting stack at any point that they are allowed to make

574-422: A bet. In all games, if a player does not have enough betting chips to fully match a bet, they may go "all-in," allowing them to show down their hand for the number of chips they have remaining. While typical poker games award the pot to the highest hand as per the standard ranking of poker hands, there are variations where the lowest ranked hand wins. In such games the best hand contains the lowest cards rather than

656-414: A change would likely never be made. However, after the $ 50,000 H.O.R.S.E. / Poker Players Championship event was added, many of the game's top professionals, including Negreanu, have since stated that this tournament ultimately decides the world's best player. The $ 50,000 buy-in, being five times larger than the buy-in for the Main Event, has thus far tended to deter amateurs from playing in this event, and

738-430: A decade, reaching 52 participants in 1982. In the early 1980s, satellite tournaments were introduced, allowing people to win their way into the various events. By 1987, there were over 2,100 entrants in the entire series. At the 2006 World Series of Poker , there were 45 events, covering the majority of poker variants . Participation in the Main Event peaked that year, with 8,773 players. The number of participants in

820-478: A gold ring or standing for the WSOP Circuit National Championship, both of which were common for other circuit events. This policy changed in 2012. The WSOPA did not occur in 2011 but would come back in 2012. On April 30, 2012, the WSOP and Australian casino Crown Melbourne jointly announced the creation of the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific (WSOP APAC). The first edition of the event

902-670: A hybrid online format in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Series of Poker announced a return to in-person play for the next series in September 2021, in Paradise, Nevada. The 2024 WSOP was held at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas , and saw record-breaking attendance for the Main Event tournament. In August 2024, Caesars Entertainment announced it had sold the WSOP brand to GGPoker operator NSUS Group for $ 500 million. The idea of

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984-602: A poker professional, of which one was Phil Hellmuth , joining the team. Unlike today's coverage, ESPN featured no pre-taped interviews or profiles on the players. In addition, the commentators were generally on the casino floor itself. From 1999 to 2001, the World Series of Poker was broadcast by The Discovery Channel . These hour-long programs presented more of an overview or recap of the WSOP as opposed to broadcasting an actual live event with play-by-play analysis and color commentary. The Discovery Channel's broadcast also featured final table players interviews interlaced throughout

1066-439: A positive expected value or who is trying to bluff other players for various strategic reasons. Thus, while the outcome of any particular hand significantly involves chance, the long-run expectations of the players are determined by their actions chosen on the basis of probability , psychology , and game theory . Poker has increased in popularity since the beginning of the 21st century (2001) and has gone from being primarily

1148-509: A prize. In 2004, Harrah's Entertainment (now Caesars Entertainment) purchased Binion's Horseshoe, retained the rights to the Horseshoe and World Series of Poker brands, sold the hotel and casino to MTR Gaming Group , and announced that the 2005 Series events would be held at the Harrah's-owned Rio Hotel and Casino , located just off the Las Vegas Strip . Since 2004 the official sponsor of

1230-486: A record for entries and prize pool. On June 2, 2011, the World Series of Poker and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté announced plans for an officially sanctioned special fundraising event, known as The Big One for One Drop , starting on July 1, 2012, with a record US$ 1 million entry fee. 11% of the money (more precisely, $ 111,111 from each buy-in) went to Laliberté's charity, the One Drop Foundation , and

1312-735: A record that cannot be broken in the Las Vegas WSOP under current laws because the minimum legal age for casino gaming in Nevada is 21. Obrestad could play in the WSOPE because the minimum age for casino gaming in the United Kingdom is 18. While no definitive plans have been announced, WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack has indicated that in the next one to three years that other venues may start holding WSOP events. Two locations that have been mentioned as possible expansion sites are Egypt and South Africa, and

1394-509: A recreational activity confined to small groups of enthusiasts to a widely popular activity, both for participants and spectators, including online, with many professional players and multimillion-dollar tournament prizes. While poker's exact origin is the subject of debate, many game scholars point to the French game Poque and the Iranian game As-Nas as possible early inspirations. For example, in

