In The Swing
2008-06-01 16:54:53
By: Gene Bromberg
The 2008 World Series opened with the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em event, which of course wasn't going to draw a huge field. That gave everyone a chance to ease into things, work out the kinks, and address any issues that might come up without having the room packed to the rafters. And all went well.
That meant when the first $1,500 No-Limit event began yesterday all hands were on deck, ready for action. There's a different feel to the big-field events with low buy-ins--for many of the players this will be their one World Series tournament of the year. Maybe of their lives. They won a seat online or maybe their buddies had a $100 satellite at a home game and the lucky winner now has his or her seat assignment and can't wait for the doors to open.
In case you're planning to play a WSOP event this year and you've never been here before, I took a few quick pics to give you some idea of what it looks like. As you can see, the room looks somewhat different with the players cooling their heels outside:
The calm before the storm, if you will. The floor staff make sure that every table has a dealer, and that every dealer had the proper number of chips and the proper number of cards in the deck:
Those blue strips are bracelets all the players in the event wear, so they won't be mistake for spectators and can easily pass in and out of the room. You either need a paper bracelet or a really cool press badge (like I have) to get past the stern security folks who herd the hoi polloi trying to get a gander at the action.
And then the doors open, you take your seat, and try to relax. It's just poker, after all. But it is the World Series of Poker, and until you get a few hands under your belt chances are events will rush by you in a bit of a blur:
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