Phil Ivey Wins Historic 10th WSOP Bracelet in $1,500 Eight Game Mix

The $1,500 Eight Game Mix features the unflappable Phil Ivey as chip leader in a tournament that he really needs to win––not only for the glory of his 10th bracelet––but for a prop bet that reportedly well exceeds the $167,332 first place prize. He and Daniel Negreanu took all comers in a wager that one of them would achieve a victory during the course of the 2014 WSOP’s 65 bracelet events. Estimates place the prop bet totals at anywhere from the $200,000 Negreanu tweeted to $1 million and upwards. Apparently Ivey took most of the action, with Negreanu participating to help out a friend. Naturally, it's all relative––the entry for Sunday’s One Drop alone is a cool million. 

Chairman of the Board - Phil Ivey commands respect from Chidwick, Steury, Heimiller, Yamron

With Alex Rocha and Daniel Negreanu having been felted in eight and ninth, a stellar lineup remains as we head into the home stretch. Chip leader Phil Ivey has 600,000 in chips and dour Indiana pro Aaron Steury, a 2011 WSOP bracelet winner and “part-time degenerate” sits on 480,000. Close behind is the feared UK tournament threat Stephen Chidwick, who has taken a page from Mike McDonald’s “stare down opponents and make them feel very uncomfortable” playbook. Veteran poker player Bruce Yamron and 2014 Seniors Event winner Dan Heimiller sit on around 250,000 chips, while Brooklyn-based Yuebin Guo (122,000) and the German Christoph Haller (75,000) are short stacked. 

Second to Guo

As expected, Haller is the first to go and Guo departs soon thereafter, felted by local favorite Heimiller when he is unable to complete his low in stud eight-or-better. Heimiller chips up to 330,000, enough to make a serious run at the bracelet. Stephen Chidwick, playing a wide range of hands, experiences volatile swings and is next to go in 2-7 Triple Draw when Ivey makes an eight-perfect 8-5-4-3-2. Moving up to over a million chips on this hand, Ivey takes a decisive tournament lead that he will relinquish only once more before the night is through. Ivey from here on out picks his spots, choosing hands when he has a good chance of scooping significant pots at minimal risk. Yesterday’s hero, $25,000 Poker Players Championship winner John Hennigan stops by to support his good friend Ivey, while Yamron hollers “congratulations, buddy.”

Chidwick, of the “stare down opponents and make them feel very uncomfortable” school

the long walk

I notice that Yamron and Ivey have been chatting frequently the last level. During the dinner break, I talk briefly with Yamron, a friendly older gentleman who has known Ivey since 2000 and tells me “I used to put Ivey into 75-150 games in back in the day in Atlantic City. A funny story... my daughter is a PokerStars reporter in London and knowing how Ivey loves wine I invited him to The Ivy, a famous West End place known for its wine. When the sommelier comes around, Ivey cuts to the chase––’I’d like to see your reserve list’.” Yabron raises his eyebrows with a chuckle, “These vintages start at around £8,000 per bottle.” 

Cracks in the cool demeanor - Ivey clearly enjoying the game

got a few chips

I also talk with Mike “Shoes” Gambony, a Las Vegas grinder and good friend of Dan Heimiller, who calls him “the nicest guy in poker,” someone who will gladly stake Las Vegas players who are down-and-out. Heimiller lives to play in marathon tournaments and has had a stellar 2014 WSOP thus far. He began his winning streak on June 4th, placing 17th in the $1,500 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event for $10,400. According to Gambony, the timing of his 10:30pm bust out proved very fortuitous-–it gave him a 30 minute window in which to late-reg for the $1,000 NLHE Seniors Championship, which he took first place in for $627,000. 

Heimiller -  “nicest guy in poker”

Down to his last 150,000 chips, Aaron Steury risks his tournament life in limit hold’em preflop on A-Q and is called down by Heimiller’s A-J. Unfortunately, a jack on the flop seals his fate and he takes the walk from the tournament floor without a handshake or any acknowledgement of the other players.

