Eight Pieces of WSOP Strategy Advice
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is already in full swing, but it’s never too late to jump in and make your mark. Whether you’re a seasoned player or a newcomer looking to test your skills, preparation is key to success at the tables.
The following tips will help you get ready and stay competitive in the midst of this tournament series:
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1. Write Down Your Game Plan, Strengths, And Weaknesses
Before you head out there, write down your game plan.
- What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?
- What plays do you feel confident with? What plays have you not had success with lately?
- Have your overbets been working? What situations have you been using them in? Write those down. You’re going to look for those situations.
- Have your threebet bluffs been working? Have you been picking up a number of those pots postflop? Write that down. Pursue those situations when you get there.
- Have your hero calls been off lately? Have you been wrong more often than not when you’ve made a big call on the river? Write that down. Don’t pursue that play again when the pressure is on. You already know you’ve been having difficulty with it.
You want to have a good idea of what you can and can’t do before you get yourself deep in a tournament. You don’t want to be debuting new material at Carnegie Hall. If you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can constantly play to your strengths and be especially aware of when you’re heading into a potential danger zone. If you can play consistent poker while avoiding your personal bottlenecks, then you’re far more likely to make a deep run.
2. Get Some Practice On Advanced Poker Training
One of the most crucial steps in preparing for the World Series of Poker is getting plenty of practice, and Advanced Poker Training (APT) offers an unparalleled platform for honing your skills. I just became the Head Pro at APT because I love the site. On APT, you can play up to 500 hands an hour against both Human-like and GTO-Style opponents, allowing you to rapidly accumulate experience and refine your strategies.
APT’s advanced simulation capabilities let you recreate tournaments of any size, right up to the WSOP Main Event. This means you can practice the exact scenarios you’ll face in the real tournament, from early-stage play to the high-stakes intensity of the final table.
One of the key benefits of APT is its ability to help you practice various aspects of your game in a controlled, efficient manner. You can work on your bluffing, or try out overbetting for the first time. You can work on avoiding hero calls, improving your hand reading, and playing solid, consistent poker against a wide range of playing styles. Whether you're facing opponents who use a GTO strategy or those who play like typical inexperienced amateurs, APT’s simulations can prepare you for them all.
APT also allows you to practice specific hands from different positions, giving you the opportunity to focus on and improve your play in any situation you might encounter. If Pocket Jacks are your weakness, you can set up the software to deal you Pocket Jacks over and over. You can freeze the button and be dealt into the big blind over and over, to practice from that critical position. This targeted practice is invaluable for diagnosing and fixing major leaks in your game, ensuring that you are as prepared as possible for the WSOP.
In summary, Advanced Poker Training offers a comprehensive, high-speed training environment that can help you practice and perfect every aspect of your game before you hit the tables at the World Series of Poker.
3. Focus On The Value Bet
Last year I had the privilege of playing for a month in Vegas. I also was fortunate enough to cash in the Main Event.
The play that made me the most money was the thin value bet. I was able to get way more river bets called than I expected. Online people can fold to some river bets because they have six other tables going on and they’re able to play another pot right after they fold. Live people struggle to fold on the river because the game moves so slowly. They’re bored. They were already excited about their mediocre top pair and they don’t want to fold it.
I was stunned at some of the calls I got last year. Every time I shoved the river or bet I thought to myself, “this is so thin! Do I really expect them to call worse?”
Then, it would happen. They’d call off half their stack with a mediocre top pair. They’d call off their tournament with second pair. They wouldn’t even think through the situation. They were fatigued and they were done playing.
Viciously value bet. People don’t fold enough.
4. Forget The Hero Call
For the better part of two decades, I have taught people how to play poker every morning. Working with thousands of poker players has taught me something critical:
Most people do not want to bluff.
They see bluffs as high risk with medium reward. They either win a small pot and no one sees what a genius they are or they lose a big pot and everyone sees their mistake.
Trying to teach someone how to bluff is so difficult. Most people don’t immediately see when they’re blocking certain hands. Most people don’t see when their opponent’s range is weak.
At the series, you’re playing versus a lot of normal people. Unless you’re playing higher buy-ins, the population you’re playing against isn’t advanced. They might understand the basics, but when it comes time to pull the trigger on the bluff, they will falter.
Unless you have an extraordinary read, let it go. Don’t talk yourself into a huge call if you’re not confident in your read.
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5. Are You Typically Good At Bluffing? If Not, Don’t Start Now
When you go out to play poker, do you get excited about all the bluffs you’re going to make? Is bluffing one of your strong suits?
If so, congratulations. Apply that kind of pressure deep in tournaments and watch people crumble.
Is bluffing not something you do frequently? That’s fine. Most of your opponents call too much, so it’s not a bad thing that you’re being careful. There’s some specific situations where your opponents fold too much, but they’re specific. If you don’t know those situations like the back of your hand, then don’t worry about it. Don’t force anything in your biggest tournaments of the year.
Every year when I play the series, I watch somebody try a bluff out that they’ve never tried before. It usually doesn’t work. They’re doing the bluff because they’re fatigued. They’re seeing things. They think people are bullying them by never folding to them.
What’s normally happening is they’re on a bad run. Their best bet is to wait out the storm. They shouldn’t start slinging chips based on unfounded assumptions. They haven’t worked out these big bluffs at home. They shouldn’t debut this new wrinkle in their game on the biggest stage.
6. Focus On Diet, Sleep, And Exercise When You Get Out There
This falls under the “no sh*t Sherlock” category but it’s still worth repeating.
Las Vegas is hot and dry. It’s easy to get dehydrated and loopy out there.
Put the odds in your favor. Try to get some solid sleep. Get a sleeping mask. Get access to a comfortable bed. Don’t drink or eat too heavy of a meal before bed.
If you have a hard time falling asleep, I find it helps to listen to something as I’m drifting off. If your mind constantly chatters and keeps you up, a podcast about nothing might be distracting enough to help you fall asleep. Just make sure to set a sleep timer.
If you can eat slightly lighter while you’re out there, that will help as well. Heavy drinking and eating is especially impactful when you’re in the desert. It can slow you down.
Do some light exercise to loosen up, but don’t overtrain. It’s easy to go hard in the game in the desert and zap your energy. Try to loosen up every day and get the juices flowing.
Remember to hydrate. Get some of those electrolyte solutions that you can mix in water. They’re much cheaper if you buy them in bulk off of Amazon before you head out there. There were a few times last year where I was getting delirious and one of those electrolyte packs saved my ass.
7. Stick To A Budget
This also is a fundamental component of a poker trip that needs to be stated:
Know your budget and schedule before you go out there.
It’s easy to get caught up in the fun of a tournament series and start entering everything. Then, you get back home and look at your bank account. “How the hell did I spend that much?!”
Do your research before you fly out there. Know your budget. Know your schedule. Know your limits.
8. Pack The Right Gear
Be sure to have the right gear before you fly out there. If there’s medications or supplements you regularly use, stock up on those. You don’t want to be running deep in the Main and realize you’re out of some medication you need.
Take a pair of headphones with you to the table. I don’t use mine normally, but if there’s someone using table talk to get people off their game, it’s good to have the option to drown them out.
Have some backup chargers for your cell phone. Have some snacks, waters, and electrolyte solutions. Also pack some $1.00 bills to tip the kind folks who bring you coffee or water at the table.
Conclusion
Even if the World Series of Poker is already underway, there's still plenty of time to get in on the action and elevate your experience. By using the tips we just discussed, you can make the most of this exciting event. So stay sharp, stay hydrated, stay positive, and enjoy the thrilling ride that is the WSOP.
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