It is that time of year, the most glorious time of year for poker players and fans around the world. The 2017 World Series of Poker (WSOP) officially opens today. For nearly two months, poker players will flock to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to try to live the dream and win one 74 gold bracelets, while others will dive right into the juicy round-the-clock cash games. It should be a fun time once again; it will be interesting to see the stories that unfold.
Though Tuesday is the first day of the World Series of Poker, there are no bracelet events today. This opening day is reserved for a number of Daily Deepstacks events, all of which run for just one day. The first – a $235 No-Limit Hold’em tournament – begins shortly, at 5:00pm PT.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 31st, is when the WSOP bracelet events start. As has been the tradition, Event #1 is the $565 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em Event. As that is restricted to casino employees only (from anywhere, not just the Rio), the first “open” event is Event #2, the $10,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em Championship, which begins on Wednesday at 3:00pm local time.
Each team in the tag team event must have two to four players. Aside from that, the only rule that really differentiates the tourney from other ones is that every player must participate in at least one round of blinds during the tournament. Players can tag out at any point, provided they are not in the middle of a hand.
Here is the bracelet event schedule for the first week of the 2017 World Series of Poker:
Wednesday, May 31st
Event #1: $565 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em – 11:00am (2-day event)
Event #2: $10,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em Championship – 3:00pm (3-day event)
Thursday, June 1st
Event #3: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em SHOOTOUT – 11:00am (3-day event)
Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better – 3:00pm (3-day event)
Friday, June 2nd
Event #5A: The COLOSSUS III – $565 No-Limit Hold’em – 10:00am (6-day event)
Event #5B: The COLOSSUS III – $565 No-Limit Hold’em – 4:00pm (6-day event)
Event #6: $111,111 HIGH ROLLER for ONE DROP No-Limit Hold’em (4-day event)
Saturday, June 3rd
Event #5C: The COLOSSUS III – $565 No-Limit Hold’em – 10:00am (6-day event)
Event #5D: The COLOSSUS III – $565 No-Limit Hold’em – 4:00pm (6-day event)
Event #7: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball (3-day event)
Event #8: $333 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold’em (1-day event)
As you can see, Week 1 is dominated by the third running of the $565 The Colossus tournament. There are six total starting flights (the final two are Sunday); players are permitted to re-enter once per flight. One unique aspect of this tournament is that the money bubble will pop every starting flight, so those who make it to Day 2 will know they have already cashed. It is also, therefore, possible to cash multiple times by reaching the money during one starting flight, busting out before the end of it, trying again in a subsequent starting flight, and cashing in that one.
The WSOP Main Event will begin Satuday, July 8th with the first of three starting flights. As you may have read (hopefully here), there will no longer be a November Nine. Instead, when the tournament is down to nine players, there will be just a two day break before restarting. The final table will run for three days starting Thursday, July 20th.