world poker tour wiki

WPT: history of the iconic poker tour

Poker fans will be well aware of the WPT as it’s one of the most extensive tours in the business.

But what exactly is the World Poker Tour, and what are the main events on the WPT calendar? In this article, we run through everything you need to know about the WPT, providing you with a complete understanding of one of the biggest and most successful tours in the world of poker.

What is the WPT? 

The World Poker Tour (WPT) was founded in 2002 and is responsible for arranging and hosting a series of international poker tournaments at some of the most famous casinos in different parts of the world.

Some of the most significant events in the calendar make up the WPT Main Tour, consisting of a series of tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $3,000 to $25,000. One of the biggest of 2022 was the WPT World Championship at the Wynn in Las Vegas.

Players who win at any WPT main event become members of the WPT Champions Club, a prestigious achievement reserved for only the best poker players in the world. 

WPT: the business behind the poker 

While all poker players know the WPT is one of two prestigious poker brands (the other being the World Series of Poker (WSOP), less is known about its start in business.

In 2002, the WPT was launched by Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises before the business was bought for $12.3 million by PartyGaming in 2009. Two years later, PartyGaming merged with Bwin, shifting the business behind the WPT once again.

Then, in 2015, Bwin announced the sale of the WPT to Ourgame International Holdings for a cool $35 million in cash. This was significant, as it helped the WPT gain popularity in several markets in Asia, including China, Indonesia, Korea, Macau , Thailand, and the Philippines.

By 2021, WPT’s stock had increased, and Element Partners completed a $105 million takeover of the company.

WPT grows worldwide poker coverage

Many poker fans will know of the WPT thanks to its television coverage of glamourous poker tournaments.

Today, WPT broadcasts poker tournaments in more than 150 countries and territories. WPT airs on Fox Sports Regional Networks in the United States, and it has come a long way since the first ever season was shown on the Travel Channel in the Spring of 2003.

The Travel Channel was the home of WPT for its first five seasons before moving to its permanent home on Fox, following a brief stint on GSN.

The growth of worldwide interest in WPT events has recently seen executives strike deals with major broadcasters in different parts of the world. In the Spring of 2019, TV Azteca announced an agreement with the WPT to show the events live in Latin America, and British-based broadcaster BT Sport confirmed that they would be showing all WPT events in the UK & Ireland from 2019.

As a result of the recent growth of the WPT, it has become one of the world’s leading poker brands, second only to the WSOP.

The main events on the WPT calendar

In terms of the poker itself, WPT runs tournaments throughout the calendar. Some of the biggest and most popular events include: 

• The Main Tour is open to all poker players and consists of individual events with buy-ins ranging from $3,500 to $20,000. 
• The High Stakes WPT Tour is called Alpha8, with buy-ins starting at $100,000. 
• The Low States WPT Tour is called the WPT500, with buy-ins starting at $500. 
• The WPT Deepstacks consists of mid-range events, with buy-ins ranging from $50 to $2,500.

It’s best to think of the above as tours within a tour. Every WPT Tour has its events, which are held at different casinos around the world.

There are even several online tournaments. As is the case with all poker tournaments, the winners are declared at the end of each event and awarded a cash prize based on their final place. 

When a player wins a WPT event, they secure a place in the WPT Champions Club and have their name engraved on the WPT Champions Cup. Tour winners are invited to the WPT Tournament of Champions, the tour’s signature event. 

The WPT Tournament of Champions

WPT Main Tour Events run throughout the calendar year, culminating in the Tournament of Champions event, hosted in the Spring or Summer.

The eligibility requirements have changed over the years, as have the buy-ins. Initially, the Championship was open to anyone willing to pay the $25,000 buy-in, but this was reduced to $15,000 in 2015-16 due to declining participation numbers. Moreover, organisers changed the format, making it a closed tournament competed only by Main Tour Event winners. 

As a result of the decreased buy-in and the closed field, the WPT Tournament of Champions Winner plays for a prize of less than $500,000, as has been the case in the past few tournaments.

Considering that Carlos Mortensen won $3,970,415 in Season 5, you can see how dramatically the prize money has recently been reduced. For reference, Ole Schemion walked away with $440,395 after winning the WPT Tournament of Champions in Season 17.

WPT rankings: Player of the Year 

Although the WPT Tournament of Champions is regarded as one of the most prestigious poker tournaments in the world, the prize of WPT Player of the Year is even more coveted.

Rather than winning just one event, the WPT Player of the Year needs to rank well in tournaments throughout the season. The system enables players who finish for money to score points for every competition, providing a better representation of the most talented players on the WPT. 

The WPT points system is complex and based on a sliding scale, depending on the perceived difficulty of an event. For instance: 

• For tournaments with a prize pool of $500,000 or less, the maximum number of points the winner can receive is 600. 
• For tournaments with a prize pool of between $500,000 and $4,000,000, the winner can receive between 600 and 1,400 points. 
• For tournaments with a prize pool of $4,000,000 or more, the winner earns up to 1,400 points.

