At the end of every World Series of Poker a number of top players sit down with tournament officials and discuss possible alterations to the rules, blind structures and games on offer in order to try and improve poker’s oldest festival. This year was no different and a number of new rules and regulation will be in place in time for the 2010 WSOP.
The changes, as always, have been met with a mix of praise and criticism, especially the new registration rules. Many players like to turn up to their event late, Phil “The Poker Brat” Hellmuth the eleven-time bracelet winner is famous for this, but it appears he will have to be in his seat on time for the upcoming series.
A new rule states that any player who is not in their seat and has not been dealt a hand by the start of the third blind level will have their chips removed and be counted as a no-show. Their buy-in will also be removed from the prize pool and given back to them.
This rule in particular has drawn much criticism as many players believe it is open to abuse. A poster on a popular poker forum said that a savvy player may register for an event, keep an eye on his or her table and, if it looked too tough, not take their seat, essentially unregistering from the tournament.
One change that shows the popularity of social networking sites is the rule allowing players to send text, emails and use Twitter while at the table. As in previous years all mobile phones need to be switched off at the table but now players who have put their cards into the muck are free to use their devices until they receive a new hand. Chip counts and important hand recollections were common themes during the 2009 World Series of Poker, with fans tuning in to the like of Doyle Brunson and Daniel Negreanu’s pages for progress updates.
Perhaps the biggest change for the 2010 WSOP is the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event being scrapped and replaced with the $50,000 Player’s Championship. Entries to the H.O.R.S.E event plummeted last year from 148 to just 95, mainly due to the event’s final table not being televised, so the tournament directors have decided to mix things up. After all, WSOP poker videos are now big business and what player doesn’t want to bask in the limelight?
Instead of H.O.R.S.E the players will engage in 8-game, which will see them play a mix of 2-7 Triple Draw, Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Low, Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi/Low, No-limit Hold’em and Pot-limit Omaha. The winner will still receive the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, which used to be awarded to the winner of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event.
It is hard to believe that the Main Event of the WSOP is here, but it has finally arrived. The last two bracelets were won late Wednesday Night and Thursday night. The card room at the Rio is silent for the first time in weeks as the banquet staff hustles to move all of the tables in that will be needed to accommodate what will more than likely be the largest field ever for a main event. However, we still need to talk about the last two winners before we get all jacked up about the Main Event of the 2009 WSOP.
Event 54 wrapped up late Wednesday Night as Tony Veckey bested a field of 2818 players to win the $673,276 first place prize. These $1,500 tournaments have become huge moneymakers for the eventual winners and you can expect that the management may have to consider extending them into 4 day tourneys and make sure that they are always the early starting events. After 11 hours of play, Veckey proved to be the master as he bested Jason Wheeler for one of the last bracelets of the season.
Matt Hawrilenko has the privilege of being the last person to win a bracelet before the Main Event. He takes down an astonishing $1,003,218 by winning Event 56, the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em 6 Handed Event. These events are always great to watch because of how fast the action moves. When you get an elimination from one of these tables, it really picks up. Compated to some of the other tournaments, this final table was fairly quick as the last session only lasted until just before midnight.
The heads-up action was far less than we witnessed earlier in the week with the $50k H.O.R.S.E Event as it took a mere four hands to get this thing settled. Josh Brikis made it 300,000 from the SB and Hawrilenko took little time in making a 7 digit bet. Brikis called all-in and Matt could not get his chips in quick enough. He had Brikis dominated, but there were plenty of reasons to be scared as his JJ faced off against A9d for the million dollar first place prize. The board ran out as 2h8c8d and when the 3s hit the turn the only card that could help Brikis was one of the three remaining Aces. A 10c showed up instead and that Hawrilenko put on the jewelry for the first time in his life.
The marathon of the Main Event kicks off on Friday and we are sure to see some fast and furious action. The pros are going to have targets on their heads at every table that they are seated at. Patience is the key in a monster like this as you need to find a way to survive. Normal card playing techniques go out the door as you have to keep the prize in your sights. It should be a fun 2 weeks as we work our way down to the Final 9 that we will see later in the year battle for the most coveted title in the world of poker.
