Every year in the city of Las Vegas, NV, thousands of professional and amateur poker players come together to play a bunch of tournaments known as the World Series of Poker. And of these tournaments, there is one tournament that is above all others, and it is known as the main event.
The main event is one of the main reasons so many poker players make the pilgrimage to Las Vegas each year. This game doesn’t have a cheap buy-in, and the price you could win is no paltry sum either. But the competition is fierce, and the tournament takes days to complete.
Whether or not you ever intend to play in the World Series of Poker, the main event is truly an event to behold. Keep reading to learn more about this iconic event and how it’s currently looking for the players of 2022 WSOP.
When is the Main Event?
The 2022 WSOP began on Tuesday, May 31st, 2022. After having the 2021 World Series of Poker played in November, the event is finally back on track as the COVID19 pandemic comes to an end.
The main event this year began on July 3rd, 2022. But because this tournament brings so many poker players together, multiple first days are needed to eliminate players. In 2021, this tournament had even more days because of a European Travel Ban being listed right as the main event began. This year it is mostly back to normal if you take a look at the chart below.
Date
Tournament
Sunday, July 3rd 11am
1A
Monday, July 4th, 11am
1B
Tuesday, July 5th, 11am
1C
Wednesday, July 6th, 11am
1D
Thursday, July 7th
2A, 2B, and 2C
Friday, July 8th
2D
Saturday, July 9th
3
Sunday, July 10th
4
Monday, July 11th
5
Tuesday, July 12th
6
Wednesday, July 13th
7
Friday, July 15th
Final Table
Saturday, July 16th
Final Table
Players are selected to move on to the next day of the main event based on their chips remaining for the first few days of the event. Once day 7 arrives, the tournament continues until a certain level of players is reached. Only 9 players will go to the first day of the final table, and only 4 of those will continue to the second day of the final table.
As you can see, to make it to the final table, you basically have to do nothing but eat, sleep, and play poker for days on end. Thursday, July 14th, is a day off for the players who have made it that far (all 9 of them), but because Poker is such a mentally demanding sport, by this point, it isn’t enough for most players. But with the final prize money in sight, many go forward on adrenaline alone with their eyes on the prize.
What Do You Need to Play in the WSOP Main Event?
Today, July 7th, and tomorrow July 8th, are your last opportunity to register for this year’s WSOP Main Event, and you can only do so until 11 am. You cannot rebuy in if you have already bought in and been eliminated on one of the day one’s of this tournament. Don’t jump in a car and drive over just yet, however, as there are a few things you will need to register.
First of all, even if you are coming from a European country, like the UK, where gambling is legal at 18, you must be 21 to gamble in the US. While a COVID vaccination isn’t required this year, it is recommended that you wear a mask as you play because numerous players have already reported coming down with COVID during the WSOP. Unfortunately, if you get COVID during the main event, you are not allowed to re-enter later and must forfeit your position if you get a positive test.
Obviously, you will also need the aforementioned $10,000 buy-in, which is no small sum. This is required to be in cash and paid at the casino when you register. Once all of the entrants have had an opportunity to register, the prize pool and the final number of entries will be announced on day 3 of the tournament.
Who’s Still in the Main Event?
Because it’s still so early in the event, there are thousands of players left in the running for this year’s grand prize. Below is the number of players who registered on each day one, with the approximate number of those who get to move on to day two included as well.
Day
Registered Players
Players Going to Day 2
1A
900
(not mentioned)
1B
880
634
1C
1,800
1,376
1D
4,350
~3,500
Of the players going to Day 2 this year, there are some notable poker names returning to the table that fans everywhere are hoping will once again reach poker glory. They are:
- Koray Aldemir
- Chris Moneymaker
- Greg Merson
- Joe Hachem
- Johnny Chan
It is much too soon to say if any of these players have a chance to win the WSOP this year, but it is great that they have made it past day 1! So far, the WSOP 2022 has 7,930 players this year, but remember that registration is not yet closed. Many are hoping that more will register on both Day 2’s of the event in order to break the previous record of 8,872 players, which was achieved in 2006.
Who Wins Money in the Main Event?
Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t just the winner or even the top three finishers that win money from the WSOP main event. In fact, usually, about 1000 players will earn money from playing this monumental event. While the money made at the lower levels is a paltry sum compared to the grand prize, the main event can still be a good payday for professional players even if they don’t win overall.
The main prize for 2022 has not yet been announced as registration is not closed, but typically the prize pool is in the millions, and the prizes for as low as 300th place (sometimes lower) can still be significant.
For example, even if you were in the main event and finished 226th, you will still walk away with over $30,000 pretax, which isn’t too bad, seeing as you were likely eliminated on day 4 or 5. But before you start gearing up to play next year’s main, hoping to make a little extra cash, remember that the buy-in itself is $10,000, and there are over 8,000 opponents battling you to make it to the top.
But if you want to start honing your poker skills to give yourself a chance at winning the 2023 WSOP, start by learning how to become a professional poker player in our blog article. Then, you will need to practice quite a bit to reach the legions of the great. If you don’t live near a casino, this can be quite difficult unless, of course, you decide to gamble online at a bitcoin casino like MintDice.com. MintDice offers several different poker games under its ‘Casino Games’ tab, which can be played using Bitcoin.
No matter what you decide to do, best of luck to all of you playing this year’s WSOP main event!
This article was originally posted to MintDice.