1476-416: A single one-hour taped-delay broadcast of the Main Event. ESPN Classic currently airs many of the old broadcasts from the mid-1990s and beyond. Since no "pocket cam" existed, very few hole cards were actually shown to television viewers. Generally, ESPN used poker-playing actors such as Dick Van Patten , Vince Van Patten , and Gabe Kaplan , with either the tournament director (usually Jim Albrecht ) or

1558-428: A token called a dealer button (or buck ). In a casino , a house dealer handles the cards for each hand, but the button (typically a white plastic disk) is rotated clockwise among the players to indicate a nominal dealer to determine the order of betting. The cards are dealt clockwise around the poker table , one at a time. One or more players are usually required to make forced bets , usually either an ante or

1640-460: Is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, but in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game was played with just 20 cards, today it is usually played with a standard deck , although in countries where short packs are common, it may be played with 32, 40 or 48 cards. Thus poker games vary in deck configuration,

1722-622: Is that poker was popularized in the American South in the early 19th century, as gambling riverboats in the Mississippi River and around New Orleans during the 1830s helped spread the game. One early description of poker was played on a steamboat in 1829 is recorded by the English actor, Joe Cowell . The game was played with twenty cards ranking from Ace (high) to Ten (low). In contrast to this version of poker, seven-card stud only appeared in

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1804-629: Is the first woman to win two WSOP bracelets, the first woman to win three bracelets, and the first woman to win an open event at the World Series of Poker. Barbara is also the first woman to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame , the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, and the Senior Poker Hall of Fame, making her the only poker player to be in all three poker halls of fame. In 1977, the first ladies-only event

1886-417: Is usually based on simple variants with few betting rounds, like five card draw. Another game with the poker name, but with a vastly different mode of play, is called Acey-Deucey or Red Dog poker. This game is more similar to Blackjack in its layout and betting; each player bets against the house, and then is dealt two cards. For the player to win, the third card dealt (after an opportunity to raise

1968-444: Is was replaced by Texas hold 'em in 2001. The earliest filming of the World Series was a special produced by Binion's Horseshoe in 1973 and narrated by Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder . CBS began covering the World Series in the late 1970s. In the early 1980s, the event was again broadcast as specials. In the late 1980s, the World Series returned to television as ESPN took over broadcasting. Initially, coverage only consisted of just

2050-426: Is worth as compared to the other players. The action then proceeds clockwise as each player in turn must either match (or "call") the maximum previous bet, or fold , losing the amount bet so far and all further involvement in the hand. A player who matches a bet may also "raise" (increase) the bet. The betting round ends when all players have either called the last bet or folded. If all but one player folds on any round,

2132-530: The Paris suburb of Enghien-les-Bains . From 2013 to 2017 the WSOPE was held only in odd-numbered years, with the newly launched World Series of Poker Asia Pacific (WSOP APAC) conducted in even-numbered years. WSOPE has been held annually since 2017. In 2010, the WSOP expanded overseas once again, only this time to Gauteng , South Africa . Although the 2010 event was part of the WSOP Circuit, winners did not earn

2214-523: The University of Auckland amongst others. In a January 2015 article published in Science , a group of researchers mostly from the University of Alberta announced that they "essentially weakly solved" heads-up limit Texas Hold 'em with their development of their Cepheus poker bot . The authors claimed that Cepheus would lose at most 0.001 big blinds per game on average against its worst-case opponent, and

2296-476: The WSOP Europe and WSOP Asia-Pacific , but excludes WSOP Circuit events and other non-bracelet events. The results are updated through the 2014 WSOP APAC. At present, women make up around 5% of the field in all the events at the annual WSOP tournament. Vanessa Selbst , Barbara Enright , Nani Dollison and Kristen Bicknell all have won three WSOP bracelets. In 2015, Kelly Minkin finished in 29th place in

