WSOP Launches Poker School - Cash Game Academy

LAS VEGAS, Nevada --  While winning is how poker players earn their fame, it is cash game play where they earn their living, and beginning in 2009, the World Series of Poker Academy, poker's premier
The World Series of Poker is the biggest poker event of the year.  series of instructional camps, will provide poker players of all skill levels with the foundation and tools needed to become a consistent winning cash game player with the launch of its new Cash Game Academy, a two-day, intensive poker school dedicated exclusively to No Limit Hold'em cash game play.

The WSOP Academy will present two Cash Game Academy events to kick off its busy 2009 season, the first of which will be held at Harrah's Atlantic City on Jan. 24 – 25. Then two weeks later, the WSOP Academy will head to Las Vegas to host a Cash Game Academy at Caesars Palace on Feb. 7 - 8. Both events will feature world-class instruction from top poker pros, with Mark Seif, Paul Wasicka and Alex Outhred among the instructors scheduled for the Atlantic City event and Seif, Outhred and Michael Gracz slated for the Las Vegas event.

"The WSOP Academy has successfully helped players make it to the final table and win bracelets by teaching tournament strategy, but to become an overall winning poker player you must also become a consistent cash game player," said Brandon Rosen of Post Oak Productions, the company that produces the WSOP Academy. "Your cash game skills and results will likely determine your success and more importantly, your longevity as a poker player. With this in mind, we created the Cash Game Academy."

The new Cash Game Academy will teach participants winning cash game strategy through two days of in-depth seminars, live play workshops, video analysis and a cash game competition, all taught by some of the world's top cash game poker players. The program is designed for all skill levels, be it beginner, intermediate or advance.

Featuring all new materials and teaching methods unlike any past WSOP Academy event, the new Cash Game Academy will cover topics such as the transition from tournament play to cash game play, development of reading ability and putting opponents on hand ranges, bankroll management and sophisticated plays and strategies specific to cash game play. Each event will also offer video analysis of cash game play, with instructors dissecting hands and situations and discuss alternative lines of play.

A key component of each Cash Game Academy will be a Cash Game Competition hosted on day two of each event. Players will compete against their fellow WSOP Academy participants to determine who made the most correct decisions and managed their bankroll the best during a simulated cash game. The winner will receive an all-expense trip to Caesars Palace Las Vegas for the WSOP Academy Tournament of Champions just prior to the Main Event of the 2009 World Series of Poker.

The WSOP Academy roster of pro poker players and instructors have all enjoyed tournament success and have been sharing their secrets on tournament strategy since its inception. However, before they gained fame and fortune winning tournaments, they were making a living playing cash games.

"Our pro instructors have a proven track record of being winning cash game players. They know that a successful poker career is determined by your 'staying power' and your ability to win at the cash game tables," noted Rosen. "Now, much like they have done for our Tournament Academies, the WSOP Academy instructors will now impart their knowledge and expertise for cash games."

Tuition for each of the two Cash Game Academies is $1,899.00, with a payment of only $499.75 required to secure a spot. The additional tuition payment owed will be billed each month for the three following months.

Space is limited at all WSOP Academy events, and both events are expected to sell out in advance. For more details see the WSOP Academy schedule.