WSOP 2008 Primer and PSA

This is my fourth year coming to play the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and there is a lot to write about and a lot of poker to be played, but it's past 1AM, and I need to get some sleep before tomorrow's rebuy event at noon. I've been having trouble sleeping.

Also, I haven't even begun to digest the buildup of frustration, overexposure and chaos that has characterized, without fail, the first few days of every one of these summer pilgrimages (the first one took place in 2005, when I still lived in Brooklyn and didn't yet have a driver's license).

I have come off two solid days of tournament poker, which resulted in a halfway encouraging, although not even vaguely satisfying, 95th place finish ($5,800). This was Event #2, the traditionally enormous inaugural $1,500 No Limit event, which routinely gets over 2,000 players. (This year, the field was split into two starting days and that figure reached almost 4,000). I've played dozens of these low-buyin WSOP events over the years but never cashed one before. I feel focused and ready to work hard and make some money in the weeks ahead.

And, after five straight months (and more than $100K in buyins) of whiffing live tournaments, this is my first cash of 2008.

Much luck to my friend Thomas Fuller, who is reportedly still alive in this event, playing for the $800K+ first prize.

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With the niceties aside, I would like to direct anyone I might run into at the Rio this summer to these guidelines on what I consider normal behavior during tournaments:

- I don't care how many chips you have. If I see you in the hallway during break and ask, "How are you doing?" that does not mean, "How many chips do you have?" or "Do you have any hands you'd like to retell?" I don't care. If you make it to the final table, I'll probably hear about it.

- I don't care if you care how many chips I have. If asked, I will try to avoid the question. I would like to eliminate this whole conversation piece as a default starting point for shooting the shit. Similarly, if you pass by my table and are impressed by the amount of chips I have, or are, say, wondering where I lost some chips, or if you want to tell my about how you won some chips recently, keep it to yourself. I'm trying to work here. If I accumulate a meaningful amount of chips, enough to make the final table, you'll probably hear about it.

- Most of all, no matter what, do not text me when you know I am playing a tournament (or driving). This has quickly become my biggest pet peeve. Yes I could turn my phone off, but I prefer to be available in case an emergency comes up or an important real life issue arises that needs to be addressed. That doesn't mean I want to be texted and asked for an update on my chip count. Some people are into that. Not me. Use the internet to find out my chip count. If you don't have an internet connection, let it slide. If I make the final table, you'll probably hear about it.

There's a whole lot of schmoozing that goes on at the WSOP, and that's genuinely nice up to a point. There's a unique social energy here, and it's cool to see my fellow poker players embracing that. But this isn't summer camp. I'm here to work, and I don't take my ability to concentrate on my own goals for granted.