As mentioned, if a player finishes for money in a WPT Main Tour Event, they accumulate points throughout the season. At the end of the season, the player with the highest number of points is named the WPT Player of the Year – the most coveted prize in the WPT.

The best WPT players of all time 

The nature of the World Poker Tour means that there are many winners every year, and it can be challenging to keep track of the prize money and achievements of the players on tour. That being said, some of the most notable winners in WPT history include:  

• Gus Hansen has three World Poker Tour titles– the most in history.
• Carlos Mortensen won the highest prize in WPT history - $3,970,415 in 2007. He also sits atop the all-time prize money list, with $6,738,672.
• The highest-earning American in WPT history is Michael Mizrachi, with $5,135,734 in tournament winnings. He is third in the all-time list, behind only Mortensen and Canadian Daniel Negreanu.

Even the legendary Phil Ivey played on the WPT, competing in several significant events during his career. He won the WPT LA Poker Classic in 2008 and has since been named a WPT Ambassador.

Recap: everything you need to know about the WPT

The World Poker Tour is the second biggest poker tour in the world, behind only the World Series of Poker. WPT events run throughout the year and are broadcast to 150 countries worldwide.

The Tournament of Champions is the flagship event, but WPT players compete to be named the Player of the Year, reflecting their achievements at various tournaments throughout the year. If you want to keep up with the latest WPT action, you can tune into the tour on Fox Sports and never miss out.

World Poker Tour

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The World Poker Tour , often abbreviated to WPT , is a series of high-stakes poker tournaments held at casinos around the world. Modeled after successful sports tours like the PGA Tour, the WPT produces the highest-rated poker television show in the United States. The World Poker Tour television show, currently broadcast on the Fox Sports Network, airs between 15-20 episodes per season, culminating in its own "WPT Championship", held at the Bellagio at the end of every season. The WPT began in 2002.

Each episode shows an edited-down and energized version of the action at the final table of the main event for a major WPT tournament. The WPT tournaments themselves take several days and usually consist of many sub-tournaments, but very little of the footage of the other events or earlier days makes it to the air. Tournaments are generally aired approximately six months after they are originally held and filmed, to provide time for post-production and for optimum TV scheduling.

Arguably, the WPT was one of the main catalysts in the poker boom . Along with Celebrity Poker Showdown , it brought Texas Hold 'em into America's living rooms and legitimized and glamorized the game for a large segment of the American viewing public. Subsequently, a number of other networks have aired poker series , notably:

• ESPN's much expanded coverage of the World Series of Poker
• Fox Sports Net's series, including the Poker Superstars tournaments and others.
• NBC's occasional forays into the subject, including the "National Heads-Up Poker Championship", an NCAA-tournament style playoff of poker's greats.
• Game Show Network's poker shows, including Poker Royale and High Stakes Poker

The WPT was originally aired on the Travel Channel in the United States for its first five seasons. Season six was shown on the Game Show Network, and Season 7 is currently airing on the Fox Sports Network.

Casinos/Tournaments [ ]

The casinos and tournaments involved in the World Poker Tour 2005-06 season (airing on the Travel Channel beginning March 8, 2006):

• The Mirage Poker Showdown, The Mirage , Las Vegas
• Grand Prix de Paris, Aviation Club de France , Paris
• Legends Of Poker, Bicycle Casino , Los Angeles
• Borgata Poker Open, Borgata , Atlantic City
• UltimateBet's Aruba Poker Classic, Aruba
• Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship, Bellagio , Las Vegas
• World Poker Finals, Foxwoods , Connecticut
• Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Bellagio , Las Vegas
• PokerStars' Caribbean Poker Adventure, on a Cruise Ship in the Caribbean
• World Poker Open, Gold Strike , Tunica
• Borgata Poker Classic, Borgata , Atlantic City
• L.A. Poker Classic, Commerce Casino , Los Angeles
• WPT Invitational, Commerce Casino , Los Angeles
• Bad Boys Of Poker II, Commerce Casino , Los Angeles
• Bay 101 Shooting Star, Bay 101 , San Jose
• World Poker Challenge, Reno Hilton , Reno
• Foxwoods Poker Classic, Foxwoods , Connecticut
• WPT World Championship, Bellagio , Las Vegas
• The Offical World Poker Tour website
• WPT is a public corporation. You can track its stock price and corporate news and filings on the Yahoo Finance page for WPTE
• The Travel Channel Website lists upcoming airings of their television show.
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• 2 Benjamin Spindler
• 3 Texas hold 'em

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World Poker Tour

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The World Poker Tour (WPT) is a series of international poker tournaments featuring most of the world's professional players. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who now serves as CEO of WPT Enterprises (WPTE), the firm that controlled the World Poker Tour up to November 2009. In 2008, the WPT started offering bracelets to its event champions. Players who won a title prior to the release of the bracelet, were given one retroactively.

