Top 10 Twitter accounts to follow during the 2015 WSOP

The countdown to the 2015 World Series of Poker is down to single digits. The WSOP gets underway next week, and poker players, media and fans are chomping at the bit to return to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino to start the hunt for the 68 bracelets up for grabs this summer.

If you can't be in Las Vegas for the entire seven weeks of the series, you can follow the action online on WSOP.com, including live streams of most final tables. But of course, one of the best ways to stay up to date on all the WSOP action is to follow the right people on Twitter.

Here's a list of 10 great Twitter accounts you should follow during the WSOP.

10. Allen Kessler (@AllenKessler)
If there's something to gripe about at this year's series (real or perceived), Allen Kessler will be sure to chime in. He's also likely to make a run in a few events — he cashed five times in 2014, including a final table appearance in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.

9. Jack Effel (@WSOPTD)
If you really want the minutiae of WSOP tournaments, follow Jack Effel, the vice president of international poker operations and director of the World Series of Poker. Lots of his tweets during the series will include information about when tournaments will be restarting, but he'll also weigh in on disputes that occur at the tables, which can be interesting, entertaining and informative.

8. Matt Glantz (@MattGlantz)
Glantz rarely tweets about chip stacks, at least not until it's relevant, so you won't have to wade through posts like "Sitting at 50,000 at start of lvl 2." Instead, he generally uses Twitter to give other players a hard time, and the results are often hilarious. He's also an excellent mixed-games player, so you might be able to sweat a final table or two along the way.

7. Norman Chad (@NormanChad)
The ESPN poker commentator isn't likely to break any news on the WSOP on Twitter, but you can pretty much count on at least a half a dozen solid jokes about Las Vegas cab drivers long hauling him all around Vegas. He'll throw in some commentary on the WSOP, too, so he's definitely worth a follow.

6. Ty Stewart (@wsopSUITd)
One of the refreshing things about the executive director of the WSOP's Twitter account is that it's clearly his own. (Note to @philivey … this is how it's done.) He responds to criticism by players and doggedly defends the WSOP, though he's still willing to listen to player concerns. Stewart has undergone a steep learning curve in two years of tweeting, and if you only follow one WSOP staffer, follow him.

5. Vanessa Selbst (@VanessaSelbst)
Selbst isn't overkill with her tweets during tournaments, but she often weighs in on important issues that players care about. Selbst often serves as a spokeswoman for female poker players, who typically make up just 3-5 percent of a tournament field. Two years ago, she was able to get WSOP officials to move women's restrooms closer to the tournament area after more restrooms were dedicated to men. She's also been a vocal supporter of the Ladies Event, which was changed to a $10,000 buy-in with a 90 percent discount for women in 2013.

It doesn't hurt that she's one of a couple dozen players who could win multiple bracelets in any given year, either.

4. Nolan Dalla (@NolanDalla)
WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla will post links to some of his work on Twitter this summer, but more importantly, his Twitter account will give you some insight into the "Most Interesting Man in Poker."

Dalla is one of the biggest characters in Las Vegas during the WSOP, and that's saying something. I just hope that he doesn't snub me while I'm there for The Colossus this year because I put three people ahead of him on this list.

3. Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker)
If you only follow one poker player on Twitter during this year's WSOP, Daniel Negreanu is the one you should follow. He won't clog your feed with chip counts, but he will provide interesting insights into the summer series. He's also likely to make a few deep runs in some tournaments (he's the only person to earn WSOP Player of the Year honors twice), so you'll get a sweat when things get serious. And if there's some sort of controversy (and it seems like there always is), Negreanu is sure to weigh in.

2. Brad Willis (@BradWillis)
You can get chip counts and hand histories all day long on WSOP.com if that's what you're into, but to me, the more interesting part of the WSOP are the stories behind the players. No one does a better job of ferreting out those stories for seven long weeks than PokerStarsBlog.com's Brad Willis.

Need proof? Read his story about Vanessa Pacella and Nicole Rowe, WSOP 2014: Stages. Sadly, Pacella died last week. If you want to read more stories like hers, be sure to follow Willis.

1. Kevin Mathers' WSOP account (@KevmathWSOP)
In case you haven't heard, Bluff Magazine Manager of Poker Information Kevin Mathers (aka, @Kevmath) has created a new Twitter account for this year's WSOP. He intends to tweet WSOP-related news through that account, so if you aren't already following it, sign up before the series gets underway next week.