“Seven weeks of just games… everywhere… all over Vegas,” says Neeme in the intro to his latest vlog, and despite his somewhat laid-back approach to life he’s just as excited as every other player who finds themselves in the Nevadan poker playground this summer. But how to approach the tournaments and ensure you give yourself the best chance of success?
Primarily a cash game player, Neeme counts the WSOP as the one time of the year he indulges in tournament play and his 59th vlog (already!) is subtitled: Andrew’s Do’s and Don’ts for WSOP Success, so let’s get on with them…
Do assess what your over-arching goals are for the entire series
His two categories of players are the pro grinders out to make as much money as they can, and those there for a fun life-experience – the bucket list players if you like.
Of course, these groups will – or ought to Andrew explains – have different goals and methods of reaching them:
Grinders have to:
- Do work your ass off, putting in a lot of hours as they would in normal poker-working life outside of the WSOP, but it’s important that they
- Do have a tentative plan for games and tournaments; your own schedule of events and buy-ins, which doesn’t have to be set in stone but will make life easier for you;
- Do consider ahead of time whether to sell action or not. Neeme himself is happy to sell some action to friends as it allows him to try out some ‘next level’ events he might otherwise avoid, but the WSOP offers so ,many games it’s a good time to give it a go.
- Do show willingness to move around; your goal is to find the best game s and win, so this should be a given.
- Don’t get burnt out; excitement and energy levels can’t be maintained at maximum for the entire 7 weeks
- Don’t be willing to go broke trying to get rich quick; different from trying out bigger games occasionally, this is more akin to blowing your bankroll on a big ‘lottery’ event! Don’t be tempted.
Having a good experience is Neeme’s title for the non-pro/grinders and his list for what to do and what not to do is equally useful:
- Do visit the Rio and don’t be holed up in your hotel’s poker room! Come on, you’re in Vegas – you wouldn’t go to Paris and not see the Eiffel Tower would you?
- Don’t be results-oriented; it’s often easy to forget why you’re doing something when the game takes over your senses.
- Do say hi to your favorite TV pros; they’re sued to ‘fandom’ and if you’re not rude or interrupting their meal the chances are you’ll get a warm response. “I’m no different”, says Neeme, “so if you see me, say hi!”
- Do take time to take in Las Vegas; it’s a bucket list, experience of your lifetime, event and Vegas has a lot to offer outside of poker, so see some of it.
Lest you think I’ve covered everything Neeme has to say in his vlog, I really haven’t. It’s a great 25-minute primer for anyone attending and he even throws in some Bellagio play and analysis to round out another excellent effort.