In November 2009, PartyGaming announced its acquisition of the World Poker Tour from WPTE for $12,300,000. [1]

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Background
• 3 Commentary
• 4.1 Settlement
• 5 WPT Ladies
• 6 WPT Walk of Fame
• 7 Player of the Year
• 8 Tournament Results
• 9.1 Regular Events
• 9.2 WPT Championships
• 12 External links

Introduction [ ]

The World Poker Tour is a collection of Texas hold 'em poker tournaments held internationally, but mainly in the United States. The television show and the broadcasts of the World Series of Poker have led to a boom in the table game across American homes, in local casino poker rooms and online. The key sponsors of the tour are casinos and online poker sites. The show, which is syndicated internationally, is co-hosted by World Series of Poker bracelet winner Mike Sexton, and actor Vince Van Patten. Shana Hiatt served as the show host and sideline reporter in its first three seasons. Courtney Friel took over the host role for the fourth season, and Sabina Gadecki for the fifth. Layla Kayleigh and Kimberly Lansing began serving as hostesses in season six. Poker player and reporter Amanda Leatherman was the hostess for season seven. Kimberly Lansing returned as anchor for seasons nine through eleven. Lynn Gilmartin assumed the anchor role for season twelve and remains the current anchor for season thirteen, airing on Fox Sports Networks.

Background [ ]

The tour had its debut season in the latter part of 2002 and early part of 2003, climaxing with the WPT Championship in April 2003 at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first season aired on the Travel Channel on American cable television in the spring of 2003. The show made its network debut on February 1, 2004 on NBC with a special "Battle Of Champions" tournament, which aired against CBS coverage of the Super Bowl XXXVIII pre-game show. The Travel Channel aired the first five seasons of the Tour. In April 2007, WPTE announced that the series would move to GSN for its sixth season in the spring of 2008 [2] . The first WPT tournament to air on GSN, the Mirage Poker Showdown, debuted on March 24, 2008. In July 2008, WPTE announced that the series would move to Fox Sports Net for its seventh season.

The drawing power of the WPT and most other poker tournaments is that anyone who can pay the "buy-in" (an amount ranging from $2,500 to $25,000) or win a "satellite" tournament is able to compete against the top professional players.

In 2004, the World Poker Tour created a Walk of Fame, inducting poker legends Doyle Brunson and Gus Hansen as well as actor James Garner.

Now in its sixth season of broadcast, it still remains among the highest rated television programs on cable. It airs Mondays on Game Show Network. The first three seasons of WPT are also available on NTSC DVD. (The second season DVD set features audio commentary by several of the players. The third season is only available in a "Best Of" format, featuring just half of the episodes.) CITY TV airs the WPT on Sundays at 4pm PST in Canada with a rebroadcast at Midnight (or shortly after depending on the length of their Sunday Night Movie. The series moved to Monday nights since the move to GSN in 2008. Beginning with the 2008 season, host Mike Sexton no longer toasts the winner of the Tournament with an "official beer of the World Poker Tour" (sponsored in years past by Anheuser-Busch). They now provide champagne glasses for their salute.

The seventh season will be shown on FSN. In accordance with the agreement, one player a week will win a tournament on ClubWPT.com and appear on a televised show.

A series of spin-off tournaments, titled the Professional Poker Tour, began filming in 2004. Broadcast of the series was delayed, in part because of a dispute with the Travel Channel over rights. In the fall of 2005, WPTE announced that "a cable channel" (believed to be ESPN) had withdrawn from bidding for the PPT series, and that WPTE was negotiating with the Travel Channel to air the series. On January 30, 2006, WPTE and the Travel Channel announced that they had dismissed all open lawsuits. The series began regular broadcast July 5, 2006, but was suspended after one season as WPTE couldn't find a television home for a second season.

Commentary [ ]

The show's hosts Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten give the impression that all of their commentary is recorded live as the tournament happens, and they have occasionally interacted with the players during the game. However, their comments about hole cards are recorded after the tournament takes place because gaming regulations prohibit them from observing a live feed of the "hole card cameras" while on the set. Consequently, the broadcast audio is a mix of the live recording, and commentary recorded in post-production.

Sherman Act lawsuit [ ]

In July 2006, seven poker professionals sued WPTE, alleging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the California Cartwright Act, and intentional interference with contract (Complaint [3] and Response [4] ). The professionals (Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Annie Duke , Joe Hachem, Phil Gordon, Howard Lederer, and Greg Raymer) allege that WPTE's standard release forms, required for participation in WPTE events, are anti-competitive and designed to interfere with their contractual obligations to other companies. The anti-competition claim is based on the fact that WPTE's contracts with the casinos that host its tournaments bar those casinos (and other casinos owned by the same parent companies) from hosting non-WPTE poker events. The claim of interference with contract is based on the releases' claim to perpetual rights to the players' likenesses for any use WPTE wishes. The players claim that this would put them in violation of other contracts (such as Ferguson's Activision Games contract or several players' contracts with online poker sites) [5] . Hachem and Raymer dropped out of the lawsuit before its eventual settlement.

