I am so going to the WSOP this year. In 2008 I was supposed to play in the Main Event, but I ended up busting that 10k in roulette instead and didn't play. Last year I was supposed to play some preliminary events, but my grandmother died just as I was supposed to leave for Vegas and I chose to stay at home. It wasn't an unexpected death since she was battling cancer and we weren't even very close as we lived over 500 miles apart, but as I'm pretty much the only close relative my mother has left alive I felt I needed to stay in Finland with her. But this year, unless a tornado hits me or something, I am SO going. And I'm going to kick some ass.

 

I'm probably not going to play the Main Event. I'll play if I satellite myself in, but I'm not going to spend more than one or two k's on satties and I certainly won't stress too much about it. Instead I'm going go play some preliminary events, trying to get my first WSOP cash (preferably in the form of a final table). If I do well, maybe I'll invest the profits on the Main Event. Until that happens, I'm pretty much just going to put the Main Event to the back of my mind and concentrate on whatever I choose to play.

 

I spent this afternoon looking through the schedules, and came up with a couple of options for my schedule. I don't want to spend too long in Vegas as that town drives you crazy, so I'm looking for a 10-14 day stretch. Those days will be tournament poker and tournament poker ONLY. I'm not going to drink (unless there's a 2+2 party or something really big), and I'm not going to play any cash games. In Vegas it's so easy to just let go, forget about healthy eating habits and strict sleeping schedules, and end up grinding cash games or roulette or whatever all night. Add alcohol and strippers, and you are facing a disaster. However, I feel I've already done all of the "mandatory" Vegas stuff, so this time I'll be able to really concentrate on playing.

 

 I have two different schedule options to choose from, and during the next couple of weeks I'll make my final decision. Here are the candidates:

 

1)

Sat Jun 5th    Event #13: $1000 No-Limit Hold’em
Mon Jun 7th    Event #16: $1500 No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed
Thu Jun 10th    Event #20: $1500 Pot-Limit Omaha
Sat Jun 12th    Event #24: $1000 No-Limit Hold’em
Wed Jun 16th    Event #30: $1500 No-Limit Hold’em
Thu Jun 17th    Event #33: $2500 Pot-Limit Hold'em/Omaha

=$9000

I think the half/half event looks too juicy to skip as it's almost impossible to find a low buy-in player in Vegas who knows how to play both PLO and Hold'em, especially in tournaments. However if I go deep in event #30 I'll have to skip that as most of the events take 2-3 days.

 

2)

Sat Jun 12th    Event #24: $1000 No-Limit Hold’em
Wed Jun 16th    Event #30: $1500 No-Limit Hold’em
Sat Jun 19th    Event #36: $1000 No-Limit Hold’em
Tue Jun 22nd    Event #41: $1500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better
Wed Jun 23rd    Event #42: $1500 No-Limit Hold’em
Fri, Jun 25th    Event #45: $1500 No-Limit Hold’em
Sat, Jun 26th    Event #47: $1000 No-Limit Hold’em

=$9000

This is a bit longer than number two. The plus side is that it has one tournament more and also only smaller buy-in options, meaning that my edge will be bigger. Pretty much everyone says that you should maximize the amount of saturday events (they play a 1k every saturday) as they are full of drunk, really awful people.

I think both of these options are much better than spending 10k on the Main Event, where - despite having an awesome structure - you still only need one bad beat and you're out. I'm going to sell 50% of my action to my backer or possibly backers in the name of bankroll management. In the days between the tournaments I'm going to play the $100-$500 tournaments that are running everywhere in Vegas. I'll put as much attention as possible on the Caesar's Palace Megastack and Venetian Deepstack series, aiming to play one tournament every day unless I feel drained. And when I'm not playing, I'll try to put myself in a rest mode where I just chill at the pool, enjoy the heat, meet some friends and work out.

Bring it on, Vegas. This time I'm ready for you.