The Most Popular Texas Holdem Tournaments
When poker tournaments first came about, they were not nearly as publicised as they are today. Looking back at the first major tournament, the 1970 World Series of Poker, it was an event attended by few. Fast forward to today
and it is a must-attend event with impressive prizes.
Texas Holdem is by far one of the most popular games at these tournaments due to the simplicity of the game. In fact, these games often have the largest tournament prize pools in poker tournaments. Having said this, let’s take
a look at some of the most popular poker tournaments.
World Series of Poker
This tournament has already been mentioned, but we’ll give you a quick refresher just in case. Binion’s Horseshoe casino in Las Vegas was home to the first-ever tournament in 1970 and was hosted by owner Jack Binion. This tournament was referred to as more of a series of games and at the end of it, players voted on the best player. The series continued to grow, and in 2003, Chris Moneymaker an average accountant won $2.5 million. This story pushed the tournament to new heights.
World Poker Tour
This tournament was officially launched in 2002 by Steven Lipscomb. The tournament is televised, and features stop across the globe. It was launched just as poker began to boom and was one of the first shows to feature Texas Holdem and share it with a global audience. Some of the stops include Canada, South Africa, Czech Republic, Italy, and England – to name but a few.
Crown Australian Poker Championship
Also known as the Aussie Millions, this tournament was established in 1998 and has been held at Melbourne’s Crown Casino every year since it was launched. The first tournament featured 74 players with a $1000 buy-in. Alex Horowitz won the first tournament and took home $25,900. Of course, the tournament has grown and with it the prize money.
European Poker Tour
John Duthie started this tournament in 2004, more than likely after seeing the success of previous tournaments in the years before. It is also a televised event with global locations, however, the buy-in is a lot cheaper than the World Poker Tour. This has added to the popularity of the tournament.
Asia Pacific Poker Tour
This is one of the smaller tournaments featuring Texas Holdem in countries in the Asia Pacific region. The biggest win to date is $1.4 million which went to Amichai Barer. Even apuestas deportivas Chile fans would take note of this and consider swapping sports for poker.
Latin American Poker Tour
This is another small tour that takes place in Central and South America. The largest prize is $381,030 which went to Dominik Nitsche in the second season.
UK and Ireland Poker Tour
This tournament goes through the UK and Ireland with stops in Coventry, Galway, Killarney, Nottingham, Brighton, London, Manchester, Dublin, and Edinburgh. David Vamplew won €900,000 in the final of the first season.
These are just a few of the world’s most popular tournaments, and given the international status of it all, it is easy to see why they are as popular as they are.