Quote of the day + WSOP entry

"It’s become almost impossible for entry-level players to get a foothold, much less work their way up the ladder. Juice on the lower buy-in events can be as much as 25%. Add in travel expenses to the never-ending increases in juice and the tournament professional is soon to become an endangered species. The biggest names with huge bankrolls or sponsorship deals will survive, but run-of-the-mill touring pro will not make it unless he gets very lucky in a few big events. " -- 2 + 2 user Blair, lamenting the increasing fees that casinos are charging for tournament entries.

So this is what it feels like...to win a tournament I mean. Now I remember the reason I love this game. It allows me to fulfill my competitive nature in a game of wits when I can't adequately compete in other endeavors. (Though I was the captain of the 1999 University of Alabama Intramural Wiffleball Championship team...)

The tournament in question was a 82-player $10+$1 affair on Poker Share Sunday afternoon. I wouldn't usually get involved in such small fry stuff, but this was part of the Bluff Poker Tour and the winner would get a $1,500 WSOP entry of their choice in addition to about $250 in prize money. Talk about an overlay.

And we started with 2,500 in chips with a slow blind structure, a fantastic pace if you want some play. When we got down to three handed I had 70,000 in chips and the blinds were only 500-1,000! When's the last time you played a tournament where that happened?

I was patient, waited for the aggressive chip leader to make some wrong moves and nailed him. So now I have at least one bracelet event buy in waiting for me this summer, and if there was every any doubt about whether or not I would definitely go to Vegas this ended it.