My First World Series of Poker Bracelet-Part I

Warning: The following three-part column will not help your poker game in any way. It is strictly a story about the events that took place leading up to my first World Series of Poker win. Actually, you should read it thinking, "Don't do what Daniel did … "

OK, it was 1998, my third year visiting the Horseshoe with zero success up to that point. The closest thing to success that I'd had at the world's greatest poker tournament was missing a supersatellite seat by two spots the year before. That was extremely disheartening, as I was in good chip position when I lost with two aces. Oh well, that's poker. That's easy for me to say now, but you should have seen me that day. "That's poker" never came out of my mouth. It was more like @#$!, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, I was more confident this time around and was a much improved player. However, I came to Vegas with a short bankroll and wasn't able to buy in to any of the events. I'd be forced once again to play the satellites and decide if I could risk spending that much on a tournament rather than cashing in the satellite chips. I'd won satellites before, but at the time, I usually needed the $2,000 or $3,000 a lot more than the "playing experience." Heck, my bankroll usually doubled when I won a satellite back then! It was hard to throw that money into a tournament in which I didn't think I was a favorite. I needed that money to stay afloat in the $15-$30 and $20-$40 games I was playing in at the time. I was never exactly careful when it came to playing too high back then. Having only $300 left meant that I'd have to drop down to $10-$20 until I had a comfortable $20-$40 bankroll again – something like $880: $800 to put on the table and another $80 for cab fare and food over the last couple of days of my stay in Vegas.

So, there I was back in Vegas struggling again in the satellites, and not exactly knocking 'em dead in the side games, either. At that point, I'd broken just about every rule that I'd decided was important in playing winning poker, such as, "Play hours, not results," or, "Win the battle with your ego." Well, I'd just finished a 40-hour session trying to get even by rivering a gutshot straight against a mean old man who told me, "You don't belong in this game, kid." Wow, where the hell had my discipline gone?

Well, as was often the case for me in Vegas, it was make it or break it time by Thursday and Sunday. You see, the chartered flights flew back home only on Thursdays or Sundays, so if I didn't have enough money to stay and play, I'd have to go back home. That led to some monster marathon sessions for me. I think I played 40-hour sessions for six days straight with about six hours of sleep in between. It was a nightmare. I felt like such a degenerate – the kind I promised myself I'd never become.

A Ray of Hope

So, it was Tuesday and I was down to my last $1,100, as I had blown off about $1,500 in satellites. I decided to go back to the live games to try to grind out some more satellite money, hoping to stay longer or possibly play an event. I sat down in a $10-$20 hold'em game and quickly lost more than $400. I then looked over at a $20-$40 Omaha high-low game with a half-kill that looked juicy. There was only one problem – I didn't really know how to play the game! Oh, what the hell, I thought, deal me in – I'll just play tight.

I jumped right in and proceeded to win every pot. I was winning well over $1,000 in my new "best game." Finally at about 4 a.m., I heard, "Last satellite of the night," and decided to give it a shot before going to bed. So, I sat down in a pot-limit hold'em satellite that looked as tough as nails (so much for game selection).

Right from the get-go, things seemed to go well for me, though, and I finally found myself being one of the last three players, playing against Todd Brunson and Mike Matusow. We were all even in chips, and this was before my "no deals" days. We all decided to save a $500 chip and play for the remaining chip, which suited me just fine.

When I got heads up with Todd, I had close to two-thirds of the chips when this hand came up: He held K-Q on the button and limped in. I raised the pot, and he reraised all in. Having invested a lot of chips already, I decided to call him with a K-J. I hated seeing his hand, as only a jack could save – and it did! I hit the jack on the flop and the satellite was over.

Still, with only about a $2,400 bankroll, there was no way I could risk $2,100 of it to play the $2,000 pot-limit hold'em event the next day. I was just happy to have some extra cash so that I could stay in Vegas for a few extra days.

Then, Todd said to me, "Here, why don't you take my chip, too, and I'll take a piece of you tomorrow." I didn't know him, and had never even spoken to him before that. It seemed strange to me that he would want to do something like that with someone he didn't know. He must have thought that I was running good because I hit a three-outer on him, or that I was playing well. I assume it was a combination of both.

Well, with almost $2,900 and a boost of confidence from a great player, I decided, sure, what the hell. After all, the whole reason I had come to Vegas was to play in the big tournaments, and this was my chance. I'd had a $900 bankroll before, so that didn't scare me much. This was a chance of a lifetime for me to get some experience playing against some of the best players in the world.

Anyway, after about some 40-odd hours of not sleeping, I decided that I may play a little better if I actually got some rest. So, off to bed I went, although even after being up for so long, it was still tough to sleep with all that adrenaline running through my veins. I just couldn't wait to play!

In the next issue, you'll find out more about what actually happened in the tournament.