Patience and Progress: Jaime Staples on Approaching the WCOOP
The 2017 World Championship of Online Poker on PokerStars is just now reaching the halfway point of its 82-event schedule — in truth a 164-event schedule since each numbered WCOOP event has parallel "low" and "high" buy-in options.
That range of options means players can play a WCOOP event for as low at $11, with plenty of jumps in stakes along the way up to the $109 events, the $215 ones, and the big high rollers culminating with a couple of $25,000 buy-in tournaments.
Jaime Staples of Team PokerStars Pro Online is one of many who has made that progression from lower to higher buy-in events. The popular Twitch streamer has some advice for those looking to make a similar upward move.
"Patience is really important in progressing in your poker career," explains Staples, noting how that might seem counterintuitive, but in fact moving up often means taking your time at each stage along the way.
The varied schedule offers a good opportunity for newer players to get a taste of the WCOOP experience. That said, those looking to take shots at higher buy-in events need to keep in mind how the quality of opponent changes as you move up.
"What you're going to find is you might have two really good players at your table in, say... a $22 tournament," Staples notes. "When you're at the higher stakes you have seven, or you sometimes even have eight."
Playing against a higher number of skilled opponents obviously means adjusting your strategy, and Staples goes on to suggest other tips that apply both to approaching the WCOOP and to long term progress in poker, generally speaking.
He also specifically addresses other WCOOP-related topics including the popular "progressive knockout" tournaments and the specific need for patience in what are often slow-structured events. Take a look:
Check the WCOOP home page for the remaining schedule of events, including information about the many inexpensive satellites available.
You can also win your way into WCOOP events via the special edition Spin & Go's currently running at PokerStars, with $27 Spin & Go's giving away tickets to the $5,200 Main Event, and $109 Spin & Go's giving away tickets to the $25,000 High Roller on September 21.
