Adrian ‘Amadi_017’ Mateos once again underlined his supreme artistry in the field of No Limit Hold’em multi-table tournaments (MTTs), by taking down two World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) titles on PokerStars last week.
With four WCOOP titles to his name, the Winamax pro proves that using the away changing rooms presents no problem for a man of his stature. The first of Mateos’s victories came when he stomped all over the 201-entrant field in Event #28 (H) $2,100 No Limit Hold’em 8-Max, Turbo PKO Freezeout. He then followed that up with a whopper.
Event #25 (H): $25,000 No Limit Hold’em 8-Max, Super High Roller Sunday Slam attracted 71-unique entrants, and 35 re-entries and Mateos defeated Fedor Holz, heads-up, for the title, after the pair had secured a pretty even-steven heads-up deal.
The win means Mateos joins Dzmitry Urbanovich, ‘nilsef’, Andrey Zaichenko, Gleb Tremzin and Joao Vieira as a four-time WCOOP champion. The Spaniard has also won three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and a European Poker Tour (EPT) title.
Mustard.
You don’t just see it on slices of roast beef.
In taking second, Holz continued his impressive streak of running well that has seen him collect a second WSOP bracelet after winning the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Heads-Up title on GGPoker for a million bucks. In 2014, Holz won the WCOOP Main Event, so PokerStars is a happy stomping ground for the young German star.
A special shoutout also goes to Luke ‘Bit2Easy’ Reeves who booked a third-place win for $353,117 while finishing second to the PocketFives World #1: Conor Beresford in Event #33 (H): $5,200 No Limit Hold’em 8-Max, High Roller.
Final Table Results
Adrian Mateos – $543,686*
Fedor Holz – $515,294*
Luke Reeves – $353,117
Kahle Burns – $271,111
Tzuzteutezu – $208,149
Wiktor Malinowski – $159,810
Pauli Ayras – $122,696
Artur Martirosian – $94,202
Chris Hunichen – $78,787
*Indicates a heads-up deal.
Fedor Holz
Fedor Holz has earned a second career bracelet on the final day of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online Series on GGPoker. The GGPoker Ambassador conquered a field of 127-entrants in Event #79: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em to win the sliver of gold and $1m first prize.
Holz is a modern-day legend of the felt racking up more than $32.5m in live tournament earnings, and countless millions more playing online multi-table tournaments (MTTs).
The German All-Time #1 Live Tournament Money Earner is one of those strange beasts who seem capable of winning the lot in both realms. He is a multiple PocketFives World #1, and in 2014 he won the World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event for $1.3m.
The last time Holz appeared in an ITM list of a WSOP event came in 2018 when he finished runner-up to Justin Bonomo in the $1m buy-in Big One for One Drop for $6m. Holz defeated Bonomo en route to this win, and the man Bonomo beat for the 2018 $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Heads-Up bracelet, Jason Mcconnon, also had a deep run, making the final eight.
Holz defeated Bruno Botteon in the final bracket. Botteon finished 6/407 in the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Poker Players Championship. There was also a third deep run in the GGPoker series for Sergi Reixach. The Spaniard made it to the final four in this one, adding to his 7/328 in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship, and 3/301 in the $10,000 Short Deck No Limit Hold’em Championship.
Round of 128 – Luc Greenwood Round of 64 – Anton Morgenstern Round of 32 – Robert Flink Round of 16 – George Wolff Round of 8 – Justin Bonomo Round of 4 – Sergi Reixach Round of 2 – Bruno Botteon
If you want to have a thriving business, then word of mouth marketing is your milieu. If you’re in the second-hand car business, you want people screaming from the bus stops about how your cars never break down. If you’re a scuba diving operator, you want your clients to mutter through their breathing tubes about how safe they felt while experiencing vivacious coral curves.
As with most things in life, there is another side to this story. As the marketing genius, Seth Godin, states in a blog post titled ‘Why Word of Mouth Doesn’t Happen,’ if you’re in the business of curing people’s venereal disease (VD) don’t bank on people taking your work viral.
Where does poker fit into this word of mouth marketing philosophy?
Let’s take a look at Fedor Holz’s new partnership with GGPoker through the lens of Godin’s blog post.
Here are eight reasons word of mouth marketing won’t work, and whether it makes GGPoker’s decision to hire Holz inspiring or a waste of money.
1. Embarrassment
As in the VD example, the affiliation with your brand feels too embarrassing to share with others. Holz has worked hard to build his reputation both in and outside of poker. While there are online poker rooms, Holz would be embarrassed to be connected with, GGPoker is not one of them because of the high calibre of people who GGPoker have signed before him.
2. It’s Difficult to Bring Up
If you’re a seller of mobile phone ring tones, then if you’re in the earshot of a ring-a-ding-ding, it provides the opportunity to sell your wares, however, if you have just had a cracking massage than it’s challenging to bring it up.
