June 8, 2024: Flying home, parting thoughts (Part 3 of 10)
Player aggression is so different in 2024 versus 2019 … Criticism of WSOP’s late release of the schedule … Tanking, bad behavior and table talk … Assessment of dealers, floor personnel and registration … Comparing Paris/Horseshoe to Rio … Bathrooms … Final Tables rails
Player aggression: It was like night and day WSOP 2019 versus WSOP 2024. Let’s start with blind stealing. In 2024, it was very difficult to find unopened pots from late position to try to steal because unopened pots never happened. It was difficult to attempt to steal from the button with mediocre holdings because there was always so much aggression beforehand. Every time I was on the button there was always – ALWAYS – an earlier bet and in many, many cases there was also an additional raise. In 2019, there were so many opportunities to steal from the button on unopened pots. Not so in 2024. Post flop, it was more of the same. In 2024 there always seemed to be at least one and often two or more players who were consistently putting their opponents to tough decisions, battling for pots post flop and building up big chip stacks without having to show their cards very often at showdown. There was much less of this in 2019.
WSOP schedule release: I have a problem with how late the WSOP released its schedule this year. And even then, the structures did not come out until even later. This made it difficult to impossible to find the deep structures I prefer since I needed to get my lodging and flight reservations done in a timely manner.
Tanking: The tanking you see on TV simply has not taken place in either of the two WSOPs I have played in. People make relatively quick decisions, and the game moves at a good speed. Even really, really, really difficult decisions for heaps of chips take maybe 1-2 minutes, and this was very, very, very rare. I have not once encountered a serial tanker at the tables.
Bad behavior: The bad behavior you sometimes see on poker broadcasts has never taken place at any of the tables I have been at during any of the tournaments I have played in. Everyone has treated one another with respect. Only one time was the floor called at one of my tables in 2024, and that was when the dealer screwed up, was insisting on making a wrong decision, and the entire table was a united front in calling the floor over to rectify the matter.
Table talk: My friends always ask me if players sit around the table stone quiet all day long. Obviously some people are more talkative than others. Interesting conversations occur from time to time. Not nonstop chatter, but people are fairly friendly and communicative at the tables I have been at. If you have read this entire thread, you have read about plenty of stories. These stories and many player nicknames used come from conversations at the tables. The other kind of table talk, speech play in a hand, I have seen very little of.
Dealers: While I did get quite a large number of brand new dealers to the scene assigned to my tables, especially during the opening events, with only maybe two or three exceptions the dealers were competent and professional. No real complaints. With so many tables running at all times, there is no way around totally inexperienced dealers being a part of the scene. That said, it really was not a problem. And even the couple of dealers that did present some problems, in both instances there was a veteran player or two who calmly guided the newbie dealer on what to do when there was about to be a problem.
Floor personnel: My tables were virtually controversy free, but when neighboring tables would call for the floor, someone always showed up quickly, gathered the necessary information and made a low-key but decisive ruling to calm everything down. The one time I saw a player really acting out when the floor was present was resolved by a more firm response in which the player was told by the floor to “Knock it off.” There was plenty of security in the playing areas and rail areas and they were able to answer any questions I had in a knowing and friendly manner. They seemed like they were mostly there just to be seen and not heard. At least that’s what I noticed. I only saw one instance where a security person acted inappropriately with over-the-top, power-trip nonsense. This was when someone on the rail took some pictures of players in a high roller. A security guard freaked out and said taking videos was not allowed. The person said they were not shooting a video, only taking pictures, and they put their camera in their pocket. The security guard then escalated matters, saying if the person took any more videos there was going to be a big problem. The person on the rail said, “No problem, I’ve already put my camera away.” Power-trip security guard said, “I’ve got my eye on you. You better not cause any more problems.” The person on the rail said, “I don’t know what the problem is here. I’ve already put my phone away. I’ve said I won’t take any videos.” Power Trip security guard said angrily, “I’m watching you!” From what I saw, this nut job security guard was the exception and not the rule. I get that videos aren’t allowed. I’m not as certain on what the rules are regarding taking photos since I saw people taking photos constantly with nothing being said. Whatever the rules, this one security person took a situation that could have been handled quietly and chose instead to take it to DEFCON 3. Again, this seemed like the exception, not the rule.
Registration Paris versus Rio: It is about a million times better at the Paris registration than was the case at the Rio. I think there are a lot more people available to collect money at the 2024 WSOP than there were when I played in the 2019 WSOP. Online registration probably is also a big reason for the shorter lines, but there also seems to be a lot more staff working the cages in 2024 than was the case in 2019. I thought the Rio in 2019 was massively understaffed in the registration area. That was not an issue at the Paris. No matter what time of day I registered this year, the lines ranged from reasonable to nonexistent. I never once faced a terrible line.
Poker ballrooms Paris/Horseshoe versus Rio: While it sounds like hotel rooms are nicer at the Paris than at the Rio, I think the Rio ballrooms had the feel of a big-time event much more so than at the Paris/Horseshoe. I also prefer the gigantic free parking lot that the Rio had. Lastly, the Rio felt like all the ballrooms were in one central area, which gave it a bigger than life feel. There is so much distance between the Horseshoe WSOP poker rooms and the Paris WSOP poker room that it feels like two entirely separate events.
Famous poker pros at my tables: Ben Yu (twice), Erick Lindgren, Eric Baldwin, John Hennigan. Plus, lots and lots of poker pros who are not household names. There were a ton more pros at my tables in 2024 than was the case in 2019. I think the explosion of late reg had a lot to do with this.
Bathrooms: The World Series of Poker is one of the few places on the planet where the men’s room lines are massively longer than the women’s room lines. That said I have never had a problem with their being a problem time wise for the bathrooms during breaks. The men’s bathroom by the Paris ballroom is pretty massive. I only played in the Horseshoe once but there were enough nearby bathrooms that I didn’t have a problem.
Final Tables: I find most of the Final Tables that I checked out to be sadly devoid of excitement. Virtually no one is on the rail. It has all of the fan participation and crowd pomp and circumstance of someone getting heads up in a $5 online tournament who is sitting by themselves in their bedroom while wearing only their underwear. I don’t know how you rectify this, but it seems disappointing to me that some of these people are experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime WSOP thrill/accomplishment with no raucous crowd to add to the spectacle.
