The WSOP Main Event's Unique Mental Challenge
It was only just over a week ago that the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event got underway, but it seems like a lifetime.
Especially for the 106 players still with chips, the grind so far has been a long one, perhaps already the longest sustained stretch of tournament poker many of them have ever played before. And with five full days' worth of poker behind them, those who make it all of the way to the end will have to play five more days before a winner is crowned.
2017 WSOP Main Event champion Scott Blumstein well knows the challenge faced by everyone still in the tournament, having been through the same grind himself two years ago when he topped a field of 7,221 to win poker's most prestigious tournament.
Way back when the tournament started, PokerNews' Oliver Biles spoke with Blumstein and other 888poker Ambassadors to get some advice about how to approach such a long and taxing tournament as the Main Event. (Biles had a special interest, as he himself played.)
"When the whole thing was over, I was shot mentally," explains Blumstein, referring to his 2017 run to the title.
"It really does a lot to your mental stamina," he continues. "So whatever you can do to keep that in line is probably the best thing you can do" as far as preparation is concerned.
As you can see below, most of the other pros all also spoke about the need to be patient and recognize the Main Event is indeed a marathon, not a sprint.
"It's a really long tournament... you cannot win in one day," says Ana Marquez, a sentiment echoed by Vivian Saliba, Sofia Lövgren, and another Main Event champion, 2014 winner Martin Jacobson.
Meanwhile Dominik Nitsche adds advice that applies to any poker tournament — the need to "accept that you're most likely going to lose" and that in most cases players have only a 15 to 20 percent chance to make the money.
The 106 players who remain in the hunt represent just 1.2 percent of the field right now. Yet from the $80 million-plus prize pool there is still more than $49.5 million of it up for grabs — more than 61 percent — with that huge $10 million prize sitting on top for the winner.
As the Main Event's unique mental challenge increases, so, too, do the stakes increase.
Alas for Biles (and the 888poker pros), none remain in the mix to claim a share of what's left. But the grind continues. Stick with PokerNews to find out who gets what as the Main Event marches onward to this weekend's final table.