Holz has been smart enough to negotiate a partnership that includes an affiliation with his training site: Pokercode. Because of this, Holz will be spreading his allegiance to GGPoker to his 51.5k Twitter followers because it’s a win-win.
3. Not Cutting Edge Enough
Godin asserts that the product might not be cutting edge enough for your crowd. Maybe you’ve recently switched from Betamax to VHS, and you’re trying to sell the idea to your Netflix buddies. It’s not that it’s embarrassing, it’s because you’ve only recently found out about it.
GGPoker is in the early stages of hiring ambassadors to spread the word of mouth marketing to poker fanatics living in the West. Bryn Kenney joined the team a while ago, but the lone wolf is now part of a pack as GGPoker expands quickly.
When it comes to the stale, hackneyed online poker ecosystem, GGPoker is cutting edge, so no problem on this score.
4. The Thing is Too Popular
Godin uses the example of a blogger afraid of posting on a popular topic over fears of appearing lazy as something that falls within the walls of this realm.
Had PokerStars wanted to sign Holz, then maybe the ‘too popular’ maxim may have applied when it came to the German’s use of his megaphone, but not with GGPoker.
GGPoker is trending.
5. Exclusivity
I can imagine that during prohibition, people would be less likely to share the location of their speakeasies over fears that the loss of exclusivity would create too much attention.
‘Exclusivity’ is prevalent throughout the poker world. It’s either related to legal issues (not wanting the authorities to know about the game), financial ones (not wanting people to take your action), or privacy reasons (not wanting people to know you play in the game).
None of these reasons will stop Holz from telling everyone from the North to the South Pole to play on GGPoker.
6. The Collision of Two Worlds
Godin uses the example of a child attending summer camp to explain this one. Maybe the child is a complete nerd in a normal school but gets to be the cool one in summer camp, and he doesn’t want anyone finding out about his secret world. However, Holz is incredibly proud of his poker career, and so this one is not going to be a problem.
7. Manipulation
The best way to describe this one would be to use the example of PokerStars during their insane decision to handle the Supernova Elite break up the way they did, and the effect it had on their ambassadors having to sell the brand. If GGPoker has a few fibulas and tibias in the closet, we haven’t seen them, and until we do, Holz will keep espousing the virtues of his new partner.
8. Taste
I know I keep picking on PokerStars, but it’s challenging for a prominent member of the poker community to accept a gig from the largest online poker site this side of California’s Science Center because it will affect their status.
People will cry ‘taste?’
Bryn Kenney.
Daniel Negreanu.
GGPoker has excellent taste, and because of that, if you’re in allegiance with them, you also have it.
Godin’s climax is to challenge you to ‘change the experience of talking about you so fundamentally that people will choose to do it. Given our analysis of the above eight factors, it’s clear that Holz will have no problem talking about the value that GGPoker provides, and by default that makes the $32m man a cracking choice for an ambassador.
I’m listening to William Shatner on Spotify.
What’s going on?
William Shatner?
He’s banging on about mountains in the air, and the need to get it together man. I would have thought a man like Shatner would have been on the scrapheap by now. What versatility.
TJ Hooker.
James T. Kirk.
Singer.
I need serenity.
I need peace.
It hasn’t happened yet.
Well, let’s see if I can bang out the week’s top stories from the world of the High Rollers before it does.
Online Poker News: Record-Breaking Online MILLIONS; Greenwood Doing His Bollocks; Talal Shakerchi Making Sunday Million Final Table
I don’t know how much air to put into a tyre. I don’t understand when the oil needs topping up. Temperature means nothing to me.
But I know this.
partypoker made history this week.
The online poker behemoth hosted the wealthiest online poker tournament since the days of the Allosaurus, when 4,367-entrants created a $21,385,000 prize pool, easily beating the $20m guarantee that many (including me and Shatner) thought they had no chance of achieving.
Four people had their siblings hoping for a handsome handout.
Manuel Ruivo won the world-record prize of $2,329,944 after cutting an ICM deal with Pim de Goede that saw the Dutchman become only the fourth player in history to win a $2m+ prize, collecting $2,309,995.
And check this out.
The Slovenian, Scarmak3r, parlayed a $5 online satellite win into a $1,364,688 windfall.
The dream is still alive.
Pedro Marques was the fourth player to bank a seven-figure score = $1,091,750.
And there was another record, but one Sam Greenwood likely didn’t want.
12 bulleted online Millions. Is that the high score?
So that’s how they make these imperious guarantees!
partypoker didn’t reserve all big money for the partypoker tournament tables. Sam Trickett and Rob Yong had a good week, collecting $300k+ each from a $200/$400 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) game that included the likes of Matt Kirk. Trickett used the money to buy himself a nice new shirt in preparation for handing Team USA their first Mosconi Cup win since 2009.
Moving from partypoker to PokerStars, and Talal Shakerchi, finished sixth in the $215 buy-in Sunday Million, showing his love for the game. The Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1, Alex Foxen, also had a good week picking up his third PokerStars High Roller Club title. Fellow high rollers, Joao Vieira, Ivan Luca and Alex Papazian also picked up PokerStars High Roller Club titles.
