Never Mind the WSOP, What About the Daily Deepstacks?

Poker players around the world are tingling with excitement about the 2021 WSOP schedule, which was released earlier this week. Everyone is looking forward to competing for poker’s most prestigious prize: a gold WSOP bracelet. However, a few cannot wait to grind the Rio Daily Deepstacks.

Eighty-eight bracelets are waiting to be won at the 2021 WSOP in Las Vegas, but there is more to the WSOP than its bracelet-awarding events. Much more. There are cash games aplenty throughout the series, plus the famous Daily Deepstacks.

What Are The Daily Deepstacks

The Rio Daily Deepstacks are precisely what their name suggests. They are deep stacked tournaments taking place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino every day. They, in fact, run more than daily because they run at least twice, sometimes three or four times, each day while the WSOP is in town.

Daily Deepstacks are the first tournaments you see when arriving at the areas dedicated to the WSOP. They come with various buy-ins; usually, $150, $200, $250, and $400, with a 50+ Seniors edition sprinkled in for good measure.

The most common start times are 13:00 and 16:00, and 19:00, although some run at 22:00. Everyone starts the tournament deep stacked, but do not let the Daily Deepstacks’ name fool you because you do not stack deep-stacked for very long.

Blinds increase every 20 to 30 minutes, turning the latter stages into something of a crapshoot. However, if your short-stack play is on point, you can do very well for yourself in these events.

What Kind Of Players Play These Tournaments

Daily Deepstacks attract a whole host of players, each with different goals in mind. Players on a budget and recreational players are the most common player types in these events. The sheer number of “fish” in the fields means the standard is relatively low, and the events are soft.

It is a sweeping statement but expect more loose-passive and tight-passive opponents than you can shake a stick at!

Some solid regulars and even professionals jump into the Daily Deepstacks on occasion. They play to blow off some steam or to pass the time between WSOP bracelet events.

Others grind these tournaments instead of entering satellites. Satellite tournaments frequently run during the WSOP, but satellites can be tedious. There is a lot of folding going on if you adopt the correct strategy. Live satellites are the nut worst, even if they are highly lucrative.

Playing some Daily Deepstack with the intention of using any profit to buy into a WSOP event is a good strategy. These games last longer than traditional satellites, but they are great fun. They also allow you to play poker rather than constantly worry about satellite concepts.

What Are The Top Prizes?

Daily Deepstacks run from the opening day of the WSOP to almost the final day. The early events attract between 200 and 400 runners, depending on the time and buy-in. Tournaments during the series often see 1,000 or more players buying in, resulting in some sizeable prizes.

Look at the $250 Daily Deepstacks that ran at 13:00 on June 22, 2019, for an example. This attracted 692 players, and Brad Siegel outlasted them all. First place paid $26,411, with everyone at the final table winning between $2,042 and $16,314.

Basically, you are looking at top prizes of around $3,000 for the $150, $8,000 for the $200, $10-$25,000 for the $250, and $12-$16,000 for the $400.

However, these tournaments are more than just the money. They are bags of fun, the players enjoy being at the WSOP, and they are perfect for honing your tournament skills. Taking one down and cashing in a few others gives you the bankroll for a WSOP Main Event seat, too.

Matthew Pitt

If it’s something you can play online for real money, chances are Matthew knows a bit about it. He’s been writing about slots, craps and poker for the better part of the last decade. He’s written for PokerNews, PartyPoker and many other respected online gambling websites during the last nine years.

View Articles