There are two clear advantages to not doing live updates and chip counts during the 2007 WSOP: 1) I don't want to commit seppuku at the end of the day and 2) I can wander the tournament floor looking for whatever stories may be lurking. I love wandering without an agenda, letting both casual conversations with both pros and other writers determine my path through the tournament floor.
The first guy I stumbled into was Vincent Procopio, an east coast grinder who just "don't give a @&#$." This through and through Jersey boy has been a lifelong friend of Johhny "World" Hennigan. Vinny was one bad beat from the TV final table at the LAPC.
Usually the big personalities crave the limelight, but all Vinny cares about is the bottom line: "I don't give a @&$# about no bracelet. I don't give a @&$# about getting on TV. I just want the money." In a world where bluffing gets you by, what you see is what you get with Vinny.
After a few nice runs during the spring, his presence has been noticeably missing this summer. Vinny pointed out one of the reasons he stays away from the WSOP. "I feel like I'm getting raped in the ass then afterwards I'm given a box of chocolates like it was a nice date or something. Come on, you take out $600 for an entry fee and juice the prize pool, then give me a $10 voucher for food?"
After wishing Vinny good luck in the event, I made my way inside the Amazon Room where, with three minutes to go before the cards were in the air, I did not recognize a soul. While the room was full of players, I counted exactly zero familiar faces. It has been fascinating watching the professionals show up later and later to each event. Finally, with two minutes to spare, I saw John Juanda taking his seat. Maybe there's something to learn from a late arrival; John was one of the days first casualties.
I soon learned why the pros waited to make their appearance. Media Director Nolan Dalla (who has an amazing work ethic and an even better personality) introduced Tournament Director Jack Effel who wished everyone a "Happy Main Event!" Weird. This was followed by a commercial for Corum watches, the official bracelet provider of the WSOP. This commercial was followed by an unusually concise Penn Jilliette who announced, "Uhhhhhh.....Shuffle up and deal!" (which was, in actually, another commercial for an act that just happens to take place at the Rio).
Two of the people I always look for are BJ Nemeth and Dr. Pauly. While there's a lot of people who think they're good at reporting, these guys actually are. BJ's type-A personality mixed with extreme OCD seems to be the perfect formula for the world's best final table reporter. BJ never lets his opinion get in the way of reporting what's actually happening. If I ever need to know a fact or a detail, he's the man to ask. On the flip side, Pauly never lets reporting the facts get in the way of his opinion. Paul writes one of the best poker blogs on the 'net, and anytime I need to know the latest dirt, he's the man to ask.
After bugging Pauly for a bit, it was apparent that dead money can be broken down into a few categories
1. Dead Dead Money
These players just don't have a freaking clue and might as well get out some poker chips, spray kerosene on a brick of $10,000, light a match and call it a day.
2. Dead Money That Learned How to Play by Watching Hoyt Corkins on TV
These players have a lot of variety in their game:
- "All in."
- "I'm all in."
- "I'll put you all in."
3. Dead Money That Learned How to Play by Watching Daniel Negreanu on TV
I watched a player reraise to 1.8k when the blinds were 50-100 and bet 6k on a K84 flop, then proudly turn over 64 offsuit to show that he knows how to play any two cards, just like "Kid Poker." Except Daniel plays these in position. And he relies on his years of experience and uncanny reading ability to outplay people postflop. Which I guess is kind of like making ridiculous raises preflop and silly ginormous big bets on painted flops. But not really.
