Quite a few players have been asking about the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Events.
WSOP Main Event takes place in Las Vegas once a year and is the $10,000 Main Event buy-in that is televised. The rest of the year, the WSOP gives players throughout the country a chance to play in the Circuit Events.
These Circuit Events have Ring Events and Non-Ring events. Simply means that if you win a Ring Event you have a coveted WSOP ring to show off along with the tournament cash. The Ring Events also earn you points. These points accumulate throughout the year at every Circuit Ring Event that you place in. Explanation of the point system.
It is very exciting to attend a WSOP Circuit Event! Players that follow the circuit, pros and semi-pros, play in these events along with players with little or no experince. There are always a lot of lesser buy-ins ($250-$365 and $135 satellites) and one Circuit Main Event at each location and that buy-in is usually $1,675 (amounts change per year).
The number of players that will cash is usually 10% of the total number of players for that event. During the event, there will be televisions with the clock to let you know when blinds go up, and also the total number of players and payouts for each place, and will keep you updated on the number of players left.
If you have never played in a WSOP event, or in a casino, remember to take the amount of money with you that you can lose. Leave your ATM card at home. If you write a check for cash at a casino, or use their ATM, you will pay a very nice additional fee.
Quite a few APC players have made it a yearly trip to Tunica in January to the WSOP Circuit Event. They carpool and share rooms and the cost can be minimal. This years event is Thursday, January 24, 2013 through Monday, February 04, 2013.
Here is the schedule of tournaments in Tunica.
Every casino in Tunica with a poker room will have cash games and their regular tournament schedules (some of the buy-ins are as low as $60) while the Circuit Event will take place at Harrah’s.
Some words of advice. If you play Texas Hold’em and you make calls without thinking what the other player has (in other words, you don’t put them on a hand); if you don’t know what implied odds are; if you don’t know what the odds are for you to hit that flush or straight; if you play your favorite hand and call a raise with that 10, 5 off suit because you just love that hand; if you have three players ahead of you all-in and you make that call because you have live cards and it doesn’t dawn on you that one of the three already in have live cards; then, please, go watch the events and save your money to buy poker books to learn the intricacies of the game. You need luck to win a Circuit Event, or even place, as your hands must hold up, but if you don’t have the skill to know when to be in the hand in the first place, again, take only the amount of money you can lose.
However, being with friends on a road trip, free drinks, and sharing all the excitement will make for lasting memories.
Here is the rest of the Circuit Events Schedule.
You will note on the above schedule that Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina is hosting a WSOP Circuit Event April 4 through April 15, 2013. By then, they will have live dealers in their poker room.
The Atlanta Poker Club gives you different experiences at every venue and in every major tournament. If you come to play to drink and socialize, this is the place for you. If you come to practice for WSOP events…this is also the place for you because in any WSOP Circuit Event you have the wide range of playing styles from “don’t know shit and don’t care but I’ve got a lot of money to play with” to the pros who earn their living following the circuit. In the major tournaments at the APC you compete against a large field in the Grand Championship and in the APC Main Event just as you will at the Circuit Events. The Atlanta Poker Club is a perfect training ground and the rules are the same as in these Circuit Events. You will sit down at the table in any WSOP Circuit Event and feel comfortable and right at home.
