Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Grasping the World Series of Poker Payout Structure

By Brian Garvin

To learn more about the World Series of Poker Payout Structure, you have to know where it all began. 1970 to 1977 a marketing genius named Benny Binion promoted his poker tournament as "winner-take-all". World Series of Poker has never been winner-take-all and probably never will. Benny Binion took that concept, made his event a world championship caliber tournament, and the buzz caught on. World Series of Poker prize money was always negotiated by the players.

Before the tournament would start, the players voted on various ways for the pot to be split. Players would resume playing typically using 25% of their previous chips. 75% of the other chips were exchanged for cash at the cage. Players designating distribution of the pots, isn't how it happens today but that's how it started.

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.

It was only a matter of time before the FBI investigated the under-the table deals taking place during the World Series of Poker tournament. Benny Binion spoke to the poker players and told them he would pay the top five. Splitting the prize money between players was over in 1978.

The top five players that participated in the event in 1978 were paid out. This new payout structure lasted until 1981 when Binion changed it again to the vastly growing field when Binion paid out the top nine players. Paying out nine spots lasted until 1986. With an overwhelming growth in entrants to 141 in 1987, it forced Binion to once again pay out more spots.

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.

The WSOP is now shown on ESPN which brings its largest sports viewing population to the poker tournament, making it bigger every year. Its hard to imagine having these kind of fields in the mid 1970's, but where the game has come, and the steps at which it has taken to get there are amazing. As you can see the payout structure has grown monumental over the years, just like the games popularity.

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