Recapping some of the events of today at the the Rio:

JP wins bracelet at WSOP

John-Paul Kelly took down the $1,500 Pot-Limit Holdem event a few minutes ago besting Marc Tschirch in headsup play to win his first career bracelet, and over $190,000. Erik Seidel, who announced that he would donate his entire winnings in this event to charity, finished 7th for $24,919.

HORSE Drags its Way to Final Table

The official final table of the $3,000 HORSE event comes back from its one-hour dinner break with eight players remaining at the final table. After Gavin Smith was eliminated in 10th, the remaining players played for nearly three hours to eliminate one player. Here’s how the final table will be seated when played resumed:

Seat 1: Gabriel Nassif
Seat 2: Timothy Finne
Seat 3: Chris Amaral
Seat 4: James Van Alstyne
Seat 5: Michele Limongi
Seat 6: Martin Eikeng
Seat 7: Matt Hawrilenko
Seat 8: Zac Fellows

Shootout Still Ongoing at the Rio

What started with 100 players is now down to about 40, spread out over 10 tables in the $1,500 NL Shootout. Play ends for the evening after the 10 tables each have one winner, returning tomorrow afternoon to appear on the ESPN broadband service, subject to change of course.

NL 2-7 Still Drawing

24 players remain in the $10,000 NL 2-7 Lowball Single Draw World Championship, playing down to a seven player final table before the clock strikes 3am. Vince Musso is the current chip leader at 270,000 followed by Roland de Wolfe (200,000), Jean-Robert Bellande (188,000), Ville Wahlbeck (160,000) and David Benyamine (142,000) among the notables remaining. Wahlbeck’s looking to cash in his 4th 10k event of this Series, one of the more impressive feats of any WSOP.

Return of the Donkament

A field of 2,506 started the latest version of the $1,500 NL Holdem event, with less than 800 remaining. It appears that Anthony Yeh, who works for PokerNews, is the unofficial chip leader with over 70,000 in chips. Play continues for another four levels tonight, the morning update will have the chip leader and other notables of the remainder of the field.

OHL and SHL, Two Split Games that Go Together

A field of 376 took to the felt in the $2,500 Omaha 8/Stud 8 event at 5pm. Check out the WSOP website for more details from this evening’s remaining events throughout the evening.

Recapping the action from Wednesday night:

Brock to Brock

Brock Parker extended the streak of double braclet winners at the WSOP to 10 years, as he bested Joseph Serock in the $2,500 NL Holdem 6-max event. Both bracelets came in shorthanded events as he beat Daniel Negreanu heads-up in the $2,500 Limit Holdem 6-max event earlier this week.

Seidel Looking for Bracelet #9, #9, #9…

The $1,500 Pot-Limit Holdem final table was reached earlier this morning, and this is how they’ll be seated when play resumes at 2pm at www.bluffmagazine.com/live:

Seat 1: Marc Tschirch – 268000
Seat 2: Erik Seidel – 337000
Seat 3: Jason Dewitt – 476000
Seat 4: Kyle Carlston – 320000
Seat 5: Andrew Radel – 250000
Seat 6: John-Paul Kelly – 627000
Seat 7: Ravi Raghavan – 145000
Seat 8: Kirk Steward – 231000
Seat 9: Aaron Virchis – 191000

HORSE in the Homestretch

The $3,000 HORSEevent reaches its conclusion today with 21 players remaining when play resumes at 1pm. Zac Fellows will start the day with the chip lead at 471,000. James Van Alstyne (455,000), Ylon Schwartz (186,000), Chau Giang (149,000), Bill Blanda (144,000), and Gavin Smith (121,000) are some of the notables coming back as well.

Shootout at the Rio, Day 2

Day 2 of the $1,500 NL Holdem Shootout has 100 players, sitting at 10 tables, remaining when play resumes at 2pm today. Each player will start with 45,000 in chips and play down to a winner, returning on Friday afternoon with 450,000 in chips along with the other table winners to determine the winner.

