Though personally I don’t expect Darvin Moon to look anything like Sammy Farha en route to 2nd place … you gotta love the debate going on over who will, and who should win … let alone whose victory would be “better for poker”.
Super-young but true online pro vs. the “Ultimate Everyman” … you know, if everyman happened to cut trees for a living.
As you know by now, I’m probably as much a Cada fan as I am an Aston Villan (I’ve got Fake$100 invested in his winning) … but the hubbub going on right now reminds me a bit of funny-in-retrospect conversation as WSOP things got down to heads-up in 2003 …
On the last day of the 2003 WSOP main event, a handful of eliminated pros gathered around the final table to watch the action. Moneymaker — the Tennessee accountant who had never before played a live tournament — had amassed a sizable chip lead when Mike Matusow turned to fellow professional Eric Siedel and said, “I can’t believe another donkey is going to win the World Series of Poker.”Â
“You better hope he wins,” Seidel responded. “If Moneymaker can pull this off, it’s going to be worth at least $5 million to you and me over the next two years.”
“Are you crazy?” Matusow said, dismissively.
The only difference this go-round, of course, is that the world has already been introduced to online poker, and the Sammy Farha pro character is being played by a 21-year-old who stands to be the youngest WSOP main event champ in history (for the second year in a row).
For a good bio, check out this good old-fashioned newspaper article about Joe Cada, the reigning poker hero of Metro Detroit … written before they knew he’d be the one playing heads-up against Darvin Moon. It’s been a wild ride, he says, since making the November Nine — one that ended with a $150k losing streak leading up to the big dance.
Here’s an interview PokerStars did with “the kid” (now “the comeback kid” in Stars parlance) — who started his career as on all-American online pro at age 18 shortly before the start of this weekend’s great-big sit-n-go:
Coulda told you all along he was gonna win it. (I know he hasn’t yet, but still …) Looking back at some emails with The Poker Beat crew (we were tossing around the idea of an on-air prop-bet) … sure enough, Cada was the dude I picked! Joey Stapleton apparently saw something in “the kid”, too:
(Note: You don’t see the other guys’ picks because I mucked things up by showing mine to soon. I also thought Darvin Moon’s name was “Garvin” at the time.)
How the final hand was called early on Bluff’s Internet audio stream Sunday morning at the WSOP Main Event final table with David “The Maven” Chicotsky”, Phil Hellmuth, and Bluff’s Eric Morris:
Funny … Last night (in relative poker hours) there was a bit of a fracas in the Joe Cada fan section that almost turned in to a full-scale donnybrook, but witnesses who were not tossed out of the WSOP&T Theater insist it had nothing to do with Darvin Moon:
As the November 9->2 comes to a close, Pauly and I evaluate the make-up (TV- and industry-wise) of the Final Three … and when Antoine Saout goes down, a double-crushed Benjo finds himself baffled by Joe Cada yet still tickled that his countryman’s play allowed him to lock himself in a giant room for 17+ hours to witness this final table spectaculaire.
Episode 7: The Final 3
[audio:tao/TOP_N9_07_Final3.mp3]
Phil Ivey made the first all-in move of the day and the crowd went… silent.
It was certainly the tensest moment so far as both Joe Cada and Jeff Shulman considered taking Ivey on and, potentially, knocking him out. In the end though, Ivey’s fold equity was enough that he took down the pot and lived to play on.
I can’t wait to see what happens when we have an all-in and a call.
Pomp and circumstance is underway … and a betuxed TD Jack Effel began with a lesson on “poker fan etiquette”. Jack’s rules:
Cheer and clap all you want
Do not, however, interfere with play in any way by screaming “Go All In!” or “Don’t do that!”
Scream all you want
Please don’t boo.
[Editor’s Note: Booooo!]
No flash photography
With all that explained, Jack “Link’s” Effel (who’s clearly been studying the works of the Buffer Brothers and touring rock bands) tried to rally the crowd to see who had the biggest cheering section. In terms of volume, Joe Cada’s rail-gang was clearly the loudest. “Joey! Joey! Joey!”
But in terms of style … Antoine Saout’s Frenchy hooligans definitely have it. They are all wearing Everest Poker soccer jerseys, with “Saout” on the back, along with Everest Poker scarves … and they’re showing us American sports fans don’t know a thing about local support songs.
As the mostly American crowd briefly paused to listen to whatever soccery song they were singing … Cada’s fans finally drowned them out with the creatively eloquent: “USA! USA! USA!”
The long wait is almost over as the November Nine take their place at the final table Saturday afternoon. The following look at stack sizes, seat position, blind levels, M, etc. is part of a much larger post I made over at 2+2 regarding the final table, the information taken from the WSOP November Nine Media Guide:
Final Table Details
1 – Darvin Moon 58,930,000
2 – James Akenhead 6,800,000
3 – Phil Ivey 9,765,000
4 – Kevin Schaffel 12,390,000
5 – Steven Begleiter 29,885,000
6 – Eric Buchman 34,800,000
7 – Joseph Cada 13,215,000
8 – Antoine Saout 9,500,000
9 – Jeff Shulman 19,580,000
It’s Tuesday, which means a new episode of ESPN.com’s Inside Deal, featuring November Nine participant Joe Cada along with news spanning the poker community.
As the November 9->2 comes to a close, Pauly and I evaluate the make-up (TV- and industry-wise) of the Final Three … and when Antoine Saout goes down, a 
