Surviving Day One of the Main Event
The WSOP should be enjoyed and celebrated to its fullest. Those who play are already winners in the sense that millions of others would like to be where they are sitting.
Surviving Day One of the World Series of Poker Main Event Championship is a really big deal.
Consider the alternative, which is being busted.
No matter where you stand in chips at the moment, once you’ve made it past the first day, anything is possible. Yes — anything. Statistics tend to show that the chip counts at the end of the first day don’t really matter that much. For instance, the end of Day One chip leaders only cash about half the time.
So, if you are one of the fortunate two-thirds of the field who ultimately survive the first 12-hour playing session, that’s ample reason to celebrate. No, you haven’t won anything yet. However, the WSOP is something to enjoy as much as to anticipate. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying this special moment and toasting a moment of success, even if it’s fleeting.
Last night, at the end of the first day’s action at around 1 am, my friend and fellow writer Garry Gates stopped me as I was walking past his table. The entire tournament room was bagging up their chips for the night. Gates has survived each of the opening days he has played the Main Event. Accordingly, he started a tradition, which goes as follows.
When there are just a few minutes still to go in the night, Gates orders his entire table a shot (or a beer) of their favored drink. Then, once the order is delivered, the entire table toasts the moment of success once the last hand is dealt. After all, for everyone, this was a shared experience and a shared victory. Even though all the players had played tough against one another, hoping the others would be knocked out, once the dealing was over this was the time to celebrate. What a remarkable example of sportsmanship.
I think the WSOP should be enjoyed and celebrated to its fullest. Those who play are already winners in the sense that millions of others would like to be where they are sitting now. The Main Event Championship players are literally one in a thousand of the countless players all over the world who want to be sitting in a seat at the end of Day One.
Celebrate the moment. Raise a glass. Extend a handshake. Those who survive the first day deserve a moment of glory.
