A bit of satisfaction

Last night, I cashed in the Stud 8 WCOOP event. This was somewhat significant for a couple reasons:

1) It was my fifth cash in the WCOOP (this was my goal for the series). However, with no final tables, I am actually down a little on the series if you don't count my 5% of MasterJ's 2nd place cash.

2) With the cash, I have now cashed in the following games during the last two WCOOP's and FTOPS: No Limit Holdem, No Limit Holdem 6-Handed, Pot Limit Holdem, Pot Limit Omaha 6-Handed, Omaha 8, Stud 8, Stud, and 2 to 7 Triple Draw. I am fairly proud of these finishes because it shows I am a complete poker player.

A lot of modern players are one trick ponies (and occasionally 2). No Limit Holdem is all many players know. It is all they care to know. I think you are missing out on opportunities by not being able to play multiple games. The +EV in these tourneys, if you are good, is ridiculous. So many players give it a shot without any knowledge of the proper way to play (for perspective think back to the beginning of the NLH explosion online and how juicy the games were). Furthermore, the same game day after day can get very dull. As a result, your game can start to suffer. Playing new games adds variety. I wish there were more big tourneys during the year with the variety the WCOOP, FTOPS, and WSOP has. Usually it is NLH all day every day with an occasional token non NLH event thrown in.

Something Daniel Negreanu proposed ealier this year would interest me a ton if done online. He wanted a tourney decathalon of some sort where players would play 10 different forms of poker. Each game would be a tournament in unto itself with payouts. A portion of each players entry fee into each event would go to an overall prize pool for the series. You would earn points based on your finish in each event. I think he had the top 25% or so earning points.

My list of events would probably be these:

1) NLH
2) LH
3) PLO
4) Omaha 8
5) Stud
6) Stud 8
7) Razz
8) 2 to 7 Triple Draw
9) PLH
10) either PLO8 or NLH 6-Handed

I think it would stir up a ton of interest and would be a blast. If it was done on a yearly basis, it could crown a World Online Poker Champion.