The Only Poker Blog
That Matters PokerJunkie.com

The 2011 World Series of Poker will kick off on Tuesday from Las Vegas and by the end of it 58 bracelets will be awarded across all poker disciplines.

While I will naturally follow every event to some degree, there are some that I will keep a closer eye on over others.

Below are the five events I most look forward to following at the 2011 WSOP:

All the action starts here on Tuesday

#5 -  Event #29 – $2,500 10-Game Mix

For the first time in the history of the World Series of Poker, Badugi will be offered in an event.

Badugi is not the only reason I am following this event. It’s also the largest mix of games in any event at the WSOP this year.

I am very interested to see who emerges from this field to make the final table, and I look forward to some interesting Badugi hands.

#4 – WSOP Rematches (Main Event Grudge Matches)

Yes, I realize that this is not a bracelet event, but I have to take my hat off to the WSOP for thinking up this concept.

They offered two matches that I have always wanted to see replayed and gave fans the chance to vote for the third match-up.

I also agreed with the fans about the Seidel vs. Chan rematch. Hopefully this one lives up to the hype. Even if it doesn’t, it was still a great idea.

#3 – Event #37 – $10,000 HORSE Championship

I am a huge fan of the game of HORSE and I still think that the $50,000 Event should be HORSE.

Either way, this is still a fantastic event and should have a strong field. I do worry that it will be a smaller field year over year, but we will have to see.

This could be one of the five strongest final tables of the year.

#2 – Event #33 – Stud 8-or-Better World Championship

This will be the first year since 2006 that I will not be live at the final table of either the 10k Stud or the 10k Stud 8 World Championship. You can bet I will be watching on WSOP.com though.

This is by far my favorite game in poker, and the final table of the Stud 8 Championship should be a good one. Allen Kessler almost forced the poker apocalypse a year early when he got heads-up for the title.

I wouldn’t mind seeing another deep run from Chainsaw or another strong mixed-game player whose name rhymes with Spivey.

#1 – Event #55 – $50,000 Poker Players Championship

The “True World Championship of Poker” was moved to a later date this year and I applaud the move.

This will help build up the excitement for the event, and hopefully help to retain some of the numbers from last year. This will be the toughest field at the WSOP and the winner will have proved his prowess in almost every variant of poker spread at the WSOP.

A repeat by Mizrachi in this event would be a bigger accomplishment in my mind than anything done by any WSOP champion in history minus Stu Unger.

Some of you are probably shocked that the Main Event is not on this list. Personally, the Main Event is about 14th or 15th on my list of events I look forward to each year.

Granted, I am a mixed-games fanatic, but at the same time I really don’t get “truly interested” in the Main Event until about Day 4 or 5.

While many are focusing on the aftermath of Black Friday, I still think that this will be a solid WSOP. I do think the numbers will be smaller, but the caliber of play will still be world class.

The action gets started in just under 3 days. Stay tuned here as we bring you coverage of the 2011 World Series of Poker.