Drawing Without Limits

Day 2 of the $10,000 NL 2-7 Lowball Single Draw World Championship started with 96 entrants yesterday afternoon. 57 players return at 2pm today, 43 of which will get nothing for their efforts. Roland de Wolfe starts the day with 180,300 in chips. Notables also returning include John Juanda (111,800), David Benyamine (69,500), Kenny Tran (64,800), Phil Ivey (56,000), Daniel Alaei (51,000) and Freddy Deeb (49,600). Unfortunately for Dan, Tom Schneider will not be able to wear the Pokerati patch proudly, as he was eliminated.

Thursday’s Tournaments and Projections

Two tournaments start the action today, starting with another edition of the $1,500 NL Holdem event, with another field of over 2,000 players expected. Last year, Luis Velador took down this event in a field of 2,304 for $574,734. The 5pm event is another event for specialists, $2,500 Omaha 8 or Better/Stud 8 or Better won last year by Farzad Rouhani in a field of 388.

The WSOP Staff Guide projected that 2,400 players would start the $1,500 NL holdem event (take the over – 2,541), while the $2,500 OHL/SHL event would draw a field of 419 (take the under, 371). Action abounds at the WSOP today, so head to the WSOP website and Pokerati throughout the day for the latest in the online poker payment processor situation and other stuff during the day.

Recapping the early portion at the start of week 3 of the WSOP:

Serock over Brock

The $1,500 NL Holdem 6-max event is down to its final five players as they return from dinner break shortly. Joseph Serock is the chip leader, with Brock Parker looking to extend to 10 the number of years with someone winning two bracelets at the WSOP in second place. Russell Crane, Alex Wilson and Jesse Rios rounding out the field.

HORSEs Dragging Along

Players in the $3,000 HORSE event returned from the dinner break with 80 players remaining, only 48 getting paid. Matt Hawrilenko is the leader with 160,000 in chips. Notables near the top include: Gavin Smith (100,000), David Singer (92,000), Ylon Schwartz (80,000), and Michael Watson (52,000).

Pot-Limit’s a Boiling

The $1,500 Pot-Limit Holdem event is down to 22 players, with Alexey Popov the chip leader (290,000) with Jason Dewitt (285,000), Blake Stepp (240,000), Erik Seidel (140,000) among the remaining players.

Shootout at the Rio Corral

The first day of the $1,500 NL Holdem Shootout event as the event has drawn to an early close as a sold out field of 1,000 players, 10 players seated at 100 tables with all tables completed. Among the players who move to Day 2 action: Luis Velador, Peter Jetten, Zelong Dong, Tony Cousineau, Joe Beevers, Theo Tran, Alex Bolotin, and Chris Klodnicki.

Drawing for a World Championship

Around 100 players registered for the $10,000 NL 2-7 Lowball Single Draw World Championship with Gus Hansen making his WSOP debut. It’s early in the proceedings but all the big names are in attendance including Team Pokerati’s Tom “DonkeyBomber” Schneider. Follow him on Twitter and maybe will provide an update during the evening on the site. Also, check out wsop.com for further updates during the evening.

Recapping the overnight action from Tuesday:

Alaei-ay-ay!

Daniel Alaei won his second career WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Omaha 8 or Better World Championship, to win over $445,000. Alaei took the chip lead from Scott Clements as the final table progressed, as heads-up play with Clements lasted just two hands. Daniel Negreanu finished in 4th, John Monnette finished in 5th.

Brock to Brock for Parker?

The $2,500 NL 6-max event finished with 11 players at the 3am deadline, who get to return at 12 noon to reach the feature table, with final table coverage on ESPN360. Joseph Serock is the current chip leader, with Brock Parker in second place looking for another WSOP bracelet. Here’s how the final two tables will be situated when play resumes:

Seat 1: Alexander Ivarsson – 734000
Seat 2: Clayton Newman – 501000
Seat 3: Brian Meinders – 423000
Seat 4: Joseph Serock – 1745000
Seat 5: James Sudworth – 247000
Seat 6: Russell Crane – 672000

Seat 1: Alexander Wilson – 603000
Seat 2: Brian Friesen – 258000
Seat 3: Jay Kinkade – 542000
Seat 4: Jesse Rios – 745000
Seat 5: Brock Parker – 1603000

Is it Seif?

