Column IV:  Part 1 of the WSOP

As of writing this, it is 11 days until day one of the main event at the WSOP.  I’ve been getting a lot of questions and comments about it so; I thought I’d write about it.  People want to know all kinds of things: am I nervous, what’s my strategy, who am I afraid of playing against, do I really think I have a chance, etc.  I guess I’ll try and answer them all.

 

Am I nervous?  Of course I am.  This is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid.  For me, it’s like playing Augusta in April, playing football in January, or playing at Yankee Stadium in October.  When I’m dealt that first hand, I’ll probably be so nervous that I’ll fold pocket aces!  But, I’ve talked to a handful of people who have played in “the big one” and they say the nervousness goes away rather quickly.  I just have to be thankful for the opportunity and welcome the challenge.

 

What’s my strategy?  This is something I’ve been thinking about for some time.  After much deliberating, I’ve come up with one answer:  I don’t have a strategy.  There are a few different way I could approach it.  I could play super tight the first day in hopes of making it until day 2—just so I could say, “Hey, at least I made it to day 2.”  But, that wouldn’t do any good because I wouldn’t have any chips to work with on day 2 and I’d surely go broke.  On the other hand, I could play really wildly and aggressively on day one in hopes of building a big stack to work with on day 2, but that kind of play could get me busted out in the first hour.  Then, not only would I be a failure in my eyes and everyone I know, but also anyone who has ever read this column or listened to Mike’s show.  After thinking about it, I realized that I can’t have a strategy.  I just have to play my game, play my opponents, and play my cards—in that order.  Everything else is just dumb luck.  I do know that I can’t play scared.  You can’t play this game if you’re afraid to lose.  After all, there’s no difference between last place and 600th place (the projected number of entries is 6600).  The person who wins this tournament will not only be extremely lucky, he’ll also be fearless.  That’s the mentality I have to take.

 

Who am I afraid to play against?  I’m supposed to say no one, but that’s untrue.  There are a few pros who I don’t want to see at my table.  For instance: John Phan, John Juanda, Gus Hansen, and Mike Mizrachi are all players who will raise and reraise with anything or nothing and it’s very hard to distinguish between the two.  These guys love to bully around players like me.  They don’t know me, but they know I know them.  I’ve played with some big time pros in the past and I’ve learned that it’s best to just stay out of their way for a while.  It makes it more difficult to build chips, but you don’t want to grapple with these players early.

 

Do I really think I have a chance?  Hell, I don’t know—anything is possible.  Like I said, before, whoever wins this tournament will have been extremely lucky for 7 days.  I know the game well enough that, with a lot of luck, I do believe I have a chance, but then again, maybe I’m overly optimistic (I also continue to buy a lottery ticket every week).  All I know is that I’ll do the best I can and try to have fun.  Playing in this tournament is a dream come true so what else can I ask for?  I’ll be taking notes and such so I can write all about my experience.  So, in my next column, I hope to be writing about how I’m 15 million dollars richer!  Until then—take care and good luck!  As always, feel free to email me at xrokpoker@yahoomail.com .

 

By Chris Stuart