A LITTLE NUGGET As is often the case, it’s the incidents behind the scenes of great tournaments that are often the most entertaining. In the recent “Party Poker Millions V Cruise,” 22-year-old University student, Mike Schneider, knocked out “Cowboy” Kenna James and jumped ship with a cool $1,000,000 cash (that should pay off his student loans). Interestingly, the real story lies with the out-gunned “Cowboy” who is just as big a gambler away from the actual poker table as he is when he’s at it. Some time previous to the main “Poker Millions” event, Kenna James bet two fellow poker stars that all three of them would have to lose a set amount of weight in a given period. In less than a week the “Cowboy” had already hit his weight target with his two competitiors floundering behind him, still carrying almost ten pounds too much to save themselves from losing $10,000 a piece. Having starved himself for almost a fortnight, James was clearly not thinking straight when he offered his two overweight victims a chance to pick up thirty per cent of his winnings if they paid his entry fee into the “Party Poker Millions”. Effectively this made them his bankers.
COWBOY’S BLAZE O’ GLORY True to his extraordinary form, the “Cowboy” took the “Poker Cruise” by storm and blazed his way into second place exiting the tournament with $700,000. Of course, there tends to be a “sting” in every gambling tale. Kenna James may have lost a heap of weight but he also lost the $210,000 he had to payout to his overweight but beaming backers! Never mind, doubtless the “Cowboy” will be pleased to have corralled himself near to a cool half million.
ONLINE TOURNAMENT PLAY From a beginner’s point of view a very positive way to look at tournament play is that it bridges the void between free-money games and cash-games most effectively. It’s an environment where you get to play for high chip values without needing to be particularly well heeled as ultimately (apart from the entry fee) the only major cash that will change hands is if you win one of the usually very generous cash prizes. Tournament play carries far more reality than free-money poker where nothing at all is at stake. In a tournament worth playing you are going to have to stump up a reasonable buy-in, so you genuinely have something to lose. Add to this the lure of prize money and a competitive edge enters the games, thus steepening your learning curve. I rate online tournaments as the very best way to start your poker education.
