This week on the ESPN.com poker show “Inside Deal,” Team PokerStars Pro member Hevad Khan relived some of his memorable antics from the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and gave his take on this year’s November Nine.
“Inside Deal” began by rehashing the week’s news, starting with the massive 730 player turnout in the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) London stop. Aaron Gustavson took down the event, besting 2008 WSOP Main Event Champion Peter Eastgate heads-up. “Inside Deal” host Bernard Lee explained, “With 730 players, EPT London had a tremendous turnout, but it utilized several factors to its advantage.” Among them were that it piggybacked on the WSOP Europe festivities in London, the buy-in was only ₤5,000, and 200 players qualified online through PokerStars, which sponsors the EPT.
Daniel Negreanu was quoted on the Hardcore Poker Show as saying, “Personally, I don’t think [Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker] should exist anymore, especially considering what happened at Ultimate Bet. I don’t feel we owe them any favors.” The sound byte led Lee to speculate that players will ultimately continue playing at the two sites as long as their present management, Tokwiro Enterprises, properly oversees the operation. Russ Hamilton was fingered as the main man responsible for the Ultimate Bet cheating scandal.
Then, an interview with Phil Ivey aired in which he noted that he’s third in line for the Durrrr Challenge behind Patrik Antonius and David Benyamine. Ivey told “Poker Edge” host Phil Gordon, “[Tom Dwan] is probably going to have an advantage on me in the beginning because I’m not used to playing four games.” Dwan is halfway through his match against Antonius and leads by $700,000 after 25,000 hands. The contest pits the two pros against each other across four tables of $200/$400 Pot Limit Omaha for 50,000 hands.
Khan joined the “Inside Deal” set to talk about the “Hevad Khan Rule,” which bars excessive celebration at the WSOP. On the rule, Khan told Lee and “Inside Deal” host Laura Lane, “I like the rule. I had a rule named after me.” Khan lived in New York when he final tabled the 2007 WSOP Main Event, but has since moved to Las Vegas. On delaying the final table until November, Khan admitted, “Momentum is a big thing in poker. This whole period can turn amateurs into pros and pros into disasters. For me, I’m glad I got to play the next day.” Jerry Yang took down the 2007 WSOP Main Event to the tune of $8.25 million, his only WSOP cash to date.
Khan is 24 years-old and a former StarCraft aficionado. As such, he’s been able to take advantage of several aspects of StarCraft that translate to the poker world. Khan explained that StarCraft’s requirements of “multitasking and fixating yourself in front of a computer for hours on end with no other misdirection” have helped him succeed in poker. Other high-profile StarCraft players include Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, one of Khan’s close friends.
On the success of younger pros in today’s poker scene, Khan explained, “Young guys are able to play poker when they’re 18 and that’s a three year boot camp before they can enter the live felt.” Khan added that Darvin Moon, one of the elder statesmen at the WSOP Main Event final table, will finish third or better when the smoke clears in the $10,000 buy-in tournament next month, rationalizing, “People with big chip leads usually win the tournament.”
On which of the short stacks – James Akenhead, Antoine Saout, or Ivey – will be eliminated first from the Main Event, Khan explained that Ivey would: “You can imagine the amount of money he has on prop bets.” Therefore, Ivey’s focus would be on winning, which could result in an early exit as he attempts to double up.
Khan gained fame after recording a video while playing 30 sit and gos at once on PokerStars, which thought he could be a bot. When asked what the most number he ever played at a time was, Khan answered 43, with 32 to 38 being common. Nowadays, he refrains from playing sit and gos altogether.
Finally, Khan admitted that he is rooting for Ivey to take down the 2009 WSOP Main Event, saying, “It’ll bring the public together more.” Ivey is seeking his eighth bracelet overall and third of 2009; he also won three in 2002.
“Inside Deal” is released every Tuesday on ESPN.com.
