Take your seat

	It was no more intimidating than an online MTT and as chaotically loose at times

For a modest buy-in you can breathe the same air as the big-name pros at the WSOP This year, the World Series of Poker became a truly everyman experience. While there was a 2,000 drop in numbers for the Big One, the early events were bursting at the seams. If last year was the main event gold rush, this year the massed ranks descended on Sin City a month early to stack out the $1,500 no-limit events to the rafters.

Thanks to Bodog.com, I was lined up to play in two of the $1,500 tournaments, to experience first hand what it was like to take a shot at the big time. Because this is the new reality of the WSOP. Forget the main event. For a relatively modest amount you can take part in poker’s showpiece event and play for a life-changing amount of money.

Walking in to the Rio’s cavernous Amazon room it’s clear just how big- time this really is. The sea of poker tables stretches out in front of me and every single one is full. I walk down the central aisle to find my table, and suddenly realise what the guy at the registration desk meant by a ‘window seat’. It’s about six inches from the spectator rail. It’s a strange feeling having tourists from Idaho watching over your shoulder. But that is part of the magic of the WSOP. For the cost of your buy-in you become somebody worth watching.

Early nerves melt away in one hand. This may be a tournament full of world- class players, but they are in short supply at my table. One man calls two all-ins with A-J, while overbets and careless bluffs are fairly standard. For the average tournament player there is nothing to fear here, and the standard of play at some tables is eye-wateringly bad.

But there is no doubt how big a task there is ahead. One of the players asks a tournament director what time day two starts and his answer is simple. ‘First of all you have to win all the chips on this table. Then you have to win all the chips on the table behind. And then you can worry about making it to day two.’

I look down at my starting stack of 3,000 and realise there is no sense trying to win this in the first hour. Luckily the dealer seems to be on my wavelength and dishes me out a series of K-2, J-4 unplayable nonsense. Finally I get dealt A-Q on the big blind and manage to check-raise myself a decent pot. And then the wheels fall off in two key hands.

I lose a decent chunk of chips continuation betting on a Queen-high board with A-K, and then raise up with Queens only to get two callers and a pot- sized bet on a A-K-8 flop. It’s the worst time in the game for it to happen, as at this point the previously tight table notices they have about four big blinds left and it becomes an all-in fest. By level four I’m in the cut-off with A-J and 1,800 chips and the blinds are 150/300. I open shove and the big blind thinks for a lifetime before calling with A-Q. And that is the end of that.

I wasn’t ready to leave. I was comfortable with the standard of play at my table. It was no more intimidating than an online MTT and as chaotically loose at times. But it was about 1,000 times more exciting. And whatever any of your grizzled pros say about the structure of the World Series events, this is still a magical place to play poker.

AWAY FROM THE MAYHEM

But for now I want to experience life outside of the Rio. Alongside the WSOP there is a ton of poker taking place. There is the Venetian Deep Stack series with 31 tournaments ranging from a $300 to $1,000 buy-in. And there is the Bellagio Cup III – a series of 28 tournaments culminating in a $10,000 WPT event.

I head over to the Bellagio for one of its nightly $1,000 tournaments. Its tranquil poker tournament room overlooking the soaring fountains is a haven of calm, and the room is stuffed full of Brits seeking some respite from the WSOP. Several of the UK pros are playing in the $1,000, and a few more are sitting at the Fontana Bar swapping war stories.

The following night, I head out to hit the cash tables. The Rio’s tables are rammed each night, but there is more fun to be had on the strip. The first stop is the brash and young MGM, followed by the fishy Planet Hollywood before ending up at my favourite poker room in Vegas, The Mirage, where I spend a couple of very profitable nights. But my mind drifts back to the Amazon room. Despite its conference-like feel, I am desperate to return. And so it is that just a couple of days later I am back at the registration window to buy-in to another $1,500 no-limit tournament.

As I take my seat I feel that familiar tingle run up my spine. I am back in action at the WSOP, and I already feel like a veteran. This time I am practically knocked off my chair by the good cards early on. I have Queens and Aces in consecutive hands, and win almost no chips with either. Both times I raise a relatively small amount pre-flop following five limpers, only to see everyone fold.

Then it is back to grinding out chips. I am sitting with slightly above my starting stack on level three when my exit comes. I have 8;-8U, two behind the button and after one early position player limps I elect to limp along with him. The button and small blind join the party; the big blind checks and we are five to the flop. The flop comes 7…-5;- J; and it is checked round. The turn comes 4; giving me a gutshot and a flush draw along with my pocket eights.

I check once more and the button puts out what looks like a steal bet of 450. The action is folded around to me and I can’t see him having top pair, so I announce all-in. The button insta-calls with his Jack. I miss every out on the river, and I’m done.

MAKING MEMORIES

Walking away I can’t resist kicking a chair at my own stupidity. I came 4,000 miles just to make a rash, impatient move. I panicked at the rising blinds, lost my discipline and was punished.

But waking up the next morning, that hollow feeling was tempered by a sense of oddly undeserved accomplishment. I’d played in the WSOP, and the memory of being part of this huge poker circus will live with me forever. There are tournaments closer to home that offer more play for your money. Even in Vegas there are better structured tournaments at the Venetian and Bellagio. But none of those offers a $600,000 first prize, a bracelet and the prestige that comes with a WSOP event.