.jpg) | |
| SCOOP'd |
If you are coming out for the full stretch of the WSOP, I think the only way to maximize your potential is to have a) some significant amount of money to invest in yourself b) a positive expectation in some of the non-NLHE tournaments and c) something else to grind (cash games, SNGs) when you're not in tournaments.
I basically didn't have any of that going for me: I didn't have the roll to invest in a high percentage of myself over many tournaments, and I don't feel my mixed game skills are where I need them to be to enter a bunch of bracelet events. And while I do technically like playing single-table satellites at the Rio, realistically I have limited patience for the live grind. I'm just not one of those guys who's going to play 150-200 SNGs in a summer.
Meanwhile, with many world class tournament grinders chasing WSOP glory in Vegas, playing online MTTs becomes a very attractive proposition in June. The absence of hundreds of MTT experts, who crawl out of the woodwork for an event like SCOOP and then move on to the WSOP, makes the online tournaments much easier to beat.
***
I did wind up coming out to Vegas for some WSOP events--nine in total, less than half the number I usually play. I've been coming here eight years now, and I guess I enjoy being here on a traditional level. With the need to live in Mexico in order to maintain an already isolated online poker lifestyle, I felt it was necessary to get out and enjoy the usual WSOP atmosphere: seeing lots of friends, even if only for a moment or two in the Rio hallway, grabbing a nice meal on dinner break, rooting people on during their deep runs, kibitzing about players' results and the poker world in general, complaining about the Rio.
After playing a few events, I found myself once again despising the live grind. The heat and dryness of Vegas is incredibly draining, and just the walk from the parking lot to the Rio convention center saps a lot of my energy. Then I play a tournament, bust the tournament, play a SNG, bust the SNG, and I'm considerably more drained and somewhat demoralized. Even if I can stay steady on the grind and maybe play the 8PM mega, I look back on a day of slow, relatively action-less poker where I only played a few tournaments.
I was fiending to get back to playing 50-60 MTTs in a day, 8-12 at a time, and I just wanted--needed--to put up a winning session to reverse the tide. So I left Vegas, drove to Mexico, set up in front of my computer overlooking the Pacific, and had probably the best four-day run in my online poker career, a blur of turbo wins and final tables that ended with a fifth place finish in the Super Tuesday for $20K. When it was all said and done, I had recovered almost completely from my awful May results.
.jpg) |
| June recovery. |
***
And now I'm in the middle of the main event, the $10,000 buyin that concludes the Series every year. I made day two with 20K in chips. It's plenty to work with, and I am actually happy to have rebuilt from a major cooler (JJ vs KK on a KcJxTc flop) that left me with 5,000 after dinner, at the 150/300/25 level.
I'm also happy with my decision to play Day 1c, the last starting day. I was originally planning to register for Day 1a, Saturday, but I gave it a second thought and realized that part of the reason I wanted to play that day was because I had a subconscious desire to get out of Vegas as quickly as possible after being here on-and-off for a month.
Since this is a terrible way to approach an opportunity like the WSOP main event, I decided to take the smarter, more disciplined approach and sign up to play Monday and spend the two days in between going back to Santa Monica to reset and come back to play the main event as relaxed and clearheaded as possible.
Now, I am feeling poised to play well, make no mistakes and give myself the best shot to win. And if it doesn't work out, well, hey the Micro Millions is taking place this month on PokerStars!