Off to Vegas

I just booked my plane ticket to Las Vegas. I’m going Wednesday July 2nd. The tournament starts Thursday July 3rd and because there are so many players in the Main Event, there will be 4-separate starting days (July 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th). I plan on trying to play the first day, Thursday July 3rd. If I happen to survive my Day 1 of poker, I won’t actually play again until Tuesday July 8th when Day 1 is combined with the players that survive Day 2. However, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.

The odds are stacked against anyone who plays the Main Event due mostly to the sheer numbers of players you need to beat in order to advance to make it ‘into the money’. Only the top 10% of players will actually 'cash'. In 2006 I had zero expectations when I played this tourney and I just wanted to take in the whole experience and have fun. I’d like to say the same thing again this year; however, that would not be completely honest. Of course I want to have fun, but now that I have gotten a taste of the WSOP and I previously did cash in the main event, I’d be selling myself short if I did not have slightly loftier goals.

The above being said, there is simply too much random luck involved in any ‘one-off’ poker tournament that it is impossible to make any predictions on how any one person will finish. I simply hope to play well and to make correct poker decisions. If I happen to catch a few cards and hit a few flops along the way that would also be nice.