Live Poker News: SHRB Draw; Million Dollar Cash Game; WPT Garden and WSOP Sydney HRs
The organisers of the Super High Roller Bowl V (SHRB) had a brain fart this week. The live lottery to determine the first 24-picks should have gone ahead on Nov 27, but Poker Central cancelled it without telling any of the players.
Hey @ARIAPoker@PokerCentral@PokerGO@TDPaulCampbell
I really don’t know what’s up this year, but not giving out any information regarding #Shrb is really annoying. Would be great to know whether I should book a flight to Vegas or not in a couple of days.
The lottery did happen, albeit late, and 34-names came out of the hat, not 24.
Here they are:
1. Justin Bonomo
2. Daniel Negreanu
3. Fedor Holz
4. David Peters
5. Dan Smith
6. Bryn Kenney
7. Phil Hellmuth
8. Jason Koon
9. Jake Schindler
10. Brian Rast
11. Mikita Badziakouski
12. Isaac Haxton
13. Christoph Vogelsang
14. Stephen Chidwick
15. Cary Katz
16. Rainer Kempe
17. Dominik Nitsche
18. Adrian Mateos
19. Nick Petrangelo
20. Igor Kurganov
21. Steffen Sontheimer
22. Sean Winter
23. Koray Aldemir
24. Ben Tollerene
25. Sam Soverel
26. Alex Foxen
27. Dan Cates
28. Ben Yu
29. Talal Shakerchi
30. Bill Klein
31. Matthias Eibinger
32. Ali Imsirovic
33. Seth Davies
34. Chris Kruk
That leaves 14-spaces left.
The SHRB V takes place December 17, 18 & 19.
One player who is not on that list is Patrik Antonius, and this week the fabulous looking Finn was in India where he guested at Deltin Corporation’s 10th-anniversary celebrations aboard the Deltin Casino in Goa. Antonius finished runner-up to Justin Bonomo in the inaugural Super High Roller Bowl China earlier this year, earning $3.1m.
In other high rolling live tournament news the World Poker Tour (WPT) announced a $25k buy-in event as part of the WPT Gardens Festival 16 January, and the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) at The Star in Sydney has an AUD 20,000 buy-in event penned in for 12th/13th December.
From tournaments to cash games and the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles has announced a million dollar cash game. The game is $100/$200 No-Limit Hold’em with a $100k Minimum buy-in scheduled for ten hours of action Friday, December 14 – Garrett Adelstein and Nick Vertucci feature.
And Ben Lamb seems to have created a new game.
Short-Deck is so last week.
New invention. Medium deck plo. Now being spread @ARIAPoker only the 2s and 3s removed. One seat open. 10k buy in.
Lamb joined Justin Bonomo, and a whole host of degens as Short-Deck, Medium-Deck, Call-It-What-You-Want-Deck appeared on Poker After Dark for the first time this week.
Thor Hansen Passes; Smith Charity Drive; Bathroom Bet Update
The Norwegian legend Thor Hansen finally lost his battle with cancer this week, but boy, did he put up a fight. Six years ago, doctors gave Hansen three months to live after diagnosing him with cancer, and yet Hansen was still riffling chips at the WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida last month. Tributes poured in from all over the poker globe, but I particularly like this one from Mike Sexton.
Thor Hansen-great memories is right @padraigpoker. After being chip leader in an early WPT, reporter asked him, “What are you going to do with $1m if you win?” Thor said, “I’ll pay off a few debts.” Reporter said, “What about the rest?” Thor said, “They’ll have to wait.” #classichttps://t.co/e1gHzvuZSA
Rich Alati’s father (also Richard) has told the poker media that the $100k Bathroom Bet is more to do with the personal challenge than the money. Cash game grinder, Rory Young bet Alati $100k that he couldn’t stay in a darkened bathroom without human contact or any external stimuli for 30-days, and although his father is ‘concerned’ about the bet, you sense he feels confident that Alati junior will get the job done.
Finally, Dan Smith launched his fifth annual charity drive. This year, Smith has labelled his philanthropic effort DoubleUpDrive, and the plan is for Smith and his team to match donations up to a ceiling of $1,140,000.
If you want to make a difference in the world, then donate to one of Smith’s charities, and send your receipt to receipts@doubleupdrive.com.
And that’s this week’s Pinnacle.
Stop licking those envelopes. Christmas can wait. Put down that cheap wine. Listen up. It’s time to find out what the high stakes poker players have been up to this week.
It’s time for The Pinnacle.
We begin with a new record.
partypoker successfully breached the $20m guarantee slapped onto the wrapping paper covering the $5,300 buy-in MILLIONS Online event. All told, 4,367 entrants created a total prize pool of $21,835,000, and leading the pack going into Day 2 is the high roller and partypoker ambassador, Philipp Gruissem with 26,865,379 chips.
