Dan made the wise decision to let me start posting here during the WSOP. Since I\’ll be nowhere near the real action (being from Syracuse, NY), I\’ll do my best to give my views on the action from time to time while the rest of the Pokerati crew will be busy doing all the good stuff at the WSOP that makes this poker enthusiast wish to be there himself. Today\’s the calm before the storm as a field of ~300 should take part in today\’s $10,000 Pot Limit Holdem \”World Championship\”.
A few questions pre-WSOP:
With the first of eight $10k buyin \”World\” Championships today, will the professionals take the early lead in the pros v amateurs battle for bracelets? With the open World Championship events having at least a $10k buyin, they\’re hoping to get the bracelets they\’ve been after while thinning the field of those pesky amateurs.
Who\’s better: online or live pros? This debate gets started up yet again as a new crop of online players who have turned 21 in the past year participate in their first WSOP.
Will anyone win at least 2 bracelets this year? Even with the larger fields that the WSOP has had over the years, there has been a multiple bracelet winner every year since 2000. Chances look good that this trend will continue in 2008.
Will Phil Hellmuth win bracelet 12? Will Johnny Chan or Doyle Brunson catch up to tie Hellmuth again at 11? I think the more likely event is that Erik Seidel (8) or Allen Cunningham (5) will move up the all-time leaderboard.
Will there be a repeat of last year\’s episodes with Vinnie Vinh or Eskimo Clark? Vinnie\’s disappearing act in two tournaments last year made his chair a running joke during the WSOP. Eskimo\’s numerous \”mini\” strokes were more sad, as it appeared he was desperate to play to get out of whatever financial hole he was in as he shunned medical care on more than one occasion. Hopefully no one will suffer the same fate this year.
Will the Main Event draw more participants than last year? The US economy (national and poker) hasn\’t been strong in the past year with WPT fields being down. However, EPT participation has been up, and a weak dollar could help bring the numbers back over last year\’s 6,358. Speaking of the Main Event, will the 16 week delay in the final table concluding help or hurt the event? That\’s an question that\’ll take a bit longer to answer.
What happened yesterday:
The WPA super-satellite ($550, played according to WPA Tournament Rules was held (12 seats were awarded, approximately 250 participants).
This billboard was spotted in Vegas yesterday. Guess making the final table does have its benefits, even if you don\’t finish 1st.
On the heels of the Gamma-O sponsorship earlier this month. Online poker training site Cardrunners will be sponsoring the satellite room at the Rio.
More later today. Besides pounding the refresh key here, you can always check out Pokernews or CardPlayer for \”live\” updates and Citizen Stack Reporter to follow your favorite Pokerati-ists.
Tao of Poker to follow Pauly and his exploits.
And Pocket Fives Live to follow your favorite online players.