How Pros Prepare for the WSOP

With the World Series of Poker looming ahead, Card Player caught up with some familiar poker faces to find out how they prepare, what events they may play, and impart advice to the less experienced.

Peter Eastgate
“Right now I am looking at either renting a house or a condo with some of my Danish poker friends for this year’s World Series of Poker in order to create a healthy and relaxed environment in preparation. It is quite simple — in order to optimise your perfomance you need to think of how you eat, drink, sleep, and exercise to improve your physical and mental balance. Obviously it is important to make a budget of what you are willing to risk while playing the Series, so you keep yourself comfortably with the stakes you are playing.

I will be arriving a couple of days before the $40,000 hold’em in order to be well rested and not jet-lagged. It is my intention to play as many hold’em events as possible, where I obviously focus a little bit more on bigger events such the $10,000 no-limit hold’em head up, pot-limit hold’em world championship etc…

I’ll keep my own expectations pretty low and focus on enjoying playing poker. I have no other goal than to prepare myself well and play good, and be happy for whatever I can achieve.”

Maria Maceiras
“I’ll play a few WSOP tourneys, including the main event. My advice is always “have fun!” So, in this case, even more — It’s Vegas, it’s the best tourney in the world so just try to relax, enjoy it, and learn a lot. Besides that I would tell that you should get there in good shape. I mean that in a physical and psychological way. It’s a very hard tourney, playing a lot of days, tonnes of hours, so you have to be rested and strong enough to keep the rhythm of all the WSOP.”

Marty Smyth
“Obviously the night before I play a tournament I don’t stay out to 6 a.m. and get absolutely hammered, but I certainly wouldn’t stop myself from going out for a drink. The last two years before the main event, I tried to go to bed at around midnight to get a good nights sleep but both times I couldn’t sleep and ended up getting up again for a couple of hours, probably because my body wasn’t used to being asleep before 2 a.m. This year I won’t be altering my routine at all for any tournaments that I play.

I’m a good traveller and don’t suffer from jetlag at all, so I don’t feel the need to give myself a few days rest when I get there, and anyway, I actually quite like being a little bit tired when I’m playing live tournaments as I feel a bit more relaxed, and I don’t think it causes me to make bad decisions — same thing with drinking at the table. I don’t get drunk when I play, but I like to have a few drinks over the course of the day, again because it helps me relax.

I know this is a somewhat unusual attitude, but that’s what works for me. Stepping up your visits to the gym and eating bananas and drinking plenty of water is a good idea in that it’s good for your overall health, but I’m not convinced it’s gonna make you a better poker player.

Last year I played seven events, and apart from the $1,500 no-limit hold’em ones that get loads of runners, and the main event, I thought the rest were full of good players and were terrible value, so this year I’m not going to bother with any of the mid-buy-in tournaments.

Obviously I’ll play the $10,000 pot-limit Omaha main event that I won last year, and the no-limit hold’em main event. The only other tourney that I’m definitely gonna play is the $5,000 pot-limit Omaha. I may play one or two $1,500 no-limit events if they don’t clash with the three that I’ve mentioned, but I very much doubt that I’ll play more than four or five.

Don’t underestimate how bad some of the players in the main event are. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of very good players too, but there really are a lot more poor players than you would expect. At my table last year, one guy went out on the first hand, and any half-decent player wouldn’t have lost more than a few thousand in the same situation. When I first played the main event, I was thinking it was going to be the cream of the world’s poker players. I played much too tight and gave people far too much credit. The top players are going to be there, but there are just as many recreational players who have fluked their way in through satellites, and it’s a very important skill in the main event to be able to distinguish between them as quickly as possible, so that you can target the weak players’ chips and avoid the better players, or at least tread more carefully around them.”

Arnaud Mattern
“Last year, I followed a kind of strict preparation, and had a pretty healthy living. I was careful to wake up like an hour before every tournament started, eat something light, and drink half a litre of water. I also exercised three times a week at the gym in my hotel. I picked a hotel (The Wynn) that provided excellent room service 24/7, which is a plus, there is also a spa downstairs to help you refocus if you are tilting. Being in some kind of silent area while sleeping is crucial, as well as sleeping in the total dark. I tried my best to eat diversified food (salad, and green stuff — yuk!). It is also important to include a lot of non-poker/gambling related activities, like going to some parties, visiting friends, clubbing, sight seeing, enjoying shows (all of the Cirque du Soleil are amazing, especially KA at MGM) — anything that could make your mind relax when you are not in the heat of the battle.

