WSOP Main Event - Prep Blog

In a few hours I'll be playing in my third WSOP. It's always an exciting time as poker players from all over the world come together to compete. The last two times I came, I played in $2,000 events and had pretty deep runs. I cashed both times and last year I finished 47th out of about 1,700 players.

This year will be my first main event and I'm as ready as ever. I was backed for the event so it certainly takes the bankroll pressure off, but I plan on playing my best regardless. I'm not going to spew chips because it doesn't matter if I bust and I'm also not going to nit it up because I'm playing with someone else's money. They know they are taking a risk and they just want me to play my best.

The Main Event is a super long tournament so it really is just a series of poker decisions just like any other session or tournament. By treating it like a media spectacle and a “big deal” takes away from proper decision making and clouds your judgment. To be mentally prepared n most big sporting events, you should block out the distractions in order to focus on your skills. A poker tournament is no different except that in addition, poker has a variance factor. What this means is that in order to be successful you truly have to treat poker as one big session and not get caught up in the results of one specific tournament, whether it be a small buy-in online tournament or the biggest tournament in the world.

Having said that, there are some adjustments that can be made to optimize my results in a tournament like this. While I will do my best to treat it like any other tournament, other players may not and it's my job to capitalize on that.

So my overall strategy is just like any other tournament. I will identify player tendencies, assign hand ranges and make my decisions accordingly. If I need to be aggro in the beginning to pick up easy chips from passive players then I will. If I need to stay conservative because people are playing like a home cash game because the stacks are so deep, then I'll do that. The key will be understanding the individual players mindsets. For some, there will be interesting meta-game considerations since we'll likely be at the same table for a while in the beginning, but for others who are just playing their cards they don't even know what meta-game means. Some players will nit up when it cost them their stack because they don't want to bust from the main event and some players will gamble it up because they feel they have nothing to lose. I have no idea what my table will bring...it could be filled with internet pros who might be super aggro and it might be filled with live pros who have something to prove (which may cause them to be more or less nitty than normal). I might also have a bunch of guys who won their seat through bar poker freerolls. Who knows. But the main thing is that I'll make my decisions based on observed tendencies. Everyone has leaks and it is my job to exploit them.

So like last year, I jotted down a few statements to help me get in the right mindset and stay focused. Here they are in no particular order:

- I will not get caught up in the fan fare and the emotion of the event
- I'm not going to put a bunch of pressure on myself to make "perfect decisions"
- If I make mistakes I will adapt and move on...there will be lots of poker to play
- I will not let ego affect my play vs. aggro players (esp guys who are trying to look like cool poker players)
- I will not force spots trying to outplay people. I will make reads and make confident decisions.
- I will not try to play like other people. I will stay true to my game.
- They are all poker players with patterns & tendencies. They are just people and I will not play in fear of celebrity or reputation.
- I will play to win. My stack will dictate how I play on the bubble and I will take advantage of bubble dynamics as best as I can.
- I have no need to prove to myself or anyone that I am not afraid to bust out on a big call or shove. If those plays come up they will be based on sound, confident & logical decisions.
- I will not get emotionally attached to a hand
- I will stay patient
- I will not be afraid of the outcome of my decisions (aka I will not be afraid to bust). But at the same time, I will make plays that I am confident in and I will not force spots.
- I will not play any different whether I am at a TV table, a feature table or the final table (other than to take advantage of how others might be playing because of these dynamics)

So I think the theme of all of this is to stay patient and make decisions I am confident in. If I get a bad feeling, I'll just let the hand go and move on to another hand. If I'm confident in the play; whether it be fold, call or raise; I'll make it.

Wish me luck.

Never put anyone on a pedestal

Was sorting some old emails and found something I sent to myself in regards to a lesson to teach wrestlers that I coach. I find it interestingly poignant considering I am about to leave for the World Series.

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Never put anyone else up on a pedestal.

You can respect their skills and learn from them, but when you deify someone it makes them unbeatable in your mind and assumes that you can never reach that level. Levels and limits are placed by your own mind and you must consciously break through the invisible barriers that your mind creates.