Well-known poker players always like to talk about winnings, big titles and successes. The costs of these winnings and titles, however, remain mostly unknown to the spectators. To give a blatant example: David Williams finished 117th in the Flip&Go tournament at the WSOP this year and collected 2,155 dollars. That's all well and good, but he had to buy in 19 times and thus paid 19,000 dollars in buy-ins. What looks like a small win on paper is in reality a huge loss.
With Brandon Shack-Harris, a WSOP professional has now disclosed all his tournament data, including all buy-ins.
Brandon Shack-Harris has been a key player at the WSOP for a decade and is one of the most active and successful players on the tour. Since 2010 he has accumulated 2 WSOP titles, 3 second place finishes, 3 third place finishes and 6 other final tables. In 2014, he finished second to George Danzer in the Player of the Year race and won a total of almost $3.5 million in prize money.
On his homepage, Shack-Harris revealed how much money he invested in WSOP tournaments during the twelve years and how much net profit he made.
The most important figures first: Brandon Shack-Harris invested over 1.2 million dollars in buy-ins. This compares to winnings of almost 3.5 million dollars. Spread over all tournaments, his ROI (return on investment) is at around 184%.
This is how Shack-Harris' WSOP profits and buy-ins have developed since 2010:
Profits and losses in numbers
These are the profits and losses of Brandon Shack-Harris in numbers since 2010:
| Year | Events | Buy-Ins | Cashes | FTs | ROI |
| 2010 | 3 | $ 7,000 | $ - | 0 | -100.0% |
| 2011 | 7 | $ 14,500 | $ 14,000 | 0 | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 10 | $ 22,500 | $ 126,925 | 1 | 464.1% |
| 2013 | 12 | $ 31,000 | $ - | 0 | -100.0% |
| 2014 | 25 | $ 139,350 | $ 1,444,720 | 5 | 936.8% |
| 2015 | 21 | $ 159,000 | $ 59,750 | 1 | -62.4% |
| 2016 | 21 | $ 163,000 | $ 1,057,700 | 3 | 548.9% |
| 2017 | 26 | $ 194,500 | $ 97,060 | 1 | -50.1% |
| 2018 | 32 | $ 198,180 | $ 478,300 | 1 | 141.3% |
| 2019 | 32 | $ 142,800 | $ 43,343 | 0 | -69.6% |
| 2020 | 12 | $ 8,300 | $ 3,205 | 0 | -61.4% |
| 2021 | 29 | $ 147,700 | $ 160,332 | 2 | 8.6% |
| Sum | 230 | $ 1,227,830 | $ 3,485,335 | 14 | 183.9% |
All in all, Bandon Shack-Harris turned a profit in 5 of his 12 years at the WSOP, in 7 years he had to record net losses. He participated in a total of 230 tournaments and cashed in 53 of those, meaning he's in the money in roughly 23% of all tournaments.
Brandon Shack-Harris is certainly in the top percentile of all players at the WSOP in terms of quality of play. His data shows that even a player of such calibre has to put up with significant variance. Good years also contrast with several years of near six-figure losses.
In order to be successful over the long run in tournaments with large fields, you need a little luck and, above all, the will to invest a lot - in the case of Shack-Harris, over 1.2 million dollars.
Shack-Harris' results at the WSOP since 2010
| Date | Event | Place | Prize Money |
| 27-Jun-11 | WSOP $ 2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo | 12 | $ 13,984 |
| 29-May-12 | WSOP $ 1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo (Event #4) | 3 | $ 84,415 |
| 16-Jun-12 | WSOP $ 10,000 H.O.R.S.E. (Event #32) | 10 | $ 35,923 |
| 19-Jun-12 | WSOP $ 2,500 8 Game (Event #37) | 30 | $ 6,587 |
| 28-May-14 | WSOP $ 1,000 Pot Limit Omaha (Event #3) | 1 | $ 205,634 |
| 06-Jun-14 | WSOP $ 10,000 Seven Card Razz (Event #18) | 2 | $ 182,155 |
| 20-Jun-14 | WSOP $ 1,500 Limit Hold'em (Event #43) | 3 | $ 78,335 |
| 22-Jun-14 | WSOP $ 50,000 The Poker Players Championship (Event #46) | 2 | $ 937,975 |
| 30-Jun-14 | WSOP $ 3,000 Omaha Hi/Lo (Event #59) | 34 | $ 7,236 |
| 02-Jul-14 | WSOP $ 1,500 10-Game Mix (Event #63) | 21 | $ 4,775 |
| 02-Oct-14 | WSOP A$ 1,100 No Limit Hold'em Accumulator | 53 | $ 2,044 |
