Back in March for the launch of PokerStarsNJ, I blogged about how fitting it was that my mom used to play advantage blackjack at Resorts when she was pregnant with me. But I truly come full circle now as I head to AC later this week seven months pregnant. I’ll play the final few events of NJCOOP on October 29-30 and then the first PokerStars Festival in Atlantic City, at Resorts Casino (October 31-Nov 6).
If you bust the Main Event, an $1100 with two starting days, there are a full slate of side events. The one I’m looking forward to most is the combined chess and poker event on Sunday, November 6th. PokerStars has had these events before, in Isle of Man, Prague, Malta and Dublin, but this will be the first in America.
In the NJ event, you start with a default 10K in poker chips and start play with five quick chess games where you win a bonus 2K chips for every victory (or 1K for a draw). After the chess portion is over, there is a random draw for the concluding poker tournament (a hyper turbo) to determine the winner. The key point of this format is that while pro chess players will certainly start with more chips than poker pros, it’s possible for a complete chess newb to take home the trophy. So if you know what Castling and En Passant are, I think you are clear to give it a shot. And if not, ask me for a refresher ASAP.
In this video, I got ready for the chess/poker shennanigans playing blitz chess (three minutes per side) and poker (Spin N Gos on PokerStarsNJ) simultaneously online.
Jennifer Shahade is the PokerStars Mind Sports Ambassador
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