I guess my preparation will be quite similar to this. Last year, it helped me to get through 22 events. I honestly think I played my best (but only cashed once), so it was a bit difficult not to get sad, but this program helped me to stay focused and motivated. Easier said than done, but you also want to focus on the way you played more than the actual results — yes, you just busted out, I know, it sucks, but did you play well? What could you have done differently? Speak about the hands you played with more experienced players, and try to get something from the experience. Be careful with the bankroll — money goes fast in Vegas. Try to see how you run before blowing too much, or before intending to play all the events!

I don’t know what events I’ll play, it will really depend on what I feel like playing, how much I want to invest this year etc… The main event obviously, and maybe a few high buy-in tourneys ($5,000 or $10,000 buy ins), I don’t plan on playing too many small ones this year.

My best advice for a first-timer is go slow. Enjoy your time, even if you have big expectations; enjoy the experience. Don’t try to register 20 minutes before an event starts (except if you have a couple hours to kill standing up with a bunch of people you don’t know, and if you don’t mind being an alternate!).”

William Thorson
“I dont really prepare in a special way. I know for the whole year when the date is and that I will go, so I kinda prepare by playing other tourneys, and just have a nice summer in Sweden before I go. Jet lag doesn’t affect me, I’m used to switching my times around.

I’m not sure which events to play yet to be honest. I really hate that the WSOP is at the same time as the best part of the year in Sweden and Europe. So I don’t go as much anymore, I will just go for like two weeks before the main event starts, and then home one or two weeks after. If WSOPE was later on, I would go for a lot longer. So basically the events I will play are the events close to the main event, whatever they are I will play in them, depending on when I arrive.

My best advice for a first-timer is enjoy your time, it’s not easy to do really good at the first show up, so have as much fun as possible. Play well and play smart. Dont stress, the main event is a good structure, pay attention at all times, and just enjoy it — what comes around goes around. The experience of the first time is so much fun, so relax and enjoy it, its just a big bonus if you do great at the first experience.”

Sorel Mizzi
“Most of my preparation for the WSOP this year is going to come from being physically prepared. The great thing about being physically prepared is that it makes you mentally prepared as well. Working out regularly and having a healthy lifestyle really keeps your mind clear on and off the poker table. Being mentally prepared makes it so much easier to be “in the zone” where you make the best possible decisions every hand you play. Playing a lot of WSOP events could be very emotionally and financially draining.

It’s important to wake up every morning, be refreshed, and view the day as a brand new opportunity. If you’re too caught up in running bad or how much money you’ve lost at the WSOP, your negative outlook will surely affect your play adversely. Last year I was in a negative state of mind for most of the WSOP because I was running awful and nothing seemed to go my way. I can honestly say that half-way through it, I felt I was just donating money to the prize pool every tournament I played. There’s no question that my negative outlook on things really put a damper on my game and caused me to play less than great. This year I plan on being a lot more psychologically prepared.

I’ll play every no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha event that I can. I’m particularly looking forward to the $40,000 no-limit hold’em event — even though it’s not going to be a soft field — I would really enjoy playing with the world’s best in such a prestigious tournament.

The WSOP is a massive marathon of big buy in events. If you’re going to be playing a lot of events make sure you’re mentally prepared more than anything. Many people lose their entire bankrolls during the WSOP, play smart, practice proper bankroll management, don’t tilt, and stay away from casino games and strip clubs.”

Roberto Romanello
“Physically nothing changes for me, obviously I would love to be sunning myself in between the big events with a six-pack, but that’s not the case. Mentally I suppose you have to have a game plan— last year I more or less played everything I was awake for. This year will be a different story; I am going to pick the tournaments I fancy playing, and more or less stick to it. I think having a break away from the tables is important. Las Vegas is a great place, so I intend to make the most of the weather during the day, catch the odd show, and of course have some fun in the clubs.

Managing your bankroll is something you have to be on top of. If you’re in Las Vegas for four weeks, pick the events you want to play, put the entry fees to one side, and then space the rest of your money out so you can enjoy the luxuries that are everywhere around you. If you haven’t got the self discipline to do this, be careful — you could go broke in two minutes in Las Vegas.

I treat every tournament on its own merit, I will alter my style depending on who I’m up against, and if I have a good read on an opponent. I don’t suffer from jet lag when I go to Vegas, perhaps my adrenaline from being there keeps me going.

I am not able to spend eight weeks there this year because of work commitments. Last year I did start to miss my family because we are so close, but it won’t be the case this year because I only intend to go for around three weeks.”

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