AJ Benza Talks About The Return Of High Stakes Poker

Qing Liu Surges Into The Player Of The Year Lead

Strategy: Top Pros Explain Tournament Stack Size Considerations

www.CardPlayer.com Vol. 34/No. 8April 7, 2021

LONGTIME GRINDER RONNIE BARDAH: ‘POKER FOUND ME’

Former Survivor Contestant Kicks Off 2021 With The Largest Score Of His Career

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6

Table of Contents - Card Player Vol. 34/No. 8

CARDPLAYER.COM VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

Features20

Longtime Grinder Ronnie Bardah: ‘Poker Found Me’

By Julio Rodriguez

24High Stakes Poker Co-Host AJ Benza

Talks About His Favorite Hands From The ShowBy Steve Schult

The Inside Straight8

Poker News Recap

12Player Of The Year Update

By Erik Fast

16Head Games: Tournament Stack Size Strategy and Final Table Preparation

By Craig Tapscott

Strategies, Analysis & Commentary

28A Costly Mistake In The WSOP Main Event

By Jonathan Little

29Seven Card Stud Eight-or-Better: Going

High By Kevin Haney

31The Score That Kept Me In Action

By Nathan Gamble

33Contracts and Poker: Ambiguous Bets

By Scott J. Burnham

34In Memory Of Robert ‘Lee’ Mougous

By Lee Markholt and Mark Gregorich

Also In this Issue4

About Us

36Tournament Schedules

38Poker Leaderboards

Tournament Hand Matchups

29Daniel Dvoress vs.

Hermogenes Gelonezi

30Endrit Geci vs. Daniel Dvoress

33Francisco Correia vs. Hermogenes Gelonezi

35Daniel Dvoress vs. Endrit Geci

20 12

24

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CARDPLAYER.COM 8 VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

First, Daniel Negreanu wanted to play Phil Hellmuth heads-up. Now, he’s making a big bet that the 15-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner can’t compete against the world’s best poker players in high-stakes tournaments.

Negreanu tweeted he bet against the poker brat being profi table in the $25,000 buy-in tournaments that have recently started run-ning again at the Aria in Las Vegas. Negreanu will reportedly be giving Hellmuth 2:1 odds against turning a profi t over a 50-tournament sample size.

Negreanu will be laying $400,000 against Hellmuth’s $200,000. If Hellmuth fi nishes in the black, Negreanu will lose the bet and fork over the six-fi gure sum.

“Bet off ered and accepted,” tweeted Negreanu. “I’m laying $400K to Phil Hellmuth’s $200K that over 50 $25K buy-in Aria tournaments Hellmuth will end up in the red. If he shows a $1 profi t, he wins the bet.”

� e bet looks like an extension of a recently ignited feud between the two poker legends. Following Negreanu’s sev-en-fi gure loss to Doug Polk in their high-stakes heads-up grudge match, Hellmuth publicly criticized the six-time bracelet winner’s play in the challenge.

Hellmuth’s words sparked a fi ery response from Negreanu, who countered with an off er to play heads-up at any stakes, in any venue, for any duration. � e challenge seemed to imply a cash game format, which Negreanu had just spent months studying, but the two instead agreed to play in a heads-up sit-n-go format on PokerGO’s High Stakes Duel.

It will be Hellmuth’s second appearance on the show after beating Antonio Esfandiari three straight matches for $400,000 in his fi rst go-around.

Not only is Negreanu calling his heads-up game into question, but the Canadian is also openly doubting how good Hellmuth is at multi-table tournaments, a format that has netted

him the career WSOP bracelet record, as well as more than $22 million in earnings.

Other high roller regulars agree with Negreanu. Ali Imsirovic, a 24-year-old pro who has made a meteoric rise up the ranks while netting more than $9 million in tour-nament earnings, off ered to wager even more if Hellmuth was willing to bet more on himself.

“If Hellmuth wants more action, I’ll bet as much as he wants,” tweeted Imsirovic.

When it comes to high-stakes tournaments, Hellmuth has always been somewhat of a polarizing fi gure.

During his heads-up match with Esfandiari, high-stakes legend Phil Galfond gave Hellmuth props for his game, saying that it took him a long time to realize “just how talented he is.” � e tweet, however, was met with backlash from many high-stakes pros claiming that Hellmuth was overrated.

Aria’s Director of Poker Operations Sean McCormack confi rmed that the casino hosts “a few [high roller events] a month on average.” At that rate, Hellmuth likely won’t be able to complete the required number of events until 2022. �

THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

INSIDE STRAIGHTNews, Reviews, and Interviews From Around the Poker World

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DANIEL NEGREANU BETS PHIL HELLMUTH $400,000 THAT HE CAN’T BEAT HIGH ROLLER EVENTS By Steve Schult

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THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

LAS VEGAS CONTINUES REVENUE SLIDE WHILE MACAU SHOWS SIGNS OF RECOVERYBy Steve Schult

LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP SELLS STRIP PROPERTIES By Steve Schult

Las Vegas Sands Corp. sold both of its Las Vegas Strip properties and as a result will change its name to Sands, reflecting the fact it no longer owns any property in the city.

�e gaming giant sold �e Venetian, �e Palazzo, and the Sands Convention Center to a private equity firm and a real estate investment trust. VICI Properties and Apollo Global Management have purchased the properties for a combined $6.25 billion.

According to a CNN report, Apollo bought the operat-ing company for $2.25 billion, and VICI is buying the underlying land and real estate for $4 billion.

VICI Properties was formed during Caesars Entertainment’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy when Caesars pro-posed splitting the company into a Real Estate Investment Trust that owns the land, and an operating company that would run the day-to-day operations. While VICI clearly has roots in Las Vegas, Apollo said this is the first major investment they were making in the city.

“�is investment also underscores our conviction in a strong recovery for Las Vegas as vaccines usher in a reopening of leisure and travel in the United States and across the world,” the company said in a statement.

Last October, there were rumors circulating that this sale was imminent so that the company could focus more of its efforts on its properties in Asia. �e U.S.-based casinos only accounted for 13% of the company’s total revenue in 2019, while Singapore and Macau made up the rest of the earnings.

Before his passing in January, CEO Sheldon Adelson was lobbying for legalized brick-and-mortar gambling in Texas.

�e original Sands Hotel and Casino opened in December of 1952 before it was demolished in 1996. Las Vegas Sands previously owned the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, but sold the property to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in 2019. �

For Nevada casinos, the start of 2021 looked a lot like what they saw in 2020. Huge decreases in gaming revenue.

According to figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Silver State casinos saw a 26.58% drop in year-over-year gambling revenue with casinos winning $761.85 million from gamblers in January. It was the 11th straight month where casinos in Nevada reported a decline in revenue.

During the same time frame in 2020, casinos won more than $1 bil-lion. �e figures may be down year-over-year, but they were up from the $683.7 million Nevada casinos won in December.

�e numbers reflect statewide rev-enue, but the majority of the loss came from Southern Nevada casinos, most notably those on the Las Vegas Strip. �ose casinos were down 43.81% from a year ago after taking in $321.5 mil-lion in gross winnings. No other area in the state saw anything even close to that type of drop-off.

In February, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced that he was going to

start relaxing restrictions on casi-nos and allow more people inside, but for January, casinos were bound by the previous mandates and the 25% operating capacity. �ose restrictions coupled with the stagnant tourism industry were the most likely reason for the continued downtrend in casino winnings.

Meanwhile, February’s gambling revenue in Macau was up massively year-over-year as the market passed the one-year mark since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in China.

According to numbers released by the Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau, the casino mar-ket in the former Portuguese colo-ny won $15.14 million from gam-blers during the month. �ose figures represent a 135.6% year-over-year increase from February 2020.

It’s not a complete apples-to-apples comparison, however, as the pandemic hit China before the rest of the world. For 15 days in February 2020, the government forced casinos to shutter, which crushed earnings for the month.

�e numbers represent a slight

decline from the $1 billion won by casinos in January, but the three fewer days could account for that difference. Revenue is still down 71%, however from February 2019 before the virus began ravaging gambling markets worldwide.

�e increase snaps a 17-month streak of year-over-year declines as the market was experiencing a pullback even before the virus was introduced into the world. �

008_News.indd 9 3/18/21 10:32 AM

CARDPLAYER.COM 10

THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - News, reviews, and interviews from around the poker world

VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

Several States Make Progress With Sports Be�ing LegislationBy Steve Schult

�ree states made significant progress with bills that would legalize sports betting recently as legislation in Georgia, Kansas, and Arizona passed through one of the two chambers in the legislature.

�e Georgia Senate voted in favor of SR 135, which pro-posed an amendment to the state constitution to allow for online sports betting. It passed overwhelmingly by a 41-10 margin, which was necessary as any resolution to amend the state’s constitution requires a two-thirds majority. SB 142, which would regulate how the market would operate was also passed.

�e bill heads to the House for a vote where it should find some support as there is a nearly identical bill in the lower chamber and it passed through a committee last month. Rep. Ron Stephens, who sponsored the House sports betting bill as well as a separate proposal to bring casinos to the state, has said that sports betting will be the easiest gambling expansion to pass.

Kansas’ sports betting legislation, SB 84, passed a gen-eral vote on the Senate floor with the majority in favor by a score of 26-12.

�e bill will allow both online and retail sports betting by expanding the activity into the scope of the Kansas Lottery. �e Kansas Lottery will serve as regulators for the market and the state’s four casinos will be eligible to run both brick-and-mortar and online sportsbooks. Revenue from online sportsbooks will be taxed at 8%.

Kansas seemed poised to legalize sports betting in 2020, but the pandemic pushed the legislation aside after it cleared the Senate.

In Arizona, the House voted 48-12 to pass HB 2772,

which would allow tribal casinos and professional sports venues to offer sports betting.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has been an outspoken pro-ponent of expanding the gambling market in his state and is in the midst of renegotiating a gaming compact with the tribes. �e bill will almost certainly get the signature if it hits his desk. �e Senate has a sports betting bill of its own, but it’s having trouble gaining support.

