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For the last eight years, the largest tournament in the world has been the World Series of Poker Main Event. With the exception of 1992, the US$10,000 buy-in tournament increased in prize pool year-over-year from its start in 1970 until 2007 (the latter a result of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which reduced the number of players winning their seats via online play).
The first tournament to reach a million dollar prize pool was the 1983 WSOP Main Event. The WSOP Main Event of 2004 had the first prize pool of above $10,000,000.
The largest non Hold'em Tournament has been the 2008 WSOP $50K HORSE with a prize pool of $7,104,000 and the first prize of $1,989,120 going to Scotty Nguyen.[1]
Below are the 30 largest poker tournaments with respect to the prize pool in United States dollars and not number of entrants. This list includes live and online poker.
Currently, 14 of the 15 largest prize pools in history have been WSOP Main Events. The second largest prize pool outside of the Main Event is the 2012 WSOP event known as The Big One for One Drop, held from July 1–3. It featured a buy-in of US$1 million, the largest in poker history. Of the buy-in, $111,111 was a charitable donation to the One Drop Foundation, and the WSOP took no rake. All 48 seats available for that event were filled, resulting in a prize pool of $42,666,672, with over 5 million dollars donated.[2] The second largest pool for any event outside of the WSOP was the 2012 Macau High Stakes Challenge, with a HK$2 million (US$260,000) buy-in plus a rebuy option. The event drew a field of 73, of which 21 made a rebuy, resulting in a prize pool of HK$182,360,000 (slightly over US$23.5 million).[3]
All of the 30 richest tournaments to date were played in No Limit Hold'em.
| Event | Prize Pool (US$) | Winner | 1st Prize | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 WSOP Main Event | $82,512,162 | Jamie Gold | $12,000,000 | [4][5] |
| 2019 WSOP Main Event | $80,548,600 | Hossein Ensan | $10,000,000 | [6] |
| 2018 WSOP Main Event | $74,015,600 | John Cynn | $8,800,000 | [7] |
| 2010 WSOP Main Event | $68,799,059 | Jonathan Duhamel | $8,944,310 | [8] |
| 2017 WSOP Main Event | $67,877,400 | Scott Blumstein | $8,150,000 | [9] |
| 2019 Triton Super High Roller Series - Triton Million | $65,660,000 (£54,000,000) | Aaron Zang | $23,100,000 (£19,000,000) | [10] |
| 2011 WSOP Main Event | $64,531,000 | Pius Heinz | $8,711,956 | [11] |
| 2008 WSOP Main Event | $64,333,600 | Peter Eastgate | $9,152,416 | [12] |
| 2016 WSOP Main Event | $63,327,800 | Qui Nguyen | $8,005,310 | [13] |
| 2014 WSOP Main Event | $62,820,200 | Martin Jacobson | $10,000,000 | [14] |
| 2012 WSOP Main Event | $62,021,200 | Greg Merson | $8,527,982 | [15] |
| 2009 WSOP Main Event | $61,043,600 | Joe Cada | $8,547,042 | [16] |
| 2015 WSOP Main Event | $60,348,000 | Joe McKeehen | $7,680,021 | [17] |
| 2007 WSOP Main Event | $59,784,954 | Jerry Yang | $8,250,000 | [18] |
| 2013 WSOP Main Event | $59,708,800 | Ryan Riess | $8,359,531 | [19] |
| 2005 WSOP Main Event | $52,818,610 | Joe Hachem | $7,500,000 | [20] |
| 2012 WSOP Event 55 – The Big One for One Drop | $42,666,672 | Antonio Esfandiari | $18,346,673 | [21] |
| 2014 WSOP Event 57 – The Big One for One Drop | $37,333,338 | Dan Colman | $15,306,668 | [22] |
| 2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza | $27,437,564 | Elton Tsang | $12,248,912 | [23] |
| 2019 PokerStars NL Hold'em Players Championship | $26,455,500 | Ramon Colillas | $5,100,000 | [24] |
| 2018 WSOP Event 78 – The Big One for One Drop | $24,840,000 | Justin Bonomo | $10,000,000 | [25] |
| 2004 WSOP Main Event | $24,224,400 | Greg Raymer | $5,000,000 | [26] |
| 2012 Macau High Stakes Challenge Super High Roller | $23,511,128 | Stanley Choi | $6,465,560 | [27] |
| Super High Roller Bowl 2015 | $21,500,000 | Brian Rast | $7,525,000 | [28] |
| 2016 WSOP Event 67 – High Roller for One Drop | $19,316,565 | Fedor Holz | $4,981,775 | [29] |
| 2013 WSOP Event 47 – One Drop High Roller | $17,891,148 | Anthony Gregg | $4,830,619 | [30] |
| Super High Roller Bowl 2017 | $16,800,000 | Christoph Vogelsang | $6,000,000 | [31] |
| 2007 WPT Championship | $15,495,750 | Carlos Mortensen | $3,970,415 | [32] |
| 2013 GuangDong Ltd Asia Millions Main Event | $15,376,897 | Niklas Heinecker | $4,456,885 | [33] |
| 2011 Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure | $15,132,000 | Galen Hall | $2,300,000 | [34] |
Notes[edit]
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Dalla, Nolan (June 30, 2012). 'The Biggest One—World's Most Spectacular Poker Extravaganza Starts Sunday'. World Series of Poker. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
- ^Peters, Donnie (August 31, 2012). 'Stanley Choi Wins Macau High Stakes Challenge for US$6,465,746'. PokerNews.com. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
- ^'2006 WSOP Main Event payouts'. WSOP. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/event.php?a=r&n=541550
- ^[1]
- ^wsop.com
- ^http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/payouts.asp?grid=1352&tid=15673
- ^https://triton-series.com/triton-super-high-roller-series-london-2019/
- ^'PIUS HEINZ WINS 2011 WSOP MAIN EVENT CHAMPIONSHIP'. WSOP. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^'Level 4 concludes: officially the largest main event in the last five years'. WSOP. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^Poker News Daily
- ^pokernews.com
- ^'2009 WSOP main event prize pool'. WSOP. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^'Event #68: No-Limit Hold'em MAIN EVENT'. 2015 World Series op Poker Chip Counts. World Series of Poker. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^'2013 44th Annual World Series of Poker, Event #62: No-Limit Hold'em Main Event'. WSOP.com. Retrieved July 20, 2013. Click on the 'Prizepool' tab for the first prize.
