Watching the final table of the WSOP Main Event wrap up a couple of weeks ago on ESPN, I couldn’t help but imagine what it might have been like to find myself in the shoes of one of the November Nine. It’s something I had thought about before in years past, but this year was different, because this year it could have actually happened. Although I’ve been playing poker for a living for the last two and a half years, this was my first time playing in the WSOP and, bizarrely, only my second trip to Las Vegas. With a few months back in the “real world” to reflect on things, I’d like to share a few of my thoughts.

We’ll start with people, usually the most important part of any experience. I live in Park Rapids, a small (Population: 3,600) rural town in northern Minnesota. It’s the type of place where everyone knows your name, who your parents are, and exactly what you’re up to at all times. Everyone there knows I play poker for a living, and can’t wait to tell me about their bad beat in the weekly bar freeroll. Usually, it isn’t a bad beat at all, just a hand they played terribly. It gets old hearing these stories, and it’s not very intellectually stimulating to talk poker with players who are so outcome-based in their thinking. Frankly, most just don’t get it.

But Vegas was different. I had the pleasure of staying in a house with Mike BraveJayhawkJensen (pictured), his brother Matt, and Reed badbeatme Hensel. Talking poker with these guys was so refreshing, so different than the conversations I was used to back home. Bad beat stories came up, but the discussion about them was different, it wasn’t about the outcome. Rather, we talked about the way the hand was played in search for a more optimal line to take. But hand discussion wasn’t usually the topic. Mostly we discussed things like bankroll theories, the pros and cons of backing situations, ethics in poker, and things of that nature.

Playing as a member of Team Bodog, I was also able to finally put some faces to the names of some Bodog regulars from back in the day. One particularly memorable night involved a group of six of us playing a 1 AM tourney at the Golden Nugget, followed by a trip to Treasures that I’ll never forget. Matt mattboom McCullough (pictured — finished 3rd in the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event) was one of the six. At 36, he was the oldest in the group, but you’d never know it. If you’ve never pulled an all-nighter with this guy, then you have not yet lived. He’s always over-the-top, way out-of-line, and has a real passion for living life to its fullest. He’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met.

After the late night out with my fellow Bodonks, I spent a Sunday sweating another Bodog regular; Matt thatsnice Larsh (pictured). Unlike the other Matt, Larsh is quiet and reserved. He takes his game, and his life, very seriously. He’s so serious about staying fit that he chose the place he lives based on its proximity to his gym and yoga studio. His approach to the game is also somewhat different than mine. Besides playing much fewer tables and at much higher stakes than I do, he also puts a lot more focus on the other players. He was constantly looking up the players at his tables in databases, watching hand replays and taking notes. If I had to choose another player to model my approach to life and the game around, it would be him.

I can’t say enough about how great it was to finally spend some time with people who share my passion, career and lifestyle. Nothing compares to what it’s like to “be a player” with Team Bodog in Vegas. From the private partiesand the exclusive hospitality suite, to the Bodog Girls and limitless swag, it’s an experience unlike any other, and one I cannot wait to repeat again and again in years to come.

Beyond the people and the partying was the tournament itself. The WSOP Main Event is unlike any other tournament in the world. 7,500+ players, 2 hour levels, 300 BB starting stacks – nothing else compares. There’s really no way to prepare yourself except playing it. Next year, I’ll definitely be in a much better position mentally going into it with this year’s experience.

It was neat to meet some of the big names in live poker, but I wasn’t exactly star-struck. To me, they just seemed like normal people. I talked very briefly with Johnny Chan, who was seated at the table next to me and made a big run on Day 1. I shared bust-out stories with Dennis Phillips, whom I had met previously playing blackjack at the Mantra Casino in Punta del Este, Uruguay. You’ll never meet a nicer, more down-to-Earth guy…not at a poker table anyway.

I started on Day 1C. I had a table on the rail, which was cool; it allowed the Bodog reps and others to stop by frequently to check up on me. But my table was a tough one. There was one token fishy old man at the table, but other than that, the table was pretty solid. I had mid-stakes cash game regulars on either side of me, and I feel like they had a big advantage on me early on. They were comfortable playing very deep-stacked, while I, as an MTT grinder, am more accustomed to playing with less than 50 BBs. While I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be at the start, I was somewhat uncomfortable playing against these two players in particular. The old man was the only bustout for that day. He ran his stack up pretty huge, winning four big hands in a row, spiking a miracle river each time (in one, cracking my KK with a rivered two pair, 6s & 4s)…then proceeded to gift his whole stack to the cash game regular on my left turning his KK into a river bluff on an ace high board.

Day 2A didn’t go any better for me. I had another tough table draw, including Vince Van Patten, a Sisel Poker Pro, and a particularly aggressive French player. Vince played a very tight ABC game, which was perfect for me since he was seated two to my left. Perfect, except that I couldn’t find two hole cards within 7 of each other to raise his blinds with. The Sisel pro was playing about a 35/30 (VPIP/PFR) game and was sitting two to my right. Perfect, if only I could have found two cards worth 3-betting. I spent the whole day ridiculously card dead. Then, on the last hand before dinner break I picked up 9-9 in the BB. The French player opened to 2.5x, action folded around to me, and I casually tossed in my remaining 19 BB’s. He tanked for a minute (at most) before calling with 10-10, which held.

While the Main Event itself could have gone better for me, the trip could not have. If you’ve never been there, you absolutely must make it a priority to visit Las Vegas. It’s unlike any place in the world. Bars never close, drinks at the table are always free, and the women are nothing short of stunning. One night, we said in jest that there were probably more 10’s in the Venetian than there were people in my hometown, but I don’t really think that statement was much of a stretch. And if you go to Vegas, there is no better time to go than during the WSOP, and no better host than Bodog. The people, the players, the money; it’s a real spectacle in every sense of the word.

Nate Avensonis an official liaison for Bodog and a contributing poster in the PocketFives.com forums.