WSOP Dealers Choice Events: The History and Specifics

How Do WSOP Dealers Choice Tournaments Work?

Despite the name WSOP Dealer’s Choice, it’s not the dealer(s) but the player on the button who chooses which poker variant will be played at the table during a hand or orbit.
At the WSOP, the standard list of poker variants available in Dealer’s Choice events includes 20 games:

The History of the WSOP Dealers Choice

The first-ever $1,500 Dealer’s Choice Six-Handed was introduced at the WSOP in 2014. It included 16 variants of poker, including the rarely played (at the time) Badeucy, Badacy, and Pot-Limit Five Card Draw.
Famous U.S. professional poker player and member of the poker-playing Mizrachi clan, Robert Mizrachi, became the winner of this event and took a $147,092 prize after overcoming a field of 419 entries.

In 2024, Robert added another victory in the $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship with 124 entries, earning his fifth WSOP bracelet and a $333,045 prize.

The second $1,500 Dealer’s Choice Six-Handed in 2015 offered 18 variants of poker. It was won by U.S. amateur poker player, entertainment attorney, and screenwriter of the romantic dramedy No Reservations, Carol Fuchs. She overcame a field of 357 entries and claimed her first WSOP bracelet along with a $127,735 prize.

That same year, the WSOP added another Dealer’s Choice event to the schedule — the $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship. It drew 109 entries and was won by U.S. professional poker player Quinn Do, who took home $319,792.

Since 2015, Dealer’s Choice tournaments have been held at the WSOP twice a year with $1,500 and $10,000 buy-ins, except in 2020 when the series was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 2016, the WSOP has consistently offered the same 20 variants in these events.

As for individual achievements in WSOP Dealer’s Choice events, a few players have made history in the tournament’s first decade.

U.S. poker player Adam Friedman became a true star of Dealer’s Choice events by winning three $10,000 tournaments:

• 2018 — $10,000 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed with 111 entries, earning $293,275
• 2019 — $10,000 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed Championship with 122 entries, earning $312,417
• 2021 — $10,000 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed Championship with 93 entries, earning $248,350

In 2023, another U.S. poker player, Chad Eveslage, had a remarkable run by winning both Dealer’s Choice events at the same WSOP:

• $1,500 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed with 456 entries, earning $131,879
• $10,000 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed Championship with 130 entries, earning $311,428

Fun fact: From 2014, Dealer’s Choice events were exclusively won by U.S. players — until 2021, when Canadian Jaswinder Lally won his first WSOP bracelet in the $1,500 Dealer’s Choice 6-Handed event with 307 entries, taking home $97,915.

The second non-U.S. player to win the $1,500 Dealer’s Choice event was British professional Benny Glaser. In 2025, he overcame a field of 597 entries and won a $150,246 prize.

The Winners of WSOP Dealer’s Choice

Since WSOP Dealer’s Choice tournaments consist of two separate events with different buy-ins, PokerListings has broken down the list of winners by event type.

Winners of WSOP $1,500 Dealer’s Choice

Year	Entries	Winner	Winner’s Prize
2014	419	Robert Mizrachi	$147,092
2015	357	Carol Fuchs	$127,735
2016	389	Lawrence Berg	$125,466
2017	364	David Bach	$119,399
2018	406	Jeremy Harkin	$129,882
2019	470	Scott Clements	$144,957
2021	307	Jaswinder Lally	$97,915
2022	430	Brad Ruben	$126,288
2023	456	Chad Eveslage	$131,879
2024	530	John Hennigan	$138,296
2025	597	Benny Glaser	$150,246

Winners of WSOP $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship

Year	Entries	Winner	Winner’s Prize
2015	108	Quinn Do	$319,792
2016	118	Jean Gaspard	$306,621
2017	102	John Racener	$273,962
2018	111	Adam Friedman	$293,275
2019	122	Adam Friedman	$312,417
2021	93	Adam Friedman	$248,350
2022	123	Ben Diebold	$299,488
2023	130	Chad Eveslage	$311,428
2024	124	Robert Mizrachi	$333,045
2025	152	Ryan Hoenig	$354,444