The Best Poker Tournaments Las Vegas

If you want to play poker tournaments Las Vegas, there are two different ways to approach it. You can either play in the summer or the winter. In the summer, you will find a lot more action and bigger buy-ins with higher payouts.

In the winter, it’s a much tamer environment with lower buy-ins and smaller payouts, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it means softer competition, not breaking the bank, and having more fun. The correct approach depends on your personality and bankroll.

We’ll begin with summer poker tournaments Las Vegas and then work our way to winter poker tournaments Las Vegas. We’re beginning with summer because that’s what most people want (not all people). As always, I will mix in some poker strategy and poker rules for winning.

Summer Poker Tournaments Las Vegas

There are eight poker tournaments Las Vegas series during the summer. They are:

• World Series of Poker at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino (rumored to be moving to the Convention Center)
• Deepstack Championship Series at the Venetian
• Goliath Phamous Poker Series at Planet Hollywood (PH)
• Aria Poker Classic at Aria
• Wynn Summer Classic at Wynn
• Summer Poker Series at The Orleans
• Grand Poker Series at Golden Nugget (GN or The Nugget)
• Binion’s Summer Series at Binion’s

All of these summer series are different. The poker tournaments Las Vegas you’re about to read about vary in regards to buy-ins, guarantees, rake, competition, atmosphere, and the poker strategy you should apply to increase your chances of winning.

WSOP at Rio

The amount of poker tournaments changes year by year, and that’s the case for all venues and tournament series on this list. I’m going to use last summer as a reference for all tourney series.

All you need to know in that regard is that the number of poker tournaments Las Vegas is usually the same, and that most of these summer poker tournaments are Texas Hold’em poker tournaments.

The WSOP ran a whopping 465 poker tournaments last summer, 89 of them being bracelet events. There were different types of tournament poker games available, not just Texas Hold’em poker tournaments.

On the WSOP Circuit, the winner of a poker tournament earns a ring. At the WSOP in Las Vegas, the winner of a bracelet event wins a bracelet, which is even more coveted.

One thing I don’t like about the bracelets is when you see someone wearing one at the poker table (same applies for rings). It’s a bit in-your-face and actually makes me feel bad for the person wearing the jewelry. To me, it seems like an insecurity to have to wear it at the table.

If you won a ring or a bracelet, people know, don’t worry about it. Plus, why would you want to advertise that you won a big tournament and a lot of money? This makes no sense on both fronts, but to each their own.

The WSOP runs bracelet events, satellites to those bracelet events, sit & go tournaments (single-table satellites), and Daily Deepstacks (four times per day). Many WSOP bracelet events have a $1 million guarantee. These high guarantees draw the most players in town because a win—or even a final table—will likely be a life-changing event.

Unfortunately, so many people desperately chase this dream that it’s a life-changing event in the other direction. However, I like to look at the positive side of negative events.

Therefore, if someone gets hurt at the poker table in Las Vegas and hits bottom, they will find a way to crawl back out and become stronger as a result of it, whether that’s in the poker world or somewhere else. Playing poker hands doesn’t have to be the route to prosperity.

The competition in the WSOP bracelet poker games is tough. You will usually find a couple of soft players at your table, but those will be the only leaks unless you get an excellent table draw. On the other hand, if you want the bright lights and big stage, this is where you go.

If you want to play at the WSOP without having to spend a lot of money while also playing against softer competition, play the cheaper Sit & Go’s and the Daily Deepstacks.

The rake at the WSOP is based on the buy-in amount. The lower the buy-in, the higher the rake. The higher the buy-in, the lower the rake. Overall, the rake is a little higher than average.

In the event you’re not already aware, the Rio has poor customer service. The people who work here don’t like poker players, and I’m not the only one to say this. If the series moves as rumored, this is irrelevant. Either way, if customer service is important to you, there are better options. I have one specific property in mind, which I’ll get to in a bit.

One big negative for the WSOP, for some people, is that you will have trouble getting to a bathroom during the break because there are so many people. You will also have no chance at getting food during a dinner break unless you leave the table early or just get a snack.

Deepstack Championship Series at The Venetian

The Deepstack Championship Series guaranteed $24 million in prizes and ran 160 tournaments throughout the summer. Most poker tournament here have a $100k-$250k guarantee, but there are also $1 million guarantees. The rake on these tournaments are about average. The atmosphere is excellent, with easy access to bathrooms and restaurants.

When you put all of these factors together, it’s why many people love the summer poker tournaments Las Vegas at the Venetian. You will always find a large field for the Texas Hold’em poker tournaments here, but it’s never too crowded because it’s a large and spacious poker room with a lot of overflow area.

