Lakers’ Farmar making his mark at WSOP

Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar isn’t ready to give up the basketball court for the poker tables.

He classified his performance so far in the main event of the 2009 World Series of Poker as beginner’s luck.

Farmar, 22, fresh off helping the Lakers win the NBA title in June, made it into the third round of the World Series of Poker’s $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em world championship event.

The performance is impressive considering today was just his third full day ever of playing competitive poker.

“It’s extremely different from basketball,” Farmar said. “It takes a lot more patience.

Farmar was one of a handful of celebrities from Hollywood and the sports world whose entry in the main event was paid for by various online poker sites. The only requirement is that the player/celebrity wears the logo of the Internet site for the television cameras.

ESPN was the there to film Farmar, wearing a PokerStars.net T-shirt, as he counted out his 75,500 in tournament chips when he began play today inside the Rio Pavilion.

“I’m having a good time learning on the job,” Farmar said. “I thought I would be out on the first day and be on vacation by now. But maybe I’ll be here another 10 hours.”

After being contacted by PokerStars, Farmer said he spent about an hour playing poker at the Hollywood Park casino in Los Angeles. That was his first time ever playing the game. It helped get him comfortable at a table and learn the different hands.

Farmar, who just completed his third season with Lakers after being selected as the team’s No. 1 draft pick out of UCLA in 2006, said the players don’t play poker.

“We play different card games amongst the guys, but never poker,” he said.

The odds of Farmar reaching the final table are slim, but it would pose a dilemma. The main event’s championship will be decided in early November after the NBA season begins.

The Lakers’ schedule hasn’t been posted, but Farmar knows poker would be second to basketball.

“I’d probably take whatever I got, roll with that and say thank you very much,” Farmar said.