The World Poker Tour is back in Oklahoma in just a few days, as the Choctaw Casino & Resort will be hosting the WPT Choctaw event. Running from the 3rd to the 7th of August, the stop will mark the fourth year running that the WPT has traveled to Oklahoma for the main leg of their poker tour.

$1 Million Guaranteed Prize Money:

The Main Event of the WPT Choctaw will be a five-day affair, offering a $1 million prize pool guarantee with a buy-in of $3,500 + $200. Players participating in the event can choose to compete in two starting flights. The first option is set for August 3rd at 12:00pm while the second will be on the 4th at the same time.

According to the World Poker Tour…

the tournament is an unlimited re-entry event and players can choose to compete in both flights as many times as they like. The only drawback is that the event is not a ‘take your best stack forward’ kind of tournament. Any stack earned is forfeited if you choose to compete in Day 2 after finishing Day 1 with chips still in play. Players will be given 40,000 in starting chips and blind levels are set at 60 minutes.

New Rules for WPT Choctaw:

This year, there are new implementations to the rules. The event will use the big blind ante format, which has not been used in the past. The big blind will pay the ante for the entire table, which helps to speed up game play.

Another new factor is that once the tournament reaches one table from the money, a 30-second shot clock will be implemented. From this point, players will have only 30 seconds to make a decision on their hand. Players are given four chips that can be used for a time extension if they are in a tough spot and need more time to decide on what to do, such as considering their gaming strategy.

Players who run out of these chips or go over the 30-second mark, will be forced to check or if they are facing a wager, will have to fold their cards.

Once the tournament narrows down to the final two players, the blind levels will be cut in half and change every 30 minutes. Players who travel to the Oklahoma casino to take part in the World Poker Tour must be 21 years or older to compete.