Eve of the Main Event

My head is spinning. This is the third time out of the last five I have gone into the main event thinking about everything except how to play no limit hold em hands. I am very excited to play poker tomorrow but I am more excited about life. I am in a very strange place mentally and emotionally. I have no idea if I am better off now than I was a month ago. I have no idea if I am getting smarter or falling into old traps. There is a voice telling me to be cautious but there is a louder one telling me to do crazy things. I have been losing money but improving everything else. I am so daft. I am so wise. I have been focusing on staying grounded. But I am a dreamer. I want to live in the clouds. Food tastes better than it has in a long time. Music sounds better than it has in a long time. I breathe deeper than I can ever remember. The air tastes sensational. I have nine different plans for the months following the WSOP; all are wildly appealing but none make any sense. I wish I could live till I was 300 years old. I never want to sleep. My heart is beating like a rabbit's. I am incredibly vulnerable. I wear impenetrable armor. I feel like I am waking up from a nightmare. I feel like I am drifting off into a wonderful dream.

The Twenty Players Most Likely To Win The Main Event

This exercise is growing more and more pointless each year as no limit tournament experts continue to emerge. There are hundreds of players now playing the game at an elite level. Still, this is one of my favorite posts to write each year, if for no reason other than monitoring who's hot.

20. Daniel Negreanu
Ice cold until a deep run in the 25k 6-max.

19. Eric Baldwin
A master of pace and tournament strategy.

18. Dwyte Pilgrim
One of the best weak-field players in the game.

17. Phil Hellmuth
Six WSOP Main Event cashes since 1995.

16. Elky Grospellier
Seven live six-figure scores over the last thirty months including four over $400k, plus back-to-back main event cashes.

15. Erick Lindgren
Nothing to add here; I am playing day 1c on Wednesday.

14. Jason Somerville
Quietly piecing together a monster year, piling up six-figure scores.

13. Thomas Marchese
The sort of guy that could make it into the money without turning over a hand.

12. Faraz Jaka
Could easily be higher on this list, but may be too wild for an eight day event.

11. Chris Moore
The most consistent big buy-in player in the game today.

10. Brandon Cantu
Perhaps the best big stack player in the game.

9. Dan Kelly
SamENole said he was rooting for djk to win the 25k six-max, "so he wouldn't play online poker anymore."

8. Jason Mercier
Nine six-figure scores in the last 27 months.

7. Shawn Buchanan
Always seems to be there at the end. Eight WSOP cashes this year.

6. John Juanda
The original preflop master.

5. Scotty Nguyen
The best tight player in the game.

4. J.C. Tran
No longer grinding live tournaments 24/7, but still one of the best.

3. Gus Hansen
Another guy who isn't traveling the circuit like he used to, but his results speak for themselves.

2. Carlos Mortensen
Always one step ahead, Carlos knows what you are thinking before you think it.

1. Phil Ivey
Now undisputed as the best.

June Top 15

15. Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is
14. John Mayer feat. Taylor Swift - Half Of My Heart
13. Kelis - Acapella
12. Cake - Jolene
11. MGMT - Siberian Breaks

10. LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean
9. Cake - Cool Blue Reason
8. Lady Gaga - Alejandro
7. LCD Soundsystem - All I Want
6. Bob Seger - Still The Same

5. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat The Devil's Tattoo
4. Cake - Wheels
3. Blondie - Accidents Never Happen
2. Toby Keith - As Good As I Once Was

Song of the Month: LCD Soundsystem - You Wanted A Hit

1k NL Day Two

I don't know if there's anyone in the world who has cashed more of these 1k and 1.5k WSOP events the last three years than me. Unfortunately, min-cashing min-buy-ins is not the way to make money playing poker tournaments. I will need a deep cash in the main event to turn a profit on the Series.

Event #54 1k NL

I am on to day two (Saturday) with an average stack of 21k. This will be the last bullet I fire before the Main Event.

I am 100% happy with how I have played the last two days.
___

Congratulations to Jon "Sketchy1" Eaton on a monster $466k score in the 3k.

Screw You, Rabbit

I deliberately blew off the saying this month. I've had enough of that BS.

We'll see how it works out.

Venetian 2k

This was one of those encouraging/discouraging days. I was reminded that, without question, I have an edge on the field in any decent structured no limit tournament. I was also reminded that luck plays a huge part in these poker tournaments, and it will take a special combination of premium play, table draw, and good cards to see me through to that elusive win.