It seems like just this summer we were watching Daniel Weinman ship the WSOP 2023 Main Event for a record breaking $12.1 Million! Well, it was just this summer, and like poker itself, if you aren’t thinking about the next hand than you’re already beat. So, fold those memories in the muck and let’s look ahead to the World Series of Poker 2024!
Now, while the actual WSOP doesn’t begin until May, the Circuit event tour is year round. Satellites provide great opportunities to score their own jackpot and a summer ticket to Vegas. Winning a golden ring might not lead to stardom, but it is a great way to flex at your Friday night home game. And with the year round schedule, there’s ample opportunities to display your skills. No need to tell them you drove 1500 miles and took two separate paternity leaves to get it!
Don’t go barreling through multiple buy ins with Kojak just yet. There are still a few steps to retrace. Just because Weinman used King/ Jack off to take down his easy 12 mill score, no need to shove. First, check out a guide on poker hands to see what hand beats what. Sometimes, the only thing worse than chasing an inside straight, is actually getting it.
It seems elementary, but mistaking what hand beats what is still an embarrassing mistake that can happen to the best of us. Also, once you have it down to an involuntary motion like breathing, bluffing becomes easier. One can come across as a mop asking if four pair beats a straight but with all the little clubs pushed together.
Just kidding of course, all you need to do is fake being hammered to pull that move off. Sometimes, to be sure I don’t have a fake drunk tell, I’ll go ahead and chase my nut flush draws with whiskey. You know, to look the part. But I’ll know what beats what!
Most poker hands never actually come to a showdown. So, needing to know what conquers what could even be just what you believe is the victor. Hell, some like to shove and flip then let the chips fall where they may. Those people are called maniacs, and probably not reading this article. They are in fact living for insane thrills like lying down in a highway or telling their girlfriends to “calm down” in public.
For the rest of us, poker comes down to not just what cards we are holding, but trying to figure out what the other player is holding, or what they are trying to go for. Too many times players can get married to what started out as big hands that got ran down by an obvious draw, because we still think we deserve the pot. Nobody deserves anything in poker, and you’re only promised getting felted when you can’t let go of an obvious loser. Now, that sounds like my ex wife. I mean, old coach.
Speaking of tells, a fun WSOP viewing side game is to look for them in players. Tells are almost a lost art in the poker world. The game has switched from smoky brick and mortars to analytical online chart simulations. The ironic thing is, players are less aware of the human tells they are give off due to their mechanical style of play. Yet, viewers have never had a better time in poker to see other players them on full display due to exposed whole cards.
No, there aren’t any cinematic over the top tells at a World Series Event like chewing on a rack of Oreo cookies. But, some basics never change. Mike Caro, the Mad genius of Poker, and basic inventor of listing tells says every one basically comes down to one principal. Strength means weakness, and weakness mean strength.
Everyone is a liar , so much so that sometimes they are telling the truth. When you start getting down to fake tells and reverse tells, and new age tells, It’s confusing. That’s why even I still like to brush up on the basic poker tells every now and then. It helps to get my liar roots down before I can branch off again into full on friendly deceit.
The location of the WSOP 2024 thankfully remains the same as last year. It rightfully returned to the Strip and was played across 8 weeks at the Horseshoe and Paris casinos. The old Harrah’s resorts are the perfect backdrop for the most exciting poker tournament in the world. It brings in the best characters of gamblers throughout the world.
If you have never gone, I highly recommend attending this year. The cash games and sights alone are worth the degenerate pilgrimage. Again, you won’t see preposterous hands like in the movies where a Royal Flush beats 4 Aces for the deed of some guys house.
But, you might in fact meet an old German hand model from the 70s. And, he might have stories about sleeping with every hot celebrity’s Mom you can think of. True story. That man was Rolff. He was the best. I would text him, but he only communicated through in person messages left with the bell hop. Man, I can’t wait for this year’s World Series of Poker. When is Summer already?