2378-560: The World Series of Poker Africa was ultimately launched in South Africa in 2010. However, it is currently treated as a WSOP Circuit event, with no bracelets awarded. The next expansion of the WSOP that included bracelet events was ultimately to Australia . The WSOPE moved from London to Cannes , France, in 2011. At that time, the buy-ins and payouts changed from being fixed in pounds to euros . The event moved again in 2013, this time to

2460-505: The 1937 edition of Foster's Complete Hoyle , R. F. Foster wrote that "the game of poker, as first played in the United States, five cards to each player from a twenty-card pack, is undoubtedly the Persian game of As-Nas." However, in the 1990s the notion that poker is a direct derivative of As-Nas began to be challenged by gaming historians including David Parlett . What is certain, however,

2542-542: The 1988 main event was featured in the movie Rounders . Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer , the winners in 2003 and 2004 , both qualified for the main event through satellite tournaments at the PokerStars online card room. Jerry Yang , the winner in 2007 , had only been playing poker for two years prior to his victory. He won his seat at a $ 225 satellite tournament at Pechanga Resort & Casino, in California. With

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2624-538: The 2017/18 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions on live poker events, there was a heavy focus on online events for 2020 and 2021, with dedicated online series during both years. In 2023, the WSOP expanded to Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The winner of each event receives a World Series of Poker bracelet and a monetary prize based on the number of entrants and buy-in amounts. Over

2706-522: The Main Event and the $ 50,000 H.O.R.S.E. competition had no effect on the outcome of the winner of the Player of the Year award. In the 2008 World Series of Poker, the $ 50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event counted toward the Player of the Year award, but the Main Event did not. Since 2009, all open events, including the Main Event, count towards Player of the Year. The Player of the Year standings were based upon performance solely at

2788-528: The Main Event earning the "Last Woman Standing". In the 2007 World Series of Poker, Maria Ho was the last woman remaining in the Championship Event, placing 38th out of 6,358 players and earning a $ 237,865 payday. She repeated this accomplishment in 2014, when she came in 77th place out of 6,683 players. Her 27th place "Last Woman Standing" finish at the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event along with

2870-405: The Main Event has traditionally been given the unofficial title of World Champion. However, some believe that no-limit hold 'em is not the optimal structure for determining a champion poker player. In 2002, Daniel Negreanu argued that the Main Event should switch to pot-limit hold 'em, believing that pot-limit required a more complete set of poker skills than no-limit, although he admitted that such

2952-540: The Main Event multiple times: Johnny Moss ( 1970 , 1971 , and 1974 ), Doyle Brunson ( 1976 and 1977 ), Stu Ungar ( 1980 , 1981 , and 1997 ) and Johnny Chan ( 1987 and 1988 ). Bracelet winners who first achieved fame in other fields include French actor/singer Patrick Bruel (in 1998 ), Danish soccer player Jan Vang Sørensen (in 2002 ), American actress Jennifer Tilly (in 2005 ), and American musician/record producer Steve Albini (in 2018 and 2022 ). In recent years, there have been non-bracelet events at

3034-473: The Main Event of the WSOP has been the $ 10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold 'em (NLHE) tournament (in 1971 the buy-in was $ 5,000 and the inaugural 1970 event was an invitational with winner determined by a vote from the players). Winners of the event not only get the largest prize of the tournament and a gold bracelet, but additionally their picture is placed in the Gallery of Champions at Binion's. The winner of

3116-459: The WSOP ; two of the most notable are the "World Series of Rock Paper Scissors" and "Ante Up for Africa." Currently, Texas hold 'em, Omaha hold 'em and Seven-card stud and their lowball variants are played. H.O.R.S.E. has been played in the past and returned in 2006. Also, S.H.O.E. has been played in the past, and returned in 2007. Other events played in the past include Chinese poker , Five card stud, and many others. Like most tournaments,

