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Playing from the Heart
By Mark Napolitano

It's that time of year again, every poker player's Christmas, Easter, Birthday and Valentines Day all wrapped into one. This time of year brings with it a certain passion unequalled for the rest of the year. I am of course talking about the World Series of Poker, due to start at Binions Horseshoe in Las Vegas on April 20th. It will end on May 18th when one Player will be crowned "World Champion" and receive at least 1 million dollars in prize money, possibly $1,500.000 if 450 or more players enter the main event. If I were a betting man (and I am) I would bet on the final entry number this year being nearer to 500.

I have been fortunate enough to play in the $10,000 main event World Championship for the last two years. Both times I managed to make day two, but did not make the prize money. It is quite a unique event in the sense that anyone is eligible to play as long as they have paid the $10,000 entry fee, actually most entrants win their seat in the main event either in a satellite or super satellite. It never ceases to amaze me that we are playing for a total prize of four or five million dollars.

My affair with this event began some eight years ago. I just happened to be in Vegas at the time of the tournament. I was astounded at the size of the side action games. I could not consider playing in any of the tournaments as I was not financially prepared. I remember walking past a table and noticing the late, great Johnny Moss playing in a deuce to seven game. I decided to take up a vacant prime spot on the rail about 3 feet away from my poker idol. I remember there being around six or seven players, two of which I recognized. Puggy Pearson and Billy Baxter. I heard them refer to one of the other players as "Doc" but I didn't know him.

I watched $5,000 bundles of $100 bills going into the pot as if they were playing for nickels and dimes. I was so engrossed in the game, before I knew it, I had been watching for six hours. I saw a few people join the game with $5,000 or $10,000 but none of them lasted very long and were soon leaving the game minus their bankrolls. During that game Johnny Moss turned to the rail and made many comments to us "railbirds." He had such a presence that I thought to myself, "I hope I never have to sit opposite him and face one of his gigantic bets." I can tell you that there now is no poker player alive that makes me feel that way. I have sat in tournaments and played with almost all of the world's top players and not one of them do I fear. For that I am grateful to Johnny Moss.

After that first experience of the atmosphere at the WSOP I returned each of the next five years and played in at least one event but not the BIG ONE. In 1998 after a major tournament victory in Paris at the end of 1997, I arrived at the WSOP very confident of my play. On the second day of my trip I won a seat in the main event by way of a $220 super satellite. I was so excited but I had to wait another 18 or so days before it would start. I decided to try and win some single table satellites for the pot limit and no limit smaller tournaments and managed to play in three tournaments. They all ended with bad beat stories but I was never near to the money in any of them. The main thing for me was that I was very focused on my game and I was not making many mistakes.

Finally 11th May arrived. This was it! Was I nervous? Petrified! Would I be out in the first hour? Would I make a fool of myself? Would my hands shake every time I made a bet? Would I be able to make a bet? Would I just play like a wimp and last as long as I could? How long could I last if I didn't play a hand? Believe me, I actually worked it out. Wait a minute, this was not what I expected. I wasn't enjoying this. I felt sick, nervous. Then it came to me. All I needed to do was believe in myself and If that was not enough I could always ask my idol, who by now had unfortunately gone to play in that big poker game in the sky. Yes Johnny Moss would never have felt this way. This was fate. I met him six years ago just for this reason. He was going to help me.

I convinced myself that when I needed to make a vital decision he would guide me. Now my confidence began to soar. My first goal was to get to the end of day one having doubled my stack. Ah yes, this was a much more positive attitude, and I believed it.

In the end there were 352 starters. Over 3.5 million dollars at stake, I now believed that I might just get a piece of it. I decided as play commenced that I would not get involved for the first hour or so. The blinds were only $25-50 so it was only going to cost me some $300 to watch everyone else for an hour. Having started with $10,000 this seemed like chicken feed.