Gruissem has earned more than $3.6m playing online multi-table tournaments (MTTs), so expect him to run deep, if not win the thing. If he does, it will rank as his Jolly Green Giant of wins as the first prize is $2.5m and not even the man with the best tash in the business has won money like that before.
Here are the other high rollers who have made it through to Day 2 (that I know of).
68th: Fedor Holz, Team partypoker: 11,946,929
305th: Sam Trickett, Team partypoker: 5,576,388
505th: Dzmitry Urbanovich, Team partypoker: 2,432,447
270th: Viktor “Isildur1” Blom: 6,303,392
285th: Chance “ChanceSeeYou” Kornuth: 6,006,067
425th: Talal “raidalot” Shakerchi: 3,600,564
You see the name of Sam Trickett in 305th place, well the lad from the UK has had a good week. Trickett and Dusk till Dawn (DTD) owner, Rob Yong, both pulled $300k+ off the $100/$200 and $200/$400 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) tables at partypoker this week. At his peak, Matt “SwordfishAA” Kirk sat with more than $600k in front of him.
They may have begun with the goal to become the End Boss of live tournaments, but they are also demonstrating the power to go head-to-head with PokerStars in the online realm.
Super High Roller Bowl Ruling; Brian Rast Musing
From what is now the Whole Foods Green Nutty Buddy of an online poker tournament to it’s equivalent in the live realm. I am, of course, talking about the Super High Roller Bowl V (SHRB).
Poker Central scheduled the event for May 2019. Then they pulled it back to December 2018, told people to pay a $30,000 deposit by Nov 26, and promised to select the first draft of players via a live lottery on PokerGO on Nov 27.
Well, it’s 4 Dec.
Tick.
Tock.
2017 Poker Master, Steffen Sontheimer, had to ask Twitter if Poker Central had postponed said lottery. ARIA Tournament Director, Paul Campbell, confirmed the rumours were true. The deposit deadline had moved to Dec 3, and the lottery would take place on Dec 4.
I reached out to three players who will be in that live lottery, including Sontheimer, and they all confirmed that nobody from ARIA or Poker Central served notice.
Bad form for a $300,000 buy-in event if you ask me.
The first-ever SHRB took place in 2015. Back then the price point was $500,000, and Brian Rast beat 43-entrants to win the $7,525,000 first prize, and Brian has been battering Twitter this week.
Rast showed that he’s not a fan of nationalism, reposting a blog post he wrote in 2016 entitled Citizen of Earth.
Here are some pieces of gold from that one.
Nationalism has become an intellectual poison, a virus.
The more I age, grow, and travel, the more that this is clear to me: Despite what my passport says, I am not fundamentally an American, but a citizen of the pale blue dot that is Earth.
But in poker, I’ve learned that I am not defined by what I’ve done. Every day that I go play, I forget what I’ve accomplished because that only exists to serve my ego. And serving my ego, while perhaps emotionally satisfying, is but a crutch and will only hold me back. I’m only as good as the next hand that I play. And the same is true of just about everything else you do in life.
The post also included this peach of a video from Carl Sagan.
Check it out.
Birthdays, Books and the Bathroom Bet
It was an excellent week for the three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Eli Elezra. Not only did he celebrate his birthday, but his autobiography: Pulling The Trigger, finally shipped to the printers and will be on sale January 2019.
You can buy a copy on presale here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1880685604/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cardplayerlif-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1880685604&linkId=66ad04e12f3f8e20f36684da321e2419
Elezra wasn’t the only high stakes poker player enjoying a birthday this week. The former One Drop winner, Antonio Esfandiari, turned 40 and celebrated in his usual imitable style throughout the Las Vegas Strip.
Remember the time that Esfandiari pissed in a bottle underneath a poker table at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), so he could win a bet with Bill Perkins?
Well, this week we learned of an even more insane bet.
High stakes live cash game grinder, Rich Alati, stands to win. $100,000 if he can live in a bathroom for 30-days.
I nearly forgot.
The bathroom will be sealed shut.
There is no light.
No personal possessions except a yoga mat.
No contact with people.
Fellow high stakes live cash grinder, Rory Young, is the man likely to win the $100,000 even money bet.
Doyle, Dan, David and Dandelion Tea
David Peters continued his pursuit of Alex Foxen in the race for the Global Poker Index (GPI), Player of the Year, after defending his $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em crown at the Seminole Hard Rock Rock ‘n’ Roll Open.
Peters topped a field of 95-entrants to win the top prize of $143,159, 12-months after conquering a field of 61-entrants to bank the $104,309 first prize.
Peters later told the press that he wore the same sweatshirt during both tournaments. Maybe poker isn’t bringing in enough bacon to pay the bills? If so, then I have just the job for him.
Hey! I am looking for an experienced star-quality chef with a great mindset to work within my home and with my team!
Extensive cooking experience and location Vienna required. Outlook: Running a low-key 1*-Restaurant in our space. Health & performance will be central.