Steury vs. Heimiller

Steury gets it in good A-Q vs. A-J

Steury reads the bad news –– jack on the flop

Steury - no handshakes

Wearing his signature “winner, winner, chicken dinner” t-shirt, Heimiller has been flirting with disaster all evening, getting critical double ups when he is extremely short stacked––finally, even his good karma cannot save him. Shipping his last 164,000 chips in NLHE with K-4, he is called by Ivey’s A-6 and an ace on the flop sends him to the rail. 

 It's past bedtime..

and time to go.

Respect

Ivey stomps off after felting Heimiller

and plots victory..

With Ivey and Yamron starting with nearly identical stacks heads up, the end is surprisingly quick. A swelling rail that includes the likes of Chino Rheem, Joe Hachem,Mike Matusow, and Erik Lindgren watches as Ivey makes short work of the overly cautious Yamron. On the first hand, Yamron calls down to the river in seven-card stud for 215,000 chips, before mucking to a river bet. I notice that Ivey gives a slight smile and does a boxer-like head bob thing when he has what he considers a strong hand––a sign to his opponent to steer clear, perhaps. 

Yamron - soon to go

Ivey - not this hand

The truncated match ends in Omaha 8, with Yamron’s two pair losing to Ivey’s higher two pair and the crowd going wild. Despite the sense of jubilation among the fans on the rail, there must be a good few railers with crushed dreams, as they lose significant propositions that Ivey will not take home a bracelet this WSOP series. Speaking with reporters after the historic win, Ivey notes that he tempered his aggression on the final table, choosing to chip his opponents down rather than “spew off chips and give up the lead.” 

 this hand

old friends

the Champ

After the tournament, there is some speculation on the 2+2 forums that Ivey could have shipped his good friend Yamron the first prize money (or more) to lose, as his prop bets well exceeded the first-second place prize differential. Beyond the logistical difficulties in trying to arrange such a deal during a break when many eyes are on you, I find it improbable simply because, (as people who know mixed-game poker far better than me have noted), Yamron was playing less-than-optimal poker during the final table––failing to raise pots and capitalize on premium hands, and limp folding to late street bets with some frequency. His performance heads up was a continuation of that style and he simply did not hit the right cards. With the pride in beating Ivey heads up for a bracelet also on the line, I say let’s give Ivey full props, as he ties Doyle Brunson with his 10th bracelet win and moves just three shy of Phil Helmuth’s record 13 WSOP victories.

 Ivey back into the light

Chipped opponents down, rather than “spew off chips and give up the lead.” 

Las Vegas Mixed-game Master John Hennigan Wins Poker Players Championship

The prestigious $25,000 Poker Players Championship––hell to cover, due to the various games played, from 2-7 triple draw to razz––has been won by none other than Las Vegas grinder John Hennigan. He beat out a field of 102 of poker’s greatest minds, ultimately prevailing against Brandon Shack-Harris heads up. I last covered Hennigan a couple weeks ago in the $1,500 WSOP Event #19 NLHE tournament, when he was vanquished heads up by retired marine sergeant Ted Gillis. 

Ultimate glory on the line––Hennigan against Shack-Harris and Jesse Martin

Nicknamed "Johnny World," the former billiards professional now has three WSOP bracelets to his credit, as well as a third place finish in last year’s Poker Players Championship. With this convincing win in the most demanding of WSOP small field events, Hennigan has vaulted into status as one of the game’s true elite. He commented to Poker News after earning his bracelet that it was “very fulfilling to win the event,” as he had been playing mixed games for many years. He noted that this game was played by many top-tier professionals, from Phil Ivey to Doyle Brunson, for the honor of winning more than high ROI expectations. Unlike in cash games, players were “emotionally involved” and every pot hotly contested down the stretch.

