Even the best player in the room has to be sweating at least a bit over that heady of a number.  This event is truly unprecedented—the prize pool today will be larger than any golf tournament in the world.  If all goes well and ratings are high enough on ESPN this will simply be the first stop on a high-stakes golf “tour.”  

The inspiration for the event comes from Sports Illustrated’s back page author, Rick Reilly.  Reilly’s 2003 book Who’s Your Caddy? documents his experience as a caddy for golf greats including Jack Nicklaus, John Daly, and David Duval.  He also spent some time as a caddy for some high stakes gamblers—including Dewey Tomko.  Reilly is one of the partners in High Stakes Entertainment, the company behind the proposed tour.

After filling us in on some of the story behind this event, Mike asked Doyle and Dewey to come on stage. The Texas Dolly wasted no time in expressing some disappointment as pulled the microphone close to him and muttered, “Mike, my only objection about this whole thing is you’re not in it.”  

Player introductions for the three-man scramble followed and the hustling was not far behind it.  “I don’t know.  I’m old and broke down.  I think I need a few strokes,” claimed former main-event champion Russ Hamilton when asked about his team’s chances.  Unfortunately he was left shaking his head when teammate Phil Hellmuth started killing their side action by announcing, “I’m playing as good as I have in my life.”  At least we know why Phil was invited.  

E-Dog, Josh, and Daniel were introduced next and when Mike asked him about how he thought they would do, Erick motioned to Phil and stated, “If it weren’t for negotiations, we’d win ‘em all.”  You can already tell who the whipping boy is going to be over the next few days.  I’ll probably have enough material for an entire post dedicated to digs on Hellmuth.  

The highlight of the evening was Venetian headliner Gordie Brown’s 15 minute appearance on stage.  Things started off a bit rough for the impressionist, but his comedy found it’s groove when he brought out his George Bush impersonation.  One of the fellows decked out in full cowboy regalia got up from Doyle’s table  and, in jest, started to leave.  Brown had a field day on him before turning his attention to Brunson, whose seat at the table was facing away from the stage.  “Doyle’s a legend, I’ve been a big fan and followed him on TV.  Wow, that’s the only thing I’ve said all night that finally got his ass to turn around.”

It’s now 8:40 AM on Wednesday which means it’s time for me to head to the golf course.  However, I’m still left wondering about the look on Daniel’s face last night.  Was the fear in his eyes all part of working the hustle, or was it truly genuine? Their team could possibly lose more money in a few hours than my entire family makes in a year (and I have plenty of siblings).  Playing for a million bucks a hole on nine holes probably means that it's much more likely that one teams leaves the course a huge loser than it does another being a big winner.

All Daniel could manage to say when asked about the event was, "We're drawing soooo dead..."  Shaking his head, Daniel continued, "We're in trouble with some of these teams.  David Grey and Huck against me and E-Dog?  That team is stacked!" 

In the background, Janet Jones and Vince Van Patten were parading around the set of giant metal cut-out cards.  It's no secret that Wayne Gretsky's wife likes to gamble but I'm going to be a bit surprised if she can hold her own with some of these guys in a round of golf (actually, the consensus was that Vince's score would be the only one showing up on the card in best-ball).

While the next few days of golf will be entertaining, the constant wagering and bullshitting will tell the real story about these players.  "I like having Huck around. He's kind of like a little kid that I'm always keeping out of trouble," remarked David Grey while spinning tale after tale of Huck's famous prop-bets.  It's one thing to hear the account of Huck playing tennis eight hours a day for thirty days straight second-hand and quite another to watch David's eyes bulge while insulting Huck's intelligence for only making $15k on the bet.  Then there was the story about Huck winning $5k for spending over a dozen hours in a strip club...betting Hellmuth that he would never weigh over 185 pounds in his lifetime...running the marathon on a summer day in Vegas (all 26 miles on an oval track)...

Stay tuned to PokerWire as I'll be tagging along on the golf course (and the after-parties) to follow the action...

Slim has suffered from personal as well as health problems over the past several years, and it shows. He was sporting his trademark cowboy hat with the rattlesnake wrapped around the rim, but other than that the man didn’t seem like himself. He usually has a twinkle in his eye and funny quip about every subject. Today he was quiet and almost sullen. I talked to him at length in a coffee shop in Amarillo several years ago, and that man and this man aren’t the same. The only similarity is his penchant for gambling. While most pros are advocating playing lots of small pots before the flop, Slim seemed happy to push all in with A-K. He got called by tens, and he was out when his hand never improved.