3198-480: The WSOP Poker Hall of Fame has honored 42 individuals. Selection criteria for players include having competed against acknowledged top competition, played for high stakes, and played consistently well to gain the respect of their peers. For non-players, selection is based on positive and lasting contributions to the overall growth and success of poker. Since 2004, a Player of the Year (POY) award has been given to

3280-479: The WSOP and WSOP Europe. In recent years, the prize pool for the WSOP Main Event has become so large that the winner instantly becomes one of the top money winners of WSOP and even in tournament poker history. Before July 2012, the top seven players on the all-time WSOP Earnings list were Main Event champions from 2005 to 2011, among whom Jamie Gold topped those seven, he won the 2006 Main Event, which had then

3362-427: The WSOP announced that 30 players had committed to the tournament, which brought the first prize to $ 12.3 million, exceeding the record amount won by Jamie Gold. In the end, all 48 seats were filled, resulting in a first prize of $ 18.3 million. Poker professional Antonio Esfandiari won the event, also receiving a special platinum WSOP bracelet. While the Main Event is the biggest - according to prize pool - event in

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3444-402: The WSOP began the World Series of Poker Circuit , a satellite series held at Harrah's-owned properties in the United States. In addition to the $ 10,000 buy-in tournament at each site, qualifying players became eligible for a revamped Tournament of Champions . The 2005 TOC, made up of the top twenty qualifying players at each circuit event, along with the final table from the 2005 Main Event, and

3526-410: The WSOP grew every year from 2000 until 2006. Following 2006, new online gambling legislation restricted the number of online qualifiers to the event. 2007 was the first dip in numbers in the 21st century while in 2008 more people participated than the previous year. In 2000 , there were 4,780 entrants in the various events, but in 2005, the number rose to over 23,000 players. In the main event alone,

3608-500: The WSOP in Las Vegas up until 2010, but beginning in 2011 have also taken the World Series of Poker Europe into account, and starting in 2013 also include events in the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific. The 2011 WSOP Player of the Year organized by Bluff Magazine used a different scoring system which took into account field sizes and buy-in amounts when calculating points earned. This scoring system has been used ever since. Since 2016,

3690-409: The WSOP payout a bigger percentage of the field (15% instead of 10% until then). Information correct as of December 23, 2023 Information correct as of December 23, 2023. Since its inception, Stu Ungar and Johnny Moss are the only players to have won the Main Event three times. However, Moss's first victory came in a different format, as he was elected winner by vote of his fellow players at

3772-461: The WSOP waived its normal 10% rake of the entry fees. At the time of the original announcement, 15 of the maximum 48 seats had been taken. By early December 2011, the field size had increased to 22, the minimum required for an official bracelet tournament. Among those who committed early to the event were Johnny Chan , Daniel Negreanu , Jonathan Duhamel , Tom Dwan , Laliberté, billionaire businessman Phil Ruffin and Erik Seidel . On April 12, 2012,

3854-519: The World Series of Poker Main Event is considered to be the World Champion of Poker. Since 1971, all WSOP events have been tournaments with cash prizes. In 1973 , a five-card stud event was added. Since then, new events have been added and removed. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP; later on, the winners of events before 1976 were retroactively given bracelets. The tournament grew slowly for over

3936-566: The World Series of Poker has been the Caesars Entertainment Corporation. The final two days of the 2005 WSOP Main Event were held downtown at what is now the MTR-operated "Binion's" in celebration of the centennial of the founding of Las Vegas. The WSOP added a made-for-television $ 2 million "freeroll" invitational Tournament of Champions (TOC) event first won by Annie Duke as a "winner-take-all" event. Starting in 2005,

4018-502: The best-known poker players to the Horseshoe Casino for a single tournament, with a set start and stop time, and a winner determined by a secret ballot of the seven players. As of 2020, the WSOP consists of 101 events, with most major poker variants featured. However, in recent years, over half of the events have been variants of Texas hold 'em . Events traditionally take place during one day or over several consecutive days during

