Less than a week until the WSOP 2015 kicks off at the Rio on May 27. I am incredibly tempted to break my cherry and actually dip my toe in the tourney this year.
In past years I have been too happy just taking advantage of the incredibly juicy side games. One year I had an incredibly profitable time playing the Single Table Qualifiers for the Venetian's Deep Stack Extravaganza. I'd play, win a seat, then sell the seat. Play, win, sell. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Most of the pros - real or self-delusioned - are playing the tournaments, meaning most of the games at places like the Bellagio and Wynn and Venetian are a couple steps easier than normal, and more profitable.
For me there is just too much variance in tournies when compared to the reliability of cash games. Fighting through several hours of play, pressured by ever increasing betting levels, subject to the crazy variables of desperate short stacks, doesn't normally fit well with my natural poker game.
And yet the WSOP is the World Series of Poker. Moneymaker, Brunson, Negreanu, Hellmuth and all the other icons of big time poker and its history. Yeah, I toil in the minor leagues of poker, but you always have dreams.
And for me there are a couple of interesting new tournies to consider. The first is Event #5 - The Colossus. With only a $565 buy-in the risk is low. The WSOP people are really thumping it up, hoping for a record turnout. Can they parley a lower buy-in event on the first weekend to make for a bigger tourney than the 2006 Main Event (8,773 entrants) which stands at the apex of poker popularity. WSOP is hoping for 10,000 or more. It could be fun.
Should I play? Right now I am leaning to at least give The Colossus a try, depending on how I am doing in the side games before it.
Hi! I would like to try your hand at some tournament. But I'm afraid that the WSOP is too cool for me now. I'll be watching...
ReplyDeleteWhat are your impressions of the Colossus?
ReplyDeleteFOr a small buy-in tournament it has a good amount of chips. The first day the levels are 40 minutes, the second day they go to 60. Should make for a lot of play. It is supposed to be big, way over 10,000, but a lot of the pros are supposed to be playing in the larger buy-in events going on at the same time. I think it is a great format for people who want to try the WSOP for the first time on a grand scale.
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