Making Day 8 at the World Series of Poker Main Event: A Journey of Highs and Lows

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Jun 05, 2024 8 min read

As I write this, I'm still processing the whirlwind of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Making it to Day 8 was an exhilarating journey filled with moments of intense pressure, mental and physical challenges, and emotional roller coasters.

Before we get into Day 8 action, check out some big hands from earlier in this series:

• Alec Torelli’s WSOP Main Event Run Day 1C: Actionable Ways to Maximize Value
• Alec Torelli Rivered the Nuts on Day 2 of WSOP But Needed to Decide What to Bet
• Alec Torelli on Using Live Reads on Day 3 of the WSOP Main Event
• A Crucial Read Puts Torelli in Commanding Position in 2023 WSOP Main Event Day 4
• Two Tournament-Defining Hands Alec Torelli Played on Day 5 of the 2023 WSOP Main Event
• Alec Torelli's Aces Cracked on Day 6 of the WSOP Main Event But Soon Sets Up Chip Leader
• What's the One Poker Hand from the 2023 WSOP Main Event Alec Torelli Will Think About for Years to Come?

Ultimately, finishing in 11th place and walking away with $700,000 is a bittersweet mix of pride and wondering what could have been.
There’s pride in knowing I played some of my best poker, outlasted thousands of players, and secured a substantial prize. But there’s also that lingering feeling of what if. What if a few hands had gone differently?

Nearly a year later, I still think back to all the mistakes I made, hands that could have gone differently. I’m quite certain that will last for years to come. What keeps me going is the burning desire to do better in the future. I still have hope I can make another run for it.

The Journey to Day 8

From the first shuffle to the final all in, the Main Event was a test of endurance, skill, and mental fortitude. Each day, the field narrowed, and the stakes grew higher.

Throughout the tournament, there were hands that tested my resolve. The crucial bluffs, the gut-wrenching folds, the inevitable mistakes one makes along the way, and of course, a good amount of luck, all contributed to this journey.

The struggle to maintain focus and composure tested my limits. The mental fatigue of playing long hours for days on end, the constant analysis of opponents, and the pressure of making every chip count were real challenges. There were moments when the cards didn’t go my way, and I had to dig deep to stay in the game.

I put myself through some intense preparation before the Main Event, consisting of mindset training, a regimented diet, and strenuous exercise, but despite my best efforts, I was still fatigued by the end. It’s a humbling journey and there’s always more I can do to improve and come back stronger.

The support from my fellow players, fans, and the poker community was a tremendous boost. Knowing that I had so many people cheering me on made every hand, every decision, that much more significant. Thank you all so much!

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My Day 8 Experience

Unfortunately, my Day 8 journey was quite uneventful. I came in a short stack (11th place out of 15 remaining), and missed a few flops early that dwindled me down further. Without getting too much into the math, the looming possibility that other shorter stacks could bust, which would have propelled me to the final table, forced me to play tight. This ICM pressure combined with the fact I didn’t get many cards or opportunities, left me handcuffed for most of the day.

When we were down to 11 players, I got a nice double with AxQx to Qx8x against Maciras, the chip leader. Over the next hour, several players were all in. Both times the bigger stacks were the favorite, yet the smaller stacks won. Although I was not in the hand, I felt the pain of a bad beat as if I were, knowing I could have final tabled if they busted!

I found myself as the shortest stack when my opportunity finally came. I looked down at JxJx in the cutoff in a six-handed game. There was only one move — all in.

"I headed back to my rail to sweat my fate along with my wife, parents, and friends. I was excited and nervous about the outcome, but immensely grateful to have the support of those whom I love at such a memorable moment in time."

Maciras called and flipped over AxKx. A classic race. I thought back to the last Main Event I played in 2019 (I didn’t play for three years in between), when I got it all in late on Day 2 with jacks to ace-king. A king flopped and I was out.

I headed back to my rail to sweat my fate along with my wife, parents, and friends. I was excited and nervous about the outcome, but immensely grateful to have the support of those whom I love at such a memorable moment in time.

