The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is an annual and most prestigious tournament poker competition. The series is not only famous but also expensive. Buy-ins are thousands of dollars, and prizes are hundreds of thousands and even millions.
The winners of the tournaments receive not only prize money but also gold commemorative bracelets. These are symbols of a championship, like championship belts in boxing. A multi-bracelet player is among the world's elite.
The WSOP takes place annually in Las Vegas resorts in the summer and ends with the main tournament called the Main Event. The buy-in for it costs $10,000, and the winner receives several million dollars. When these world poker tournaments first began, the winnings were not as significant.
History of World Poker Tournaments
The WSOP has been held annually since 1970 in different resorts. Every year there were more participants. In 1971, only six poker players participated in the Main Event, and Johnny Moss received $30,000 for the victory. In 2006, 8,772 people gathered at the tables of the main event, with the main prize amounting to $12 million.
The World Series of Poker was boosted by the Moneymaker effect. In 2003, the main event was won by an accountant from Tennessee named Chris Moneymaker. It is noteworthy that he got to the Main Event table by winning a series of satellites on PokerStars. Chris took the prize for $86 and borrowed money from his father for a flight to Vegas. For first place, he received $2.5 million, launching a poker boom in the United States. In 2004, 2.5 times more people came to play in the tournament.
Chris is far from the only bright figure whose name is inextricably linked with the WSOP. In fact, his winning days lasted a much shorter time than others. There are players with colossal amounts of prize money and multiple gold bracelets from these world poker tournaments.
WSOP Record Holders
Let's start with those who most often won tournaments within the World Series of Poker and received bracelets for it. The absolute champion in this indicator is Phil Hellmuth, who has 17 bracelets. The closest pursuer is Phil Ivey with 11, followed by Erik Seidel, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson with 10 each.
Legendary old-school player Johnny Moss has a total of 9 bracelets. Just behind him is Daniel Negreanu of Canada, who recently picked up his 7th WSOP bracelet in 2024.
Other superstars like Stu Unger, and Chris Ferguson each have bracelets.
Here are the top 5 record holders for prize money at the WSOP:
| Place | Name | Country | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | $23,398,771 |
| 2 | Antonio Esfandiari | United States | $22,365,691 |
| 3 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | $18,028,654 |
| 4 | Dan Colman | United States | $17,413,782 |
| 5 | Justin Bonomo | United States | $16,552,357 |
Who has the most cashes at WSOP events?
| Place | Name | Country | Cashes | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roland Israelashvili | United States | 507 | $4,007,688 |
| 2 | Arkadiy Tsinis | United States | 416 | $2,688,248 |
| 3 | Ari Engel | United States | 331 | $2,827,014 |
| 4 | Daniel Buzgon | United States | 267 | $1,673,582 |
| 5 | Ian Steinman | United States | 266 | $1,586,406 |
If you want to enter into WSOP events, or World Poker Tour events (WPT), there are satellites online to do it cheaply.
For the WSOP – wait until the schedule is published for the current year, then head to sites like GGPoker that partner with world poker tournaments. They’ll offer online bracelets and ways to satellite into live tournaments.
For the WPT, you can easily enter satellites on the company’s online poker room, WPT Global. The platform will let you play all of the poker games you usually do, with a fantastic welcome bonus and the chance to satellite into international events.
How to Play Poker Online?
On our website, you can find all the large and reliable poker rooms, and read detailed reviews with player feedback.
All poker rooms try to attract new players and retain old ones by inventing profitable promotions and promo offers. We collect them in a separate section, where there is always up-to-date information. However, some players aren’t ready to invest in their game yet, which is fine.
There’s another way to play poker online for real money.
Freeroll tournaments are a great way for players to improve their skills without risking any money. Since there is no cost to enter, players can practice and hone their strategy in a competitive environment. A few key benefits:
- Players can experiment with new strategies and tactics. With nothing to lose financially, it's the perfect opportunity to test out different approaches.
- The large fields in freerolls closely mimic the experience of big real money tournaments. Navigating through big fields is an important tournament skill.
- Freerolls attract players of all skill levels, giving newer players a chance to gain experience against tougher competition. Learning to adjust to different opponent playing styles is critical.
- The long multi-table structure is good practice for the endurance aspect of tournament poker. Maintaining focus and managing a stack over many hours is great training.
- While the monetary reward may be small, the competition in the late stages of a freeroll is still intense, which is good for practicing high-pressure situations.