Last year, Fedor Holz kindly contributed $250,000 to Dan Smith’s fourth Charity Drive, and this week, the man in the ten-gallon hat released details of his fifth Charity Drive where he will match any donations to the tune of $1.4m. Once again, effective altruism is at the heart of his decisions.
Learn more here.
And nobody wears a ten-gallon hat better than the next man.
Doyle Brunson believes that the host of the Waking Up Podcast, Sam Harris, is an idiot after Gus Hansen tweeted that the famous atheist suggested you could walk him blindfold into a library and he would pick out a book with more wisdom on how to live your life than the bible.
And I bet that’s precisely how Brunson felt when in the days before giant corporations turned a stretch of the Las Vegas desert into The Strip, he turned down the opportunity to buy a prime piece of land for $60,000 because he lost a big bet on the Dallas Cowboys.
And that is this week’s Pinnacle.
With a viewership of 2 billion people, the Olympics is the third most-watched sporting event on the box behind the FIFA World Cup (3.5 billion) and the Tour de France (2.6 billion).
But the Olympic movement has a problem.
Despite close to a third of the population expressing an interest in the event, data gathered by Nielsen shows that the median age of viewers has risen from 45 in 2000 to 53 in 2016, and folk aged between 18 & 34 had dropped by 30%.
The Olympics need new blood, and that’s good news for poker, with the International Olympics Committee (IOC) crazy enough to take a look at events like rolled up sock football, kerby, and hide and seek.
Poker and The Olympics?
The likelihood you will see a form of poker in the Olympics by the time a mortician is stuffing your eyeballs back into your socket to make you presentable for your open coffin hoorah is quite high, but it won’t be the poker you want to see.
Back in November 2017, several media sources went to print that the IOC recognised Esports as a potential Olympic sport and that it would be on the list of full medal events at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, but it seems that the idea is now in the garbage can, after the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) took it off the menu because Esports don’t have a unified international federation.
Poker does, but not in the No-Limit Hold’em, Fedor Holz, World Series of Poker sense of things.
The only recognised international federation in poker is the International Federation of Match Poker (IFMP). Born in 2009, those behind the alliance have done everything in their power to make Match Poker (a form of poker played live on electric devices where everyone has the same hand) an Olympic sport. Last winter The Global Associaton of International Sports Federations (GAISF) handed Match Poker ‘Observer Status’, meaning the game is one step closer to becoming a bona fide Olympic sport.
But does anyone care?
Does Anyone Care That Poker Could Become an Olympic Sport
Last week, Rahul Sood, CEO of the Esports sports-betting outfit, Unikrn, had some interesting thoughts on the Olympics. It seems clear to me that Esports is likelier to beat poker to the honour of becoming an Olympic sport, and when it does, the likelihood that poker follows suit increases, so what Sood has to say is worth a listen.
By Rsvdhd (talk) – self-made, CC BY 3.0, Link
Sood told Reuters in an email interview that he believes the IOC needs Esports more than Esports needs the IOC.
“It’s extremely unlikely top athletes would choose the Olympics over top esports events, said Sood before continuing. “It’s misguided, or egotistical, of mainstream culture to think the Olympics are somehow a greater honor than The International, Worlds or a CS:GO (Counterstrike) major.
“Esports athletes haven’t been playing for years, sometimes over a decade, putting everything into a grind to win a gold medal. They’ve been doing it to win the top title in their game.”
Sood makes some good points, but the weak link in his argument is a lack of input from the players themselves. It got me thinking about poker players. If poker was successful in its bid to become an Olympic sport (and Fedor Holz, Alex Foxen, and the likes can play Match Poker), and let’s say hypothetically, the games clashed with the WSOP (they wouldn’t), would a high stakes poker player choose to win a gold bracelet or a gold medal?
Partypoker ambassador, Philipp Gruissem, is more than just a high stakes poker player. The German star is an effective altruist, meaning he plays poker to earn money to reduce suffering in the world, and yet, Gruissem would still choose the Olympics over the WSOP.
“I would choose the Olympics,” said Gruissem. “There is so much energy and intensity in Olympic competitions. I would love to experience that…we love the intensity of high stakes poker, but the Olympics is one of the few things that provide more intensity.”
Gruissem isn’t the only German high stakes star who would choose the Olympics. The 2017 Poker Masters winner, Steffen Sontheimer, said, “It’s not even close.”
“The WSOP has no special meaning for me,” said Sontheimer. “It’s “just” a pure EV-calculation. The Olympics are one of the biggest things for me. To participate and to spend two weeks with all the other great people would mean the world to me.”
What about the other nations around the world, do they share the same view as the Germans.
It seems they do.
Sergio Aido has won close to $8.3m playing high stakes live events, and the Spaniard said:
“I would love poker to be an Olympic sport, and I think that would be very positive for The game. My main motivation in poker is money, but this would be a clear special case.”