Settlement [ ]

In April 2008, WPT Enterprises, Inc. settled with the five remaining players of the lawsuit that was brought against them. Chris Ferguson said about the settlement, "We are happy to have come to an agreement that is fair to all players, and to have put in place a new release that clears up ambiguities in how players' images may be used. We are especially happy that this new release will apply to all poker players who wish to participate in WPT tournaments and events." [6]

WPT Ladies [ ]

In January 2008, the WPT announced a set of tournaments for women, known as WPT Ladies. [7] The first season will have five events, with buy-ins ranging from $300 to $1,500. The final table of the final event will be televised.

WPT Walk of Fame [ ]

The World Poker Tour Walk of Fame is designed to honor those poker players who have played the game well at the highest levels as well as those who have promoted the spread of it through film, television, and literature.

In February 2004, the World Poker Tour Walk of Fame inducted its first members at the Commerce Casino in a ceremony before top pros and celebrities in town for the World Poker Tour Invitational Poker Tournament. The induction ceremony was staged on the doorstep of Commerce Casino.

No new players have been inducted since 2004. The original inductees were Doyle Brunson, Gus Hansen and James Garner.

Player of the Year [ ]

Points are awarded for all Open events as follows:

• Winner: 1000 points
• Runner-up: 700 points
• 3rd place: 600 points
• 4th place: 500 points
• 5th place: 400 points
• 6th place: 300 points
• 7th place (TV bubble): 200 points

This award is given out to one player per season. The winners so far are:

• Season 1: Howard Lederer
• Season 2: Erick Lindgren
• Season 3: Daniel Negreanu
• Season 4: Gavin Smith
• Season 5: J. C. Tran
• Season 6: Jonathan Little
• Season 7: Bertrand Grospellier

Tournament Results [ ]

• World Poker Tour season 1 results (2002–2003)
• World Poker Tour season 2 results (2003–2004)
• World Poker Tour season 3 results (2004–2005)
• World Poker Tour season 4 results (2005–2006)
• World Poker Tour season 5 results (2006–2007)
• World Poker Tour season 6 results (2007–2008)
• World Poker Tour season 7 results (2008–2009)
• World Poker Tour season 8 results (2009-2010)

Below are the World Poker Tour events that have broken the record for the first prize.

Record winnings [ ]

Regular events [ ], wpt championships [ ].

Season's 5 championship has created the greatest prizepool of a poker tournament ever excluding WSOP Main Events.

A fictional WPT championship match is the setting for the 2007 feature film Deal . Sexton, Van Patten, and Friel play themselves and a number of other poker professionals and poker-playing celebrities are reportedly in the cast. The WPT set was shipped to New Orleans for filming following the season 4 championship.

• ↑ " PartyGaming buys World Poker Tour ", Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved on 10 November 2009.  
• ↑ World Poker Tour Signs New Broadcast Rights Agreement for Season VI With GSN
• ↑ Text of Antitrust Suit, PDF file
• ↑ Text of WPTE's Response, PDF File
• ↑ Associated Press: Seven poker players sue WPT over use of likeness, name
• ↑ Hintze, Haley (2008-04-19). World Poker Tour Settles Player Release Lawsuit . PokerNews.com . Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
• ↑ World Poker Tour launches its first official Ladies Poker League

External links [ ]

Official site

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World Poker Tour

Poker players from around the world compete for large cash prizes Poker players from around the world compete for large cash prizes Poker players from around the world compete for large cash prizes

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• Trivia In one of the most bizarre series of events at the table, at the World Poker Open 2005 in Tunica, Mississippi, Scotty Nguyen moved all in three hands in a row and was called all three times by opponents holding King-Eight of clubs. He was first called by Daniel Negreanu, Scotty held Queen of clubs and Jack of spades. The board read; Jd 10cl 10sp 9d 3sp, giving Scotty two pair, Jacks and tens, and the win. The very next hand he was called by another player at the table, the eventual winner of the event, John Stolzmann. This time Scotty held 9-8 of spades. The board read; 10cl Acl Ksp 4d Jh, giving Stolzmann a pair of Kings and the win. The very next hand Scotty pushed all in once again, this time holding Acl 5sp. Daniel Negreanu who, upon seeing his hole cards and realizing that it was once again K-8 of clubs, looked somewhat surprised and even a little startled, made the call. The board read; 5cl 8sp Kh 9sp 7sp, giving Negreanu two pair Kings and Eights and the win. Thus, knocking out Scotty Nguyen in fourth place.

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• Connections Featured in ER: Out on a Limb (2006)

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What is the wpt.

The WPT is short for the World Poker Tour, which is one of the biggest, longest running and most prestigious live poker tours in the world, holding events in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

What is the WPT World Championship?

The WPT World Championship is held every December at Wynn L:as Vegas and features the WPT World Championship with a $10,400 buy-in, In 2023 the WPT World Championship had a $40m guaranteed prize pool and attracted 3,814 entries, producing an overlay of $2.4m.

What is WPT Prime?

WPT Prime is the mid-stakes tour operated by the World Poker Tour. The main event of WPT Prime Championships costs $1,1000 to enter.

What is the Mike Sexton Cup?

