World Series of Poker 2008 Schedule Announced

As much as I am pissed about my earlier NLHE cash game debacle (see last post), I am re-energized again, as Harrah's has announced the 2008 Schedule for the World Series of Poker.

Some notes about the schedule:

(1) Event 8 is one of the coolest concepts I have seen for the WSOP in quite some time. I know the $50K H.O.R.S.E. event is considered the premiere skill event, but this may be recognized as the #2 event after this year. If you go to the link and see, it is a mixed game that has 8 formats of poker in it. It has all five limit games of H.O.R.S.E., follwed by a level of No-Limit Hold 'Em, Pot-Limit Omaha Hi, and then a limit level of 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. Oh yeah - it is a $10K buy-in event. It probably will not get a time slot for ESPN coverage this year, simply because there is just way too much to cram in a 1 or 2 hour TV schedule. I am thinking ESPN wants to see how the event plays out and what the players think of it before devoting airtime to it. But if it is run well and the players enjoy it, it may get the same type of multi-night attention the H.O.R.S.E. tourney gets. It will need it. I am guessing the Triple-Draw portion of the game will get very little airtime whenever it gets shown, unless there are some critical hands that occur that force its coverage. For me, this is an excellent addition to the WSOP.

(2) I am planning on being in Vegas on June 13th to play in Event 26 - Seven Card Razz. $1,500 Event, and I am going to have to buckle down to justify me going. But I plan on using my SkyMiles to book a ticket now to force me to concentrate on what I am doing and earn the money to play during the next 6 months. I think if I win the money separately from othe income sources, it will feel even better. I think this is the kick in the pants I need to buckle down and play better and analyze my play.

(3) 31 of the 55 bracelet events are Hold 'Em events. I have not researched this, but I think that is down a couple from last year. I think they may have replaced a hold 'em event with the new ultra-mized game I talked about above, and possibly added an Omaha event, which seems to be a game gaining some serious steam in the poker world. There are 8 total Omaha only events, 5 Stud only events (including Razz), 6 Mixed game events, 2 Draw games (both 2-7 Lowball, one being NL Single Draw and one being Limit Triple Draw), and 3 Limited Field events (the Ladies, Seniors and Casino Employee event). All in all, it seems to be a pretty good mix.

(4) One of the most interesting things about the schedule is the addition of many higher buy-in "World Championship" events. Last year, besides the Main Event the only other two buy-in's that rivaled the Main Event were the $10K PLO World Championship event and the $50K World Championship H.O.R.S.E. event (which I heard may be renamed the Chip Reese Memorial, which I think would be an extremely classy move on Harrah's part). Many of the other "World Championship" events were $5K or lower buy-ins.

Well, this year is different. There are 9 "World Championship" Events, and they all have $10K buy-ins, except for the H.O.R.S.E., which remains a $50K buy-in. I have a feeling that these will be the games broadcast on TV. Which is fine, because this covers the gamut of poker games. You have all HE variations displayed, with Pot-Limit, Limit, Heads-Up and the Main Event No-Limit. It will also cover Seven Card Stud Hi (unfortunately, they do not have a $10K event for Hi/Lo Stud). There is events for Omaha Hi/Lo and Pot-Limit Omaha Hi. And finally the ultra mixed game mentioned above and the $50K H.O.R.S.E. round out the list. If this is what they show on ESPN, I will still be happy to watch. You will get more elite players playing in most of these events (except the Main Event, where they are saturated so much with the donks), and it should make for good TV. I hope this is what they do, but they may snub some of these for more Hold 'Em tournaments instead. We shall see.

I am definitely looking forward to this year's coverage, especially since this will be my first year I play in an event (cross my fingers I am able to do it). Check out the schedule and let me know what you think.

Steak