Phil Ivey – on a roll again

Phil Ivey has apparently set himself a rather ambitious goal as far as WSOP bracelets are concerned. The Full Tilt Poker pro has said shortly after he pocketed his 8th gold bracelet the other day that he would aim to win 30 such pieces of jewelry in his poker career. The statement was a rather shocking one, in light of the fact that the person with the most WSOP bracelets is currently Phil Hellmuth, who’s won 11 thus far. Considering that it’s coming from Phil Ivey though, a player well known for his cool headedness and for his abilities at the green felt (many consider him the best pound for pound poker player in the world today), there may be some weight behind it.

First of all, compared to most other professional sports, poker offers an overwhelmingly high number of chances for players to grab a WSOP bracelet each year. Both in Golf and in Tennis, there a lot fewer such opportunities, yet the top players have managed to accumulate around 20 titles without problems. I know what you’ll say: in none of those sports is the outcome as dependent on luck as it is in poker. While there are a massive 60 bracelet opportunities each year, the luck factor means that one person will find it extremely difficult to constantly walk away with the gold. The skill factor certainly means that a player with Ivey’s skills will consistently go deep in various events, but the luck factor is potent enough to deny the win nonetheless. Event with luck factored in though, Ivey stands a pretty good chance to walk away with at least a bracelet each year. As long as he keeps making final tables, it’s just a question of enough shots given for him to make it all the way.
The other variable in the equation is the number of years that Ivey’s poker career will span. Unlike most professional sports though, age is not really a factor in poker. A certain amount of mental decline is inevitable with age, but that has not been known to affect players’ poker performances significantly. One should only look at Doyle Brunson for inspiration in this respect, but the Legend himself is just one of many who play well into their seventies. The record breaking starting field at the seniors’ event has certainly proved that rather than the exception, Tex Dolly is actually the rule.
Holdem still seems to be the most popular poker variant at the WSOP and it keeps attracting the biggest starting fields. For a Holdem specialist, it’s obviously pretty tough to wade through all the competition on the way to a title. Ivey however, is quite adept at PLO and mixed games as well. These poker variants, when combined with high buy-ins, create perfect opportunities for Ivey and for other players like him to make deep runs.
One might ask if he’s indeed that capable of scoring bracelets, why is it that he’s only scored 8 so far? The reason is simple: a few years ago, players like Ivey had little to no motivation when it came to fighting for bracelets. These days though, thanks to the side bets which have upped the stakes on bracelets considerably for these guys, most of the top online and live poker players are back in WSOP action.

Last but certainly not least, we mustn’t forget that it’s Phil Ivey we’re talking about. If this guy sets his sight on something, chances are he won’t stop until he achieves what he wants.

Tom Dwan still bracelet-less

There’s a HUGE difference between mere mortals playing in WSOP events and well-known poker pros doing the same. For us mortals, the game is about the money, thus all we root for is to finish as high as possible on the final leader-board to possibly build us a house instead of buying a car. For pros, it’s about bracelets. Even this attitude of theirs offers these guys an advantage. While mere mortals will settle for being “farmers”, pros like Tom Dwan will always be “foxes”. They will fully exploit the lulls preceding various bubbles, and they will generally enjoy all the advantages offered by the fact that they’re only interested in all the marbles.
I mean for a guy like Sam Farha, what do a few hundred thousands dollars mean? Not much. From a strictly financial perspective, the first place prize doesn’t mean a whole lot either. How come then that the tiny piece of WSOP jewelry is so precious for these players? The answer is simple. No longer satisfied by the prizes awarded by various WSOP events, professionals have turned to prop bets.

