WPT Boot Camp and Best Bets Today
On April 14, 2021 by Margarita Murphy
Mike Sexton and Vince van Patten help to put students on a fast track to the final table
World Poker Tour commentators, Mike Sexton and Vince van Patten have been named as instructors for the first WPT Boot Camp, alongside Alex “The Insider” Outhred.
Sexton and van Patten are familiar faces on the WPT, providing commentary for the TV show which has created a boom in the world of poker. All three of the instructors possess great insight into the workings of World Poker Tour tournaments, which will be used for a basis for instruction.
Steve Berman, Co-founder of the WPT Boot Camp says, “Mike, Vince and Alex have all played the game of poker and been witness to the skills of top players worldwide. Together they will provide the kind of coaching necessary to help amateur poker players reach and succeed at a WPT Final Table. They will be instrumental in selecting additional quality instructors for WPT BOOT CAMP.”
Mike Sexton is a 25 year poker-pro with numerous championships to his name, including The Legends of Poker and The L.A Classic. Sexton is also credited with the creation of The Tournament of Champions and the hugely popular Party Poker MillionBest Bets Today.
“I’m really looking forward to the WPT BOOT CAMP,” Sexton said. “And while high-stakes poker can be a pretty serious, stressful business, that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun with the folks we’re teaching. Poker is, after all, a game.”
Alex Outhred has worked on the WPT as associate producer for three seasons, his experience has brought about great poker knowledge in Hollywood Home Game celebrities such as Mekhi Phifer, William Shatner, Michelle Clunie, David Sutcliffe, Bob Eubanks, Chuck Woolery, and Billy Burke.
WPT Boot Camp enrollment costs $1,495. For more information go to our website.
Also, I have begun to notice that at certain sites, the majority of tournaments offered are of the turbo variety. I think this all bodes very poorly for the long-term future of tournament poker online. Players who are conditioned by these events where you pretty much have to put your chips in before your seat is warm are getting a very poor model to base their tournament play on, and indeed are getting a flawed poker education. For online rooms to base their play model on turbo tournies make sense for them in one respect: get ’em in, get ’em out. Much like the models for the early fast food restaurants, you offer something quick, and satisfactory, instead of offering an experience.
As most poker players have learned, tournament poker is a high variance game. Even the best players won’t win all that often (especially against the huge fields todays tournaments attract). In turbo tournaments, the blinds may go up three to four times faster, but the variance is ten times (or more) higher. All of the above facts lead me to wonder if turbo tournaments, or at least their proliferation online, are a positive thing for the game.
For example, I just went online to three sites to see how many of their next ten tournaments offered were turbo tournaments to learn about Best Bets Today. At site #1 (one of the biggies) three of your next ten tournaments offered were turbo. However, at two of the smaller sites I play at one offered five turbos in the next ten, and the other offered six of the next ten as turbos!