 Hennigan taking on Gillis heads up two weeks earlier

Wearing a t-shirt fittingly emblazoned with the Superman symbol on it, Hennigan found himself in a downward spiral late in Day Three, but pulled out a win when the game shifted to PLO and he “bet it all on one hand.” After that critical double up, things turned around and Hennigan seemed to win every hand, “that’s kind of how poker goes sometimes.” I expect to see more from Hennigan in the days to come––hopefully he will decide to put some of his hard-earned money to work in the $25,000 One Drop satellite that is taking place Saturday night, giving himself a shot at the biggest money. 

I want to apologize to loyal blog readers for going AWOL the past couple days. I entered the $1,500 Monster Stack yesterday, which exceeded all expectations by attracting nearly 8,000 runners. As mentioned earlier, I am of the opinion that the Monster Stack will quickly gain the reputation as the “everyman’s Main Event,” as it offers deep stack play at an eminently affordable price. Both me and On Tilt Radio colleague Nathan Dowland decided to temporarily forego our media duties and register, pursuing ultimate  bragging rights and a $10.6 million prize pool that includes a $1.37 million first prize. 

On Tilt Radio colleague Nathan Dowland––Monster starting stack and Blue Shark Optics cap

I am doing pretty good about five hours into the tournament, up to about 20,000 chips through careful, steady play that has included slow playing aces from the small blind and extracting maximum value. Unfortunately, I run into a cooler that I probably could have gotten away from (just) pre-flop. Under the gun with A-Q, I put in a small raise of 500 and get min reraised to 1,000 by a player in middle position. She has been playing snug so I call reluctantly, feeling priced in––I am ready to muck my hand if anything less than the perfect flop peels out. Lo and behold, an A-Q-4 board comes and I have two pair. Call it sixth sense, I check the flop and my opponent checks behind. The turn is inconsequential and we also check this. When a seemingly harmless river card comes out that does not complete any draws, I fire 3,000, hoping to extract a little value. Instead of calling or folding as expected, my opponent raises it up to 6,000.  As suspicious as this min-raise is, I am priced in with my top two pair and call. Naturally, she turns over pocket aces, not the A-K or A-J I was hoping to see. 

No media pass––only allowed to take pics of myself grinding it out

A player at the table who considers himself a bit of an expert (read: know-it-all) tells me I should have mucked preflop when my opponent raised even a little, considering how snug she had been playing. I shrug––I did after all lose the minimum, all things considered. If I had played it any other way (or if she had shoved on me, like most players would) I would likely have lost my entire stack. Instead I have a respectable 10,000 stack that represents about 50 big blinds. Moving to another table I get whittled down to 7,000 before starting to make some reads and moves, and chipping back to 15,000. Unfortunately, the blinds are increasing and I ultimately have to make my stand with 8,000 behind and a pocket pair. I lose the coin flip against my new least favorite hand A-Q and nine hours of hard work goes down the drain. Ah, the joys of poker. Meanwhile, Nathan has been battling a dearth of quality cards but still has 7,000 chips going into Day Two––the perfect stack for doubling up or going home.

Turnout larger than anticipated (photo Nathan Dowland)

Now, it’s time to head to the Rio and watch the action in the $1,5000 Eight Game Mix, which features Stephen Chidwick and Phil Ivey as chip leaders among a final 13 that also includes Daniel Negreanu. Needless to say, if either Ivey or Negreanu achieves the bracelet, they will win a prop bet that reportedly well exceeds $1 million. This is definitely a “last hurrah” chance for the tournament veterans, as we move into the final leg of the WSOP. Also starting today is the anticipated Ladies NLHE Championship, which features the likes of Kathy Liebert, Jackie Glazier, and PokerNews host Kristy Arnett. 

To Have and Have Not: Grinding the $185 WSOP Deepstack, Dreaming of Monster Stacks, & Railing the Stars

Today offers a relative lull in the action, with only a $1,500 NLHE event filled with lesser known players moving to final table action. Actually, these are often my favorite events, with players vying for glory in its purest sense––for the chance to become part of WSOP lore and earn some serious cash. I was seriously rooting for unknown Darius Studdard, who does not Twitter, to take home the PLO Six-handed bracelet yesterday. 

