To those who regularly tune in to know more about what is happening in and around World Series of Poker Tournament, you probably have heard of The Curse of the Day 1 Chip Leader.  Unlike the myths surrounding broken glasses or black cat crossing the street, the curse does not include deaths, accidents or seven years of damnation.  It just says that the one who gains the biggest amount of chips tends to end his tournament career earlier than others who play it cool first time around.

A Case of Misattribution

The Curse of the Day One Chip Leader does come with some sort of explanation with it.  The curse says that the player who gains the highest chips during the first leg of the tournament has probably played aggressively over the course of the first leg of the race.  It is believed by some poker players that an aggressive or a maniacal style of playing may work initially but will soon lose its fuel with the games running as long as the main event and the player comes careening down to a halt.

Successful Day 1 Chip Leaders

Like many myths surrounding the sporting world, the curse for many other poker players is just a case of misattribution with no proven pattern that could prove otherwise.  While it can be said that an aggressive stance can put the bankroll in steep swing, it does not necessarily mean that players who play assertively tends to see themselves out of the game easily.  Players who have an assertive stance and have the skills to back it up often go higher up the ladder and win.  Take that from last year’s Dag Martin Mikkelsen who, at Day 1 have 236,000 chips and at Day 1b finished with over 3.7 million worth of chips, managed to land in a sweet 42nd spot in the tournament.

There are other Day 1 Chip Leaders during the 2007 WSOP run that proved themselves to be successful poker players.  You have the likes of Kevin Kim who finished 32nd place, Josh Evans who finished 76th, and John Dutchak who landed in the 160th spot.  Even Jeff Norman, who finished 500th when he initially led the chip count at 281,300 chips in Day 1, should also be commended for his job considering that he ranked 500th out of 6,358 players who joined the tournament.

So, really, it is not in the chips but in how one plays poker.