Have you been playing poker at your local club or casino for some years? Are your results good and you would like to try yourself at the big table? Have you seen the big poker stars playing on TV and you think you could beat them? If so, you need to learn about the biggest poker tournaments in the world and find a way to play them in order to compete against the very best.

Thankfully for you, there is a whole host of poker tournaments held in all parts of the world every year, and there is a tournament out there fit for everyone’s pocket and everyone’s level of play. Some of the tournaments on the list are open to everyone, while you will need to earn your place at the table in some of the other ones.

Tournament poker has made more than its fair share of millionaires over the years, and if you take it easy and approach poker tournaments from the right perspective you will have a chance to:

• Travel the world
• Compete at the very highest levels
• Earn millions of dollars
• Live a free and happy life

If you want to know how to do it and are looking for a place to start, here is our list of the top 14 biggest poker tournaments that you should look into playing.

1. World Series of Poker Main Event

Buy in: $10 000
Location: Las Vegas
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Phil “Poker Brat” Helmuth
Website:  http://www.wsop.com/

• The most prestigious poker event of the year
• All final table players become millionaires
• Slow structure and lots of play

The Main Event, as it is usually called among players, is the longest standing and biggest tournament of the yearly schedule for poker players. It all started back in 1970, when a group of professionals decided they needed one tournament per year that they would call the World Championship.

However, as time went by, more and more players started entering the event, and following Moneymaker’s win, the tournament grew to unimaginable numbers. In recent years, thousands of players enter the tournament despite the $10.000 entry fee and they all fight it out for millions of dollars reserved for the first place finisher.

Even if you don’t win the Main Event, making the final table of this prestigious event that goes on for well over a week means that you have probably become a millionaire. The tournament used to be a Seven Card Stud event many years ago, but today Texas Hold’em is the game of choice.

The Main Event is not all about the money however, as the deep structure gives the best players a chance to shine and show off their skills, patience and understanding of the game over the many days of play. While amateurs did make several big results over the years, it is predominantly the professionals who still make the final table, but there are always a few good stories of complete amateurs making a deep run and the big money.

2. The World Series of Poker Players Championship 

Buy in: $50.000
Location: Las Vegas
Game: 10 Game
Famous Champion: Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi
Website:  http://www.wsop.com/

• Prestigious events usually played by top professionals
• Extreme competition
• 10 Game format

The Poker Players Championship is certainly not the biggest of poker tournaments in terms of the numbers and the turnout, but most professional players consider it to be the most important and most prestigious event of the year.

This is because the tournament is almost exclusively played by top level professionals and the mixed game format makes it a lot more complex than your usual Texas Hold’em events.

The inaugural Players Championship was held back in 2006, when the game of choice was H.O.R.S.E and the buyin was $50.000. Back in the day, it used to be the biggest buyin tournament of the series and while that has changed since, the tournament remains very important to the pros.

The first tournament was won by Chip Reese, and following his death in 2007, the World Series decided to create the Chip Reese Trophy, which is given out to the winner of the event every year

This prestigious event changed formats as the game advanced, going from its initial H.O.R.S.E format to 8 Game and later to 10 Game, which is the format used today. The addition of the various formats of poker has made the tournament extremely complex and only fit for the very best poker players in the world.

3. The Big One for One Drop ($1.000.000/$111.111) 

Buy in: $1.000.000
Location: Las Vegas
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari
Website:  http://www.wsop.com/

• Massive buyin draws in rich punters
• Most professionals sell their action
• Biggest prize pools in poker history

In 2012, the World Series of Poker and Canadian billionaire entrepreneur Guy Laliberte decided to join forces and create an event that would help Guy’s charity organization One Drop which has made it its goal to bring clean water to those parts of the world that don’t have it.

Since Guy has been an avid poker player for many years, the deal made perfect sense for both sides. The organizers decided to try something unprecedented as they set the buying fee at an astounding $1.000.000. The event drew some of the best poker professionals in the world along with a number of Guy’s billionaire friends, with $111.111 of each buying going towards the charity.

