Any tips for a future 3-Bet, drop a note in the comments and we’ll try and get it in an upcoming post
Today in the 3-Bet we find Isaac Haxton explaining an important psychological distinction he needed to crush the EPT Grand Final cash game, Steve O’Dwyer explaining why he’s not a good pick for your WSOP Fantasy team and all grinders great and small making their way to Vegas.
1) Ike Breaks Free, Sees Chips Not Euros
We’ve all had that moment in poker when we’ve moved up in stakes for the first time and started sweating the money more than we’d like.
We’d like to think we’re playing the same but in the back of our heads there’s a little accountant adding up the amount of (insert life expense here) we’re risking on each bet.
Wonder if it happens in the biggest games with the biggest pros? You bet it does, says PokerStars pro Isaac Haxton.
One of the biggest winners in the recent €500k buy-in EPT Grand Final cash game, Haxton explains in a new blog post how he worried about the exact same thing before he realized he’d broken through:
“...I was describing a hand I played to my wife, vacillating over whether or not I had made the right decision in a tough spot, I suddenly felt a huge amount of relief as I heard the words come out of my mouth: I was using the word ‘chips’ instead of the word ‘euros.'
“The difference is subtle, and on the surface it's a meaningless distinction. Putting 40,000 chips into the pot is, of course, the same as putting €40,000 into the pot.
“But saying ‘chips’ indicated to me that I was thinking about the decisions and not about the money. Chips are what you use to play poker. They're game pieces. Euros are what I use to pay my rent.”
It’s a great breakdown of big-game psychology and worth a read here. Bonus points if you get the “Euros are what I use to pay my rent” reference too.
2) Steve O’Dwyer: Not a WSOP Guy
So while virtually every other grinder in the world is pulling up stakes and heading for Vegas this wekk (see below), EPT Grand Final champ Steve O’Dwyer is heading in the exact opposite direction.
He’ll be playing the GDAM Asia Millions in early June, for one, but there’s another big reason why he’s not circling the Strip anytime soon.
He pretty much hates the WSOP, as he says in a new interview on the PokerStars blog:
“I was already planning on skipping most of the World Series because I've had terrible results there and I don't particularly like Vegas. I really don't like the Rio, it's not a fun place to play poker.
“When you go deep in a big event the excitement that surrounds it is a lot of fun but it's not a well-run operation; the dealers suck, the floor sucks, they treat you like shit, there's no good food, everything is insanely expensive, the rake is ridiculous, you have to wait in massive lines.”
So, we guess that'd be pretty much everything. More on O’Dywer’s distaste for the WSOP (and love for EPT) here.
3) Tweet Relief: Vegas, They Are In You
So outside of O’Dwyer and a few more of the usual holdouts (Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, Patrik Antonius et al), all sorts of grinders, great and small, are Vegas-bound as we speak.
Action starts for real on Wednesday and we’ll have all the early highlights in our daily WSOP 3-Bet. Our own special “Follow the Chips” style coverage starts Saturday with the $1m Guaranteed "Millionaire Maker."
Vegas, they are (or are about to be) in you:
Hello Las Vegas!I'm here for at least 6 weeks playing WSOP Tourneys.It's that time of year again, 1st event is Weds...
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) May 27, 2013Tomorrow I leave for #Vegas and the #WSOP. I feel like it is the night before the first day of school. #geek
— Kim Yuhl (@KimYuhl) May 27, 2013Coming into Vegas on Tuesday for the summer and looking forward to spending time w all the legends #wsop
— Aaron Bieck (@Rip_AA) May 27, 201324 hours until I leave for Vegas and the @wsop. Excited beyond words for the next 7 weeks. #bracelethunting#wsop#grindtime
— Darren Kennedy (@DarrenDieHard) May 26, 2013Scraped a mincash in the SCOOP Main event not too disappointed came back today real short, back to Vegas tomorrow for the WSOP, BRING IT :)
— Jake Cody (@JakeCody) May 27, 2013Last morning in LA. Off to Vegas for the World Series! twitter.com/DeMaci_Poker/s…
— Christopher DeMaci (@DeMaci_Poker) May 27, 2013Can't believe Wsop starts this week, crazy.Hoping to arrive in 8th June for a big series after a very disappointing one last year #WSOP2013
— Joe Hachem (@JosephHachem) May 27, 2013Starting to get excited. It's that time of year again... Vegas and the WSOP on Wednesday!
— Scott Montgomery (@scotmont) May 26, 201312 hours away from heading to the airport #wsop#lettherungoodbegin#tpedge
— TTWIST/TimKelly (@TimRKelly) May 27, 2013The #WSOP is looking like it's ready to play! #myfirstWSOP#Rio#VegasBabytwitter.com/StephySperberg…
— Stephany Sperberg (@StephySperberg) May 27, 2013Arrived in Las Vegas. #wsop#onetime
— Ari Engel (@realAriEngel) May 27, 2013Vegas Baby...Making my way there in a few days. So pumped. Gonna meet up with old and new friends....go me in the #wsop#millionairemaker
— kathyrow (@pegcitygoddess) May 26, 2013Visit www.pokerlistings.com