WSOP Main Event Baby!!!

I played in my first WSOP Main Event in '06. I was fortunate to qualify through a series of four online tournaments on Martin's Poker that began with a 10 Euro buyin tourney and ended with a 400 Euro monthly final that guaranteed ten seats and ended up having a huge overlay. It was kinda weird as I was the only American to qualify through them. Everyone else was European. They chartered a 747 to transport everyone from Sweden to Vegas but unfortunately they wouldn't stop at RDU to pick me up so I just had to meet them there. They did cover twenty nights stay at the Tuscany though plus my buyin. Unfortunately, I fell just short of cashing getting knocked out late on Day 2 after getting my short stack all-in on the turn with 56 on a 5629 board against an UTG limper with a pretty well concealed nut straight! Yep, the old 78o UTG trick! The river bricked an I was done but it was a great experience for my first WSOP.



I really didn't try to qualify in '07. I'm mostly an online cash game player and was concentrating on making the switch-over from limit to no-limit cash games at the time. At first this year I hadn't planned on trying to qualify either but I decided this past week to give it a go. Yesterday was a big day as there was major qualifying action going on at Stars and Full Tilt. I played in four tournaments the $215 PokerStars Team Moneymaker 15 seat guarantee, $370 Poker Stars 200 seat guarantee, $535 Full Tilt 150 seat guarantee, and the $215 Cake Poker 8 seat guarantee. I satellited into the two PokerStars tourneys cheaply and bought into the other two. The day got off to a rather lousy start as I went 0-3 despite playing well in my opinion and getting my chips all-in with the best hand all three times. I am very pleased to say though the very first tourney I began yesterday and the last one I was left in was a success. The Team Moneymaker tourney ended up having 1211 entrants and paying out 19 seats. Despite being shortstacked pretty much all the way from about fifty people left to go on I managed to grind it out and qualify so I'm going to be a member of PokerStars team Moneymaker this year. The prize package is pretty sweet and includes the $10k buyin, $2,500 for travel and 8 nights stay at the Palms which they will extend if I'm still in the tourney on Day 3, and a bunch of swag. If I make a TV table I get $5-20K depending on what day it is and any PokerStars qualifier who makes the final table will get a $100k-$1 million bonus depending on where they finish.



The next few weeks are going to be pretty hectic as my fiancee, myself, and another couple are leaving for the Riviera Maya, Mexico on the 20th and won't get back until the 1st. Then I'll have to turn around and leave the next day for Vegas as the Main Event begins on the 3rd. The 3rd-6th are all Day 1 though so hopefully I can register to begin on the 5th or 6th so I can get a little rest before beginning play. I remember it was about a 15 hour plus starting day in '06 by the time we played five 2-hour levels with a twenty minute break between each and a hour and a half dinner break plus having to wrap things up at the end of the day getting our chips bagged up and such for the next day. Hopefully I will need plenty of rest and will coast through Day 1 while accumulating a big mountain of chips! I'll definitely have my laptop with me so I'll try to get some updates posted. Especially if I'm doing well!--------Ben