I passed my cards with ease for the first 3 hands... 7-2... 8-5... 6-3.. then disaster struck on hand four. On the big blind I looked down to see Ace clubs-Ace hearts. Now what? The first two players passed and then seat three at the other end of the table made it $200 to go. Everyone passed around to me. It was $150 for me to call. Should I slow play? Should I bet $10,000? Should I make a small raise? Johnny... Help? Without making the decision myself, I looked at my chips as my right hand picked up the $150 to call plus a $500 chip. I said to the dealer, "Raise it $500." Was that me? I certainly didn't remember deciding to raise. Before I knew it the guy in seat three said re-raise $1,000 more. Well, now what do we do? I wrestled with my thoughts and realized that until now I had not even considered what hand my opponent may be holding. I instantly thought Q-Q maybe K-K maybe A-K. I was getting confused again, I remembered reading somewhere that when in this position your first instinct is normally correct. OK, he has Q-Q.

Once again my hand reached for my chips and threw out a $1,000 chip. "Call." Just as I was thinking that I should have ended it right there with an all-in bet ,the dealer burnt the top card and exposed the flop.

A-Q-7 rainbow. If I can ever pinpoint a time in my life when I met the Lord, It was right then. But now I needed to get the rest of my chips in the pot. What if he has K-K ? I can't bet, I have to check and if he has K-K he might make a small bet. If I was right and he has Q-Q I could bet and he might raise me and then I could send him home. I decided to check and he thought for a full minute or so before betting $2,000. This was it. I moved my whole stack in knowing somehow that he was going to call me. He again thought, this time for about two or three minutes before calling my bet. "Have you got a set?" he asked. "Yes," we replied, (me and my new mentor Johnny). The turn and river cards were dealt and of course my hand was good. I felt a surge of confidence rushing through my veins as the dealer pushed me $20,000. I must admit I did think more than once at that time, "I wish I could cash in now."

Over the next few hours I used my chip lead to bully the rest of the table and increased my stack steadily to $25,000. With about 1 hour to go on day 1 I got involved in another pot. I managed to win it and when all was said and done, I ended the first day with a total of $32,750. This was like a dream come true. There were 200 players left in and I was in 23rd place. I thought about going to bed and getting 10 or 12 hours sleep. No chance! I didn't get to sleep for six hours, and when I did finally drop off I was awake again four hours later.

Day two started very quietly for me, and I just managed to stay ahead of my starting position. I did manage to win one nice pot that took my chip count to almost $40,000. After eight hours of play on day two my stack had been anted away to $19,000. I hadn't seen a playable hand for about four hours. Every time I tried to steal the blinds I was re-raised and had to pass. At this point each round was costing about $5,000 in antes and blinds. I felt that I needed to find a hand soon and double my chips in order to make the money ( the last 27 places ).

There were six tables left, 50 players. When I was on the big blind, Thor Hanson was on the button. I had watched Thor move all-in on my big blind on the previous two rounds. When he did it a third consecutive time, I looked down to see a pair of nines in the hole. His bet was just over $20,000 and I had to decide if I wanted to make this my final stand. I was feeling completely drained both physically and emotionally. I knew that if I called and won the pot I might well be able to coast into the money. I was convinced that he couldn't have had 3 hands in the last three rounds all in the same position, on my big blind. I once again reached out for help in making the decision. There was no help available. It was as if I was suddenly by myself. Where was my mentor? My hand wasn't picking up my chips. Did this mean that I should pass? I decided almost against my better judgment to call. I wasn't going to let him bluff me. I called $19,000. The dealer turned over the flop, three low cards. I liked my hand. The turn was a Jack the river a queen. Thor looked at me inquisitively as he flipped over Aces. I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach. My whole world seemed to crumble at that moment in time. I graciously stood up and said " good hand" and slowly walked away from the table. It was over.

I tried to convince myself that I should be proud of my achievement. 50th in the main event at the WSOP. The truth is I believe that I lost faith at a critical time. On day one I believed that I was being guided, then at that critical moment on day two I believed that I had been deserted. I made the wrong decision and the rest is history. In my opinion it is not so much what you believe in but that you believe. From that moment on I have believed that I will one day win the main event at the WSOP.

I will not be at this year's event due to business commitments, but I can assure you I will be back. I would like to take this opportunity to wish every player at this years WSOP the very best of luck.

Be Lucky,
Mark Napolitano