Monday, July 27, 2009

Grasping the World Series of Poker Payout Structure

By Jeff West

Poker payouts can be very confusing whether its the amount of spots paid, or the percent paid to the players. Learning how poker payouts came about, you have to know where it all started. If you go to Las Vegas you certainly will come across a casino called Binions Horseshoe. Binions is the venue at which the World Series of Poker or simply "WSOP" is held. The owner of the casino Benny Binion was a marketing genius, coming up with an idea to have a winner-take-all poker tournament.

Those type of deals mentioned above, didn't always end up at the final table like it does today. Before the tournament started, the players voted on how the prize pool should be distributed and separated. Players resumed playing using 25% of their previous chips. 75% of the other chips were exchanged for cash at the cage.

In 1977, a legal investigation was conducted, because the idea of a winner-take-all tournament had been fabricated and the distribution of prize money, and operating procedures were grounds for action. The standard procedure was the 25/75 split of the chips. However, the federal broadcasting law wasn't enforced like it was on the rigged quiz show "twenty one".

Popular television network CBS was put in a rather odd position, after it drummed up its own version of the winner-take-all tournament. This tournament was in tennis, and featured tennis stars Jimmy Conners and Rod Laver in the finals. Connors and Laver would play a great final match only split the prize money. With Conners and Laver splitting the spoils, CBS was fined by the FCC and required to issue a public apology.

With federal investigations being conducted, Mr. Binion realized that he had better act quickly and make some changes. Binion quickly disposed of the idea of winner-take-all, and learned that he would have a better following by paying more spots instead of less. So Binion came up with another marketing success, telling the players in his tournament that he was paying the top 5 spots that year.

A new payout structure was introduced at the 1978 World Series of Poker tournament by Benny Binion. The top five players who participated in the main event of that year all received a payout. Binion paid the top five players in the World Series of Poker main event until 1981. He began to pay the last nine players. Paying the last nine players lasted until 1986. The number of entrants entering the World Series of Poker tournament was 141. It forced Benny Binion to expand his payout structure again.

World Series of Poker continued to grow each year, so did the players who got a payout. Chris Moneymaker had a shocking victory in 2003, which resulted in one of the greatest leaps in World Series of Poker history. In 2004, 225 players were paid. In 2005, the numbers jumped ever higher with 560. An Earth shattering record of 873 players in 2006.

Pretty hard to imagine 873 players back in the 1970's when the World Series of Poker was "winner-take-all". The World Series of Poker payout structure has grown over the years, just like the game's popularity. The World Series of Poker is broadcasted on ESPN and has garnered a huge fan base. Learn More About the World Series of Poker Payout Structure Celebrity tournaments are also played throughout the year. The World Series of Poker is a phenomenon.

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