One of the most talked about events on the recently released schedule for the 2015 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is Event #64, the first-ever online WSOP bracelet event. Some people think it is a great idea, some think it is terrible, but regardless of what people think about it, the event is on the schedule and it is going to happen. Some of the critics, though, might be satisfied now that the WSOP has announced that a key change will be made to the tournament.
The adjustment will affect the final table. As it was originally announced, the bulk of the tournament will take place on WSOP.com on July 2nd in Nevada, but once the field is narrowed to just two players, the tournament will pause. The next day, those two players will compete in a live heads-up match at the Rio in Las Vegas for the bracelet.
Many people were not thrilled with the idea of the heads-up portion being live while the rest was played online. Some objected to the bracelet event being played online at all, while others just did not like the inconsistency of a hybrid online/live tournament. Another objection was it simply seemed like a waste of time to play all the way down to two players and wait until the next day to finish it up; if you’re going to do live, some said, have the entire final table be played at the Rio.
As it turns out, the WSOP heard the critics and have now decided to make the live portion of the online event six-handed rather than heads-up, which will probably make for a more fun and interesting second day. Additionally, the schedule has been changed slightly to alleviate timing concerns. Rather than the final table being held immediately on July 3rd, it is shifting to July 4th. The reason for this is to give players who, despite being in Nevada, are not close to Las Vegas plenty of time to travel to the Rio for the conclusion of the event. That break also helps facilitate the increase from two players to six, as there is a much better chance that everyone can make it to the casino to play in person.
Certainly, switching from online to live poker mid-stream will require a change in strategy for the players involved, but that’s part of the fun in this writer’s opinion. Players will go from a few seconds to make decisions on July 2nd to as much time as they want (barring someone calling clock) on July 4th. Players will go from possibly having online poker tracking software to help them to having to rely on just their brains. A lack of clothes will hopefully be exchanged for a full wardrobe.
Though there is also a WSOP.com in New Jersey, the bracelet event is not being run on that site. There are likely two reasons for this, both logistical: 1) it would be way too much to ask for someone who makes the final six to fly from New Jersey to Nevada on a day’s notice and 2) the two WSOP.com sites (Nevada and New Jersey), so it is not possible to have a single tournament with residents of both states.
