Posted by The Captain | Filed under The Pros Speak
One aspect of the WSOP that makes it interesting is the number of “amateurs” that end up playing – and frequently going deep – in various events. This is especially true of $1.5K buy-in events, where runners frequently number in the thousands. One of the questions that this seems to beg is, “what’s it take to play in a WSOP event?” While the obvious answer is buy-in money, the proverbial chip and chair are only the beginning.
To get a professional opinion on actually making it happen, our cohort in Vegas was able to get a few minutes of Greg Mueller’s time. Here’s his take, in his own words:
What advice would you offer to someone making their first foray into the WSOP?
It’s been a long time since I was there, and I probably play a lot different from someone sitting down for the first time. For example, I’m looking to pick up a lot of chips early in a $1.5K event, and if not, I’ll enjoy the rest of the day. Whereas if it was my first or only event, I’d be playing super tight and looking to survive early on and make the most of it.
For someone that’s here for the first time, I’d advise them to stay away from the pit - it’s a money burner. If you’re here for the tournaments, stay away from the cash games, because the last thing that you want to do is stay up all night until 6AM before a tournament and possibly lose a lot of money, because then you you’re not going to be focused on your $1.5K tournament. Map out your schedule, choose the events that you want to play and can afford, get a good night’s sleep and come in realizing that it’s the World Series. Take it seriously. It’s like anything else – you don’t want to be up partying and drinking the night before. If you’re doing it seriously and want to do well, then you’ve got to treat it seriously.
I know that this sounds like standard advice, but it gets overlooked or blown off all of the time. People are miserable because they weren’t prepared and got knocked out of a tournament, so they fly over to the pit thinking that they’re going to win their $1.5K back. The next thing you know, they’re down $10K. All of a sudden, a $1.5K buy-in that was affordable has now become almost a $12K loss. The key is to stick to the game plan early on – that’s key.
I’ve seen so many people come to the WSOP with a list of things that they plan on doing, like eating good, getting exercise, going for a massage, getting plenty of rest, and staying away from the pit and live action. After two days, they’ve been drunk, lost over half of their bankroll, haven’t done the other things that they wanted to do, and they haven’t even left the casino. They’ve done everything completely wrong in the first two days. Getting off to a good start is crucial, because it’s easier to keep doing things right than it is to try and get out of trouble. On the other hand, when you get off to a bad start, everything is a lot more likely to go wrong. The discipline is sticking to your own rules.
Is there anything that you’d say to players coming specifically from an online background?
I’d advise them to stay completely focused on the game at first, like not wearing headphones for example, because you’re going to miss out on things that are really important. You don’t want to miss out on blind structures, conversations at the table – there’s too much to pick up when you’re new to this type or level of tournament play. You need to stay focussed and try to pick up as much information as you can and not be distracted; watch the play, watch the action, and listen to the conversation.
This is especially true when you’re seated with good players. Back when I first started, I remember being seated with guys like Howard Lederer and I’d listen to everything that they said and watch how they played. You can learn a lot from good players just by watching them. I specifically remember watching him and another really good player, and really paying attention to how they played every hand. If you’ve got your earphones on and you’re just staring out into space, you’re not going to learn nearly as much. It’s a totally different world from online play.
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