1988 World Series of Poker
The 1988 World Series of Poker was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe between 5 May 1988, and 21 May 1988.
Events
There were 11 preliminary events at the 1988 World Series of Poker. Johnny Moss became the first player to win nine career bracelets. No other player would reach nine career bracelets until the 2003 WSOP.| # | Date | Event | Entries | Winner | Prize | Runner-up | Results |
| 1 | May 5, 1988 | $1,500 Limit Hold'em | 400 | Val Carpenter | $223,800 | Jack Keller | |
| 2 | May 6, 1988 | $1,500 No Limit Hold'em | 330 | Russell Gibe | $181,800 | Hans Lund | |
| 3 | May 7, 1988 | $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha | 111 | Gilbert Gross | $181,000 | Hugh Todd | |
| 4 | May 8, 1988 | $5,000 Seven Card Stud | 79 | Thor Hansen | $158,000 | David Heyden | |
| 5 | May 9, 1988 | $1,000 Limit Omaha | 228 | David Helms | $91,200 | Don Williams | |
| 6 | May 10, 1988 | $1,500 Seven Card Stud Split | 206 | Lance Hilt | $123,600 | Joe Petro | |
| 7 | May 11, 1988 | $500 Ladies' Seven Card Stud | 85 | Loretta Huber | $17,000 | Ester Rossi | |
| 8 | May 12, 1988 | $1,500 Seven Card Stud | 217 | Merrill Hunt | $130,200 | Johnny Moss | |
| 9 | May 13, 1988 | $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw | 38 | Seymour Leibowitz | $157,500 | Chip Reese | |
| 10 | May 14, 1988 | $1,500 Ace to Five Draw | 194 | Johnny Moss | $116,400 | Richard Chase | |
| 11 | May 15, 1988 | $1,000 Seven Card Razz | 192 | Don Williams | $76,800 | Art Youngblood | |
| 12 | May 16, 1988 | $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event | 167 | Johnny Chan | $700,000 | Erik Seidel |
Main Event
There were 167 entrants to the main event on 16 May 1988. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament, with the top 36 players finishing in the money. The 1988 Main Event was the second consecutive World Championship for Johnny Chan. The final hand that featured Chan against Erik Seidel would be featured in the 1998 movie Rounders. Jim Bechtel made the final table and finished in sixth place. He would later win the 1993 World Series of Poker Main Event.In The Money Finishes
NB: This list is restricted to In The Money finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.| Place | Name | Prize |
| 9th | Jesse Alto | $21,000 |
| 15th | Jay Heimowitz | $12,500 |
| 18th | Roger Moore | $12,500 |
| 20th | Mike Hart | $10,000 |
| 23rd | Ken Flaton | $10,000 |
| 26th | Don Williams | $10,000 |
| 27th | David Sklansky | $8,750 |
| 28th | John Spadavecchia | $8,750 |
| 31st | Jack Keller | $7,500 |
| 32nd | Chip Reese | $7,500 |
| 33rd | Phil Hellmuth | $7,500 |