WSOP

Changes to 2010 WSOP Poker Tournaments

Brian Cherry — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:16:15 +0000

It is never too early to start talking about the World Series of Poker. And now that we are firmly into 2010, we can start talking about the WSOP, the changes to the poker tournaments that make up this event, and what it all means to the poker players out there. Of course talk of the World Series of Poker could simply mean most of us are freezing our tails off, and are looking forward to summer, but either way there have been some changes to the poker tournaments that poker players should be aware of, especially if they plan on participating in the WSOP this year.

So far, Harrah’s has not announced the sort of shocking changes that will keep us all talking and twittering for the next five months, but they still manage a few tweeks. The biggest adjustment has been made in the Player's Championship. No, the price tag has not come down. Players are still going to have to pay the $50,000 buy-in to participate in this event. This will limit the field to experienced professionals, Washington lobbyists, and those who are willing to sell their 2nd kidney on the ebay to live out their poker dreams. This No Limit Texas Holdem/Omaha poker/Stud/Go Fish/Rock-Papers-Scissors event will be moved from the July to May. The No Limit Texas Holdem final table is scheduled to kick off on May 28th.

Along with this change, they also seem to be willing to make the WSOP more financially accesible to a cash strapped populace who have been driven into bankruptcy by “hope and change”. "Whatever your game and whatever your bankroll, the 2010 WSOP schedule offers something for everyone," tournament director Jack Effel said in a statement. "We are planning for the largest WSOP ever and look forward to welcoming all players to the Rio in Las Vegas next summer."

Those who have an extra thousand dollars and an itch to take a run a bracelet will be given plenty of opportunities. During the first five weekends of the WSOP, players can buy in to No Limit Holdem events and try for a bracelet for only a grand.

That is about it for now, but of course there will be more announcements as the months grind on. These guys just can’t stay out of the papers.

Controversy At The World Series Of Poker Main Event – Part II

Jennifer — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:08:35 +0000

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When we left off earlier this week in December’s Poker Series on poker controversy at the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event, hundreds of outraged poker players where wondering why they were shut out of competing and Mike Sexton was about to intervene. Sexton, who is known these days for his hosting duties in the World Poker Tour telecasts, wandered by the crowds and was quickly recruited to be an advocate for the shut-out players. He listened to their complaints and agreed to see if he could help out.

Around 2:15 on that first day, just as those who were already playing in the poker tournament were wrapping up, commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and several other members of the WSOP management gathered the crowd and broke the news that they could not allow any more entrants into the Main Event, that every option had been considered and rejected, and that operational problems prevented them from adding another session or pushing the schedule back.

Obviously the crowd was not pleased with this news. Americans, Australians and Europeans all started shouting questions at Pollack, blowing off some steam after having traveled so far. But Pollack stuck to his guns and simply apologized, stating that they would use what they had learned from this to better plan next year’s WSOP.

Mike Sexton was approached by the host of the radio show, The Lumiere Place Final Table, and agreed to do a segment about the poker controversy right away. The show, which went live and drew lots of feedback about this poorly planned Main Event, did not change the outcome. However, it did show the power of a crowd of poker players coming together to try to change the outcome of that controversial day. The World Series of Poker is an institution in the world of poker and it is unacceptable that so many poker players were shut out of taking part in it after traveling so far. Hopefully, the chaos that ensued and Mike Sexton’s intervention will act as a guarantee that this kind of poker controversy doesn’t happen again.

Part II of the first installment of December's Poker Series on controversy in poker returns to the chaotic first day of the 2009 World Series of Poker. How did the management deal with the angry crowds and did Mike Sexton really step in and make a difference?

Poker Pro Jerry Yang Takes a Shot at the Current WSOP Champ

Brian Cherry — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:15:45 +0000

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By all accounts 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Champ and poker pro, Jerry Yang, is a very nice fellow. I am guessing if your choices were to sit down for a few hands of Texas Hold’em with either Jerry Yang, Hitler, Bernie Maddoff, Barack Obama, a group of Amway recruiters, or Phil Hellmuth, most people would probably lean towards playing with Jerry. Masochists would perhaps take Phil and those in the “Jamestown Kool-Aid” demographic would most likely lean towards the rest of the field. While it is true that Jerry has a good reputation as a person, and a wonderful personal story, maybe he should avoid commenting on other poker players who have won the WSOP Main Event.

