Need another massive holdem field? Well event 24 brought out 1,731 players. Everyone was hoping to become the next champion and take home the bracelet. After 3 days of play and 12 hours to end the final table, Corey Harrison bested them all to take the prize. The final day of action saw 17 players return all looking to build on their stacks.

In about an hour we had reached our final table. The eventual champion just kind of took a back seat to all the eliminations falling before him. He did however play solid poker all the way through the final table which ultimately gave him the bracelet. Former EPT Champion Zimnan Ziyard had an impressive showing finishing in 7th place. A few eliminations later and Harrison decided to join the fun. He eliminated Gregory Josifovski in 5th place when his pocket 4s held up against the Q-7 of Josifovski. Eventually we got it to heads up between Daniel Cascado and Harrison. They battled it out for over two hours each taking huge chip leads in the process. However it was Cascado that would lose it all in a few hands late. He got it all in with K-10 and was called by the  A-7 of Harrison. The flop gave Harrison a pair of Aces and they would hold giving him the bracelet and the $432,411 along with it. It was Harrison’s very first bracelet.

Event 25 – $5,000 Omaha Hi/Low Split 8 or Better

After 3 tough days of hi/low poker we have a winner in Event 25. Danny Fuhs was able to navigate his way through the small field of 241 players to win the tournament. Some notable pros made it to day 3 like Huck Seed, Maria Ho, and Dan Kelly who cashed for the 7th time this series. Once the field narrowed to 18 they started to hit the rail quickly.

Some more notables that just missed the final table were Mike Matasow and the 2010 World Champion Jonathan Duhamel. The 2009 player of the year Jeff Lisandro did well but would eventually go out in 7th place. Brian Hastings made a good run as well finishing in 4th to Robert Mizrachi who would bow out next in 3rd. The heads up match between Fuhs and Christopher George was back and forth for several hours until Fuhs gained the upper hand by scooping two consecutive pots hurting George badly. George was out from there when his A-5-9-4 was beaten by the 7-6-3-2 of Fuhs when Fuhs made two pair on the river giving him the scoop and the tournament. With the win Fuhs will take home $277,519 in prize money and of course the coveted gold bracelet.

Event 26 – $1,000 Seniors NL Hold’em Championship

After the largest senior event in history and also the second largest at this years WSOP, Ken Lind has been inscribed on the Golden Eagle Trophy. A record 4,407 players took part in the event and played 3 long long days to see who would be the champ this year. Lind was just happy to playing as he was actually talked in to playing in the tournament by a friend. What a good friend indeed, and good thing Lind listened.

Amazingly this is the 10th year in row seeing this event grow in number with this year’s up 6%. Lind began to distance himself from the field in later stages of day 2. By the time we reached day 3 he was 2nd in chips and would carry all his momentum into the final table. In fact he eliminated all but 2 on the final table in route to the title. He first got Fernando Halac eliminating him in 9th and then got Jack Ward to bust in 8th as Lind just couldn’t miss. His hot streak continued knocking out Randy Spain in 5th and then Barry Bashist in 4th. After Dan Ott railed John Holley we had our heads up match. Ott and Lind seemed to slow down a little and grind it out for awhile before finally Lind had enough and regained the chip lead. The final had saw both players have monster hands heads up but Lind’s was stronger. The board showed 7-8-10 on the flop and Ott lead out with his J-7 which gave him a pair. Lind called the bet. Before the turn was even delivered Ott checked and immediately Lind bets big. The turn was a 7 which gave Ott trips! The announced all in and was called by the quickest snap call in the history of the WSOP. Lind tabled J-9, which meant he flopped the nut straight. The only hope for Ott was for the board to pair but it would not happen and the 68 year old great granddad of 2 was crowned the champion. Lind not only one his first bracelet and the $634,809, but he also crossed off an item on his bucket list.

More coverage of the 2013 WSOP is on the way at Averageguypoker.com.

Mike “Daggum” Krisle – AGP

(Credited research sources: pokernews.com, wsop.com)

There were over 800 players to enter event 21 all wanting to show off their shorthanded skills and become a bracelet winner. Shorthanded tourneys are few and far between this year and it makes for some good poker. With fewer players at the table more hands come into play and the range of betting is a lot larger. In the end it was the German pro Martin Finger that would take down the title.

