Tournament Poker Edge's Top Five WSOP Moments

Each summer for the past four years, Derek Tenbusch, co-founder of Tournament Poker Edge, gathers in Las Vegas with friends from #TPENation for some action on the poker felts and good times off of it. Tenbusch took some time out of his busy schedule to give us his top five moments from this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP).

My Top Five Moments from the 2015 WSOP

This year was my fourth summer spent in Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. Although it was one of my worst in terms of poker results, it still provided plenty of great memories.

Tournament Poker Edge Meetup

One of the highlights for me every summer is our annual Tournament Poker Edge meetup.  This is an opportunity for TPE members and pros to meet each other face to face, share some poker talk, and of course enjoy some great food and a few cocktails.

This year, we had members in attendance not only from the US, but also from as far as the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. One member was on a six-month trip around the world with his friends and scheduled the trip such that he could be at the meetup! That makes me feel pretty good about the community atmosphere we have built at TPE.

House Hand History Review

I often tell people how great it is having the opportunity to discuss hands with some of the best players in the world during the WSOP. Sometimes that is on break from a tournament, sometimes it is at dinner, and sometimes it is after you have already busted a tournament. In this case, we took it to another level.

All of my housemates, several guys from outside the house, and I gathered in the living room. We put a hand history into Holdem Manager and replayed it on the big screen so everyone could see. In some cases, we spent as much as 45 minutes reviewing one hand! It was awesome to get insight and different viewpoints from that many people. We've already committed to making this a regular practice in the house next year.

Playing the Main Event

Of course, the highlight of the tournament schedule every summer is the Main Event. This was my second year playing it and although nothing seemed to go my way and I busted the last level of Day 1, it was still an amazing experience. There really is nothing like it.

Blackjack Stories from Andy Bloch

I've been around the WSOP long enough now that I don't really get "star struck" by any of the big poker names. That being said, it was still a very cool experience to be seated at the same table with Andy Bloch during the 50/50 tournament because this guy has some amazing stories!

Most people are aware of the fact that Andy was a part of the famous MIT Blackjack Team. You know, the one featured in the book "Bringing Down the House" and the movie "21." Although I have read the book and seen the movie, hearing stories straight from the source was especially cool!

Action-Buying Run-Good

Although I did not have any great sweats for myself in the WSOP this year, I was provided a fun one by a person I bought a piece of. I often buy small pieces of a handful of players each year just for a fun sweat. And this year I had the best sweat yet.

I had, quite randomly, bought a piece of two players in the Monster Stack event and both went quite deep! One ended up busting somewhere in the top 50. But the second person, who I later found out was a TPE member, finished sixth for $255,000. Not a bad return on a $36 investment! Having the opportunity to sit in the stands at the feature table and sweat that kind of money was quite a thrill, hopefully one that I will be repeating again next year!

People often describe the WSOP as "Summer Camp for Poker Players." That is a pretty accurate description. If you have never made it to Vegas, even for a short time during the Series, I encourage you to do so at least once! I promise you will not regret it.

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