History Highlights from the 2013 WSOP Europe

As several of the poker world’s major poker tournaments wind down this November, it’s about time to take a look back at the action that just wrapped up earlier this month. The World Series of Poker Europe is one of these ‘poker majors’ that recently concluded. As a major international-friendly poker tournament, plenty of history-making and intense poker action naturally took place there.

This year’s iteration of the World Series of Poker Europe took place in Paris, France at the Enghien-Les-Bains Casino, a grand casino that resides within the general vicinity of over 12 million city-bound Parisians.

Although not attracting millions, the World Series of Poker attracted thousands of eager poker players who wanted to earn their shot in their €10,450 Main Event. The centerpieces of the event were unquestionably their bracelet events, where a total of seven bracelets were up for grabs throughout the entirety of the tournament.

One of those coveted gold bracelets was awarded upon the end of Event 1, the €1,100 Ladies Event. At least 65 women entered the two-day tournament, which helped the prize pool increase to an impressive €62,400.Jackie Glazier ended up besting the other women who played in the tournament, winning €21,850 and a coveted WSOPE bracelet.

Upon her win, Glazier commented that she ‘just had a feeling that she was going to win it.’ On the other side of the spectrum, the poker pro who had the best showing at the WSOPE was arguably Daniel Negreanu.

Although he did finish in 25th place at the WSOPE Main Event, Negreanu’s showing at the WSOPE was actually riding on his eligibility for the coveted WSOP Player of the Year spot. All he needed to do was place in the top eight for the €25,600 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em event to win his second Player of the Year title.

The final table saw Negreanu maneuver past two short stacks, entering a series of plays that helped him capture his eight place spot—and the WSOP Player of the Year title. Even though getting to eight place was easy enough for Negreanu, he actually laid his sights on winning it all.

As soon as he whittled down his competition and gained the second place spot, he refocused his efforts on winning the entire event, defeating Nicolau Villa-Lobos to win his second WSOP bracelet this year.

For his efforts, Negreanu took home an impressive €725,000 (US$979,955) and his sixth career bracelet. Besides becoming the first player to hold two WSOP Player of the Year titles, he also became the first player to make a final table at each WSOP location—Las Vegas, Melbourne and now Paris.

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Lucky Hands: Do They Really Exist?

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In stud poker, it’s not really as much about luck as it’s about playing well. To get, well, lucky in poker’s more about playing to your presented advantages and navigating your opponents taking advantage of their opportunities. Nothing more, nothing less.

It’s not luck

Though, sometimes players encounter more than the expected in live games. They might be playing ‘okay’ throughout the game, until the game reaches the river, and then suddenly find themselves in a real pickle. Their opponents suddenly figured out what cards were ‘live’ or working for them and, naturally, they weren’t going to let such a good opportunity pass them up.Are those players really as lucky as they appear?

The thing is that there really isn’t anything that lucky about playing craftier on the river, just like there’s nothing lucky about getting craftier on each turn. Players only really look lucky when they take advantage of the situation—it’s the same for your opponents and it’s the same for you when you’re crafty enough to take advantage. So, throw out any preconceived notions you might have about ‘luck’ or ‘lucky hands,’ because they don’t actually exist as you assume they do.

Throwing out your lucky hands

So, you’re probably wondering, ‘why should I throw out my lucky hands?’ Relying on lucky hands to appear when you’re in a pinch isn’t going to get you the game. Neither is relying on opponents to trip up while waiting for theirs.Thinking that luck plays a part in how poker games play out is kind of a ‘poisoned’ way of thinking. To start, most poker games play out the way they do due to sheer skill. Again, nothing more and nothing less.

Strategy also plays a big part, too. Just taking a moment to reevaluate your starting hands, your opponent’s movements and every other nuance about the game goes a long way. Though, some people take that frustration further and actually change their table position, especially if they don’t think it’s working for them ‘at that angle.’

While changing table position does help players get a fresh perspective on the game, it doesn’t do much to reward especially frustrated players. You’re going to have to, even if you don’t want to, adjust to playing stud in any table position, since, you know, you can’t exactly get up halfway through a game and demand to switch around. It doesn’t work like that.

So, if you find yourself getting upset while in the middle of a stud game, just remember that it’s not just about luck in poker. Even if something looks lucky, it’s not. It’s more about using your own skills to take advantage of the game’s opportunistic nature.