In what has to go down as one of the greatest final tables and heads-up matches in WSOP history, David Bach finally ended the tournament at 10:00am Tuesday morning. It took 13 hours to get down to the final two and then an incredible 7 hours of heads-up play before we could crown a winner. If you read some of the earlier posts, we had touted Bach because of his superior 7 card stud play and that is exactly what enabled him to chip away at Hanson’s stack. Bach wins a monstrous $1,276,802 for the win and one of the most prestigious bracelets of the year.
In other tournaments…
While the talk of the day was the $50k H.O.R.S.E. tournament, once could not overlook the bracelet that was won by Abe Mosseri in the Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em Event. Once the event went to heads-up, he used timely aggression again and again on Masayoshi Tanaka and continued to grind away at his stack. By the time the last hand was dealt, Tanaka had the equivalent of a bb gun in the middle if Iraq. He can console himself with the $102,313 he takes home for second place. Abe fattens his bank account with a healthy $166,151.
There will be one more bracelet awarded tonight in Event 54. This one will go until late (or early depending upon how you look at it) in the morning as there are still 6 players holding onto chips and each and every one of them has over 1,000,000. Sergey Konkin holds the chip lead with 3,500,000.
The last event that is going on is Event 56. Lots of action in this one as it is a 6 handed tournament. A fat $1,003,218 first place prize awaits the winner and the way it looks now, we just may have a big name pro sneak through and snatch one. David Chiu, Shaun Deeb and Phil Hellmuth are all still alive. The overall chip leader is Matthew Waxman with 1,150,000 in chips.
Most of tournaments have been going at it for at least 10 hours and we still have not had a bracelet winner crowned in any of the three events that are going for a championship tonight. The biggest tournament is obviously the $50k H.O.R.S.E Event. The field has been taken down to six and the fearless Russian has finally taken a small chip lead. Vitaly Lunkin is now sitting at 3,760,000. Huck Seed is also still alive and gradually climbing back into this thing. We stated earlier that Sagstrom was going to have a problem holding off this field and Lunkin is now in full overdrive.
The Triple Chance NL Hold’em Tourney also has 6 players remaining and Jorg Peisert has built a monster chip lead. He is currently holding 3,065,000 and is nearly 3:1 over second place. A lead like that is going to be very difficult to overcome unless the second or third place players catch him on an all in. He is playing very aggressively and that could happen, but it appears as though he is timing his aggression perfectly right now. This one should be fun to watch down to the end.
While there are only 2 players left in Event 53, we are still a long way from figuring out who is going to win this one. The chips are fairly even as William Kohler has 1,290,000 and David Halpern has 810,000. When you add in the fact that this is a hi/low game, they may be here longer than either of the other two tournaments.
Event 54 has about 40 players and with any luck, they will make it down to the final table tonight. That is probably wishful thinking, but you never know. Event 55 is also trucking along and has less than 40 players remaining. Triple draw can have some large pots, so you may still see a lot of railing going on. The one thing that could slow this down is the fact that they are very close to the bubble.
The game has been going on for four long days and these players have to be exhausted. When you are playing a multi-day tourney and only have to worry about one game, you can get into a zone at times and almost go on auto-pilot. When the game changes at every level, you have to continue to be sharp or you risk sending your chips across the table. The marathon will continue to today and we will see who wins what is arguably the most prestigious title of the season. Here is your final table:
Erik Sagstrom – 3,675,000 Vitaly Lunkin – 2,490,000 David Bach – 2,345,000 John Hanson – 1,700,000 Huck Seed – 1,380,000 Chau Giang – 1,075,000 Erik Seidel – 965,000 Ville Wahlbeck – 645,000
Lunkin has been having a marvelous WSOP and you would have to think that he will continue to remain among the leaders of this tournament. He is a pretty well rounded player and has shown little weakness this year. Sagstrom is an interesting player and his name has been popping up quite a bit this year. This will be his first cash in a WSOP Event and it will be interesting to see if he can hold up to the pressure. We also have a few specialty players in here who excel at one or two of the variations. Don’t be fooled by the big chip lead, this is still anyone’s tournament.
