The World Championship of Poker

Every April/May, the best poker players in the world assemble at Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker (WSOP). It is where "millions are played and legends are made." The last event is the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em championship, which for the first time this year is a five-day event, May 14-18. In this championship, players will be vying for a first prize of $1.5 million (and maybe more) and the chance to become immortalized in the poker world forever.

The excitement and anticipation before and during the championship event are unbelievable – no matter how many times you've played in the event. There is more electricity in the air at Binion's during the WSOP than there is at Hoover Dam.

The number of entrants in the world championship event has increased every year since the beginning of the WSOP. That's easy for me to understand, because once you play in it (regardless of your performance), you can't wait to get back and play again. It is far and away the most thrilling event in poker – just ask anyone who has played in it. Nothing gets your blood circulating or your heart pumping like the $10,000 buy-in world championship of poker does.

I've often said that I wish every poker player could experience two things in his lifetime. One is winning a bracelet at the WSOP, and the other is to experience the thrill of playing in the $10,000 buy-in world championship of poker. If you win this event just once, you are revered for life in the poker world. If you win it twice, you can go ahead and pencil yourself into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Most people think you have to be "good and lucky" to win the world championship. That's hard to argue with. However, I believe that to do well, it's more important not to be "unlucky" that it is to be "lucky." What this means is that when the chips go in and you have the best hand, you don't get outdrawn.

To illustrate this point, I'll use two hands with which I went broke earlier this year in championship events. The first was at the Euro Finals of Poker in Paris, where I got all in before the flop with K-K against 10-10 but lost. The second was at the recent Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament, where I got all in before the flop (in a monster pot with 14 players left) with K-K vs. A-J and lost.

It's not often that you get all of your money into the pot in better situations. I was just "unlucky" to lose those pots. But don't feel sorry for me. At least I did make the money. Former World Champion Brad Daugherty got all of his money into the pot before the flop with two aces against K-J, and it was bye-bye Brad. This is what I'm talking about when I say that you can't get "unlucky." To do well, your hands must hold up.

Playing well should be the goal of every poker player. There is nothing quite like the feeling or satisfaction of making a great play. You might sense a weakness when your opponent makes a good-sized bet, so you go with your instinct (even though you have nothing) and play back over the top of him for most or all of your chips to get him to lay down his hand. Although the world doesn't see your hand, you know that you made a very good play to win the pot. At that moment, you feel incredible. And if it happens in the "big one," you feel like you really deserve to be playing for the world title. I would liken this feeling in poker, at least in the main event at the WSOP, to scoring a touchdown in the Super Bowl, hitting a home run in the World Series, or making an eagle at the Masters. It just doesn't get much better.

If possible, I think all poker players should give themselves an opportunity to play in the world championship. More than half the field enters the "big one" via supersatellites, in which a player puts up $220 in an effort to win a paid entry into the championship event. I highly recommend that players with a limited bankroll try at least one of these supersatellites. Give yourself a chance. Take a shot and go for the gusto. Even if you go broke, you will feel good about having given yourself the opportunity to grab the brass ring.

The world championship of poker is the mecca of the poker world. To win, you have to perform under intense pressure for five days against the best players in the world. It is poker's most grueling battle. But, having said that, there is no place in the world that a poker player would rather be on May 14 than bellied up to a table in the "big one" at Binion's.

Best of luck to everyone in the 2001 world championship of poker. Take care.

Mike Sexton can be reached by E-mail at: [email protected].