#469 - WSOP Notebook #42 - Stay Home

As I was finishing out the World Series of Poker in the backwater of “other daily events,” I naturally considered my future in tournament poker and, while playing the Venetian’s “deep stack extravaganza” events, wondered if this was a fertile place for my next move.

My conclusion is going to sound like an advertisement for Full Tilt Poker, but consider my reasoning, not my source of employment. Also, I reached the conclusion opposite the one I was expecting, and may completely change my future relationship with tournament poker as a result.

The story starts at last year’s Series, where, after pretty mediocre results, I finished on fire, making final tables in two of my last three events (before the Main Event) and earning over $40,000. Coming on the heels of the publication of the Full Tilt Strategy Guide and some online tournament success, I contemplated playing on the tournament circuit in the late summer and fall 2007. In fact, I had already rung up one good performance at the Orleans Open when, during the Main Event, Jo Anne called and told me an MRI that followed up on a mammogram the week before showed a “dark mass” that was going to require a biopsy.

We both suspected what was just down the road, and I busted out of the Orleans Open a few minutes later. That was the end of my live tournament plans until the 2008 World Series, save one event at WSOP-Europe and a few events at the Wynn Classic in March.

With Jo Anne’s health restored and treatment practically finished, I planned on playing about a dozen events at this year’s Series. I also won an entry to the Main Event, and an early cash in the $5,000 Mixed Hold ‘Em both emboldened me to try more events and gave me a bit more money to play with. When the results weren’t good, I retreated to the satellite room, where I won enough to play still more events.

Purely on World Series events played, I was underwater over $30k. But with the satellite wins and the Main Event entry won on Full Tilt, my bankroll at the end of the Series, though hurting a little, was not decimated.

So what’s next? I initially thought (and still occasionally think) that I should just chuck tournament poker. I’m an author, not a poker player, and I need to get to work on telling some great story or another. I can’t do that and be occupied with poker on a regular basis.

But poker has its pull. Killing time at home before my last drive back to Vegas, I finished second in the Sunday night HORSE, worth over $7,000, and it’s hard to turn your back on something where you can casually (sometimes) make that kind of money.

Playing the Venetian events last week, I started developing a plan. The quality of play was not especially high. They’re running another set of these events - $300 to $1,000 buy-ins - throughout the month of November. The World Series circuit events, likewise, have lots of events with similar buy-ins, as do the preliminaries of all the WPT events (except those at the Bellagio).

Travel to Vegas or LA for 5 days, keep expenses low, play a bunch of events, and expect some big cashes.

Then I looked at the Venetian payouts and completely changed my mind. There were 454 players in an event I played, each of whom paid $550 to play. They paid 45 places but 37th-45th received just $657, barely more than the buy-in. I expect the payouts to be weighted toward the top, but this was too much. And you have to play for a long, long time to get that. I was told that they play until the middle of the night and still have to bring back a couple tables the next day.

I was more disturbed when I looked at the prize pool and saw how much was missing. Although the tournament was advertised as “$500 + $40,” everyone was charged $550. What gives?

Apparently, we do. The starting chips were “increased” from 10,000 to 12,000 thanks to a “$10 dealer bonus.” Technically, this was an “optional” charge, but they assumed (correctly) that no one, to save $10, would take 2,000 fewer chips than the rest of the field. But it’s never explained unless you ask, and none of the $10 you’re paying for the “extra chips” makes it into the prize pool.

The Venetian actually collected three forms of juice. There was the $10 per player. There was the $40 in the “$500 + $40.” Then they also took another undisclosed hunk. The prize pool ($500 x 454 players) should have been $227,000. But they were only distributing $219,055. That meant another $7,945 was removed from the pool. Out of the $550 everyone paid, the players would see only about $483 of that - nearly 13% was raked off.

And this, of course, assumes I can live for free in Las Vegas, which I can’t. If I stay home, I can lounge around the house while I play, do some errands, and spend time with my family. I could easily set up this kind of schedule, playing for a bigger prize pool with 50% of the rake: (1) $150 + $13 $40k Guarantee at 15:00; (2) $120 + $9 $25k Guarantee KO at 17:00; (3) $150 + $13 $65k Guarantee at 20:00; (4) $50 + $5 Fifty-Fifty at 21:30; (5) $24 + $2 $28k Guarantee at 22:00. But that’s just an example. I could modify it if I’ve gotta pick up a kid at school or make dinner. Or I could add-in a rebuy tournament or Razz or HORSE.

I love playing live. I think I have some advantages over other players live that I don’t have online. I was ready to start looking up tournament shedules and booking cheap rooms. But when I thought about it like this, I decided I’m more likely to stay home.