Is $10K enough ?

Every year I'm half expecting them to increase the buy-in of the main event. After all, in terms of entry fee, the WSOP has been equalled by the Poker Million (if that happens, there is still a lot of scepticism over here at the moment) and doesn't Tunica have a 10K buyin comp ? And it has been 10K since inception in 1972 which is a long time in inflationary terms.


On the other hand, the competition is still the biggest in terms of prize money. I suppose I'm really saying "is 10K enough to keep the riff-raff out", but the riff-raff (joke) don't want to be kept out and the top players must welcome the amount of dead or nearly dead money in the tournament. It just seems that 600+ runners is an awful lot for what is considered the World Championship, does this introduce too much of a luck factor ?


I'm just rambling now, comments welcome anyway.


Andy.

Well, a lot of the dead money is in the form of really rich guys who can pony up the entire 10K in cash. These guys can still pay cash if it's 20K. But, if the price goes to 20K, then a lot of folks who are good, medium stakes players will be priced out of taking a shot through the super satellites.


So, you might just be cutting off a lot of the second tier players, and many of the third, but probably not that many of the bottom tier.


Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

for some time I have expected an increase---two reason to do it


FIRST- as you mentioned, inflation


SECOND-and this probably should be the first reason--to reduce the crowd, which would reduce some of the gripes we hear


if it was for me to decide, I would raise it 2,000 per year till --- decide each year after seeing effect


as for the satellites, I doubt that 200 would slow them very much

10K is plenty, but I think the prize pool should continue to grow and there should be qualifying requirements...


The TOC was trying to do this, and failed, but the WSOP should be able to sweeten the pot with some sponsor money to create the "dead money" and require a tournament or satellite victory to enter.


Everyone likes the idea of an "open" event, where any Joe can plunk down 10G and play with the best. But other sports have "open" events too, like the US Open golf tournament. Yes, anyone can enter, but you do have to qualify first.


In my opinion, the best format to determine the World Champion of Poker would be a tournament where all the best are competing for a prize pool which is at least partially sponsored. There needs to be a significant entry cost, or it wouldn't be poker, but 10K seems ample. The chance for the everyday Joe to compete with the best comes in the form of qualifying and satellite tournaments. At least that way they've demonstrated the ability to win. I would suggest these criteria:


QUALIFYING CRITERIA FOR WSOP MAIN EVENT:

1. Any WSOP bracelet gets you lifetime qualified

2. Final table appearance at any of the current year's WSOP events

3. Top 20 in "player of the year" standings from the previous year.

4. First place in any designated main event from the previous year

5. Qualifying in designated satellite tournaments.


-Craig H

Personally the most money I have ever paid for a tournament out of pocket is 2K plus entry fee. Therefore I think 10K is plenty. We are talking about a very fascinatng game when discussing NL holdem. It is a game where the learning curve is very steep in the beginning and flattens out after several thousand hours of play. This is not intended as a tongue and cheek remark. It is difficult to play say 3000 hours of NLholdem. One would have to enter many tournaments and show very good results to achieve this. There are at least five posters on this forum who have demonstrated the skill and accumen to win the WSOP main event. I think that raising the buyin would discriminate unnecessarly against some top level competition. Poker is an enjoyable hobby for me. It is not my life nor do my results in any way effect how I live. Eric Seidel told me "Chico I am not jeolous of the hands you get but I am jeolous of all the action you get on them." This is the essence of poker as is winning money.

Any cash transaction of $10,000.01 or more must be reported to the federal government (the intent is to deter money laundering). Filling out the form is a nuisance, and many people resent what they view as an intrusion. This is a reason why the $10,000 buy in has never increased, and why there has never been any additional fee. A fee would raise the total transaction above the reporting threshhold and trigger the reporting requirement for every player.

Thanks, I didn't know that. Makes perfect sense now !


Andy.

Andy,


With the upsurge in entrants to the WSOP to

over six hundred, it's becoming as much an endurance contest as one of skill.Even if Tex Morgan's TEARS program is introduced, we may well

be looking at a six-day event before long.In the

event that TEARS comes in, the limit increases

will be more gradual, and the 'dead money' will

stay around longer.I believe $10K is enough.


perfidious

Seems i am in the minority....


Raise the buy-in to $25,000. Super satellite entries spending in the neighborhood of $280 each and single tables in the neighborhood of $2600 each is reasonable to me. This should bring the full field down to a managable number of players and keep the payout schedule desirable.


Okay....i'll go back to my crack pipe now...


= )