The 3 day event managed to get 48 entries and it was Antonio Esfandiari who took home the title and over $18.000.00 for his efforts. Since then, the tournament was organized every year, with 2014, 2016 and 2018 events being $1.000.000 buyins and the rest being set at $111.111.

Each of the One Drop events was the biggest event of the year in terms of the prize pool barring the Main Event, giving this tournament a very special place in poker history.

4. Super High Roller Bowl

Buy in: $300.000
Location: Las Vegas
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Brian Rast
Website:  https://www.superhighroller.com/

• High stakes tournament made for top pros
• Few amateur players in the field
• Great competition and great rewards

First started in 2015, Super High Roller Bowl is yet another super high stakes tournament created for the elite poker players. The inaugural event featured a $500.000 buyin, while subsequent editions were $300.000 buyin tournaments. The tournament is held once a year at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and is sponsored by the Poker Central.

The first Super High Roller Bowl was won by the famous professional Brian Rast, while the likes of Justin Bonomo, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel and Scott Seiver also made notable results during the years, with most final tables being a “who is who” of the poker world.

The Super High Roller Bowl is another tournament that most amateur players will never have a chance to play, but the live streaming and TV coverage make the tournament extremely exhilarating as every new edition brings many hours of top level play which players can use to improve their own game.

5. PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event

Buy in: $10.000
Location: Atlantis Paradise Island
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Gus “The Great Dane” Hansen
Website:  http://www.pokerstarslive.com/pca/ 

• Poker in the Caribbean Paradise
• Great number of recreational players
• Big player and prize pools

Back in 2004, world leading online poker site PokerStars and the World Poker Tour decided they should throw one of the biggest poker tournaments of the year in the Caribbean. That year, the inaugural PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was held and the event has taken place every year since.

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is a poker festival that spans multiple tournaments, including the Main Event, which is a $10.000 buyin tournament that draws the biggest player pool. At one point, the tournament was seeing over 1.000 entries every year, but has seen a decline in the last few years.

Nevertheless, the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is certainly one of the most fun tournaments to attend as it is quite literally held in Paradise or rather the Atlantis Paradise Island of the Caribbean. Numerous notable players have won this event including Gus Hansen and Bertrand “Elky” Grospeillier but the event is fully open to amateurs and professionals alike.

6. Aussie Millions Main Event

Buy in: $10.000
Location: Melbourne
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Gus “The Great Dane” Hansen
Website:  https://www.crownmelbourne.com.au/

• The biggest poker tournament down under
• Attended by many local “fish”
• Soft field compared to many events with similar buyin

Traditionally held at Melbourne’s Crown Casino, Australian Poker Championship also known as Aussie Millions is the biggest poker festival down under. The tournament first took place in 1997 which makes it one of the longest standing large poker tournaments apart from the WSOP.

Back in the day, Aussie Millions Main Event used to be a Limit Hold’em event, but as poker evolved towards the no limit play, the Main Event switched over to No Limit Hold’em. Numerous poker greats have won or final tabled the tournament including the likes of John Juanda and Phil Ivey, which makes the tournament even more prestigious.

The Aussie Millions Main Event is one of the biggest poker tournaments of the year and apart from offering some great poker action, all attendees can also enjoy the great weather and hospitality offered by the Australian hosts. If you are looking for a tournament to play on the southern hemisphere, Aussie Millions is the way to go.

7. World Series of Poker Europe Main Event

Buy in: EUR 10.000
Location: Various European Locations
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: John Juanda
Website:  http://www.wsop.com/2018/wsope/

• World Series for European players
• A number of events with gold bracelets
• Held in various cities in Europe

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) brand has been around for a long time, but the first time it ever left American soil was in 2007, when the first WSOP Europe took place. It was the WSOP brand that quickly made the event a massive success as poker players from left and right gathered for the inaugural WSOPE Main Event in London.

Along with the Main Event, the organizers decided to throw a number of other events, all offering gold bracelets equivalent to those offered at the American edition of WSOP. The WSOPE gives European players a chance to compete for bracelets without having to travel overseas and those living in Europe are certainly thankful for it.

