Due to the pandemic events all over the world canceled. Las Vegas, the usual World Series of Poker location, closed all casinos earlier this year. And after re-opening their doors on May 29th, the coronavirus numbers of Nevada are rapidly rising again.
But like any crisis, this offers opportunities to the people who are looking for it.
For poker players, this year’s WSOP is held online, with the precious bracelets for grabs.
WSOP 2020
This edition of the World Series is held on two sites: WSOP.com and GG poker. The first one offers tournaments to US-based players, while GG is open for the rest of the world.
So I’ll be grinding the GG tournaments across the month, with my personal favorite the 10K$ Heads-Up. As a former HU player, I’m looking forward to testing my strategy vs the current field and hope I don’t run into WCGrider or Jungleman in the early rounds.
My Previous World Series Failures
In the early years of my poker career, I played at the WSOP 2010 and 2011 in Las Vegas. Initially, I went to party with my friends. But as young, vibrant, and cocky poker players we entered a few events in the Rio Casino.
I didn’t manage to cash in any! And spend the rest of my poker hours in the Bellagio at the high stakes cash games, where I witnessed Phil “The Unabomber” Laak setting the “ Guinness book of records” world record for longest poker session, 115 hours!
Imagine playing him 5 days straight, and greeting him every morning after stumbling out of the clubs. It was a crazy sight.
In the end, I always managed to go home with more money than I came with. Plus a bag of great poker nomad stories, but without notable successes.
ALL IN
As you’ll probably know. The tourney life isn’t easy. It’s an irregular schedule, with late nights, a few hours of sleep, and countless hours of screentime. So to dedicate valuable time to it has to be a conscious choice.
I based my EV calculation on my expected ROI, plus the hourly for the cash games I’ll play on the side. And as it turns out, the numbers in my spreadsheet are big enough to take this seriously for the summer. This time, it’s for reals.
Since I just finished a 100-day paradise lockdown, it’s time to put the pedal to the metal. WSOP, here I come! Or more accurate: WSOP, I’m about to log in..
The Poker Tournament Life
I used to live with a tournament player and was shocked by his lifestyle. Session of 12-20 hours of poker, fueled by Redbull and takeaway food. Short smoke breaks of 5 minutes per hour and sit in one position the majority of the week. Not to mention irregular sleep schedules.
It is not a life I envy.
This WSOP, I’m planning my tournaments in a schedule I can live it.
Ok, I can’t avoid the late nights, but I can make my life somewhat livable for the upcoming weeks.
I decided to play max 4 days in a row, with regular 1-3 day breaks. This way I can have somewhat of a normal life during the breaks.
Since most sessions start after 8 PM, I’ll make sure to have a healthy pre-routine to get me started off with a good mindset. I’ll prepare with a healthy diet, cold showers, meditation, yoga, and running in my routine, to balance out my body and mind.
In it to win it!
Am I selling Poker Shares for the WSOP 2020?
As I started floating the idea of playing this online WSOP 2020 with my friends, they naturally asked to buy action.
But as I mentioned in a previous blog, buying shares into poker players is a good investment opportunity.
Therefore, I decided to invest in myself for this series and will try to reduce my variance by adding cash games on the side.
Once I build up the confidence to take a shot in the 25k High Roller event, I’ll consider selling and swap some parts of that ticket. As these types of buy-ins are above my comfort level.
However, I am swapping a few points at several tournaments to cut variance and to get some sweat equity in other players. Have a look at the full schedule of GGPoker and let me know which ones you are playing.
Bonne Chance!
To all the players that are entering events of WSOP 2020, best of luck to you!
This online series will be a different experience than Viva Las Vegas. I’ll miss the parties, sushi dinners, and on-table massages. The biggest feeling I’ll miss is walking up to the cashier with a big stack of chips, to get the crisp dollar bills wrapped in a rubber band.
But I’ll make the best of it and comfortably grind from my lucky chair at home.
I’ll post an update on my results halfway through the series for those who want to read the bad beat or brag stories.