How To Pay For The $10,000 WSOP Main Event?

[Phoenix Wright]

Ever since the poker boom following Moneymaker's 2003 run, the attendance for the wsop Main Event has skyrocketed. There are literally thousands of entrants each year now and each entrant must "pay" for the expensive buy-in of $10,000. Since MTT poker comes with more variance than something more consistent like cash games, it requires more buy-ins for a bankroll (since you win significant money in MTTs less often, you need enough of a bankroll to cover inevitable downswings). MTT professional Chris "Jesus" Ferguson prefers to not ever spend more than 1% of their bankroll on any one event. This means that the WSOP Main Event buy-in of $10,000 requires $1 Million dollars! (10,000 * 100 = 1,000,000) Well, that is if you are strictly disciplined with bankroll that is; obviously many players would consider this iconic event an exception "taking a shot" with playing in.

A $10,000 buy-in is not easy to come up with (more if you play each year and most players certainly do not have a million dollars already in a poker bankroll), so it got me thinking:

How do most players "pay" for their Main Event seat? I'm especially interested in hearing from those who have participated in that event themselves

Here are some ways I can think of "paying" for it:

- Saving up and paying 100% out of pocket. It is costly this way, but your potential winnings don't have to be shared with anyone else and I know at least some people save up $10,000 for it - even if it is just a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience.

- Poker staking. It might be the case that $10,000 is tougher to come up with alone than say $1,000 from 10 people etc. Obviously, you'll owe some prize money winnings to your "investors" but at least it pays for the buy-in and you get to play.

- Satellite Tournaments! Clearly much cheaper if you are fortunate enough to "win" your seat. Is this the most common way to get into the WSOP Main Event, or are there more popular methods I'm leaving out?

p.s. No serious interests in playing any WSOP events right now; just working my way through some CardsChat freerolls, but I'm just curious for those who have participated in this famous event

 

[KRANKES]

Impossible for me. It's not only the 10.000 buy in, Vegas is pretty expensive. A week hotel, food, the flight makes it easy 15.000. I'll stay at CC Freerolls until they put up an entrance + accomodation as 1st prize

 

[BelFish]

If you're going to live another 100 years, then you need a $ 1M bankroll
But you don't have to have all this money at once. You just need to have an extra $ 10K per year...

 

[Collin Moshman]

Definitely selling action, either online / social media / friends from your homegame.

Even most pros are selling (or at least swapping) some percent of themselves. I think this holds true even for nosebleed players who don't need to. They usually have at least some percent swapped with friends.

Every year that I've played, even the one where I satellited in, I sold and swapped a percent of myself.

 

[Phoenix Wright]

Impossible for me. It's not only the 10.000 buy in, Vegas is pretty expensive. A week hotel, food, the flight makes it easy 15.000. I'll stay at CC Freerolls until they put up an entrance + accomodation as 1st prize

Yes, I've also considered travel costs and Vegas is surely going to me more outrageous priced during that time of the year because they know the WSOP Main Event is going to draw people with money in. I guess that would be a big advantage if you lived in Las Vegas; almost no travel costs. Like you, I live nowhere near Las Vegas - so it would cost me a lot as well.

Definitely selling action, either online / social media / friends from your homegame.

Even most pros are selling (or at least swapping) some percent of themselves. I think this holds true even for nosebleed players who don't need to. They usually have at least some percent swapped with friends.

Every year that I've played, even the one where I satellited in, I sold and swapped a percent of myself.

Wow! That is cool that you've played every year. I didn't think this, but now not surprised that it is mentioned

Just curious, how much "percent swapping" typically goes on? Not how much you had yourself, but more what is common. Do most WSOP Main Event "regulars" just grab as many people willing to stake them as possible (like via social media), or are they much more selective for only closer friends and relatives once they don't need the money as much?

 

[Alizona]

LOL, I've been asking myself this same question for the past 15 years.

Gotta have a dream. But I'm pretty sure it will always stay a dream for me, sinking 10K into a single tournament when my usual level online is a $3.30 MTT, well lets just say I'd have to bink an awful lot of them to win my 10K that way.

P.S. I would never want to be staked, its only my personal opinion but I am not a fan of staking, I believe 100% that I should always be playing on my own dime. I know others disagree with my take, I've had plenty of conversations about the topic over the years. I will never be a fan of staking. If I win, I want that money to be mine, I don't want to have to split it.

 

[Alizona]

Wow! That is cool that you've played every year. I didn't think this, but now not surprised that it is mentioned

If you re-read his words, I think you may have mis-interpreted them. Totally understand why, the sentence is easy to read in they way that you read it... but I think what Collin is saying is that he DIDN'T play every year, but in the years that he DID play, he did it by selling or swapping pieces of himself to do so.