Day 2 of the $1,500 Pot-Limit Holdem event returns at 2pm today with 61 players remaining, all having made the money. Jason Dewitt is the chip leader at 184,700, with Mark Seif (83,000) and David “The Maven” Chicotsky (82,400) among the top 10. Selected notables: Glynn Beebe (62,700), Erik Seidel (61,400), Mike Sexton (35,000), and Joe Sebok (24,000).

HORSE for $3,000, Alex

Day 2 of the $3,000 HORSE event drew a field of 452, up nearly 40 from last year, with 197 players remaining. Rob Amereno is the leader at 96,800. Featured notables: Markus Golser (52,500), David Singer (48,700), David Levi (35,600), Doyle Brunson (32,800), Shirley Rosario (31,100) and Michael Binger (28,700).

Shootout at the Rio, High Noon

The 12pm tournament, as Dan noted in below, is the $1,500 NL Holdem Shootout event, which looks to be maxed out at 1,000 players already. 100 tables of 10 each play down to a winner, with the 100 players remaining coming back on Day 2. Last year, Jason Young won the bracelet in another maxed out field of 1,000 for over $330,000 in winnings.

Drawing to Conclusions

The 5pm event today is the debut of the $10,000 NL 2-7 Lowball, Single Draw World Championship event. Players start with 10,000 in chips along with two additional “rebuy” chips that can be used at any time in the first three levels. Phil Ivey won the $2,500 version of this event last week in a field of 147. The WSOP Staff Guide states that 85 players projected for today, so dead money will be hard to find. The projection appears a smidge high, so expect a field of 74 when registration is closed.

More stuff during the day at Pokerati and this afternoon at www.wsop.com

Two players won a WSOP bracelet earlier this morning, but the vast majority of the discussion will be on Phil Ivey, who took down his 6th WSOP bracelet in Event #8 $2,500 NL 2-7 Draw Lowball. While he collected under $100,000 from this event, he surely picked up a few million in bracelet bets with his fellow poker players, recouping some of those millions he had lost last year when he made similar bracelet bet wagers. John Monnette was looking for his first WSOP title, and he did not go down quietly, as the pair were heads-up for over 3 hours. Both had each other on the ropes, but Monnette was able to double up twice to take a huge chip advantage, but Ivey battled back like he had a few million dollars riding on the result. Several pros were on the rail watching the action, more than a few hoping that the professional from San Diego, California would knock off Ivey. Unfortunately for them, Phil would double up himself to retake the chip lead, finally eliminating Monnette when his 7-6 low crushed them pocket 7′s of Monnette. You can follow all the action as it transpired last night over at Pokernews, where I also wrote the recap that will appear later this morning.

Joining Phil Ivey at the bracelet ceremony today will be Travis Johnson who took down the $1,500 NL Holdem event a few hours ago taking over $666,000 in what appears to be his first tournament cash. Might as well make your first cash include a WSOP bracelet.

Two events that weren’t able to make their final table by the 3am deadline will both return at 1pm today to play down to a champion. The scheduled event for streaming on the Bluff Magazine website is the $1,500 NL Holdem 6-max event, which is down to their final 8, who’ll be seated as listed:

Table 154:
Seat 1: Carman Cavella 1,059,000
Seat 3: Charles Furey 1,169,000
Seat 4: Bryce Yockey 1,489,000
Seat 6: Bryn Kenney 656,000

Table 155:
Seat 2: Manny Minaya 339,000
Seat 3: Praz Bansi 630,000
Seat 5: Ken Aldridge 411,000
Seat 6: Peter Gould 780,000

