World Series of Hold'em no more

The schedule for next year's World Series of Poker is now out, and I have to say I am quite pleased with what I see.

Over the past couple of years, Harrah's had increasingly put the focus on Texas hold'em, since that was the game the public had become enamored with, and eliminated or put on the back burner most other games. I thought that was bad for the game as a whole, and certainly made for a much duller viewing experience.

This year's schedule rectifies that somewhat, increasing the number of events from 46 to 55 and filling those new holes with a bevy of games. The $50,000 HORSE and $10,000 Omaha events are still around, and there are stud, Omaha, SHOE, razz and triple-draw events. Other new wrinkles include mixed hold'em events (half limit and half no-limit) and a heads-up championship, which is an obvious counter to NBC's National Heads Up Championship. Of course, the traditional casino employees', ladies' and seniors' events remain on the schedule.

You can check out the full Harrah's announcement by clicking this link.