Before I talk about the 4 different Day 1 session id like to comment on other things in the sports world and my life in general. With that being said, how could I start anywhere but with Wimbledon. As a diehard Andy Roddick fan, the Wimbledon Championship was h
eart-breaking. It was the greatest match I ever watched, and even with the disappointing finish it was a win for America tennis and a time to be proud if you're Andy Roddick. For the last two years, Roddick was irrelevant in the tennis grand slam world. However a new coach, new attitude, and new determination has gotten Roddick 15lbs lighter and back onto the grand slam scene. A semifinals appearance at the Aussie Open, his best ever finish at the French Open, and an instant classic Wimbledon Final after knocking out the hometown kid, Andy Murray, in the semifinals. Hopefully Andy wont let this devastating loss be a negative and will continue his dedication and keep rolling into the US Open on August 31.Speaking of tennis, I am currently in the middle of my "7 sports in 7 days" tour, and i started it off on Monday with a near 4 hour doubles tennis match. Will Hanlon, Mike Yatsco, Mike Hallock, and myself took to the court at PSHS yesterday and put on a show. Our good friend Brad Cook was in attendance and ended up recording one of our sets, so hopefully we will be youtube sensations pretty soon. Continuing with my 7 sports in 7 days, I hit the links of Mill Creek golf course today (Tuesday) and plan on playing basketball tomorrow morning to make it my 3rd different sport in 3 days. Also, the 4 tennis guys will be hitting the courts again on Wednesday for hopefully more classic tennis action.
Okay now
its time to focus on what this blog is all about, the poker. Just so everyone knows this blog as usual will focus on the big name pros and their quest to have a pro make the final table. Here is a list of the top 10 players I would most like to see win the main event this year:10. Johnny Chan- 10-time bracelet winner and a true legend of the game, his role in the movie "Rounders" was a big reason why so many players have come to the game. That and the Moneymaker effect.
9. Annie Duke- I think it would be cool to see a woman win the main event for the first time ever, Annie Duke has the best chance out of all the females.
8. Gus Hansen- the aggressive Gus Hansen has always been a favorite of mine, his ability to read hands and mix up his play is second to none in the game
7. Any previous main event winner since 2003- this list would include Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, Jamie Gold, Jerry Yang, and Peter Eastgate. For anyone to win two main event titles since the poker boom would be one of the greatest accomplishments in wsop history
6. Doyle Brunson- the greatest living legend in poker. Doyle making a deep run in this years main event would easily be the best story of the year. I just think itll be a difficult task for the 70+ year old Brunson. Playing 14 hours a day for that many days in a row is near impossible for a guy that old. Which may be why Doyle hasnt made a run in the main event in quite sometime
***If anyone has proven age is just a number though, its Jack Ury. At age 96, Ury has broken his own record for oldest player ever to play in the main event, and remarkably for the 2nd straight year Ury has made it to Day 2. Stay Tuned.
5. Phil Ivey- what more can be said about this guy? At just 33 years of age Ivey has collected 7 wsop bracelets including two at the '09 series. Ivey is known as the best player in the game today, and a deep run in the main event would solidify that statement even more.
4. Daniel Negreanu- his table talk keeps the game fun, and his cheerful attitude makes him one of the most popular players in the game. Negreanu will never ever turn down an autograph request, even if he just busted out of a tournament. He is one of my favorite poker players in the game today.
3. Mike Matusow- no one has had more success in the main event this decade than Mike Matusow. He has made 4 deep runs in the main event this decade and that includes 2 final tables. His loud personality makes him a must watch every time he is on TV.
2. Phil Hellmuth- he is the greatest no limit hold 'em player ever, just ask him. With an all-time record 11 bracelets (all in hold 'em), Hellmuth is one of the best and most popular players in the game. He made a deep run in last years main event before busting in 45th place. His random whining and ''idiot'' chanting provides me with tremendous humor. There is no one more exciting to follow in a tournament than Phil Hellmuth, i dont care how out-of-line he gets sometimes.
1. Josh Arieh- this may not be the big name everyone knows about. In fact, a lot of you reading this might not even know who Josh Arieh is. Well in 2004, Arieh finished in 3rd in the main event (Greg Raymer's year). That year I discovered Josh and have been following his career ever since. His brash and cocky attitude on the felt reminds me of myself and is truly a joy to watch. His best game is Omaha, but his success in the main event has been well documented. Josh is by far my favorite player in the game and seeing him win the main event would be as satisfying as seeing another Steelers Superbowl win.
Well as for the Day 1 action it was very hard to follow all the top pros with such a sea of people. The numbers for this years wsop are in and it is tremendous. In an absolutely terrible economy, there still turned out to be 6,500 players in this years main event. Top prize will be a cool $8.5 million bucks. The starting stack for each player this year is 30,000 in chips (the highest starting stack in main event history). Heres what else i can report on from the Day 1 sessions....
- Daniel Negreanu is bust after just 3 hours into his Day 1, he had the flu while playing so it was nearly impossible for him to make it to day 2
- Phil Ivey hit a max of 90,000 chips on Day 1 but had a bad hour at the end of the night and ended up with 62,000... still well over the chip average
- Doyle Brunson went busto
- Mike Matusow made it through day 1 but on a short stack of 18,000
- Phil Hellmuth made it to Day 2 as well with 25,000 chips, about 12,000 under avg
- Josh Arieh had by far the most successful day out of any pro as he finished his day 1 with over 120,000 in chips. Hopefully he can build on his big stack in Day 2
Okay, thats it for this entry. As the main event goes on I will be providing more detailed updates on every player. Including how each key hand played out. After having 4 Day 1 sessions, the event moves in Day 2 where there will be 2 Day 2 sessions. Then everyone will combine into one session once Day 3 rolls around. Got that? Good.
My next entry will appear on Thursday to wrap up all the action from days 2A and 2B. Also, there will be an update on my 7 sports in 7 days event. Until then......
BASIC KNOWLEDGE..........................
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