With the 2010 World Series of Poker upon us, Nolan Dalla appeared May 13 on my Internet radio show, Keep Flopping Aces. The show airs live every Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, 6 p.m. Pacific Time, and corresponding times worldwide, on Rounder’s Radio—located at www.roundersradio. com. It can also be downloaded for on-demand listening anytime, so if you missed the show when it originated, you can still hear it whenever you’d like.
 
Nolan is the WSOP’s Director of Communications, and a guy who’s been around the poker scene for a long time. He’s the consummate Las Vegas insider, and when I asked him what advice he’d offer to someone coming to play in the World Series of Poker for the first time his answer was simple, direct, and to the point. “Have fun,” he said.
 
To survive and thrive at the WSOP, you have to enjoy it. Because 95 out of every 100 players will leave Las Vegas with less money than they arrived with—although if you polled players at the WSOP, probably 95 percent would tell you they are leaving winners—you have to come to town with a positive, “I’m on vacation” mindset. And then if you win money—or better yet, make a big score—it’s icing on the cake.
 
Do the math. Like every other poker tournament, the WSOP is a money exchange. Since prize pools are funded by player entry fees and only ten percent of the field generally makes the money, the vast majority of those coming to the WSOP for a shot at the glory that victory can bring, simply wind up contributing their buy-in to the skilled and fortunate few who finished in the money.
 
But you can lose money and still have fun. After all, almost every non-poker vacation will leave you with less money than you began with. It’s the nature of enjoyable things. They are costly, though generally worth it—and the cost is usually a small price to pay for that unique set of experiences that good vacations comprise.
 
At the WSOP, you’ll get to play and meet many of your favorite poker stars, make friends with players from all over the world, build relationships that will transcend generations, and have a feeding frenzy full of poker at your beck and call 24/7. You will find more games, more tournaments, and more limits available to you than you probably ever had in your life—and that’s just at the Rio. Most of Las Vegas’ popular poker properties also have tournaments going on during the WSOP, as well as even more cash games. And because you’ll find games to suit every possible bankroll, you won’t want for a poker game.
 
If you go there with a mindset that says you have to book a big win to make your trip worthwhile and define you as a success or failure, you’re likely to be disappointed. That’s just the way it goes. For everyone who leaves Las Vegas with a bigger bankroll thanks to a successful run at the WSOP, there are probably ten players leaving town with bankrolls that need serious rebuilding before the next big buy-in tournament comes along.
 
But if you come to Las Vegas because you realize that the WSOP is poker’s Woodstock—and nothing else even comes close—then you’re bound to have a good time. How could you not? It’s all poker, all the time: a 24-hour compendium of all the poker one could imagine, taking place at the Rio and all over town. Every casino with a poker room will have all the action they can handle, and some of it is bound to fit your bankroll, your playing style, and provide the kind of ambiance you need to make your poker vacation a complete success, whether you win or not.
 
Yes, it’s better if you come home a winner rather than having lost, but it’s still all the poker anyone could want, and it’s all here waiting for you. Enjoy.
 
Visit Lou Krieger online and check out all his books at www.loukrieger.com. You can read his blog at http://loukrieger.blogspot.com and write directly to him at loukrieger@aol.com.