/ Matthew Pitt / 06 April 2011 / Leave a Comment 
A 2007 WSOP bracelet. They probably meant more back then!
In 54 days time the 42nd annual World Series of Poker will kick off in Las Vegas, Nevada and more than 72,000 poker players will descend on "Sin City" with one common goal, to win a coveted WSOP bracelet. But are they really that sought after any more and does winning one still hold as much prestige as say 20 years ago?
Although the inaugural WSOP event was held in 1970 the first-ever bracelet was not awarded until 1976, though all WSOP event winners before this date were awarded them retrospectively. Winning a bracelet back then meant you were the best player in the world for that particular poker variant as the fields were very small and the number of bracelets on offer were minimal.
However, in recent times the number of bracelets on offer has continued to increase at an alarming rate. In 2006, thirty years after the first bracelet was awarded, the number of events that gave the winner a gold bracelet had increased from eight to a staggering 45 and this year's World Series of Poker will see no fewer than 58 poker players leave The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino with a diamond encrusted gold bracelet on their wrist or stowed safely away in their luggage. Add to this the fact you now win a bracelet in World Series of Poker Europe events, meaning players have the chance to win a total of 65 bracelets in 2011 alone, which is ridiculous.
In recent years the organisers of the WSOP have had the bright idea to have two tournaments running every day, which means some people are playing 50 or more tournaments over the course of the series. We had instances last year where players such as Daniel Negreanu had bought into two tournaments on the same day and he was darting back and forth between the two games, again completely ridiculous and disrespectful of other players and the history of the WSOP itself.
Even Erik Seidel thinks the value of a WSOP bracelet is on the decline. In a recent interview the eight-time WSOP bracelet winner said, "I think the value of a WSOP bracelet is diminishing. I loved it when there was a tournament every two days. This two-events-a-day stuff gets silly with people playing 50+ events." He went on to add that the size of the fields is also actually a concern because the best players will hardly ever have a chance to win a bracelet in no limit event. "Let's sat Isaac Haxton is the best No Limit Hold'em player in the world. He has almost no chance to win a No Limit title on the world's biggest stage." Though that is a separate issue.
Winning a WSOP is still a major achievement in my opinion but because of the sheer number of them available to win and the fact the field sizes are now so huge there is more luck than skill involved in many cases. I would prefer bracelets to be only awarded in the World Championship events but then others will argue this would mean Joe Bloggs from the street would be priced out of his dream to win a bracelet, but does Joe Bloggs really dream about winning one anymore? I don't think he does.
Why not check out the excellent Western-themed website dedicated to qualifying for the 2011 World Series of Poker through Betfair Poker?
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