Meanwhile, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine made headlines for calling sports betting “inevitable” in his state, despite the fact that a bill failed during the last session and there aren’t currently any new bills on the table. Regardless, DeWine believes it’s coming soon, stating in a press confer-ence that “sports betting is already in Ohio, we are just not regulating it [yet.]”

Ohio is surrounded by states with legal sports betting and DeWine is concerned about the tax dollars leaving his state when residents cross the border to place their bets. �e same argument was used by a pro-gambling group that successfully pushed for expanded gambling in Nebraska.

Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia, and Michigan all have expanded gambling markets and legal sports betting of some sort. Michigan and Pennsylvania have all forms of gaming, both online and at brick-and-mortar establish-ments.

Kentucky, Ohio’s neighbor to the south, is the only state that it shares a border with that doesn’t have sports betting. Gov. Andy Beshear, however, was elected in part because of his pro-gambling campaign. Recently, he has been outspo-ken about bringing sports betting to the state. �

008_News.indd 10 3/18/21 10:32 AM

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ONLINE POKER BILL SUBMITTED IN ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE By Steve Schult

A lawmaker in Illinois has submitted a proposal that would legalize online poker and other casino games in the state.

Rep. Bob Rita fi led HB 3142, which if passed would allow a casino or racetrack to off er up three platforms for online gaming. Within the legislature, it is being referred to as the Internet Gaming Act.

Rita’s proposed legislation, which was co-sponsored by Rep. Jonathan Carroll, would tax gross gaming revenue at 12%. Illinois legalized sports betting in 2019, which included online betting. � e Internet Gaming Act would bring its gaming market up to speed with the state’s sports betting industry.

In a move that is bullish for the state’s online poker product, the bill expressly states that providers will be able to accept wagers from those that are out of state, which opens the door for a compact with other online poker rooms from diff erent states.

� e only multi-state compact available currently is the one on WSOP.com between players living in Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. But with the recent ruling on the Wire Act, which upheld an Obama-era opinion stating that the law only applied to sports betting, more multi-state liquidity

pools are likely to pop up in the future as more states legalize online gambling.

� e Illinois Gaming Board “may enter into agreements with other jurisdictions to facilitate, administer and regulate multijurisdictional approved internet games, including, but not limited to, poker,” read one section of the bill.

� e bill also calls for the regulators to adopt emergency rules within 90 days of the bill’s passage, which would likely make Illinois the quickest of any state to go from legislation to implementation with regards to online gambling.

If passed, Illinois would become the seventh state to legalize online poker. Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Michigan all have active online poker markets. West Virginia legalized it in 2019 but has yet to launch a market. Several reports have said that the state was waiting for the ruling on the Wire Act because the market would be too small without a shared player pool from other markets.

Illinois would charge operators a $500,000 fee for its license and a renewal fee of $250,000. All the money collect-ed from internet gaming would be put into the state gaming fund. � e bill has been referred to the Rules Committee. If it passes, it will head to the fl oor for a full vote. �

008_News.indd 11 3/18/21 10:32 AM

CARDPLAYER.COM 12 VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Player of the year

QING LIU SURGES INTO THE LEAD IN THE 2021 PLAYER OF THE YEAR RACEBy Erik Fast

Qing Liu has tournament cashes dating back a decade, including a couple of WSOP Circuit final tables and a preliminary event win at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2018, but he’s never put a run together like he has to start 2021.

Liu’s stretch of success actually dates back more than a year to January of 2020, when he made the final table of the $10,000 buy-in World Poker Tour Gardens Poker Championship in Hawaiian Gardens, California. The tournament was all set to conclude a couple months later in March at the HyperX Esports Arena at the Luxor in Las Vegas.

Then the pandemic happened. Poker rooms closed and Liu’s final table was suspended indefinitely. For months, Liu waited patiently along with the rest of the world for live poker to come back.

“I waited a year, so I just moved to [Las Vegas] to play a lot more,” Liu told WPT reporters.

While the WPT’s three delayed final tables remained in limbo, Liu set up shop at The Venetian, one of the first casinos to open up their cardroom and offer consistent live tournaments. In fact, pandemic poker has been very lucrative for Liu. Despite the restrictions on play-ers per table, the plexiglass parti-tions, and mask requirements, Liu

has thrived at the venue.He was there for the Venetian’s

first big tournament series back in September of 2020, recording three cashes. There were another four cashes in October, followed by five more to close out the year in the DeepStack Extravaganza IV. Among those scores was a runner-up finish in a $400 MonsterStack event, and an outright win in a $600 EpicStack event for $83,674.

And, of course, none of those scores account for his Player of the Year lead in 2021. Liu secured only one POY-qualified score in January, finishing fifth in a $400 buy-in event at the DeepStack Showdown series. He earned $2,182 and 32 points for that first deep run. Liu then finished ninth in a $600 buy-in event during the DeepStack Extravaganza series in February for another $2,352 and 15 points. Just four days later he placed eighth in the $2,500 buy-in Card Player Poker Tour Venetian main event for $24,939 and 210 points.

Less than a week removed from that score, Liu earned his first title of the year by outlasting a 1,187-entry field to win the $600 buy-in UltimateStack event. Liu took home $110,890 and 480 points. Six days later he secured his fifth final-table finish of the year by placing fifth in a $1,100 buy-in event during the

DeepStack Showdown series.While Liu’s first five scores were

enough to put him into contention in the POY race, his next two scores were the ones to propel him into the outright lead in the standings. Liu was, of course, one of 937 entries in the World Poker Tour Venetian DeepStack Showdown $5,000 buy-in main event, which set the record for the largest-ever field for a WPT main tour event at that buy-in level.

Liu managed to overcome not only the massive field, but also a stacked final table, in order to ulti-mately secure his first WPT title and the top prize of $752,880. The 1,824 POY points he earned as the champion would have been enough on their own to see him take the top spot on the leaderboard, but with the 907 points he had already earned through his earlier exploits, he took a significant lead over the rest of the field on the POY leaderboard.

Liu’s win was the ultimate capper to 19 straight cashes at The Venetian. The very next day, however, he would be forced into playing poker at another property as his WPT Gardens Poker Championship final table was finally ready to resume.

Perhaps Liu knew that the change of scenery would not help him. When asked by WPT reporters if he thought he could win back-to-back titles, Liu wasn’t so confident.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I used up all my luck today. Tomorrow I won’t be so lucky.”

A whopping 422 days after the final table was set, play resumed. Liu entered as one of the short stacks and ultimately his prediction came true. He went on to finish sixth, but still added $111,795 and 340 points to further cement his hold on the top spot in the POY rankings.

Liu now has a 1,451-point lead over his nearest competitor in WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open champion Ilyas Muradi. With two titles, seven final tables, $1,019,107 in year-to-date earnings, and 3,071 points, Qing Liu is the player to beat mov-ing forward. ♠ ©

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THE INSIDE STRAIGHTAs of

3-12-2021

Place Player Points Final Tables POY Earnings

1 Qing Liu 3,071 7 $1,019,107

2 Ilyas Muradi 1,620 1 $620,000

3 Joe McKeehen 1,520 1 $491,960

4 Fernando Rodriguez-Vazquez 1,488 5 $283,293

5 Timothy Gilliam 1,392 2 $233,105

6 Robel Andemichael 1,350 1 $545,500

7 Ankush Mandavia 1,260 1 $260,000

8 Roland Rokita 1,216 1 $363,235

9 Scott Stewart 1,120 2 $199,167

10 Anselmo Villarreal 1,087 2 $255,941

11 Ronnie Bardah 1,080 1 $566,135

12 Markus Gonsalves 1,020 1 $554,495

13 James Carroll 960 1 $180,850

14 Johnny Oshana 944 2 $131,868

15 Sung Joo Hyun 912 1 $208,335

15 James Kerr 912 1 $228,038

15 Jack Hardcastle 912 1 $271,050

18 Nicholas Pupillo 911 4 $90,536

19 Tuan Phan 850 1 $359,650

20 Chad Eveslage 840 1 $101,572

014_POY.indd 13 3/18/21 10:30 AM

CARDPLAYER.COM 14 VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Player of the year

TIMOTHY GILLIAM CLIMBS TO FIFTH WITH SECOND TITLE OF THE YEAR

Celeste, Texas’ Timothy Gilliam has been a closer so far in 2021. He has made two fi nal tables, and both times has emerged as the champion. Gilliam secured his fi rst victory of the year by taking down a $365 buy-in no-limit hold’em MonsterStack event during the DeepStack Extravaganza Vseries at � e Venetian. He defeated a fi eld of 1,796 entries to earn $72,715 and 432 points.

On the fi nal day of February, Gilliam once again found himself as the last player standing. He overcame a fi eld of 1,079 entries to win the Prime Signature Series $1,100 buy-in main event for $160,390 and 960 points. � e victory saw Gilliam climb all the way to fi fth place on the POY leaderboard, with 1,392 total points and $233,105 in year-to-date earnings.

MCKEEHEN, ROKITA, AND HARDCASTLE JOIN TOP 20 AFTER WPT VENETIAN MAIN EVENT SUCCESS

Liu was far from the only player to make moves near the top of the standings as a result of the massive WPT Venetian main event. � ree other players also joined the top 20 after deep runs in this tournament.

� ree-time WSOP bracelet winner and 2015 main event champion Joseph McKeehen was at his fi fth WPT fi nal table, and looked to be on track to secure his fi rst win on this tour for much of the day. McKeehen held roughly a 2:1 chip lead when heads-up play against Liu began, but he was unable to capture the title this time around. He did earn $491,960 and 1,520 points as the runner-up, though, which was enough to see him catapulted into third place in the rankings despite this being his fi rst POY-qualifi ed score of the year.