On the final day of play 13 players were left including 2-time bracelet winner Nick Shulman and Dan Kelly who now has 6 cashes at this year’s series! Also in the hunt was David “the dragon” Pham. He played relatively well at the final table but his luck ran out when Finger out ran him and sent Pham to the rail in 4^th. Matt Stout had taken the chip lead early in the day when he took most of the chips from Andrew Dean in the earlier stages of the final table. Stout took a commanding chip lead when he railed Matt Berkey. Berkey had pocket 9s but they were stuffed when the A-K of Stout hit and Berkey finished in an impressive 3^rd place. Stout was seemingly on his way to victory but just under 100 hands later he found himself the runner-up. The match finally came to an end when Stout called the raise of Finger and got it all in with A-7 only to be up against the pocket Queens of Finger. The board was no help to Stout as the Queens held for Finger giving him the bracelet. With the win Finger took home $506,764 in prize money.

Event 22 – $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha

PLO is gaining more and more popularity throughout the poker world. As a result, the fields are getting a little larger and more difficult to win. This one had 1,021 players in it. The rapid fire chip stack swinging game that is PLO showed how much fun it can be. In 3 fast and furious days of play the champ was crowned. The winner was Maryland native Josh Pollock.

Day 1 chip leader, Brandon Crawford was first to hit the rail as all his good play dried up when the final table was reached. Many, many hands later Pollock got the best of David Greene to get it down to 7. Eddie Blumenthal got to his second final table of the series and consequently he finished both of those in 7^th place. Pollock continued to roll eliminating the next two players to get down to 4-handed. Noah Schwartz and Pollock were definitely the hot ones as they were apart of eliminating all but one of the players at the final table. When Schwartz eliminated the next two players, he would take a 3 to 1 chip advantage into heads up play against Pollock. Pollock had to battle, but after he doubled up a few times he regained the chip lead and the tournament. The final hand saw Schwartz call the raise of Pollock after the flop all in. Schwartz had flopped the wheel but unfortunately for him Pollock flopped a higher straight giving him the win. It is Pollock’s first WSOP bracelet and he took with him the top prize of $279,431.

Event 23 – $2,500 7-Card Stud

The famous 7-card stud discipline is a favorite to many pros. It is not as popular as the no-limit games but shows us just how patient and precise you have to be in the game of poker. This event attracted 246 of some of the world’s best stud players. At the tourney’s end it was a 7-card stud specialist that would take home the bracelet. David Chiu proved too much for the final table as he scored his 5^th career bracelet.

By day 3 we had our final table and the final 8 players all mixed game specialists with 8 of the 12 bracelets amongst them coming from 7-card stud. Gary Benson was trying to win another bracelet 17 years apart but eventually fell in 6^th. Frank Kassela would fight hard but fall short in 5^th and after him “The Grinder” Michael Mizrachi exited in 4^th leaving us with just 3 players to remaining. Amongst them was 78 year old Freddie Ellis. Ellis, a 7-card stud specialist, won the $10,000 7-card stud World Championship at the 2009 WSOP. He couldn’t muster enough magic though and would hit the rail in 3^rd place. Scott Sevier and Chiu would battle it out for a few more hours exchanging the chip lead several times. Eventually experience would win out over youth as Chiu finally railed Sevier when he made a higher two pair on 7^th street giving him the bracelet. Chiu also would take home $145,520 in prize money. He also joins Daniel Negreanu, Jeff Lisandro, John Juanda, and Stu Unger as five time bracelet winners. Chiu dedicated the win to the late Jerry Buss who was honored at the beginning of the tournament for his contributions to the WSOP.

For more coverage on the 2013 WSOP, tune in to Averageguypoker.com for all the action.

