Have you guys prepared for the inevitable moment when a WSOP final table is made up of nothing but FTP pros? It’s gonna happen sometime, and it looks like this might be the year.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves quite yet. Yes, there are about 9,000 Full Tilt Poker pros at this point and we’re having one hell of a series, but the odds still say that an all FTP final table is somewhat unlikely. You can forget about this happening in any of the smaller buy-in, larger field donkaments at the WSOP – there’s just too many landmines to avoid and too much variance to take into account with that many players in the mix.

Now, maybe (and I stress that maybe as much as possible) there’s a chance of an all FTP final table in one of the bigger buy-in, smaller field tourneys where only the best (and wealthiest) players compete. But it’s still relatively unlikely to happen – there are too many good players in a tourney like that and it’s hard enough for one of our pros to make a final table, never mind six to nine of them all at once.

That said, if this event did happen to take place, it would certainly be a momentous occasion for us. But, then again, it wouldn’t be altogether unexpected – we don’t sign all these pros so they can sit around and do nothing for us. We are Full Tilt Poker, and we rule the poker world!

Is it just me, or are the pros doing extremely well at the WSOP this year? Does this mean all the fishes are gone, or is it just the pros turn to run good for once?

Don’t you just love it when one question leads perfectly into the next question? I sure do. In the writing business, we call that a good transition. It’s the equivalent of a nice post-flop continuation bet in poker. But enough about Chinese food, let’s answer this question.

Yes, it does seem as if the pros are doing exceptionally well at the Series this year (and not just the Tilters). From Danny N. to Barry G. to any of the 36 FTP pros who’ve won bracelets this year, these damn pesky pros don’t seem to ever let up. Does this mean the well is dry and all the fishes are dying a slow, painful death by suffocation? Maybe, but probably not.

I think it’s a combination of factors that have led us to this point. There are just more good players out there than probably ever before, and maybe a few less fish. Combine that with the fact that the pros are definitely running good this year and there you have it. But I really wouldn’t worry about the sea of fish drying up any time soon – where there’s money to be made, there’s a fish waiting to donk all of his chips away.

What’s the deal with the Iron Man Mid-Year Bonus? I’ve never played in the Iron Man Challenge, is there something special I need to do here to qualify for the bonus?

Well, we’re getting a little late in the month to be answering this one since there’s not enough time left to qualify if you haven’t already been playing, but we’ll tackle it anyway (cause we’re nice like that). Let’s just start at the top and run through this whole Iron Man Challenge thingy (for lack of a better word):

You qualify for the Iron Man Challenge by earning X numbers of points a day for X days a month. There are four different levels of Iron Man you can qualify for – Bronze, Silver, Gold or Iron. So, for instance, I usually go for Gold level every month, which means that I have to do 25 days at 100 points per day. Sometimes I’ll go for Silver level, which means either 20 days at 100 points per day or 25 days at 50 points per day. At any rate, go here to check out all the info on the insanely complicated Iron Man Challenge, so I can move on to greener pastures.

Now, the Iron Man Mid-Year Bonus is our reward to those Iron Man players who’ve put a lot of work in throughout the course of the year so far. For every month a player has qualified for Iron Man in these first six months, they’ll get a bonus amount corresponding to what level they qualified for each month. You get $25 for each month at Bronze, $50 for each month at Silver, $75 for each month at Gold and $100 for each month at Iron. Add them all up at the end of this month, and that is your Iron Man Mid-Year Bonus. For instance, I’ve done four months at Gold this year and two months at Silver, so I’m in for a $400 bonus that I’ll never be able to clear (so I’ve got that going for me). The only caveat here is that you have to qualify for the Iron Man Challenge in June to be eligible for the bonus.

Hopefully that cleared things up for you a bit. The basic premise of the Iron Man Challenge is “play more, win more.” So don’t commit the crime if you can’t do the time (which really doesn’t apply here, I just like things that rhyme). Until next week…