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The World Series of Poker Player of the Year formula came under heavy fire last year. Mostly because it almost made cashing in an event with a trending title and a massive field worth more than winning a bracelet.

Now, the organization has announced an updated and improved Player of the Year formula for 2018. One it says is aimed at better rewarding bracelet winners and players who run deep, while still rewarding consistency.

The changes have been made in response to player feedback, which was overwhelmingly negative in 2017.

From Bluff to King’s

The former Bluff Magazine had been the title sponsor of the award previously. It used its own formula to determine the winner. There weren’t too many complaints about it. However, after Bluff owners Churchill Downs pulled the plug, Global Poker Index struck a deal to buy WSOP POY naming rights in 2015. Its formula was heavily criticized at first. However, when $50,000 Poker Players Championship winner Mike Gorodinsky won it, and multiple bracelet winner Jason Mercier followed that up in 2016, the critics were largely silenced.

Global Poker Index was outbid by the Czech Republic’s King’s Casino in 2017 and a new formula emerged. It clearly favored consistent cashing over winning. Players didn’t like it and were quite vocal about it, leading to this year’s changes.

According to the WSOP, the new formula is loosely based on the points system used on the WSOP Circuit.

As usual, the buy-in level and the number of entries in an event will have an impact on the POY points players can earn. However, there will be a big difference between the points awarded for a win versus the points awarded for a min-cash.

In 2017, the ratio of points awarded for a win versus points awarded for a min-cash in the Main Event was 8.16:1. The ratio also varied for different events. In 2018, the WSOP says the ratio will always be around 20:1.

Full Tilt’s Ferguson still wins

In 2017, the much-maligned former Full Tilt Poker co-founder and board member Chris Ferguson won WSOP POY honors. He notched a record 17 WSOP cashes in Las Vegas, including two final table appearances. Ferguson led the WSOP Player of the Year race heading into the 11-bracelet 2017 WSOP Europe schedule at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. Then, he all but locked up the award, winning the 92-entry 2017 WSOP Europe €1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better event.

2010 WSOP Main Event runner-up John Racener still had a shot at catching Ferguson going into the WSOPE Main Event. However, when he busted early, the title went to Ferguson.

According to the WSOP, Ferguson still would have won the title under its updated and improved formula for this year. However, it is quite likely to change who the contenders are.

Last year, part way through the series, David Bach was 35th in the POY standings despite winning the $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed event and the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship. Changes to the ratio of points awarded for a win versus points awarded for a min-cash in this year’s formula should prevent something like that from happening again.

WSOP POY changes make sense

It’s a change that makes sense and should appeal to the players who heavily criticized the formula in 2017. However, the poker community will have to wait until November to really see how it all works out.

Once again, the WSOP POY race will include events at the WSOP at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas May 29 to July 17 and WSOP Europe at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic October 11 to November 2.

Some multi-flight events offer players the opportunity to cash more than once. However, players can only earn POY points once for each event.

Additionally, the following events are excluded:

• $565 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em Event #1
• $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Event #32
• Super Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Event #36
• $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em Event #55
• $1,000/$10,000 Ladies Event Event #57
• $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop Event #78

Plus, additional events may be excluded after the full WSOP Europe schedule is announced.

In any event, the race starts on or about May 29 and it should be an exciting one that rewards winning much more than it did last year. A move that seems in line with what the poker community has always valued first and foremost.

The post WSOP Makes POY Changes Aimed At Better Rewarding Winners appeared first on .

In the run-up to a SCOTUS decision on the NJ sports betting case, the players associations from the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL released a joint statement about their wishes for sports betting, but it’s not exactly what it seems.

The post Pro Sports Leagues Show Unified Front If Legalized Sports Betting Happens appeared first on Play NJ.

How will New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware start sharing online poker player pools? Here are some questions and answers if you are a player in any of those states.

The post Multistate Online Poker For NJ, Nevada, Delaware: Frequently Asked Questions appeared first on Online Poker Report.

May 1.

That’s the target date for New Jersey’s entrance into the Multi-State Internet Gaming Association and the start of online poker liquidity sharing between Nevada, Delaware, and the Garden State.

According to a press release issued by WSOP.com and 888poker, WSOP.com and 888 have submitted their new poker software to all three states for testing, and are hopeful that the linking of online poker players will begin on Tuesday, May 1.

