Welcome to The First-Ever Ante-Only Event

It's time for a brand new event here at the 2012 World Series of Poker, with Event 49: $1,500 Ante-Only No-Limit Hold'em set to begin.

While players will be very familiar with the 'No-Limit Hold'em' aspect of this tournament, it is the 'Ante-Only' aspect that is new to the WSOP. Popularized over the last few years, an ante-only event is played out much like a regular tournament with one major twist - instead of a small blind and a big blind, there are, as the name suggests, only antes. That means each and every player at the table will post an ante at the start of each hand, with the ante increasing exponentially throughout the day.

This event is brand spanking new, so of course, some of the kinks will be worked out along the way. Here's a few of the early questions answered. The preflop and postflop betting will begin with the player to the left of the button, with the button moving around the table just like a regular tournament. The first player to act will have two options - to either fold or start the betting (bring-in) with the smallest denomination chip they have in front of them. That means while the 25-denomination chips are in front of them, the betting can be as low as 25 - even when the ante is 75 as late as six levels into the day. Of course, the event is no-limit, so there is no maximum to what a player can bet.

With this event being new to the schedule, it is hard to tell how many players will take to the tables. If we consider the obscene amount of players who have piled into the regular $1,500 no-limit hold'em tournaments this summer, then we can expect a huge field looking to test the waters in this event.

In three day's time, we will have the first ever champion of the $1,500 Ante-Only No-Limit Hold'em event at the WSOP and PokerNews will be here every step of the way to crowning a victor. It all kicks off in just over half an hour at 12:00 PM!