The WSOP is a living-breathing entity which evolves constantly. Before the Chris Moneymaker/Greg Raymer years, only a few of the pros attended the events. In the wake of the popularity explosion caused by the above mentioned two PokerStars pros and by the internet, countless amateurs have been drawn to the tables, thus indirectly re-introducing value for the pros. Prize-pools sky-rocketed and the level of competition became extremely attractive as well. Television got involved too, and soon, high stakes pros were lured back to the tables yet again hoping to catch a feature table where they could work off their 15 minutes of fame. Apparently, every time pros would have a reason to lose interest in the Series, something new came along that brought them right back to the tables.
With the advent of nosebleed stakes online games, Bobby’s room would no longer be the only place where players could wager incredible amounts of money. Soon, a nosebleed stakes online poker elite developed which was then joined by many of the “name” pros world over. Many of these players have built bankrolls beyond the wildest dreams of mortals, and thus they lost interest in the WSOP again. Why would Tom Dwan bust himself playing in an event, the first prize of which would barely equate one average size pot that he routinely plays for? What is playing in a $2,000 event for Phil Ivey if not the purest form of wasted time? The prop bet was the factor that brought these guys back to the WSOP tables yet again.

I’m sure you know about Dwan’s 2010 bracelet chase already. Supposedly, he has a huge amount of money riding on prop bets, money that could end up in his bankroll in case he won a bracelet. Exactly how much money it is that he’s looking to win no one knows, but the mere fact that he shows so much interest in the issue means it’s probably much more than we could ever fathom.
Event #11, the $1,500 NL Holdem one, in which Dwan finished runner-up may have thus seen the largest prize-jump from 2nd place to 1st. Officially, Dwan won $381,885 for his second place finish, while the winner pocketed $614,248. The actual difference was much bigger than $232,363 though. Word has it, the total Dwan stands to collect after a possible bracelet win, is somewhere around $9 million. Mike Matusow dropped the number $12.5 million in an interview. The validity of these numbers cannot be confirmed, but given that Matusow is one of the players who quite literally danced across the room in the wake of Dwan’s loss in event #11, his words have to carry a lot of weight in the matter.

Dwan took the disappointing loss in stride though. The following day, he was right back at the tables, stacking chips and peeking at hole-cards as if nothing had happened. Was he disappointed to have come so near to taking down the biggest pot of his life? He probably was, but he looked genuinely excited nonetheless, obviously enjoying his position, having found yet another meaning in the WSOP.

An in-depth look at the $50k Players’ Championship event

The first major event of the 2010 WSOP carried great significance. Besides the fact that it pretty much set the tone for the rest of the Series, the $50,000 Players’ Championship event would introduce several changes over the $50k HORSE event which it replaced for the first time this year. All those changes represented reasons for jitters for the organizers. First of all, the familiar HORSE structure was changed to an 8-game structure this year, with the addition of NL Holdem and PL Omaha to the mix. The final table of the event would ditch the 8-game structure – so difficult to keep up with for TV viewers – and it would adopt a straightforward NL Holdem one.
With so many things going on, how did the biggest buy-in event of the 2010 WSOP fare? The answer to that question is a resounding “great!” from just about every angle.

The event saw the emergence of Michael Mizrachi, one of the toughest grinders of the poker world ever to go bracelet-less for such an extended period of time. Michael Mizrachi fought his way through a stellar field, which lacked fish almost completely. The super slow structure of the event definitely played into his hands, minimizing the luck factor and creating an almost endless grind most of the participants were ill-equipped to handle.
At the end of it all, Mizrachi, who had lately only seen the spotlight on account of his IRS problems, drove home the point that despite his previous lack of WSOP success, he was in fact one of the best live poker players of his generation.
The final table of the event couldn’t possibly have been a better one. Robert Mizrachi, Michael’s brother was the one who held the biggest stack of chips going into the final table, and Michael would have to go through him to get to the title. The sibling rivalry was kept at a minimum during the early going, but soon the inevitable happened and the unstoppable force met the immovable object. Sparks flew as Michael eliminated his brother in 5th place, thus maneuvering himself into prime position for the final stretch of the event. Was Robert Mizrachi disappointed to be sent to the rail by his own brother? You bet he was, but at the end of the day, I guess both Mizrachis would agree that this was one of the best possible scenarios for them at the event’s final table.