Mike “Daggum” Krisle – AGP

(Credited research sources: pokernews.com, wsop.com)

After 3 days of play and sorting through all the madness that is no limit holdem, we finally have a winner. It is Taylor Paur. He had to fight his way through over 2,100 players including 8 time bracelet winner Phil Ivey. Ivey was among the 14 players who made it to day three. However he would finish first on that day as Paur took him out along with a host of others on his way to a dominate chip lead at the final table.
The final table was no exception as Paur only needed 13 hands to take out two players both in the same hand! After that Paur took a backseat to the eliminations. By the time they reached three handed Paur had 5 million in chips compared to his competitors Roy Weiss (745K) and Tai Nguyen (475K). Paur kept the pressure on so bad that his opponents had to go all in or fold. Well Nguyen finally got caught and was eliminated in 3^rd place. When we reached heads up, Weiss was at a 4:1 chip disadvantage to Paur. Then Weiss started to hit some cards, one might say lucky or miracle cards and actually took the chip lead for a bit. However, by the break Paur retook the lead back over and seemingly had it. Then Weiss decided to shove every single hand. This caused Paur to be all in at one point for his tournament life, but was able to win the hand and regain control. After a crazy back and forth battle with some questionable strategies, Paur finally sent Weiss to the rail. The final hand saw Weiss move all in once again this time with K-8 of clubs against the A-5 of Paur. The flop yielded a king and an ace giving Paur the lead. The turn gave Weiss a flush draw but it didn’t come on the river and Paur was the champ. It was Paur’s first WSOP victory and he would take home $340,260 in prize money for his efforts.

Event 19 – $5,000 Pot Limit Hold’em

In slightly different version of holdem Davidi Kitai has now claimed his second career bracelet. Pot limit holdem or PLHE to some is a very different game than no limit. You are only allowed to bet the pot as a maximum bet. In the early stages of the hand the pot of course isn’t so bad but by the end it changes and can force one to make a tournament changing decision. Kitai was fortunate to make all the right ones and took home the gold.

There were only 195 players that entered the event making it one of the smallest holdem tournaments we will see this summer.  Online superstar Dan Kelly made his 3^rd final day of the series only to fall short again this time in 12^th. It took under 100 hands on the final table to decide the winner. Kitai would never relinquish his chip lead at the final table and would go through some notable players. He beat some former bracelet winners like Dario Minieri and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. After busting two players at the same time he took a sizable chip lead into heads up against Cary Katz. Katz would fight back though and took the chip lead himself at one point in the match. In the end though it was Kitai that would have the final say. Katz got it all in with pocket Kings and was ahead against the pocket Jacks of Kitai. However, the flop saw a Jack hit the board giving Kitai trips! They would hold and Katz was sent to the rail as the runner up. Kitai wins now his second bracelet both in Pot limit holdem events. He also took home the $224,560 first place prize.

Event 20 – $1,500 Omaha Hi/low 8 or better

They needed 4 days to decide the outcome of this one. With hi/low games there are several pots that are split which can make the tournament longer than scheduled. This tournament had a lot of those and it needed 4 days to dwindle the 1,014 field to just a lone survivor. That lone player was Calen McNeil.

He navigated the field all tournament long quietly at times making his way to eventually the heads up match. His opponent heads up was Can Kim Hua. Well it turns out that Can Kim Hua couldn’t as he eventually fell to McNeil. However, Hua was a fighter. He came into the final day with only a few big bets left in his stack but was able to battle back and take the lead. In fact the lead changed over and over again for nearly 3 hours. In the end McNeil was able to get the best of Hua and take the title. Hua’s demise came when Hua got all his chips in on the turn. He held 10-K-9-7 and McNeil K-K-A-3. Hua needed one of 3 cards to make a straight and win the pot but was unable to convert and was sent home in second. It was his first bracelet win and he would take home $277,274 in prize money.

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Mike “Daggum’ Krisle – AGP

(Credited research sources: pokernews.com, wsop.com)

The final two tables in day 3 saw some big time pros. Barry Greenstein made an impressive one falling just short in 11^th place. Former world champion Joe Cada would make his 2^nd final table of the series before falling to Polychronopoulos in 4^th. Online giant David Baker would make his 3^rd final table of the series but fell short again finishing in 8^th. Polychronopoulos seemed to do everything right on his road to his second bracelet never really getting in much trouble with his stack. He would eliminate several players and seemed to control the action from the start of the final table. Nobody had an answer for him and when it got to heads up it seemed like it was meant to be. He got his opponent Manuel Mutke all in who held the advantage with A-J. Polychronopoulos would hold Q-J. The flop came J-5-3 giving both players a pair but Mutke was ahead with the ace kicker. The turn was 2 but the river showed a Queen giving Polychronopoulos two pair and sending Mutke home as the runner up. Both of Polychronopoulos bracelets have come in $1,500 holdem events. With several of those left on the schedule, we might want to start get used to typing his name in the recaps. Thank goodness for copy and paste!

