The WSOP trip countdown has begun!

4 more days till Stewman and I leave for Vegas in a quest for fame and fortune!

It looks like we're going to try to play in the $2,000 buy-in NLHE event #29 on Friday, June 29th and possibly the $540 buy-in NLHE "Deep Stacks II" tournament at the Venetian on Saturday, June 30th.

Of course, if we do well in the WSOP event and make it to day two, we won't be playing in the Venetian tournament so as of now, it's purely a "back-up" plan.

Of course, neither of us are big enough ballers to just buy our way into these tournaments, so we're going to have to get in by playing the satellites.

I've done well in the past playing satellites. I think my poker game is perfectly suited for single-table sit 'n go's, and in the last 4 years, I have cashed in more than half the satellites I've played in. Most recently, I cashed in 2 of the 3 I played in during the WSOP Circuit event at Harrah's Rincon.

I've been working on some satellite strategies to assure the best "bang for my buck", and here's what I've come up with:

The Rio is running $335 buy-in single-table satellites that award two winners (each receiving three $500 lammers plus $100 cash). Now, they are also offering satellites that award $2,000 in lammers and $100 cash, but I figure these tables to be slightly tougher, and the extra $100 required to buy-in will increase the cost to me by almost 30%... and I'm just not in a position to increase my bankroll by that much.

So I plan on playing in four $335 buy-in satellites, in hopes of cashing in at least two of them to have enough to buy into the $2k event.

Here's how the math works out:

It will cost me $670 to play in 2 satellites, $1,005 to play in 3 satellites, and $1,340 to play in 4.

If I play in 4, but win just 1 of them (receiving $1,600), I come out $260 ahead. Obviously, I wouldn't have enough to buy-in to the WSOP event, but I would have enough to pay for half of my Venetian buy-in.

If I play in 4, and can manage to cash in 2 of them (receiving $3,200), I will have enough to buy into the WSOP event at a cost of only $140 to me.

If I can cash in 2 of the first 3 satellites I play in, I will have enough to buy into the WSOP event and have $190 to go towards the buy-in for the Venetian tournament (if need-be).

... And the BEST CASE SCENARIO is:

If I can manage to cash in both of the first two satellites I play in, I will have enough to buy into BOTH the WSOP event, and the Venetian tournament (if need-be) with a cost of only $10 to me.

... Of course, the worst case scenario is me losing all 4 satellites and dumping the entire $1,340.

If it is a massacre and I do go 0-for-4 in WSOP satellites, I have a back-up plan and will play 2 single-table satellites at the Venetian for the Deep Stacks tournament at a cost of $120 each. Those satellites, like the WSOP satellites, award two winners per table.

As far as the cash games go, I'm brining enough for 3 buy-ins to the 1-2 NL game ($600). I don't figure I will be playing that much in the cash games this year (even though I won enough in last year's cash games to buy into a $1,500 event and cover all my expenses for the trip) because it's really a goal of mine to play in a WSOP event this year, and I want to spend most of my time playing tournaments.

Stewman's two WSOP circuit event cashes have really lit a fire under me and I want to catch up to his career winnings in just this one trip.

My goal for the WSOP is to just make it to day two of the tournament. If I can do that, I guarantee myself a spot in the money and a shot at a final table. Event #29 will not be televised, so I won't get my mug on ESPN, but to have my name mentioned in a Pokernews live update would be pretty cool.

If all doesn't go well at the WSOP, my goal in the Venetian tournament is to just win the bitch.

Like last year, we'll be posting updates on our successes (and failures?) daily.

~NBA~