One of the more difficult decisions to make for players going to play the WSOP Main Event for the first time is what day to select as their Day 1. There are four starting days and each has its perks. The early days are not as pro heavy and are smaller, but the later fields have more dead money.
If you want to make more of this, Day 1b or 1c may be your best bet.
Heading into this year’s Main Event, WSOP organizers put together some figures regarding Day 1′s for the last three years regarding cashes. While many people are of the mindset that a min-cash is not that important, remember the fact that many players satellite into the Main Event for a fraction of the buy-in, and a min-cash in this event can yield around $20,000 or more.
Though Day 1D is by far the most popular day players choose to start their Main Event journey, it appears Day 1B & Day 1C are the best days to start if you are looking to cash!
Below is breakdown of entries to cash based on Main Event start day:
2010:
Day 1A – 100 cashes out of 1,125 entrants – 8.89%
Day 1B – 159 cashes out of 1,489 entrants – 10.68%
Day 1C – 253 cashes out of 2,314 entrants – 10.93%
Day 1D – 235 cashes out of 2,391 entrants – 9.82%
2009:
Day 1A – 121 cashes out of 1,116 entrants – 10.84%
Day 1B – 84 cashes out of 873 entrants – 9.62%
Day 1C – 162 cashes out of 1,696 entrants – 9.55%
Day 1D – 281 cashes out of 2,809 entrants – 10.00%
2008:
Day 1A – 122 cashes out of 1,299 entries – 9.39%
Day 1B – 117 cashes out of 1,158 entries -10.1%
Day 1C – 187 cashes out of 1,936 entries – 9.66%
Day 1D – 240 cashes out of 2,461 entries – 9.75%
3-YEAR AVERAGE: (2008-2010)
Day 1A – 343 cashes out of 3,540 entries – 9.7%
Day 1B – 360 cashes out of 3,520 entries – 10.2%
Day 1C – 602 cashes out of 5,946 entries – 10.1%
Day 1D – 756 cashes out of 7,661 entries – 9.8%
It appears that if you want to make the money in this event, you have a better chance by starting with Day 1b or 1c. However, the edge is somewhat small, so be sure to consider more factors than just making the money in making your final decision. Good luck to you in the Main Event.