For more event results follow us here at Averageguypoker.com

Mike “Daggum” Krisle – AGP

(Credited research sources: pokernews.com, wsop.com)

This was the first of two H.O.R.S.E. events on the schedule at this year’s series. In the end it was a former player of the year that would take home the title. Tom Schneider was back to his winning ways after he bested the field over a course of 3 days. Schneider was the WSOP player of the year back in 2007 in which he recorded 2 bracelets and 3 final tables.

This discipline of poker requires players to be fluent in five forms of poker; Limit Holdem, Omaha hi/low, Razz, 7-stud, and 7-stud hi/low. Schneider, a great hi/low player, came into the final day of play with a chip stack placing him 5^th in chips at the time. However after a huge hand against Owais Ahmed he all but secured his victory. In the stud hi/low round Schneider kept calling on the early streets and then fired away on the last two streets and Ahmed called each time. Schneider had a 6 low and a pair of tens for the high hand both of which Ahmed could not beat allowing Schneider to scoop. With that pot Schneider now had over 80% of the chips in play! After that the other two players were left with very little to play on and Schneider finished them off shortly thereafter. The final hand was in the Razz round. Schneider eventually showed A-7-7/4-9-2-5 giving him a 7 low. Ahmed could not beat it and Schneider was declared the champ. He would also take home over $258,960 in prize money.

Event 16 – $10,000 Heads-up NL Hold’em

Imagine the NCAA basketball tournament format. Now insert poker, and that’s what you get in Event 16. There were 162 players in this year’s tournament up from last year. Each player would play one opponent at a time with the winner advancing to the next round. At the end of 8 rounds the winner was Mark Radoja.

Radoja continued Canada’s big run this year giving the country a total of 5 bracelets so far. Radoja had to beat several top pros en route to the championship match. His opponent was Don Nguyen a relatively unknown player. He too had to fight through a tough draw to get it to the final. Below shows their paths to the title match.

Radoja

Round 1: Johannes Meyer

Round 2: Douglas Polk

Round 3: Ludovic Lacay

Round 4: Ankush Madavia

Round 5: Alex Venovski

Round 6: Phil Hellmuth

Round 7: Justin Bonomo

Nguyen

Round 1: Steve Saraf

Round 2: Brian Hastings

Round 3: Jan Kasten

Round 4: Ali Eslamis

Round 5: Craig Bergeron

Round 6: Sean Winter

Round 7: Ben Sulsky

As you can see there were plenty of obstacles for both to face. Nguyen beat last year’s champ Brian Hastings in round 2 and later on would have to take on online phenom Ben Sulsky. It only took him about an hour to dispose of Sulsky however and propel him into the final. Radoja had it tough as well, having to really be on his game in rounds 6 and 7. In round 6 he got the all-time bracelet winner (13) Phil Hellmuth. After a heated battle he railed Hellmuth and drew Justin Bonomo. It took him a little longer to get to the final than Nguyen. Bonomo was super aggressive putting Radoja on the ropes several times but Radoja was able to gain the upper hand and eventually take out Bonomo.  The championship match saw Nguyen take the early advantage forcing Radoja into a huge uphill task. Radoja would battle back though and got Nguyen in trouble. Nguyen was short stacked and got it all in with A-3 up against Radoja’s K-9. Nguyen managed to stay ahead with ace high until the river delivered a King giving Radoja his second career bracelet. With the win Radoja would take home $331,190 in prize money and solidify himself as one of the best heads-up players in the world

For more coverage on the 2013 WSOP, stay tuned to Averageguypoker.com for all the action!