Also... swapping pieces of each other reduces your variance, that is why players swap pieces. The concern over so many pros swapping pieces of themselves with each other is the potential for "soft playing", because we never know who has swapped what percentage of someone else, and I think everyone can understand the potential for those players to not want to harm the players they've swapped with. I hope players have perfect integrity so they would never soft play, but I'm a bit of a pessimist in that regard when it comes to humans and honesty and ethics and morals. Perhaps I'm more than just a bit of a pessimist. LOL

 

[Phoenix Wright]

If you re-read his words, I think you may have mis-interpreted them. Totally understand why, the sentence is easy to read in they way that you read it... but I think what Collin is saying is that he DIDN'T play every year, but in the years that he DID play, he did it by selling or swapping pieces of himself to do so....

Ah yes, you are correct. I guess I just got too excited reading this because I'm impressed that someone answered this thread so quickly and attended the WSOP Main Event even just once

 

[CheezeWiz]

Good Discussion Topic...

Seems to me that as mentioned, 10k is such a huge % of most peoples bankroll, so to me that means it makes the most sense to satellite in or sell a significant % (if you can).

The other two options are 1) You got enough money that it is less than 1%, so no worries, just play, or 2) Be very wreckless and enter, and hope for the best (kind of like a lottery ticket). #2 is not recommended, but that does not mean it might not work... I am just guessing that the majority of winners fall into the "Wreckless Category", so there is that.

I go back and forth in my mind as to whether I would like to play in the WSOP... kind of like a bucket list item... I could afford it, if I wanted to... not because it is 1% or less of my poker bankroll... I spend virtually no money on poker... but I do love the game.

I have had some friends say, why don't you go play in WSOP? You can afford it. "We" would buy a %.... I always say "Not Interested"... 1st, I think the game would be brutal, 2nd I would need a lot of luck...lol. The couple people I know who have played and have cashed tell horror stories about how brutal the schedule is...falling asleep / more or less... and folding AA etc...lol.

I did come close to winning an entry once in a live game several years ago... finished 10th in a game for a seat out of 700+ at a local casino. It was a bar poker league state final... freeroll. That is probably as close as I will come, and I am ok with that...lol!

I guess the bottom line in my opinion is... If you have the means and want to do it... Go For It! If you want to do it but know that it is an unwise % of bankroll, try to satellite in or get some backers to make the $'s risked more reasonable.

Best of Luck On The Felt, All!

CheezeWiz

 

[Poker Orifice]

If you re-read his words, I think you may have mis-interpreted them. Totally understand why, the sentence is easy to read in they way that you read it... but I think what Collin is saying is that he DIDN'T play every year, but in the years that he DID play, he did it by selling or swapping pieces of himself to do so.

Also... swapping pieces of each other reduces your variance, that is why players swap pieces. The concern over so many pros swapping pieces of themselves with each other is the potential for "soft playing", because we never know who has swapped what percentage of someone else, and I think everyone can understand the potential for those players to not want to harm the players they've swapped with. I hope players have perfect integrity so they would never soft play, but I'm a bit of a pessimist in that regard when it comes to humans and honesty and ethics and morals. Perhaps I'm more than just a bit of a pessimist. LOL

How many entrants are in the WSOP Main Event? What are the chances of being on the same table with players you've swapped pieces with? Do you think they'd do something less than trying to play each hand optimally... ie. trying to extract max. value? Seems very Very unlikely to me.

 

[Phoenix Wright]

The WSOP Main Event has seen a huge attendance boost ever since Moneymaker in 2003. Since 2006, the WSOP Main Event has been roughly 63,000 to 72,000 entrants though. This makes it unlikely you'll end up at the same table with someone you've swapped pieces with, but I'm curious to hear what the rules and/or ethics on that situation would be if it did come up. Maybe you could request a table change or something? I'm not sure if you can do this in an MTT though; plus, this only goes so far - can't move them to another table if they both make the Final Table for instance

 

[johnnylawford]

roughly 6,300 to 7,200 entrants though.

I think that's what you meant as the Colossus only had around 34K entries it's first year. I would imagine almost everyone at the event is a partially staked pro, celebrity/business person, once-in-a-lifetime players (people who pay out of pocket to play once in their lives) and satellite players.

I've only entered the little 1:1 drop at the 2017 WSOP, but I was at a table with someone who had entered a lot of the cheaper events as a 50th birthday present from their spouse. I could see a lot of people celebrating their retirement or major life events by entering the main based on that.