| 06-Oct-14 | WSOP A$ 1,650 No Limit Hold'em Terminator | 6 | $ 9,962 |
| 12-Oct-14 | WSOP A$ 10,000 No Limit Hold'em WSOP APAC Main Event | 17 | $ 20,346 |
| 06-Jun-15 | WSOP $ 10,000 Seven Card Razz Championship (Event #17) | 8 | $ 31,727 |
| 14-Jun-15 | WSOP $ 3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better (Event #31) | 26 | $ 9,408 |
| 01-Jul-15 | WSOP $ 10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship (Event #63) | 17 | $ 18,619 |
| 16-Jun-16 | WSOP $ 1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (Event #26) | 5 | $ 54,680 |
| 21-Jun-16 | WSOP $ 2,500 Mixed Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better (Event #36) | 29 | $ 5,147 |
| 26-Jun-16 | WSOP $ 1,500 Mixed No Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha (Event #45) | 20 | $ 6,820 |
| 29-Jun-16 | WSOP $ 10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship (Event #51) | 1 | $ 894,300 |
| 05-Jul-16 | WSOP $ 1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better (Event #60) | 2 | $ 96,750 |
| 01-Jun-17 | WSOP $ 1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo (Event #4) | 92 | $ 2,425 |
| 07-Jun-17 | WSOP $ 1,500 H.O.R.S.E. (Event #14) | 9 | $ 14,339 |
| 13-Jun-17 | WSOP $ 10,000 Razz Championship (Event #26) | 6 | $ 43,370 |
| 15-Jun-17 | WSOP $ 10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship (Event #30) | 16 | $ 16,951 |
| 28-Jun-17 | WSOP $ 10,000 Pot Limit Omaha - 8 Handed Championship (Event #54) | 45 | $ 17,420 |
| 06-Jul-17 | WSOP $ 1,500 Razz (Event #69) | 46 | $ 2,551 |
| 06-Jun-18 | WSOP $ 1,500 H.O.R.S.E. (Event #15) | 88 | $ 2,319 |
| 08-Jun-18 | WSOP $ 565 Pot Limit Omaha (Event #19) | 271 | $ 876 |
| 19-Jun-18 | WSOP $ 2,500 Mixed Big Bet (Event #40) | 24 | $ 4,470 |
| 23-Jun-18 | WSOP $ 10,000 Pot Limit Omaha - Championship (Event #49) | 3 | $ 433,259 |
| 29-Jun-18 | WSOP $ 10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo - Championship (Event #60) | 12 | $ 31,334 |
| 07-Jul-18 | WSOP $ 1,000 No Limit Hold'em - Little One for One Drop (Event #68) | 457 | $ 2,025 |
| 12-Jul-18 | WSOP $ 1,500 No Limit Hold'em - The Closer (Event #75) | 122 | $ 4,021 |
| 01-Jun-19 | WSOP $ 2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw (Event #6) | 25 | $ 5,055 |
| 04-Jun-19 | WSOP $ 1,000 No Limit Hold'em - Super Turbo Bounty (Event #12) | 256 | $ 1,166 |
| 09-Jun-19 | WSOP $ 600 Pot Limit Omaha - WSOP.com Online PLO 6-Handed (Event #24) | 23 | $ 3,809 |
| 10-Jun-19 | WSOP $ 600 Pot Limit Omaha - Deep Stack (Event #25) | 87 | $ 1,856 |
| 12-Jul-19 | WSOP $ 3,000 Pot Limit Omaha - 6-Handed (Event #85) | 12 | $ 26,277 |
| 14-Jul-19 | WSOP $ 3,000 H.O.R.S.E. (Event #87) | 32 | $ 5,180 |
| 03-Jul-20 | WSOP $ 400 No Limit Hold'em - (Event #3) | 278 | $ 677 |
| 20-Jul-20 | WSOP $ 500 Pot Limit Omaha - 6-Handed (Event #20) | 64 | $ 1,228 |
| 10-Jul-21 | WSOP $ 333 No Limit Hold'em ONLINE (WSOP Event #10) | 100 | $ 637 |
| 11-Jul-21 | WSOP $ 400 No Limit Hold'em - Ultra Deepstack ONLINE (WSOP Event #11) | 159 | $ 612 |
| 06-Oct-21 | WSOP $ 1,500 Seven Card Stud (Event #14) | 28 | $ 2,687 |
| 15-Oct-21 | WSOP $ 1,500 No Limit 2-7 Lowball (Event #31) | 23 | $ 3,056 |
| 16-Oct-21 | WSOP $ 3,000 H.O.R.S.E. (Event #32) | 13 | $ 9,563 |
| 19-Oct-21 | WSOP $ 1,500 No Limit Hold'em - Super Turbo Bounty (Event #37) | 124 | $ 1,876 |
| 20-Oct-21 | WSOP $ 10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship (Event #40) | 5 | $ 82,033 |
| 23-Oct-21 | WSOP $ 10,000 Pot Limit Omaha Deepstack - 8 Handed Championship (Event #45) | 43 | $ 16,141 |
| 26-Oct-21 | WSOP $ 600 No Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha - 8 Handed Deepstack (Event #50) | 165 | $ 1,051 |
| 30-Oct-21 | WSOP $ 10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship (Event #57) | 6 | $ 41,270 |
| 12-Nov-21 | WSOP $ 1,500 No Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha - 8 Handed (Event #72) | 86 | $ 3,018 |
