One of the things I love most about the World Series of Poker is that it constantly pushes you outside your comfort zone.

This week, I found myself doing something I honestly never expected to do: playing a $10,000 Deuce-to-Seven No-Limit Single Draw event after learning the rules the night before.

No joke.

Before heading to the tournament, I was asking AI for help understanding the basics of the game. I’ve spent my life around poker, but Deuce-to-Seven Single Draw is one of those formats that most players rarely get a chance to play. When a $10,000 WSOP bracelet event comes around, though, you don’t exactly want to show up without at least knowing which hands are good and which hands are disasters.

The good news? I figured out pretty quickly that aces aren’t what you’re looking for.

The bad news? I figured that out after getting excited when I looked down at them.

Starting the Day Right

Before cards were in the air, I headed out to Sunset Park for a few hours of pickleball.

I’ve found over the years that getting my body moving before a long poker session helps me stay sharp mentally. The WSOP schedule is brutal. Long days, late nights, and constant decision-making can wear you down. Getting some exercise in beforehand helps me stay focused when it matters.

Plus, it gives me a chance to clear my head before spending 12+ hours at the tables.

Learning on the Fly

When the tournament started, I quickly realized that no amount of studying the night before could replace actual experience.

I was constantly learning.

At first, I was raising hands I probably shouldn’t have been raising. I was experimenting. I was testing boundaries. I was trying to understand how people approached the game.

What became obvious pretty quickly was that aggression matters.

A lot.

Position matters.

A lot.

And perhaps most importantly, this game is all about reading people.

Unlike many poker formats where the cards tell most of the story, Deuce-to-Seven Single Draw creates situations where understanding your opponent can be just as important as understanding your hand.

That’s what made the game so much fun.

A Room Full of Legends

One of the coolest parts of this event was looking around the room and seeing some of the greatest poker players in the world.

Daniel Negreanu.

Brian Rast.

Robert Mizrachi.

Darren Elias.

Chance Kornuth.

And countless others.

With only around 100 entrants, the field was stacked from top to bottom.

There aren’t many tournaments where nearly every table feels like a final table, but this was one of them.

Despite being a newcomer to the format, I never felt completely outclassed. As the day went on, I started adjusting. I tightened up in some spots. Opened up in others. Made a few reads. Called a few bluffs.

Most importantly, I started building confidence.

The AI Experiment

One of the funniest moments of the day came when several players found out I had used AI to help learn the game.

Apparently, there’s something amusing about showing up to a $10,000 World Series event after spending the previous night asking ChatGPT and Grok how Deuce-to-Seven works.

Honestly, I thought it was pretty funny too.

The reality is that AI gave me a baseline understanding of the game. It didn’t teach me how to read people. It didn’t teach me table dynamics. It didn’t teach me when someone was bluffing.

Those lessons still have to be learned the old-fashioned way.

At the table.

One hand at a time.

The Fans Never Disappoint

One thing that never gets old during the WSOP is meeting fans.

Throughout the day, people stopped by to say hello, take pictures, share stories, and even ask for autographs. Those moments always mean a lot to me.

The support I’ve received over the years is something I’ll never take for granted.

Poker has given me opportunities I never could have imagined, and connecting with the people who follow my journey remains one of the best parts of the job.

Surviving Day 1

By the end of the night, I had survived Day 1 with 149,000 chips.

The average stack was around 140,000, so I finished slightly above average despite playing a game I’d never played before.

I’ll take it.

Was I perfect? Not even close.

Did I make mistakes? Absolutely.

But I also learned a tremendous amount.

More importantly, I had fun.

A lot of players build their WSOP schedules around maximizing expected value. They play smaller buy-ins. They chase softer fields. They focus strictly on profitability.

There’s nothing wrong with that approach.

My schedule this summer is a little different.

I’m bracelet hunting.

That means taking shots in events like this one. It means embracing variance. It means stepping into unfamiliar territory and challenging myself against the best players in the world.

Will it always be profitable?

Probably not.

Will it be memorable?

Absolutely.

And after one day of Deuce-to-Seven Single Draw, I’m excited to come back tomorrow and see what happens next.

Let’s chase a bracelet.