The press release goes on to say:

“This shared-liquidity gives way for larger prize pools, better game selection, wider time zone coverage and expanded tournament offerings.”

“This has been a huge collaborative effort from all involved and it is important to thank the elected leadership and regulatory authorities in Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey for their dedication and diligence to help move online poker forward,” said WSOP.com Head of Online Poker Bill Rini.  “Everyone has had the end user in mind throughout this process, and as a result, we believe the United States for the first time in a regulated environment, will have a large-scale multi-state offering that will propel the industry forward as soon as next month.”

“The DGE has been happy to be part of this process, and to see it implemented so expeditiously after the signing of the agreement is a testament to all of the parties involved,” said Robert Moncrief Jr., Deputy Chief of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Technical Services Bureau.  “We are pleased to see this long-sought multi-state poker agreement come to fruition. This will raise jackpots and provide even greater opportunities for play. It also paves the way for additional states to join and grow the regulated, legal online poker market.”

Not surprisingly, poker players in all three states have been posing a lot of questions about the matter.

You’ve got questions; we’ve got answers

New accounts will be required in NV and DE

In order to pool players, two platforms (New Jersey and Delaware-Nevada) will need to be combined into one, and it appears 888 has decided to keep its New Jersey platform and migrate players from the Nevada-Delaware platform.

As such, Delaware and Nevada players will need to make new accounts once liquidity sharing begins.

“This transition will require Delaware and Nevada consumers to download the new poker client and create a new account to be able to participate,” the press release states. “This also means the existing Delaware and Nevada poker software will cease to operate after this process takes effect.  New Jersey players with an existing account will be able to play without delay.”

NJ players will have to say goodbye to HUDs

The use of HUDs (heads-up displays that supply poker players with statistical information about themselves and their opponents) have been an often asked question by players since the rules regarding HUD use vary by state.

Specifically, HUDs are unaddressed in New Jersey but expressly prohibited in Nevada. In order to bring all three states into compliance, HUDs will be prohibited across the new network.

According to the WSOP.com website:

Unfortunately, HUDs (Heads-Up Displays) were an issue where there were no good solutions that would satisfy everyone. Nevada expressly prohibits them, and New Jersey has no specific policy. Continuing to prevent HUDs in Nevada and allowing them in New Jersey was deemed unfair to Nevada players, so the only option that would give a level playing field to all players was to prohibit them in both Nevada and New Jersey. Players can always review their hands in the client and request specific hand histories from Customer Support.

WSOP online bracelets available to some but not all players

WSOP online bracelet events will be exclusively available to New Jersey players on the WSOP.com website.

To clarify, players using the 888-branded online poker site in New Jersey, or playing on one of the 888-powered online poker sites in Delaware will not be able to participate in WSOP.com online bracelet events or satellites to WSOP events. Only players registered at WSOP.com branded sites will be able to participate in those events.

“Once the process is complete, New Jersey WSOP.com players will be able to compete for official WSOP gold bracelets from their home state for the very first time.  The first opportunity to do so should be the Sunday, June 3 $365 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em official gold bracelet event (Event #10) being held in Las Vegas as part of the 49th WSOP.”

There are four online bracelet events on the 2018 WSOP schedule:

• June 3, Event No. 10: $365 No-limit Hold’em
• June 22, Event No. 47: $565 Pot-limit Omaha 6-Handed
• June 29, Event No. 61: $1,000 No-limit Hold’em
• June 30, Event No. 63: $3,200 High Roller

What else you should and shouldn’t expect

Once WSOP.com-888 begin pooling players across the three states it will leap to the head of the online poker pack by a considerable margin.

At WSOP.com-888 players will find:

• More games
• The addition of new formats, like BLAST Poker (888’s version of ZOOM Poker)
• Bigger tournament guarantees (in-depth analysis can be found here)

You can also expect to see the other significant operators in New Jersey — PokerStars and partypoker — take a hit, with some of their players jumping ship to the larger WSOP.com-888 network.

That said, this won’t be a panacea. Don’t expect to see pre-Black Friday poker numbers.

Instead, expect to see traffic more than doubling, with extended peak traffic hours.

The post NV-NJ-DE Interstate Online Poker Will Begin On May 1; Here’s What You Need To Know appeared first on .