Mills puts on his best poker face

Tag : Poker Sunglasses

He's having the time of his life.
The 2005 St. James gradate and current Auburn Universityengineering student is participating at the World Series of Pokerevent this week in the Nevada desert. Improbable wins in a pair ofonline poker tournaments three months ago qualified Mills for thesport's centerpiece event.
There he was Thursday afternoon, wearing sunglasses at the tableand playing the game like the professional he insists he's not.
"I'm an unknown, casual kind of player that nobody knows," Millssaid. "I just messed around online, thought I'd try a tournamentand this is what happened. It's been the biggest shock of my life."
Even more surprising was Mills' first day.
Despite having no live experience beyond small-stakes games withfriends, the 21-year-old nearly doubled his chip stack during thefirst two hours Thursday. Progress didn't come easily.
Professional player Harry Demetriou, a veteran of 12 WSOP events,was seated at Mills' table during one of the afternoon sessions.Playing against someone with more than $1 million in careerearnings could affect many first-time players.
Not Mills.
"I'm not intimidated at all," he said. "I'm surprised howcomfortable I am here. I'm approaching everything like I always do-- trying to size up everybody at my table and read the way they'replaying. I've got to say that it's a lot of fun."
Fun always has been Mills' motivation.
He learned the game during his days at St. James, often playingfriends for $10 pots after school. Mills doesn't recall beingparticularly good back then.
His friends dispute that claim.
"He was a very good player who won pretty often," said WillJohnson, a 2005 St. James graduate who now attends Alabama. "I'mnot surprised that he's taken it this far. He's pretty calculatingwhen it comes to playing cards. You can't tell what he's doing."
Mills began playing Texas Hold'em online during his freshman yearat Auburn. He loved the competition, but rarely competed more thantwice per week. Online play requires real money.
That doesn't fit neatly into a college budget.
Earlier this year, Mills decided to participate in a tournamentsponsored by Bodog.com. It required a $27 investment.
Mills won and rolled that money into a second Bodog.com tournamentthat required a $250 investment. This time, a trip to the WSOP andassociated expenses were on the line.
The moment of truth came during the next-to-last hand. He drew apair of 7s. The first community card -- called "the flop" by pokerenthusiasts -- was a 7.
Then Mills drew another 7.
He had a four-of-a-kind. Mills coaxed a large bet from his onlyremaining rival, who lost nearly all of his chips in the endeavor.Mills seized control of the situation, won the tournament andqualified for the WSOP.
This happened around 1 a.m. on April 16.
"I immediately called everyone in my phone book," Mills said with alaugh. "It was a rush beyond anything I could imagine. For a guylike me to be going to the main event is almost impossible."
Mills rolled his tournament winnings toward the WSOP's $10,000buy-in. Bodog.com also provided Mills with $2,000 toward travel andlodging, which he used to help transport himself, his family,girlfriend Amy Lambert and her family to Las Vegas.
His environment has a much different look out west.
Eight thousand players qualified for the Texas Hold'em WorldChampionship, though the Rio's ballroom only holds a quarter ofthat at a time. Mills was part of the first of four days offirst-round competition.
The transition from online play to live tournament seemssignificant. Mills said he can sense more pressure in Vegas, thoughhe has learned to remain calm and continue assessing his opponents'decisions.
Oh, and he's always busy crunching numbers in his head.
"I love how challenging it is in terms of reading other people andplaying the percentages," Mills said. "It's so competitive, but itreally drew me in because this is stuff I feel like I'm good at. Ijust adjust to what's happening around me. I guess you could saythat's my secret."