Roland Rokita, who reportedly dealt with a health scare that resulted in an hour delay to the restart of the fi nal table, fi nished third for $363,235 and 1,216 points. � e Austrian moved into eighth place in the standings as a result. British poker pro Jack Hardcastle, who had won the WPT Montreal Online main event in January for $447,859, earned $271,050 and 912 points as the fourth-place fi nisher. Hardcastle entered a three-way tie for 15th place after his strong showing in this event.

MARKUS GONSALVES WINS LONG-DELAYED WPT GARDENS POKER CHAMPIONSHIP, MOVES TO 12TH PLACE IN RANKINGS

Markus Gonsalves emerged victorious from the fi eld of 257 total entries in the previously discussed and long-delayed $10,000 buy-in 2020 WPT Gardens Poker Championship to secure his fi rst WPT title and the fi rst-place prize of $554,495.

� e tournament was one of three fi nal tables that were set in early 2020 with the intention of being played out and fi lmed for television from March 31 through April 2 of that year in Las Vegas, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“I think I’ve come close once or twice before so it feels nice to fi nally win one,” a relieved Gonsalves told WPT reporters after the 14-month ordeal. “All my friends have [WPT wins]. � at’s going to be great to troll Phil [Hellmuth], that’s for sure.”

“I honestly don’t play that many tournaments compared to these other guys. I play mostly cash games.”

Despite his limited tournament schedule, the San Diego native has three WSOP fi nal tables on his résumé, and he also fi nished fourth in the 2016 WPT Rolling � under main event. His previous best scores were the $190,053 he earned for his deep run in the 2007 WSOP main event, and the $184,515 he pocketed from a DeepStack Extravaganza III win in 2008.

� e 1,020 points he earned for the win were enough to see him lay claim to the 12th-place spot in the overall POY standings.

Tuan Phan, who fi nished second after a long heads-up battle, moved into 19th place with 850 points and $359,650 in earnings. � ird-place fi nisher Jonathan Cohen also joined the top 50 with his 680 points, while fourth-place fi nisher and two-time bracelet winner Chance Kornuth climbed into a tie for 61st place with 510 points.

Timothy Gilliam

Joseph McKeehen

Markus Gonsalves

014_POY.indd 14 3/18/21 10:31 AM

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THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

ENDRIT GECI AND MICHAEL ADDAMO SECURE MASSIVE PAYDAYS IN PARTYPOKER MILLIONS ONLINE MARQUEE EVENTS

A number of massive online tournaments wrapped up in recent weeks as part of the 2021 MILLIONS Online series held on partypoker. While the online tournaments didn’t award any POY points, there was plenty of prize money paid out throughout the series.

� e $5,300 buy-in main drew a massive fi eld of 1,084 entries to create a $5,420,000 fi nal prize pool that was paid out among the top 160 fi nish-ers. In the end, the largest share was awarded to Endrit Geci, who took home $774,838 as the champion. � is was the largest career score for the Manchester, UK resident, beating out the $223,978 he earned as the runner-up in a 2020 World Series of Poker Online $1,000 buy-in event.

Geci overcame a tough fi nal table on the road to victory, which included the likes of bracelet winner and high-stakes tournament regular Daniel Dvoress (3rd - $422,422), European Poker Tour Dublin main event cham-pion Dzmitry Urbanovic (4th - $276,128), and 2020 WSOP Online $25,000 high roller champion Christian Rudolph (6th – $146,300).

But the biggest prize of the series belonged to two-time WSOP brace-let winner Michael Addamo, who came out on top in the $100,000 buy-in ‘Mega High Roller’ event. � e tournament attracted 35 total entries to build a $3.5 million prize pool which was paid out among the top six fi nishers.

Addamo overcame Florian Loehnert heads-up to secure the title and the top prize of $1,310,715. Loehnert earned $805,000 as the runner-up, while Christoph Vogelsang was awarded $525,000 as the third-place fi nisher. � e fi nal table was rounded out by high rollers Artur Martirosian, Mikita Badziakouski, and Jake Schindler.

JAMES KERR WINS TAMPA POKER CLASSIC MAIN EVENT TO ENTER TIE FOR 15TH PLACE

James Kerr secured the largest score of his career as the champion of the Tampa Poker Classic $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event. � e tournament drew a fi eld of 959 entries, with Kerr earning $228,038 and 912 POY points as the winner after striking a deal during three-handed play. � is was his fi rst POY-qualifi ed score of the year, but it packed enough of a punch to see him move into a three-way tie with WPTDeepStacks Venetian champion Sung Joo Hyun and Jack Hardcastle for 15th place on the leaderboard.

Alexandru Ivan earned $197,172 and 760 points as the second-place fi nisher to join the top 30, landing in a tie with Jordan Cristos for 28th place in the standings. � ird-place fi nisher Kyrylo Kobzyev was awarded $166,915 and 608 points for his second POY-qualifi ed fi nal table of the year. He now occupies the 22nd-place spot in the rankings with 832 total points and year-to-date earnings of $185,065.

MAXIM SEKRETAREV WINS WPT RUSSIA MAIN EVENT19-year-old Russian Maxim Sekretarev defeated a fi eld of 251 total entries

to take down the 2021 WPT Russia ₽245,000 ($3,229 USD) buy-in no-limit hold’em main event. He earned ₽11,996,600 ($160,694 USD) as the champion of the event, which was by far the largest live tournament cash of his career.

In addition to the title and the money, Sekretarev was also awarded 612 points for the win. � is was his fi rst POY-qualifi ed fi nal-table fi nish of the year, but it alone was suffi cient to move him into 45th place in the 2021 POY race standings. Runner-up fi nisher Andrey Volkov is now tied with Chance Kornuth for 61st place.

Endrit Geci and Michael Addamo

James Kerr

Maxim Sekretarev

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CARDPLAYER.COM 16

THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Head Games

VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

HEAD GAMESTournament Stack Size Strategy and

Final Table PreparationBy Craig Tapscott

The Pros: Bryn Kenney, Steffen Sontheimer, Bert Stevens, and Jake Schwartz

Craig Tapscott: �ere are big differ-ences between cash games and tour-naments when it comes to stack sizes. In cash games, players are generally deep and the short stacks can rebuy. But in tournaments, short- and mid-stacked play can be the difference between bubbling the money and a win. How do you deal with different stack sizes in tournament play?

Bryn Kenney: Stack size consider-ations are very important in tourna-ments, especially at different stages of the event. You must pay close atten-tion to the flow and the stack sizes of each of your opponents. For instance, sometimes you will have a mediocre stack and be approaching the bubble. In some cases, you will be able to win every hand, because the table is pas-sive and looking to make the money. But in other cases you might have to deal with aggressive players at your table who are trying to leverage their

stack and to apply maximum pressure against you.

It’s important to really understand the table dynamics when you first sit down. When I made a deep run in the WSOP main event, I played pret-ty solid for the first 30 minutes at any new table, mainly to understand the dynamics of what’s going on. Every table will be different.

Next you need to understand the dynamics of the different stages of a tournament. �is is also very impor-tant in my opinion, because you can determine how much value people put on their chip stack. Usually, the more value they put on their chips, the more aggressive you want to play against them. You can devise nice bet sizing choices to have them call flop and turn, and then fold the river for a big bet.

If the players on your left are very passive, then there will be a lot of situations where you can play aggres-sively. Whereas if the guys on your left are very aggressive, you will want

to play a more selective range because you’re going to be battling more often. In that situation, you want to show up with a solid range base. I always try to find the most value spots and stay away from pushing for the smallest bit of value. I don’t want to get too greedy.

Steffen Sontheimer: I see poker as multi-disciplined spots or situations. We have to understand that the game changes a lot depending on the stack depth.

I try to keep awareness of what I need to focus on in the moment. Am I playing 20 BB (big blinds), 40 BB, or 60 BB deep? �at will dictate my strategy. Like in sports, I try to practice every discipline by itself and therefore not a big fan of reviews where everything happens one after another. My advice would be to focus on one thing, learn your guidelines and then be aware in-game to apply that as well as possible. �e shift of your strategy will follow along with the given options for risk or reward

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THE INSIDE STRAIGHT

Bryn Kenney Jake Schwartz Steffen Sontheimer

situations. �ere are lot of players who play

cards with 100 BB the same way they would play them with 40 BB. �ey play a 40 BB game pretty much like some kind of bank account they are not ready to touch. What we really want to do is to use our full stack to apply maximum pressure when it is the right situation. We need to learn how to do that in the best proper way possible to achieve the results we are seeking.

Bert Stevens: In tournaments the average stack throughout the whole event is 20-35 big blinds. So, in general it is going to be very differ-ent compared to cash games. During cash games you never want to get it all-in with A-J preflop. But in tourna-ments you may want or need to get it in preflop all the time with much weaker hands than A-J. �ere are a lot of resources available to study how to play push or fold poker at a 15 BB stack. �is information is para-mount if you want to beat the games.

Jake Schwartz: It’s very impor-tant to become proficient at all stack depths. It’s okay to sit as a short stack for a little while, but it’s much more fun to have a large stack on the bubble of tournaments.

Making players leverage their chips is a crucial part of the game. While short stacked on the bubble, every decision you make is magnified and the consequences of your actions are much more important. With a middling stack, you are allowed a little more wiggle room. You have more options with the decisions you are making. �at being said, you still need to be very calculated so you don’t find yourself on the short-stacked end of the bubble.

Obviously as a big stack on the bubble, you find yourself in an envi-able position. You are going to be able to bully the shorter and middling stacks. Live tells are most important on the bubble, because it is important to note how much each player values the difference between min-cashing or winning. �is is definitely one of the more fun and exciting moments of a tournament before reaching the final table.

Craig Tapscott: After you’ve made the final table, what stack size vari-ables are you considering when for-mulating a strategy plan?

Bryn Kenney: Your stack sizes and table position will determine how much pressure you can put on other players and how they think about ICM (Independent Chip Model). Player type is also very important. Whereas you may be able to lean on a player who cares a lot about ICM, it can be a big mistake to lean on the wrong type of player who doesn’t care or think of the pay jumps. �ey’re just thinking about winning the tournament and are not affected by the difference in payouts.

