WSOP Satellite Strategy
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) offers the chance
to reap that big pay-off. No longer do you need a
huge bankroll to qualify, and that together with the
fact that you stand to win multi-million dollar pots
coupled with the simple sheer excitement of the WSOP
is leading to a boom in the game.
The fact is that most people lose, largely because
they simply do not take the time to research the
game. They also do not take the time to get
some real poker playing experience before the live
WSOP tournament commences. Here we are going to be
giving you some practical tips to help with your
World Series of Poker strategies to stay the
distance – if you don’t have that huge bankroll, you
need to play a good game and never forget a good
dose of luck!
The WSOP Satellites provide an excellent way of
getting into the World Series of Poker, so first of
all here are some online tips for making the most of
online poker.
What should you know about World Series of Poker
Satellites?
First, know your opponent. This may seem a bit
odd when you are playing an online WSOP satellite
game but, watching and picking up on their playing
patterns is key to beating them and avoiding being
taken to the cleaners. Some online poker players are
impossible to bluff, they’re known as Calling
Stations, as they will always call you so watch out
for them and don’t bluff them unless you have
something to run with.
Use a bluff when you have only a few opponents, one
or two other players in the game is ideal, but no
more as the chances increase that your bluff will be
called. In the WSOP satellites, use your position
in the round of play. Best position is to be the
last as you can note who checks (indicating a weak
hand). If someone who has checked then raises,
you take care unless you have a good hand, they’re
possibly trying to sucker you in. On the other
hand, in winner take all games you have to win all
the chips. To do that you have to win pots –
don’t be afraid to go all in when you have the hand.
Now let’s assume you’ve qualified for the World
Series of Poker and you have that $10,000 buy-in
stake and now you’re in for the ride of your life as
not only is there the excitement of the tournament
itself but all the publicity that goes with it.
Remember this is the poker event of the year in the
world, bar none and you are going to be doing
something very different from the online WSOP
satellite games – you will be playing live against
people in front of you and they will be watching you
too!
Now you must consider practising for the World
Series of Poker itself. When you are in a live
tournament you don’t want to do some boneheaded
thing that will bust you out. It is essential that
you learn to adopt the right mindset for a live
tournament.
Go and get some live playing experience, find a real
casino and get stuck there. Treat this as
acclimatization training so you become familiar with
handling chips, the sounds and smells and most of
all...practising your poker face. If there is no
casino at hand, get some friends together and
practice at home, but get the set-up right. A
friendly game it may be, but treat it as serious
training.
We’re looking for you to be as settled as possible
when you are in the World Series of Poker tournament
so play live whenever you can. This tournament
is also a large multi-tournament so let’s look at
getting you some experience of playing in those
too. Again, if a casino is available with these
kinds of tournaments it will help you a lot to get
some experience playing in them. However,
you’re just as likely to hit an online game for this
as well. A casino may have a hundred players but an
online tournament will have thousands, and this is
exactly the kind of experience we are looking for to
get and build on – remember the World Series of
Poker will have more than 5,000 players in it and a
real life casino will not give you that level of
exposure.
Last advice for playing in WSOP Satellites
My last piece of advice before you go to the World
Series of Poker is to play some single table
tournaments. Assuming you get to the final table in
the World Series of Poker, you’ll be playing for
millions of dollars, and a single table tournament
will give you experience and exposure to the types
of situations you are going to be encountering at
the final table.