The competition here is going to be slightly softer than the WSOP bracelet events, but it won’t be soft. Many people who need a break from the WSOP come over here to play. Some might be on tilt, which is good news for you if you can remain patient.

Goliath Phamous Poker Series at Planet Hollywood

This is better known as the Goliath Poker Series, or The Goliath. Nobody uses the word ‘Phamous’ when referring to it. The Goliath Poker Series ran 93 poker tournaments last summer, all with standard rakes. The buy-ins here are lower than most summer poker tournaments Las Vegas, which means the guarantees are smaller, but there are usually a few $300k guarantees.

Walking into PH is always fun because of the energy level. Once you walk into PH, you feel like you’re at a party. If you like that, great, but it’s bad news if you’re going to play a poker tournaments Las Vegas here during the summer. You will have to take the escalator upstairs. You can still hear the music from up there, but you will not be able to people watch, and the Pleasure Put will not be visible.

There is one big negative for playing poker tournaments at PH, even if it’s during the Goliath Series. They literally have the worst dealers in Las Vegas. There are exceptions, but overall, I have never seen anything like it. It was so bad that I had to ask my poker fans on social media. They all confirmed that PH had the worst poker dealers in town.

There was one dealer who was so nervous that he literally made a mistake on every single hand during his shift. The players at the table had to guide him the entire time. I understand if someone is new and nervous, but you don’t put them at a poker table during a relatively high buy-in event. It’s distracting for the players.

The competition here is going to be softer than at the WSOP and Venetian. You will run into strong players, but you will also run into more fish.

Would I recommend poker tournaments Las Vegas at PH? That’s a tough call. I would say yes, but only invest in one tournament to see if you’re comfortable there or not.

Aria Poker Classic at Aria

The Aria Poker Classic ran 78 tournaments last summer, and they have one of the lowest overall rakes for poker tournaments Las Vegas in the summer. That in itself is a big selling point. The buy-ins and payouts aren’t as high as you would expect for a place like Aria, but that’s ideal for the regular guy/gal who wants to pay less while still playing in a gorgeous environment.

The Aria is beautiful, and the staff is known for remembering your name even if they haven’t seen you for a long time. There is plenty of overflow area for poker tournaments as well. The one negative is that you’re off to the side from the rest of the casino, so there is poker energy, but the energy is nothing like poker rooms that are right in the middle of the action.

You might want to disregard this. It’s personal preference. High energy feels like living to me, so I like poker rooms that are close to the action. If an event center is crowded for a poker tournament, that’s all the energy you need, but the tournaments here take place in or next to the poker room.

The competition at Aria is going to be relatively strong, but just search for the soft spots, as in those who are playing here for the experience rather than the win. They want to win, but in the back of their minds, they know it’s not going to happen. That’s a big difference from the player who knows it’s possible for them to win if they pick the right spots and their hands hold.

Wynn Summer Poker Classic

The Wynn Summer Classic ran 50 tournaments last summer with a total prize pool of $8.5 million. The buy-ins here are much higher than average, but the rake is also the lowest you will find for poker tournaments Las Vegas in the summer. Both the buy-ins and payouts were increased last summer.

Due to the higher buy-ins, the fields will be smaller. This means it won’t take as long to get to the promise land, but the higher buy-ins also means tougher competition. It will be more challenging to extract chips from these players. At these levels, you can’t play the poker strategy I usually write about, but no worries, good (or great) poker players shift gears and adapt.

You need to be more active (not too active) and throw in more bluffs. They won’t fall for the rope-a-dope where you play very few poker hands and get them to come after you. This might work from time to time, but it’s not a good overall strategy in these poker games. I would highly recommend fearlessness without recklessness.

Play more poker hands, but only by a marginal amount. Don’t be afraid to jam it on draws. These are strong players. Therefore, they’re more likely to fold to your all-in. That’s one simple reason all-in is more effective. If they call, you don’t have to outplay them street-by-street, and you still have a chance of winning a big pot.

Strong players don’t want to play like this; they want to play post-flop poker. Take them out of their comfort zone. That will make you dangerous in this environment.

Summer Poker Series at The Orleans

Unfortunately, I don’t know how many poker tournaments they ran at the Summer Poker Series at The Orleans, but I do know that they guaranteed $2 million in prize money. The rake here is standard. The buy-ins and payouts are moderate. The staff is the friendliest in Las Vegas.

As far as the competition goes, you will find locals, traveling poker pros, and tourists. I was the victim of someone shoving on me with a flush draw on the flop when I had AA. I tanked because my opponent was in the Big Blind and the board was paired, but I eventually made the right call.

The turn made his flush and I didn’t boat up on the river, but I made the correct decision. That’s what matters. I say I was the victim because the player in the Big Blind probably saw this as an opportunity to take me out without post-flop play. It worked. I understand (I just wrote about it).

