2018 WSOP Main Event

This is The Road to Vegas Baby tournament series! (RVB for short)

UPDATE - I will keep this post unchanged for posterity's sake, but I am going to come up with major changes for our Main Event series - mainly I want to implement a tournament series that will also attract regular players who want nothing to do with the WSOP.  I think I have a good idea how to do it - stay tuned!


There will be eight Step 1 tournaments over 9 months, Aug 2017-April 2018.

In Step 1 tournaments players compete to earn chips for Step 2.

Step 1 entry is $140.  The first Step 1 will be Friday, Aug 4, 2017 at 8pm.

All players win 4K in Step 2 starting chips just for showing up.

Third place wins 6K.  (If we have 8 players or more - otherwise they get $0)

Second place wins 8K and gets $70. (If we have 8 players or more - otherwise they get $40)

First place wins 12K and gets $140.  (If we have 8 players or more - otherwise they get $100)

When play is 3 handed players are permitted to negotiate a chop deal of these payouts.

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A Step 1 will not happen with 5 players or less.   We will try to reschedule once, if we still don't meet our minimum then that Step 1 is canceled.  Players will still have the option to pay their entry fee for a canceled tournament.

If two Step 1's have to be canceled then we will likely cancel this series.

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Step 2 will take place on Saturday, May 19, 2018 at 1pm.

The winner of Step 2 goes to the Main Event (or the next biggest entry event if we don't reach 10K).

If the Step 2 winner cashes at the WSOP, they share with the group - 60% to keep and 40% to be divided evenly among RVB participants.

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All players must play or pay for a minimum of 5 Step 1 tournaments to qualify to share in the WSOP spoils.  Of these 5 tournaments, they must appear physically in at least 3.

Of the 8 Step 1 tournaments, only the best 6 results are counted towards earning chips in Step 2.

Players who play in or pay for all 8 tournaments receive a 15K chip bonus in Step 2.

All players in Step 2 may also add-on 10K in chips for $100.

So if someone finishes first in six Step 1 tournaments, and plays/pays in all 8 Step 1 tournaments and does the Step 2 add-on they would start Step 2 with 97,000 in chips.  This is highly unlikely to occur.

If someone never reaches top three in 8 Step 1 tournaments and doesn't add-on in Step 2 they would start with 47K.  This is highly unlikely to occur.

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After the completion of all Step 1 tournaments, we will take stock of our prize pool.

The most anyone can put into the Step 2 prize pool is $1220, and the least is 700.  That is quite a differential, but players who put in only 700 will be at a SUBSTANTIAL disadvantage going into Step 2.  If they (or anyone who has paid less than $1220) can somehow come from behind and take the whole thing down as a short stack, then they will be asked to front the difference between how much they put in and $1220 and parlay that amount into their entry fee or travel expenses.

Any non-representative Step 2 players who do not reach the $1220 mark will have the difference deducted from their payout if our representative should happen to cash in the WSOP.

If the prize pool for Step 2 is over 11K, the remaining amount will be refunded to the players who have put in the most money in effort to make all contributions even.  If  we are between 10K and 11K the full amount will go to the winner of Step 2.

If our prize pool is between 6K and 10K, 6K will go to first place.  This player must enter at minimum 5K worth of events at the WSOP. The extra 1K is for travel expenses.

The remaining amount over 6K will be awarded to the second place finisher in Step 2.  Any amount this second place finisher collects at 1K or more must be parlayed into a WSOP entry, subject to the same 60/40 share agreement.

If we are under 6K total we likely will have canceled this series at that point - but if by some miracle we see it through, then we will award as many $1500 seats as we can, then 1K seats and then the Colossus.

If there is any remaining cash after the last Colossus seat is awarded, it will be rolled over into the next year's Road to Vegas Baby! tournament series.

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As with all satellites in my garage, these events are only open to people that I have personally played poker with before.  If a new player comes into my regular PSP game this year he or she will be welcome to join RVB, but they must play in a minimum of three regular Saturday night tournaments first.

For all players there are absolutely no refunds at any time after you have paid a Step 1 entry fee - save for the handful of potentially scheduled refunds above.  The other exception would be a catastrophic life event, either a severe injury or a death in the player's immediate family.

At Step 2 all players will sign a staking agreement.  Qualifying players absent from Step 2 will be required to sign to receive any payout.