With the news that 85 WSOP bracelets will be contested online next month, we ask if the bracelet is no longer the coveted prize it once was.
Every year something sparks a discussion about whether WSOP bracelets have been devalued. First it was the fact so many are in Hold’em rather than mixed game variants. Then it was the sheer number of them. Then we started having affordable bracelet events under $1,000. After that re-entries were causing the decline in prestige.
This year the debate continues around the fact that 85 bracelet events will take place online this summer. 31 at WSOP.com where only New Jersey and Nevada players can participate, the rest at GGPoker where most of the world can take part, other than the United States.
This wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for the fact that a global lockdown is currently taking place and this is literally the only way bracelets can be awarded this summer (possibly this year). People are going to spend the next month arguing about it, but if they can, they will be playing in the events.
Each new bracelet makes the others worth less
The people who talk about how the bracelets get devalued talk about them in the same way as most people talk about quantitative easing. More bracelets have been put into circulation, making each one before them worth less. When the full schedules are released no doubt they will be vastly cheaper than if the WSOP proper had taken place, perhaps with re-entries to boot and few formats other than Hold’em.
At the core of a lot of complaints about the devaluing of bracelets is a hint of snobbery. Whether it’s because they are lower buy-in, Hold’em centric or contested by more people, the consistent theme seems to be the fact that bracelets are no longer the domain of a select few. Now that a plumber from Slovenia can win a bracelet at home in his dressing gown, expect even more complaints.
We still believe in bracelets
Bracelets do get devalued every year, that’s basic economics. The more you have of something, the less valuable they become. It is also undeniable that the fact a massive portion of the poker world cannot participate, even if they want to, does put an asterix on these titles.
But as much as everyone talks about the devaluing of bracelets, thousands upon thousands of people are going to try and win one next month. These bracelets still have value because we all want to win one of them, we still believe the story that bracelets are the thing we crave almost as much as money in poker.
Maybe there will come a time that nobody in poker cares about WSOP bracelets anymore, probably when we all have at least one each. You will see arguing about whether these bracelets count for the next month, but you will see that they do count next month when WSOP.com and GGPoker attract massive numbers for these events.
Do online bracelets count? Let us know in the comments:
source https://casinonewsblogger.com/news-do-online-bracelets-count/
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