The Mike Sexton Cup is the special cup upon which the names of all WPT Championship winners are engraved. It is named after Mike Sexton, the late ambassador and commentator for the tour, who was also a WPT Champion.

Play Online

Play to win one of five $2,500 wpt prime championship passports this saturday*, play to win a live wpt championship seat*, recent tweets @wpt.

World Poker Tour Rulesheet

Below is a list of all the features of World Poker Tour. Values for some features are a work in progress, as are the features that may change in competition/tournament mode. The order of features listed is somewhat organized by the frequency that they will be seen.

First, the physical features of the game:

Left to right, along with the associated feature names. (see feature description for more info). There are 6 major shots each marked with a Red Arrow and the features listed:

• Left Orbit - Chip Trick, Main Pot Spinner
• Left Ramp - Flop, Turn, River, Chip Trick
• VUK - Cut the Cards, Extra Ball, Lock
• Scoop - Chip Trick, Spin a Card, Poker Corner, Lock
• Right Ramp - Flop, Turn, River, Chip Trick
• Right Orbit - Chip Trick, Main Pot Spinner

Mini-playfield - from left to right

• Re-light Mystery
• White Stand up
• Ace in the Hole
• Exit to the pops

Below the mini-playfield are thre e pop bumpers, and four red stand-up targets. Then there are 16 drop targets in three banks (8 on the left, 4 in the center, 4 on the right).

Skill Shots

The skill shot light cycles before plunging the ball, new balls are plunged for each ball of play, and after physically locking a ball in the Ace in the Hole jail mechanism. Advance Hold 'Em is locked on for your first plunge of the game (to give you your initial hole cards).

The three skill shot awards are:

• Advance Hold Em - Progresses your hold 'em hand.
• Mystery - Awards a mystery award (see Cut the Cards)
• Skill Flip - Shoot the left-most shot on the Mini-PF quickly and without hitting any other switch for 1M (+1M per up to 5M)

End of Ball Bonus

Bonus is comprised of:

• 10K per hold 'em hand (cumulative from all balls)
• 50K per trophy collected from modes (cumulative)
• 25K per city won (cumulative)
• Sharpshooter bonus (based on each ball; 500 * hand level * number of unit drop targets remaining)
• An end of ball bonus (may be based on switch hits?). Instant Info says “Pop Targets add Bonus X” - the standup targets below the backbox add +1 bonus x per completion.

Hold 'em Hands

Shown in the large DMD in the center of the playfield. Progress through hold 'em hands (Flop>Turn>River) by hitting ramp shots, the Advance Hold 'Em skill shot or by getting All-In Multiball (see description below).

Completing hands lights Poker Corner (see below) and progresses tournaments (see below). The award for completing a hold 'em hand is the value of the main pot (see description for All-In MB) multiplied by the strength of the hand:

• High card: x .5
• Two pair: x 2
• Three of a kind: x 3
• Straight: x 4
• Full house: x 6
• Four of a kind: x 7
• Straight flush: x 8
• Royal flush: x 9

In tournament mode, the hands are dealt to the player in ascending strength, (the first hand will be pair, with improving hands from there on out).

Tournaments

Shown by the red inserts between the sling shots. Winning your first tournament requires completing one hold 'em hand, and awards 1M points. Winning your second tournament requires two hands, awards 1.5M. Third tournament three hands, 2M points (Subsequent tournaments award +500k each and require 4 completed hands). Extra ball is lit after winning your 2nd and 6th tournament. After completing a tournament, red arrow inserts are lit to award 100k each. They unlight after awarding. I believe the award increases for every tournament completed on the same ball. (This may be per completed hand).

Poker Corner Modes (Points details to come)

Completing a hold 'em hand lights Poker Corner at the scoop. If you play a Poker Corner mode, you must complete another hand to relight the next (mode relights do not stack from multiple hand completions). Starting a Poker Corner mode also relights the Ace in the Hole lock.

Every mode has a “goal” (usually making a certain amount of shots). Completing the goal earns a trophy. Each Trophy scores 1M and increases the value of the Poker Wizard mode. Poker Corner modes last 30 seconds; if there’s still time left, the first award from Cut the Cards will add 15 more seconds.

Modes cannot be started during multiballs, but you can start Ace in the Hole, All In, and No Limit Multiball during a mode. Drop Target Poker is available during every mode except Know Your Outs and Chip and a Chair.

In terms of tournament strategy, ignore the drop target modes. You don’t need to time them out, you can just ignore the drops. Don’t start Change Gears until you have a quickly accessible multiball.

Steal the Blinds: All main shots are unlit. One shot is the Big Blind, initially worth 500K; the rest are Small Blinds which start at 100K. Making any shot adds 100K to the Big Blind value, and 25K to the Small Blind value. Each bumper hit increases the Big Blind value and changes the Big Blind’s location–pay attention to the shot arrows! Collect two Big Blinds for the trophy.