Jerry Yang recently made some comments about the new World Series of Poker Main Event Champion, Joe Cada, and about how lucky he got in his quest for the WSOP’s top prize. His exact comments were "Joe Cada is a good player, but he got incredibly lucky. Especially with the pocket threes (all in pre-flop against Jeff Shulman's pocket jacks) and the pocket deuces (all in pre-flop against Antoine Saout's pocket queens). I'm happy it worked out for him.” This compliment is like delivering a love note by tying it around a brick and chucking it at your beloved face. By saying this, Jerry is not only diminishing the effort that Cada put forth, but lowering the game of Texas Hold’em to the status of bingo when it comes to skill. As a poker pro, and veteran of hundreds of thousands of poker hands, he should know better.

Joe had plenty of luck during the Main Event, but any experienced poker player knows just how good somebody has to be in order to put themselves in position to be lucky at that level. Let’s face it, luck is as much factor in every major sport as human error. While a few poker hands obviously involved luck, there was plenty of skill on display as well. This comment probably had very little to do with “sour grapes”. Jerry was probably just having an “off the teleprompter” moment. I am not sure he meant anything disrespectful by it, but he should think twice before saying such things in the future.

Poker Players Still Spending Money at the WSOP

Brian Cherry — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:42:59 +0000

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the legacy that Elvis left human civilization, the current economic problems have left people to honor the King without making a pilgrimage to his castle to see the throne he died upon. For the most part, tourist destinations have been pretty hard hit by a global recession that sees people opting for “staycations” within the confines of their own homes, rather than spend money for expensive outings. With that said, poker players seem to be willing to do the travel that the average engineer or accountant is currently avoiding, and the World Series of Poker seems to be recession proof.

Now that the World Series of Poker has played its final hand, and crowned a man-child as the WSOP Main Event Champion, the numbers have come in on regarding how well the entire season has gone for them. Unlike the news other vacation destinations and events have had to endure, their report card is a good one.

Poker Players taking a little Texas Hold’em oriented vacation and Poker Pros in search of WSOP gold, pushed World Series of Poker participation beyond the 2009 mark. 60,875 people took the pilgrimage to Las Vegas and paid buy-ins to play in pokers most prestigious series of tournaments. This is 2000 more people than who attended in the previous year. This is obviously good news, but even economy driven negatives are hiding in the otherwise rosy picture, like a aphids on a bloom or that mole on Cindy Crawford’s face (seriously, shouldn’t she have done something about that by now?) The Main Event and other high buy-in tournaments had a drop in participation, while the lower buy-in tourneys experienced a rush. While this might be a minor cause of concern for the event administrators, this is probably music to the ears of most poker pros. For the most part, they don’t like amateurs mucking up the works when the big prizes are on the line. Of course in the Main Event, 6000 to 1 odds are not very good, and a 21 year old player from economically depressed Michigan still emerged as the Texas Hold’em King.

WSOP officials are approaching the whole thing with cautious optimism. “We expect to find a way to increase participation,” World Series of Poker spokesman Seth Palansky said. “But I don’t think you’ll see the record growth you have since 2000.”

Old Enough to Win, Too Young to Enter a Casino

Brian Cherry — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:40:03 +0000

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Annette Obrestad became the youngest person to ever win a WSOP bracelet when she was victorious at the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event in 2007. She was 18 at the time. I really don’t think she woke up on the morning of her eighteenth birthday, poured herself a bowl of Froot Loops and suddenly decided to play poker for a living. Rarely does anyone make the sort of decision that changes their whole life over Froot Loops; Boo Berry maybe, but not Froot Loops. In fact she admits that she had been playing online poker at various poker sites since she was fifteen. Oddly enough though, this WSOP Main Event champion could not walk into the RIO and play for a World Series of Poker Bracelet in Vegas until three years after her record breaking win. Now that she is 21, she will finally be eligible to play in next year’s WSOP. It just seems silly that she had to wait that long.

Europe has it right. They allow people to play poker at a casino when they turn 18. The reasonable thought behind this is that if they are old enough to move out of their parent’s basement, they are old enough to risk their Burger King salary on a pair of Kings. The United States is not so lenient.

In America, a 16 year old, inexperienced, kid can legally get behind the wheel of an eight cylinder Camaro and become a fast moving road hazard. At the age of 18 they can join the military and have control of weapons that destroy everything from a single terrorist to the entire Eastern Hemisphere, but they are not allowed to play poker at a casino; that would be bad. I think if we can trust an 18 year old to handle combat duty, what to do with a stack of chips and a drawing hand should be well within their capabilities.

