World Series of Poker: No Limit Texas Hold'em Championship Guide

Most people know the World Series of Poker as the pinnacle of competitive poker play. The best players of the world gather in order to determine who was the best. The main event is the no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament which can attract thousands of players to try their hand. What do you need to know in order to watch or play?

Buy Ins

Players are required to submit a $10,000 buy in to get a seat in the tournament. If that sounds like a steep amount, just remember that with the number of players it usually means one great pot for the winner.

Blinds

In Texas Hold'em poker the player to the left of the dealer button is required to bet blind. This is known as the small blind and is half of the minimum bet for the round. To the left of the small blind is the big blind. The big blind has to match the minimum bet. Blinds vary from round to round, growing larger and larger as the tournament goes on.

When it gets down to only two players the player with the dealer button posts the small blind, while his opponent is the big blind.

The blinds for the World Series of Poker No Limit Texas Hold'em Championship begin at $50 for the small blind and $100 for the big blind. The blinds are scheduled to raise incrementally every 120 minutes. Each time the blinds raise the tournament goes up another "level." At the end of round one the blinds will be set at $150 and $300, respectively.

Breaks

Breaks take place after every level of play when the blinds are raised. All breaks last 20 minutes, allowing players to regroup.

On days 1-5 a dinner break is provided after playing two levels and last 90 minutes. For the remaining days of the tournament dinners breaks happen after three levels of play, again for 90 minutes.

Betting

The World Series of Poker Texas Hold'em Championship is played with no limits, meaning that any bet over the minimum is allowed. Each bet must match or exceed any raises by other players in the same round. If you have already matched the bet you can check, or pass, to stay in the round.

Tie Breaking

In the case of a tie the pot will be split evenly between the winning players. If there is an odd number of chips the lowest remaining chip after an even split will be given to a player based on rules that apply to specific hands.

Number of Players

The number of players at the beginning of the tournament has no limit. In practice this usually results in over 6,000 players taking part. On day seven the players will play until only 27 players remain. Day eight sees the field cut down to only nine players.

The Final Table

After the tournament field has been reduced to only nine players play is stopped. The final table takes place in November.

Sources

http://www.wsop.com/pdfs/2010/10878-structure.pdf

http://www.wsop.com