Page 2 for more tournament activities today:
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Six bracelet events are working towards different conclusions this evening. The one that most people are following is the $2,500 NL 2-7 Lowball final table, which is now heads-up between Phil Ivey and John Monette. Ivey stands to win about $100,000 in the tournament, plus $3,000,000 in bracelet bets. You can catch the action at wsop.pkr.com or bluffmagazine.com/live

The $1,500 NL Holdem event finally reached their final table this evening and the players went on a dinner break. That final table was supposed to be streamed, so apparently when the Lowball event ends, they’ll move whomever’s left in the Holdem event to this table. Here’s how that final table will begin:

Seat 1 – Steve Karp
Seat 2 – Brian McInnis
Seat 3 – Mark Salinaro
Seat 4 – James McClain
Seat 5 – Walter Wright
Seat 6 – Mike Ciotola
Seat 7 – Kam Low
Seat 8 – Travis Johnson
Seat 9 – Craig McConville

In the $1,500 NL 6-max event, 35 are currently remaining as they’ll play down to a 6-handed final table. Notables remaining include David Fox, David “Bakes” Baker, Manny Minaya, Peter Gould and Praz Bansi. The $2,500 Pot-Limit Holdem/Pot-Limit Omaha event finally reached the money after returning from dinner break. Greg Raymer and Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi went out just short of the money. Amnon Filippi is the chip leader, with Hevad Khan, Surinder Sunar, Ben Grundy and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier looking to be at the final table tomorrow afternoon.

A starting field of 1,646 entered the $2,000 NL Holdem event, and when the dinner break was over, just under 800 were returning, one of which will pick up nearly $570,000. The evening tournament, $10,000 Mixed Event World Championship drew a field of 194, and in the early hours, Vanessa Rousso is the current chip leader. Plenty of big names, including Scotty Nguyen, Ivan Demidov, Victor Ramdin and Barry Greenstein are in the top 10, with plenty of big names looking to take down the $492,000 top prize. For more updates during the evening, point your browser over to www.worldseriesofpoker.com often.

As the $1,500 NL event isn’t close to having a final table, the people at Bluff Media have decided to show the final table of the 2-7 NL Single Draw Lowball final table, featuring Phil Ivey at 2pm at the Bluff Magazine website.

The final table lineup is in my previous post, so no need to repeat that. ESPN once filmed a final table of this event when it was a $5,000 w/rebuys event back in 2004,when they’d film a variety of different events. If Ivey’s eliminated early, we’ll probably see why they’ve gone to the more familiar NL holdem/PLO.

Edit: wsop.pkr.com will work as well for those having trouble with the link at Bluff’s site. Also, there’s no commentary, just the table talk and the Tournament Director microphone.

A WSOP record 7 bracelet events were underway on Wednesday afternoon, three of them eventually reaching their conclusions. As noted in my report last night, Jason Mercier got some success in the US, taking home a bracelet in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event, my report is up on PokerNews now. The $1,000 NL Holdem Stimulus Special was won by Steve Sung, taking home over $770,000 and his first WSOP bracelet. The very occasional PokerRoad blogger was under 1m in chips when play was 7-handed but went on a rush to take the chip lead in just under a blind level. Final table chip leader and occasional web page designer Dan Heimiller would finish in 6th place, one of many to succumb to Sung’s success. “Pete the Greek” Valindos was the final victim denied a chance at this 2nd WSOP bracelet, when his pocket eights weren’t good enough for Sung’s pocket kings, but Vilandos does have over $470,000 to cushion that blow. More details on how that final table went down will be up on PokerNews later today.

The $10,000 7 Card Stud World Championship was a battle of the ages, literally. In what appears to be a record for a non-senior event, Freddie Ellis (74) bested Eric Drache (66) to take down the title as Ellis becomes the sixth African-American (Phil Ivey, David Williams, Walter Smiley and Carolyn Gardener being the other five) to win a WSOP bracelet. As Nolan Dalla noted in his tournament report, the distinction all six players have is that they each have won a bracelet in seven card stud. Here’s a bonus piece by Benjo on Eric Drache, from the Tao of Poker site.

