The World Series of Poker introduced that it’s going to maintain its first “pro-am” occasion. In their eyes, it offers rich leisure gamers an opportunity to compete for a bracelet in a manner that, in my view, inches match poker uncomfortably near what high-stakes money recreation poker has turn into: a segregated competitors.
We’re seeing the erosion of one of many final bastions of degree taking part in fields in poker, and I hate it.
The occasion in query is a $250,000 buy-in at WSOP Paradise, and it’ll separate the amateurs from the professionals till the sector reaches the cash on each side:
THE FIRST EVER WSOP PRO-AM! 🏆
Buy-In: $250,000
Amateurs apply for consideration, with the WSOP Pro-Am Committee deciding on who receives an invite.
Professionals don’t want an invite.
Amateurs and professionals start in separate fields. Amateurs solely play in opposition to amateurs… pic.twitter.com/yFYDZNehJh
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) September 16, 2026
In some methods, it hearkens again to the times of the short-lived Professional Poker Tour (PPT). That was additionally invite-only, and arrange professionals to compete in opposition to one another, ostensibly making for an elite viewing expertise. In actuality, professionals don’t need to play in opposition to fields of different professionals, as a result of leisure cash is the lifeblood of poker.
That’s the place the novel invitational format has gained legs. WSOP and Triton co-promoted the same occasion, additionally for $250,000, eventually yr’s WSOP Paradise.
The mechanics of this pro-am occasion differ even from the Triton format, although. In the Triton ones, leisure gamers nominate a corresponding professional who features entry. Consequently, the sector has a fair distribution of professionals to amateurs.
They additionally solely keep separate for Day 1, combining on Day 2 and taking part in the match out usually from there.
WSOP kind of reverses the mechanics. Now, gamers apply to be labeled as “amateur,” and that’s the place my points with this occasion start.
Too Much Ambiguity & Subjective Decisions
Apparently, gamers who want to enter on the novice aspect can “apply for consideration” by sending an electronic mail to the WSOP. I’ve questions right here.
What constitutes an novice and what constitutes a professional?
Take Michael Moncek, for instance. Moncek competes on the highest ranges — monetarily, anyway — of each tournaments and money video games. He’s taking part in each WSOP occasion and has bagged two bracelets and $8.4 million in match cashes.
Yet, publicly accessible trackers of streamed money video games have him down tens of millions of {dollars}. How a lot cash he has received or misplaced at poker is between him and his tax preparer.
The writer, after profitable his second MSPT title.
Does he must ship his revenue and loss sheet or his tax returns to the WSOP arbiters of poker labels? To be clear, Moncek looks as if the kind of man who enjoys battling the professionals and possibly doesn’t care, I’m simply utilizing him for example.
What about me? I’ve a WSOP bracelet and I’m a worthwhile participant in my poker endeavors.
But I’ve a job, writing these phrases that you just’re studying. If somebody handed me $250,000 to play on this occasion, which aspect do I play on? I’m open to this concept, by the best way, so if anybody has $250,000 laying round for a social experiment, slide into the DMs. We can examine this course of collectively.
Who is making these selections, anyway? It says there’s a “committee.” Who is on the committee and can they clarify their standards?
I suppose we are going to get some hints in regards to the solutions to those questions once we discover out what the sector seems to be like. But for now, it’s all very opaque. And it’s onerous to not surprise about some Oz-like entity behind the scenes engineering the setup to favor sure gamers or drawback sure others.
Invitational Format Is Antithetical To The Original Intent Of WSOP
The complete setup for this simply stinks to me, and it’s the newest blow in opposition to the “poker as a meritocracy” very best that pulls many to this recreation within the first place.
It’s been taking place for years now within the money recreation scene, as higher-stakes alternatives have dried up for any gamers with a clue that aren’t linked with the fitting individuals. As somebody who hasn’t been in a position to play in video games I’d wish to play in regionally, let me let you know that it sucks.
Maybe that’s why this case annoys me a lot. I do know what it’s wish to be shut out of a great place.
And if individuals need to defend their money recreation whales, so be it. But tournaments had been presupposed to be the haven for gamers who needed their careers to be extra pushed by ability than recreation choice and networking.
Tournaments put everybody on a degree taking part in discipline. You don’t must schmooze with the native game-runner to compete. Anyone with a buy-in is welcome to play. They get a random seat and compete with randomly chosen gamers till somebody has all the chips.
It’s each brutal and delightful.
When the WSOP and Triton co-promoted these invitationals up to now, I rolled my eyes and assumed Triton brass was principally working the present. Now, it’s clear the WSOP likes the concept of “protecting” its VIPs and is taking issues a step additional by making them undergo this foolish software course of.
Taking the ‘World’ Out of World Series of Poker
I don’t assume this ought to be part of match poker, and I’m questioning the place it ends. Sure, that is one occasion, however what occurs if the 2-7 triple draw amateurs finally determine they need to begin subsequent yr’s $10,000 occasion with out having Benny Glaser vacuuming up their chips?
One of the good issues in regards to the WSOP is meant to be that I can register a $600 match, and I would sit down and see ‘Joe Home Game’ from Montana on my left, or I would see Daniel Negreanu. That’s why it’s referred to as the WORLD Series of Poker. It’s an open competitors the place anybody on the earth can play and turn into a champion.
I imply, certain, anybody on the earth can nonetheless play this pro-am, offered they’re keen to just accept a seat on the professional aspect. But why ought to these guys over there get to play with a sure subset of gamers, whereas these guys over right here must combat for the fitting to play with these guys?
The WSOP ought to be as inclusive as potential, and a $250,000 match with arbitrarily labeled gamers ain’t it. Leave the invitationals to Triton and let the gamers’ ability and luck decide who wins bracelets, as a substitute of giving a choose few rich recs a cheat code to keep away from the hardest competitors.
Mo Nuwwarah is a workers author for Card Player and a extremely profitable match poker participant. Not solely has he lined the sport since 2013, however he additionally racked up north of $1 million in profession match earnings. He received a WSOP bracelet in 2024, taking down the $1,000 on-line pot-limit Omaha six-max occasion, and not too long ago added a second MSPT trophy to his assortment. He additionally owns two WSOP Circuit rings.
Photo credit: WSOP, MSPT.