The NL Holdem factor at the final table definitely had a say in the eventual outcome of the event. Michael Mizrachi is a great NL Holdem tournament player and when going deep, he has a knack for finishing on top, which is exactly what he did here. Some people (myself included) liked the transition to NL Holdem at the final table. For a televised event, NL Holdem definitely makes better viewing than a complicated 8-game structure… there’s not a whole lot more to say about that. David Oppenheim and Vladimir Schmelev, both accomplished cash game specialists, would probably disagree with me on this one though.

The Main Reason for the structure switch was the fact that ESPN decided to cover the event yet again. Last year, the HORSE event had no ESPN coverage. The changes made by the organizers definitely appealed to the TV folks as well as to the audience, and make no mistake about it, to have those cameras there is a huge thing for every live poker event, even for a $50k WSOP one.

The Players’ Championship was quite probably the perfect choice to use as a series opener. Having all those “name” pros go up against each other right out of the gates does a lot to get the whole thing rolling so to speak. It really did hammer home the point that the WSOP was in town and that it meant business as ever.

Tom Dwan and the WSOP

It’s not a secret in the poker world that Tom Dwan, one of the best known online poker prodigies, was not exactly vying for the player of the year title in past WSOP editions. He seemed more preoccupied with other, more directly rewarding games, like the big game at Bobby’s Room, actual WSOP events relegated to a perpetual second place on his list of priorities. This year though, the New Jersey Wonderkid will adopt a radically different approach. He may not be among the favorites to win several bracelets, or even one, but that underdog status has just created him a great opportunity to collect fabulous sums from people willing to bet against him in the WSOP bracelet race. Exactly how much money he would win in case he managed to get his hands on WSOP gold is unclear, though he did say in an interview that it would be the biggest single win of his life.

In order to facilitate his odds for the WSOP gold, Dwan will play in as many WSOP events as he’ll be able to. Unlike in years past, he’s already played in several events, including the $50k Players’ Championship event. While he is definitely not a mixed games specialist, Dwan defied the odds to roll with the big boys towards his first WSOP gold. Unfortunately for him, he fell well short in that event, not even making the money.
Driven on by the WSOP side-bet possibilities, Dwan has played in many of the low buy-in events too this year. He achieved his first ever WSOP cash in one of these events: the $5,000 NL Holdem Shootout. Whatever the case, he does seem to be inching closer to that title he now wants so bad.

The WSOP bracelet side-bet craze started quite a while back, but it only really hit the public spotlight last year, as Phil Ivey was getting closer and closer to the top ranks of the Main Event. Ivey may have won two bracelets and a rather fabulous amount of money in those events, but all that was probably dwarfed by the dough he collected on the various side bets, after winning those bracelets. Pretty soon, there’s going to be way more money on bracelet side-bets then on the actual bracelets themselves. In the case of “name” players like Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey, this already seems to be the case.
What exactly is the impact of this fact on the games themselves? Well, not much. As a regular mortal, looking to score a win to build a house or to get a poker career going with the prize money, you shouldn’t expect to pick up a lot a dough this way. It’s a privilege only reserved for the big names, and in that respect, it can only be good for the game in the long-run. Dwan was never really interested in playing in the small buy-in events, and look at him now. If it gets more “name” players to the tables of the smaller buy-in events, thus further raising their profile, then so be it. If these guys like to gamble, so be it.

Will Dwan get his two bracelets this year and be on his way to Hawaii as he plans to do? Only the Gods of Poker and time can answer that question. We’ll see. And if we do see Dwan walk away with that bracelet, we’ll know there’s a whole lot more to it than bragging rights.

2010 WSOP picks

I know poker is not like the NBA or the NFL, in the sense that it’s much more unpredictable, and I also know that there’s not a whole lot of sense in making any kind of picks when it comes to poker, but I’ve got the WSOP fever and it’s all just so much fun, I can’t help myself.
First stop’s first: Phil Ivey. How many bracelets do you reckon he’ll win this year? He may be the best poker player pound for pound, and the interesting thing about him is that unlike some of his high stakes live poker peers (Daniel Negreanu) he’s equally good online. All that does not really guarantee anything though. The WSOP is such a large-scale series of events, featuring such large starting fields that pure skill doesn’t offer any sort of guarantees. Expert opinions run a pretty wide gamut when it comes to predicting the number of bracelets Ivey will pocket. Some say 3, most say 1 and some say none. Just to stay on the safe side, I’ll say one. There are a few high buy-in events to which the access of the public is pretty much restricted by the sums involved. In such events, Ivey may well outshine his peers to score a bracelet. There are several such events which means he gets several shots. I’ll stick with one.

