(LAS VEGAS) - The time has come for the World Series of Poker Main Event. We'll be getting things underway at 2 p.m St. Louis time, and insideSTL.com will have pics and updates throughout the day...or as long as I'm still playing.
Having played in last year's Main Event, I think I'm in a better spot mentally on what to expect. And, what I would say to expect is the following:
-Brutally long days.
-Deep stack poker like nobody's business.
-Players who are scared to death on the game's biggest stage.
-Horrific bad beats.
-Stress.
I'll see my first hand at 2 p.m. St. Louis time, and, if I'm fortunate enough to make it through Day 1, I'll leave the Rio around 4:30 a.m. St. Louis time. That's why I wrote---what no one wants to hear---that the World Series of Poker isn't exactly "fun." I feel lucky to be able to play 
in it again, but it's quite a grind. And, as long as the day was for the first WSOP event I played in earlier this week, these days are even longer...and perhaps more boring.
Why?
Because unlike Event #54 in which we started with $4,500 and blinds of 25/50 with levels of one hour, in the Main Event, we start with $30,000 in chips and blinds of 50/100...but with two hour levels. We play a total of five levels on Day 1, and the highest the blinds get to are 200/400 with 50 antes.
You can, indeed, fold your way to Day 2.
But, I personally love---absolutely love---this style of poker. Deep stack poker rewards "small ball" players...those who aren't looking to shove all-in preflop. It allows you to actually play the game.
It takes the will to raise preflop with suited connectors and not just premium hands, and it takes the discipline to lay down big pocket pairs when someone is firing at the pot like a madman.
With the chip stack to blind ratio of 300 to one to start the day---three fucking hundred to one---there is no reason to go batshit and back yourself into a corner.
However...
...also unlike the event I played in earlier this week in which you had---for the most part---hardcore poker players who bought in for $1,500 on a Monday, the Main Event is the Super Bowl of the 
game, and that means you have all kinds of randoms showing up. That means the caliber of play can be surprisingly bad for a buy-in of $10,000.
So, much like the dumbshit in the magnificent $1/$2 Venetian cash game Sunday who called my under the gun preflop raise, postflop raise, and all-in on the turn bets with the monster hand of KingJack offsuit...and then hit his two pair on the river to crack my Aces and win a huge pot...you will have "fish" holding on to hands all the way down to the river in the hopes of the 15% chance they hit.
And, while you enjoy that most of the time, it does mean that 15% of the time they do hit, and that's when all hell can break loose and an early exit can take place.
On the other hand, you have terrible players---or even good players---who are so nervous playing in their first World Series of Poker event that you can bet them off hands pretty easily (see my tight operation last year).
Therefore, my plan is to play pretty loose-aggressive in the first few hours today. It's a prime opportunity to build up a big stack if some random 57 suited preflop raise hits a straight on the turn after a guy with AK preflop keeps calling because he flopped top pair top kicker. However, that preflop raise will represent to many players at the Main Event a strong hand...and I could just take the thing down on the flop with a continuation bet, because they could be scared to death.
Two things strike me as key after playing in the Main Event last year and cashing in Event 54 this year:
1. Recognize the type of player a person is within the first 15 minutes or so. And, by that I mean recognize who is tight and who is loose...and recognize who is comfortable and who is scared. That's a surprisingly easy read to make, and once you've got it, you attempt to expose it.
2. Don't go batshit after a bad beat. And, by batshit I'm not talking about a Phil Hellmuth explosion. I'm talking about going on tilt and making an uncharacteristic play because of something that happened in a recent hand that cost a lot of chips. Bad beats will happen. It's inevitable. But, just because AA got cracked by 66 doesn't mean the tournament has to come to an end.
The stress of the thing is brutal. I can already feel the nerves...even though I've played in two WSOP events. 
I think the stress is rooted in knowing that the WSOP Main Event will, barring a miracle, end poorly. It really is like walking through a minefield and just waiting to get blown up.
It's coming...and you don't know when...but you know it's coming.
Last year it was a 58 preflop raise from a great player under the gun that ended my run, and this year, it'll be something else. It's inevitable.
The key is to have that happen about two weeks from now...not sometime later today.
But, if it happens, so be it. I'd like to think I'll get my money in good...but even if I don't, the trip will have been a success because of what happened in Event 54.
Once again...I am ready to die.
You can follow the coverage all day long on insideSTL.com with pics and updates all the way up until we bag our chips at the conclusion of Day 1...or my pale Irish ass is sent packing.
Log-in to post your comments, or you can email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com.