To be fair, this ridiculous restriction exists to keep alcohol out of the hands of people who are under 21. It is true that a lot of men and women in their thirties, forties, and fifties can’t handle their alcohol, so it is unreasonable to believe that someone who thinks Seth Rogan is a comedic genius is going to be able to drink responsibly. Of course this problem could be dealt with by having the cocktail waitress simply check the ID of a poker player who looks barely old enough to shave; issue resolved.

Hopefully casinos will get on board with this and let the players who have been playing online poker since they were in Jr. High school, compete at their tables. If not, players will have to keep plugging away at internet poker sites until they turn 21.

WSOP Wades into the Online Poker Industry

Brian Cherry — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:23:19 +0000

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I think a pretty good argument can be made that the World Series of Poker is one of the biggest reasons for the proliferation of online poker. This goes back to 2003 when a little known accountant named Chris Moneymaker invested $39 in an online WSOP satellite tournament, and shortly thereafter he was showing off a WSOP Main Event bracelet and thinking about what to do with his newly acquired millions. It was an internet rags to riches story that played itself out on pokers biggest stage; the WSOP Main Event. Suddenly everyone with an internet connection and an uninspiring career was playing poker in cyberspace. Had Moneymaker won his way into the Aussie Millions, or some other smaller tournament, the only people who would probably know his name are his family and anyone who needs their quarterly taxes done. Seeing as the WSOP has been instrumental in the growth of online poker, it always seemed strange that they didn’t have an online presence in the internet gaming industry. It appears that is about to change.

It looks like Harrah's Interactive Entertainment is going to take its first real step into the online poker arena. They have chosen 888 Holdings as their partner in this endeavor. This makes a lot of sense. Harrah’s owns the most important and influential poker tournament on the planet, it is only natural they would choose the most respected name in online gaming to bring the WSOP into cyberspace.

"The intent is to be in the online gaming space, wherever it's legal," said WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky. "We've partnered with 888 to develop a platform."

There is no timetable for when we will see these early steps become a viable poker room. When they do open their proverbial doors, there will probably be a number of executives at big name poker sites shaking in their Bruno Magli and sweating through their Armani suits. Despite the fact that this move by Harrah’s and 888 will scare some folks more than finding out their blind date is Lorena Bobbitt, this is nothing but good news for online players everywhere.

Making Money on the WSOP Main Event

Brian Cherry — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:55:28 +0000

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We all know that the nine people left in the World Series of Poker Main Event are going to make a bundle of cash, no matter where they finish up. Of course thanks to the fact that people will take bets on anything from football to cockroach races, we can make money on the WSOP Main Event as well. Those who are looking for a big payday themselves from this event will find that the odds that exist on the final table are very interesting to say the least.

Darvin Moon has a huge stack. Anybody who has ever played tournament poker knows that the player with a big chip lead can use his massive cache of chips as a stick to beat their opponents into submission with. With a lead of almost twenty five million chips, obviously he is the odds on favorite to win the whole thing. Of course the smart money is not always the best money, and the odds in on the Main Event final table tell us who the odds makers think is the best player at the table.

Phil Ivey, despite a chip deficit of almost fifty million, is right behind the two chip leaders when it comes to the odds of winning. Folks who make their living dealing in odds don’t have the luxury of being fans. Their stock in trade is accuracy. It is unlikely they would put Ivey near the top unless they thought he had a reasonable chance to win, even with his small stack. While it is not our place to give betting advice, a lot of money can be made by those putting their cash on Ivey (if he happens to win). What is also telling is the degree to which the odds makers think that skill is a factor in the game of poker. No matter how you look at it, it is very interesting.

Dying to Play at the WSOP

Brian Cherry — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:42:56 +0000

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Over the years I heard a lot of people describe how they have raised money for the buy-ins that allow them to compete for a WSOP bracelet. For the normal player, the person who has a real job and poker is just their hobby, the most popular method has been to save up the winnings from casino visits, online sessions, and home games to pay the buy-in. .This makes sense; if you can’t win enough playing over twelve months to cover the buy-in, travel, and lodging, you probably don’t belong playing at the WSOP. Of course alternate methods are available. For those with the appropriate physical gifts, and no objection to intimate behavior with ugly strangers, raising the money is possible without ever logging on to a poker site or stepping into a casino. While methods for getting spare cash for a buy-in cover the range from competitive to morally sketchy, I think it is safe to say most people wouldn’t kill for an opportunity to play at the WSOP.