Other things you need to think about are how will the players on your left play if you start opening a lot of hands. Are they passive? Can you lean on them more? But if they have you covered and take advantage of that dynamic, you will have to be very cautious about the hands you choose, mainly because it could get you into trouble.

Next, you have to factor in other players’ stacks and how much risk appetite you should have at any given time. If you have a lot of chips you can play very aggressive, but I suggest you make sure you navigate smartly,

because one misstep can put you in the middle of the pack. And when that happens, you’ve lost the abil-ity to play a lot of hands effectively. All of these factors make up such an important approach to craft a proper strategy for every unique situation.

Steffen Sontheimer: I prepare for every final table in the same way and try to narrow every potential situation down to something I can actually prepare for. I try to go from position to position and think about all situations that can come up with the lineup I’m facing.

I will go through a few examples. Let’s say we are in the big blind. Who are the potential open raisers? Where are the big stacks I will face most like-ly? Do I need to prepare re-jamming ranges or will we play more post-flop? What happens when it comes down to blind versus blind?

What about when we are in the small blind? What about the open-raising spots? Which positions do I want to raise light? Where do I need to stay on the tighter side given ICM considerations? Who is the ‘victim’ I’m after, and where do I need to be cautious?

Basically, what I try to apply in my thinking is the concept of divide and conquer. I narrow down what might happen and prepare for as many spots as possible. Obviously, this is far more work than to just say, ‘I’m a middle stack. I will stay tight and try to lad-der up.’ But if you take the time to prepare thoroughly, it will definitely pay off in the long run.

Bert Stevens: �e final table is the most important part of any tourna-ment. A lot of my strategy is based on ICM considerations. Stack depth is also one of the most important factors

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THE INSIDE STRAIGHT - Head Games

VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8CARDPLAYER.COM 18

when deciding your strategy. Every final table is going to be different. Look around and see if you are either chipleader, mid-stack, or short stack.

As chipleader you can widen your opening ranges substantially, as much as opening 100% in some spots. You can use your stack to pressure mostly the middle stacks at the table because they have to outlast the short stacks.

When you are the mid-stack you are handcuffed and have to let the bigger stacks push you around. Getting that pay jump and outlasting shorter stacks is the most important thing. You don’t want to fold every hand of course, but your range should mostly be hands you want to get it in with. �ere is very little flatting, and a lot of three-bet jamming or folding.

As a short stack, you can gamble a little bit more, but you still have to fold more in general. �is is because folding is not just neutral EV (expect-ed value) but can make you money in cases where someone else busts.

Final tables are a very complex part of MTTs. Even the best players have different strategies which means there is a lot of value in studying these spots.

Jake Schwartz: First of all, you have to be present in the moment and be grateful for the opportunity to be playing for a lot of money. You have edged out a high percentage of the field and are in a great position to achieve some sort of glory.

If you are a short stack, it’s impor-tant to be fearless and take calculated risks in order to chip up. I like to think of it as a mindset where you have nothing to lose. People will be paying more attention to the mistakes that the big stacks will be making.

If you are a big stack, it’s impor-tant to apply pressure while paying more attention to ICM. ICM is per-sonally one of the stronger parts of my game. It’s very important to be precise in knowing where everyone at the table stands and how they feel about laddering. Again, a lot of this will be read-based and it’s important to trust your gut on the reads you’ve gathered on your opponents up to this point. �

Bryn Kenney was once a top-ranked Magic: The Gathering player, but he made the switch to poker and has never looked back. The New York-native is the all-time poker

tournament earnings leader with more than $58 million in career earnings. Kenney has held the top spot in the Global Poker Index and is considered one of the most feared and accomplished players in the world.

Steffen Sontheimer had a breakout year all players dream of in 2017, making numerous final tables and taking down the inaugural Poker Masters in Las Vegas. A year later, he won the $250,000 buy-in Caribbean Poker Party high roller for a massive score of $3.7 million. The German pro has won nearly $14 million on the live tournament circuit.

Bert Stevens is perhaps best known by his online moniker ‘girafganger7.’ The Belgian pro is considered one of the best online players in the world and is currently ranked no. 1 on the PocketFives.com world leaderboard. The cat lover has more than $15 million in recorded online tournament cashes.

Jake Schwartz hails from New York and attended college at Indiana University. He has over $3.1 million in career tournament cashes, including six World Poker Tour final tables with two runner-up finishes. At present, Jake is just happy that live tournaments are back.

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CARDPLAYER.COM 20 VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

LONGTIME GRINDER RONNIE BARDAH: ‘POKER FOUND ME’

Former Survivor Contestant Kicks Off 2021 With The Largest Score Of His CareerBy Julio Rodriguez

Ronnie Bardah has a way of finding the spotlight. �e Brockton, Massachusetts native has become one of poker’s most recognizable faces thanks to his accomplishments at the World Series of Poker,

as well as a part he played in a viral online video, and even his short-lived time on the 2019 season of Survivor.

Even though he only lasted one episode on the CBS game show, it was viewed by 6.3 million in the US alone before being picked up on streaming platforms. �ose numbers don’t compare to how many have seen his appear-ance on the 2014 poker show Shark Cage, where he was infamously bluffed by model Sara Chafak, who represented Finland in the 2012 Miss Universe pageant.

“Is this real life?” Bardah incredulously asked, in a clip that has more than nine million views on YouTube and counting.

“�at’s just nine million views on that one. �ere’s a lot of different clips around,” Bardah is quick to point out. “I

think collectively it’s been seen close to 40 million [times.]”While it’s undoubtedly awkward to be known for a blun-

der at the table or for being the first person voted out on one of the highest rated reality shows ever, Bardah has made plenty of noise with his accomplishments on the felt as well.

In addition to winning a WSOP bracelet in 2012, Bardah also currently holds the record for the most con-secutive main event cashes in poker history. Most recently, he chopped up the World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open main event to take home $566,135, the largest score of his career.

Bardah recently appeared on Card Player’s Poker Stories podcast to talk about the ups and downs of his career. Highlights of the interview appear below. You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or any podcast app.

Growing Up In A CasinoOnce you find out how Bardah spent a good portion of

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his youth, you can see how he ended up as a professional card shark.

“Not to sound corny, but poker found me,” said Bardah. “I grew up in a casino. Both of my parents were pretty much degenerates, my dad especially. God bless him, but he just loved to gamble. He was always in the casinos playing Caribbean Stud, Roulette, Blackjack, Craps, and he played poker as well. He taught me how to play poker at a young age. We would play a lot of five card draw or stud. I knew what beat what at like eight years old. When I was 13, my parents got divorced, which was really hard on my dad.”

His father’s gambling addiction worsened, and Bardah and his sister found themselves spending many of their days and nights at the dog track, or casinos such as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in nearby Connecticut.

“I was in the arcade with all of the same kids every single weekend. ‘See you next week,’ we would say to each other, because we knew our parents [would be back.] �e arcade would close at like 10 or 11 o’clock, and then we’d have to sit on a bench for a few hours waiting for him. A couple of times he would say that we were going home, but instead he would go gamble a little more. We’d wake up at four in the morning in the car with the windows cracked. It is what it is. I love him to death, and I’m not ashamed of him. �at’s just what life was [for us back then.]”

He started playing as soon as he could, even getting a fake ID when he was in high school so he could gamble at the casino. Although he had an up- close view of what not to do from his father, Bardah had to learn many of the hard lessons for himself. After turning pro, he would run up sev-eral bankrolls, only to blow it with pit games like blackjack.

“Most times I would get my face ripped off, and what-ever I had in my pocket was gone,” admitted Bardah. “Poker was so good, and I was making so much money that it didn’t really matter. But then I got a little older and just cut it off. Now I’m like Knish, you know what I mean? I

don’t do that anymore.”The StreakBardah currently holds the record for the most consecu-

tive WSOP main event cashes, with five. His deepest run

BARDAH�S FIVE-YEAR CASH STREAK IN THE WSOP MAIN EVENTWhether Bardah’s record is in jeopardy is a matter of debate, given that there were three different versions of the

main event in 2020, all of them played at least initially online. Additionally, the WSOP has in recent years paid out 15% of the field, rather than the traditional 10%, making it easier for players to finish in the money.

�ere are just 37 players in poker history who have more main event cashes than Bardah, including notables such as Johnny Moss (6), Dan Harrington (6), Scotty Nguyen (6), Phil Ivey (6), Antonio Esfandiari (6), Mike Sexton (7), Phil Hellmuth (8), Bobby Baldwin (9), Chris Bjorin (9), Humberto Brenes (9), and Doyle Brunson (9). Berry Johnston, Allen Cunningham, and Johnny Chan are currently tied for the most cashes all time with 10.

Year Finish Payout

2010 24th Place $317,161

2011 453rd Place $27,103

2012 540th Place $21,707

2013 124th Place $50,752

2014 475th Place $25,756

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CARDPLAYER.COM 22 VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

was in 2010, when he finished 24th for $317,161. “My first main event was in 2006,” Bardah

recalled. “I won my seat in a single table satellite, and ended up busting at the end of day 1. I shoved 9� 7� for ten big blinds and a guy called me with A-8 off. And I berated the guy. ‘How do you call?’ I was so obnoxious, yelling at this guy for calling me with the best hand.”

�e experience was sour, and Bardah didn’t play the main event again until he won another seat in 2010.

“I won my seat in Israel while I was on the beach, teaching my cousin how to play sit-n-gos.”

Full Tilt was offering their satellite winners the option of playing in the main event seat or pocketing the buy-in, and a bad run in cash games leading up to the series had Bardah wondering if he should take the gamble.

“I went there with my last $8,000 and told myself, ‘If [you] don’t run up this money playing $30-$60 limit hold’em… forget the main event. You got to take care of yourself.’ To make a long story short, I ran up the money to $18,000 in a week. I played in the main, and I took 24th place. �at’s what really changed my life. �at’s what really gave me confidence and set me forward. Now I could play games comfortably, and it was a different ball game.”

