What to expect when you're expecting

Like any poker player, I tend to view the realm of major accomplishment through the lens of big wins. I tend to measure my worth and mettle by chip stacks, prize pools, and cash finishes. It's only natural, I suppose.

This time last year, though, I found myself playing at a whole new level. I found out my wife was pregnant. Thus began Otis' education in fatherhood.

Now, I know you don't come here to read up on my progeny, but there's an analogy on the way, so stick with me.

I buried myself in books, reading anything I could get my hands on. It was the only way I could feel settled as I waited out the months until L'il Otis arrived. Of course, no amount of reading can prepare someone for such a life-changing event, but at least it provides some amount of comfort while one is waiting.

Among the books that sat on the coffee table was the ubiquitous What to Expect When You're Expecting.

I thought of the book as I considered the hundreds of you who will be hopping a plane to the islands in a few days. Many of you have never played in such an event. Sure, you've played for some real cash before, but many of you have never tested your chip-slinging, card-squeezing abilities against some of the toughest players in the game. And frankly, while there are a lot of great books out there, there's only so much one can do to prepare mentally for such a potentially life-changing event.

Still, if you're a guy like me who at least likes to pass the time reading about your future surroundings, I've compiled a brief summary of what you can expect.

PokerStars.com cardroom manager, Lee Jones, reports we should see anywhere between 350 and 400 players next week, playing in two flights at the beginning of the tournament. When you're not playing in the tournament, there will be a few $300 buy-in tournaments going on during the week and a somewhat larger $500 buy-in event toward the end of the week. If you don't have as much time to dedicate to tournament play, there will be other cash games and Sit and Gos available depending on player demand.

Of course, you're going to need to bring your A-game. The tournament circuit pros aren't skipping this event by any means. Expect to see many of the well-recognized pros sitting at the tables. Among the confirmed players you'll see: Erik Seidel, Daniel Negreanu, Hoyt Corkins, Phil Ivey, Matt Lefkowitz, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, and more. They are players with whom I wouldn't trifle. At last year's event, Gus Hansen, Hoyt Corkins, and Daniel Negreanu finished first, second, and third, respectively. Gus pocketed in the neighborhood of $400,000. This year, current projections show the prize pool being somewhere in the $3 million ballpark.

PokerStars.com will have about a dozen staff members wandering with workaholic eyes through the tournament area and will be working to make your tournament experience the best it possibly can be.

While you may be an avid poker player, you may not be aware of the exploding nature of poker blogs, virtual diaries of poker players around the world. If you're at all interested, just Google "poker blog" and you'll see what I mean. I've already received an e-mail from one poker blogger who will be playing in next week's event. He's intending to keep a daily virtual diary of his trip and play. I'm curious as to whether any other players are poker bloggers as well. If there are several of you out there, I may post links to your blogs so your fellow PokerStars.com players can follow your individual progress. Shoot me an e-mail if you're one of those blogger types and you'll be with us in the Bahamas.

And keeping with the "What to Expect..." theme, if any readers of this blog played in last year's PokerStars.com event, I'd appreciate it if you could send me an e-mail that includes some of your experiences. You could give us all something to read as we wait out the last few days before we can call ourselves islanders for a week.