Bryn Kenney has a WSOP bracelet amongst his many trinkets and trophies, so would he exchange that feeling for the chance of Olympic gold?
“Yes I would because I’m all about the glory and being the best at what I do. I never thought about the money; just the love of the game and competition.”
And the Brits?
After spending 25-consecutive weeks at the top of the Global Poker Index (GPI), amassing close to $19m on live tournament earnings, and winning the US Poker Open, Stephen Chidwick, is still missing a WSOP bracelet, but that wouldn’t stop him skipping the event to compete in the Olympics.
“There are like 80 chances a year to win a WSOP gold bracelet and only one chance every four years to win an Olympic medal,” said Chidwick. “Also, having the chance to meet elite performers in all kinds of different fields would be really fun…and likely in a nicer location than the Rio.”
Even the part-timers seem to agree.
“I would choose the Olympics if I thought I had any chance of a medal,” said the CEO of Meditor Capital Management, and avid poker fan, Talal Shakerchi. “I guess I see that as more of an achievement.”
And sometimes, just sometimes, competing in the Olympics isn’t only about the medal.
“I’d definately skip the WSOP for the Olympics if only to put “Olympic athlete” in my Twitter bio,” said the Triple Crown winner, Niall Farrell.
It seems the answer is unanimous.
If the Olympics clashed with the WSOP, then the games’ elite would choose medals over bracelets.
How about you?
What would you choose?
My wife is a ‘should of’ person.
I should have had what you ordered.
I should have bought the other pair.
I should have chosen the other guy. “I’m selling action to the $1,000,000 buy-in 1 Drop tournament at 1.05 markup. I will be donating all the money from the 5% markup to charities meeting the tenets of Effective Altruism. Contact me for 5%.”
That’s Justin Bonomo’s pinned tweet.
I should have…
In many ways, Justin Bonomo’s assault on the Big One for One Drop felt a little like England’s World Cup campaign.
Before the Big One, the two most significant buy-in events of the year have been the $300,000 buy-in Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) in Las Vegas, and the $267,000 buy-in SHRB in China, and Justin Bonomo had won them both for a combined $9.8m.
He couldn’t win all three, could he?
Like England facing an ageing Croatian side, was this one tournament too many for the ultimate End Boss?
Let’s find out.
David Einhorn Bubbles The One Drop
27 players found $1m to compete in the most massive buy-in event ever created, raising $2,160,000 for charity.
After two days of incredible action here was the final table. Final Table
Justin Bonomo – 48,950,000
Fedor Holz – 22,125,000
Dan Smith – 21,450,000
Rick Salomon – 19,650,000
David Einhorn – 12,300,000
Byron Kaverman – 10,525,000
$2.6m was the starting point from a charitable angle. There would be more donated, for sure. Justin Bonomo was a Raising For Effective Giving (REG) Ambassador, so you knew some of his profits had been set aside to help ease suffering in the world. Dan Smith is a known philanthropist, and Fedor Holz is also recognised to donate a bob or two.
But none of them raises money for charity with the girth of David Einhorn, the man who donated his entire $4.3m prize when finishing third in 2012.
So, it was a topsy-turvy feeling when Einhorn’s involvement ended on the bubble. Had he won the $10m, he would have saved many lives, but the poker community as a whole would have been staring at a large chunk of change missing from the fabric of its structure.
“I almost feel guilty for knocking out David Einhorn,” Bonomo told PokerNews.
I’m sure it was only a fleeting thought, Justin.
Einhorn raised to 1.1m on the button, and Bonomo called from the big blind. The dealer spread the 7c5c5h across the felt. Bonomo checked, and Einhorn bet 1.6m before Bonomo check-raised to 7.5m. It was enough to cover Einhorn, and after some deliberation, he made the call.
Bonomo: 74o
Einhorn: AQo
Bonomo had connected with a big blind special and was two cards away from guaranteeing everyone at the table a $1m profit. The 2h and Kc changed nothing. Einhorn was out. Fedor Holz Eliminates Byron Kaverman & Rick Salomon
When you’re playing in a $1m buy-in event, the last person you want to see peering over a chip stack the size of the Burj Khalifa is Fedot Holz, and that’s the sight that befell both Bonomo and Dan Smith, after an incredible double knockout.
Byron Kaverman moved all-in for around 8 million in the first position. Holz made the call from the next DXRacer, and Rick Salomon moved all-in for 26.9m out of the big blind.
Pain.
Agony.
Anguish.
Or was he figuring shit out?
I don’t know, but Holz went into the tank, using four-time extension chips before making the call.
Holz: TcTs
Kaverman: Ac5c
Salomon: AhKh
Kaverman wanted clubs, Salomon wanted hearts, and Holz wished to close his eyes, press ‘teleport’ and open them five cards later.
The dealer faced the AdKs2c onto the flop, and the Iris’s of Salomon flexed as he realised he had flopped the top two pairs. And then we had the most incredible turn card.
