WSOP: Barry Tanenbaum gives out free advice

by Wil Wheaton

Studying books, analyzing your play with other players, and watching poker on TV will certainly help your game, but eventually you'll reach a plateau where you need some help from a poker expert to help your game grow a level.

If you're at the WSOP this year, you can come by the PokerStars suite at the Rio and listen in to one of the great seminars Barry Tanenbaum is giving -- for free -- from now until the end of the series.

Tonight, Barry spoke to a packed suite about some common no-limit tournament errors many players make, including not understanding their objectives. Barry pointed out that many players just want to make it to the end of the first day, even if it means starting day two with a crippled stack. It's much better to pay attention to your M, he said, and make your moves accordingly, even if it means busting out late on day one. In other words, playing toward an arbitrary goal that isn't "make the money" or "win the whole thing" can cause players to play incorrectly, and that, as they say, is bad, mmmkay?

Barry also discussed some advanced concepts, like when you find yourself in an all-in situation, and took a lot of questions from everyone in the room.

The PokerStars.net commercials talk about how playing with us can help your game improve, and make you a better tournament player. It's pretty cool that PokerStars is expanding on that philosophy at the WSOP, by getting Barry to come in and share some of his knowledge with us.