How to Get into the World Series of Poker

How to Get into the World Series of Poker

So, you want to get into the World Series of Poker, the poker tournament of all poker tournaments. Well, the traditional way is to be well known and successful enough in the poker world to be invited. Once the domain of those who spent their lives traveling the poker circuit from casino to casino, the advent of the Internet and online gambling has opened up this exclusive club to a worldwide audience. Still, it’s not as easy as just signing up and logging on.

It is possible, however. Take Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, the winners of the 2003 and 2004 World Series of Poker tournaments. The aptly named Moneymaker had never really played the game seriously when he decided to pony up $39 to sign up for an online poker tournament at PokerStars.com. He blew away the competition and won the top prize, which just happened to include a seat on the famed World Series of Poker. As if that weren’t enough of an honor, Moneymaker dominated here as well, beating out several more experienced poker players and taking home the grand prize: $2.5 million. It was quite a splashy way to kick off a professional poker career.

Following in Moneymaker’s footsteps just one year later, patent lawyer Greg Raymer became the second World Series of Poker winner to get there thanks to an online tournament, another event at PokerStars.com. Unlike Moneymaker, Raymer had actually played in the World Series of Poker before, meeting with limited success. He’s gone on to translate his success into a lucrative poker career, and he continues to make a more than decent living from the game he loves.

While Moneymaker and Raymer may have gone on to actually win the tournament, they’re far from the only players to win a seat by winning an online tournament. Their victories helped fuel an explosion in the game’s popularity, attracting a new wave of hopeful players with dreams of huge jackpots to the table. Several online casinos offer periodic tournaments giving players a chance to advance to the Holy Grail of poker. Keep your eyes open and search around.

Perhaps the biggest requirement to get into the World Series of Poker, you have to have the skills to hang with the big boys. Just making it to the tournament is hard enough, but if you should happen to make it, be ready to take your game to a whole new level. You’ll be playing against professionals who take no quarter, and if you falter, they’ll be more than happy to take all of your chips on their rise through the ranks.

Betrosexuals: A Poker Online Phenomenon

Betrosexuals: A Poker Online Phenomenon

People wear all sorts of disguises at the poker table: weakness, strength, bluster, naivety. It’s the nature of the game. So it only makes sense that new forms of deception at the poker table would evolve as the popularity of the game’s newest innovation -- poker online -- spread. It’s no wonder then that, when you can’t see the person you’re playing against, there’s a good chance they’re not who they profess to be -- like male or female.

It’s an honest to goodness phenomenon, with its very own name -- Betrosexuality: presenting oneself as the opposite gender at a poker online table.

Now, to be fair to the term, and its history, Betrosexuality was actually coined prior to its use in poker online, and occasionally with slightly different implications. Here are a couple of alternate definitions of the terms:

- Betrosexuals wager on both men’s and women’s sporting events
- Betrosexuals sell sexual favors by lottery

Recent research analyzed by Nottingham Trent University Professor Mark Griffiths reports that 23% of female British poker online players pretend to be men and more than 10% of British male poker online players pretend to be women. British betrosexuals are reportedly wagering an estimated 213 million pounds sterling at poker online rooms.

There are a few ways gender is represented at a poker online table that may elude some players, they’re so subtle. But as much in the background as they are, they make a potent impact in people’s gameplay. They are:

Screen Names: A poker online player’s chosen nickname has always been a prime indicator of their demeanor (or posed demeanor) -- so The Terminator would connote aggressiveness and Bill Gates might suggest a limitless bankroll; poker online screen names can also connote gender (ie. Poker Daddy, Hot Mamma, Club Girl, Mr. Poker);

Avatars: If your poker online room uses avatars (3D human or humanoid figures) to represent the players, you could easily throw your fellow players off kilt (if you know how to use this advantage, that is -- more on that in a moment);

Chat: The chat window is always a popular part of the poker online experience as this is where people often betray themselves. That said, still others, knowing this fact, only pretend to do so.

But using this form of deception effectively requires far more than simply misrepresenting yourself. For, once you’ve planted the seed, you need to know how to nurture and grow it. You need -- in other words -- to know how gender plays into poker online and off alike, and you need to know how to play the game based on this knowledge.

So let’s get to the two basic considerations in questioning your betrosexuality in poker online:

Why would a woman pretend to be a man?

Many women believe men tend to play more aggressively against women but less so when playing against other men.

Why would a man pretend to be a woman?

Many men believe players loosen up their gameplay when they believe they’re playing against a women as they expect the woman to be a poorer player and therefore not know the value, or lack thereof, of the cards they are holding.

As you can undoubtedly see, both misconceptions are poison at a poker online table. You might as well just hand over your chips to the other players than allow yourself to succumb to foolish and stereotypical attitudes about how gender influences poker ability.

That said, as we see it, there are two ways to beat Betrosexuals at the poker online tables: Keep your poker online strategy consistent and gender neutral, or become a Betrosexual yourself!