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Dalla, Nolan (July 3, 2012). 'Antonio Esfandiari Pulls Off Amazing Trick by Winning One Drop'. WSOP.com. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^[2]
- ^[3]
- ^[4]
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^[5]
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^Hendon Mob
- ^pokerstarsblog.com
How to Choose the Right Online Poker Room For You
Today's poker players are spoiled for choice when it comes to selecting a online poker room to play at thanks to there being dozens of major sites offering online poker services to them. Sometimes, too much choice can make the selection process stressful, so here at PokerNews we've created a ranking system for what we believe are the best online poker rooms in business today.
PokerNews' Online Poker Room Rankings
Poker Room Online
The team at PokerNews are not only experts in all areas of poker, we also love this fantastic game and are avid online poker players ourselves. This means that we are committed to providing an accurate ranking system that helps you, our loyal readers, to choose a poker room that is going to provide you with endless entertainment and a first class experience every time you sit down to play poker.
When one of our team is tasked with writing a review of an online poker room, they go to great lengths to ensure the review is accurate, fair and a true representation of what you will experience if you choose to give your business to that particular poker room.
To do this, the reviewer looks at several key areas – detailed below – and puts the software through its paces so you know what to expect when you come to create your account at the site in question. In short, we do all of the groundwork and research so you do not have to.
Which Are The Best Online Poker Rooms?
One of the most common questions asked by poker players is which are the best online poker rooms. The answer to this question, like most poker-related inquiries, is it depends.
As the saying goes “one man's meat is another man's poison,” meaning that what one person finds ideal for an online poker room may not be what someone else is looking for. Cash game players have different needs than multi-table tournament specialists, while low-stakes grinders look at a site differently to high-volume high-stakes players.
Thankfully, regardless of what games you play and what stakes you currently compete it, PokerNews' online poker room rankings and reviews give you an insight into what to expect from each poker room listed; both the positive and negative qualities are there for all to see.
Poker Rooms Around The World Pictures
How Does PokerNews Rank Online Poker Sites?
Our team members examine each of the online poker rooms in great detail before publishing their findings on the PokerNews site. As you will see from the reviews, we give a brief description of the poker room, list several pros and cons and reveal who the poker room's owner is, where its headquarters are, who provides the online poker room with its software and, if known, where the game servers are located.
From there, we take a look at bonuses and loyalty schemes offered by each poker room, examine where most of the site's traffic is concentrated, detail any notable software features that allow the site to stand out from other poker rooms, list the deposit and withdrawal methods, before highlighting the all-important customer support channels.
If a site has plentiful traffic across all games and formats they will rank higher than online poker rooms that are less busy. Likewise, should a poker room offer generous sign-up bonuses or run regular value-packed promotions it will rank higher than one where these offers are scant.
By looking at these key areas, you know what to expect (and what not to expect) before you sign up to a poker room, which means you can concentrate solely on playing poker and enjoying yourself.
What Should I Look For In An Online Poker Room?
It is all well and good having the PokerNews reviews at hand, but what should you be looking for other than glowing references from our team of experts? Here are some key areas that you should be looking for in an online poker room.
Bonuses and Loyalty Scheme
Every online poker room offers new customers a bonus when they sign up for an account with them. The size of the bonus and the conditions of its release vary wildly from each poker room, but most require you to make an initial deposit and will gift you a bonus based on the size of that deposit.
An increasing number of online poker rooms offer a no-deposit bonus so you can test the software for yourself without the need to risk any of your own bonus. The main downside to these types of bonuses is they are always much smaller than a typical welcome, sign-up or first deposit bonus.
Once you have signed up to a poker room, it will want to retain your business and one way to do this is via a loyalty of VIP scheme. Again, like bonuses, these scheme vary from site-to-site so finding one that suits how much poker you play is key. Some VIP schemes look amazing at first glance, often offering huge prizes for reaching the top levels, but if the stakes and volume that you play makes reaching those dizzy heights impossible they may as well be offering you the moon.
Security
For a poker room to even be considered for review at PokerNews we ensure that it has received official certification from an authorized online gaming regulatory body in regards to its random number generator and in its encryption methods.
Thankfully, these days, the best online poker sites are bound by strict terms of its license and security is taken very seriously.
Traffic and Games Offered
If you prefer to play mid-stakes pot-limit Omaha high/low there is no point signing up with a poker room that does not spread these games. Short-handed no limit hold'em cash games are by far the most popular format offered by online poker rooms today, yet some sites enjoy plenty of traffic in other games while some offer specialist games rarely found in the online poker world.
Poker Rooms Around The World Game
Software Features and Functionality
Even if a poker room ticks all of the above boxes, you may not want to play there if its software is not up to scratch. Software of the major online poker rooms has massively improved in recent years and even some of the smaller poker rooms have excellent software.
Poker Rooms Around The World Map
Look at the features offered by a poker room such as auto top-up, preferred seating, automatic rebuys and anything that you prefer to have available to you and see if is available on your chosen site. Chances are, if it is listed among our best online poker rooms, the features you require will be present.