The World Poker Tour became the latest operator to make a move to appeal to social media content this week.
The tour announced the new WPT Wildcard brand and format. It is “geared towards social media content, creator participation, and non-traditional gameplay.”
According to WPT officials, the format is supposed to bring unexpected twists to the felt and is built with streaming, short-form content, and community engagement in mind.
“WPT Wildcard offers a regularly occurring slate of unpredictable gameplay environments designed for content creators and their communities,” WPT CEO Adam Pliska said. “This revolutionary series breaks the mold of traditional poker, blending competition and entertainment in ways fans will never expect.”
Format Geared Towards Social Media Personalities
Vloggers and streamers have become a larger part of the poker landscape over the last few years. Influencers like “Wolfgang Poker” went from relative obscurity to bringing millions of viewers to the game.
Even Daniel Negreanu began vlogging his WSOP experiences.
The WPT is hoping to harness some of that success, bringing new features to the Wildcard format. The upcoming WPT Prime Lodge festival in Round Rock, Texas will host the first Wildcard events. Some of the highlights include:
- Heart Attack Poker (Oct. 8) – A livestreamed cash game where WPT ambassadors and other content creators will be strapped to heart rate monitors.
- Mystery Bounty Chaos (Oct. 12) – A $300 buy-in no-limit hold’em event open to the public. However, the tournament features unconventional gameplay elements, such as power-ups and penalties.
For every knockout, the player who scored the bounty will receive either a power-up, penalty, or monetary prize between $500 and $5,000.
The power-ups range from stack boosts to an automatic final table spot. Penalties range from paying three rounds of blinds and antes as a splash pot to swapping stacks with the shortest stack in play.
Mystery Bounty Chaos Likely Confined To Texas
There are no regulatory bodies ruling over Texas’ poker clubs. As a result, the clubs have more leeway to run these types of events.
Lodge co-owner and poker pro Doug Polk explained the key difference between Texas and other markets to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe during an episode of the “Very Nadav Show.”
“Do you know how gambling works in Texas?” asked Polk. “So, basically, the house can’t have a side. But what two people or a group of people agree to amongst themselves is legal. So that means there’s no gaming commission, there’s no oversight.”
Polk added that there is no list of approved games like there are in other states.
Consequently, it’s unlikely to see these types of mystery bounty events in Las Vegas and other markets with strict regulatory environments. WPT officials stated that Wildcard events will expand beyond the Texas stop. However, it’s possible that future Wildcard events will be similar to the Heart Attack Poker event, and are only available to social media influencers.
The news comes as the World Series of Poker released an incentive program for vloggers. The WSOP is offering cash incentives, free tournament entries, accommodations, and even production assistance to creators with qualifying channels.
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