In how many events will Tom Dwan show up? The Full Tilt Poker pro has been at the forefront of the online gambling industry for a couple of years now, although his live poker performance has never quite been on par with his online one. He’s also primarily a cash game player and there’s not much of that at the WSOP. The number of events he’ll play will obviously hinge on way too many variables to accurately predict. If he finds himself a nice cash game which turns out to be profitable for him, he may not show up at the WSOP at all. If he doesn’t find any cash games to capture his interest, he may play in several events. The experts’ opinions are varied on this matter too. Some say he’ll participate in 8 events, other are more cautious with 3. The bottom line is, regardless of how many events he’ll play, Dwan is certainly not among the favorites to walk away with a gold bracelet this year.

Who will be the WSOP player of the year? This guy has to a be a tournament specialist, and a person who knows how to manage his extra curricular activities too, so he’ll be able to come back over and over for more. As far as tournaments runs are concerned, Jason Mercier certainly seems to fit the above description. On second thought, Sorel Mizzi seems to be just as good a pick, too. Mostly known for his online antics in the past, Mizzi seems to have successfully crossed some sort of a line lately, as he’s been winning and cashing deep in one live tournament after the other. He will certainly carry a great deal of momentum into his WSOP run, coming off a few successful European endeavors.

Who will be the biggest disappointment of the series? The queue of likely candidates for this dubious award is longer and more diverse than for any other. Although he said he was a great pick to take down at least a bracelet, Daniel Negreanu may find himself in the squeeze if he fails to deliver in the wake of such a confident statement. The same goes for pretty much any of the greats. Fail to deliver and you’ll find yourself high up on the list of disappointing WSOP performances. Phil Hellmuth is always a ticking time-bomb, and Annie Duke has put herself in a prime spot for failure too, through her reality show presence. The bottom line: if you’re a poker celebrity, you’re walking around with a target on your back. Heavy expectations always carry great potential for failure.

2010 WSOP bursts onto the scene!

2010 marks the 41st edition of the biggest live poker fiesta on the planet, the World Series of Poker, also known as just WSOP for connoisseurs. The event is set to become bigger and better than ever before, with more side events, more interesting action, more “name” players and much bigger prize-pools. Keen on making last year’s Main Event fiasco forgotten (on the last day 1 flight droves of players had their access denied on account of lack of space), tournament officials have already taken all the steps deemed necessary to prevent another such incident. The competition area inside the Main Event venue has been expanded, ready to accept all comers.

With the first few days of the series already behind us, we’re slowly beginning to settle into the grind. After special events like the $50k Players’ Championship event, the $500 Casino Employees event and the first of a newly introduced string of $1,000 NL Holdem events, regular stuff like the $1,500 NL Holdem event and the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or better event are now unfolding.
The $500 Casino Employees event has been used as the official kick-off tournament of the series for a few years now. This year, it was as successful as ever, once again responsible for the giving out of the first bracelet of the series.

The $50k Players’ Championship event has grown into a true pro-based event, which once again attracted a select field of poker professionals. The large buy-in and the extra deep starting stack structure have made this event a true testing ground for professional players. There aren’t that many people in the world who are willing to cough up $50,000 to buy into a poker event, and the Players’ Championship only wants to see those who are fully capable of just that at its tables. The unique 8-game structure is another hurdle in the path of wealthy amateurs: in order to have any sort of chances for triumph in this event, one needs to be a truly well-rounded poker player. The battle for the Chip Reese memorial trophy features Limit Holdem, Omaha 8, Razz, 2-7 Triple Draw, 7-Card Stud, Stud 8, NL Holdem and PLO. It is apparently an evolved version of the $50k HORSE event of recent years, which was equally selective and equally exhaustive as far as the stretching of the participants’ poker skills were concerned.

