Once again the World Series of Poker kicks off with a new special tournament – The Poker Player’s Championship which commands a $50,000 entry fee.
At the 2009 WSOP a one-off $40,000 tournament started the longest running poker festival in the world to celebrate the series’ 40th anniversary. That particular event attracted 201 players and was eventually won by Vitaly Lunkin of Russia who netted $1,989,120.
This year Harrah’s, owner of the World Series of Poker, have introduced the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship which will see some of poker’s elite battle it out over eight different poker variants. The games to be played are fixed-limit Hold’em, fixed-limit Omaha hi/lo split, Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud hi/lo split, no-limit Hold’em, pot-limit Omaha and 2-7 Triple Draw. Games will rotate every eight hands although the final table will be solely no-limit Hold’em.
Harrah’s have decided to use this tournament to replace the $50,000 HORSE event which attracted only 95 entries last year, down from 148 in 2008. Much of the blame for the reduced figures must go down to the decision to not air the final table on ESPN so many of the player’s sponsors refused to buy their players into the tournament. This mistake will not be repeated in 2010 as the final table of the $50,000 event will be broadcast by ESPN who have the rights to the WSOP for the next couple of years. Tournament poker videosof the event should also be available.
Another new tournament that is sure to draw in the crowds, especially the internet tournament specialists, is Event #52 – the $25,000 6-max no-limit Hold’em tournament. Each of the players will start with 75,000 chips and play to blind intervals starting at 150/300/25, increase every hour. The short-handed format should generate a lot of action and the coverage of the event should boost ESPN’s viewing figures as thousands will tune in to see some super-aggressive poker.
For anyone who is waiting to see the main event on TV when ESPN begins its coverage later this month, read no further. The rest of you who want to keep updated can follow along.
It is the end of Day 7 for all of the 27 players remaining and the 11th total day for the tournament. The biggest news has to be the presence of Phil Ivey who is 4th in at the end of the day. He has put his large chip stack to work by punishing the rest of the field. It will be his first cash in the Main Event since being bounced on a bad beat by Chris Moneymaker in 2003, a hand that was immortalized as one of the best hands of the year. He has to be the odds on favorite to win the title as he is one of only a few professionals remaining. He is within firing distance of the chip leader, Darvin Moon, who has over 20 million in chips. Ivey sits with just over 11 million.
Another notable pro who is remaining in the tournament is Antonio Esfandiari. With a little over 4 million in chips is on the short end of the field. Esfandiari has seen little success in the WSOP and has a small fan base thanks to other televised poker events such as High Stakes Poker and the WPT. He has a very good skill set and can be dangerous at any point in a tournament so he is one to watch out for, but “The Magician” needs to have a few tricks up his sleeve to take down this bracelet.
After today, the ”November Nine” will be set, so look for updates on the tournament along with player profiles right here.
It has been two very long hard weeks of poker and it all comes down to one day. The November Nine, as the final table of the WSOP has now been dubbed, will be decided on Wednesday and then they have almost 4 months to stew on what could possibly be the greatest opportunity of their life.
With only 27 players remaining, the pressure gets turned up and we will see what these guys are made of. While most of the pros that have entered have since gone to the rail, two names are still glaring on the leader board. Antonia Esfandiari (4,470,000) has never really had a truly great run of cards, but he seems to make the most of every hand that he is involved in. He is grinding away and continues to survive. His style of play is ideal in this type of tourney and while he may never get that monster stack, do not be surprised to see his name on the final table.
The one person that everyone has to fear at this point is Phil Ivey (11,350,000). He is currently sitting in 4th place, but that doesn’t really matter. As he has been having an incredible WSOP, the rest of the field must take notice and beware of any hand that they play with him. He has a tendency to go early or go deep and deep is obviously the case here. Only one other player managed to get three bracelets this time around and Phil obviously has his heart set on being the second one to hold that honor this year.
While the rest of the players are going after the bracelet and the $8,546,435 that goes with it, Phil Ivey probably stands to make more in side bets were he to take down the Main Event. Everyone knows he loves to gamble and the circuit that he hangs around in is not scared to throw out a $1,000,000 on anything. You can rest assured that if Phil makes it to the final table, the gallery will be a star studded field of poker superstars with their hands in their wallets.
The overall leader of the tournament is an unknown player by the name of Darvin Moon (20,160,000). He has never had a cash in the WSOP and has sure picked a great time to break his cherry. At this point, all of the players are guaranteed well over $300,000 and once they get it down to two tables, the payouts start to increase significantly.
Unfortunately for Moon, he will have to sit across from Ivey when play resumes. You can be assured that his eye balls will be popping out of their sockets when he sees that chip stack and make it is sole purpose in life to move it across to his side of the table. How will Moon handle the pressure of being the big stack with one of the greatest poker players in the world on his table? Only time will tell, but we should have that answer in about 24 hours.
With the WSOP Main Event having begun, the question of how players can stay mentally focused for so many days and such long sessions. The simple answer is that it isn’t very easy and you absolutely have to be prepared if you are going to invest in this marathon tournament and take your shot at poker glory. However, it is not just a session like this that requires preparation. Sitting down at any MTT is a commitment and if you aren’t ready for it, you will find yourself mumbling and walking to the rail because of an unfocused play that costs you your stack.
If you are going to go deep in any tournament, you need to do a couple of things that will help you stay in the game. The most obvious of course is to pay attention to the play of everyone on your table, but keeping that focus is not easy if that is all you are doing. Sitting there staring at the table will turn you into a zombie. Have you ever noticed how many players are wearing headphones in today’s tournaments?
Music is a great way to not only keep your focus, but also a great reminder to keep your play on track. For instance, maybe you want to program some rather aggressive music once an hour or so to mentally trigger you that if your stack in not in good shape, that you need to start making moves. Music also will allow you to enjoy the tournament instead of getting stuck in that zombie state. People are often much more focused under the influence of music. Get that iPod out and put your favorites on there. Just don’t forget that you want to also use it as a trigger to keep that play focused.
Another thing that you may want to consider is to bring some energy snacks to the table with you. Let’s face it, a huge MTT field means a lot of boring hours at the tables. During those long runs when the cards dry out, it is often very difficult to stay sharp and alert. By eating some healthy energy snacks, you can get that much needed boost to keep you alert and ready for that massive run that awaits you.
Finally, don’t be afraid to get out of your seat if you are starting to feel tired. Even if a break is not coming up, get up and take a quick walk after the blinds pass you by. It will get the blood flowing again and re-energize you at the table. When everyone else is falling asleep because of the long hours, you can pounce like a tiger and start scooping pots. It is quite easy to fall into the trap of fold, fold, fold and you want to avoid that at all costs by staying sharp and alert.
An MTT is not an easy thing to win and if you are going to give yourself a true shot, you must come prepared. Physical ability is one thing, but you also have to be mentally prepared for the long hours that you have to put in at that table. The fact that you cannot re-buy means that one simple mistake could lead to you being ousted. Stay sharp and use this tips to give you an advantage and get you to the final table.
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.
It has been two very long hard weeks of 