Bardah went on to cash in five consecutive main events, which remains the record. “And I had chips in every one of those years, but in 2014, my fifth cash, I was grinding on the bubble and it was so nerve wracking.”

How To Approach The Main EventWhen asked what his approach to the main event was,

Bardah preached the importance of patience.“You just got to realize that you have two-hour levels,”

he said. “I tell myself in my head when I’m playing the main event, that this is a marathon. It’s the biggest and longest marathon in poker. Everybody knows you can’t win a tournament in one day, but you can definitely bust in one hand.”

“I turn down a lot of spots that a lot of other players might take, spots that I would call semi-high variance. I just like playing a lot post-flop in position. If people build these humongous pots preflop, I tend to stay away. I pride myself on avoiding a lot of unavoidable situations. Sometimes you’ll hear someone say, ‘Oh, nothing you can do there. I had this many chips, and this is what it says I have to shove with, and we can’t fold here.’ I just like to fac-tor in risk/reward. ‘Is it worth it for me to take this spot?’ I mean, you’re always so deep in the main.”

Another factor to doing well is taking advantage of the numerous dead money spots at each table.

“Table draw is very important, and I was fortunate to have some amazing table draws through the years. Sometimes you get some rough spots, a few good players, but you just stay away from them unless you got to butt heads. You look around the table and there’s a lot of satel-lite winners, bar tournament winners from Wichita who will openly tell you that it’s their first main event. Oh man, don’t say that! Or they tell you that they know who you are. You got to play out how people perceive you.”

But the biggest advice Bardah has for first timers in the main event is to not be intimidated by the pros.

“A lot of players think I’m a lot better than I actually am. I tell beginners that it’s just poker. Cards speak, use

your gut, good luck. Like, enough. Stop thinking Darren Elias and Fedor Holz [are some gods]. Yes, these guys are really good at poker, but you need to get that out of your head and just play.”

Winning His BraceletOf course, there are plenty of other tournaments to play

the rest of the summer. In 2012, he won his first WSOP bracelet, banking $182,088 in the $2,500 six-handed limit hold’em event.

“Winning a bracelet in my favorite game was… if you watch the interview, I was beside myself. Limit hold’em is one of my passions. I love six-max and short-handed limit hold’em. It’s like war. You’re always in action, turning so many hands into bluffs, value betting with ace high, calling down with king high and queen high in some spots, check-raising turns. Every moment matters, saving a bet matters, your gut matters. It’s just so much fun.”

Bardah is clearly passionate about limit hold’em, and nearly won a second bracelet when he took third in the $5,000 limit hold’em event. But his opinion on the game puts him in the minority among today’s players.

“You’ve got all these players who want to bracelet hunt so they jump in these limit hold’em tournaments and then complain, saying, ‘limit hold’em sucks!’ Shut up. You guys don’t play enough to understand how fun it is. Limit hold’em cash is so much more fun than no-limit cash, and it’s not even close.”

A Huge Score To Kick Off 2021Live poker was on pause for much of 2020 due to the

global pandemic, but after a hiatus of nearly a year, the World Poker Tour returned in late January for the Lucky Hearts Poker Open. New regulations required short-handed tables, plexiglass dividers, and players to wear a mask, how-ever that didn’t stop a huge crowd of people eager to sign up for one of the first major live poker tournaments in months. �e conservative $1 million guarantee was more than quin-tupled with 1,573 entries in the $3,500 buy-in tournament.

After four days of play, Bardah found himself at the final table. During three-handed play he worked out a deal with Robel Andemichael and eventual winner Ilyas Muradi that saw him take home $566,135, the largest score of his career.

“I ended up taking third after the deal, but it was great,” Bardah said. “You know, it was a chop, but it was basically a win, with life-changing money. It just kind of hit me, having this money. [Over the years,] I took care of my fam-ily, my dad, a lot of different things. But now I get to take care of me.”

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WHAT WENT WRONG ON SURVIVOR

In 2019, Bardah competed on the 39th season of the CBS show Survivor: Island of the Idols. He was the third poker player to be cast on the American game show, joining Jean-Robert Bellande and Garrett Adelstein. Additionally, Ilari Sahamies competed on the Finnish version of the show, while Jackie Glazier was on the Australian broadcast.

“I wanted to play. I was made for this game. I put my tape together and I did my networking, and I found a guy who handed my [audition] to [former casting director] Lynn Spillman, and she loved me. I was picked right off.”

Bardah was ecstatic to be chosen for the show, but the timing turned out to be terrible. A couple months prior to filming, he started suffering from some mysterious health problems. With no clear diagnosis and a clean bill of health from doctors, however, he felt optimistic and had high hopes for a deep run. Ultimately, the pain proved to be too much to handle.

“Everyone thought I was the biggest weirdo,” he admitted. “I couldn’t construct sentences, and I was going to the bathroom like 15 times a night or the medical tent. Never in my life had I felt like that. I wasn’t taken in well, and they just couldn’t work with me. I was just in so much pain.”

With a target on his back, Bardah was the first player voted off at Tribal Council, exiting the show with a 7-2 vote on just the third day. He has since gotten a clean bill of health, but remains at least a little irritated by his experience on the show.

“I’m getting frustrated talking about it,” he admitted. “I wanted to do it for myself, but I also wanted to do it for the poker world, and have everyone be proud. I wanted to make a deep run and bring some positive attention to the poker [community]. There’s a ‘First Boot’ season on Survivor, which features all the players who were voted out first. If I had a chance to go back and play that would be a dream come true. But [in my case], it was a dream come true that ended up being a nightmare. But there are silver linings. It made me stronger.”

Player Show Season Finish

Jean-Robert Bellande Survivor 15: China 9 of 16

Garrett Adelstein Survivor 28: Cagayan 17 of 18

Ronnie Bardah Survivor 39: Island of the Idols 20 of 20

Jackie Glazier Australian Survivor 3: Champions vs. Contenders 15 of 24

Ilari Sahamies Survivor Finland 1: Celebrity Season 4 of 16

© C

BS

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CARDPLAYER.COM 24 VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

High Stakes Poker Co-Host AJ Benza Talks About His Favorite

Hands From The ShowNew Episodes Of Popular Poker Program Available On Demand From PokerGO

By Steve Schult

AJ Benza didn’t grow up playing cards, and has never gambled for mas-sive sums of money, but the New York City native has become entrenched in the poker world for his work on one of the most iconic shows the industry has seen.

Benza co-hosted High Stakes Poker with Gabe Kaplan for the first five seasons of the show, which premiered in 2006 and quickly became popular with both professionals and amateurs watching at home.

After the fifth season of the show in 2009, the duo was broken up and eventually replaced altogether with comedian and avid poker enthusiast Norm Macdonald in season seven. But

after more than a decade away from the game, PokerGO brought back both Kaplan and Benza to revive the famous cash game series for an eighth season.

High Stakes Poker featured world class poker pros and wealthy business-men who were willing to put huge piles of chips in the middle, but it was Benza and his Welcome Back, Kotter star partner in the commentary booth that gave the show its initial legs at the height of the poker boom.

“It is so much fun to be back in the booth with Gabe,” said Benza about his return. “I have tremendous respect for his poker knowledge and his come-dic timing.”

With several years working togeth-er, the two have developed quite a rapport. Kaplan, who has experience playing high-stakes cash games and first started attending the WSOP in 1978, serves as the expert. Benza, who has had many notable on screen credits such as Mysteries and Scandals, Rocky Balboa, and Celebrity Fit Club, serves as his straight man.

“�ere are times where I feel like Ginger Rogers to his Fred Astaire, because clearly he leads and I need to follow,” said Benza. “And it’s not always easy since I do not know the intricacies of poker like Gabe does. I am comfortable in my role [speak-ing for] the guy sitting at home who doesn’t quite understand all the ter-minology and odds and outs and per-centages.”

Despite having a front row seat to some of the best poker minds on the planet at work, the 58-year-old doesn’t try to pick up any strategy tips. He just wants to enjoy the drama and be able to crack jokes with Kaplan along the way.

“It used to drive me mad because I wanted to try and catch up, but that’s impossible,” said the actor and former gossip columnist for E! Entertainment Television. “So while I love the action and the drama, I finally accepted the fact that I’ll never be anywhere near Gabe’s level of expertise. But what I have heard from so many people I run into is that they like the fact that I ask ‘dumb’ questions or occasionally get stuff wrong, because it allows many people to learn at home as they go.”

�e C.W. Post College graduate also takes pride in the authenticity of his work and feels fortunate to work alongside someone he respects.

“I love that I’m back in the booth voicing the best poker show there’s ever been, with a guy who’s better than the rest,” said Benza. “And whenever things get a little complicated, I take comfort in the fact that we’re just two guys from Brooklyn. We have a shorthand.”

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As someone who was still green in his poker knowledge when he took the job, the sheer amount of cash on the table took him by surprise. He began asking himself the question every non-poker player watching the show asks themselves.

“Initially, it was the amount of money laid out that caught my atten-tion,” said Benza. “I remember seeing Daniel Negreanu betting a million bucks in season one and it felt fake. I couldn’t believe what was happening. �ose stacks looked fake, but they were real.”

“Obviously, I was a neophyte at poker when I got the job, so I couldn’t believe the amount of money on the table,” said Benza. “But some hands stand out for different reasons.”

Benza recalled a hand from the first season between Daniel Negreanu and Barry Greenstein as one of his favor-ites. Negreanu raised with K� 9� and Greenstein three-bet out of the small blind with A� J�. Negreanu called and the flop came down 7� 3� 2�.

Greenstein bet $10,000 and Negreanu took two $50,000 bricks of cash and put them in the middle. Greenstein called with the nut flush draw and was all in for a pot of just over $200,000. �e three-time brace-let winner drilled a club on the river, taking down one of the first big pots of the season.