In other tournaments…
The Triple Chance Tournament heads into day 3 with 16 players fighting it out for the bracelet. This is the second of 3 bracelet tournaments that we are going to see on Tuesday. Early on it appeared that this tournament was going to be dominated by some of the pro’s, but they have fallen by the wayside in day 2 and it is pretty much an unknown field that is left alive. An Tran is the only bracelet winner left and Eric Lynch is the only other player of note. The current leader is Jason DeWitt with 1,599,000.
The third bracelet will be given out in the Seven Card Stud Hi Low 8 or Better Event. They are down to 14 players and for once, Jeff Lisandro nowhere to be seen on a 7 Stud final table. Lots of fresh meat in this tourney and it would appear as though we will get a first time winner here. Brian Swinford will start the day off as the chip leader with 292,000.
Events 54 and 55 finished off their days way short of where they needed to be to get to a final table by the end of day 2. Event 54 started with 2818 and still has almost 400 players sitting down when they start the next session. Event 55 did not do any better as they started the day with 258 players and now have 75 left. Lots of big names hit the rail early in this one including Todd Brunson, Greg Raymer, Erick Lindgren and Barry Greenstein. These guys have to be wearing down as you see their names in almost every tournament at the start. Main Event kicks off in 3 days!
The game has been going on for four long days and these players have to be exhausted.When you are playing a multi-day tourney and only have to worry about one game, you can get into a zone at times and almost go on auto-pilot.When the game changes at every level, you have to continue to be sharp or you risk sending your chips across the table.The marathon will continue to today and we will see who wins what is arguably the most prestigious title of the season.Here is your final table:
Erik Sagstrom – 3,675,000 Vitaly Lunkin – 2,490,000 David Bach – 2,345,000 John Hanson – 1,700,000 Huck Seed – 1,380,000 Chau Giang – 1,075,000 Erik Seidel – 965,000 Ville Wahlbeck – 645,000
Lunkin has been having a marvelous WSOP and you would have to think that he will continue to remain among the leaders of this tournament.He is a pretty well rounded player and has shown little weakness this year.Sagstrom is an interesting player and his name has been popping up quite a bit this year.This will be his first cash in a WSOP Event and it will be interesting to see if he can hold up to the pressure.We also have a few specialty players in here who excel at one or two of the variations.Don’t be fooled by the big chip lead, this is still anyone’s tournament.
In other tournaments…
The Triple Chance Tournament heads into day 3 with 16 players fighting it out for the bracelet.This is the second of 3 bracelet tournaments that we are going to see on Tuesday.Early on it appeared that this tournament was going to be dominated by some of the pro’s, but they have fallen by the wayside in day 2 and it is pretty much an unknown field that is left alive.An Tran is the only bracelet winner left and Eric Lynch is the only other player of note.The current leader is Jason DeWitt with 1,599,000.
The third bracelet will be given out in the Seven Card Stud Hi Low 8 or Better Event.They are down to 14 players and for once, Jeff Lisandro nowhere to be seen on a 7 Stud final table.Lots of fresh meat in this tourney and it would appear as though we will get a first time winner here. Brian Swinford will start the day off as the chip leader with 292,000.
Events 54 and 55 finished off their days way short of where they needed to be to get to a final table by the end of day 2.Event 54 started with 2818 and still has almost 400 players sitting down when they start the next session.Event 55 did not do any better as they started the day with 258 players and now have 75 left.Lots of big names hit the rail early in this one including Todd Brunson, Greg Raymer, Erick Lindgren and Barry Greenstein.These guys have to be wearing down as you see their names in almost every tournament at the start.Main Event kicks off in 3 days!
