I played in the 2006 WSOP $1000 Stud H/L tourney. The experience was amazing, and I've told quite a few people on here before...if you love poker you have to go out to the WSOP at least once. I'd love to go out again, but it just hasn't worked out for me the past few years, and I won't be making it out there this year either.
As far as the play went...there were a couple of players at my first table who weren't that great. It's hard to know if they satellited in or just decided that since it was one of the smaller buy ins in '06 that they would take their shot in it. But overall the players were good.
Once I got moved to my second table, I was sitting with 3 pros. And the play there was even more different. It almost played out like a Stud Hi table. If you've ever played Stud H/L online you know there almost always 4-5 people in every pot, but at the WSOP it's more like 2-3, which really reduces some value you can get out of low
hands.
The other thing about playing in a WSOP event are the levels. Each level is 60 minutes, something you'll never find at your local casino. And even though you get a 20 minute break after every 2 levels, it just isn't enough. I stupidly spent my breaks calling poker buddies back home and telling them how I was doing, rather than really taking a break for myself. And I really regret that. Especially because as the end of level 6 was coming I was exhausted. I had been playing for nearly 6 hours and that last 30 minutes before the dinner break really wears you down.
At least the dinner break was 90 minutes and I took some time for myself to go up to my room at the Rio, take a shower, relax and grab a bite to eat.
Ultimately I finished in 448th out of 788 and busted about 30 minutes after the dinner break. So no cash as I think only the top 81 or 90 made it that year.
Even after busting though, the Amazon Room is an electric place to hang out and watch the pros. You of course have the final table of a bracelet event usually going on and you can sit in the crowd and maybe get on ESPN. Or watch the pros play some games you don't normally get to see (I watched Greg Raymer and Todd Brunson play NL Deuce to Seven Single Draw). I also saw a bunch of pros playing Chinese Poker in a cash game. And of course you have guys like Matusow walking past you crying to someone about getting knocked out of something or people challenging Sammy Farha to heads up matches around the cage.
All in all, it's just a great experience.