WPT Championship Part 1: Something to Prove

When it comes to pure poker skill, at the top of the heap of all tournaments is probably the $25,000 WPT World Championship held at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Last year I ended 62nd out of 639 runners and I really wanted to see if I could beat that top 10% finish in one of the toughest fields ever. I had nobody but myself to blame for my exit, so I was eager to show myself that I had improved my game.

I was looking forward to it all year and I just couldn't wait to play it. For this year I even prepared better than last year, both mentally and physically.

But first things first - $25,000 is a lot of money, so I first wanted to try to play a satellite and win my entry that way. If that didn't work out, I could always do a direct buy-in.

So I entered a satellite. The first couple of levels were pretty easy, but when the blinds get higher it becomes a struggle to stay on the average chip count. You have to start making moves - in a satellite, it's not a matter of gathering the most chips, it's just a question of not busting out, so the mission is pretty simple: stay alive.

Wong at last year's WPT Championship.

When the seats are awarded it doesn't matter whether you have one chip or a tower of terror, since the payout is flat. (Every remaining player gets the same payout: a seat for the main event.)

For me it wasn't just about getting my ticket cheap; it was also a perfect way to get in shape for the real thing, because while there are some weaker players trying their luck, most of the pros play these satellites too. $25,000 is a lot of money for everyone.

I was lucky enough to win two coin flips at crucial moments, so I was able to win a ticket in the super-satellite. I was very happy with that result; it showed me that my game was sharp and that I was ready to play the big one.

In the meantime I played a $2,000 side event and amassed $43,000 chips, having started with $4,000. By the time we got to Level 6, in the process I got doubled by Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott and later I busted him.

While he is known for his trash-talk and criticizing your play, he had to admit that I outplayed him in that hand. That is good for your ego, I can tell you.

I had my whole table covered and was cruising, but all of a sudden the chip leader of the tournament gets placed at my table. From his whole act and appearance, I noticed that this player was not that experienced. I figured that could work to my advantage.

The field at the WPT World Championship: Toughest ever?

In the third hand we played with him at the table I am in the small blind. The blinds are $300/$600 and the rock at the table raises it up to $1,700. The big stack flat-calls. I look down at my cards and see QQ.

I decide to reraise to $7,000 total. The rock folds and the chip leader calls. The flop comes T 8 3. I bet about the size of the pot. The chip leader thinks for a while and goes all-in.

I can't imagine that a board of T-8-3 helps him - I think the best he can have is a flush draw - and so I decide to call all-in. When he flips his cards up he shows A 6, so I'm in pretty good shape to win the hand and continue with a monster stack.

But fate decides otherwise: he hits the flush on the turn and I am out.

Just seconds after that he busts another poor guy: he called an all-in with K Q versus a pair, and wins that hand too. But as you see more with these overaggressive players, they never hold their chips for long. He was out just 90 minutes or so after he busted me.

But that hand really made me sick. Of course you want people to stick their money in with a clearly inferior hand to yours, and of course I know that I win this hand about two out of every three times, but I was just disappointed that this time was not one of those ;-).

The very next day I initially planned to play the $2,500 buy-in event, but I was so sick from that hand I thought a day off would be better and that I would just play the next day. That day, though, there was a senior event, so that was a no-go. Well, no worries; just another day off.

WPT Turks and Caicos champ Rhynie Campbell was just one of the heavy hitters at Steve's table of doom.

When I returned the next day it turned out to be the day of the Ladies Event :-). So I played a one-table SNG for a seat in the $5,000 tournament.

In the fifth hand we play I'm dealt pocket aces; I manage to get it in on the flop and lose again from Ax suited that makes a flush. Once more I was so disappointed that I didn't play again so I could prepare myself for the $25,000 event.

On Day 1 of the actual Championship, I was faced with some tough competition: Gavin Smith, Tim Phan and Ted Forrest were some of the opponents on my table. On the up side, it was set up in the Fontana Bar, which I like, because it is a bit separated from the crowd and all the action.

I ended the day with 64,600 in chips.

Day 2 started for me with a re-seat to the main poker pit, and what a re-seat it was...

My table (with Layne Flack already eliminated earlier from the same table):

Seat 3: Me
Seat 4: Marco Traniello
Seat 5: Mimi Tran
Seat 6: Rhynie Campbell
Seat 7: Kathy Liebert
Seat 8: Hoyt Corkins
Seat 9: Jon Friedberg
Seat 10: Billy Baxter

Toughest table of the day? A lot of people seemed to think so.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I'll detail how I fared at that table of doom.

-- Steve Wong (Steve@888.com)

More blogs from 888.com pro Steve Wong:

• WPT Championship Part 2: Soul-Reading Kid Poker
• My Thoughts on Postponing the Main Event Final Table
• My Killer Poker Tip: Learn More Games
• The Players I Respect Most