“Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Treat the Main Event like a marathon, not a sprint.”
“Don’t go too hard in the paint.”
“You don’t have to be too aggressive.”
“Patience is key.”
These are all quotes from some of the best and most notable players in poker from our feature on how to survive Day 1 of the WSOP Main Event. They’re also advice that our own Chris ‘Lefty’ Land has taken in the early goings of his first-ever Main Event. In fact, he’s thrived, thanks to someone not adhering to those nuggets of knowledge.
Land has his own words of wisdom on how to give yourself a second starting stack within the first two hours of the day.
“Identify the guy who just feels really blasty and call him down with ace-high in one pot and top pair in another.”
Buckle up for the blast!
In the first hand, Land raised over his "blasty" opponent Hongtao Jia's limp and then c-bet a queen-high flop. Land then called the turn and river leads on a ragged board with just the ace-king to pick off his Jia's inferior ace-high bluff.
Shortly after, with ace-king again, Land three-bet the same opponent. He called the player’s four-bet, made top pair, top kicker on a king-high board before he called big flop and river bets and picked off his opponent’s inferior king-jack for an even bigger pot.
Those pots boosted him to over 120,000, and while the same player did later crack his aces with a seven-five offsuit, Land’s early success still had him at about 110,000 at the first break. More than many players who have bagged for Day 2 have already accumulated.
So, does this early flourish change what he plans to do for the four remaining two-hour levels? Nope, he’s going to keep doing what he’s doing.
“The plan is just kind of let the game come to me and not try to force anything and just be patient. Whatever the deck decides that I need to do is what’s going to happen. Just letting the day happen as it should.”
No first-time jitters here
Land is one of many debutants in the Main Event, checking off a bucket list item or fulfilling a poker dream. These are both ways that he’s described playing the biggest tournament in poker for the first time. The nerves may be there for such a moment, but squashing them early is another key aspect to early success to build upon.
“I’ll tell you what. I came in, and I was far calmer than I thought I would be or even should be. When I called with ace-high, it was early, it’s Level 1, it’s a big pot, same thing with the other ace-king on the river, and I did not feel like I was calling big river bets in the Main Event. I feel way more comfortable than I should. I feel like I’m playing a $200 nightly.”
They say you’re asking for it if you take a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, but the way our one-armed social media superstar is locked in two hours into the Main Event, we’re putting our chips in the middle.