The most entertaining table I watched this evening had both Barry Greenstein and Brandon Adams sitting at it. In this sea of amateurs any table with two pros is a good one. The two were sitting in the 3 and 7 seats all the way across the table from each other, and yet they kept up a running conversation as if they were right next to each other. It was like the other seven players at the table weren’t even there. They mostly talked about the Big Game and one particularly juicy game that Greenstein missed out on. It seems the Scandis, Janni Vilmunen and Thomas Wahlroos and some others, were drinking while playing Chinese Poker. Greenstein considered this a “big edge” as the Scandis are known for not being able to handle their liquor.

“Sammy’s done real well overall, which is amazing because no-limit hold’em is not his game,” Greenstein said at one point in reference to Sam Farha’s play recently. Evidently, Farha has bounced back from that $1.8 million hit he took from Brian Townsend.

“I would personally prefer a cap,” Adams said about the no-limit game.

Before the conversation could go any farther, Adams moved in with pocket kings and got called by a guy who had aces. The flop came Q96. Adams was in bad shape until the K fell on the turn. He doubled up and is now in great shape.

One player who took advantage of both of these elements of the game early on today was Doyle Brunson. Staring at a large raise, Doyle went ahead and shoved the last of his money into the pot. He got called and his opponent showed him a 9-high low while Doyle could only show a 10-high. “I knew that hand wasn’t any good,” he mumbled before shouting, “Rebuy!” Taking a break from the game, Doyle visited a table that featured Barry Greenstein, Freddy Deeb, and Scotty Nguyen. “They just sit there,” Doyle said, commenting about the tight play at his table. “They’ve got no gamble in them.” 

It was a particularly appropriate comment when you consider the history of this game at the World Series. Debuting in 1973, the first tournament was won by Jack Straus, one of the biggest gamblers of all-time. In 1974 the buy-in jumped to what it is today, $5,000, and the game was also played no-limit. “Sailor” Roberts, a man with almost as much gamble in him as Straus, took the title. In 1976 Doyle Brunson would win the bracelet in that event. The following year the buy-in jumped to $10,000 for the first time and Bobby Baldwin won $80,000 for coming in first. The buy-in stayed at $10,000 until 1983 when the event suddenly disappeared from the schedule. It returned the following year, but in 1986 the buy-in was reduced to $5,000. In the 1990s the event would be dominated by Billy Baxter, who has won the event five times, and John Bonetti, who has won it twice. Then in 1999 it suddenly vanished once again. Back on the schedule in 2000, Jen Harman took the title. It’s been going strong ever since, an old-school game that has managed to survive the rise and seemingly endless appeal of no-limit hold’em.

3:45 p.m. A diverse table: there is one Italian, one Fin, one Dane, two Americans, and one Texan remaining in the event.

3:51 p.m. Patrik has been very active lately.  He just raised again and Doyle called in the big blind.  Doyle bet 150k on the 965 flop and Patrik tanked for a long time before moving all in for another 125k.  Doyle flopped two pair but Patrik used his ubercharm on the dealer, making a higher two pair to double up to 800k. 

4:00 p.m. I’m surprised I made it this long without referencing EuroRounders.  So stupid it’s funny. Kind of like JDN.

4:03 p.m. Doyle has stayed active since Patrik sucked out on him to double up.  He’s won a big pot and just picked up the blinds. 

4:06 p.m. Here’s some approximate chip counts for you (thanks to BJ Nemeth and crew):
Robert Mizrachi – 1.65m
Rene Mouritsen – 1.58m
Tommy Ly – 1.3m
Patrik Antonius – 830k
Marco Traniello – 550k
Doyle Brunson – 500k

4:12 p.m. Players just went on a 15 minute break.

4:15 p.m. I'm surprised I've never heard anything about Rene Mouritsen before last week.  He placed 2nd in the $1,500 Mixed Holdem event and has been playing a very strong game throughout this event.

2:26 p.m Steve Sung has just raised pot to 105k.  This is 3/4th of his starting stack.  Action was passed to Marco in the big blind.  He thought for awhile before calling.  I’m surprised he didn’t just move in…the flop is Q109 and Marco bet enough to put Steve all in. He called.  Steve has AAK9 for an overpair and gutshot but Marco has flopped a set of Q’s.  Steve’s out in 9th place.  I’m kind of surprised Marco called in that spot preflop against a short-stack; it was a big gamble for ½ of his stack.

2:32 p.m. Marco is mixing it up again, this time against Tommy Ly.  The common perception is that Tommy has been incredibly lucky to get to this point; someone said he plays it like a holdem player playing PLO.  That makes sense since he already has 2 holdem final tables this WSOP.  Marco has moved up close to 3rd place now.