Since its first edition, WSOPE Main Event has acquired a reputation of one of the most competitive and highly skilled tournaments around as fewer amateur players play it and numerous hard core professionals from all parts of Europe and the world Attend. The tournament was won by the likes of Phil Hellmuth and has been switching locations around Europe, moving from London to Cannes and all the way to Europe’s new poker heaven, Rozvadov, Czech Republic.

8. WSOP APAC (A$10.000)

Buy in: $10.000
Location: Melbourne
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu
Website:  http://www.wsop.com/2014/apac/ 

• Experimental WSOP events in Asia
• Decent turnout but not like the American edition
• Exotic locations and long travel

The WSOP brand has been at the forefront of poker’s worldwide expansion and the introduction of WSOP APAC (World Series of Poker Asia Pacific) has been one of the latest efforts to bring poker close to even more players. WSOP APAC was first introduced in 2013, with the inaugural event taking place at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia. The inaugural event was won by Daniel Negreanu.

The WSOP APAC has since taken place in 2014 and 2016, with more bracelet events being introduced and more prestige added to the tournament. While WSOP APAC Main Event cannot come close to matching the size of the American edition and has not quite caught up with WSOPE either, the tournament still carries a reasonable amount of prestige and is one of the biggest poker tournaments held in the APAC region.

9. EPT Barcelona 

Buy in: EUR 5.300
Location: Barcelona
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: John Juanda
Website:  http://www.pokerstarslive.com/ept/barcelona/

• Largest EPT event of the year
• Attended by many non-poker celebrities
• Great structure and organization

European Poker Tour (EPT) is a series of poker tournaments held across Europe on a yearly basis and currently sponsored by the PokerStars. The first even EPT event was held in Barcelona back in 2004 and Barcelona has been a regular stop for the EPT ever since, with the Main Event in Barcelona usually being the biggest of the season.

EPT Barcelona is regularly attended by top poker professionals as well as famous movie stars and even football players such as Neymar or Gerrard Pique who are known as avid hobby poker players. The tournament’s prestige is only paralleled with the huge number of players which often exceeds 1.000 despite the steep buyin and the high quality of organization.

EPT Barcelona was won in the past by poker great like John Juanda and it continues to draw in stars from all parts of the world. In terms of Spain, EPT Barcelona is easily the biggest poker tournament of the year and it appears that Barcelona is one of the few stops that will make the tour every single year in its future.

10. EPT Grand Finale in Monte Carlo  

Buy in: EUR 10.600
Location: Monte Carlo
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Steve O’Dwyer
Website:  http://www.pokerstarslive.com/ept/montecarlo/

• Elite competition of the EPT
• Many top players play the event
• Not too accommodating for recreationals

Monte Carlo is known as the gambling capital of Europe and it was fitting that the season of EPT ends in Monte Carlo. This is why every season of EPT has been crowned with a single final event held in Monte Carlo with a few exceptions when the finale was held in other cities.

Whether it takes place in Monte Carlo or not, the EPT Grand Finale is easily one of the toughest fields you will see on the poker circuit. The tournament is played at No Limit Texas Hold’em tables and it brings together all the champions of the season’s event who get to play for free as well as any other top level players who decide to pony up the buyin for this difficult event themselves.

Those who are used to watching American televised poker may not recognize all the names at the final table of the EPT Grand Finale, but those familiar with European poker understand just how difficult of a field it really is. If you are going to play just one big tournament in a year, we recommend that you skip the Grand Finale as it is easily the toughest lineup of poker masterminds in all of Europe.

11. WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic 

Buy in: $10.400
Location: Las Vegas
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu
Website:  https://www.worldpokertour.com

• Dubbed after the “Godfather of Poker”
• Prestigious and elite poker event
• Solid field with many older players

Dubbed the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, this tournament is a regular stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT) and one of the more prestigious tournaments held on American soil. The Five Diamond World Poker Classic takes place every year at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in Nevada, the playground for many of the world’s poker elite.