“Barry caught the jack of clubs on the river to win and I knew right

then… holy shit, this is real money.” �e hand between the two poker

legends was likely more memorable to Benza than some more casual poker fans because it was the first time he saw money of that size change hands, all while the two combatants involved reacted the same as anyone would at a $5 home game.

“I know there were many bat-tles between two of my favorites, Eli Elezra and Sammy Farha,” said Benza. “I loved seeing the way they battled and stayed friends throughout it all. It didn’t matter if the pot was worth $50,000 or $500,000.”

But even Benza, who has seen thousands of High Stakes Poker hands up close and personal, isn’t immune to the classics.

“I remember the hand when Brad Booth tossed out three bricks with just four-high against Phil Ivey’s pocket kings,” said Benza. “I remember see-

ing that before Ivey laid his hand down.”

With $300-$600 blinds, David Williams raised to $1,800 from the lojack with J� 9� and Booth three-bet to $5,800 from the cutoff with 4� 2�. Phil Ivey was in the big blind with K� K� and cold four-bet to $14,000. Williams folded and Booth called. Booth had bought in for $1 million and Ivey started the hand with about $300,000 in his stack.

�e flop was 7� 6� 3� and Ivey bet $23,000. Booth moved all in, placing $300,000 in cash into the middle. It became an iconic scene in high-stakes poker lore and caused Ivey to utter, “I wish you had put the chips in. �e cash just looks so sweet.”

Benza acknowledged it in real time, saying, “It is a bit intimidating,” as Ivey tanked for what was almost another two minutes before laying his hand down.

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CARDPLAYER.COM 26 VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

And of course, even though it is from one of the most recent episodes, Benza said the laydown made by Doug Polk against Phil Hellmuth was one of his favorite hands to watch. (Read more about this hand below.)

“It is one of the best lay downs in the history of the show,” said Benza. “It was just amazing.”

During its early days, the show captured fans because the program was unlike any other poker show available, pitting the most popular players around against each other. Tournaments with big prize pools made for exciting TV as well, but the lineup of players was unpredictable. High Stakes Poker ensured that the

world got to see the most engaging personalities at the table.

After watching many poker shows come and go over the years, diehards in the poker community would often reminisce about the old episodes of High Stakes Poker with tons of cash being thrown around. And now that the show is back, some of the younger players who came up watching it have now even made it onto the broadcast.

“Many of the guys on season eight continually talk about how they grew up watching it as kids and now they’re playing against sharp pros,” said Benza. “I love to hear guys talk about how High Stakes Poker was the show where they learned how to play. And

here they are many years later and we’re still calling the action. It’s very exciting.”

�e game has clearly changed over the years as strategies and styles evolve. However, what drives the drama hasn’t changed at all. It’s still just a battle of wits for large sums of cash with a fair amount of luck involved.

“What stands out to me is how many times an [amateur] will go up against a pro and win,” said Benza. “I will always admire the balls on these guys, and how their play has improved over the years. I love know-ing that Gabe and I – and the way we called the games – had a hand in that.” �

DOUG POLK MAKES INCREDIBLE FOLD AGAINST PHIL HELLMUTH�e year is far from over, but it’s

going to be tough to find a better televised play in 2021 than what Doug Polk pulled off in a recent episode of High Stakes Poker against 15-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.

�e no-limit hold’em game fea-tured blinds of $200-$400, and a rotating lineup that also consisted of Jake Daniels, Brandon Steven, James Bord, John Andress, Bryn Kenney, Phil Ivey, and Tom Dwan.

Hellmuth opened the action by raising to $1,100 from the hijack with Q� 10�. He was called by Bord on the button with 2� 2� and Polk defended from the big blind with 10� 7�. �e flop came down J� 9� 8�, giving both Hellmuth and Polk a straight. �e action checked to Bord, and he bet $2,000.

Polk check-raised to $7,000, and Hellmuth surprised the table by mov-ing all in for $97,200. Bord quickly put his underpair into the muck, and Polk went into the tank for several minutes, engaging Hellmuth in some table talk before making his decision.

“Since Phil raised before the flop, I would definitely be putting him on a set,” said Kaplan to the home audience. “Doug’s got to call. He can’t possibly be putting Phil on Q-10.”

Despite Kaplan’s assertation, how-ever, Polk was hesitant.

“�is is insane,” said Polk. “It’s just such a monster raise. Phil, what do you got over there? I’m considering making a very big laydown. A very, very big laydown.”

Hellmuth, sensing he could pos-

sibly lose a customer, responded with, “I could easily have…” before Polk interrupted.

“What could you easily have?” asked Polk incredulously. “You just bet a lot into very little.”

Hellmuth continued to talk, telling Polk he could have a set, blockers with a hand like pocket tens, or a big draw-ing hand like A� 10�.

“Oh, now you’re busting out blockers? God, if I fold this and I’m wrong…” said Polk.

It was then that Hellmuth decided to stop talking, even though the far side of the table was busy placing bets on whether or not Polk would call.

“I think I’m dead a lot, given this,” Polk said, referring to Hellmuth’s table talk. He then showed his cards to the rest of the table, which only brought more disbelief from the other players. Despite their surprise, he still decided to muck.

“�at’s not a fold, are you crazy right now?” asked Steven, who had bet

on the outcome. “If he’s got Q-10, then he’s got Q-10. Pay the man and let’s move on to the next hand.”

Hellmuth decided not to show his cards on the night the episode was filmed, and even asked to rabbit hunt the turn and river, implying to Polk that he had a set. However, he couldn’t hide from the reality of the situation once the show aired.

“Imagine making like 15 big blinds here,” Polk jabbed, tweeting along with a screenshot of his laydown.

Hellmuth, to his credit, took the ribbing in stride.

“Sigh. I can see why you say that this was the best fold of your career. Great fold Doug! [You] saved $90,000 that everyone else would have lost. Everyone else! �at’s $90,000 that is not in my bank account.”

Kaplan agreed, closing out the broadcast of the hand by saying, “Doug Polk is one of the few people on the planet that would have folded there.”

024_Feature.indd 26 3/18/21 10:40 AM

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Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

As I was watched the fi nal table of a recent World Series of Poker main event, it became clear to me that a few of the players had a leak in their strategy that will make it diffi cult for them to succeed long term. � e good news is that it’s easily fi xable.

� eir mistake was that they raised with far too many hands from early position.

Within the fi rst few hands at the fi nal table, three diff erent play-ers raised with trashy hands from early position, the worst being K�6�. While it may be fun and make you feel powerful to raise with two somewhat reasonable cards from early position, realize that you are playing your junky hand from out of posi-tion against the best of the remaining hands at the table.

If you think about this from a logi-cal point of view, each player yet to act will have a premium top 10% hand about 10% of the time. � is means that if you are raising into six players, they will each not have a premium hand 90% of the time. You can take 1 – (.9 x .9 x .9 x .9 x .9 x .9) to see how often someone yet to act will have a premium hand.

So, 47% of the time, someone yet to act will have a premium hand, put-ting your junky hand in awful shape. If your junky hand contains a relevant blocker like an ace or king, your oppo-nents will have premium hands a little less often, but your blocker’s value is not too relevant due to raising into so many opponents.

While it may not seem too bad to run into a premium hand 47% of the time, realize that the cutoff and button can play far more than only the best premium hands due to their positional advantage. � e big blind can also profi tably play a wider range due to getting decent pot odds and closing the action. When you account for this, your prefl op raise from early position may only steal the blinds 20% of the time, which is not often at all. From the early positions, you simply cannot get too far out of line.

To make matters even worse, there were a few shallow stacks at the WSOP

fi nal table. When the K� 6� raised, one of the short stacks yet to act pushed all-in with pocket eights from the small blind. � e K-6 folded, which may not seem too costly, but if you consistently bleed off two big blind prefl op raises, you will have a diffi cult time accumulating a large chip stack unless your opponents are especially tight and passive, which is rarely the case in today’s games.

� e only time you can get out of line from early position is when you are the big stack and you are raising into a bunch of middle stacks who must be tight due to the presence of one somewhat short stack. If the short stack is weak and tight, this is an espe-cially great spot to raise.

For example, if a short stack with fi ve big blinds folds from under the gun, you have 50 big blinds next to act UTG+1, and six players next to act all have 25 big blinds, you should raise far wider than you would in a normal situation. � e players who

will act behind you will not risk their tournament life without a premium holding when another player is so short stacked.

While it is wise to have rules you follow to help ensure you do not make an egregious blunder, always consider the corner cases where you can get out of line to further increase your profi ts from poker. � at said, the rules exist for a reason. If you consistently break them, you will fi nd that the money routinely fl ows toward your opponents.

Jonathan Little is a two-time WPT champion with more than $7 million in live tournament earnings, best-selling author of

15 educational poker books, and 2019 GPI Poker Personality of the Year. If you want to increase your poker skills and learn to crush the games, check out his training site at PokerCoaching.com/cardplayer.

A COSTLY MISTAKE IN THE WSOP MAIN EVENTBy Jonathan Little

“While it may not seem too bad to run into a premium hand 47% of the time, realize that the cutoff and button can play far more than only the best premium hands due to their positional advantage. The big blind can also profitably play a wider range due to getting decent pot odds and closing the action. When you account for this, your preflop raise from early position may only steal the blinds 20% of the time, which is not often at all. From the early positions, you simply cannot get too far out of line.”

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Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

CARDPLAYER.COM 2929

Since there is a qualifier to win the low half of the pot, high hands can be quite profitable in Seven Card Stud Eight-or-Better (Stud 8), provided we play the correct hands in the right situations. We should not, however, come close to playing the same amount of high oriented holdings that we would pursue in Stud High, as that would be a recipe for disaster. �e following principles below will help guide our play with regards to high holdings.

Start With The Best Hand More Often Than NotIn Stud High, we can enter the pot much more liberally

with a possible second-best hand for a couple of reasons. �e first is that in Stud High, an open complete with a hand like a king or a queen up is less likely to be a high pair and more likely to be a total steal than in Stud 8. �e second reason is that in Stud High, when we go uphill and end up with the best hand we are rewarded with the entire pot. �at will obviously not always be the case in split pot.