Turn: Qc
Salomon remained in the lead, but now, everyone had a piece of the pie. And it was a lovely pie. The type of pie that gets stuck in your moustache, and you’re licking it all day.
Kaverman had a flush draw, and Holz added Broadway outs to his tens.
River: Td
Holz had done it again.
When it mattered, the young man from Germany, got precisely what he ordered from the Poker Gods.
A few handshakes later, and Holz was able to relax.
Three-Handed Chip Counts
Fedor Holz – 66,500,000
Justin Bonomo – 50,100,000
Dan Smith – 18,400,000
A relaxed Holz put his pedal to the metal.
Fedor Holz – 91,100,000
Dan Smith – 26,100,000
Justin Bonomo – 17,800,000
There could be only one.
Dan Smith Eliminated in 3rd Place for $4m.
Bonomo picked up a couple of pots to pick up some slack on Holz, but you felt if the American was to win, he needed to eliminate Smith, and that’s what happened.
The action folded to Bonomo who moved all-in, and Smith made what would be the final call of his tournament.
Bonomo: KTo
Smith: QTs
The dealer laid the Ad9s6s in the middle of the Thunderdome. Not bad. Things became more interesting when the Js provided Smith with flush and straight outs, but the Qh disappointed every Smith fan in the building. The man with the ten-gallon hat was out. Bonomo would face Holz for all the marbles.
Bonomo v Holz
No two players have won more money playing live tournaments in the past three-years than Fedor Holz and Justin Bonomo. The pair are incredible in many ways, and the audience was fortunate to see two of the very best going at it for the top prize of $10m.
Chip Counts
Fedor Holz – 84,300,000
Justin Bonomo – 50,700,000
Holz began the brightest, winning a plethora of pots to extend his lead to 54m chips. But then Bonomo started buzzing, doubling through the German when his A8 turned an ace to beat the pocket fours of Holz who was two cards away from victory.
Then came the moment of the tournament for both players.
Holz opened to 2.8m, Bonomo raised to 9.5m, and Holz called. Qc4c3s flew out of the deck, and Bonomo bet 5m; Holz called. The 8h arrived on fourth-street; Bonomo checked, Holz bet 11.5m, and Bonomo called. The river card was the 6d. Bonomo tapped felt; Holz moved all-in, and Bonomo made a quick call.
You could tell by the look on Holz’s face that all was not good in that corner of the world. The German showed KJo for the middle of a doughnut, and Bonomo took a 110.4m v 24.6m chip lead after showing 84s, for eights-up.
It was time to see if Holz had the stamina, grit and luck to turn things around.
Early doors, the prognosis was excellent.
After Bonomo ground him down to ten bigs, Holz doubled with QTo versus K5o after turning a lady, and then he pulled things back to a 3:1 deficit when his J4 found a twin on the flop to beat the pocket tens of Bonomo.
Bonomo – 101,000,000
Holz – 34,000,000
And then Bonomo had a Gandalf moment; you know, the, you shall not pass bridge moment, only unlike the grey-bearded wonder, Bonomo didn’t fall into the abyss, his opponent did.
Bonomo called from the button; Holz James for 23.6m and Bonomo called.
Bonomo: AJo
Holz: A4o
Bonomo had Holz in a dominated position.
You could sense this was it.
The final hand of a fantastic tournament.
It was the perfect moment to play some Hans Zimmer.
The dealer placed K832Q on the board with minimal fuss, and Bonomo had won the trifecta of SHRB, SHRB China and the Big One for One Drop all in a single year.
And they don’t even have an accolade for it.
It’s time they made one. Final Table Results
Justin Bonomo – $10,000,000
Fedor Holz – $6,000,000
Dan Smith – $4,000,000
Rick Salomon – $2,840,000
Byron Kaverman – $2,000,000
It was an incredible moment for Bonomo.
Not only did he had another $10m to his vault. But in doing so, he overtook Dan Colman’s record annual haul, with $24,945,435 earned with five months of the year remaining.
Most significantly, Bonomo now stands on the very top of the Live Tournament All-Time Money Earned Leaderboard, replacing longtime throne holder, Daniel Negreanu with $42,979,591 taken from poker tables around the globe.
Man, I should have…
Sam Trickett is among the top pros sitting pretty after Day One of the Triton SHR Series Main Event. Others have had to rebuy. The Paul Phua Poker team reports
Day One of the Triton Super High Roller Series Montenegro Main Event has just gone, and what a day it was! Some of the biggest names in poker were among the 47 (including re-entries) so far who have stumped up the HK$1m (US$128k) entry fee, making for some exciting poker tournament action and some very difficult tables.
At one point Paul Phua found himself seated in the most unfortunate position of all: with the young internet legend Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsov to his left, and veteran five-time WSOP bracelet winner John Juanda to the left of that! Perhaps it’s not surprising that Paul Phua was knocked out twice during the day. Undaunted, he has bought in a third and final time for Day Two! Top pros who suffered an early knock-out, and then bought in again, include Steve O’Dwyer, Wai Kin Yong and David Peters. Even the recent Triton SHR Series 6-Max Montenegro champion, Fedor Holz, busted out and rebought. And despite the tournament experience born of two bracelets and more than 33 cashes at the WSOP, Dominik Nitsche was forced to buy in three times just as Paul Phua was.
