Poker Blog & Poker Forum

The headline sounds like the lead-in to a bad joke about T.J. Cloutier’s craps habit, but in this case it’s the literal truth. Word leaked out on various poker forums and poker rooms about an eBay listing from a pawnshop in Plano, TX that was auctioning of T.J. Cloutier’s WSOP bracelet from his win in a 2005 $5,000 NLHE WSOP event. In subsequent interviews the pawnshop confirmed that they’d bought the bracelet (along with another championship bracelet from a non-WSOP event) directly from Cloutier, but they wouldn’t say how much they paid him for it.

Cloutier’s WSOP bracelet was originally listed at $2,500, but it eventually attracted 12 bids, with the winner ultimately paying $4,006 for it. No details have surfaced yet on who purchased it, although discussion on some forums floated the possibility a poker pro friend of Cloutier’s buying it and returning it to him. At which point he might very well pawn it again, considering the fact that anyone who’d pawn a WSOP bracelet is likely facing some serious cash flow issues.

It makes us wonder if T.J. knows about some of the poker bonus offers out there for sites like Pacific Poker and others. Grinding signup bonuses isn’t sexy, but neither is pawning off WSOP bracelets and having the whole world (ourselves included) make jokes about you and the perils of craps and other pit games.

Joe Cada, the 21 year-old that dropped out of college, has gone on to take down the most prestegious title in poker: the 2009 WSOP Main Event.  Doing so, Cada has become the youngest player EVER to win a WSOP Main Event.  He outlasted the huge initial field of 6,494 participants then went into the final table (otherwise known as the November 9) as one of the shorter stacks, but after several grueling days of play managed to go heads-up against Darvin “I can’t seem to lose this game” Moon, a logger from Oakland, Maryland.  The final hand was virtually a coin-flip with an all-in preflop of Cada’s 9’s vs. Moon’s QJ suited.  The 9’s held up and Moon was sent to the rail giving Cada a bracelet, lifelong fame and over $8.5 Million dollars!

The two biggest hands from the heads-up session were these 2 (from the PokerNews live reporting):

“Hand #356 – Joe Cada Makes An All-In Call Joe Cada has the button. He raises to 3 million and Moon makes the call. It comes 10c 5d 9h , and the action goes check-check. The turn comes the 10d and Moon checks once again. Cada can’t resist betting 3 million, and Moon quickly announces an all in check-raise! Cada takes a sip from his water bottle as he pauses to consider his options for a few moments. He sinks deep into his chair and practically lays his head on the rail, cradled in his elbow. The decision is clearly an agonizing one. Finally, and quietly, Cada says, “I call.” With that, he is now at risk, and Moon is potentially one card from the bracelet. With the entire theater on their feet, the cards are turned over: Moon – 7s8s Cada – jh 9d Cada is ahead with his two pair, but Moon is drawing to his open-ender, and he sure does run good. After a long, suspenseful delay, the river comes: 3h That’s safe for Cada, and he gives the ol’ double fist pump as he heads off into the arms of his cheering section. With that good call, Cada has earned himself a massive double up and the chip lead once again! Moon – 86,500,000 Cada – 108,300,000″

AND

“Darvin Moon Eliminated in 2nd Place ($5,182,928) Hand #364 – Joe Cada has the button. It’s 3 million again, and Moon is looking like a re-raise this time. Indeed, he does three-bet it up to 8 million, and Cada double-checks his cards before announcing an all in. Moon double-checks his own cards and quickly makes the call for his tournament life! Just like that we’ve got an enormous pot! With just under 150 million chips up for grabs, the cards are turned over: Cada – 9c 9d Moon – Qd Jd It’s pandemonium inside the theater. The crowd is jumping up and down in the balconies as everyone screams their orders at the stage. The spectators on stage lean in towards the players, jockeying for position to catch a glimpse of this monumental board. With the eyes of the poker world staring directly at the table, the dealer burns a card and runs the flop: 8c 2c 7s That’s clean and safe for Cada, now two cards away from poker glory. Moon is standing up behind his chair with a blank stare, and Cada can’t bear to watch. He’s over in the stands, clutched in the arms of Cliff Josephy. The tension mounts again as the turn card falls: Kh That’s an awfully scary paint card, but it’s safe for Cada. Moon will need to catch a queen or a jack to prevent Joe Cada from wining every last chip in play. The drama is too great for words. There’s one more card to come. With the tension coming to an  absolute climax, here comes your river card: 7s. A deafening roar echoes through the rafters as Joe Cada is swarmed by his friends and family in the crowd. Darvin Moon shakes his head and paces slowly away from the table. Cada comes over to shake his hand, and the two men exchange pleasantries before Moon’s exit. After a truly legendary run for Darvin Moon, his Main Event is done.”