Grand Poker Series at The Golden Nugget

This is often referred to as The Grand by poker players. The Grand ran 130 summer poker tournaments Las Vegas. What stands out most about The Grand is the dealers, which are mostly WSOP Circuit dealers. Someone left the WSOP Circuit and lured the dealers over to downtown, which led to the reputation for the poker tournaments at The Grand being excellent. The rake here is standard.

The competition at these events is relatively soft because about one-quarter of the people playing are foreigners staying at The Nugget for vacation and decided to play some poker. I plan on playing more summer poker tournaments Las Vegas here next year. I love the environment, especially the pool and the wild and crazy Fremont Street.

Have one bad memory, though. I played in a Daily and got knocked out in bubble territory, but that’s not the bad memory. The bad memory is the dealers telling me that I had to come back the next day for their $600 Main Event because the field was so soft. I couldn’t do that because I was playing in the Crazy Eights event at the Rio the next day and had investors.

I considered contacting my investors and informing them that we might have a better opportunity at The Grand, but it was a $600k guarantee instead of an $888,888 guarantee, and I thought they might not like the idea. Looking back on it, I should have played in the $600 Main Event at The Grand. I didn’t cash in the Crazy Eights, but that’s not the point. The point is that you should always go where there is a better opportunity (softer field).

Another great thing about The Grand is that the ballroom is large, spacious, and bright. You will be very comfortable. Additionally, the tournament staff is top-notch. This makes sense because they’re coming from the WSOP Circuit, where they had to run much bigger tournaments with more people. This is a cakewalk for them.

Binion’s Summer Series at Binion’s

The Binion’s Summer Series ran 56 summer poker tournaments Las Vegas. This is where you go if you’re seeking much smaller buy-ins and/or to be away from the limelight and the stronger poker players.

Most of the buy-ins here are $75, which attracts a much smaller field. The poker room, however, isn’t much of a poker room. It’s a dark and dingy gray area near the back of the casino and next to the slots. Everything here is old school. The rake is on the low side, though, which is a plus.

Poker Tip

If you ever run into trouble when playing summer poker tournaments Las Vegas, go to Flamingo poker room or Bally’s. Flamingo runs five tournaments per day when the series is in town, and the 8 p.m. at Bally’s is definitely on the soft side. The irony is that the Flamingo is almost too soft.

When nobody knows what they’re doing, you need to get lucky because too many people are involved in every pot and you can’t get them to fold. At Bally’s, there is more of a balance between medium players and soft players, which is exactly what you want.

Now that you know the poker rules for playing poker tournaments Las Vegas in the summer, let’s take a look at the wintertime poker scene.

Winter Poker Tournaments Las Vegas

This is a completely different scene for Texas Hold’em poker tournaments. This is where you can apply the poker strategy I usually write about and expect to do well, perhaps very well. The threat in these tournaments is bad players, not great players.

The people who play in these poker tournaments are locals and tourists. That’s pretty much it. The locals tend to play tight; put pressure on them. The tourists tend to play too many poker hands; sell passiveness and lure them into your trap.

Once in a while, a bad player will get it all in when behind, you will call, and they will win. Don’t let this upset you. It’s what you want. If you know what you’re doing, you’re patient, and you keep Ego and Greed at bay, you’re going to win money playing poker in these poker tournaments Las Vegas.

This section will not focus on poker strategy or poker rules. It will simply be a list of tournament poker games you can find in the Las Vegas area in the wintertime. I’m going to use a Saturday as an example since most people who travel to Las Vegas are in town on a Saturday.

Prior to playing in any of the events listed below, it’s recommended that you read my other poker strategy articles and focus on poker rules for winning. That will help you prior to playing the poker tournaments Las Vegas listed below.

Note: The list below begins at midnight.

12 a.m.

Caesars Palace
Buy-In: $100
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $1k

Flamingo
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 20,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $500

9 a.m.

Bally’s
Buy-In: $60
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $500

Excalibur
Buy-In: $40
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Harrah’s
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $500

10 a.m.

Caesars Palace
Buy-In: $100
Chips: 12,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $1.5k

Flamingo
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 20,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $500

Planet Hollywood
Buy-In: $80
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $1.5k

Rio Las Vegas
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $500

Sam’s Town Casino
Buy-In: $30
Chips: 1,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

South Point Casino
Buy-In: $60
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $1.2k

10:15 a.m.

Green Valley Ranch
Buy-In: $50
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

11 a.m.

Aria
Buy-In: $240
Chips: 20,000
Blind Levels: 30 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Golden Nugget
Buy-In: $70
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Mandalay Bay
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Mirage Casino
Buy-In: $120
Chips: 25,000
Blind Levels: 25 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Stratosphere Casino
Buy-In: $75
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

11:05 a.m.

