WSOP Update #3

Well, I (sort of) called my shot and was right! In my last blog, I mentioned that if anyone was going to beat Erick Lindgren in the $5000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/ReBuys it was going to be Mike "the Mouth" Matusow, and miraculously, I was right. Matusow takes down his 3rd WSOP bracelet and well over $500,000. After defeating Jeff Lisandro heads-up, the Mouth was very emotional, as he often is after any big event, win or lose, and is optimistic about the rest of the 2008 WSOP schedule.

"I don't know much about this game," joked Matusow, "but I know no-limit. If I continue to play like I played this week, it's gonna be a real good World Series."

Daniel Negreanu is still going strong in 4th place in the $2000 Limit Hold'em event, as they're down to the final 10 players. Daniel made a very lucky hand with 10-7 os (his favorite hand, see my interview with him for more) against Derek Lerner where Negreanu rivered a 2nd pair to take down a very large pot, that would have otherwise seen Daniel eliminated from the tournament.

In the $5000 No Limit Hold'em event, several big names are doing very well. 121 players remain from a starting 731. With Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi and Humberto Brenes comfortably near the top of the leader board, other players such as Eli Elezra, Cathy Liebert, Layne Flack (one of my personal favorites) and Gavin Smith will all be working a (relatively) short stack going in to Day 2 of the event.

Another event with notable names got underway yesterday, in the $3000 H.O.R.S.E. event. Personally, I love this style of poker, I think it's the greatest test of a players true skill, as each game Hold'em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, Eights or Better require different strategies. Some players like to try and get by by focusing on the style of poker they're most comfortable with, but the top players know how to play each game. 160 of the 414 players remain, with Todd Brunson, Shannon Elizabeth, Phil Ivey, Marcel Luske, Jennifer Harmon, Annie Duke and Hoyt Corkins all still in the hunt.