5 Ways to Enjoy the WSOP in 2021 Without Spending $10,000

Paul and I are heading to Las Vegas in October for the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP). No, we are not laying down $10,000 and playing in the Main Event. While that is a bucket list item for us, we imagine fulfilling that dream many years down the road. Instead, we are lucky enough to be heading to Vegas for the entire month of October to live and work in the shadow of the WSOP.

We have attended the WSOP in the past in our role as ambassadors for Advanced Poker Training, the poker training site for which we also blog. However, we have never been able to spend more than a week in Las Vegas at a time. This month, due to our flexible work situation and the recent departure of our youngest children to college, we are able to spend an entire glorious month in Las Vegas. Do to the aforementioned college tuitions, we are not looking to play tournaments with high buy-ins (although we may sneak in a Seniors, or Ladies Tournament for the first time). We have always found numerous lower-stake options during the WSOP for our poker pleasure, and look forward to partaking in as much poker as we (and our bankroll) can stand.

Low Stakes Tournament Options During the WSOP

There are plenty of options to play well-structured low stakes tournaments during the WSOP. For the purposes of this article, we define low stakes as anything at or below $200. If you are looking for such a game, here are your top five options:

WSOP Daily Deepstacks

Want to experience the Rio during the WSOP, but don’t have $1,500+ buy-ins handy?  The Daily Deepstacks may be for you. The WSOP holds four Deepstack tournaments each day with buy-ins ranging from $180 (our sweet spot!) up to $400. The four tournaments vary in structure and format. You’ll want to check the schedule to decide which is right for you. This year, the WSOP is even offering a Seniors (50+) and a PLO Daily Deepstack once per week. The Deepstacks allow you to take in all of the World Series madness without parting with too much cash. And who knows, you may find Phil Hellmuth killing time in the seat next to you!

CardPlayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival

This year, for the first time, Robbie Strazynski and Cardplayer Lifestyle will be hosting a Mixed Game Festival at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino from October 4th through 7th. If you are a lover of mixed games, this is the place to be. There will be plenty of cash mixed game play during the first three days of the Festival, culminating in a $200 HORSE Tournament on day four. The winner of this tournament will take home a coveted PokerStars Player’s Championship Platinum Pass. Credits will be given for cash game play which will earn players additional chips in the tournament, up to the maximum of 25 hours which will get players double the starting stack. Players will also receive a number of perks, including free merchandise and book signings by poker celebrities. Space will be limited at the Festival, so be sure to register in advance through Poker Atlas, if you are interested in attending.

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Poker at the Orleans 

The Orleans has a Fall Poker Series running during the month of October as well. They recently came out with their schedule, and it looks every bit as good as one would expect. The Orleans boasts that its poker room was voted Best in Vegas by the readers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. We really enjoyed our previous visits to the Orleans, and we’ll definitely be playing there in October. We particularly want to point out the freeroll on November 3rd available to anyone who final tables any of the previous series events.

You’ve asked for it….and here it is!!!

The Orleans Poker Room 2021 Fall Poker Series is just less than a month away. Noteworthy events include $600 HORSE and Omaha-8 Championships, a $500 Mystery Bounty event, and a NLH Championship guaranteeing $750k!!! pic.twitter.com/hJatxI31HR

— OrleansPokerRoom (@OrleansPokerRo1) September 4, 2021

The Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series

The Golden Nugget offers a completely different option for low-cost poker in Vegas this fall. Set in Downtown Vegas, far from the shiny new casinos of the Strip, The Golden Nugget carries an air of old Las Vegas. It’s a little bit seedier than you might be comfortable with, but you can just imagine the mob bosses and celebrities that populated Downtown Vegas back in the day. The Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series has a daily $150 NLH tournament with a $10,000 guarantee from September 28th to October 18th. The atmosphere at the Golden Nugget is generally raucous and alcohol fueled. This can make for a fun tournament if you are in the right mood. Also, Downtown Las Vegas has to be experienced at least once in a lifetime.

WSOP Single Table Satellites

Itching to play the $1,000 Ladies event or $1,500 Dealer’s Choice tournament but the buy-in is too steep? Try your hand at the single table satellites, a Sit-n-Go series that runs throughout the WSOP. Buy-ins start at $75 and winners are rewarded in lammers. Lammers can be exchanged for tournament buy-ins for any WSOP event. They also can be sold for a slight discount if you decide not to play the larger event. Starting stacks are short and blinds increase rapidly in satellites, so play is pretty wild.  These events are not for the nit or the faint of heart. Satellites run continuously through the day. Just go to the Rio STS cage, buy in, and as soon as a table fills, your event will begin. If you want to enter a bracelet event on the cheap, the satellites are definitely an option.

There are certainly many ways to enjoy Vegas during the WSOP. If you’re looking to play poker at a reasonable cost, you will find these five options a good bet.

Following the WSOP From Afar

If you can’t make it to Vegas this summer, but want to check out the WSOP action, you can watch much of it on PokerGO. PokerGO offers an extensive live streaming menu of WSOP final tables, from $25k PLO to the $50 Poker Players Championship. They will be broadcasting daily action from the Main Event at times when CBS is not. PokerGO also has some great original shows. You can read reviews of a number of them over at CardPlayer Lifestyle. Use our link to sign up, and you can get $10 off a year’s subscription to PokerGO.

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