The first Five Diamond World Poker Classic was held back in 2002 and was won by “The Great Dane” Gus Hansen who took home over half a million dollars and the elusive title, with the prize pool being quite massive for the time. The event has grown in size and value since and the quality of play you will see there is easily among the highest in the world.

The Five Diamond World Poker Classic is not just one of the biggest poker tournaments around but also one of the most interesting one as there is so much mystery and intrigue connected to it back from the days before the poker boom when tournament poker was not as generally accepted as it is nowadays and it is certainly a very fun tournament to participate in.

12. WPT Tournament of Champions 

Buy in: $25.000
Location: Las Vegas
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Carlos Mortensen
Website:  https://www.worldpokertour.com

• Exclusive tournament for WPT champions
• Is not open to general public
• Toughest competition imaginable

Back when WPT was founded in 2002, its organizers decided to throw one final event every season that would be called the WPT Championship. Back in those days, the tournament was open to anyone who would pay the buyin and the event regularly drew a few hundred players and created multimillion dollar prize pools and often multimillion dollar first place prizes with Carlos Mortensen winning $3.970.415 in season 5.

In season 14, the WPT decided to create a more prestigious event and turn The Championship into the Tournament of Champions, which could only be entered by past WPT champions. While this has reduced the size of the tournament, it has created a massively competitive atmosphere as every player in the field has won at least one WPT event in the past.

If you are a casual players and even if you are a professional, it is unlikely you will be able to enter the Tournament of Champions this year, as you will need to win another WPT event first. Nevertheless, the Tournament of Champions remains among the biggest poker tournaments of the yearly schedule and one where the very best come to compete.

13. The Little One for One Drop

Buy in: $1.111
Location: Las Vegas
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Guoliang Wei
Website:  http://www.wsop.com/promotions/little-one-for-one-drop

• A massive open event with thousands of players
• $111 from each buyin goes to charity
• A super friendly and relaxed atmosphere

Another tournament that came to fruition thanks to Guy Laliberte’s efforts, the Little One for One Drop is a smaller version of the popular Big One for One Drop. Unlike the bigger version, Little One for One Drop draws in thousands of players, with the field regularly standing at about 4.500 players.

The tournament is a classic No Limit Hold’em event, held during the WSOP in Las Vegas since 2013. Every year, the tournament brings together players and philanthropists who are looking to compete at poker and help One Drop at the same time, with each player donating $111 to the foundation.

If you are going to be in Las Vegas during the next WSOP, it is highly recommended that you hit the Rio for Little One for One Drop as this tournament offers both the joys of playing poker and those of helping those who need your help the most.

14. The Colossus ($565)

Buy in: $565
Location: Las Vegas
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Roberly Felicio
Website:  http://www.wsop.com/2018/colossus/

• The biggest poker tournament field of the year
• Become a millionaire for just $565
• Very difficult to final table

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to win a million dollars but never had a chance to play in a poker tournament where it was possible due to the buyins? The Colossus is the one tournament in the calendar where you can pay just $565 and take a shot at the $5.000.000 guaranteed prize pool.

This event was first introduced by the World Series of Poker in 2014 and has taken place every year since. The tournament is made for casual and recreational players who are looking for their big payday and it is the dream of the thousands of players that makes The Colossues a success year after year. The Colossus is easily the biggest poker tournament in the year in terms of the number of players who participate.

15. The Millionaire Maker ($1.500) 

Buy in: $1.500
Location: Las Vegas
Game: NL Hold’em
Famous Champion: Arne Kern
Website:  http://www.wsop.com/promotions/millionaire-maker-satellites

• A chance at a millions for a small investment
• Massive field filled with recreationals
• Few chips but very slow levels

Another WSOP tournament that was introduced somewhat recently and which offers players to win a million dollars without making a massive investment is the Millionaire Maker. This is another tournament that aims the casual and recreational players and tries to give them a chance at life changing money as well.

Of course, with such a small buyin and such a massive guaranteed first place prize, the number of players who sign up for the tournament is absolutely massive, with close to 10.000 players playing most years. Nevertheless, the Millionaire Maker is yet another great opportunity to go for the glory and try to win a WSOP bracelet and a million bucks all at once.