While the World Series of Poker Main Event is really the event that the world watches every single year in Las Vegas, the Player of the Year is the race that is watched by all of the professionals in all forms of poker. The person that wins the Player of the Year honors in a certain year has been deemed the best overall poker player that year and for many those honors are far more important than getting lucky at the right time in the Main Event at the World Series of Poker.

Well, it appears as though this year getting lucky at the Main Event in the World Series of Poker will actually influence the Player of the Year standings. According to Ty Stewart, the Vice President of the World Series of Poker, the Main Event will be added to the list of considerations for Player of the Year in 2009 to spice things up and make them a bit more exciting.

The Player of the Year at the World Series of Poker is done in a way that is similar to all of the poll positions that you would see in the various racing enterprises. In other words, a player gets points towards the Player of the Year standings based on how they finish in various events. Whenever a person wins an event at the World Series of Poker, they get 100 points. A runner up finish in a tournament is worth 75 points, with 60 points, 55 points and 50 points being given out to the next three positions respectively. Every player that cashes in a tournament will get at least 5 points. A finish in the final three tables is worth at least 10 points, while outlasting enough people to get down to two tables is good for 20 points at least.

One thing that people seem to enjoy about the Player of the Year at the World Series of Poker is that you will frequently see some of the best known names in poker at the top of the standings. Within the last five years, top professionals like Erick Lindgren, Allen Cunningham and Daniel Negreanu have all taken the honor home.