4100-409: The bet) must have a value in-between the first two. Payout is based on the odds that this is possible, based on the difference in values of the first two cards. Other poker-like games played at casinos against the house include three card poker and pai gow poker . A variety of computer poker players have been developed by researchers at the University of Alberta , Carnegie Mellon University , and

4182-444: The biggest first prize for a single tournament, and still is the largest poker tournament by prize pool in history. However, the all-time leader is currently poker professional Daniel Negreanu , who has not won a Main Event, although he won the inaugural WSOP Asia Pacific Main Event in 2013. He is followed by professionals Antonio Esfandiari and Daniel Colman , both also yet to win a Main Event in Las Vegas. The list below includes

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4264-474: The conclusion of what was then a timed event. Moss, Ungar, Doyle Brunson , and Johnny Chan are the only people who have won the Main Event in consecutive years. Chan's second victory in 1988 was featured in the 1998 film Rounders . Phil Hellmuth holds multiple WSOP records including most bracelets, most WSOP cashes, and most WSOP final tables. He is also the only player to have won the Main Events of both

4346-500: The day after with the annual Casino Employee event, won in 2006 by Chris Gros . 2006 featured the Tournament of Champions on June 25 and 26, won by Mike Sexton . Various events led up to the Main Event, which was held from July 28 until August 10. The first prize of $ 12 million was awarded to Jamie Gold . The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) is the first expansion of the World Series of Poker in series history. In September 2007,

4428-483: The final table. Since then, ESPN has greatly expanded its coverage to include many of the preliminary events of the WSOP, especially Texas Hold 'Em. Also, their coverage of the main event now typically includes at least one hour program on each day. For the first two years of its existence, ESPN was broadcasting one hour programs of the "circuit" events that the WSOP has at various Harrah's-owned casinos, but ESPN did not renew these events. ESPN's coverage now includes many of

4510-406: The first WSOP at Binion's Horseshoe took place as a series of cash games that included five-card stud , deuce to seven low-ball draw , razz , seven-card stud , and Texas hold 'em . The format for the Main Event as a freeze-out Texas hold 'em game came the next year. The winner in 1970, Johnny Moss , was elected by his peers as the first "World Champion of Poker" and received a silver cup as

4592-456: The first WSOP championship events outside of Las Vegas, complete with bracelets , were held. The inaugural WSOPE consisted of three events held in London from September 6–17, 2007. The main event, a £ 10,000 buy-in no-limit hold 'em tournament, was won by Norwegian online prodigy Annette Obrestad on the day before her 19th birthday. This made her the youngest person ever to win a WSOP bracelet,

4674-513: The first edition of the revamped event. Since Reese's death in December 2007, the winner of this event receives the David 'Chip' Reese Memorial Trophy in addition to the bracelet and the prize money. There have been many memorable moments during the main events, including Jack Straus 's 1982 comeback win after discovering he had one $ 500 chip left when he thought he was out of the tournament. The end of

4756-424: The highest cards; some variations may be further complicated by whether or not hands such as flushes and straights are considered in the hand rankings. There are also games where the highest and lowest hands divide the pot between them, known as "high low split" games. Other games that use poker hand rankings may likewise be referred to as poker . Video poker is a single-player video game that functions much like

4838-427: The long-term rights acquisition for ESPN, and the channel expanded their coverage to new heights with their coverage of the WSOP. They included coverage of the entire tournament, with a "Featured Table". At this table, the viewers could see the player's hole cards and subsequent strategy. The action was also broadcast as if live, though on tape-delay. 2003 was the first year that the broadcast covered action preceding

4920-457: The middle of the 19th century, and was largely spread by the US military. It became a staple in many casinos following World War II and grew in popularity with the advent of the World Series of Poker in the 1970s. Texas hold 'em and other community card games began to dominate the gambling scenes over the next couple of decades. The televising of poker was a particularly strong influence increasing