The final table of the event will be a NL Holdem only one, something that some experts think may offer an advantage to day 3 chip leader Michael Mizrachi, who is currently in pursuit of his brother, Robert, the chip leader of the event heading into the final table. Unfortunately for those who were looking for the emergence of the People’s Champion, Phil Ivey, he’s already out, together with a cast of characters no Hollywood movie about poker could ever put together regardless of the size of its budget.
With so many famous faces in the lime-light, this event will be televised and it will be broadcast on ESPN, in the fall.

The other bright spot of the WSOP’s first day was the $1,00 NL Holdem event. As it is constantly evolving, twisting and turning to meet the needs of as wide an audience as possible, the WSOP has come up with the Stimulus Special last year. The event featuring a more than reasonable buy-in for a WSOP event ($1,000) was hugely successful, surpassing even the wildest expectations of the organizers. This year, the Stimulus events are back, a whole bunch of them actually. The first one has already attracted a more than reasonable starting field over its 2 day 1 flights. How the rest of the $1,000 NL Holdem events will fare remains to be seen, but the size of the buy-in represents a virtual guarantee when it comes to registrant numbers.

WSOP tips

With the WSOP upon us yet again, I reckon it’s safe to say some actual advice about coping with the pressures of the Las Vegas nightlife and the various WSOP events is in high order. I know you’re aching to get there and I know you’re probably not planning to spend any time on anything else than poker once there, but you’re still human after all. Rather than to fight against your condition as a mere human, it’s far better to embrace it and to give Mother Nature what’s hers. Don’t forget to put in some exercise during your stay. The desert heat may not leave much room for outdoors activities, but Las Vegas has got to be the place with the highest number of air conditioned gyms and swimming pools per square mile, so make sure you take advantage of that. Many of the longer WSOP events come down to sheer stamina, and by keeping your body ticking the way it’s supposed to, you’ll make sure you stay on top of your game for longer.

The desert heat also means you shouldn’t leave anything in your car at any time either. Stuff will melt, explode and even catch fire, so when you leave your ride parked in front of the venue, make sure you empty it of all such potentially dangerous items (cigarette lighters are by far the most dangerous on the list).

Register early for the events you intend to play in, especially if you have the cash for the buy-in. Trust me, you do not want to be turned back at the door the way many of last year’s potential Big Dance participants were. There’s nothing wrong with getting started on Day 1A of an event instead of Day 1B. Your odds are the same. Of course, if you’re waiting for someone to stake you or you’re hoping to win a last minute satellite into an event, things are different.

Playing in satellites always makes a lot of sense when it comes to events featuring as large a buy-in as most of the WSOP ones.
There are plenty of single table satellites running for pretty much every WSOP side event, and the buy-ins to these satellites (which carry pretty awesome individual odds by the way) can be as low as $65. Most of the time, you’ll be able to get something going for $125 or $175 though. The best time-frame to get something going satellite-wise is during the 24 hours before the event kicks off. Take a $2,000 NL Holdem event for instance (which is sure to draw tons upon tons of registrants). Most of the satellites running for such an event more than 24 hours prior to it, are $225 direct access ones. To get a $125 table going, you’d best wait some more.
Most of these 10–handed satellites pay out one WSOP side event seat only, but the odds are still pretty good, especially if you’re one of them “better than reasonable” live poker players.

Make sure the temptations Sin City throws your way (and there’ll be more of these than you could possibly expect) don’t get to your bankroll before you hit the poker tables. The Roulette, the Blackjack and the Craps tables are more than adept at sucking you dry of money before you ever realize you’re in trouble. Focus on your objectives and don’t lose sight of them. The same goes if you happen to win or to cash in an event. Vegas is Vegas and as soon as you have the big dough stuffed into your pockets, you become an instant target for a wide range of interests, from legit casino operators to 2-dime pick pockets.

