The countdown to the 2025 WSOP is on. 100 bracelets. All the poker players. And PokerOrg will be on the floor from start to finish.
Ben Lamb is a member of a very small group of players who have made the WSOP Main Event final table twice. He placed fourth in 2011, banking $4,000,000, and finished ninth in 2017 for another seven-figure finish ($1 million). Lamb is also regarded as one of the best high-stakes cash PLO players in the game.
'It’s that time of year when all the craziness comes to town'
What are you most looking forward to this summer?
I haven't played much poker in the last eight or 10 months — since the last WSOP, in fact. I might be a bit rusty, but the World Series is so much fun.
I've been busy starting a new business and haven't had a lot of time to play. I'm excited to get back out there and play all the tournaments. It’s that time of year when all the craziness comes to town. It's Disneyland. So yeah, I’m super excited.
What have you been up to?
I founded a company a year ago and we just opened. I’ve always wanted to invest in an online cryptocurrency casino. I've always loved gaming, both sides of it, and I’m fascinated by being the house. But I wanted to go about it compliantly. It’s been a lot of work.
Initially, I aimed to invest some money and work maybe five or 10 hours a week as a consultant. That didn’t happen. I quickly ended up as co-founder, putting in 90-hour weeks.
The company is called Yeet. We built our own VIP program and custom casino games to ensure we’re different and unique. People can check us out on X or at yeet.com.
Who would you swap 5% with at the WSOP?
That's a good one. It might be Jeremy Ausmus.
What changes would you like to see the WSOP make?
They're already doing a lot with the new venue, with registrations and lines. They're kind of off to a good start.
They could definitely improve on the hot dog stand outside the tournament room for food. And also, why don't they let food be delivered to the table?
Only a few players in WSOP history have made the Main Event's final table twice. You're one of them. That’s amazing.
Thanks, Craig. Yeah, Johnny Chan, obviously Doyle, Johnny Moss, and Stu Ungar. Then, of course, Dan Harrington and Mike Matusow.
But in modern times, there has been Antoine Saout, myself, and of course Mark Newhouse. Mark might’ve made the best poker tweet of all time ahead of his second ninth-place finish.
'Someone will make a massive blunder'
What advice would you give players to help them get through the massive Main Event field?
Any advice I give still needs to be mixed with a whole lot of luck. It’s just such a damn big field. Sleep is also critical.
Do you think the Main Event is too long, as Phil Hellmuth posted a few months ago?
I can play a cash game for 16 hours and be fine. But eight or 10 hours straight in the Main Event, especially on day three or day four, when I want to watch every single hand, is mentally exhausting.
I don't care how much sleep or caffeine you have to maintain your energy. It doesn't matter. You're going to be exhausted.
And that’s when mistakes can happen.
Yes, you're going to have to battle through that. My advice is that when you are exhausted, do your best to think methodically and slowly before making any major decision. You could save your stack.
It'll happen this year. Someone will be down to 100, 50, or even five people left in the Main. They will be a good poker player, maybe a great player. And they will make a massive blunder because of quick, irrational thinking.
I advise sitting there, looking at your hand, and thinking about it for 15 seconds. And if you still want to go all-in, then go all-in, whether you're bluffing or have it. People are just so mentally exhausted that they do it before they think about it.
How do you best focus on your decisions when you are exhausted?
I think about it like this: let's solve this hand like a puzzle. If I bet X amount on the flop, what will that look like on the turn or the river? OK. I’ll bet half pot here, but why am I betting half pot? What does it accomplish?
If you think about the hand as a puzzle you're trying to solve, it takes a lot of the emotion out of it. And you tend to make better decisions anytime you remove emotion from your decision-making, whether it's poker or life.
Excellent advice. And I have to ask. Will Hellmuth play the Main Event this year?
I don't think he's going to play. I think he will stick by his words.
Here are my thoughts. There are 100 WSOP tournaments this summer, and some of them are one-day super turbos, and some of them are four-day tournaments.
One of the best tournaments is the Main Event. It’s unique. It takes a long time to get everyone in the same room, let alone to the final table, let alone a winner. And it's okay that it's different. It should be different.
Very true. Most everyone says the same thing.
People save up all year or take their wife to Cabo in January so that they can play the Main in July. This is what they look forward to. They don't want a fast structure.
As an industry, we need to ensure that we build these tournaments not for the pros, not for the Ben Lambs of the world, but for the dentist in Tennessee whose dream is to play the Main Event.
I love the Main. It’s special — and it might just be perfect. So, I'm not for changing it in any way, but I'm probably a little biased.
Follow Ben on X.
