My Story of the World Series of Poker - Part I

In one of my recent columns, I talked about winning a supersatellite to play in the "big one" at the World Series of Poker, and said then that I would pass along that experience to you, so here it is.

First, the day before the big one started, some friends prompted me to play in the final event before the championship, triple-draw ace-to-five lowball. I was extremely hesitant to play because prior to that day, I had never played a single hand of triple-draw, either live or in a tournament. But some of my best friends in the industry are also some of the best lowball players around, so that gave me a chance to learn some of the nuances of the game.

Playing in that event was a great experience. I made my first final table at the WSOP (having played three previous events), and finished fourth. The other three players were Brian Nadell (three WSOP final tables this year), Paul Phillips (a tremendously talented tournament pro), and John Juanda (who ended up winning it). I was in great company, and thrilled to make the final table.

It's funny how anything but first place at the WSOP is a disappointment. While the WSOP offers a great opportunity to make a lot of money, there is no substitute for getting a shot at winning a coveted gold bracelet, and this was my first chance. In speaking with my friend Diego Cordovez, we agreed that you don't get too many chances in life to win a gold bracelet, and you should make the most of it when you get a chance. I had a great opportunity, but the cards just didn't fall my way. I have no shame in losing to the great players who finished ahead of me, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to play with them. Maybe next time, it will be my turn.

Moving on to the first day of the championship, I was afraid that I was going to be tired, having played at the final table of the triple-draw event late into the night, but I woke up refreshed and with a feeling of electricity that I've never felt before. I was anxious to get to Binion's Horseshoe to find out what table I was at, who was at that table, and so on. I got there about an hour early. I knew when I left the night before that there were many single-table satellites still going on and about 440 people already registered to play. In my mind I had established an over/under on the final number of players at about 600. I was astounded when the final tally was 631. In less than 12 hours, almost 200 more people either qualified or put up their own $10,000 to play. Amazing!

During that hour prior to the start of the tournament, the random draw was being held, and names, with table and seat numbers, were being announced. What a logistical nightmare this is for any tournament director and staff. Compliments to Matt Savage, Steve Morrow, and the WSOP staff for a job well done.

The lobby outside the main room was packed and the diversity of people gathered was amazing to me. There were onlookers, players, well-wishers, and backers. I saw people with their game faces on and not talking to anyone, and others who were loose and milling about shaking hands. To me, this was like 631 drivers, all with the same destination, but most with different road maps. Some had driven this road before, while others just received their driver's licenses. And still others had crashed in the past, but now had a renewed sense of vision and direction. Overall, the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

So, it's just another tournament,huh? Not on your life!

I got what I thought was my first bad break of the tournament: I was seated downstairs, and not in the main room. In the past at other tournaments when I was seated in an auxiliary room, I never got into the rhythm of the event. I'm sure that's a personal thing, but I didn't want to let anything get to me. I put it aside, or at least tried to do so.

My plan was to get past the first few hands and then settle in as though it were any other tournament. Soon after that I realized this was never going to be like any other tournament.

To be continued …