Imagine what it will be like to buying into the World Series of Poker’s US$ 1 million for one single drop. While many of us cannot even imagine the idea, what many people do not even realize that many of the top players in the world too could not imagine the idea.
The huge risk involved
While the possibility of gate crashing into the most prestigious event related to Poker looks promising, spending such high amount of your money for that looks ludicrous. Opining on the merits and demerits of buying into such mega events, one big player Isaac Haxton has recently said that, if you are a professional poker player, putting more than two percent of your bankroll on a single big tournament can prove to be a bad decision due to the risks that are involved.
Some big shots related to the game like Cirque du Soleil, a billionaire who had played a vital role in organizing the event might be able to expend US$ 1 million for participating in a single poker championship. In fact there are lot of other millionaires from around the world who attend the event every year. For such players spending a I million dollars might just be a drop in the bucket. Haxton himself has not made it clear as to how much he will be keeping for himself. But he is certainly sure that he is not the only one selling a part of the action.
Players who have taken such risk in the past
Despite the seemingly ludicrous idea of buying into the championship by spending one’s own money, there are lots of other players who had preferred to buy their way into the championship by paying whatever price is required. Some of the players who have taken the risk in the past are:
Antonio Esfandiari
At the of the last poker championships held in the year 2012, Antonio won the title and US$ 18.3 million first prize in the form of cash. But the market speculation is that he has sold off a lot of his action. Antonio has however publicly discussed the matter with anyone.
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel went to the social media during the last month and made the people to know that he was selling 50 percent of his action during the tournament this year. Even though he may end keep a large pie for himself, it is unlikely that it would be 100 percent.
Jason Mercier
Jason was another player who had sent out a Tweet during the earlier part of the month and offered a minimum one percent stake for him for US$ 10,500.
Gerg Merson
Greg Merson had announced that he has started exploring the possibility of attracting investors. Since that time, he has sold off nearly 89 to 91 percent of himself and believed most other professional players would ultimately do the same thing.
Negative feelings towards selling action
With all the big pros struggling with each other to buy into the game, there is a concern that some amateur players with some real interest in the game and who could even easily to pay the required US$ 1 million might be turned down. However, as the poker is seeing a downturn with very limited sponsorship of events, it might be very difficult for players to survive without selling a part of their own. Most of the guys who want to enter the tournament by paying the money are finance professionals with lots of spare money. However, some analysts are skeptical regarding the prospect of paying for entering a tournament. Unless you are worth higher than the US$ 10 million, it is not the worth spending US$ 1 million on a single project as it was not the right way of doing leveraging a player’s finances.
Conclusion
In view of the bad times that the Poker industry experiencing, it is very common for the players to buy into a major championship by paying a small money. It is up to the players to decide whether it is worth to take the risks in buying into a championship or not.