Play the Button: One flashing arrow (the button) is worth a large value starting at 500K, while all other unlit shots start at 50K. Hitting a shot adds 100K to the flashing shot value, and 10K for the unlit value. Once any shot is made, the flashing shot moves to the leftmost shot on the playfield. Making three flashing shots earns a trophy.

Know Your Outs: Hit 16 drop targets for the trophy. Drop targets start at 250K and increase by 25K per subsequent drop. Drop targets stay down until all 16 of them have been hit, upon which they all reset. This is a challenging and dangerous mode to complete if you don’t have a multiball running. Completion may yield 8M+.

A Chip and a Chair: Hit 20 drop targets for the trophy. Each target scores 100K, increasing by 10K per target hit, and resets immediately when hit. Dangerous mode to complete without multiball, completion will net you 5M+.

Spot the Tell: The DMD shows six faces, each corresponding to the six main shots on the lower playfield. Occasionally, a face will show a tell. Hitting the corresponding Tell shot awards 1M + 250k per and creates a new Tell shot (which could be on the same shot), No tell awards 100k + 25k per. I’ve gotten around 4M out of this mode.

Change Gears: Eight to win trophy. Hit shots on the lower (any of the 6 main shots) and upper playfield (white stand ups). Shots on the lower playfield start at 500K, shots on the upper playfield start at 300K, each will increase both, +50K for Low gear and +25K for high gear. Low Gear shots max out at 1.5M, High Gear shots max at 750K. This is probably the most lucrative mode, especially if you can bring a multi-ball in; it is possible to score 30M or above.

Side pots are collected by hitting the orbits during a multiball. Extra ball is lit after 10 side pots. Side pot starts at 100K, increased by hitting the bumpers. Side Pot value resets each ball, unless hold Side Pot is awarded (through mystery, or through WPT hurry-ups) All MBs can be stacked and except for Poker Hands, can be started during any mode.

World Poker Tour has 4 primary multiballs. They can run with one another. Poker Corner modes cannot be started during multiballs, but both can be “stacked” if you start a mode before a multiball.

Ace in the Hole Multiball:

Hit the jail on the mini-playfield to open the bars for a ball lock. Hitting the captive ball 3 times releases it and starts Ace in the Hole Multiball.

With two balls initially on the mini-playfield, quickly locking a ball back in the jail awards a 1M “Instant re-lock” and adds another ball into play. Otherwise, if either ball leaves the mini-playfield, the jail bars lower and Ace in the Hole begins as a two-ball affair instead.

The jail and the ramps are worth jackpots starting at 200k, but eventually increase to 400K and 500K. After 3 jackpots, the jail reopens to lock a ball and add another into play (which also briefly lights the ball save). The captive ball can be hit 4 times before it is released, after which another 4 jail bar hits are required to open them again.

After 10 jackpots (?) and a ball is locked back in the jail, each captive ball hit is a super jackpot worth 1.5M each. There may be a timer in this phase (?). If you have a ball in the jail when you drain to one ball, the jail will open and release the ball to allow you to continue multiball.

A good strategy with Ace in the Hole is to get it to “1 hit to start multiball”, start a Poker Corner mode, then get the ball back to the upper PF and start multiball. If the jail is open during any multiball, try to lock a ball in it as it will briefly light ball save and replace the locked ball with a fresh ball.

All In Multiball:

The left and right spinners at either orbit raise the value of the main pot. The main pot starts at 250K, and increases by 25K with each completed hand. Each spinner spin adds 5K to the pot, increasing by 500 per completed hold 'em hand. All In Multiball starts when the main pot value reaches the All In value (starts at 750K, increasing by 250K after each All In Multiball).

When All In Multiball begins, you’re awarded a completed hold’ em hand, and the current base value of the main pot. Jackpots are all main shots excluding orbits, starting at 150K and increasing by switch hits.

All In Multiball can be reached with pretty consistently with 2-3 good full orbit shots, or 1 strong orbit with Triple Scoring active.

No Limit Multiball:

Hitting the left standup target a set number of times lights locks for No Limit Multiball. Initially, three hits lights all three locks at either the VUK or the scoop; you can stack locks. The second No Limit Multiball does not allow this; you must light a lock and collect it before lighting the next.

During No Limit Multiball, the left ramp is worth a 1M jackpot. Completing a drop target bank relights it with varying multipliers; 1X from the center bank; 2X from the right bank; and 3X from the left bank.

Tip: The lock insert will flash when you have the third lock lit. If you have two balls locked, and third lock and poker corner are both lit, you can start No limits and a mode by hitting the scoop.

Poker Hands Multiball:

A mini (micro?) wizard mode. Light all the poker hands shown on the playfield (see Drop Target Poker) to start a four ball multi ball. This can be started during other multiballs. Jackpots start at 1M, spinners raise jackpot, after 9 jackpots Super Jackpot is lit for 5M.

