PN Blog: A Tournament Reporter's Account of the 2019 World Series of Poker
Table Of Contents
The first time I headed to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker was some 12 years ago and I had just won a package through 888poker to participate in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event. I cashed, but never came back to Sin City to play poker.
Instead, I would be back to Vegas - and often - to cover poker tournaments as a live reporter. Just imagine a much younger me with a football jersey on and the cap backwards, a babyface so to say.
While the first few visits to the WSOP after that were for just a few weeks at a time and to focus on specific sponsored players, that all changed in 2014 when I was noticed by PokerNews. Since then, with the exception of 2015, I have been making the trip for the annual summer camp for at least six weeks and have set myself a specific goal in order to get through the madness.
That goal? Regular fitness exercises.
Lofty Goals
Unfortunately, before this year I was able to stick to the WSOP fitness plan exactly zero times. The most I lasted with at least half an hour of cardio or stretching in the morning was for about a week in 2018. The outcome was predictable, on my days off during the seven week-long schedule, I had no motivation whatsoever to do something outside of the bubble that is Las Vegas.
For the current year, I didn't set myself any goal and instead started an Excel spreadsheet right away on my first working day to keep track of daily steps, working hours and ... daily fitness and meditation. Since I tend to be a perfectionist, leaving those columns blank would have seemed odd and created a natural urge to make sure I get at least 30 minutes of fitness done every day.
“Sometimes we need to feel stress to do creative and productive work.”
This may become more difficult towards the end of the series when fatigue kicks in. The two weeks of Main Event with noon starting times and a lack of regular sleep throughout the previous weeks are another factor that should not be underestimated.
During the 2019 WSOP, I managed to keep up a streak of 30 consecutive days of at least half an hour of fitness right until the start of the $10,000 Main Event, longer than I have ever done previously. Might this actually be the thing that people refer to as “growing up” and being responsible?
Losing some weight and feeling healthier helped better prepare me for the long grind in general during those longs weeks in June and July — a very positive side effect that comes along with sticking to the fitness routine I set out to do.
My hope is to continue along the lines in regular fashion post-WSOP. This may not always be possible day in and day out, depending on travel, but that kind of sounds like an easy and lame excuse.
Inspirations
One particular player that stands out for me in trying to be healthier is Dutchman Steven van Zadelhoff, who resides in Malta and has racked up a lot of big scores on the virtual felt. His transformation into a modern day Viking and reincarnation of Hulk thanks to regular exercises is just one example of a successful fit lifestyle.
There are plenty of other poker players that have improved their habits over the years, those who hit the gym frequently and pay close attention to their nutrition. Some even hire personal coaches and have assistants that take care of everything to keep the mind fully focused on the long days at the poker tables.
While working the 2019 WSOP, I picked up some meditation apps to reset my mind during the long work days, as the long grind can have a draining effect. Especially towards the end of the series when everybody is already tired, but the stakes in the Main Event get higher, it's vital for us live event reporters to be on top of our game as well.
“Sometimes we need to feel stress to do creative and productive work” is a quote from one of the meditation apps I picked up and literally hits the nail on the head for all the years I have been on the road to cover poker tournaments. It is especially true for the annual summer camp as the tension is even higher and I don't mind the additional stress that comes along with it.
The stress keeps the body and mind busy, lowering the chances of making any crucial mistakes. That they are still happening from time to time just makes us human, and after all the years I am still as annoyed about every single one of them.
During the 2019 WSOP, I entirely botched at least two hands, one of which I was rightfully reprimanded for, and made the biggest mistake a live reporter can do. I assumed the action and didn't verify it after even if my mind was screaming that it can't be the correct action.
There were plenty of other hands where a card symbol was missing or wrong, but apart from that I somehow managed to avoid any further major hiccups during the six weeks reporting in Las Vegas. The only thing I regret is not taking a third trip into the nature to reset the mind during my six total days off, which is something to keep in mind for the next time.