The $1,500 NL Holdem event wasn’t able to reach their final table, as 33 players were left at 3am. They get to return at 1pm today to play down to a final table. This final table was scheduled to be streamed later this afternoon at bluffmagazine.com, but that’s definitely not happening at the scheduled 2pm start time. Follow them on Twitter for the latest updates on that situation. Notable names remaining: Michael Martin, Francois Safieddine, and Jeremy Joseph.

One final table that is known is the $2,500 NL 2-7 Lowball Single Draw event. When play began Tuesday afternoon, there were several big names among the 35 remaining. Those players all fell by the wayside, except for Phil Ivey, here’s how the final table will look when they come back at 2pm today.

Seat 1: Raphael Zimmerman – 238,000
Seat 2: Eric Kesselman – 119,400
Seat 3: John Monnette – 259,000
Seat 4: Rodeen Talebi – 94,500
Seat 5: Yan Chen – 159,000
Seat 6: Elia Ahmadian – 136,900
Seat 7: Phil Ivey – 106,300

Today’s other events on the next page:
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The first of three final tables has reached its conclusion as Jason Mercier took down the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event as he went on a rush when it got to six-handed to take the chip lead, beating Steven Burkholder heads-up to take down a WSOP bracelet to go along with his two EPT titles he earned in 2008. The other two final tables the $1,000 NL Holdem “Stimulus Special” as the players are about to return from their dinner break, with Steve Sung the chip leader at 8,700,000 followed by “Pete the Greek” Vilandos (5,930,000) and James Matz III (3,650,000). You can watch the conclusion of this final table on ESPN360 or http://wsop.pkr.com for those without the ESPN service. The $10,000 7 Card Stud World Championship is also down to their final three with Freddie Ellis (2,330,000), followed by Eric Drache (1,435,000) and Ville Wahlbeck (495,000).

The two Day 2 events are moving towards their conclusions, one much more likely to reach a final table than the other. Twelve players remain in the $2,500 NL 2-7 Draw Lowball event, with John Monnette holding the chip leader. They’ll be playing down to a final table of 8 with Tony G, Layne Flack, Phil Ivey, David Grey and Freddy Deeb the players you’ve heard of remaining. The $1,500 NL Holdem event is currently down to about 110 players, trying to get to their final table for their Internet broadcast tomorrow at 2pm on bluffmagazine.com. People you’ve heard of remaining: Brandon Cantu, Jacobo Fernandez, Nancy Todd Tyner, Grant Hinkle, and Michael Martin.

The $1,500 NL Holdem 6-max event drew a field of 1,459 which was down to 318 after the dinner break, while the $2,500 PL Holdem/PLO event drew a field of 453 which has been whittled down to 261 as they take their dinner break. See who’s remaining in those fields over at www.worldseriesofpoker.com and I’ll be back with more stuff tomorrow.

Today’s WSOP festivities will have the chance for 7 bracelet events going on at the same time today, creating what will surely be a fun day for players, tournament staff, media, and other poker enthusiasts.

Let’s start with the two final tables that are known at this time. The $1,000 NL Holdem final table decided to come back at 2pm today to get some exposure on ESPN360 (wsop.pkr.com for the non-US/non-ESPN360 viewer). Here’s how that final table will be seated with players who have earned at least $1,000,000 in tournament earnings occupying the first three seats (as always, tournament stats come courtesy of the Hendon Mob Tournament Database:

Seat 1: Dan Heimiller – 4,155,000
Seat 2: Jeff Oakes – 1,680,000
Seat 3: Nathan Mullen – 1,210,000
Seat 4: Phong Huynh – 1,310,000
Seat 5: James Matz III – 1,885,000
Seat 6: Steve Sung – 3,395,000
Seat 7: Panayote ‘Pete’ Vilandos – 1,940,000
Seat 8: Larry Sidebotham – 1,500,000
Seat 9: Danny Fuhs – 965,000