Mike “Daggum” Krisle – AGP

(Credited research sources: pokernews.com, wsop.com)

There were 535 players that came out to test their pot-limit skills, but after three days of play it was Lev Rofman defeating Allan Cunningham heads up to take home the title. Rofman was about 5^th in chips coming into the final table. He really seemed fine with just hanging out in the early action. However he scored a tournament changing double up when he eliminated Nicolas Halvorson in 7^th place.

Eventually after Cunningham and Rofman eliminated the remaining players we were heads up. Cunningham came into the matchup with a near 2.5:1 chip advantage and was seemingly very close to his 6 bracelet. In fact Cunningham had Rofman all in on two separate occasions but was unable to rail him. It was Rofman that would battle back and gain the chip lead. When Rofman got Cunningham all in, he made it count. The final hand saw Cunningham move all in after the flop and Rofman made the call. Rofman had a K-Q with a flush draw and Cunningham showed K-8 with a bigger flush draw. But no more spades would come and the queen on the river sealed the victory for Rofman. It is Rofman’s first bracelet and he also would take home the $166,136 top prize.

Event 13 – $5,000 7-Card Stud Hi/Low

Imagine having the winning hand but then having to split it with someone else. That’s the reality in hi/low events. However, patience is key and eventually if you pick your spots correctly and not chase too much then you can emerge victorious. That is exactly what Mike “The Mouth” Matasow did to claim his 4^th bracelet.

The final table was a tough one which included Gavin Smith, David Baker, and Matthew Ashton. Ashton finished 3^rd in event 5 earlier in the series and was hoping this time would be his moment. Unfortunately it was not to be and Matasow defeated him in a challenging heads up battle. Matasow was pretty much up and down all final table long but was able to maintain a good enough chip stack to get it to heads up and win the tourney.  The eliminations were quick to start the final table and one of those was 6^th place finisher Tony Cousineau. He has now 55 cashes without a bracelet win! Ashton would take a 2 to 1 chip lead against Matasow into heads up play. Matasow would soon close the gap and take the lead, one he would never relinquish. Matasow would win when he made a higher two pair than Ashton on seventh street. Matasow also took home the top prize of $266,503.

Event 14 – $1,500 NL Hold’em

Yet another holdem tournament is completed at the WSOP. This time the field was 1,819 and the one that came out on top was Jonathan Taylor. Taylor who was a standout on the circuit scene now is bracelet winner as well. Taylor came into the final day of play with a decent stack and seemed content watching the early eliminations until the final table was reached.

Taylor got into the mix when he eliminated Dan Gannon in 8^th place. Later on Taylor would rail Tommy Vu in 5^th place and Hunter Frey in 3^rd place. Going into heads up play against Blake Bohn, Taylor would have a 2 to 1 advantage. He kept the pressure on the rest of the way and would never give up the chip lead. He would win pot after pot controlling the match from the start. Eventually he forced Bohn to go all in with A-5 in which he was ahead slightly to Taylor’s K-9. However a 9 would come on the turn and Bohn would not improve giving the tournament to Taylor. Taylor would take home $454,424 in prize money and add a bracelet to the rings he already has.

More WSOP action to come on Averageguypoker.com!

Mike “Daggum” Krisle – AGP

(Credited research sources: pokernews.com, wsop.com)

In limit holdem you are only allowed to bet a certain amount in each hand played. It is far different game than no limit holdem. Not many players can adjust to the different range of hands. Aces are not quite as strong in limit as no limit and consequently you have to adjust your thinking when playing.

Brent Wheeler adjusted his thinking just fine as he outlasted a 644 other players to win his first gold bracelet. Wheeler came into the tourney with 14 career cashes but no win. That would not be the case after the final day of play when he bested the field and became champion. By day 3 there were only 19 players left and the chip leader at that point was the only bracelet owner left Eric Froehlich. However by the time we reached the final table of 9 he was first to be railed when he was beaten by a straight then a few hands later he was out. By this time there were several players that were all on the short stack side making there exits rather quickly. Wheeler was one of those short stacks to start the final table but as the eliminations continued he slowly built it back up. Heads up play was with Mark Mierkalns and Wheeler was running away with in the beginning. However, Mierkalns stormed back taking the chip lead more than double what Wheeler had. Several hands later Wheeler had evened the score yet again and gained the advantage. The final hand saw Mierkalns eventually get it all in after the flop with A-10. Wheeler held A-3 with the board showing 9-9-3. Mierkalns needed the board to pair or catch a 10. Neither happened and Wheeler was the champion. With the win Wheeler takes home $191,605.