Ernest Scherer III has had money finishes at the World Series of Poker over the last three years. In 2006 he even made the final table at a Limit Hold’em event. Despite some big paydays, he was in a deep financial hole, and needed some quick cash. Unlike other thugs who simply knock over their local convenience store, Ernest is accused of taking the phrase “Home is where the heart is” in disturbing new directions. He has been charged with two counts of murder for the death of his parents. Furthermore, the charges include special circumstances of using a deadly weapon and committing murder for financial gain. Were he not arrested for the crime, he stood to inherit over a million dollars from his parents estate.

If he did this, the timing of the crime is interesting; killing them months before the WSOP. That would give the investigation time to conclude, and free up his inheritance. 1.3 million dollars could cover a lot of buy-ins. It is hard to imagine someone killing their parents for something as trivial as money. If he is willing to do that though, just think of how many ways he would have violated the new code of conduct if he went on tilt.

Opening with a Fizzle

Brian Cherry — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:51:33 +0000

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The Superbowl once had the wedding of Pac Man and Mrs. Pac Man. The first problem is that Pac Man is taking his oaths with someone who already has the prefix Mrs. Either this was some form of a re-commitment ceremony, or he was pinching Donkey Kongs wife. It doesn’t really matter because the whole thing really stunk. They haven’t gotten much better over the years. While the experiment in contemporary entertainment lead to the world getting a look the fruits of Janet Jackson’s cosmetic surgeons labor, more recently the Superbowl has relied heavily on classic rock artists. There is some folly with leaning on people who had their first hit before human beings made it to the moon, but at least they are trying.

The World Series of Poker is the biggest event on the poker calendar. It attracts a diverse range of people that go from a middle-class office worker who has saved up his vacation time to try for a bracelet, to mainstream celebrities, debutants, big money athletes, and celebutants. With the WSOP attracting all these people to the event, wouldn’t a reasonable person think they would make a bigger effort when it came to opening day ceremonies?

Last year the UNLV marching band helped kick things off. Nothing against college marching bands; it is incredibly difficult to get over a hundred kids to walk and play music while being completely in synce with their band mates, but why not hire Gwen Stefani to open the show, or maybe Fergie, SheDaisy, or, in a perfect world, Slipknot.

A huge percentage of the players are internet kids, find some entertainment that speaks to them as well as the old guys, and have an opening day blowout. C’mon, this is a huge event. Lets kick it off with a bang instead of a fizzle.

Negreanu Calls Out Hellmuth

Brian Cherry — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:20:39 +0000

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In sports there have been a lot of people who have taken a unique approach to taking your opponent of their game. Former New York Giant great, Lawrence Taylor, used to send prostitutes to his opponents the night before a game. Theoretically star members of the opposing team would be so worn out after enjoying the services of a freelance girlfriend, that they would play like a limp and flaccid noodle during the following day’s game. Al Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders, used to turn the hot water off in the visiting locker room, and do his best to make his opponents as physically uncomfortable as possible. The only thing that is off limits when attempting to take your opponent off their game is to trash them in the press. This is because publicly questioning them often backfires and inspires your enemy to play better.

Daniel Negreanu must have known this when he publicly announced that Phil Hellmuth was past his “sell by” date when it comes to his ability to bring home the bracelet in WSOP competition. Daniel told PokerListings.com that "The ratio of pros to amateurs or good players to bad will probably be about 7-1 or 6-2, so there's no way a player like Phil Hellmuth will win. It requires a completely different skill set than Hellmuth has, Negreanu said. "Playing against good players and all these great young players, his old-school thinking when it comes to winning tournaments just won't cut it. I think Phil will be outclassed."

There is only one reason that Daniel would say something like this; he thinks it’s true. While Phil is going to be very unhappy with being slapped by this very public gauntlet, the truth is that history is squarely on the side of Negreanu. Phil dominated during the nineties, but his flood of victories became a trickle after the internet became a factor in high profile tournaments. Phil has yet to adjust to the current field of players and consistently fails to be the dominating force that he once was. While it is impossible to say whether or not a 12th bracelet is in his future, what is self-evident is that Hellmuth’s best days are behind him, and he will spend most of his WSOP tournaments watching the younger, internet kids, play for bracelets while his ego tries to absorb yet another elimination.

While Phil is going to be very unhappy with being slapped by this very public gauntlet, the truth is that history is squarely on the side of Negreanu. Phil dominated during the nineties, but his flood of victories became a trickle after the internet became a factor in high profile tournaments.