Well we’ve all heard of the 20 minute workout and other various quick approaches to accomplishing a goal. I have just finished experiencing the 90 minute asskicking. Decent cards, but a bit of bad luck, took me out before the first break. Depressing, a bit embarrassing, but a dash of reality in what has been a pretty lucky run since the Party Poker cruise.

I’ll keep updating throughout the day.

My first Limit Tournament at the WSOP starts at Noon in the Rio. We expect over 1000 players and i’m almost ready to go. Unfortunately a false fire alarm at 4:30am made it seem more like my days in the dorm at college.

My hope is to finish in the top 10% and money. More from the tournament at dinner or when i get knocked out, whichever comes first.

The Room itself is huge, and it’s likely, less than 25% of the Rio’s entire convention area. dozens of tables, filled with poker players from around the world. Walk the halls and hear nearly as many langauges as at the UN.

It should be a great time, especially if i survive the first day!

Whether you are pro poker play or just a fan of the WSOP, you’re happy to know that next Sunday, June 25th is the opening of the 6 week “Summer Poker Classic”. With 45 events from June 26th thru August 10th 2006, the biggest “Pro/Am” tournamant in world history will reign supreme in Las Vegas and at the Rio in Particular.The action begins with satellite games on the 25th and commences with tournament #1 a No-Limit event for Casino Employees and ends with the final table of the Premiere, $10,000 World Championship Event. This year, the WSOP is preparing for upto 8,000 players in this event. All told, Harrahs, the owner of the event, the Rio hotel and much more, should award more than the $103 Million in prize money that the 2005 event paid out.

I will be playing in a couple of the early limit tournaments and will be “reporting”, if you want to call it that, from the seen in late june and early july. As always, I’ll be trying to share my perspective on the tournament and the emotion of myself and the entire tournament. This is not my first tournament, so some of the early jitters and unanswered questions were dealt with last time. This time, i hope to give a better sense of the scene, what is happening, why it’s happening and how it ended up happening this way.

Yes I owe any readers out there an apology for waiting a couple of weeks to wrap up my tournament experiences, thoughts and comments. I’ve been busy playing poker online, several hours a day (and doing quite poorly).

In an effort to make this easier on me and maybe quicker for you, i use the ever popular TOP list:

Top 5 Tournament Tips

1. Dress Comfortable, layers, bring drink, snack, entertainment, etc.
2. Play some live cash games or tournaments to reduce your nervous engery.
3. Plan on having short breaks infrequently - seat, do your lavatory planning with that in mind.
4. Be polite, friendly, but don’t push the quiet guys to speak, they’re quiet because they want to be, just like you want to talk.
5. Play slowly, you can’t win on the first day (of a multi-day event), but most people will lose on the first day.

Top 5 Cruise Highlights

1. Card Player Cruises largest poker room at sea.
2. A veranda cabin, especially if you smoke.
3. Grand Cayman, what a vibrant place, with a beautiful bay for diving/snorkelling
4. The Spa - buy the packages when you board, don’t wait till the last 2 days to check out.
5. Getting off the ship and heading home. Even a great trip needs to end.

So, I’ve played my first big, multi-day tournament and finished in the money. I’m one of the top players in the world according to Poker Pages. Don’t believe it! Playing a tournament like this is a bit stressfull, especially the first time you play. Once you get over your nerves, you’ll find a tournament is like any other event that brings strangers together. Most people look to find a “group” inside of the crowd to hang out with. Poker players are of all sorts, some loud, some quiet, some smokers, some drinkers and unfortunately some dickheads. In general, you’ll find most people are pleasant. The first group people find is the Smokers group, which when i’m gambling, i’m usually part of. On the cruise i met a lot of Danes, Americans, plus some Canadians and Swedes, everyone was friendly and trying to have a good time.

Top 5 Cruise Tips

1. Remember that card you hand the bartender is attached to your credit card
2. Check BEFORE you pack if there is really a formal night, we had 1 “optional” formal night. Didn’t need the suit.
3. Don’t forget just because it’s winter and cold at home, it’s sunny in tropics and sunscreen costs $10 on the ship
4. Don’t plan on using the internet, the ship has service, which cost 50 cents a minute and is slower than the worst dial-up speed you can imagine.
5. If you need to be in contact with land, by phone, rent a satellite phone. Ship to Shore Phone is about $15 a minute.

Well, i’ve just awakened after 7 hours sleep, the most time i’ve slept in  over a week.  The Party Poker Millions V is over and the players have headed back to their homes.  Soon the promotion for the Party Poker Millions VI will underway. The final stats on the tournament are out and this will list all those who finished http://blog.partypoker.com/partypokermillion/day4/the-final-6.html

 I’m now planning to enter a number of WSOP Limit events and am excited to head to Vegas (june 29th) to both play and catch up with some new found friends. On of these buddies is Tomo Honda, who i put All-In, early on “cut” night, he came back, played strong and finished the tourney 19th. Mr. Honda, a engineer with a PhD, will be showing up in the money at other events in the future.

In the next week or two, i’ll be talking a bit more about the tournament, Card Player Cruises and my Prep for the World Series.