First post

So, I leave on Thursday to Las Vegas. I'll be solo for a day, then two friends from San Diego drive up Friday night and one of my roommates flies in late Friday night. The two San Diegans go home Sunday, and three more MN friends fly in on Tuesday... so I won't have a lack of company, that's for sure.

What do I expect to get out of this experience? Hmm, good question. My first goal is to have a good time. To me, this whole trip is one big freeroll. If I do happen to make the money, it's all gravy. This being my fourth trip to LV, I know what I want to do when I'm not actually playing... but I obviously can't talk about those things on here, because what happens in Vegas... :)

Now this first goal does not mean I'm going to take the actual tournament lightly. It's possible that I could win enough money to never have to work again. Of course I'm not counting on that, but wow, my 1 in 8000 chance to win $10,000,000 is much better than winning some jackpot or lottery. Even making the money would be life-changing. I'm guessing that just making the money would net me $12,000-$15,000, minus the taxes. That would definitely put a dent into my bill payments. Approximately 10% of the entrants make the money, so if everyone were on an equal level, I would have a 1 in 10 chance of making a decent sum... realistically, I'd put this number at more like 6-7% for me. So bascially all of this points to my second goal being to make the money. Yeah, that would rock.

My third goal? Hmm, it rhymes with "ten-million dollars".

On another note, I was watching last year's event where an amateur rated himself a 7 out of 10 in terms of how good of a poker player he is, and it made me wonder where I stood. I gave this some thought, and I would say that I'm a 6 out of 10, and I will follow up with what I would define each number to be, with 10 being the best.

10: no such thing. I concur with Barry Greenstein's rankings, as he has rated a number of top pros in different areas, and I don't know if anyone got a 10 in any game.

9: Best in the world, i.e. those who play in and beat "the big game" at the Bellagio. From what I've read, they play with a $4000-$8000 structure with every major game. Yikes. Probably limited to a few hundred players worldwide.

8: Top pros, ones that do it for a living, and do it well. 6 figures or better a year in cash games, consistently, or tournament pros that travel and make enough to do it as a living. "Name" players.

7: Decent pros or good semi-pros. Mid to high 5 figures a year in cash games and/or do well in major tournaments. A number of other factors but I'm too lazy to think them out now.

6: Semi-pro, makes a significant profit in the long run.

5: Break-even or very small-long-term profits.

4 and below: Overall losing players in the long run.


Of course these rankings are purely opinion, but I think I have a good feeling of where I stand against other opponents.

Enough for now.