WPT Grand Prix de Paris aftermath

The WPT’s Grand Prix de Paris has been in the books for a while now, but we do need to take a look back at it, because the event carried special significance in more than one respect. First of all, it proved that not only did the WPT belong on the old continent, it definitely belonged in the Aviation Club de France. The venue marks a return to the roots of the game, conjuring times when one had to dress a certain way to be allowed into the club to play. This aspect may not be all that appealing to the new generation of online poker players, but then again, those same folks may want to experience too what it’s like to play the game the way it was meant to be played in ye olden days. Located in the very heart of Paris, the Aviation Club de France may not be suited for hosting truly massive-scale events, because of the lack of space. It should remain on the schedule nonetheless, as a speck of color, because its old-world charm is not something many of the modern venues can ever hope to deliver.

The WPT’s Grand Prix de Paris event drew attention to the number of registrants such an event can muster, in the wake of the EPT, just before the WSOP kicks off (and players take a little bit of time off to man up to the task ahead). The 247 players who coughed up the €10,000 buy-in may not look like an impressive number, but believe me, considering the above named circumstances and the fact that the event had only been announced a few weeks before kick-off, the starting field was more than decent. There’s been a lot of talk lately about how the vast number of various regional poker tours that are available has limited participant numbers in WPT events. I think the Grand Prix de Paris comes to show there’s little substance in such theories.
The bottom line is, WPT player numbers are just fine, and with a massive event announced in London this autumn, soon we’ll have solid proof to that.

What else did the GPDP teach us? Properly regulated poker works, that’s what. Not only does it work the way it’s supposed to, it’s good for the game in general. Now, I’m not saying that the French model is something the good old US of A should pick up too, but as imperfect as it is, it has managed to drive home the point that regulated poker is not only working for the government, but for the players as well. At the Grand Prix de Paris, there were numerous amateur players present, who pretty much altered the face of the game. The pros did prevail in the end, but the amateurs put up a great fight and generated a lot of extra value.

Sorel Mizzi was amongst the revelations of the tournament. This guy has unfolded into a true monster during the Grand Prix de Paris and even though he did not win the high rollers’ event, he finished 2nd, taking down a substantial prize, and scoring yet another mark in the W column of a series of live events in which he seemed like he cashed at will lately.
Not so long ago, Mizzi used to be known as an online player, but he seems to have happened upon some sort of revelation recently, as far as live poker is concerned. Whether or not he’s WSOP bracelet material will be revealed this summer, as he will certainly look to extend his excellent run, by taking part in as many WSOP events as possible.

The year of the women – Liv Boeree and the others

2010 is the year that will go down in poker history as the year of the women. Women have traditionally been viewed as eye candy in the poker industry. Poker sites would hire female poker players as in-house pros, but trust them with the simplest of tasks only, at the poker tables. That’s right, with a few exceptions, all the women had to do was to look good and to make sure everyone caught a glimpse of the badge they were wearing. In order to break out of that mold, a female poker player would have to achieve something truly phenomenal. Something like winning the largest ever EPT Main Event…but I’m cutting ahead of myself here.

Signs pointing towards 2010 turning into the year of the tigress rather than the tiger had popped up in earnest. In March, Annie Duke, a long-time poker industry presence and acknowledged poker talent, won the NBC Heads-up Poker Championship. Given that it was Annie Duke who did it, the industry wasn’t exactly surprised. It was not like Duke had to prove anything to shake off the mere eye-candy status. Her achievements were honored numerous times and she was indeed one of the few female players the industry viewed as one of the boys.
Things took a serious turn not long after though, when Vanessa Selbst took down the North American Poker Tour’s Mohegan Sun Main Event, in a rather dominant fashion, pocketing the $750k top prize.

