WSOP Pre-Game

For many players and observers, there was a traditional lull before the WSOP; a collective deep breath before the seven week poker marathon.  But with the tournament schedule ever expanding, there is a little less lull this year.  And for me personally, there has been none.  I’m already in “pre-game” and wishing I had more time to prep for “the” fire hose of poker experiences.  

When I told CC I was in pre-game, he asked if that meant spending some quality time at the beach.  I wish.  A number of pros I talked to said they were looking to take a little down time before the WSOP, but I’m afaid that some of my prep is a little less poker sexy than the player’s prep.  While they take a week in Aruba, scout out online qualifiers, or hone their poker skills, I am taking my equipment through a shake down cruise.  The laptop has a new back-up adapter a new battery - and more memory on order.  The camera lenses have been cleaned.  The camera settings are being revisited.  The hard drive is getting cleaned out and backed up.  Thrilling, eh?

But some of my prep has me getting pretty damn excited about the pending big dance.  I’ve gone through the thousands of photos I’ve taken of players over the years; quizzing myself about some of the more obscure players and trying to see what worked photowise and what bombed.  I started thinking about the big stories that have evolved in WSOPs past.  The staying power of legends like Doyle Brunson (pictured at top)…the Moneymaker (pictured above) win that fueled poker’s fire…Jeff Madsen’s (pictured below) double bracelet WSOP debut.   What will be the theme this year?  What will be the big story?  I guess that’s one of the things I like about the WSOP; you never know what each year will bring. 

Although you can’t predict the stories yet to enfold, we will most likely see even more non-US players making their way to Vegas this year.  While non-US players have always been a force in the WSOP (like nice 2006 performances put in by Aussie Sarah Bilney and Sweden’s Mikael Thuritz - both pictured below) the weak dollar should convince even more players to make it accross the pond this year.   So expect to see more talented players like Thomas Wahlroos, Rehne Pedersen, Rob Hollink, etc. 

Online poker is thriving overseas and there will be a lot more non-US online players in the field.  And more US online players have been parlaying their online bankrolls to B&M victories.  So expect to see the likes of Johnny “bad_ip” Lodden, Ben “Milkybarkid” Grundy, Cliff “Johnny Bax” Josephy, Shane “Shaniac” Schleger…well you get the drill.

So I’m not sitting on the Riviera dreaming about my WSOP bracelet run.  But I am dreaming of the WSOP - and the great stories there will be to tell.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, May 19th, 2007 at 10:34 am and is filed under Uncategorized.