For example, when playing Stud High someone who opens from early position with a king up may have as little as a jack and a nine in the hole. Whereas in Stud 8, we will almost never see a villain open that light. In Stud 8, any of the low cards are a much greater threat to contest the pot and the bring-in has one-third of a playable hand showing, so steals get through much less often. In High-Low, while

they may not always have a pair of kings, chances are they have at least a pair in the hole or a three-flush, which makes their overall range much stronger.

If the K� completes from early position and a player showing the 6� calls, we should fold a pair of queens or else we will constantly end up in situations such as the fol-lowing.

(3� 4�) 6� – 41% equity(K� 9�) K� – 36% equity(Q� 2�) Q� – 23% equityAs you can see by these hands, we are taking the worst

of it from an equity perspective and may also have some dif-ficulty in realizing the somewhat low equity we do have. On fourth street, if the 6� picks up a low card our situation is quite bad because we will often face a bet and a raise or end up in a jammed pot. In addition, we have reverse implied odds against a probable pair of kings since we will never know if/when he pairs his kicker.

High Draws Must Be Very Live And StrongSince we will often just win half of the pot, and end

up with little showdown value if we miss our draws, it is imperative that any draws we do pursue have strong poten-tial and are also live. Open completing a very strong hand such as (10� Q�) K� from early position or even re-raising

SEVEN CARD STUD EIGHT-OR-BETTER: GOING HIGH By Kevin Haney

NOTE: WINNING PERCENTAGES DO NOT INCLUDE TIES. ODDS PROVIDED BY CARDPLAYER.COM/POKER-TOOLS/ODDS-CALCULATOR/TEXAS-HOLDEM

AnalysisTOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP � e 2021 partypoker MILLIONS Online $5,300 buy-in main event attracted a huge turnout of 1,084 entries to build a prize pool worth more than $5.4 million, resulting in six-fi gure paydays for the top seven fi nish-ers. By the time the fi eld was narrowed to just eight players, there were a number of highly-accomplished players still in contention, including WSOP bracelet winner and Super High Roller Bowl Bahamas champion Daniel Dvoress. In this hand Dvoress opened for 2.2 times the big blind with A-7 suited from the lojack with a 36-big blind stack. Chip leader Hermogenes Gelonezi defended his big blind with Q-7 suited and the two collectively fl opped a whole lot of nothing. Gelonezi checked and Dvoress opted to check behind, likely fi guring that the fl op would be perceived as better for Gelonezi’s range as the big blind. � e turn brought the 8�, completing possible fl ush draws and the inside straight draw for 9-7. Both players checked again and the 4� hit the virtual felt on the river. Gelonezi, hav-ing arrived with the river with just queen high, decided to make an overbet bluff of 27,600,000 into the pot of 23,600,000. Gelonezi was likely trying to leverage his perceived range advantage to maximize pressure on his opponent. Bracelet winner Ryan Laplante once told Card Player that when it comes to fi nding spots to overbet on the river, you should “look for [an opponent that] has a fairly weak and capped range.” Dvoress had just ace high for showdown value, but he correctly iden-tifi ed that the perceived range advantage for Gelonezi in this spot made for a good opportunity for him to try to buy the pot. Dvoress called off roughly 20 percent of his remaining stack and was right. As a result, he moved considerably closer to the top of the leaderboard, while Gelonezi fell to second place.

A

A

7

7

Q

Q

7

7

10

10

6

6

3

3

4

4

8

8

Gelonezi checked, and Dvoress checked.

Gelonezi checked, and Dvoress checked.

Gelonezi bet 27,600,000, and Dvoress called.

With eight players remaining and blinds of 2,000,000-4,000,000 with an ante of 500,000, Daniel Dvoress raised to 8,800,000 from the lojack.

Hermogenes Gelonezi called from the big blind.

ANALYSIS

Daniel Dvoress144,129,788

Hermogenes Gelonezi

237,379,716

Winning PercentageBefore Flop: 71.0%After Flop: 86.0%After Turn: 84.0%

Winning PercentageBefore Flop: 27.0%After Flop: 11.0%After Turn: 7.0%

FLOP

PREFLOP

TURN

RIVE

R

2021 MILLIONS Online$5,300 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event

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Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8CARDPLAYER.COM 30

this holding against a low card (that is not an ace) is a good play provided that there is only one or no spades on board.

In fact, if we do choose to play this holding against a low complete, we should always re-raise the action. Simply calling will tend to flip our holding face up as a flush draw since most players will re-raise when they have a pair of kings. In addition, calling the complete will allow marginal low holdings that may have folded to the re-raise to come in which could either end up stealing half of the pot or pos-sibly creating a situation on the later streets where you need to fold out your equity.

With the (10� Q�) K�, even if we miss a spade on fourth we still have potential to hit a high pair or an ace, jack, or nine to pick up a straight draw. Any card higher than a nine or any spade improves our holding.

We are not often dealt draws as strong as this and medio-cre flush draws such as (3� J�) 9� are more commonplace. �is holding has a lot less value, and facing a complete from a low card we should be folding most of the time, only play-ing in situations where every factor is favorable. However, a holding such as (9� A�) 5� is much more playable because we have an ace, two low cards, and the ability to represent a different holding than what we actually have.

A Pair Of Kings Or Queens Is Much Better Than Tens Or Nines

From early position, a pair of nines or tens are mostly unplayable because every card left to act behind you is a threat. Any of the low cards pose a danger to your hand and the higher up cards can have bigger pairs. Also, we should not forget the risk of running into a higher pair in the hole. Running into a higher wired pair is particularly

troublesome in Stud 8 because it can look like a busted low and cause us to get stuck in the middle later on with way the worst of it.

Even when we are heads-up against a single low hand it is much better to have a pair of kings than a medium pair. Many players don’t consider this aspect, but even if the low hand “bricks,” they are usually picking up an over card to your pair. �e low hand may even brick off twice and have enough combination of outs to continue on profitably.

For example, if our opponent has (3� 4�) 5� Q� J� and our board is (X-X) 9� 10� 4�, he would usually be correct to continue on fifth street, especially if the pot was re-raised on third street. With his combination of three to a low, three to a straight, three to a flush, and over cards, he has around 27% equity and is getting around 5:1 odds to see sixth street.

While he must fold on sixth street if he hits a non-helping card and thus relinquish his equity, a low diamond will give him around 47% equity and with three diamonds on board he can semi-bluff without a great fear of getting raised. In particular, the A� is such a nasty card that hero may be forced to fold with unimproved nines as villain is going to have too many combinations of flushes and aces up in his range.

Weaker High Hands With Disguise/Surprise Possibilities Are More Playable

We can take more risks with hands that are disguised and thus may cause our opponents to misread our hand and make mistakes. For example, depending on the cards that are out, (J� 2�) J� is a holding that we may consider folding from early position, however (J� J�) 2� is a much

NOTE: WINNING PERCENTAGES DO NOT INCLUDE TIES. ODDS PROVIDED BY CARDPLAYER.COM/POKER-TOOLS/ODDS-CALCULATOR/TEXAS-HOLDEM

AnalysisTOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP After having picked off an overbet bluff to secure his place inside the top three stacks at this fi nal table, high-stakes tournament regular Daniel Dvoress unleashed his own huge river bet in this hand. Action began with chip leader Endrit Geci min-raising as the fi rst to act with fi ve players at the table with A-J off suit. Dvoress called from the big blind with K-9 off suit as the second largest stack at the table and fl opped a gutshot straight draw. He checked, and Geci, who had fl opped middle pair with an ace kicker, made a small bet of 6 million into the pot of 25,625,000. Dvoress made the call with his gutshot. � e turn completed a possible straight draw for 10-9 and made a fl ush impossible, given that there were now four diff erent suits on the board and just one card to come. Dvoress checked and Geci checked back. � e river brought the A� to make a second straight possible. Dvoress’ hand included relevant blockers to both possible straights, with his K� making K-10 less likely for his opponent, while his 9� decreased the chances of Geci holding 10-9. With these blockers in his hand, Dvoress opted to go for a massive bluff of 64 million into the pot of 37,625,000. Dvoress probably suspects that he, as the big blind defender, has a far more credible claim to having either K-10 or 10-9 than Geci would as the under-the-gun raiser. Unfortunately for Dvoress, Geci improved to aces and jacks on the river. Dvoress likely overbets with very strong holdings like straights and sets, as well as some bluff s, which still leaves Geci’s two pair in bluff catcher territory. Geci could also have thought that Dvoress might make the bet with a lower two pair. Either way, Geci made the call and took down the massive pot to further extend his lead. He had over 116 big blinds while the next largest stack was Hermogenes Gelonezi, who had just shy of 33 big blinds. Dvoress slipped to third in chips after the hand.

A

A

J

J

K

K

9

9

Q

Q

J

J

7

7

A

A

8

8

Dvoress checked, and Geci bet 6,000,000. Dvoress called.

Dvoress checked, and Geci checked behind.

Dvoress bet 64,000,000, and Geci called.

With fi ve players remaining and blinds of 2,500,000-5,000,000 with an ante of 625,000, Endrit Geci raised to 10,000,000 from under the gun.

Daniel Dvoress called from the big blind.

ANALYSIS

Endrit Geci502,291,500

Daniel Dvoress230,629,788

Winning PercentageBefore Flop: 63.0%

After Flop: 73.0%After Turn: 84.0%

Winning PercentageBefore Flop: 36.0%After Flop: 27.0%After Turn: 16.0%

FLOP

PREFLOP

TURN

RIVE

R

2021 MILLIONS Online$5,300 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event

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diff erent proposition. � e latter hand appears to be going low, so even if you

happen to bump into a pair of kings or queens you have some amount of fold equity if you pick up a scary low board. Also, if you get lucky enough to hit trips you can get in a raise instead of your opponent just simply folding which he would often do if one of the jacks was the up card instead of the deuce.

