The action always heats up every summer in the poker world, with major live events running seemingly every week at one corner of the globe or another. While the WSOP dominated the action in June and July, poker fans will have to wait for November to see who the 2010 WSOP Main Event champion is. That's when the final nine players will return to Las Vegas to determine who the next player is to add their name to the illustrious list of Main Event champions (as well as pocketing nearly $9 million in prize money for 1st place).

The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) runs from September 14th-28th at the Empire Casino in London, and is expected to draw many of the world's top poker pros. The 2010 WSOPE will feature five different bracelet events (including a new £10K Heads-Up High Roller event added this year), culminating in the £10K Main Event that starts on September 23rd. Barry Shulman will attempt to defend his crown from the 2009 WSOPE Main Event, where he defeated Daniel Negreanu to take down the title.

The World Poker Tour (WPT) and European Poker Tour (EPT) are each now in full swing, with many poker pros circling the globe as they play events in both circuits. The WPT Legends of Poker event in late August paid out more than $2 million in prize money, with Andrew Frankenberger taking down the victory and collecting $750,000. Next up on the WPT circuit was the WPT London Classic in early September, where Jake Cody survived a tough field to claim 1st prize and £273,783 in winnings. Upcoming events include multiple US stops in September and October, then back to Europe in November for the WPT Amneville event in France.

The EPT kicked off its 2010 season at EPT Tallinn, where Kevin Stanni bested the field to earn a €400,000 payday. Next up was EPT Vilamoura, where Toby Lewis played his way to the top spot and a hefty €467,836 in winnings. Remaining 2010 stops on the EPT circuit include London, Vienna, Barcelona, and Prague.

 

As far as online poker tournaments, there's plenty to choose from, especially from sites such as PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker that allow you to play texas holdem in the US online. Both sites offer a wide range of daily tournaments as well as their respective WCOOP and FTOPS online series, which mimic the format of the WSOP and offering dozens of online tournaments at a variety of buy-ins, with the biggest paying out well more than $1 million in prize money to the winner.