This really was a big one … beyond the coolness of seeing a guy dominate an entire variant of poker (a la Hellmuth/Hold\’em), here\’s more from Nolan on the significance of Jeff Lisandro\’s three bracelets in the month of June in 7-stud Hi, 7-stud Hi-Lo, and 7-stud Lo-Lo … and how it compares to similar accomplishments in bigger and smaller years past:
More on Jeffrey Lisandro’s Win (Historical Implications) —
· Lisandro became only the fifth player in WSOP history to win three gold bracelets within a single year. The other four players to accomplish this feat were:
Puggy Pearson (1973)
Ted Forrest (1993)
Phil Hellmuth (1993)
Phil Ivey (2002)· Lisandro has a reasonable chance to become the first-ever four-time gold bracelet winner (single year) in WSOP history. The closest any player has ever come to accomplishing this feat was Phil Hellmuth in 1993 when he finished 1st, 1st, 1st, and 2nd in four events. Lisandro still has 14 more events to set a new record — with 10 gold bracelets remaining on this year’s schedule in Las Vegas, plus four more events in WSOP-Europe to be played in September.
· Lisandro’s accomplishment versus other great players will be debated by both poker fans and historians. There were clearly more events for Lisandro to enter this year (61 total), more than any other year, to date. Contrast the number of tournaments in 2009 with significantly less events played in 1973, 1993, and 2002 (the years other players set their records). In Lisandro’s defense, he had to overcome much larger field sizes in his three wins.
· Based purely on the number of events in a year, Puggy Pearson’s three wins in 1973 stands as a record that will probably never be equaled. He won half of the events played that year (3 out of 6).
· Based on field sizes, Lisandro’s three wins is clearly the most impressive of the five players who now share the record. He defeated a total of 835 players (combined) in his three gold bracelet wins. Contrast this with Phil Ivey in 2002, who defeated 529 players during his gold bracelet trifecta.
· Lisandro’s victory places him with the Stud all-time great Artie Cobb, who holds the record for the most Seven-Card wins and cashes. Cobb holds four Stud-related gold bracelets and 18 cashes, the most of any player in WSOP history.
· Lisandro obliterated the competition, particularly at the final table. No player ever came within 2 to 1 of his chip advantage. He also knocked out 6 of the 8 players in the finale.
· Lisandro’s decimation of the field took place in relatively quick time. This was the shortest final table of any of the 44 events completed so far at this year’s WSOP. The final table clocked in a 2 hours and 40 minutes – a rocket-fast pace given he was playing a limit game known for conservative play.
· A few notes about WSOP records over multiple year periods: The most gold bracelet wins within a three-year span is 5, held by two players – Gary “Bones†Berland (1977-79) and Doyle Brunson (1976-78). The most gold bracelet wins within a four-year span is 6, held by Doyle Brunson (1976-79). Lisandro is now in contention to challenge both of these records, since he hold four gold bracelets within just two years.