MGM Grand
Buy-In: $100
Chips: 25,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $2k

12:00 p.m.

Bally’s
Buy-In: $75
Chips: 20,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $1k

Harrah’s
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $500

Santa Fe Station
Buy-In: $45
Chips: 4,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Wynn
Buy-In: $230
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 40 minutes
Guarantee: $30k

12:05 p.m.

Red Rock
Buy-In: $100
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $2k

The Orleans
Buy-In: $100
Chips: 25,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

12:10 p.m.

Venetian
Buy-In: $340
Chips: 24,000
Blind Levels: 40 minutes
Guarantee: $25k

1 p.m.

Binion’s
Buy-In: $75
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Excalibur
Buy-In: $50
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Flamingo
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 20,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Planet Hollywood
Buy-In: $80
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $1.5k

Rio
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $500

Sam’s Town
Buy-In: $55
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20,000
Guarantee: $2k

2 p.m.

Bellagio
Buy-In: $130
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 30 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Caesars Palace
Buy-In: $150
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $2k

Club Fortune
Buy-In: $40
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Mirage
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

South Point
Buy-In: $150
Chips: 20,000
Blind Levels: 30 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

2:05 p.m.

MGM Grand
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $500

3 p.m.

Bally’s
Buy-In: $60
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $500

Golden Nugget
Buy-In: $50
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Harrah’s
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $500

Mandalay Bay
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

4 p.m.

Flamingo
Buy-In: $55
Chips: 20,000
Blind Levels: 10 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Planet Hollywood
Buy-In: $80
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $1.5k

Rio
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $500

5 p.m.

Bally’s
Buy-In: $60
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $500

Excalibur
Buy-In: $45
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

6 p.m.

Caesars Palace
Buy-In: $125
Chips: 12,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $1.5k

Flamingo
Buy-In: $80
Chips: 20,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $700

Santa Fe Station
Buy-In: $45
Chips: 4,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

South Point
Buy-In: $100
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $2k

6:10 p.m.

Venetian
Buy-In: $125
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $4k

6:30 p.m.

Buy-In: $20
Chips: 4,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

7 p.m.

Aria
Buy-In: $140
Chips: 20,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Golden Nugget
Buy-In: $70
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Harrah’s
Buy-In: $100
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $1k

Mirage
Buy-In: $100
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Planet Hollywood
Buy-In: $80
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $1.5k

Sam’s Town
Buy-In: $50
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Stratosphere
Buy-In: $75
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $1k

7:05 p.m.

MGM Grand
Buy-In: $100
Chips: 25,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $1k

The Orleans
Buy-In: $150
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

8 p.m.

Bally’s
Buy-In: $100
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $2k

Binion’s
Buy-In: $75
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Excalibur
Buy-In: $45
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

9 p.m.

Caesars Palace
Buy-In: $150
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $2k

Flamingo
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 20,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $500

Rio
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $500

10 p.m.

Golden Nugget
Buy-In: $50
Chips: 5,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Harrah’s
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $500

Mandalay Bay
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: N/A

Planet Hollywood
Buy-In: $80
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $1.5k
10:05 p.m.

MGM Grand
Buy-In: $65
Chips: 15,000
Blind Levels: 15 minutes
Guarantee: $500

11 p.m.

Bally’s
Buy-In: $60
Chips: 10,000
Blind Levels: 20 minutes
Guarantee: $500

As you can see from the list above, these are mostly low buy-in turbo poker tournaments with low or no guarantees. This is going to attract a mostly passive crowd. The people who want to play for big money will either be playing cash games or at a tournament series somewhere else.

If you’re going to play in the winter poker tournaments Las Vegas listed above, then you must attack any time you sense weakness. Most of these people are playing with scared money, and there is no better time to apply pressure than when you’re playing against scared money.

As mentioned above, there will also be tourists. Play those people differently. Most of them have no experience with being lured into a trap. That’s pretty much a lock because I don’t even know anyone else who does that on the Circuit.

These tourists should make for easy prey. The trick is to attack the scared money without being perceived as a maniac by the tourists. The only way to pull this off is to take down a lot of pre-flop pots and to put so much post-flop pressure on your passive opponents on the flop that the touristy players never get to see your hole cards. For all they know, the deck smacked you hard across the face.

Final Thoughts

Now you know where to play poker tournaments Las Vegas in both summer and winter. If you’re interested in higher risk and bigger payouts, definitely visit during the summer. However, you can still find smaller tournaments in the summer if you look. If you would prefer lower buy-ins and a more laidback atmosphere, visit Las Vegas for poker during the winter. Run good and play well either way.

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Poker Tournaments Las Vegas – FAQ