2007 WSOP - The Predictions Begin

  Here is the official schedule for the next eleven days of poker, starting today, July 6th - all Main Event:July 06 - Day 1AJuly 07 - Day 1BJuly 08 - Day 1CJuly 09 - Day 1DJuly 10 - Day 2AJuly 11 - Day 2BJuly 12 - Day 3July 13 - Day 4July 14 - Day 5July 15 - Day 6July 17 - Final Table  Now that we know what is happening when, the next big question is - who? Speculation and discussion has ignited over the last day or two after a few weeks of weak sparks, and the real money seems to be on the unknown player. With big name pros getting odds like 300 to 1 against winning the 38th annual World Series of Poker Main Event, the odds against it being an unknown Internet player are tossed around at about 10 to 1.  Even the pattern of the last five WSOP champions support this idea. Jamie Gold, Joe Hachem, Greg Raymer, Chris Moneymaker, Robert Varkonyi - all five relative unknowns on the pro poker circuit, although not necessarily in the poker world. This is an important distinction: while the players were relative unknowns, they themselves knew the game of poker very well. Luck can be (and is) a major factor in winning a field that gets progressively larger year after year, but without skill the odds would become too insurmountable. This is not winning the lottery, like many proclaim, as every player who sits down at the table does not have the same chance of winning.  While players like legendary Action Dan Harrington have proclaimed that "no one over 45" will ever win the WSOP main event again, skill still factors into the game in a major way. The predictions begin, and will be measured against the action of the next eleven days.