WSOP and WPT are a series of poker tournaments held for a worldwide audience. Those who can afford the buy-in range depending on either of the tournaments can participate in these poker contests.
As it’s poker, there’s always a major chance to lose all your cash. Those playing should always keep this in mind.
Key Takeaways
- WSOP stands for World Series of Poker and is a series of poker tournaments held in Las Vegas, while WPT stands for World Poker Tour and is a series of poker tournaments held worldwide.
- WSOP has been held since 1970 and is the oldest and most prestigious poker tournament, while WPT was founded in 2002 and is a newer tournament series.
- WSOP has more events and higher prize money, while WPT has fewer and lower prizes.
WSOP vs WPT
WSOP stands for World Series of Poker, a prestigious annual poker tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. WPT stands for World Poker Tour, a series of international poker tournaments that began in 2002 and is known for its televised events and high-profile players.
WSOP stands for “World Series of Poker”. This tournament series takes place in Las Vegas. This was introduced in the year 1970 by Benny Binion, who invited the then longstanding best poker players in the US to the Horseshoe Casino, marking the beginning of the first-ever World Series of Poker.
WPT stands for “World Poker Tour”. This is a tournament series that takes place throughout the year. It was started in 2002 by Steven Lipscomb, a TV producer and CEO of WPT Entertainment.
WPT E. was firmly in control of the WPTs until 2004.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | WSOP | WPT |
|---|---|---|
| Year of Commencement | 1970 | 2002 |
| Titles Presented | World Champion of Poker. | Main Tour Champion of the World Poker Tour. |
| Prize | WSOP bracelet and multi- million dollar cash. | Membership to the WPT championship club. |
| Introduced by | Benny Binion | Steven Lipscomb |
| Time | During a part of the year. | Throughout the year. |
What is WSOP?
The World Series of Poker is a series of poker tournaments centred around Las Vegas. Introduced by Benny Binion in 1970, the first-ever match happened between seven of the best poker layers in the US.
WSOP welcomes anyone who can afford a buy-in in the range. But there are also two other ways to enter.
One way is to win a seat in a lower set of tournaments that has a smaller price range. Another way to enter is to win an online or card room tournament and acquire a free seat.
It started as a single tournament, timed between a fixed start and stop time. A secret ballot of the competing players declared the winner in that first tournament.
The winner of that match was Johnny Moss, who eventually was elected by the other players as the World Champion of Poker, and he also received a silver cup in the name of the prize.
This gave way to the title “World Champion of Poker”, and he became the first-ever World Champion of Poker.
In 20024, Harrah’s Entertainment purchased the WSOP from Binion and the tournaments that commenced from 2005 onwards was held in the Harrah’s owned Rio Hotel and Casino.
After the initial tournament, with only one match, the tournament expanded in terms of participants and the number of events.
The Main Event that eventually decides the winner of the title “World Champion of Poker” is an all-around of the World Series of Poker with a grand amount no limit hold ‘em.
This is considered the biggest event of the WSOP.
What is WPT?
The World Poker Tour takes place throughout the year. Since its beginning, it has been aired through television by Steven Lipscomb, a TV producer.
WPT welcomes players from all walks of life, provided they can afford the buy-in range. Free seats could be won through online or card room tournaments.
Those winning free seats in such a manner would be advisable to start playing early as the contestants have to accumulate points over 3 – 4 months of weekly tournaments.
The WPT is associated with a TV series broadcasting the tournament series’ final table game.
In the year 2009, in November, Party Gaming took over WPT for $12.3 million. And in the year 2011, Party Gaming merged with Bwin to form Bwin- Party Digital Entertainment.
In December 2014, the Bwin- Party Digital Entertainment brought the WPT into an alliance with Ourgame. By the time it was 2015, in June, Bwin- Party Digital Entertainment had sold WPT to Ourgame International Holdings Limited for $35 million.
In 2021, the World Poker Tour was eventually sold off to Element Partners for an amount of $105 million.
Main Differences Between WSOP and WPT
- While WSOP takes place during a period in a year, WPT is held throughout an entire year.
- Even though the starting buy-in is higher for WPT, the buy-in range is smaller for WPT when in comparison to the range of WSOP.
- WPT has been aired on television since the time it was initiated, thanks to Lipscomb and his TV company, whereas it took time for the WSOP to be aired worldwide.
- While the winner of the WSOP is awarded a bracelet of great value, having about 356 white diamonds and double the number of black diamonds and 194 rubies, giving the bracelet an almost value of $500,000, along with this, the winner gets a handsome amount of cash prize. The winner of WPT is awarded a membership to the WPT Championship Club along with a cash prize.
- While WSOP started non-officially in 1970 and a proper tournament started in the early 2000s, WPT, from the beginning itself, was the official beginning of the tournament.
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I did not know much about these tournaments, but after reading this, I feel well-informed. The comparison of the tournaments is very interesting.
Agreed! The thorough comparison provides a clear understanding of the differences between WSOP and WPT.
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While I’m not a poker player, I enjoyed reading the article. I’m amazed at the history and the level of detail.
The history and development of these tournaments are very well laid out in this article. Great work.