Job 1 at WSOP: Take in the chaotic surroundings

By Mark Lasser

Editor’s Note: This column contains both Parts 1 and 2 from the print edition of the Deal.

The World Series of Poker, held annually now at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas (pictured), is mayhem. Not organized mayhem like a big concert and not quite the free-for-all mayhem of a Canadian city after losing the Stanley Cup, but mayhem nonetheless.

Walking into the Rio, one starts to see signage for the WSOP event. As the convention center nears, one is welcomed by 30-foot pictures of previous winners and player of the year heads: Lisandro, Negreanu, Duhamel.

And then you walk into the first room of play. It’s so large you literally cannot see to the other side. It has hundreds of tables. This day’s noon tournament is under way with maybe 4,000 players. So is Day 2 of the prior day’s event with a few hundred left, and the final table from the day before that is being set up in the other big room, the aptly named Amazon room. Groups of railbirds gather around certain tables. As I walk up to one group I see Elky playing at one table. Next to that is a table with Huck Seed, and next to that is a table with Barry Greenstein. In the poker world this is like seeing Robert Pattinson, Paul Newman and Jason Bateman. Sort of.

Of course, there are also cash games and hundreds of satellites. Some of the cash games are small stakes, but many are $100-$300 limit, and there were even two tables set up for Chinese Poker (Google it). Satellites were in so much demand that there were dealer and table shortages every day, requiring tables to be set up in the hallways – seriously. Dealers were working 10-hour days or longer six days a week. And as if this wasn’t enough big game choice, the Venetian had been simultaneously running deep stack tournaments, as well as the Golden Nugget downtown.

Registration lines for 4,000-person events can get to be Disney long, so I made sure to pony up my buy-in the night before. The process is simple. You need a player’s card from the Total Rewards Program, a picture ID and cash. A lot of cash. Or a wire transfer. The cheapest buy-in for the series regular events is $1,000, but there are many events in the $5K, $10K and even $50K range. Next year will feature an inaugural $1 million buy-in event. And what do you get for your $1,000 or $10,000 buy in? A nice bag and a t-shirt? Nope. Just three slips of paper: a receipt for you, one for the dealer and a $10 coupon for food.

The next morning, armed with a backpack of snacks, a map to the nearest restroom and a plan involving military precision to meet my wife during the dinner break in 6-1/2 hours (one can only imagine the lines and waits when 4,000 people all break for dinner at once), I finally take my seat. It’s noon. Table 311 Seat 3 in the Orange section of the Amazon room. Rules are read, cards are shuffled and dealt.

The first hour is great. AK twice and holds up. A tight table where small bets get folds. The starting stacks are only 3K and initial blinds are 25-50 making it only 60 BB to start and an M ratio of 40. Pocket tens wins another pot and by 12:30 I’m up to 4,000 chips. An hour later I get to 4,400 chips.

(BEGIN SECOND PART)

I’m dealt an AQ suited in early position. I three bet it and get one caller, a kid who buys in late and looks to be maybe 20 years old. I’m guessing a satellite winner. The flop comes A73 rainbow. I bet about two-thirds of the pot hoping for a call with a weaker ace and not fearing flush or straight draws. He calls. The turn brings a 7 for a full rainbow. OK. No flush or straight draws. I don’t figure he called the flop bet with an under pair and if he had AK, I figure he raises preflop or certainly on the flop. I’m also not afraid of a set of 3s.

Again, I doubt there’d be a slow play on the flop. This time I over-bet the pot and he calls again. The river brings a 5, giving me top two pair and not much to be afraid of. I over-bet the pot again and he shoves. Huh? I look at the board and run through the hand again. I can’t come up with a scenario where he has me beat. If I call, I almost double up. If I fold, I’ve put in huge bets preflop, flop, turn and river and would be left with only 900 chips or less than nine big blinds. I can’t put him on a hand other than AQ also maybe AJ, AT and he thinks I’m bluffing. I rule out AK, and any seven and the set of 3s.

I decide that despite a promise to myself to dodge all-ins, a fold here would basically cripple me to a point of no return and more times than not, the call is right. So I call and he tables pocket fives for the full house. He had chased a 2 outer and made it calling the flop and turn with an under pair. Wow. Don’t let anyone tell you the caliber of play at the WSOP is any better than a loose wild game in any local card room.

Two hands later I’m dealt QQ in middle position and since no raise seems to go uncalled at the table, there’s no reason to slow play or trap. I bet my hand and get called. Flop comes AsJc7d mixed suits. I check the flop and the caller checks as well. OK, I rule out the ace and figure he has a jack at best. The turn puts a 5 of diamonds on the board. Since he checked the flop I bet my short stack of 900 into the pot and he calls with a J9 both diamonds.

Now J9 is not really a playable hand in my mind unless it’s unraised on the blinds or maybe in a few circumstances on the button, but I’m floored he played it against a three bet raise pre-flop. I guess he liked the flush draw for even money or figured his 9 kicker was solid. So statistically – and I’m told by my friend Jacky I play too much of a math game – at this point I was “living in the cards.” I was a 4.5 to 1 favorite pre-flop. A 3:1 favorite on the flop and even on the turn I’ll win this hand 68 percent of the time. But not today. The river is a 3 of diamonds, and two hours after buying in I’m busted by a runner runner flush. Grrr.

So, long column and we’ll wrap up this sob story. The WSOP is a blast to play. The energy and excitement is unparalleled in poker. There’s simply nothing else like it in the gambling and poker world.

Lesson 1: No regrets. I made good decisions and my opponents made bad decisions. Of course I was disappointed, but I’ll be back to do it again and hopefully the same smart decision of getting money in when I’m way ahead will lead to the predictable positive results.

Lesson 2: The dinner plan would have worked great. My wife is smart when it comes to these things.

Lesson 3: Large buy-ins don’t necessarily equate to better players.

Lesson 4: Staying at the Rio or at least the Palms or Gold Coast would have been a good idea. I wasn’t that far away but being walking distance from the Rio would have been worth a few extra bucks in room cost.

Mark B. Lasser is Denver writer and international poker player. He regularly plays in Colorado, Arizona, California, Missouri and Nevada. You can hear him talk about gambling and casinos every Friday at 5 PM on KEZW AM 1430. Readers can send questions and comments to him at ColoradoPokerMark@comcast.net.