Changes to look for at the 2011 World Series of Poker

I know, I know, the 2010 World Series of Poker isn’t even close to being over yet, and I’m already talking 2011! But that’s the beauty of poker; the game is constantly evolving and moving in all different directions -sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.

Case in point, the decision to add multiple $1,000 buy-in events to the schedule for 2010, due to the 6,000 player turnout the single $1k event received in 2009. Ok, here is one the WSOP brass definitely misfired on -and I mean misfired like an all-in bluff on the river when your opponent has the stone clod nuts! I understand the logic: If we registered 6,000 players for the $1k event in 2009, then we can surely register 5,000 players multiple times in 2010! Unfortunately, the registration numbers for these events have been on the way down while the $1,500 buy-in events have been on the rise! Not to mention the added logistical problems of spreading two Day 1’s for the $1k events.

Here’s a numbers comparison thus far:

$1,000 NLHE tournaments - 4,345: 3,042: 3,289: 3,102: 3,128: 3,844

$1,500 NLHE tournaments - 2,092: 2,341: 2,563: 2,394: 2,521: 3,097: 2,543

With these lines basically bisecting as the WSOP goes on, there is really no reason for the WSOP to think they can’t attract bigger fields for the $1,500 tournaments if they eliminate the $1k tourneys. Furthermore, since the $1,000 tournaments must attract a 50% larger field to produce the same prize money, I’m quite certain the WSOP will drop down to simply one or two of the $1,000 tournaments for 2011 -again, there are the logistical problems to consider with the $1k tournaments as well.

Another change I’m expecting to see is the addition of more mid-range buy-in tournaments. The $5k buy-ins are drawing well this year, and dropping some of the championship events like 2-7 Triple Draw or Pot Limit Holdem to a $5k buy-in would probably more than double the size of the field. As it stands now, the same 200-250 people are the only ones entering the $10k events. In all honesty, no WSOP event should have a first place prize of less than $100k -like some of these events do– they should make sure that each event has a $250k+ first-place payday.

Finally, I’m expecting to see more 6-Max, Shootout, and Heads-Up tournaments in 2011. The Internet has pushed these games ahead in popularity over the typical full ring games, and players seem to love the shootout format, which in many ways mirrors the STEPS Sit & Go’s that are popular at online poker rooms across the Internet. Heads-Up tournaments do present a logistical nightmare, but if the WSOP coordinators can figure out away to get around this problem, a $2,500 buy-in Heads-Up tournament could be very, very, popular. Maybe go cyber with the first few rounds, or have two heads-up matches at each table with the dealers occupying the ends of the tables.