MarcusBateman

Here we see the two large buy in events of the series take place - the £10,350 High Roller Heads Up and the £10,350 WSOPE Championship Event. Both should differ a great deal from the three preliminary events, and the fields and structure will have a very different texture than the other tournaments.

The WSOPE main event has long been known for its very slow and well constructed structure. It is an event where - for the most part anyway - the cream really does seem to rise to the top year in year out.

Event#4: The £10,350 High Roller Heads Up

Heads up poker has become an integral part of every main nosebleed players game since the explosion of heads up poker online, and there are now literally hundreds of high stakes heads up specialists in poker, many of whom will be showing up at this event to test their skill. Heads up poker is arguably the most skilled and technically complex variation of the game playable, and this tournament will most likely consist of all of the main heads up players in the online game, most big name live pros, and possibly a few rich amateurs. Not only will the field be very strong, but it is a three day event, meaning that the structures will be slow, allowing for a great deal of hands and play.

Expect a small and very technically gifted field, a very slow structure, and a very large prize for the winner. My money would also most likely be on someone who has at least cut their teeth in the big heads up online games to win - these are the games with the highest standard and the most money trading hands right now, and this should filter into the tournament results accordingly.

Event 5#: WSOPE Championship No Limit Hold'em

With the heads up played, we are left with the big one - the Main Event. This tournament arguably combines into one the great features of the rest of the series, and should provide one of the best tournament experiences available anywhere. The WSOPE main event has long been known for its very slow and well constructed structure. It is an event where - for the most part anyway - the cream really does seem to rise to the top year in year out.

Not only does it have one of the best structures available in tournament poker, but it also attracts one of the worst fields relative to the buy in. Like any WSOP Main Event, it attracts numerous weaker players who come up through the satellite system hoping for their shot at glory. Although £10,350 is still a hefty price tag, there is probably no tournament on earth that is as good as the WSOPE Main Event in terms of strength of field compared to buy in size.

Expect amateurs and pros alike, a very slow structure, and a huge prize pool/first place money. History has shown us that anyone is capable of winning this tournament, although my money would probably be on one of the young online pros, who have always seemed to get deep in this event.

This concept was first talked about in the mainstream largely by Barry Greenstein, in the accompanying website to his excellent book, Ace On The River, where he rates players according to a number of different factors, including their strengths against good and weak players. This is a point many people forget when evaluating plays/players, and one that is crucial to ensuring that you maximise your returns in each game.

The very best players are able to traverse these two skill sets together. Able to both spot and react to good players, while at the same time understanding the key techniques required to extract the most value from weak players.

As an example, some very skilled poker players regularly make severe blunders against weak players, simply because they really struggle to get inside the mind of someone thinking so many levels below them. They second guess the simple plays that win money against weak players, choosing instead to try and make thin bluffs and hero calls which are simply completely lost on players who are not capable of making or reacting to any kind of tricky move. These players can often hold their own in tough games where these moves are crucial to winning, but lose out on a huge amount of value in very weak games, simply because they cannot drop their thinking to the level required.

On the flip side, there are numerous players who are incredibly skilled at beating weak players, but really struggle in tough games. This can take numerous forms, but usually depends on steaming badly or becoming overly reliant on moves which only work against weak players. Both of these leaks have a much lower effect against weak players, as they usually both fail to spot them as well as failing to act upon them. This is not the case against strong players, who will happily run rings around your predictable moves and big tilt problems - a situation that can make you a huge winner in low stakes games against amateurs, but a huge loser against world class players (a player like Phil Hellmuth springs to mind).

The very best players are able to traverse these two skill sets together. Able to both spot and react to good players, while at the same time understanding the key techniques required to extract the most value from weak players. Poker at its heart is a people game, and being able to put yourself in the position of people playing at a much lower standard than you is one of they aspects of the game you must master. Although this can be hard for some people (it is often difficult for smart people to suffer fools gladly), it is fundamental to being able extract the most money from the games around you.