With little fanfare, WSOP has launched the sensational Mystery Bounty format, adding it to its weekly tournament offerings.
Currently available only in Michigan on WSOP MI, it is the first time the format has made its way to the regulated market for real money online poker in the USA. The design, with randomized bounties, has taken the live poker world by storm and is now doing the same online, with its popularity rapidly growing in the virtual felt.
In the international dot-com market, three online poker rooms have introduced the format to their offerings, with GGPoker being the first, followed by Winamax and 888poker. WSOP, using 888poker’s next-generation software Poker 8, has become the latest to join the party.
- Up to $100 in free play with first deposit*
- Top-quality software
- Compete for WSOP bracelets & rings
How Does the Mystery Bounty Tournament Work?
As with standard bounty tournaments, a portion of the tournament buy-in is set aside and put into a bounty pool. Unlike regular bounty tournaments, the bounty portion does not come into play immediately. Instead, the tournament is divided into two parts — the First Phase and the Second Phase.
The First Phase proceeds as a standard tournament, with no bounties awarded for knocking out opponents. The players’ goal should be to reach the Second Phase.
The Second Phase is where the bounties kick in. However, there is a twist — every player is randomly assigned a mystery bounty on their head, and no one knows what a particular player’s bounty is until that player is eliminated, which is where the mystery portion comes in.
There is a wide range of bounties. While most bounties are the minimum amount, a few can be as big as 50 times or even 1000 times the buy-in. This not only adds a layer of excitement when a player’s bounty is revealed, but also changes the game’s dynamics.
The Mystery Bounty format debuted as a gold bracelet event in the WSOP 2022 live series. The event carried a $1000 buy-in with a guarantee of $1 million as the top bounty and drew a massive field of 14,112 entries, creating an $8.3 million prize pool.
The format will make its big return in the upcoming WSOP 2023 live series and will be held during the opening weekend, kicking off May 31. It will again feature a $1000 buy-in, with Mystery Bounties ranging from $10,000 to $1 million.
Test Out Mystery Bounty Format Ahead of the WSOP 2023 Series
Now WSOP real-money players will get to try out the exciting format virtually. The operator has scheduled Mystery Bounties to run every day at 7:00 PM. On Sundays, it will take place at 6:30 PM with much bigger guarantees.
A new 'Mystery Bounty’ tab has been added to the main lobby, showcasing all the tournaments held over the week. So far, four tournaments have been deployed with guarantees ranging from $1000 to $5000. The buy-in is set at just $10, with half the buy-in going to the regular pool and the other to the bounty pool. On Sundays, the tournament costs $30, guaranteeing $5000.
WSOP MI Mystery Bounty Tournament Schedule
- Friday, January 27 at 19:00 ET: $1000 Gtd, $10 buy-in (Top Bounty: $100)
- Saturday, January 28 at 19:00 ET: $1500 Gtd, $10 buy-in (Top Bounty: $150)
- Sunday, January 29 at 18:30 ET: $5000 Gtd, $30 buy-in (Top Bounty: $500)
- Monday, January 30 at 19:00 ET: $1000 Gtd, $10 buy-in (Top Bounty: $100)
- Up to $100 in free play with first deposit*
- Top-quality software
- Compete for WSOP bracelets & rings
Players can re-enter as many times as they would like, with each player receiving 8000 in starting stack. Blinds start at 20/40 and go up every eight minutes. Bounties will kick in, starting at level 17 (approximately 2.5 hours of play).
The format is believed to have gone live in Michigan just this week. It is not yet live on WSOP Pennsylvania, which is also powered by 888’s new Poker 8 software. It is also yet to be introduced on the WSOP NJ/NV network (which still uses 888’s decade-old software), sharing the same player pool.
WSOP MI becomes the second operator to launch such a format in the North American market, with 888poker being the first to introduce it in the Ontario market._
_It’s no mystery that this new format is a game-changer. See for yourself by signing up for WSOP MI and trying your hand at Mystery Bounty real money online poker in Michigan!