 

[SPANKYSN]

The Main Event is way out of my league in terms of disposable income as well as experience. I played in the 2019 WSOP Colossus with the group from Cardschat organized by Debi and Tammy. It was nerve wracking and exhilarating at the same time...you could feel the electricity in the air...great experience for a $400 buy-in.

 

[Chief talking bull]

Step satellites are the way to go. I won my way into $10,000 WPT events twice doing it.

 

[Phoenix Wright]

The Main Event is way out of my league in terms of disposable income as well as experience. I played in the 2019 WSOP Colossus with the group from Cardschat organized by Debi and Tammy. It was nerve wracking and exhilarating at the same time...you could feel the electricity in the air...great experience for a $400 buy-in.

Pardon my poker ignorance, but I'm not familiar with the "Colossus" event. Is this a regular event for WPT or is it something CardsChat exclusive? Also, is it online or live poker? Not that I have $400 for such an event right now, but who knows after winning some more freerolls on cardschat?

Step satellites are the way to go. I won my way into $10,000 WPT events twice doing it.

Congratulations on your satellite seats

 

[SPANKYSN]

The Colossus is one of theWSOP annual events. There are over 60 different events, not just the $10 K main event. CardsChat has sent a “team” for a few years now. It is just a way for players to meet in person.

 

[dallam]

Nice thread, and you pointed-out the most common possible options as well.

Obviously these big MTTs are having satties, and if you are lucky enough last steps even offering travelling & accomodation fees. In online area I saw many big pros are making there way by trying satties at first, and if they are not succeed, maybe push themselves directly if their bankroll let them to do.

Many staking groups have talented upcoming players as well, and they can decide how much they wanna support their players into these tournaments or pay the whole bill to get in. It is working on an individual level too. The point is that you get x% of the buy-in, and if you win money, you have to pay them back x%.


Many pros are becomming winners on others money, so you don't have to be afraid of getting 1.000.000M to compete in a 10.000$ one. You just have to be really flexible when it comes to tourneys which are out of your bankroll.
Also, I have read that there are points where most poker players stuck - winning one on low levels, but becoming loosing on medium, high levels. So to boarden your boundaries, you must stick to your managment and continue the learning process, but if you wanna make it into a bigger MTT, play satties or getting staked if you cant afford it.

 

[Poker_Mike]

Ever since the poker boom following Moneymaker's 2003 run, the attendance for the WSOP Main Event has skyrocketed. There are literally thousands of entrants each year now and each entrant must "pay" for the expensive buy-in of $10,000. Since MTT poker comes with more variance than something more consistent like cash games, it requires more buy-ins for a bankroll (since you win significant money in MTTs less often, you need enough of a bankroll to cover inevitable downswings). MTT professional Chris "Jesus" Ferguson prefers to not ever spend more than 1% of their bankroll on any one event. This means that the WSOP Main Event buy-in of $10,000 requires $1 Million dollars! (10,000 * 100 = 1,000,000) Well, that is if you are strictly disciplined with bankroll that is; obviously many players would consider this iconic event an exception "taking a shot" with playing in.

A $10,000 buy-in is not easy to come up with (more if you play each year and most players certainly do not have a million dollars already in a poker bankroll), so it got me thinking:

How do most players "pay" for their Main Event seat? I'm especially interested in hearing from those who have participated in that event themselves

Here are some ways I can think of "paying" for it:

- Saving up and paying 100% out of pocket. It is costly this way, but your potential winnings don't have to be shared with anyone else and I know at least some people save up $10,000 for it - even if it is just a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience.

- Poker staking. It might be the case that $10,000 is tougher to come up with alone than say $1,000 from 10 people etc. Obviously, you'll owe some prize money winnings to your "investors" but at least it pays for the buy-in and you get to play.

- Satellite Tournaments! Clearly much cheaper if you are fortunate enough to "win" your seat. Is this the most common way to get into the WSOP Main Event, or are there more popular methods I'm leaving out?

p.s. No serious interests in playing any WSOP events right now; just working my way through some CardsChat freerolls, but I'm just curious for those who have participated in this famous event

Poker clubs that have weekly tournaments to send their top players to the ME.

Some of these clubs have stipulations that you share winnings with all club members.

The eventual goal is to send every member of the club to the ME.

Members have to pay for all scheduled weekly club tournaments even if they can't play them. But they can designate a substitute player.

There have been some ME final table players as a result of this setup.

 

[P86]

For me the only way would be to satellite from 100$ which is equivalent to winning a tournament or maybe win a ticket or something like that