It was certainly a memorable World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table. From Doyle Brunson announcing “Shuffle up and deal” to Joe Cada putting on the coveted bracelet, I was present in the Penn and Teller Theater to cover all of the festivities for ESPN Inside Deal.
Sadly, I could not play in the World Poker Tour (WPT) World Poker Finals Main Event at Foxwoods Resort and Casino. The event has had significant personal meaning. Not only did I have consecutive runs in the Main Event dating back to 2004, I also entered the 2009 World Poker Finals with three preliminary titles in the last three years ($5,000 in 2006, $2,000 in 2007, and $600 shootout in 2008). I gave myself an opportunity to make it four in a row by making the final table of the $1,500 event, but I came up a little short, finishing in eighth place. Oh well, I guess I will try to start another streak next year.
Nevertheless, the 2009 November Nine definitely had its share of memorable moments. Right after the final table, I shared my thoughts with my radio show audience during my WSOP final table wrap-up, which lasted about three hours. Guests included 2009 November Niners Darvin Moon, Steven Begleiter, and Kevin Schaffel, as well as recent Poker Hall of Fame inductee Mike Sexton, PokerNewsDaily.com’s own Dan Cypra, and Heartland Poker Tour announcer Fred Bevill.
The week after, I also produced an audio blog of the WSOP Main Event final table from start to finish. Some of the interviews even included talks with players during the breaks to hear how they felt they were playing at the time. If you would like to hear these shows or any past interviews with any member of the November Nine, you can download the podcast of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” via iTunes or visit RoundersRadio.com.
Of course, congratulations to Joe Cada. A year after Peter Eastgate broke Phil Hellmuth’s 19 year-old record for youngest WSOP Main Event champion, the 21-year old online player from Shelby Township, Michigan rewrote history once again by winning the $8.5 million first prize and the 2009 WSOP Main Event bracelet. Cada went on a media blitz after his victory that included a ringside seat at a WWE event, appearances on several ESPN shows, and topped off with an interview with David Letterman. I hope he continues to be a true poker ambassador during his reign. Congratulations once again to our new WSOP Main Event Champion, Joe Cada.
Looking back, here are some of my additional thoughts about the WSOP final table:
1) Slow Early Play: Based on the prize structure, I was surprised at how slow the play was at the beginning. With the money difference between ninth and eighth only being $37,000 and the next jump being only $104,000, many analysts expected the short stacks to push early. With players needing to finish in fourth place or better to at least double their guaranteed $1.26 million, I was even amazed that it took 59 hands to eliminate our first player. However, after James Akenhead (ninth) and Kevin Schaffel (eighth) were eliminated, it took over 100 hands to dismiss Ivey from the final table in seventh place.
2) Atmosphere: Unable to attend the inaugural November Nine last year, I previously heard all of the stories about the crowd excitement and noise. This year, I got to experience it first-hand and it definitely did not disappoint. Inside the Rio’s Penn and Teller Theater, the packed house was truly deafening and involved from hand one.
3) The Best Fans: Many of the players brought their own cheering sections:
a. Schaffel: His fans wore white shirts that read “Schaffel up and Deal”
b. Moon: His family and friends had cut out faces of Darvin and shirts that read “Bad Moon Rising”
c. Saout: His cheering section wore France’s home team colors and chanted like soccer (or football as they say in Europe) fans
d. Ivey: The entire audience was cheering for him
However, the best fans were, without a question, Joe Cada’s gang. Although there was a fight among their group, the majority of Cada’s group never let their guy down. They cheered with every hand, sometimes even when he lost a hand. One time, his group reacted so loudly that I was confused, thinking that he might have actually won the hand. They really kept his spirits up and never let him give up.
4) Worst Bad Beat: This year’s final table may be known as the Year of the Bad Beat. Amazingly, every player eliminated from eighth place to third had the lead pre-flop and lost. Here are a couple of the worst ones:
a. Schaffel versus Buchman: Schaffel’s Ah-Ac got cracked by Buchman’s Kh-Kc when Buchman flopped a king and turned quads to eliminate Schaffel in eighth place.
b. Ivey versus Moon: Pre-flop Ivey (Ac-Ks) had Moon (Ad-Qs) dominated, but Moon flopped a Qd. Ivey could not catch up and was eliminated in seventh place, deflating his fans and the room in general.
However, the worst beat had to be when Cada shoved all-in versus Antoine Saout on the very first hand of three-handed play. Saout’s Qs-Qh was poised to eliminate Cada’s 2s-2c; however, a 9s-7s-2d flop destroyed Saout’s hopes of the WSOP Main Event title.
5) Emerging Poker Star: Besides Cada, the one player that surprised many people was Antoine Saout. An unknown player before the 2009 WSOP, this online qualifier final tabled the WSOP Europe Main Event final table prior to the November Nine. Then, the second short stack ended up finishing in third place and could have been playing heads-up versus Moon. Had Cada not flopped a set (see #4 above), the Frenchman would have brought a 110:70 million chip lead to the mono-a-mono battle.
For a limited time only (until December 25th), all PokerNewsDaily.com readers are invited to a special pre-holiday sale. Click Here to receive a 20% discount for ordering my books, The Final Table, Volume I and II. Both books make perfect holiday gifts for all poker fans.
Finally, in the coming weeks, “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” will interview two champions: 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event champion Barry Shulman and the Godfather of Poker himself, two-time WSOP Main Event champion Doyle Brunson.
I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday season.
Since finishing 13th in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, Bernard Lee has cashed in numerous tournaments, capturing three titles and earning over $1.35 million. He is the host of ESPN’s poker show, ESPN Inside Deal. He is a columnist for the Boston Herald and ESPN.com and the radio host of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show.” Listen every Tuesday night from 7:00pm ET to 8:00pm ET on 1510 AM in Massachusetts and also on 1510thezone.com and RoundersRadio.com. The show is replayed several times during the week and also available on podcast. Visit BernardLeePoker.com for the latest news regarding Lee.