The Big Game is a high-stakes

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

cash game Cash games, also sometimes referred to as ring games or live action games, are poker games played with "real" Poker chip, chips and money at stake, often with no predetermined end time, with players able to enter and leave as they see fit. In co ...

played in "Bobby's Room", a

cardroom A cardroom or card room is a gaming establishment that exclusively offers card games for play by the public. The term poker room is used to describe a room in casinos that is dedicated to playing poker and in function is similar to a card room. ...

named after

Bobby Baldwin Bobby Baldwin (born c. 1950)MGM Mirage's 2006 proxy statement, filed on April 30, 2006, recorded Baldwin's age as 55 is a professional poker player and casino executive. As a poker player, Baldwin is best known as the winner of the 1978 World S ...

, at the Bellagio casino in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. In 2010, the game partially expanded to "The Ivey Room" at

Aria Resort and Casino Aria Resort and Casino is a luxury resort and casino, and the primary property at the CityCenter complex, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International. Constru ...

. The table features no-limit and pot-limit games with wagers up to $100,000 per hand. Limit games as high as $4,000/$8,000 are often played but $800/$1,600 is normal.

Structure

The table features a variety of poker games played in rotation and changing every 8–10 hands. The games are selected from a list of the players' choices, including: *

Texas hold 'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is the most popular variant of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five Community card poker, community cards ...

(limit and no limit) *

Seven-card stud Seven-card stud, also known as Seven-Toed Pete or Down-The-River, is a variant of stud poker. Before the 2000s surge of popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was one of the most widely played poker variants in home games across the Unite ...

(straight high, eight or better Hi/Lo, Hi/Lo without qualifiers, limit) *

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

(straight high, eight or better Hi/Lo, limit and pot limit) * Deuce-to-seven triple draw (limit) * Deuce-to-seven single draw (no limit) * Ace-to-Five triple draw (limit) * Ace-to-Five single draw (no limit) *

Razz Razz may refer to: * Razz (poker), a form of stud poker * Razz (rapper), winner of MGP Nordic 2002 * "Razz" (song), a Kings of Leon song * Razz, Arab Rock Jazz, a music genre promoted by Aziz Maraka & Razz * Blowing a raspberry * Golden Raspber ...

(limit)

Usual players

Usually players buy in for $200,000–300,000, but anyone with the minimum buy in of $20,000 is welcome to play."Las Vegas Poker - Bobby's Poker Room - Bellagio"
/ref> In addition to the occasional drop-in player, the following players have been known to play regularly in the Big Game over the years: * Patrik Antonius * David Benyamine *

Todd Brunson Todd Alan Brunson (born August 7, 1969) is an American professional poker player and the son of poker player Doyle Brunson. Doyle Brunson did not teach Todd how to play; it was not until he was studying law at Texas Tech University that he lear ...

* Johnny Chan * Allen Cunningham *

Tom Dwan Thomas Dwan Jr. (born July 30, 1986) is an American professional poker player who played online in the highest-stakes No-Limit Texas hold 'em and Pot-Limit Omaha games, primarily on Full Tilt Poker under the screen name "durrrr". Dwan has won p ...

* Eli Elezra * Sammy Farha *

Ted Forrest Ted Forrest (born September 24, 1964) is an American professional poker player, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tournament wins In 1992, Forrest won two tournaments at the LA Poker Classic and one at the World Poker Finals in Mashant ...

Chau Giang Chau Tu Giang (born July 2, 1955) is an American professional poker player who is a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and a three-time final tablist of the World Poker Tour with over $3 million in live tournament winnings alone. ...

Barry Greenstein Barry Greenstein (born December 30, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American professional poker player and former mathematics postgraduate student. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on th ...

* David Grey *

Gus Hansen Gustav Hansen (born 13 February 1974) is a Danish professional poker player from Copenhagen, Denmark who has lived in Monaco since 2003. In his poker career, Hansen has won three World Poker Tour open titles, one WSOP bracelet and the 2007 Auss ...

Jennifer Harman Jennifer C. Harman (born November 29, 1964) is an American professional poker player. She has won two World Series of Poker bracelets in open events, one of only four women to have done so . Career Harman won her first World Series of Poker br ...

* John Hennigan *

Phil Ivey Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. (born February 1, 1977) is an American professional poker player who has won eleven World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title, and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by num ...

Guy Laliberté Guy Laliberté, (born 2 September 1959) is a Canadian billionaire businessman and poker player. Along with Gilles Ste-Croix, he is the co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, which was founded in 1984. The Canadian circus company's shows have since be ...

Minh Ly Minh Hoang Ly (born March 24, 1967, in Vietnam) is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player based in Temple City, California. He is a regular in " The Big Game" and is married to Lu Binh. Ly first cashed in the World Series of Poker (WS ...

Daniel Negreanu Daniel Negreanu (; born July 26, 1974) is a Canadian professional poker player who has won seven World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) championship titles. In 2014, independent poker ranking service Global Poker ...

* David Oppenheim * Ralph Perry *

Nick Schulman Nick Schulman (born September 18, 1984, in New York City) is an American professional poker player and commentator. Early life Schulman grew up in New York City, and began playing pool at the famous Amsterdam Billiards. He was mentored by seve ...

Huck Seed Huckleberry ''Huck'' Seed (born January 15, 1969) is an American professional poker player best known for winning the Main Event of the 1996 World Series of Poker. Early life Seed was born in Santa Clara, California, but grew up in Corvallis, ...

Chip Reese David Edward "Chip" Reese (March 28, 1951 – December 4, 2007) was an American professional poker player and gambler from Centerville, Ohio. He is widely regarded as having been the greatest cash game poker player. Early life Reese suffe ...

and

Doyle Brunson Doyle Frank Brunson (August 10, 1933 – May 14, 2023) was an American poker player who played professionally for over 60 years. He was a two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) List of World Series of Poker Main Event champions, Main Event champi ...

were regulars until they died.

References

{{Reflist Poker