Personal Account of the 2019 WSOP
Unlike last year, I was not in Las Vegas for the entire duration of the 2019 World Series of Poker as I worked the 888poker LIVE stop in Barcelona just prior and headed over the next day for a 24-hour journey to Vegas.
After landing in Sin City in the evening, I jumped right into the action for the $10,000 Heads-Up Championship the day after and it would be the start of six weeks of long hours, mixed games and a mere half a dozen days off.
It wasn't the toughest summer schedule in the last few years since working more or less full time covering poker events, as back in 2017 two other events back-to-back resulted in more than 70 days of travel or live reporting away from home. Yet, this year in particular felt tougher in another way.
In 2018, I set myself the goal to do fitness regularly and already failed at it after just one week. This time, I came up with an Excel spreadsheet at the start of the series and managed a 43-day streak with at least half an hour of fitness.
Here's a look at my general fitness stats during 2019 summer camp:
| Fitness measure | Numbers |
|---|---|
| Steps | 479,784 |
| Km walked | 394.45 |
| Daily fitness streak | 43 days |
| Fitness in min | 1,520 |
| Days I meditated | 27 |
| Meditation in min | 291 |
The number of total steps seems somewhat low, and I definitely fell short of the meditation goal I set for myself, as that was simply way too inconsistent. Certainly the most inspiring place to meditate was a cave close to Mary Jane Falls at Mount Charleston with one friend there to share the experience. The opportunity to soak in the amazing view and relax entirely is rather uncommon in and around Vegas.
As far as the work duties are concerned, the late starts of the Championship Events at 3 p.m. on Day 1 and 2 p.m. on Days 2 and 3 were definitely helpful to a certain degree; however, they also meant mandatory late finishes in the early morning hours to influence a “normal” daily rhythm. Here's a look at my work stats from the WSOP.
| Days of work | 36/42 |
| Total work hours | 388.25 |
| Number of events covered | 15 |
| Championship Events covered | 6 |
| Main Event days covered | 11/13 |
While the first four weeks went by like a breeze with occasional madness during the COLOSSUS and the insanely fast-paced action of the Mini Main Event, I missed out on the Big 50 that kicked off the summer with a bang with thousands upon thousands of players. Plenty of dreams were made, new millionaires were crowned from a very small investment and everyone was eagerly awaiting just how big the Main Event would be.
Highlights from the 2019 WSOP
As a live event reporter, also commonly referred to as “blogger” or “hey PokerNews” by many players in Vegas, we are always supposed to be impartial and cannot openly root for any players in the events. In my case, this will always be the way to go in the writing, but based on personal experience I cannot deny to be particularly pleased when certain players go deep in an event and win a WSOP bracelet.
The first name on that list for 2019 won his maiden bracelet while I was in the air and I only found out once I had landed at McCarran airport. Over the past few years I got to cover quite a few mixed games and Dan Zack reached several final tables. This year was no different and he finally conquered that elusive first bracelet in Event #6: $2,500 Limit Mixed Triple Draw.
A personal highlight that showed anything can happen was the victory of Frankie O'Dell in the Event #18: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, as he was down to fewer than half a big bet on the final table and went on to claim his third career bracelet.
Right after, Eli Elezra won his fourth bracelet while Anthony Zinno finished as the runner-up. I was happy for Elezra and gutted for Zinno at the same time, as both are great ambassadors of the game and their way of interacting with other players and the poker media is outstanding. There would be a happy end for Zinno later on, though, as he scored his long overdue second bracelet in Event #60: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better.
The next player I'd like to highlight is Greg “FBT” Mueller. On Day 1 of the Event #29: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship he was sitting next to the media desk and slowly but surely built up a stack. When coming back from a break early, he turned around with a smile on his face and asked, “Hey buddy, how are you doing? Nice to see you again.”
I get to cover Mueller only during the WSOP and was wondering why he had immediately recognized me. His reply was simple. “You and Mickey [Doft] are the best, you barely ever make any mistakes.”
Can you guess who came back from last in chips with three remaining a few days later and lifted the bracelet for the winner shots for the third time in his career? It was former professional ice hockey defenseman Mueller.