The other final table that is already known is the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha final table, which also starts at 2pm today, will be made up of:

Seat 1 – An Tran (did not report)
Seat 2 – Jason Mercier (384,400)
Seat 3 – Chris Biondino (182,000)
Seat 4 – Matt Giannetti (311,000)
Seat 5 – Kevin Iacofano (770,000)
Seat 6 – Jonathan Tare (639,000)
Seat 7 – Dario Alioto (315,000)
Seat 8 – Vic Park (341,000)
Seat 9 – Steven Burkholder (263,000)

Day 3 of the $10,000 7 Card Stud World Championship returns for their final day today with 11 players remaining at 3am today. Poker veteran Eric Drache is the current chip leader (755,000), with Hasan Habib (593,000), Freddie Ellis (580,000), Jeff Lisandro (524,000) and Ville Wahlbeck (472,000) rounding out the top 5. Tim Phan, Daniel Negreanu, Max Pescatori and Greg “FBT” Mueller help round out the field that will return at 1pm today for the third bracelet that will be awarded today, which will create an extended bracelet ceremony on Thursday afternoon with all the jewelry being passed out.

Other tournament stuff on the next page:
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The $1,000 NL Holdem Stimulus Special is nearing its final table as they’re down to 13 players and may stop for the day when they reach their final table. Jeff Oakes is the current chip leader with 2,400,000. Danny Fuhs is currently 2nd. Dan Heimiller and Steve Sung are other notables who are looking to make the final table, which will either take place later tonight or Wednesday at 2pm, as the scheduled streaming of the final table has been postponed.

The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event is working their way down to its final table tonight. They currently have 27 players remaining as they went on their dinner break. Jonathan Tare will have the chip lead when the players return, Greg Pappas is currently in 2nd, with day 1 chip leader Jason Mercier is 3rd in chips. Former bracelet winners Dario Alioto, Eric Froehlich and An Tran are some of the notables making up the final three tables.

The $10,000 7-Card Stud World Championship has 45 players remaining while they play down to their final table. The current leader is Fu Wong, followed by Greg “FBT” Mueller, Max Pescatori, Nick Frangos, Hoyt Corkins and Cory Zeidman. A recent elimination was Day 1 chip leader David Oppenheim, along with Phil Ivey, Joe Cassidy and Bruno Fitoussi being day 2 casualties, falling far short of the money that will be reached when 16 players remain.

The $1,500 NL Holdem event got underway today as a field of 2,791 entrants flooded the tournament area, causing delays in the starts of several other events. Returning on the dinner break will be 889 players, with the current chip leader is Jonathan Little, with “Minneapolis Jim” Meehan, Bertrand “Elky” Grospelier, Tiffany Michelle and Chau Giang among the notables off to a fast start. The money will be reached when 297 players remain, with the winner taking home $666,853.

The $2,500 NL 2-7 Lowball Single Draw event started as 148 players took their seats, as plenty of notables round out the field, including Greg Raymer, Erick Lindgren, John Juanda, Billy Baxter, Chino Rheem, Gavin Smith and Pokerati’s own Tom Schneider as they play eight one-hour levels tonight. Follow all the tournament’s progress at www.worldseriesofpoker.com and Pokerati for DonkeyBomber and other updates.

Finishing up business from Monday night before moving on…

The $1,000 NL Holdem Stimulus Special finished at 3am today with 50 players returning at 1pm to play down to a winner. The chip leader is Robert Comegys from Grand Prairie, TX with nearly 1.2m million in chips. Danny Fuhs is close behind, with notables such as Eric Mizrachi, Lee Watkinson, Dan Heimiller, and Jonathan Aguiar far down the leaderboard. More details will be available in my PokerNews recap later today. Today’s event is scheduled to be the first of over 20 WSOP final tables to be streamed online this year. The scheduled 2pm final table will be pushed back at least a few hours, depending on how fast play is today. Updates on Pokerati during the day today.

