The 2012 tournaments with the biggest jackpots

The world of poker is one filled with glamour, tension, determination, dedication and intensity. While, for most, the card game is exactly that, a game, an enjoyable pastime to either while away the hours online or socialise with friends, for others it’s all a bit more serious.

For a select few, poker is a way of life. They travel the world, continent to continent, playing hand after hand, competing in tournament after epic tournament in search of the big win and to be crowned master of the game of kings.

It is these men and women for whom the biggest jackpots of all are awarded. Their skill, not to mention their nerves of steel, can see them claim prize money that is simply staggering in terms of its size. Just watching these matches, let alone playing in them, can be as exhausting as it is enthralling. Here are some events worth keeping an eye out for in 2012.

Starting off at the deep end, Caesars announced last summer a collaborative effort with the One Drop charity foundation to have a tournament with a whopping $1million buy in. From each entry fee, $111,111 will go towards the organisation’s work, which helps to provide safe and healthy water for millions of people all around the world.

The unprecedented event has a 48-player cap who will all need to provide the funds for the largest open buy-in tournament in the history of poker. If the field cap is reached, the event, which is likely to run for three days, will pay out an eye-watering $20 million to the winner. One player with a definite seat at the table is Guy Lailberte, who works for One Drop and will be pitting his wits against some of the very best in the business.

Should Lailberte need any practice, he could do a lot worse than hone his skills with a spot of online poker. Free from crowds and the necessity to disguise your own body language and facial signals while frantically examining the moods and movements of others, playing online is the perfect way to practice certain set plays and develop your strategy.

Elsewhere, the luxurious surroundings of the Hawaiian Gardens Casino play host to $100,000 guaranteed no-limit holdem tournament at the end of the month. The three-day event begins on January 31st and runs for three days with a buy in price of $225.

Running over a similar sort of time frame is the 2012 L.A. Poker Classic at the Commerce Casino. Beginning on January 18th and running right through until the end of February, the Classic consists of 50 events, from both limit and no limit holdem to H.O.R.S.E and Chinese – it’s a veritable haven of poker games.

For the World Series of Poker (WSOP) March begins with a marathon session at Caesars in Atlantic City. The fun kicks off with a no limit holdem circuit ring event on the first day before later in the schedule the satellites beam footage from the 2012 WSOP main event at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in, where else but Las Vegas.

Some people say poker is all down to luck. They are, to be frank, completely wrong. The men and women who rake in the big wins are as dedicated to practicing their art as the most committed of sportsmen. Of course, there is an element of good fortune and a slice of luck involved with any big win. That, however, is true of not only every sport and game, but almost every achievement we make in life.

Watching poker can be a gripping, almost theatrical, experience. Playing it is better still. Competing for the most handsome of rewards must be something else altogether.