The flop came down Kx8x6x. Two cards later and I was out once again. They told me that the pain of busting would fade, and that I’d be happy with the money, but the truth is, the pain of busting is highest when you’re closest to winning. I’m not sure I’m fully over it. Perhaps I never will be.

It’s human nature to wonder what could have been. Knowing I outlasted 10,000 players and only needed to beat 10 more to achieve my childhood dream was a tough pill to swallow. In Main Events past, Busting Day 1 felt almost emotionless because I never had hope to begin with. Being closest to victory is painful because I allowed myself to dream.

Those close encounters with victory linger for years, sometimes decades. For example, I still remember the final runout of my second-place finish in the WSOP Heads-Up Event over 10 years ago, and many other flips and all ins I lost at final tables, hands that, had they gone the other way would have made me victorious.

While the money is undoubtedly significant, we don’t play tournaments for money — that’s what cash games are for — and perhaps nowhere is that truer than Main Event. We play for the dream of being victorious in the greatest poker tournament in the world. For the kid within us that first fell in love with poker watching the pros on ESPN.

Despite the bittersweet ending, my excitement for the future remains optimistic. The WSOP Main Event is the pinnacle of poker, and each experience helps me grow as a player. I’m eagerly looking forward to battle again in 2024, to apply the lessons I learned, and to once again chase that elusive title.

I put out a video when I turned 30 saying that my only goal left in poker was to Final Table the Main Event. Ironic, right?

In some ways, I feel I accomplished it. I did play at the final table, under the bright lights with all the pressure and everything that came with it. The experience was almost exactly how I visualized it hundreds of times before in the months leading up to the Main, from the people cheering in the rail, to what I was wearing, to the interviews with the media. It was surreal to witness it play out.

In many ways, my desire to win has only gotten stronger. Looking back, perhaps I set the wrong goal to begin with. I realized sometime around Day 6, in an interview with Lance Bradley, that making the final table isn’t the goal. The goal is to win.

This summer, like almost every summer, I’m not playing other events. I’m not arriving early. I’m not playing cash games. I’m showing up, taking one day off to recover from jet lag (I fly in from Europe), and chasing glory. And so, although my 2023 journey is over, as they say, every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.

Check out Alec Torelli's strategy articles on PokerNews here!

Poker, like life, is about continually striving to improve, and the resilience to bounce back. I’ve worked hard this year to be a little bit better, in the lab, in the gym, and in my own head. If it’s true as Seneca says that “luck is where preparation meets opportunity," the best I can do is hope the preparation pays off.

If I’m truly being honest, I don’t even play poker to win or even for the money. I’ve achieved poker goals before and had my fair share of highs. They’re great, sure, but it’s a fleeting moment, a blimp in time that is far too short, gone moments later when you incur the next loss. This year, I’ve been asking myself, what really matters? Why keep fighting after 20 years?

I realized it’s not even winning that matters, but rather the quest to win. It’s the journey itself. The climb up the mountain, not standing atop to take a quick photo. It’s about overcoming the barriers along the way, in all facets of poker and life. It’s pushing through the hour-long run, imagining myself navigating through the various stages of the tournament, in hopes that I’m a little more inflow in case I get there. It’s painstakingly doing the infinite variations of sims in the lab to be prepared for every possible permutation of outcomes. It’s tweaking various aspects of my diet, routine, mental prep, and lifestyle to see if anything gives me that extra edge. It’s the process of optimization itself that is the true joy.

You see, in the end, we don’t even play to win, we play to play.

So, this year, I’ll be back at the Main Event, ready to give it another shot and leave it all on the felt. Sure, I’ll be happier if I win than if I lose, but in many ways, I feel as if I’ve already won just because I get to show up and play the game.

To everyone who supported me, followed my journey, and believed in my game, thank you. Your encouragement means the world to me and is a big part of why I love this game.

See you at the tables. Hopefully, the final one!

- Alec Torelli

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