Maiden Bracelet Winners
A few days later I traded a day off and covered the final day of Event #33: $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw. Among the finalists was also Robert “Robbie Robot” Campbell and he held a massive lead heading into the final table. An Aussie rail emerged to follow his progress with several Hall of Fame members taking a seat. Campbell was silent and focus at the table and all his emotions broke out when he claimed the maiden bracelet after defeating David “Gunslinger” Bach in heads-up.
The Aussie went on to become the only two-time bracelet winner of the summer and cashed nine times, lifting him into the top spot of the WSOP Player of the Year ranking prior to the WSOPE in Rozvadov. Close behind are reigning WSOP POY Shaun Deeb, Dan Zack and Daniel Negreanu.
For Stephen Chidwick, the 53rd WSOP cash of his career would turn into a big deal, as the Brit finally erased the elusive WSOP bracelet from his bucket list. Normally he'd grind most of the summer in the hunt of the gold-ware but this time the recent arrival of his first-born changed things.
Chidwick arrived mid-way and the series was already in full swing. He saw how big the field in the Event #45: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller was and jumped in at the very last minute in the first break on Day 2. He ended up defeating a record field of 278 entries to score the biggest top prize of the WSOP until then.
The British poker pro was just one of many well-known tournament grinders that scooped their first gold bracelet during the 2019 WSOP. Joseph Cheong, Jonas Lauck, Ari Engel, Danny Tang, Juha Helppi, Roman Korenev, Ismael Bojang, Yuval Bronshtein, Luke Schwartz, Ben Heath, and Daniel Strelitz all struck gold during the seven weeks in Vegas.
There were also several other incredible accomplishments, including the consistency of Negreanu or Deeb, Asi Moshe winning his third bracelet and Loren Klein earning his fourth in as many years or Adam Friedman defending his title in Event #35: $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship. Yueqi Zhu came close to the same feat in Event #63: $1,500 Omaha Mix but finished second to Anatolii Zyrin. Both Zhu and Zyrin have another second-place finish during the summer to their name, too.
France FTW
And then there were the French. The entire Amazon room would know when one of them was deep in a bracelet event as their rails outdid themselves this summer. They were louder and more enthusiastic than the Brazilians and that takes a lot of passion!
Four Frenchmen finished second while Thomas Cazayous and Ivan Deyra were boosted to success by frenetic chants. It was a true Main Event final table atmosphere in the corner feature table. The French Winamax rail was also there to support Joao Vieira on his road to victory against Joe Cada in Event #70: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed.
While Vieira was busy with the celebration, the second starting day of the $10,000 Main Event was already underway. Thousands of players with a dream of becoming the next world champion in the pinnacle poker event of the year took a seat and the second-biggest field in the 50th edition would emerge with a stunning 8,569 entries.
Not just for the participants, but also for us as poker media and the entire production team, it is a mammoth project and helluva challenge to make it all the way to the end. In the early days, one would need to follow the ESPN crews with their mobile cameras to see if a notable player was involved in a big pot while also trading other important information back and forth.
Most of the big names were sent to the rail, one by one, and a new class of Main Event finalists emerged. Many Germans went deep but just one of them reached the final nine in Hossein Ensan. Having covered him for several years on the European Poker Tour, it was no surprise that he had the same relaxed manner under the bright lights of the Thunderdome.
Sitting behind a corner a couple meters behind the raucous Italian rail and watching the stats screen to write down every hand, the crazy atmosphere filled the entire room and the chants from each direction only vanished for brief periods of time.
When the final river card came a brick, it wasn't the German rail that celebrated the loudest as Sammartino jumped up and down to lead his supporters for a final hallelujah. Moments later, the new world champion Ensan was surrounded entirely while his winner interview was conducted.
A quick video of the rail, a snapshot of the interview scenery, and with a tear in the eye and great relief falling over my entire body, I thought: "We did it, again, we made it through the summer camp."
Most “normal” people would need a break of several weeks after the long summer series, but for myself and some other — it was right back on the road for more tournament poker reporting.