The real story of the year – as far as female poker players are concerned – was that of Liv Boeree. The British pro, who is by the way an Astrophysicist and a model, not mention a guitar player for a rock band, got into poker on a reality show. The UltimatePoker Showdown was the perfect setup for her to get in touch with the game. Coached by Ultimate Bet’s Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke she had the perfect introduction to the poker world. It was Hellmuth and Duke who provided the inspiration for her, and it was their image that prompted her to start thinking seriously about a career in poker.
Fortunately for her, she found someone who would stake her in just about any live event with a buy-in under £2,000. While the limitation had her hands tied as far as high-buy-in events were concerned, she found a way to turn this handicap into an advantage. She started playing in satellites and she began winning seats in events to which she couldn’t have otherwise afforded the buy-in. The EPT’s recent San Remo Main Event – which she won – was no exception. She satellited her way into the poker tournament through a €500 qualifier, and ended up pocketing a return of €1.25 million on that small investment.

Boeree’s poker career started arching upwards when she signed her first sponsorship deal with Absolute Poker. At AP, her role was still that of eye-candy. She was supposed to be an ambassador for the room that would appeal to the young male segment, her actual poker skills forced to take a back seat to that image.
When UB signed her though, it would be an entirely different ballgame. The site would focus on selling her image as that of a real poker player. That new sort of attitude obviously helped her, and now with that spectacular EPT win under her belt, the sky is the limit.
What’s next for Liv? She says she’s looking forward to the WSOP. As the biggest live poker stage of the year, the WSOP would definitely be the right venue for these tigresses of the green felt to make a truly solid statement.

A look back at the European Poker Tour 6th season – Monte Carlo

The European Poker Tour 6th season came to an end after a culmination in the Grand Final in Monte Carlo last week. Looking back at the series, it’s obvious it was a season just as good as any previous one, even better here and there, despite a rocky start that saw the first stop moved from Moscow to Kyiv on account of chaotic Russian legislation. Declared a sport a few years back, poker was suddenly outlawed in Russia on the eve of the EPT’s Moscow event. The organizers moved the setup to Kyiv, where Russia’s Maxim Lykov bested 300 players to walk away with the €330k top prize. The Russian then proceeded to finish 13th in the Snowfest stop of the series and he finished in the money in three other side events as well. More importantly, at the end of it all, he pocketed the EPT Player of the Year title as well.

Lykov’s Player of the Year title wasn’t the only noteworthy achievement of season 6 though. Jan Skampa became the final table king after he followed his EPT Villamoura 4th place with a win in the EPT’s Prague stop, which landed him a €683,100 prize. Skampa wasn’t the only Czech to do well. Martin Kabrhel became the side event king of the season. While his best Main Event performance was only a 60th place finish, Kabrhel dominated the side event scene by winning three such events during the season. He won in Villamoura and Prague and he won the high roller event in Deauville to top it all off. That win alone netted him a quarter million Euros.
On account of Kabrhel’s and Skampa’s great runs, the Czech Republic became the EPT Country of the year.

The 6th season of the EPT stood out on many more accounts too though. It broke the records for the largest and the smallest ever EPT events too. The EPT’s recent San Remo stop proved to be a huge success, attracting no fewer than 1,200 players. Liv Boeree won the event, after she’d secured her seat through a €500 super satellite .
The EPT Kyiv’s high roller event was the smallest EPT event in history: only 3 players registered. The eventual winner, Shaun Deeb, disposed of his opponents after a few hours of play, to pocket the €60,000 top prize.

As far as WSOP Main Event Champions were concerned, Peter Eastgate took the laurels in that category without any sort of problems. The Dane finished runner-up in the London event, and proceeded to cash in the Copenhagen Main Event followed by a final table finish in Deauville. This guy is certainly not the type of WSOP champion that goes and hides under a rock after the deed.
When it comes to surreal EPT moments, who could forget the EPT Berlin robbery, which saw masked gunmen brazenly attack the tournament security personnel, then walk away with the prize-pool. The perpetrators have been apprehended since and most of the money they stole was recovered. Kevin MacPhee won the event and walked away with €1 million, without the need to pull a gun on anyone.

The biggest winner of the 6th season was Harrison Gimbel of the US, who took down a €2.2 million prize in the PCA. Nicholas Chouity, the winner of the Grand Final came in second with €1.7 million.

Season 7 kicks off in August, but players eager to secure a seat in one of the events needn’t wait that long to get going. PokerStars will feature plenty of online qualifying possibilities throughout the summer.

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