Casino Observer

Well, it’s September 2 and the quest for celebrity is off and running. The World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event has started and ESPN is there to record all the highlights. That means the “stars” are there to defend their reputations and the amateurs are out to make names for themselves. Whilst this epic grinds its way through to November, those dreaming of being stars next year are lining up at one of the World Series of Poker Academy events. At a mere $1,499 a head, players come to learn from the best of the players prepared to teach the finer points of the game. In fact, this weekend sees the roadshow roll into LA for the first time so there’ll be one hundred more wannabes let loose on the unsuspecting world come Monday. 

Sorry to quote the cliché from the Cincinnati Kid, “Son, all you paid was the looking price. Lessons are extra.” Sure, you and ninety-nine others get to rub shoulders with one or two names. That must make you feel more knowledgeable. Just like catching a disease!

Isn’t that a bit hard? Well, there’s no real chance for one-to-one or small group sessions. It’s all going to be “talk and show” not the detailed coaching needed for personal improvement. Forgive me for doubting two days are going to produce a major skill improvement. They’ll give you a few tips like, “When he twitches, that’s a tell, OK.” To come out ahead on this, those suckers need to earn back the fee of $1,499 plus travel, hotel and living expenses. How fast are they all going to do that? One or two who had the flair will probably get the confidence to go on to better things, but most will be there just for the bragging rights. Those guys want some of that fame to rub off on them. 

Except I keep coming back to this celebrity thing. ESPN are making this big fuss about the WSOP tournament and I bet, when one of the Academy alumni does well, you’ll be the first hear about it. But away from the public view, the bread-and-butter cash games go on in clubs around the country. You don’t get to hear so much about that. So which version of the game’s a better test of real skill? And which version are they teaching in these Academy sessions?

I guess if you line people up against the wall and ask their opinion, most will say the cash game is better because it’s head-to-head. When you play for higher stakes, you’ll be up against better than average players and sometimes a few professionals. Everyone’s trying to get the maximum value out of every hand dealt whilst they’re ahead. Those that get behind play a bit more conservative to keep their losses down until they build their chip pile back up. In a tournament, you’re out once you lose all your chips. So the strategy is to wait out the opposition by playing steady percentages. Because anyone with the entry fee can sit down to play, you get a lot of amateurs in a tournament like the current WSOP event. Beating them is just a case of profiting from their mistakes. This strategy doesn’t work so well in a high stakes game against the sharks. You actually need to be able to play the whole game to beat them.

So good luck to all playing in this year’s event! Good luck to the hundreds graduating from the Academy events! It’s always good to see a game played well whether you’re an amateur or a professional.