5002-418: The next hand begins. This is what makes bluffing possible. Bluffing is a primary feature of poker, distinguishing it from other vying games and from other games that use poker hand rankings . At the end of the last betting round, if more than one player remains, there is a showdown , in which the players reveal their previously hidden cards and evaluate their hands. The player with the best hand according to

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5084-412: The number of cards in play, the number dealt face up or face down, and the number shared by all players , but all have rules that involve one or more rounds of betting . In most modern poker games, the first round of betting begins with one or more of the players making some form of a forced bet (the blind or ante ). In standard poker, each player bets according to the rank they believe their hand

5166-446: The number of participants grew from 839 in 2003 to 8,773 in 2006, and has hovered between 6,300 and 7,200 entrants in the eleven years since. Phil Hellmuth has won the most bracelets with 17 followed by Phil Ivey with 11 bracelets. Crandell Addington is the only player to place in the top ten of the World Series of Poker Main Event eight times, albeit in earlier years with small fields compared to modern times. Four players have won

5248-526: The passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 online poker sites have been barred from purchasing entrance directly for their users. In the 2023 Main Event, a new record was set for entries and a first-place prize for the first time since 2006. The 2024 WSOP Main Event set a new record for entries. These records do not include WSOP Europe or Asia Pacific Main Events. Since its inception in 1979,

5330-453: The player with the most points accumulated throughout the WSOP. As of 2019, fifteen different players have won the sixteen awards, with Daniel Negreanu as the only player to win the award more than once. Only "open" events in which all players can participate count in the standings; this eliminates the Seniors, Ladies, and Casino Employee events. Beginning with the 2006 World Series of Poker,

5412-420: The players' hands develop in some way, often by being dealt additional cards or replacing cards previously dealt. At the end of each round, all bets are gathered into the central pot. At any time during a betting round, if one player bets, no opponents choose to call (match) the bet, and all opponents instead fold , the hand ends immediately, the bettor is awarded the pot, no cards are required to be shown, and

5494-470: The poker variant being played wins the pot. A poker hand comprises five cards; in variants where a player has more than five cards available to them, only the best five-card combination counts. There are 10 different kinds of poker hands, such as straight flush and four of a kind. Poker has many variations , all following a similar pattern of play and generally using the same hand ranking hierarchy. There are four main families of variants, largely grouped by

5576-408: The popularity of the game during the turn of the millennium , resulting in the poker boom a few years later between 2003 and 2006. Today the game has grown to become an extremely popular pastime worldwide. Straight flush [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] In casual play, the right to deal a hand typically rotates among the players and is marked by

5658-403: The protocol of card-dealing and betting: There are several methods for defining the structure of betting during a hand of poker. The three most common structures are known as "fixed-limit," "pot-limit," and "no-limit." In fixed-limit poker, betting and raising must be done by standardized amounts. For instance, if the required bet is X, an initial bettor may only bet X; if a player wishes to raise

5740-562: The recently added Bally's and Caesar's properties — would host 2005–06 WSOP Circuit events that started on August 11 in Tunica , Mississippi . One event that was scheduled for Biloxi , Mississippi, was canceled after the Grand Casino Biloxi , which was scheduled to host the event, suffered major damage from Hurricane Katrina . The Rio also hosted the 2006 World Series of Poker , which began on June 25 with satellite events and formally began

5822-401: The remaining player collects the pot without being required to reveal their hand. If more than one player remains in contention after the final betting round, a showdown takes place where the hands are revealed, and the player with the winning hand takes the pot. With the exception of initial forced bets, money is only placed into the pot voluntarily by a player who either believes the bet has

5904-672: The series in June and July. However, starting in 2008, the Main Event final table was delayed until November. The 2012 and 2016 Main Event final tables commenced in October because of the United States presidential election . As of May 2017, the World Series of Poker has done away with the November Nine concept and instead gone back to the old format of crowning the Main Event winner in July. After adopting

