This week, the PocketFives.com Online Poker Podcastwelcomes longtime community member Jerry herschelw Watterson, who has been a staple of the site ever since September 2005. Watterson, a Poker Pwnage pro, is in the midst of entering nine events as part of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), which is approaching the halfway mark. Watterson has three cashes in the WSOP to his name, but has not yet recorded one in 2010. Let’s check out what he had to say.
The annual WSOP consists of a hodgepodge of activities for players. While navigating large field tournaments, you’re also trying to find time to squeeze in cash games, a trip to In-N-Out Burger, and a night out with your friends. Watterson explained, “You just try to cram a lot into a day. This is my fourth summer at the World Series and in the first couple of years, I tried to play tournaments back-to-back-to-back. This year, I’ve tried to space out the events I’m playing. I’m playing about nine events this year, which is a couple less than I have in previous years. That’s way better because I’m more relaxed and not as burnt out.”
Last month, Watterson authored a popular front page article on PocketFives.com called “Transitioning from Online to Live Tournament Poker.” The piece has been one of the most talked-about of 2010 and Watterson gave PocketFives.com Podcast listeners the inside scoop on his own transition to the live arena: “I tend towards the hyper loose-aggressive style. Live, the toughest part for me was finding a balance because you can’t play 30% or 25% of hands live unless you’re at a table where people are incredibly nitty. If a player is good, they’re going to react better because they have more time to watch what you’re doing.”
Poker Pwnage pros have had a high degree of success at the 2010 WSOP. David GhettoFabolousRandall (pictured) took third in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament that also featured Tom durrrrDwan at the final table. Meanwhile, Adrian Chardrian Dresel-Velasquez reached the finale of a $1,500 Limit Hold’em event. Watterson recalled rooting on his fellow Poker Pwnage pros: “It’s incredible. This was Adrian’s second WSOP final table in two years. That’s pretty impressive in and of itself. He’s also playing much bigger fields in many cases. For David, it was his first WSOP cash. I know for him it was very much living a dream in a way because he’s a big fan of durrrr’s game.”
The final table of the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event featured a considerable amount of buzz given Dwan‘s (pictured) purported millions of dollars riding on the New Jersey native taking down a bracelet: “That one was incredible,” relived Watterson. “Durrrr had all of his friends around the table and every time he won a pot, the place erupted. We had a bunch of guys there supporting David. It was electric. They also had a lot of the biggest names in the poker world coming over on breaks from the $10,000 Stud/8 event to pray that durrrr didn’t win it so they didn’t lose their side bets.”
This year’s WSOP features a brand new room, the Pavilion, to house play, bringing poker hopefuls together and eliminating the need to use Buzio’s and other parts of the casino to accommodate players. Watterson agreed: “It has improved this year. The thing I appreciate is that the times I’ve gone to sign up for events, there aren’t horrendous lines. In previous years, at some point I’d end up standing in an hour-plus long line. This year, I can walk in, register, and walk out. The other thing I appreciate is that they’ve done away with the outside food tent and opened up another big ballroom with tables in it.”
Finally, we’d be amiss if we didn’t give Watterson a chance to plug Poker Pwnage. He explained why the site, which offers poker training in a variety of genres and levels, is different than other offerings out there: “What sets us apart from other training sites is that we have a focus on helping players go from good to great. A lot of sites help you go from bad to good and very few sites have content that helps you go from good to great.”
Check out the rest of this week’s PocketFives.com Podcast. Don’t forget that you can download the show on iTunes.