Many people say Moon did not seem too interested in actually winning this event.  He never took any sponsorships and mentioned in interviews that he didn’t plan on doing anything to prepare for the final table.  It really kind of shows in these 2 hands above.

Congratulations to Joe Cada on this amazing win!

Here is the breakdown of the other payouts for the 2009 WSOP Main Event:

2009 WSOP Main Event Payouts

1. Joe Cada, USA, PokerStars player, $8,546,435
2. Darvin Moon, USA, $5,182,601
3. Antoine Saout, France, $3,479,485
4. Eric Buchman, USA, PokerStars player, $2,502,787
5. Jeff Shulman, USA, $1,953,395
6. Steven Begleiter, USA, $1,587,133
7. Phil Ivey, USA, $1,404,002
8. Kevin Schaffel, USA, PokerStars qualifier, $1,300,228
9. James Akenhead, UK, $1,263,602

There’s already talk about some changes to next years’ WSOP, and the final table of the 2009 Main Event hasn’t even occurred yet.

First of all, the $40K Hold’Em event might be cancelled entirely.  This year, this event marked the 40th anniversary of the WSOP, and according to director Seth Palansky, was never meant to be an annual event.  “The $40k event was a good event.  It was a successful event.  But it made sense because it was the 40th annual World Series of Poker.  That buy-in amount or the event doesn’t really fit when you’re not in your 40th year” said Palanskly when questioned about the decision to drop it from the event roster.

This event was one of the few highlights of this past seasons series.  It attracted over 200 participants, all of which the best in the poker world, to compete for the nearly $1.9M first place payout.  And despite being well received by both players and event organizers, its doubtful if it will return in next years format.  “We announced them and intended them as one-year specials” Palansky stated earlier this month.  When it was announced, Palansky warned people that the tournament should not be viewed as an annual event, and despite his warning, industry people and players expected a return, especially since many other tournaments across the globe already feature high roller events of $25k or more.  When asked if there would be any kind of  high roller event in upcoming series, Palansky was doubtful at best, but didn’t shut the door on the idea completely.

“We didn’t want it to be ‘the pros’ no limit hold’em championship, and here’s one for everyone else”  (referring to the Main Event).

Reaction to the news is mixed.  Isaac Haxton, who finished rummer up to Vitaly Lunkin in the event this past year, believes Palansky is making a mistake by not having it return, especially considering the amount of rake an event such as this would bring in to Harrah’s.  Chris Ferguson also agrees it is a mistake to let this event die so quickly.  “I think this year proved that the $40k event is a great event, but no is going to call the winner of the $40k event the world champion of poker.  It doesn’t have nearly the prize pool of the main event.  I don’t think there’s any question as to who the real work champion is” Ferguson stated.

However, there are some players who agree with the decision.

Six time bracelet winner T.J. Cloutier, who didn’t play the $40k event this year stated there were already plenty of opportunities in the current schedule without the $40k, referring the the $50K HORSE event in particular.  “I don’t think there’s any need for it” referring to the $40Holdem Event.

There are other changes being discussed for next years WSOP as well.  For example, providing more $1000 buy in events (six more as per Palansky), as well as an earlier released schedule.  Last year’s scheduled was made public in late January, put there is talk about making it available as early as the November 9 game in 2009.

The biggest change though, other than the loss of the $40K event, is the resolution to the issues concerning Day 1D of the Main Event this past summer, where it sold out quickly and had hundreds if not thousands of players fuming.   The WSOP is again reconsidering pre assigning play days to players upon registration, a policy they abandoned awhile ago, but now in light of the last season’s debacle, may be returning again.

Can you throw this out?

The November Nine have been decided now, and one of the lucky players to return to the final table of the Main Event in the 2009 WSOP is Jeff Shulman, editor of CardPlayer magazine.  This is his second final table at a Main Event final table, the first happening a number of years ago that left him humbled (more on that another time though).

What makes his return to this years’ final table however, is the statement he made should he win the event (currently he sits at 19.58million in chips, third behind Darvin Moon and Steven Begleiter).  Jeff stated that should he win the event, he would ‘throw the bracelet in the garbage’.

Speculation is that this is due primarily to the bad blood between CardPlayer magazine and Harrahs, host of the WSOP, stemming from the selling of media rights to the events a couple of years ago.  CardPlayer was once the number one resource in updating major events, however when Harrahs bought the rights to hold the WSOP, they decided to take bids from other resources, and CardPlayer elected not to bid.  Some say this is the primary reason for the blood feud happening between the two organizations.

