Wednesday, June 2, 2010

WSOP 2010

Last year I basically skipped the giant poker meetup that is the WSOP in Las Vegas, for a variety of mostly valid reasons. I was still getting my feet under me, playing tournaments of any kind just wasn't (and still really isn't) my thing, and ponying up a couple thousand dollars to enter even a limit hold 'em event for the right to skip out on playing in very profitable cash games just didn't seem like the thing to do. Up until a few days ago I was planning to do the same this year, mostly for the same reasons, but two nights ago I had a look at the schedule and gave it a good think and decided it was silly for me not to enter at least one of the events. I can drive to Vegas in a few hours now, and therefore have my own personal car when I get there, I have way more friends that will be in town now (one group of which has rented a house with space to stay), and I'm a bit more comfortable with the sums of money involved. And so I've decided that I'll be driving to Las Vegas tomorrow to play in event 12, the $1500 full ring limit hold 'em event that kicks off at 5pm on Friday. The current plan is to also play event 18, the $2000 full ring limit hold 'em event that starts Wednesday at noon, but that is a little more tentative. If things go well (which just probabilistically is extremely unlikely) I'll be in Las Vegas for the entire duration, something like 8-9 days. If I bust out on the first day of event 12, I'll come home for a couple nights in between and decide if I really want to drive back out there for the second event.

I'm very excited and extremely nervous about the whole thing. I feel like I'm probably biting off more than I can chew (even though I am likely to take some staking), but the prospect of being away from home for over a week is just not something I really want to do. I've never been in Vegas for more than 3 nights in a row I don't think, and signing up for triple that is a little scary. Staying at a house off the strip with friends should certainly help extend my shelf life, but I'm concerned that I just won't be able to make it. And obviously the most likely outcome is that I don't cash in either event (they only pay the top 10%), which will basically mean I'll have spent 2-6 days traveling and playing to lose a couple thousand dollars when I could have been grinding out wins in the Commerce 20. But damn it, this is the world series and if I'm to take myself seriously as a professional poker player I need to show up and throw my hat in the ring. So ready or not, here I come.

7 comments:

RKFM said...

Limit tourneys are strange games. A lot of luck involved. Nothing worse than bad cards as the blinds start to eat your stack.

Seems like the early blind levels plays like a .50/$1 game, then ends as a $30/$60 game. At least online, don't have any live experience with limit tourneys.

Good luck!

Yodaman said...

Don't forget, you can grind the cash games at the Rio too. I think you'll find tourney donks just as bad at cash game as commerce players

Patrick said...

Yes, there will be plenty of cash games to play, including the always good Bellagio 30/60 game.

And yes, limit tourneys are more frustrating than NL, because there really isn't much you can do once you get shortstacked. Go card dead for 2 levels, and all of a sudden, the next hand you play will cripple you if you lose.

I think the limit shootout might be a bit better, because you get to play shorthanded (unless you are one of the first few out) and everyone is in the same boat.

Oren said...

I would consider skipping the tourneys all together and playing cash games there. I would take the 3.5k and invest it in a juicy 40/80 (or even 50/100) game. Way more EV+

jesse8888 said...

To be clear I'm mostly doing this for the experience. I realize that playing the tournament isn't as profitable as just playing the Commerce 20, but I do that every day and feel like I should try something new.

As for playing a juicy 40/80 game, there are 4 of those every night at Commerce.

miesque said...

Good luck in Vegas, hope things are going well down south for you......GC 20/40 is crazy as ever.

Hamking said...

sounds like alot of fun. Hope u have a good time

good luck & run gUt!!
We'll all be rooting for ya here..

...and of course when the dust settles we'll all be expecting that trip reports. ;)