Ashley Adams wrote one of those navel gazing pieces on whether or not he should go to the World Series Of Poker for pokermagazine.com. I'm a fan of Ashley's work, even when he's just rambling, and I enjoyed reading his musings about the WSOP.

But he said one thing that I want to comment on. As one of the cons in his evaluation of whether or not to go he says that playing in the tournaments mean that you'll be playing against the best in the world, which he judges less than a good idea.

It's true that you'll be playing the best in the world. But, I'm not so sure that it's a bad idea.

The fields of the WSOP are expanding becuase the events attract the worst in the world in addition to the best. Playing with the best isn't always a bad idea if doing so gives you access to the worst players also.

You'll find this in cash games also. Some players tend to hesitate about moving up in limits because they players in the higher games tend to be better players. Well, the best players in the higher games tend to be better players than you've been playing in the lower games. But, the worse players in the higher games are often worse than the bad players in the lower games, sometimes a lot worse.

The key to playing in games with better players is to know who they are. You don't need to avoid them, you just need to be more careful in controntations with them. And in cash games sit on their left.