Qiang Wang, the million-chip man
There is just one million-chip man going into Day Two: Qiang Wang. Top pros with significantly bigger stacks than the 250k they began with include Mikita Badziakouski (825k), Sam Trickett (715k) and Steffen Sontheimer (600k). Montenegrin local hero Predrag Lekovic, who came third in the Triton SHR Series 6-Max warm-up event, is sitting in tenth place with 357k. Lekovic busted Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsoz out of the tournament on the very last hand of the day!
Registration remains open until the beginning of Day Two. The big question is, will Tom Dwan make a last-minute appearance? Or is he too caught up in the exciting side action of high-stakes cash games at the Maestral Resort and Casino?
Interviews for the Paul Phua Poker School
Once the tournament broke up for the night, the Paul Phua Poker team filmed even more video interviews with the top pros. We’re really excited by the great strategy advice they have given us, as well as their insights into the life of a professional high-stakes poker player. We can’t wait to get all the footage edited so we can share it with you in the Paul Phua Poker School.
In the meantime, follow @PaulPhuaPoker on Twitter for updates on the Triton SHR Series Main Event.
No one can tell the future, least of all in poker. But there is one thing we can say for sure: with some of the world’s top poker pros competing, it’s going to be a thriller.
Fedor Holz, Dan “Jungleman” Cates and Sam Trickett are just some of the poker pros playing in the exclusive Triton Super High Roller Series in Montenegro. The Paul Phua Poker team reports
Is it really just a year and a half since the first Triton Super High Roller Series took place? Already it has become a key fixture in the top poker pros’ calendars, and Day One of the Triton SHR Series in Montenegro shows why.
The Main Event, starting on July 18, is expected to bring out the very brightest stars in poker. We’re now only just on the warm-up tournament: the 6-Max Texas Hold ’Em, with an entry fee of “only” HK$250,000 (US$32,000). And yet some of the world’s finest poker pros are playing already.
The great, late Fedor Holz
Fedor Holz, the likeable German poker prodigy who at 23 has already amassed $23m in live tournament earnings, arrived fashionably late – by three hours! Even so, true to form, he wasted no time in building a commanding stack. He finishes Day One in sixth place, with more than double his starting stack of 50,000.
Three places above him, with 129,000, is Steve O’Dwyer. The US high-stakes specialist, who has $18.5m in live tournament earnings, is now poised to notch up another big win. Pity the Canadian pro Lucas Greenwood, who started the day with the fearsome Steve O’Dwyer to his left – and then, having busted out and rebought, drew the legendary Dan “Jungleman” Cates to his left instead!
Greenwood has a comfortable 64,600 as he enters Day Two. He’s not sitting pretty, however. Who’s that two places to his left? It’s Steve O’Dwyer, yet again!
Other huge poker names who have survived to Day Two include John Juanda, Sam Trickett, Richard Yong, Winfred Yu and Mikita Badziakouski.
Paul Phua Poker interviews the poker pros
The Paul Phua Poker team was at the Triton SHR series too, with cameras at the ready, to bring you live action on Facebook and Twitter (follow @PaulPhuaPoker). We also conducted exclusive interviews with Fedor Holz, Dan “Jungleman” Cates and the British No 1 Sam Trickett – we’ll add those videos to the Paul Phua Poker School in due course – and there will be many more to come as the Triton SHR Series unfolds.
Wish you were here? You can have the next best thing: tweet your question for the Triton poker pros to #PhuaTriton, and Paul Phua will do his best to get them answered.
Maestral, Montenegro, magnificent
Another reason to love this particular Triton SHR Series is the idyllic location. The five-star Maestral Resort and Casino where the tournaments are being held has been comprehensively refurbished over the last few months, and the Montenegrin Prime Minister himself cut the ribbon on its reopening last week. The Maestral now has 183 rooms and 22 suites, all finished to the highest design specifications, with superb cuisine and a Wellness & Spa Centre that already in 2016 had been named Montenegro’s best. It also offers a private beach and an expansive terrace bar overlooking the sea. Montenegro has some of the most beautiful coastline in Europe, with dramatic hills rising above perfect sandy beaches in tranquil coves. But even by Montenegrin standards this particular stretch is prized as one of the best. In the immediate vicinity of the unique island resort of Sveti Stefan, near Budva with its Old Town and modern nightlife, it is well worth visiting – even without Fedor Holz enjoying a post-tournament dinner on the Maestral’s sea-view terrace a few tables to your right! For more Triton SHR Series action, follow @PaulPhuaPoker on Twitter, like and follow Paul Phua Poker on Facebook, and tweet your questions for the Triton pros to #PhuaTriton