The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event finished their Day 1 with 81 players remaining, the exact amount needed to reach the money. Jason Mercier, best known for his success on the European Poker Tour, is the chip leader with 227,000 in chips, over 60,000 more than second placed Matt Humphrey. Other notables who’ve made the money include Eric Froehlich,, Dario Alioto, Josh Arieh, An Tran, Warren Karp, Shannon Shorr, Robert Mizrachi, and Kirill Gerasimov. Those players and many more return at 2pm today to play down to a final table.

The $10,000 Seven Card Stud World Championship ended after eight levels with 101 of its remaining 142 entrants remaining. High-stakes cash game player David Oppenheim emerged as the chip leader, with veterans “Miami John” Cernuto, Nick Frangos, Danny Robison, and Steve Zolotow helping make up the top 10. Others who’ll be looking to work their way up include Eli Elezra, Todd Brunson, Eric Drache, Erick Lindgren, Andy Bloch, Cory Zeidman and Phil Ivey. They also return at 2pm to play down to their final table.

The one event that was able to conclude Monday was the WSOP Champions Invitational as Tom McEvoy, the 1983 Main Event winner, knocked off Robert Varkonyi, the 2002 Main Event champion to win the first Binion Cup along with a 1970 red Corvette.

The preview for today’s events:
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He outed himself.

After Dan tried to delicately give “luvgamble” kudos for winning the WCOOP Event #24 ($530 NL 2-7 Single Draw) without giving away his real name, as no one likely caught the clever “Schmonkey Schmomber” clue, Tom Schneider gave his real name when doing the winner’s interview piece for PokerStars.

In the piece written by Falstaff entitled, “Oops! I Won Another Bracelet! Tom ‘luvgamble’ Schneider Takes Down Event #24,” the Donkey Bomber discusses the key to his WCOOP success.

Schneider, who has had tremendous success in live tournaments with 2 World Series of Poker bracelets in 2007 and the WSOP Player of the Year title for that year, says “I like games that don’t have any educational material available. I believe that my advantage is that I’m able to figure out games without having to rely on written material.”

Ahhh, not reading. That’s the key! Duly noted.

Today, Schneider started out at the top of the leaderboard of the WCOOP $5200 NLHE main event. Keep up with his progress as live bloggers track all of the happenings. (Side note: If Schneider stays in long enough, I’ll likely write some witty blog entries about him during the late shift tonight, my last of the WCOOP.)

click to enlarge

Well whaddya know … Pokerati fave [name deleted] still plays poker … and last night he (“luvgamble”) won WCOOP event #24: $530 NL 2-7 Single Draw. (Which really is the best psychology-based poker game of all.)

308 runners, 49 in the money. First Place paid a nice $42k … glad to see [name deleted] finally book a noticeable win in 2008, which will make me feel better taking a chunk of it in our presidential election wager.

The one unfortunate thing … [name deleted] always liked to play anonymously, and wouldn’t even tell me his PokerStars screen name for fear that I’d publicize it. But now, as it goes in poker because I have no conscience he actually won a semi-public event, I get to out him, and the “Shmonkey Shmomber” is stuck playing a Googleable screen name into perpetuity. Ha ha, er, I mean congrats!

Other notable money finishers with trackable screen names:

newhizzle – Mark Newhouse
Bill Chen – Bill Chen
GavinGriffin – Gavin Griffin
KidPoker – Daniel Negreanu
BeL0WaB0Ve – Kevin Saul

Meanwhile, here’s a moment of Zen from 10th-place finisher Bill Chen, speaking on “The Power of Acceptance”, and even the necessity of embracing plausible death:

Facts and Figures from the WSOP so far, at the end of play early Friday morning:

Number of entrants: 20,141
Bracelets awarded: 20
Most cashes: Nikolay Evdakov – 5
Most final tables: Theo Tran, Erick Lindgren – 2
Current ESPN POY: Erick Lindgren 175 points
Leading money earner: Grant Hinkle – $831,462

A review of the week 2 action at the World Series of Poker:

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