Poker is one of the oldest forms of gambling and – unlike many of the other popular betting games – it was at least partially invented in the US. It was inspired by a French game called Poque that sailors and traders from that country brought to the states.
It is seen by people as an American game, due to the fact that it is a feature of many Western movies. Whatever its exact origins though, poker is one of the most widely played games at both land-based and online casinos in the present day.
A big part of that is down to the many poker tournaments that take place in the real world and the online one. These attract the very best professional players and fans of poker love to enter them or just watch and learn from the masters.
In this article, we will be looking at the most highly anticipated competitive poker events.
Super High Roller Bowl
When it comes to events that feature the absolute top players, there is none to beat the annual Super High Roller Bowl. As the name of the tournament makes very clear, this is an event where you need to have a sizeable stack of cash to even buy your way in.
It is made up of those elite players who have earned millions at the poker tables; such as Canada’s Daniel Negreanu and Bryn Kenney from the US. Although Super High Roller Bowl events are now held at many locations, the original and most prestigious takes place each year in Las Vegas.
It is a tournament where the prize money is almost always millions of dollars.
World Series of Poker (WSOP)
Many of the best players consider the annual WSOP to be the event with the most professional prestige attached to it. It is certainly the one that every player who is starting out and hoping to make serious cash from poker dreams of graduating to.
The home of the WSOP is Paradise in Nevada, which is right next to Las Vegas, and the event consists of several separate poker tournaments. Not all of them are equally anticipated of course.
There is little dispute that the Main Event is the biggest of all. This is guaranteed to include every one of the top players, including the likes of Justin Bonomo who has won $61 million at poker during his career. Phil Hellmuth has the best record of all at this event, winning 17 of the coveted bracelets so far, while the current title holder is Ian Matakis.
The WSOP is not all about the Main Event though. The Players Championship is also a highly anticipated contest each year.
It draws a smaller selection of competitors than the Main Event, with these being players who excel at mixed poker games. The winner of the most recent Players Championship was Brian Rast, who took the title from Daniel Cates after the latter had claimed it in the previous two years.
The prize pot is $50,000.
World Poker Tour (WPT)
Third on the list of the key poker events on the calendar is the WPT. A big part of the appeal of this event is that it takes the game and the top players out of the US and into other parts of the world.
The most prestigious competition within it is undoubtedly the WPT Championship. This is held towards the end of the year, bringing the annual tour to a close, and the venue for it is typically Vegas.
This year it has been scheduled for 7th December at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. It consists of lots of $10,000 contests that any player who can put down that sum in cash can buy their way into.
However there are also the High Roller contests that are strictly for the very best professionals. It is a great place to watch those players in action against each other though.
Triton Super High Roller
Last but not least is this tournament, which is another costly one for the cream of the crop. Every professional poker player wants to win this one.
The most recent Triton Super High Roller event was held in England, with the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, London serving as the venue for it. The winner at the end of a fiercely contested event was the New Zealand player David Yan, who walked away with the $200,000 buy-in tournament.
This is another competition that both players and fans will be eagerly awaiting again in 2024.
All of these poker events attract the best and brightest players. However some of them also allow aspirant professionals to buy in and give themselves a shot at glory – or at least a chance to learn and sharpen their skills.