Event 11 – $2,500 NL Hold’em 6-Handed

Over 924 players came out to test their shorthanded skills in event 11. It was a wild and crazy event seeing quick eliminations all tournament long and rough defeats. None was worse than Tuan Le’s bust. He was all-in with Aces against the 7s of Eddy Sabbat. He was doing great and looked to be doubling up that is until Sabat hit a two outer on the river to rail Le. Ouch! At the start of the final day eventual winner Levi Berger had a big chip lead. Then he decided to chunk it away but gained it back to win the tournament.

In fact he eliminated everyone at the final table en route to the title. This included Scott Clements who was vying for his 3^rd bracelet. Going into heads up play Berger and Clements had around 100 big blinds left so you would think this was going to be a grind. You be wrong though as it lasted for only an hour. The final hand saw Berger and Clements get it all in after the flop showed 8-7-2. Clements had a 10-9 making him open-ended but Berger was ahead with pocket Kings. The board ran out 4 then 5 giving no help to Clements and securing the title for Berger. It was Berger’s first bracelet and he would also take home the top prize of $473,019.

For more WSOP updates, stay tuned to Averageguypoker.com!

Mike “Daggum” Krisle – AGP

(Credited research sources: pokernews.com, wsop.com)

(Note all questions asked by AGP are in blue and Trevor Pope’s answers are in red)

AGP: I want to thank you for taking time out of your schedule to speak with us.

Trevor: No problem

AGP: I want to congratulate you on your recent win at Event 2 of the WSOP. How were you able to have such a dominant performance leading the tourney from wire to wire.

Trevor: I was just able to play my game and win all my coin flips. I kept the pressure on and had a great run. By day 2 I had accumulated a bunch of chips allowing me to play my game and keep progressing through to the final table.

AGP: This is your biggest cash in the WSOP with the win. How does it feel to break through and get the win after making a final table 2010 in a PLO event and finishing 7th?

Trevor: Wow yeah well when I made the final table in that event I wasn’t in great position to win as I didn’t have as many chips. So it kinda was like a shove fest at that table by that time. I was in much better shape going into this tournament. I was able to play aggressively and keep the pressure on my opponents.

AGP:  The WSOP has really moved to mostly holdem tournaments and now pot limit Omaha. Its been commonly stated that we call it the “world series of holdem”. Do you forsee the WSOP moving to more and more holdem events and with the rise of PLO have more of those type tournaments as well.

Trevor: Well the reason you see so many holdem events is you know everyone plays it. I mean it’s the form that attracts the most players especially since the “Moneymaker Boom.” It’s the easiest to learn and the easiest to play. Certainly PLO is on the rise and it will gain more popularity in the future. I think for me No limit is the best game. I play a lot of cash games and no limit suits me. So I think we will continue to see holdem as the main type out there.

AGP: So do you think other forms such as stud, stud-8, or lowball varieties kind of dying out and yielding to holdem and PLO?

Trevor: Well I think primarily why a lot of these types are not as popular is because of the many of them are limit formats like 1 or 2 bet games. They are not as attractive and for me they just don’t suit my game. I mean poker is a game cycles so who knows maybe we will see stud take the lead and be most popular however I don’t see that anytime soon.

AGP: So how many events do you plan on playing at this years series? Follow up from that, you really here a lot about staying physically fit during the series. How much of a role do think that plays in ones game?

Trevor: Well as far as the amount of tournaments I’m going play, I plan on playing in all the NL holdem and PLO tournaments I can. I really not sure how much working out contributes to playing good or better. I don’t really workout and it didn’t affect me during my win. I mean it is a grind, you get up, play for 14 hours, go to bed, and then get up and do all again. I probably should work out more but I go in spurts. Sometimes I do then I don’t for a while. I try to play hockey like 4 times a week if I can it is a great way to stay in shape. But overall if someone told me that you had to be in shape to improve your game I don’t think it means a whole lot.