Drop Target Poker

Poker Hands are shown on the inserts in the playfield below the center drop target bank. Light an insert by hitting the drop targets to make that hand (hit two Qs to light One Pair, etc). Each drop is worth 10k to begin, gaining an additional 1K . You are awarded 100k multiplied by the position of the insert (100k for one pair, 200k for two pair, etc except Royal Flush which scores 1M base) plus 100k per unlit insert below it. So, completing Straight first will award 400k+300k. You can also complete higher hands that may include a lower hand by hitting the drop targets before the award is shown, i.e. you can complete Three of a Kind before completing One Pair if you hit the second and third targets in quick succession. Completing all hand types will start poker hands multiball which is a mini-wizard mode. Spotted cards are indicated by lit inserts, and persist from ball to ball (though the target will reset to the up position). Flashing card inserts indicate cards that will complete an available hand. These poker hands cannot be progressed during Know Your Outs or Chip and a Chair (because those modes use the drops).

Triple Scoring - After completing a drop target poker hand, triple scoring will be lit on an inlane. You can switch which inlane is lit with the flipper button. This is essentially triple playfield scoring for 3 seconds --if the action awards points, they will be tripled-- and counts as triple progress towards super jackpots (in applicable multiballs).

Chip Tricks

These are the shot combos in the game. Chip tricks are available on all the major shots except the VUK. Left side chip tricks will flash when you do left orbit or right inlane, right side CTs flash on right orbit and left inlane. Hitting a flashing shot will spot that insert and award points around 15-50k’. Subsequent chip tricks award higher points for the rest of ball and comboing them will award 2X, 3X etc the value. Upon spotting your fifth Chip trick you start Super Trick: you have 10 seconds to hit a flashing Chip Trick. Hitting that shot unlights it, awards around 200k and the timer resets to 10 seconds to hit another flashing Chip Trick for 300k, then 400k etc. This is actually calculated as 2/3/4/5/6 times a base value of 100k, which can be increased somehow, but I’m not sure how. Extra Ball is lit for hitting all flashing Chip Trick shots during Super Trick, but must be collected before draining as it does not carry to the next ball. After completing super trick, chip tricks have a higher starting value.

Cut The Cards

This is the mystery award. (Longest shot in pinball?) VUK hanging off the back of the playfield, sends the ball up to the mini-playfield. Mystery awards include: advance hold’em, small points (around 15k-120k), medium points (around 350k-600k), large points (around 900k-1.2M), double hurry up (starts at 2M), increase bumper value, add 2x/3x/4x/5x bonus, add bonus points, increase drop target value, increase side pot, light triple scoring, raise bars (opens AITH jail), increase chip trick value, hold chip trick value, hold bumper value, hold drop value, hold side pot, light extra ball (rare). The possible awards are the same on the skill shot mystery and cut the cards. During multi-ball this will award an add-a-ball (unless all 4 balls are in use), while during a mode it will award more time (15 seconds). Cut the Cards is re-lit by hitting the left-most shot on the mini playfield. Mystery Award can also award All In Multiball or No Limits Multiball as a pity award on your third ball. For NL, I believe you need to have Lock and Cut the Cards lit at the VUK, All In MB can be awarded from the skill shot.

Hitting any of the white stand up targets on the mini-playfield three times will begin a hurry up, starting at 1M and decreasing. Hitting the white targets while the hurrry-up is running will increase the value. Complete the hurry up by hitting the right slot that exits to the pops. There are random “hold” awards every two hurry ups. These are things like “hold trick value”, “hold side pot value”, “hold main pot value”, “hold bonus x”. 10 Hurry ups lights extra ball.

Other Features

Spin a Card - The scoop will spot a random drop target to add to your drop target poker hand. Relight by going through the left inlane.

Red stand up targets - These are there in place of the usual rollover lanes, above the pops, light all four targets by hitting them (cycle them with the flipper buttons) to increase bumper value and add bonus X multiplier.

Pop Bumpers - Base value of 1K points, can be increased with the stand up targets, or through mystery awards. Hitting the pops also increases Side Pot Value. 3x and 5x bumpers occur sometimes but not sure why.

Wizard Modes

Poker Wizard:

Available at the scoop after playing through all 6 Poker Corner modes. Shot awards are increased based on how many trophies you’ve earned. With two trophies, jackpots are worth 1.6M; with three trophies, jackpots are worth 2.3M; with four trophies, jackpots are worth 3.1M.

WPT World Championship:

Begins after completing your 6th tournament, to complete you need to collect 10M points by hitting ramps repeatedly, Flops, turns and rivers all award points. Hand awards are increased by hitting drops. 10M points awarded upon completing.

Keefer Invitational:

The final wizard mode. This has a lot of requirements that are mostly listed in the status report.

To qualify, you must win the WPT World Championship and score 25 million in each of the following:

• Ace in the Hole Multiball
• No Limit Multiball
• Pot (completed hold 'em hands)
• Targets (drop targets, hands, and Poker Hands Multiball)
• Poker Corner (modes and Poker Wizard)

Once these tasks are finished, start Keefer Invitational by collecting a Cut the Cards award.

