...As if by magic. like a bad penny, or that relative you wish you never had. Or whatever.
That time of the year approaches, and I actually decided to be efficient and organise my WSOP site package well in advance. This mindset was admittedly a good 15 years or so in the making, and attributable in no small part to a number of lengthy conversations over the years with Mr Simon Galloway, involving a fair amount of "it's better to be well prepared" and "most poker players are an utter waste of space" exchanges in amongst the sage advice and lyrical waxings on life. We managed the odd discussion on the fun of tournament swings, and the undoubted virtues of a decent steak along the way as well.
So I cobbled together a nice package, thought to myself "although it always sells out, it's still far better to get my ducks in a line good and early". I found a selection of approximately $15k of tournaments I consider to be good value for a trip, did the spade work, allocated some shares for myself (naturally) and posted it up on site. Pat yourself on the back Kevin for getting the admin done.
Just over 24 hours later it was completely sold out. Approximately 2.5 months early. What recession?
Actually, about 127% could theoretically be sold were I one of those people (I'm not), but it's still very heart-warming to know I have a loyal investor base, or maybe/also just people that like a good punt and who know I'm going to give them at the very least a bit of entertainment for their buck. Metaphorically speaking, I'm at the very least just a little misty-eyed that there's quite a bit of love out there for someone who, despite his occasional wry observation basically hates either himself or the rest of the world in alternating spats depending on the mood. The outpouring of nice things to say, or immediate offers of a share despite my leaving full time poker behind about 18 months or so ago didn't go unnoticed by me, and for the benefit of the good folk out there, I thank you. A bit of site admin and we're nice and prepped nice and early, which only has to be a good thing. OK, that's enough blubbing already.
That time of the year approaches, and I actually decided to be efficient and organise my WSOP site package well in advance. This mindset was admittedly a good 15 years or so in the making, and attributable in no small part to a number of lengthy conversations over the years with Mr Simon Galloway, involving a fair amount of "it's better to be well prepared" and "most poker players are an utter waste of space" exchanges in amongst the sage advice and lyrical waxings on life. We managed the odd discussion on the fun of tournament swings, and the undoubted virtues of a decent steak along the way as well.
So I cobbled together a nice package, thought to myself "although it always sells out, it's still far better to get my ducks in a line good and early". I found a selection of approximately $15k of tournaments I consider to be good value for a trip, did the spade work, allocated some shares for myself (naturally) and posted it up on site. Pat yourself on the back Kevin for getting the admin done.
Just over 24 hours later it was completely sold out. Approximately 2.5 months early. What recession?
Actually, about 127% could theoretically be sold were I one of those people (I'm not), but it's still very heart-warming to know I have a loyal investor base, or maybe/also just people that like a good punt and who know I'm going to give them at the very least a bit of entertainment for their buck. Metaphorically speaking, I'm at the very least just a little misty-eyed that there's quite a bit of love out there for someone who, despite his occasional wry observation basically hates either himself or the rest of the world in alternating spats depending on the mood. The outpouring of nice things to say, or immediate offers of a share despite my leaving full time poker behind about 18 months or so ago didn't go unnoticed by me, and for the benefit of the good folk out there, I thank you. A bit of site admin and we're nice and prepped nice and early, which only has to be a good thing. OK, that's enough blubbing already.
As regards the trip itself, those who know me or have previously had a share will be well aware of the drill, and of what they get for their money. The package advertised is $15k, and the provisional schedule is already laid out on site. I have a high degree of autonomy over changing it (what with it being my site and all that...sheesh), but these changes are always posted up front, and you're never going to wake up to the slightly alarming "hi guys, I felt pretty lucky so thought I'd play the $5k H.O.R.S.E instead today". As regards Las Vegas, a $1k festival event in the Venetian will play much like a $1k in the Wynn, and occasionally there will be (hopefully) a few day 2's, maybe a rest day, maybe just a gut feeling that today's scheduled event isn't right, resulting in a postponement or a reschedule. These are the things you learn as you go along, and not burning out is a very important part of playing the summer in Las Vegas which I'd say a good 70% of players have never understood, and a lot just play regardless of field size, guarantees, how they feel and so on. I think this is a massive error. Of course this trip is only around 3 weeks, and I used to do approx 2.5 months in one go, so for now it still feels pretty easy, albeit slightly hectic once there.
Some people invest because they're regulars, some are business people who simply see a potentially decent return for a small (ish) outlay, and some people just enjoy the ride. It's funny because the traffic that visits the website and the updates is a curious mix of "I know him and we're friends, and I hope he gets a good score, and I also like reading the ramble", to "we don't talk now but I still like to observe", right through to "I hope he falls flat on his face and bubbles everything".
Any and all of these are fine...really. These days I try to leave the malice to those who prefer to be malicious. One thing that being in poker, travelling so much and meeting a diverse group of people taught me is that no matter how weird you might think you are, I guarantee there's always somebody weirder out there. People huh?
Watch this space, you crazy kids, and thanks for the (mostly) love.
Some people invest because they're regulars, some are business people who simply see a potentially decent return for a small (ish) outlay, and some people just enjoy the ride. It's funny because the traffic that visits the website and the updates is a curious mix of "I know him and we're friends, and I hope he gets a good score, and I also like reading the ramble", to "we don't talk now but I still like to observe", right through to "I hope he falls flat on his face and bubbles everything".
Any and all of these are fine...really. These days I try to leave the malice to those who prefer to be malicious. One thing that being in poker, travelling so much and meeting a diverse group of people taught me is that no matter how weird you might think you are, I guarantee there's always somebody weirder out there. People huh?
Watch this space, you crazy kids, and thanks for the (mostly) love.
RSS Feed