For me it is a welcome respite, as I begin to get in shape for the four-day $1,500 Monster Stack NLHE starting on Thursday. With about one more $1,500 bullet to spare in my bank account, I have decided that this represents the best chance of leveraging my buy-in into cold hard cash. Same structure as the $1,500 side events we see every day, which offer one hour levels, starting at 25-25. Only difference is, you get 15,000 chips instead of 4,500 chips––essentially it’s a mini-Main Event for the value conscious and the minnow hunters. My hopes, like many others’ are riding on this particular event––if I do somehow reach the final couple tables in a tourney likely attract 4,000 or more runners, I will parlay a percentage of the winnings into taking a shot at the ultimate glory of the $10,000 Main Event. 

To be honest, I think that those who reach the final table of the Monster Stack will be deserving of a larger degree of recognition than of the other side event tournaments. Say what you will about too much play (read work) relative to the buy in (I've heard a few snide comments from high rollers), the deep structure means that this is the equivalent of the Main Event for many players who simply do not have $10,000 to risk on a single event. It is the everyman's version of the Main Event and why the hell Monster Energy Drinks is not sponsoring it is beyond me. 

I am going into my last shot at WSOP glory fairly confident, realizing that any given deep run involves a combination of sick reads, critical lay downs, huge bluffs, and calm, collected play. My first and only WSOP event so far was Event #12: Pot-Limit Hold'em, earlier this month. I cashed 48th of 550, basically doubling my buy-in. I found the event to have more play than expected in a tournament with so few starting chips. This was partly due to the pot limit nature of the game, which made it easier to get away from train wreck flops. I did play fairly tight to the vest, which benefitted me when I needed to make big all-in or “pot” bluff moves––I find it happens 4 to 5 times, on average, in the first 10 rounds of longer tourneys. Despite this forward momentum, I lost a big coin flip toward the end of Day One and came into Day Two six spots from the money (63 players were paid), sitting on about 10 big blinds. 

The Day Two table included Marvin Rettenmeier, Joseph Cheong, and two of the largest stacks in the tournament (who ultimately placed second and fourth). Fortunately Cheong was two to my right, which allowed me to come over the top of his inevitable button raises with far from premium holdings and get him to fold. Unfortunately, the final time this button raise move happened (comfortably inside the money) he woke up with A-J and I had A-5. I think my shove was standard, being significantly ahead of Cheong’s raising range, although I should have been wary the second time he tried the move. Having the experience of playing a WSOP side event and getting relatively deep definitely gives me a boost of confidence going into in a Monster Stack tournament that will require mucho patience and resilience.

To prepare mentally and get into the rhythm, I play in the daily 6pm Deepstack this evening, finishing 65th of 350 runners and tantalizingly outside the money. I make some inexcusably careless moves––it has been a while since I’ve played a tourney, being immersed in this volunteer media gig. Still, with the structure escalating as if on steroids, I get my last 30,000 in good A-10 against 8-8. Unfortunately, the cards do not go my way in this classic race and I am out. 

I wander over to the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, which cycles between a daunting array of games, and am suddenly in poker heaven––surrounded by the likes of Jason Mercier, Doyle Brunson, John Juanda, Stephen Chidwick, Jonathan Duhamel, and Phil Ivey. I snap pictures like a kid in a candy shop, all regrets about busting out in the daily tournament completely vanished. To have this opportunity to witness the best––those whose styles I've studied and books I've read––my first time in Vegas––is truly a privilege. As tournament chip leader Jason Mercier takes out his good friend Rast, Doyle Brunson comments  "Brian Rast plays PLO like he sees your cards." Mercier has a slightly different take, "he might have raised a little smaller––I don't think he wanted to put in 48K."

Jason Mercier & Brian Rast-–buddying it up

Mercier about to eliminate Rast––"I don't think he wanted to put in 48K."

Brunson in fine fettle

Stephen Chidwick and dealer––mutual admiration society

Jason Mercier & Robert Mizrachi

Chidwick takes on Ofir Mor

Juanda eliminates Mor

Ivey––grinding toward his first 2014 WSOP final table with Macau friend Rono Lo.