Keefer Invitational awards you 25M and a four-ball multiball with the following rules:

• Spinners score 25k
• Bumpers score 50k
• All shots score 1M
• Lock a ball in AITH jail and hit captive ball to increase jackpot
• Hurry-ups start at 2M and always run
• Complete drop targets for 2M+ and an add-a-ball

Keefer Invitational ends once you drain down to 1 or fewer balls. Subsequent Keefer Invitationals during the same game require 5M more in the scoring criteria to qualify.

Please feel free to contribute any additional info.

I’ve seen the mystery award provide multiball (off the skill shot, no less) on our local game, is that a typical mystery award or is there some kind of ball 3 pity multiball rule at work there?

Thanks for the note, surprised I forgot this. Added language to Cut the Cards. I’ll try to figure out the exact requirements in future bad games…

It’s a pity rule.

Special is in the outlanes. How do you light it? How do you make it drain in the outlanes?

lit from starting poker hands MB (hands from drop targets).

ensure special ISN’T lit.

Are you telling me that when special is lit, i should use the flipper buttons to make sure that it is lit at the opposite outlane from where the ball is draining?

It was an attempt at a joke, the ball seems much more likely to go down an outlane if nothing is lit on it.

pretty sure that slingshots change which outlane is lit, it’s not player controlled.

Thats cool. Now that I knew what to check for, I did. It seems starting poker hands MB isn’t enough. Maybe by completing it?

Pretty sure special was lit for me last night as soon as I started Poker Hands mb. I’m running factory settings on everything, non-competition.

Super deep game. Hope to reach Keefer Invitational one day.

Making some contributions to polish up the rulesheet.

Does anyone know the rules to poker wizard Mb? What the jackpot shots are and what qualifies them?

4-banks qualify different shots for jackpots…

• lower left 4-bank -> left ramp
• upper left 4-bank -> vuk
• center 4-bank -> scoop
• right 4-bank -> right ramp

Jackpot values are based on trophies… I don’t remember the specifics, but it’s something like

• 0 trophies: 500K
• 1 trophy: 1M
• 2 trophies: 1.6M
• 3 trophies: 2.3M
• 4 trophies: 3.1M
• 5 trophies: 4M
• 6 trophies: 5M

I know 0 is 500K and 6 is 5M, so that looks like a progression I’d use.

Since you can’t earn more than one trophy/mode (any replayed mode with a trophy scores double), the jackpot won’t go higher than 5M. But you can triple, of course. And Poker Wizard MB scores count towards your mode total for the Invitational (similar to Poker Hand MB counts towards the drop total).

I’m just curious about the thinking here, Keefer… why not have jackpot value = trophies collected * 1M? (of course, with the 0 trophy exception)

Getting the 6th specific one is in theory much harder than getting any one of them.

We can argue on the actual values (these might be slightly low), but they definitely should get higher the more you get.

Does the 3X shot only count for lower playfield shots? I was wondering if it was possible to score triple points on the upper playfield if you got one ball up there, and another on the lower playfield triggering 3X scoring.

I don’t have the game to test, but I believe it’s anywhere.

From my memory (and description above) the 3X scoring is for 3 seconds, not single shot. ,So you can do it with 1 ball in play as well if you’re quick about it.

(edit: or not)

Are you sure?

World Poker Tour Bets on AI Dubbing of Tournaments for Latin America

The World Poker Tour (WPT) is betting on AI-powered dubbing tools under a partnership with Papercup, a London-based AI dubbing company, that will replace WPT's traditional localization methods in Latin America.

Papercup will work with the World Poker Tour to translate 184 of the franchise's 44-minute-long episodes into Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish, the companies said. 

"This will amount to nearly 140 hours of content and enable viewers across South America to access WPT's latest shows and tournaments in their native language quicker than ever before," they explained. "Forced to deal with lead times of up to six months, the company experienced ongoing challenges with timely content delivery and adaptation." 

The Papercup deal will cut those lead times in half, the partners said. "Now the premier poker content produced by WPT will be able to reach international fans watching on OTT platforms, as well as its own FAST channel, faster than ever before," they touted. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Papercup uses a combination of machine-learning tools and expert human translators to "deliver maximal linguistic and tonal accuracy." Its AI voices are built using data from real voice actors to ensure they "have all the warmth and expressivity of human speech," it says.

" The quality of Papercup dubbing has been second to none. A big part of that is down to their AI voices and expert translators who go through every sentence to make sure the moment is truly captured in the new AI dubs," said Marc Dion, director of distribution & ad sales at WPT. "The major streaming platforms have very stringent criteria when it comes to dubbed content and if it's going to connect with our shared viewers."

Said Papercup CEO Jesee Shemen: "The world of sports and entertainment has so much to gain from the adoption of AI tools like ours. Localizing quality content with the care and attention it deserves at speed is an absolute priority for WPT in order to engage their international fan base – our scalable solution means this work is finally possible."

Papercup's AI technology is also being used by the likes of Fremantle, Bloomberg, Sky News, Fuse Media, and The Jamie Oliver Group to localize content. The company, whose financial backers include Comcast-owned Sky, venture capital firms, and angel investors, says videos produced by it have reached more than 1 billion people in non-English speaking territories.

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