5986-551: The series; the Millionaire Maker ($ 1,500 buy-in) is next up top with its latest edition bearing a prize pool of $ 14,603,565. Inaugurated in 2018 the tournament has ever since held a $ 1,000,000 guarantee for first place. In 2023, the World Series of Poker introduced a $ 300 no-limit hold 'em bracelet event called Gladiators of Poker , its lowest-priced event. The event has a guaranteed $ 3 million prize pool and attracted over 23,000 players in its inaugural year. Since 1972,

6068-433: The show. ESPN would resume coverage the following year. ESPN's coverage in 2002 was typical of their coverage in the 1990s (recorded in video, little or no post-production commentary or player profiles, no card cams). However, the final table broadcast was expanded over two one-hour episodes. The 2002 WSOP was the first with the "sneak peek" (later called the pocket cam, or hole cam ). In 2003, Fred Christenson secured

6150-503: The sponsoring casino takes an entry fee (a percentage between 6% and 10%, depending on the buy-in ) and distributes the rest, hence the prize money increasing with more players. In 2024, entry fees across all events range from $ 300 to $ 250,000, the latter being for the Super High Roller event. The Main Event, which is the highlight of the entire WSOP festival, has a buy-in of $ 10,000. In the 2005 Main Event, US$ 52,818,610 in prize money

6232-463: The strategy is thus so "close to optimal" that "it can't be beaten with statistical significance within a lifetime of human poker playing." World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker ( WSOP ) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment . It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of

6314-403: The variety of games played require a broader knowledge of poker. The first $ 50,000 event, conducted as a H.O.R.S.E. tournament, was won by Chip Reese in 2006 . In 2010 , the $ 50,000 event changed from H.O.R.S.E. to an "8-game" format, adding no-limit hold 'em, pot-limit Omaha, and 2–7 triple draw to the mix, and was rechristened The Poker Players Championship , with Michael Mizrachi winning

6396-444: The winners of nine or more bracelets (Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson, and Phil Hellmuth) would participate in the revamped TOC at Caesars Palace . Mike Matusow won the first prize of $ 1 million (US), and all the players at the final table were guaranteed a minimum of $ 25,000 for the eighth and ninth-place finishers. During a break in the final table of the 2005 Main Event on July 16, Harrah's announced that eleven properties — including

6478-399: The years, the tournament has grown in both the number of events and in the number of participants. Each year, the WSOP culminates with the $ 10,000 no-limit hold'em "Main Event," which, since 2004, has attracted entrants numbering in the thousands. The victor receives a multi-million dollar cash prize and a bracelet, which has become the most coveted award a poker player can win. The winner of

6560-472: Was distributed among 560 players, with US$ 7.5 million as the first prize. The 2006 Main Event, won by Jamie Gold , was the largest single poker tournament by prize pool or by entrant numbers in history; Gold pocketed US$ 12 million for his victory. In July 2010, it was announced that the winner of the 2010 Main Event would receive just under US$ 9 million. The 2023 Main Event took the record for entries, first-place prize, and prize pool. The 2024 Main Event set

6642-714: Was held at Crown's Melbourne Casino from April 4–15, 2013 and featured five bracelet events in the series. In 2015, the WSOP International Circuit was launched, with rounds in Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa. The winners of each tournament join the WSOP Circuit winners to play the WSOP Global Casino Championship. The International Circuit has expanded to 13 tournaments for

6724-539: Was introduced in the form of $ 100 buy-in Stud Poker Tournament. Jackie McDaniels won that event to become the first ladies champion. She won one of the smallest prizes ($ 5,580) in WSOP history. By 2007, the popularity of the Ladies Event had grown to the point that it became the first ladies-only event to have a prize pool greater than $ 1,000,000. Seven card stud was the game for the event's first two decades, but

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