AGP: You said you’re a hockey fan, so who you got in the Stanley Cup playoffs?

Trevor: (Laughing), Well you know it’s sad I haven’t even seen much of the playoffs. But I so suppose it’s hard to pick against Crosby and those boys.

AGP: We post poll questions on our site every so often about poker and things. So I got to ask you our poll question and want to get your answer. What most would you like to see at this WSOP the most this year? 1. Phil Hellmuth, 2.  A woman makes the Main Event final table, 3. Greg Merson repeats.

Trevor: Ha ha well do I got to choose between those? I would have to choose Merson just because I think it would be good for poker and its legality issues. It would show and prove that poker is a skill game and not just luck. It would go a long way in helping poker achieve that. Prove to the lawmakers and government it needs to be legal online.

AGP: So you have had some success at a few WPT events as well. What do you see is the biggest difference in the WSOP events and the WPT events?

Trevor: Well I think the biggest difference is the size of the fields. You know in a WPT event prelim $1,000 tourney you may see 300 players, whereas if that was a the same event at the WSOP it be in the range of 1,800 to 2,000 range. And of course the Main Event of the WSOP would be more prestigious than a WPT main event. So those seem to be the biggest differences I see.

-The rest of the interview can be heard below.

7_6_2013_13_46_17

AGP would like to thank Trevor for donating his time and chatting with us here at Average Guy Poker.

Mike “Daggum” Krisle – AGP

Over 1,800 players signed up for this event all hoping they would be the next champion. By day three the field had shrunk to 10 with half being pros and half being amateurs. One side had won millions at the WSOP while the other side had won just a mere $2,968 in earnings combined. Two pros were even trying for their second bracelet, Brent Hanks and Eric Baldwin. However they would fall short as it was Max Waxman who would eventually take the crown in a grueling heads up battle.

The first two eliminations happened within the first hour of play and then Waxman decided to move. He took over the chip lead when he eliminated Tuu Ho in 8^th place and then a little later sent Robert Dreyfuss to rail in 7^th. He wasn’t done yet because about 10 hands later he dispatched of Jacob Jung. Waxman would score another knockout when he took out Amit Makhija when his Aces dominated the Q-Q of Makhija. The heads up match was one for the series. Waxman led in the beginning with over a million chip advantage. However, Baldwin would battle back and reclaim the chip lead for a while. Play was monotonously back and forth for 7 hours until finally Waxman got the best of Baldwin denying him of his second bracelet. The final hand saw Baldwin get it all in with 7-4 but was behind Waxman’s A-5. Waxman stayed ahead after the flop yielded an Ace. The turn gave a few outs for Baldwin but the river was not kind enough and Baldwin was gone. This is Waxman’s first bracelet and he would take home $189,220 along with the gold bracelet.

Event 8 – $2,500 8-Game Mix

Mix game events are rather interesting to watch. Especially this one as it featured 8 different disciplines. If you are a true poker enthusiast you should watch this type of tournament from time to time. You have to be a well-rounded player to succeed in these events. You can be an expert hold’em player but bad stud player and see your tourney go down the drain. You need to be at the very least decent and knowledgeable of each discipline. This one had all the types to offer from PLO to NL holdem and from 7-stud to Lowball. With that being said 388 mixed game specialists got it on for the bracelet.

It was a long 3 days of play but in the end it was Michael Malm that would take down the title. Day 3 saw 19 players return many of which were notable pros. Unfortunately it wasn’t a great day for the pros as they fell one right after another like Josh Arieh, Chris Reslock, and Robert Mizrachi. Malm was like a sleeping giant seemingly content watching all the players hit the rail. Not so for Greg Mueller last year’s runner up eliminated 2 players before finally bowing out himself in 3^rd an impressive run two years in a row.  The heads up play saw both Steven Wolansky and Malm about even in chips. Wolansky even pulled away at one point but Malm doubled up and then sealed the deal in the PLO round. Malm got Wolansky all in K-Q-10-9 and he had A-10-10-9 with two diamonds. By the turn Wolansky had made two pair but Malm just needed a diamond for the nut flush and it hit on the river awarding him the bracelet. Many pros were hoping for a win but it was a first time winner who would shine that day.