All of a sudden, second bracelet is becoming a common headline theme in this year’s WSOP. Not only that, but Full Tilt Pros in particular are constantly showing up on leader boards and winning tournaments. The latest addition is of course Greg Mueller as he took down the Limit Hold’em Shootout event. He now has two bracelets this year and gets to add another $194,854 to his bankroll.
While Mueller was at the top of the leader board throughout this tournament, the heads up battle was anything but easy. Marc Naalden gave him everything he could handle and actually looked as though he was going to win this at one point. The cards ended up changing and Mueller was able to take down the event. Naalden won $120,614 for second place.
In other tournaments…
The $50 K H.O.R.S.E. Event continues on and they are now down to 19 players and should be playing down to a champion on Monday. Vitaly Lunkin continues to impress with his play and while he was not able to dramatically increase his overall chip lead, he is still in first place with 1,527,000. Freddy Deeb is having a wonderful tournament and you can expect to continue to see him among the leaders. The one notable downfall has been Gus Hansen. At one time, he was way ahead of the field, but he has since come back to reality and now only has 801,000 in chips.
Event 51 players have already played to the max time for the last two days and will be back early on Monday to try and finish this event. We knew they were in trouble with a low elimination number in day one and with 30 players left, they will have to come back at 1pm to play down to a winner. Thibaut Durand has taken over the lead and has 1,650,000 in his stack.
The Triple Chance Tournament has been a lot of fun to watch and has some interesting names at the top of the leader board. Of course, Jeff Lisandro is making his customary appearance, but Antonio Esfandiari is finally being heard from and sits in the top 5. John Juanda is also still kicking in this one, but his stack is screaming for help with only 42,600 in chips.
Event 53 is well under way and has only 143 players left in the field of 467. Allie Prescot is the current chip leader with 52,500, but there is still some high powered talent close behind. Most notably, Annie Duke is sitting in 6th place with 36,600 and Daniel Negreanu rounds out the top 10 with 33,100 in chips.
Brandon Cantu was absolutely running away with the Pot Limit Omaha Split Tournament when it seemed as though time started standing still. He chip stack did not grow for hours as he watched the rest of the field eat up his massive chip lead and pass him by. However, he managed to do the important thing and that was to stay alive and ride out the storm. Other players started falling to the side and the stack of Cantu allowed him to just wait around until his luck changed.
Well it changed in a big way as his dominance early paid off and allowed him to get into a heads up match with Lee Watkinson. Playing against one of the more accomplished players in the game is not a great situation when you are running bad. Luckily for Cantu, he did not really have to worry about that for long as the cards went good at exactly the right time and he managed to capture the title. He takes home $228,832 and the bracelet.
In other tournaments…
The $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event will start day three with 53 of the original 95 players. This tournament has been about as all over the board as you can imagine and the leader board seems to change every few minutes. The field has to take notice the player that is sitting on top now though as Gun Hansen can be quite the handful when he has a chip lead.
Some of the players that have been struggling in this WSOP are taking advantage of the small field and taking their shot at a bracelet. While this event does not have the entries that the Main Event does, there is no doubting the prestige that the players give to this event. Day three should be another long one and you can count on that leader board showing just as much action as we see on the tables.
The Limit Hold’em Shootout reached its final table very early in the morning. The players continued until about 1:30am when play was halted with the final 8. Greg Mueller has a place at the final table as does David Williams. All players will start the day with 360,000.
Event 51 had relatively slow play and still has about 350 players remaining. In order for this tourney to stay on schedule, they would have needed the field of 271 to get well below 300. Expect a full day of play and possibly a very long final day to this tourney. The chip leader is currently Christopher Bonita with 131,700 in chips.
Events 52 and 53 will kick off today and both should have fairly large fields. The Triple Chance No Limit event should be packed as players are getting free limited rebuys in the early stages of the tournament. This is going to make for some very aggressive play and some monstrous stacks heading into day 2. A good run of cards can put some well ahead of the field in this format. Should be a lot of fun to watch.
All of a sudden, second bracelet is becoming a common headline theme in this year’s 
