WSOP Update #14

With the 2008 version of the World Series of Poker gearing up for the massive $10,000 Hold'em Main Event, a few other tournaments have come to a close, and a couple of notable names came close to victory.

In the $1500 H.O.R.S.E. event, Phil Hellmuth came very close to bracelet number 12, as he finished in 3rd place, losing to eventual winner James Schaaf. In a field of more than 800 players, Phil has (possibly) silenced his critics who say he is a Hold'em specialist. In a career that spans 20, this is just the 4th time Phil has finished in the top 3 of a major non-Hold'em event

Phil Hellmuth's non-Hold'em accomplishments:

2nd - 1993 WSOP No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball - $5,000 buy-in

2nd - 2001 WSOP Limit Omaha Hi/Lo - $5,000 buy-in

3rd - 2003 WSOP Limit Omaha - $1,500 buy-in

3rd - 2008 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. - $1,500 buy-in

Also, Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi finished 3rd in the $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha tournament. Eventual winner Marty Smyth won the tournament and the grand prize of over $850,000 after making a flush on the river. He and heads-up opponent Peter Jetten had both flopped the straight holding K-J and two irrelevant cards with a flop of Qc-10c-9h, but Smyth's K-J both happened to be clubs giving him the open-ended straight flush draw. The turn was a blank, but the 6c fell on the river. Smyth wasn't even aware he'd made the flush and won the tournament, as he thought the split was inevitable. This is Mizrachi's 5th cash-in of the 2008 WSOP, but easily his biggest one, grabbing more than $320,000 in profit.

Tomorrow is Day One A of the Main Event, the first of 4 Day Ones to come. Even Day Two will be split into two different groups (meaning they're actually days 5 & 6) and Day Three (also know as Day 7) will be the first day all remaining players will gather in one room. As they anticipate cutting off the buy-ins at 12,000 this year, and setting a new record for largest live poker tournament in WSOP history, predicting a winner here seems almost impossible. This tournament has a recent history of making names out of nobodies, so good luck to the next nobody to become the somebody everybody wants to be.