New WSOP Schedule Adds New Wrinkles to Series

by Mario Alfonsi  |  Published on Feb 2, 2012  |  Updated on Feb 2, 2012

The World Series of Poker released their 2012 schedule on Wednesday, revealing a slate of 61 bracelet events that will be held between May 27 and July 16. The schedule culminates with the Main Event, which will begin on July 7.There are several new and modified events on this year’s schedule, as WSOP organizers continue to adjust the series to the changing poker landscape. Of course, one tournament everyone is looking forward to is “The Big One for One Drop” – the $1 million buy-in tournament that will see 11% of all proceeds go to the One Drop charity. That event will take place on July 1.One of the most popular new events at the 2011 WSOP Europe has now made its way over to the main series as well. This year’s schedule features a “Mix-Max” event. This $5,000 tournament will begin as a standard nine-handed no-limit hold’em tournament; however, the second day of play will see players play at six-handed tables, and the third day will feature heads-up matches until a winner is determined. Those who like shorthanded play will also want to check out the four-handed hold’em tournament scheduled for June 14.Of course, all eyes are on the Main Event, and the flagship tournament of the WSOP has a few changes in store as well – mostly in regards to how the event will start and finish. The WSOP was able to secure a larger section of the Rio’s convention center for 2012, meaning they’ll be able to host 470 tables of poker each day – an increase of nearly 100 tables over last year. This means that the Main Event will need only three starting days rather than the four that have become the standard in recent years.This year’s edition of the Main Event will also see an end to the November Nine, though this change isn’t quite as dramatic as that announcement might sound. The players who make the final table will still have to wait to come back and play for the Main Event title; however, the tournament will resume on October 28, and the champion will be crowned on October 30.