However, Jeff Shulman points out that this is indeed not the case.  Harrahs may hate CardPlayer, but moreso over issues of fairness of play in the events, and the fact that Harrahs insists on practising favouritism for certain individuals and groups.  For example, Phil Hellmuth was given a penalty this year in one of the events, and immediately went to the Jeffery Pollack to get it overturned, thereby not having to suffer a loss at the table.  There is no doubt in my mind that if any average Joe player were to attempt this, they would not be as successful as Phil was, only because of his celebrity status.  This is not the only example Shulman provided, as many of the players sponsored by SpadeClub.com (CardPlayer’s own poker learning site) were literally removed from their earned VIP seats at an event in and offered to other unknown celebrities.  It seems that Harrahs has a real hate on for CardPlayer, doesn’t it?  Shulman has called the bracelet itself “tacky” and he would never wear it, and therefore if he would win the Main Event Final Table in November, he would toss the jewerly into the trash can.  Since then, he has recanted a bit and offered four alternatives:

1. Auction off the bracelet and give the money to charity
2. Hold a tournament for all players shut out of the main event and award the bracelet to the winner
3. Give the bracelet away in a SpadeClub.com tournament
4. Give the bracelet to Stephen Colbert ( a comedian of some caliber that I have never heard of)

Auctioning it off for charity is a good alternative, as is awarding it as a prize in a SpadeClub tournament, however awarding to those who couldn’t get their asses in gear to prequalify for the Main Event is just wrong in my opinion, but it would be HIS to do with as he sees fit, so I won’t begrudge him doing that either.  I mean, should he win the Final Table, a task he even admits himself he has a slim chance of doing at all, he would have earned the bracelet and therefore could do whatever the hell he wanted to do with it, including tossing into the closest garbage can (can you imagine the dumpster diving fiasco should he do that…there WILL be blood).  However, should he win it, I would ask him to reconsider his decision and accept the award.

First of all, its the STANLEY CUP of poker…as the World Cup is to soccer, the bracelet is to poker.  Every poker player in the entire world wants it, dreams of winning it, and would kill to get it, but I’m hoping that 99.9% of them would rather EARN it than buy it in an auction.  At least I would.  He wouldn’t have to wear it, or even display it if he chose not to (Shulman admits he never keeps trophies either), but its the iconic symbol of the game, the brass ring that every player reaches for in their poker career, be they newbie donks or experienced pros.  Its the epitomy of the reaching the highest level in this game we love, and it carries a lot of weight and more importantly, respect, in the poker industry.  Not to mention its value is estimated at $30,000!!!  Okay, so compared to the $8.5million for first place, that isn’t a lot, but $30grand is still $30grand!!  To treat this as garbage is an insult not to Harrahs, as he might seem to think, but to the poker industry and all the players world wide that respect it so.

Jeff Shulman…should you win this contest in November, I truly hope you do what is best for the game as a whole, and not for some petty exhibition to examplify your personal conflicts.

The World Series of Poker Main Event is finally down to just 1 table at the 2009 WSOP.  There are the players that will be playing for the bulk portion of the over $61 MILLION PRIZEPOOL.  First place will be walking away with $8,546,435 and a ton of sponsorship offers I am sure (unless they are already signed).  Without further adieu, I present you with your November 9:

Seat 1: Darvin Moon – 58,930,000
Seat 2: James Akenhead – 6,800,000
Seat 3: Phil Ivey – 9,765,000
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel – 12,390,000
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter – 29,885,000
Seat 6: Eric Buchman – 34,800,000
Seat 7: Joe Cada – 13,215,000
Seat 8: Antoine Saout – 9,500,000
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman – 19,580,000

As you can see from above, Darvin Moon has a commanding chip lead and is probably a big favourite.  Though, 1 double up by a couple of his opponents and the field will be quite evened out once again.  Moon qualified for the WSOP on a $130 Satellite at his local casino.  He was a part-time poker player before playing in the WSOP this year, but I expect regardless of how he finishes he will be playing a lot more of this game in the future.

Jeff Shulman is the editor of CardPlayer.  He said earlier this week that if he won the main event he would throw the bracelet in the garbage because the WSOP “treats his magazine unfairly”.  Can somebody get this baby a diaper change.

Also, if you didn’t notice, PHIL IVEY is in that list!!!  Ivey is regarded of one of the best poker players in the world and has already won 2 bracelets at this year’s WSOP.  Don’t expect him to go down easy!

Other than that, most of the names on the list don’t have too much info to report. More info to follow I am sure.

Here is a list of how the payouts will go depending on how they finish:

1st – $8,546,435
2nd – $5,182,601
3rd – $3,479,485
4th – $2,502,787
5th – $1,953,395
6th – $1,587,133
7th – $1,404,002
8th – $1,300,228
9th – $1,263,602

November 9 Prop Betting

If you you think you know who is going to win, you can check out the current odds for the final table here at Bodog.