Event 9 – $3,000 NL Hold’em Shootout (2,000 Player Max)

It’s a shootout. Just win your table and you are on to the next table trying to do the same each time. By day 3 the field was down to just one shootout this time the winner taking home the gold bracelet. The last player standing would be Cliff Josephy. It was the New Yorker’s second bracelet of his career, the first coming in 2005 in a Stud event.

In a shootout each time you enter a new table you are virtually even in chips making it kind of like several mini tourneys in one.  Josephy eliminated 5 of the last 9 players in route to the title. In fact two in just five hands! Daggum! He lost a little back when he doubled Evan Silverstein up and watched as Silverstein railed Steven Silverman in 3^rd place closing the gap even more. Josephy held a small advantage when heads up play began but would hold on grasp the bracelet. He won when his A-2 outlasted the K-10 of Silverstein despite the hearts flopping for Silverstein. None would follow and Josephy was the winner and took home $299,486 in prize money.

More results to come on Averageguypoker.com from the 2013 WSOP!

Mike “Daggum” Krisle – AGP

(credited research sources: pokernews.com, wsop.com)

This was the first non-holdem event of the series and it proved to have a great showing at the final table especially in the heads up matchup. By the end of the tournament one stood on top, and that was Mike Gorodinsky. The field was a deep and proved to be a tough test to anyone who entered. Mike Matusow played in this one and had a good showing finishing in 14^th. He was eliminated when both his hi and low was beaten by two different opponents, a rarity in the game but that’s poker.
By day 3 there but 19 players left and a few hours later it was down to 9. Eliminations came fast and furious and before you knew it we had our final table. Another notable cash was Daniel Negreanu, who was railed in 12^th place when he was taken out on the river by Gorodinsky. When the table shrunk to 9 players there were two eliminations in a matter of minutes. Michael Ashton and Kristopher Tong seemed to be doing most of the damage eliminating a total of 5 players together! It was Tong who would eventually eliminate Ashton setting up a battle of a heads up match. Gorodinsky had been near the top all tournament long in chips never really getting into too much trouble. That is until he met up with Tong. Tong took control early on in heads up play and it appeared that he would become the champion. However, Gorodinsky battled back and took his own chip lead. Play would continue seeing each player gain control back and forth. Eventually Gorodinsky got the upper hand and would send Tong packing when he made a straight in the 7-stud hi/low round. Gorodinsky won the bracelet and the nearly $217,000 that came along with it.

Event 6 – $1,500 “Millionaire Maker” NL Hold’em

Wow what a tournament! There were 6,343 entrants to the event over a course of two flights in one day! That made it the largest starting day in the history of the WSOP. Good thing the Rio All Suites and Casino expanded the room! The action took place over 4 days of play with the first place prize guaranteed at least $1 million in prize money. Well in fact the winner would receive $1,198,780 in prize money. That honor would go to Benny Chen.

It wouldn’t come without some adversity though. By the time of the final table Chen was near the bottom in chips. In fact when play was down to 7 players he was 6^th in chips at that point. However by the time of the next elimination he was 2^nd in chips. What a crazy event indeed it was. Chen seemed content to watch as players were eliminated. When there were 4 players left it seemed that the players played round the world with the chip lead and short stack for a while. Then Chen eliminated a couple of players and we had the heads up match with Chen and Michael Bennington. It only took 12 hands to dispatch of Bennington giving Chen a win for the ages. Chen’s pocket 9s outlasted the pocket 3s of Bennington and Chen was a WSOP champion. Not only was it the largest starting day in history, it was also one of the largest tournaments in WSOP history ranking 8^th all time! Even more astounding may be that Chen’s only previous cash was for a mere $11,000. Pretty sure he’s feeling good now about this cash.

Stay tuned as more WSOP recaps are coming soon on Averageguypoker.com. Make sure to download our free app for your android device to follow all the action.

Mike “Daggum” Krisle – AGP 

(credited research sources: pokernews.com, wsop.com)