Jim Reid is The Rec — a recreational player with a lifelong love of poker, a member of the PokerOrg Player Advisory Board and the host of the popular RecPoker podcast.
Jim's three-part series for this year's World Series of Poker has covered how to pick your tourneys, what to eat and where to sleep, and how to best prepare. Here, in this bonus part four, Jim looks at what happens when you finally sit down to play, what happens when you win, and a few choice tips on what NOT to do.
Hey gang! If you've read the previous parts of this guide you'll now be perfectly prepped, properly packed and ready for action!
Las Vegas is your new temporary home, with all the wonders, diversions, distractions and entertainment it's famous for, but let's face it: you're here to play.
So what else does an out-of-towner need to know before joining the congregation in the global cathedral of poker?
There are 100 WSOP tournament events on this summer's schedule, but with so many players in town you'll also find plenty of cash game action running around the clock. If you're planning a cash session you can use the Bravo Live or Poker Atlas to get on the cash game list before you show up at the venue. Some places still let you call in advance and talk to a human at the desk to put your name on the list. Do it! If you show up in person first, expect to sit and wait a while — the cash game lists are long while the series is in town!
But for WSOP tournaments, it’s crucial that you bring three things: your player’s card, your ID, and the DEALER version of your tournament slip. They won’t let you sit without all three. Remember to review the structure sheet in advance and don't be afraid to ask questions at the table: are you unsure who's action it is, or the size of a bet or raise, or anything like that? The dealer is your friend and there are no stupid questions — you're much better off seeking clarity before you make a mistake like acting out of turn, raising when you meant to call or that kind of thing; it happens all the time, don't be embarrassed about asking questions if you are unsure!
And remember, take a photo of your table number and chipstack before going on break — your registration slip will have your table number on it, but if you have moved tables since then you might not remember exactly where the new table was. There have been many times I’ve seen people wandering around the tournament area after a break, frantically trying to recognize someone sitting at their table and missing hands — it happens!
You won! Now what?
Holy cow, superstar! You made the money!
What a feeling. Congrats on cashing a bracelet event, that is REALLY hard to do! Or maybe you made day 2 of a multi-day event — in either case, soak it in; many poker players never get to experience the feeling you are enjoying right now.
My first piece of advice is to memorialize the moment. Take a selfie, take a panoramic video of the room, make sure you remember this moment forever. Personally, every time I bag in a bracelet event I keep the pens they give you to fill out your chip count and contact info, and I also save all my yellow slips with the table and seat details about where I’ll be playing the next day. I often look at the row of pens in my office fondly, and I love being reminded of some of my proudest moments as a player.
When you eventually finish the tournament, you will get a small piece of paper with your final position and the event information (see below). Take that over to the payment cage, and you’ll next have to choose how to get paid: wire transfer to your bank, a check, or cash in your hand (or a mix, if it’s a large amount, I recommend some in cash and the rest as a check or wire).
If you have profited by $5,000 or more in the tournament, you will be responsible for your taxes on the winnings, depending on the country you live in. Americans will be issued a tax form they need to include in their annual filings. Some European countries have tax treaties with the USA that allow their citizens to keep the entire amount.
As a Canadian, the IRS withholds between 25%-30% of any major scores and I can file in my taxes that year to recoup some of that (depending on several factors that you should talk to your accountant about). But don’t think that just because you won a big score that you get to keep it all!
Also, if you sold action on this trip, you will have to incorporate the tax ramifications into your payouts to your investors — research this in advance and make sure everyone is on the same page before anyone sends anyone else any money.
The tipping point
You may be asked about tipping when you go to claim your prize. There is a lot of debate in the poker world about how much to tip, where and when to do it, or even if we should be tipping at all.
Check your structure sheet, many events these days include a gratuity fee for dealers and floor staff, but some do not. Based on a twitter poll I conducted after my Irish Poker Open final table last year, if you’d like to leave a tip at the cage, most players seem to prefer a total amount of 1%-2% of your winnings, but that will vary wildly based on the size of your payout.
Some folks prefer to take their full winnings and tip their dealers and floor staff personally after the event, if they can find them. There are no wrong answers; do what you think is best for you.
What NOT to do
We’ve gone over a lot of things you can do to improve your experience in Las Vegas this summer. Here are a few things NOT to do.
- Don’t carry too much cash on you. We’ve reviewed several ways you can limit the amount of cash you have to carry around — while the strip is a generally safe place to be, it’s not unheard of for a person to accidentally leave their bag unattended or even to walk off without it, and robberies do happen. Protect yourself by limiting your losses in case that happens to you.
- Don’t get too drunk. You’ll make bad decisions, and those can lead to worse decisions. Remember this is a poker trip — maintain your edge. You can always let your hair down on an off day, or after you win. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll have a couple of drinks in the later levels of a tournament, but not so many that they begin to affect my judgement.
- Don’t stay up all night. Again, you need a sharp mind to go far in these large-field tournaments, and that 10am start time comes at you fast! Make a plan to ensure you get enough sleep and are capable of playing your A-game the next morning.
- Don’t jaywalk. They REALLY hate this down there. Apparently Las Vegas drivers are homicidal maniacs and the police will scoop you up and cite you if you stray from the pedestrian crossings.
- Don’t gamble. Stay out of the pits, get off the slots — you aren’t here to gamble, you’re here to play poker!
Those are my best tips for a recreational player looking to make the most of their visit to the World Series of Poker.
Now go and win a goddam bracelet.
Additional images courtesy of Jim Reid.