2:44 p.m. Robert limped in, doyle limped, and Patrik raised pot. Robert called and Doyle laid the hammer down with a repot.  Patrik went into the tank before mucking and Robert mucked.  As Doyle scooped in his second pot in a row, it became clear that this is definitely a Doyle-friendly crowd.

2:55 p.m. Jonas Flug-Entin was just elimianted in 8th place when he held K8XX on a 1088 board but his opponent had A8XX.  Flug-Entin

2:56 p.m. TD Sam just referred to fellow TD Charlie "the fat one."  NH, sir.

3:01 p.m. Steven Ladowsky just doubled up.

2. Steve Sung has quietly proven himself to be one of the better all-around players in the game.
The first time I met Steve he was playing a late night Chinese Poker game with Nam Le, JC Tran, and Danny Wong in Reno.  Steve has several final table appearances in the last six months, including two $100k+ cashes in December.  He placed 12th and 23rd in the main events at Foxwoods and Mandalay Bay, with an elite eight appearance in the Mirage Heads-up event in between. Steve's game seems to closely resemble Nam's, but he might actually be the best all-around player of the four (at least currently). 

Steve has already made a final table in the $1,500 7-Card Stud event this summer, placing third.  Today, he will be one of the players standing in Doyle's way at the $10,000 PLO final table.  He's entering play as the short-stack, but you can never count out this quiet and unassuming pro because of his strength: patience.

3. Robert may be the best player of the Mizrachi brothers
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi has definitely earned the respect of his peers with back-to-back WPT victories last season.  Youngest brother Eric has yet to break through.  But Robert (like Sung), has quietly had a great career as a professional poker player.  To the casual observer, Robert may still be in Mike's shadow, but no one on the tour thinks so.  Robert has a number of big scores (including two cashes in the $500k range) in no-limit holdem,  but his mixed-game ability has turned the heads of more than a few people.

He already has four cashes this summer including Omaha 8OB and Omaha 8OB/Stud 8OB.  He made both the $2,500 and $5,000 HORSE final tables.  He's now at his third final table of the series.  He has just over 1m chips and will begin play in 2nd place in the $10,000 PLO World Championship. 

4. Michael Craig has played his way to another final table
Michael has not played in many events, but now has three cashes and two final tables under his belt.  He is an incredible student of the game, and it looks like his work on the Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide has paid off.  After finishing seventh in the $1,500 Mixed Holdem event, I'm sure Michael will be fighting it out until the very end in the $1,000 SHOE.

Last year, three of the regular winners of the “Big Game,” the $4,000-$8,000 rotation game at the Bellagio, made the final table—Phil Ivey, Chip Reese, and Doyle Brunson.  This year we can expect the big game to be similarly represented. Ted Forrest, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein are among those who could go very deep. 

According to Greenstein, those who beat the big game manage a long-term profit of one-quarter of one big bet an hour. And while 2k/hour is an impressive wage, it’s amazing to think that the most one can take out of any game is half a small bind. With that kind of margin, every decision is crucial. Think of it this way: If you miss one river value bet, you’ve cost yourself four hours of profit.

To beat the highest level of competition at the highest stakes, the winning players need to possess a vast array of tools. Frankly, as a hammer-wielding no-limit hold ‘em player myself, I’m not even sure what many of these tools will look like.

But I’ll do my best to figure it out. Over the next few days, I’ll be following Ivey, Harman as others as they progress through the $50k HORSE event. Hopefully, I’ll be able to learn a thing or two and pass on the knowledge.

...but can the people on the other side of those bets really be considered suckers?  It's difficult enough for many tournament pros to make it out of the first level, much less emerge from three days of poker with a victory. 

In the last several years, the common philosphy has been that "tight-aggressive" play gets you in the cash;  playing "loose-aggressive" brings home the most trophies.  Phil Hellmuth's two bracelets in the last two years indicate otherwise.

While many players come out firing in the early stages, we all know Hellmuth doesn't even bother showing up until late in the second hour.  For Hellmuth actual significance lies in what most would dismiss as a gimmick; he simply waits to play until the chips mean something.  A loose-aggressive player who happens to be running well may win one event; the poker brat has remained at the top for a lifetime.

While his risk-averse style of play makes him a target early in tournaments, winning the small pots ensure that he sticks around long enough to capitalize on his opponent's mistakes.  Combine his patience with his own patented brand of incessant table chatter and you have a formula for continually frustrating opponents.

A few players emulate this style of play.  WPT players of the year Erick Lindgren and Daniel Negreanu both encourage small-ball poker while relying on their reading ability; 2005 WSOP champion Joe Hachem has enjoyed an incredible two-year stretch of success. 

But Phil Hellmuth's staying power brought him not only a record 11th bracelet, but a title only the godfather of poker can bestow: The Greatest.