17 Oct 2025 Poker players in Texas got to see the World Poker Tour's newest series this week: the WPT Wildcard series. It wasn't like any other show. As part of the WPT Prime Festival, the event took place at The Lodge Card Club in Round Rock. The WPT reported that the events featured "unpredictable gameplay environments designed for content creators and their communities." A player had to reveal their entire hand, face up on a flop that read . They both checked when the landed on the turn. There was laughter when some players saw that the other player's two pair was visible to everyone. The player won even though he was at a disadvantage because his opponent folded to a river bet. From 3K to 250K: The Wildest Twist Yet A fantastic scene occurred when a player drew a bounty card that required a chip-stack swap. The player with the biggest stack had to trade chips with the player who had the smallest stack. After only 3,000 chips, the player with the smallest amount had 250,000 chips in just a few seconds. “You just won the lottery!”SWITCH STACKS with the shortest stack gets PULLED in the WPT Wildcard Mystery Bounty Chaos event @LodgePokerClub @LodgePokerATX 😱3,000 chips ↔️ 250,000 chips pic.twitter.com/gWYLZqSn0p— World Poker Tour (@WPT) October 13, 2025 The lucky player was awarded a massive stack of chips by the tournament staff, who yelled, "You just won the lottery!" While some perceived the structure as unethical, others found it enjoyable. There was only one winner, and it was Jess from Houston. He took home $6,029 and a spot in the $10,400 WPT World Championship in December. In poker, there is considerable room for luck and chaos. Our first @WPT Wildcard Champion - @gorjesshtx - took down the $300 WPT Wildcard Mystery Bounty Chaos at @LodgePokerClub, earning $6,029 💰🎊Jess also pulled the bounty prize of a seat to the $10,400 WPT World Championship later this year 🏆See you in Vegas @gorjesshtx! 🎰 pic.twitter.com/odQX1kBBxb— World Poker Tour (@WPT) October 13, 2025 Designed for Entertainment or Just Dumb Luck? With the WPT Wildcard, the brand aims to enhance the enjoyment of poker and develop innovative ideas. This is especially important in today's world of streaming and viral content. WPT states that its goal is to "create unpredictable, content-friendly poker experiences" so that fans and players can share moments that aren't like regular poker games. Drew Gonzalez, who is a sponsored poker pro for ACR Poker, defended the event: Players go into this tournament knowing there are advantages and penalties you can pull. Clearly a lot of people in the comments dont understand how this event works 😄— 乃乇ㄒ ㄖ几 ᗪ尺乇山 (@BetOnDrew) October 13, 2025 Some people disagreed, though. Many poker fans believe that the game should rely on skill and mental toughness rather than luck, as chips should not be distributed randomly. Poker Community Reacts Several poker fans shared their thoughts about the event on X. Although some people found the event amusing, others considered it "the dumbest tournament format ever." Quick look at how the players responded: Scotty Bonz (@ScottBonzDMI): Some people take this wayyy too seriously, it's a chaos tournament. The whole room was having a great time. You remember that? Fun? 😁— Scotty Bonz (@ScottBonzDMI) October 13, 2025 Romz (@RomoSpur11): Sounds like fun……with a cheap-ass buy-in and a bunch of beers.— Romz (@RomoSpur11) October 14, 2025 Caleb Howell (@HitmanHowell88): I agree it should be you get to "Match the Biggest Stack" via payout. Don't take the leaders chips 😔🤬 lol— Caleb Howell (@HitmanHowell88) October 14, 2025 JP (@Joey_P_Golf): Love the replies as if a tournament like this every now and then is satanic— JP (@Joey_P_Golf) October 13, 2025 Udoh Blessing (@UdohBlessing22): From crumbs to a mountain! 3K to 250K — talk about a stack upgrade! 🍀@DevilfishPoker_— Udoh Blessing (@UdohBlessing22) October 13, 2025 Others were getting angry, while others were having a great time. Some poker players are open to new ideas, while others are set in their ways. What’s Next for the WPT Wildcard Series? Even with all the fuss, the WPT seems eager to try new things. Going forward, the WPT will add more Wildcard events to ensure that both serious players and casual fans seeking something new can enjoy them. The WPT claims that poker should always be fun, unpredictable, and easy to share. There are still disagreements among poker fans about whether the game should allow chaos or stay true to its roots as a skill. There was a lot of buzz about the WPT Wildcard "Chaos" contest, which was the main focus of the event.