In addition, when we have a hidden pair against a low draw, we can more eff ectively bet on the end for value. With jacks-up and maybe even just jacks, we can bet seventh and collect from a low draw that missed but is hoping for a split with a small pair or maybe even just ace high.

In summary, avoiding the frequency with which you get trapped in the middle with second-best high hands is very important. We can assume more risk when we have an ace kicker (e.g. (J� A�) J�) or with holding such as (10� 10�)

3� where deception is on our side. Any draw that we decide to pursue should be very strong and live to compensate for the fact that we will often chop the pot if we hit.

Going high in Stud 8 is an art, however, if we tend to play too many hands and get jammed too often with the worst of it our bankroll will be going low! �

Kevin Haney is a former actuary of MetLife but left the corporate job to focus on his passions for poker and fitness. He is co-owner of Elite Fitness Club in Oceanport, NJ and is a certified personal trainer. With regards to poker he got his start way back in 2003 and particularly

enjoys taking new players interested in mixed games under his wing and quickly making them proficient in all variants. If interested in learning more, playing mixed games online, or just saying hello he can be reached at haneyk612@gmail.com.

THE SCORE THAT KEPT ME IN ACTIONBy Nathan Gamble

� roughout my teen years as I made my way across the underground poker scene of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro-plex, online poker was keeping a diff erent dream alive. Live play was experiential, full of characters, and exploding with colorful stories from seemingly every player I met at the table. But online poker was full of potential, opportunity, and the ability to turn peanuts into millions.

� is fast-paced world quickly drew me in and held my attention at an early age. At one point, while my classmates were studying lines for the upcoming high school play, I was in the back room playing on Full Tilt Poker. Every day of school, I would bring in a fl ash drive, install the FTP software, play for a few hours, and then delete the program. Rinse and repeat day after day. It didn’t help my education too much, but it certainly helped to pass the time while keeping me in action.

As more time passed, I started making trips up to Winstar World Casino in � ackerville, Oklahoma, to what is now the largest casino in the world. Let me repeat that. It’s the largest casino in the entire world! I had to double check that fact as it was previously only the largest in North America, but they continue to add on more fl oor space and have since taken over the top spot.

When I fi rst started going, Winstar was just made up of large tents which had been erected in order for people to gamble in. Over time, they have built a massive façade around the outside to represent diff erent areas of the world, hence the World Casino moniker. All this being said, the most important part to me as a young man in search of poker was that it was located on an Indian reservation and had slot machines, blackjack, and poker. And, most importantly, you only had to be 18 to play. For the fi rst time ever, I was legally able to play the game I had loved since I was 12. I no longer had to traverse across the backroads of Texas in search of a reputable table that would let a sketchy kid join in.

I remember my fi rst trip well. It was two days after my 18th birthday, and I won over $700 playing $1-$2 hold’em. I thought it was heaven.

In fact, most of my early days at Winstar were spent at the $1-$2 tables. Although I did sprinkle in a little time at the Omaha eight-or-better games, and a lot of time lust-fully watching the players in the high-stakes area scooping massive pots.

Back then, and for many years to come, the highest game in the room was $5-$10, and it seemed like all the money in the world at the time to come up with a buy-in. While I had been playing for many years by 18, most of my bankroll was fl eeting and ill-maintained as I used it to buy clothing, food, and entertainment. Poker seemed like an easy way to make money that would always be around, so proper money management just wasn’t important.

As an aside, I once was playing poker until the wee hours of the morning in high school and decided I wanted a ‘new’ car. So, doing what any responsible teenager would do at 3 a.m., I went on to Ebay and bought a Jeep Wrangler from New York for $3,500. It was sight unseen, driver unveri-fi ed, with no known history on the car. I just pressed the buy button, lit 70% of my bankroll on fi re, and hoped for the best.

When it showed up a few weeks later, it had no title, the bottom was completely rusted out, and the shop told me that it was the most unsafe car they had seen, and it would never pass inspection. A few months after mourning my stupidity, I sold it for scrap metal. � e drive to the yard was one of the scariest of my life as I had to worry about the bottom falling out on every bump I hit.

I had the skills to pay the bills, but not the responsibil-ity to maintain enough money to consistently play. � at all changed one fateful day as I registered for a $300 bounty tournament at Winstar, with $250 to the prize pool and $50 for every player you knocked out.

I started off the event as a tentative $1-$2 regular with minimal tournament experience, but it wasn’t long before I turned things around. I was on a heater and it lasted all the way to the fi nal table. � ere were piles of tournament chips in front of me on my right and stacks of green $25 bounty chips on my left. As the fi nal table played on, I knocked out

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Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8CARDPLAYER.COM 32

CONTRACTS AND POKER: AMBIGUOUS BETSBy Scott J. Burnham

every single player until we got down to three-handed play, telling them ‘good game’ while pulling in their chips and adding to my bounties.

� e other two players wanted to stop the tournament and talk numbers. I didn’t know what ICM deals were at the time, but I knew that with over 80% of the chips in play that they had better make a compelling off er. � ey came at me hard and fast right out the gate. “We’ll give you fi rst place, just let us chop the rest.”

� ey had done the math and realized that if they chopped second- and third-place money, they would fall under the threshold for casino reported winnings. I wasn’t going to stop them from off ering me such a good deal, but I made sure to get one last thing from them. I told them they could give me fi rst-place, but they also had to forfeit their bounties. � ey readily agreed, and I claimed my bankroll-building score of roughly $14,000.

Even today, that’s a nice payday for a single day tourna-ment. Back then, it was life-changing amounts of money. It allowed me to start playing higher and I no longer had to worry about busting every time I was in play. It also gave me an opportunity to be professional with regards to money management. Obviously, the money came and went over time, but that win started off a trajectory in my poker career which allowed me to view the world diff erently. It also paid for a trip to Hawaii during my fi rst spring break in college, but that’s a story for another day.

In my early days, and for years to come, I was in and out of action based on how much money I had to my name because of how much I spent on useless materialistic items. Hopefully, to some small magnitude, I’ve emphasized through my personal struggles with bankroll management how important money management is in order to play poker for a living.

While you can always reload your bankroll from an outside job if you play recreationally, it is critical that you grow your bankroll and treat your time at the table like a business when you play for a living. If you fail to do so, then you won’t have the opportunity to take advantage of good games, to play in quality tournaments, or simply to stay in action. If your business can’t function, you can’t make money. �

Nathan Gamble is a native of Texas where he learned to play Texas hold’em from his father. He is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, the first coming in the 2017 WSOP $1,500 pot limit Omaha Eight-Or-Better Event, the second in the 2020 Online WSOP $600 PLO8/b event. A fixture

of the mid-stakes, mix game community, he can often be found play-ing $80-$160 mix games at the Wynn since moving to Las Vegas in 2019. He is active on Twitter under the username Surfbum4life and streams mixed game content regularly on Twitch under his user-name Surfbum4lyfe.

THE OTHER TWO PLAYERS WANTED TO STOP THE TOURNAMENT AND TALK NUMBERS. I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT ICM DEALS WERE AT THE TIME, BUT I KNEW THAT WITH OVER 80% OF THE CHIPS IN PLAY THAT THEY HAD BETTER MAKE A COMPELLING OFFER. THEY CAME AT ME HARD AND FAST RIGHT OUT THE GATE. “WE’LL GIVE YOU FIRST PLACE, JUST LET US CHOP THE REST.”

In a no-limit hold’em tourna-ment, the blinds are 200-400. With 5,000 in the pot on the river, a player says “fi ve” and pushes forward a 5,000 chip.

How much has the player bet – 500 or 5,000?

When this situation came up in a WSOP event a few years ago, the players at the table had no idea what the rule was. Interestingly, both the WSOP and the Tournament

Directors Association (TDA) rules on this point have evolved over time, so what may have been the answer a few years ago may not be the answer today.

When an action can be interpret-ed in more than one way, the worst thing a fl oorperson can do is turn to the bettor and ask, “What did you intend?” In poker as in contracts, the subjective intent of the party – what he meant inside his head – does not

govern. What matters is an objective intent – the intent we impute to him based on what is reasonable under the facts and circumstances. Both the WSOP and the TDA make this clear when the applicable rule states “[terms and gestures] may be inter-preted to mean other than what the participant intended.”

� e WSOP rule governing this situation states that a resolution kicks in only “whenever the size of

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a declared bet can reasonably have multiple meanings.” We can assume 5,000 is a reasonable bet, so the first question to ask is, “Could the bet-tor in this situation have reasonably meant 500?”

Note that it does not matter that the bettor also pushed out a 5,000 chip, because a player betting 500 could also push out a 5,000 chip. If the player had pushed out five 1,000 chips while saying “five,” there would be no doubt that 5,000 was the reasonable interpretation.

Would a reasonable bettor bet 500 into a pot that has 5,000 in it? I think the answer is yes. Sometimes

when a player has a lock on the hand, he or she will make a minimal bet to goad other players into making a call or raise. On the other hand, the player might be executing what Mike Sexton used to call a “Post Oak Bluff” – making a small bet to make the other players believe he has a monster. Either way, once we conclude that a player might reason-ably bet either 500 or 5,000 in the situation, we then move on to resolve the matter under the next part of the rule.

Curiously, the TDA changed the word “reasonably” to “legally” in 2017, so this part of the rule now

reads “if a declared bet can legally have multiple meanings.” By legally, I assume the rule means permissibly.

For example, it would not be legal to bet more than the pot in a pot-limit game. Since both a bet of 500 and a bet of 5,000 would be legal, under the TDA rules we would then move on to the next part of the rule. Unlike the WSOP rule, under the TDA rule the TD would not have the discretion to declare that one of the bets is more reasonable and resolve the dispute without moving on to the next part of the rule.

�e next part of the rule used to state “it will be ruled as the

In poker as in contracts, the subjective intent of the party – what he meant inside his head – does not govern. What matters is an objective intent – the intent we impute to him based on what is reasonable under the facts and circumstances. Both the WSOP and the TDA make this clear when the applicable rule states “[terms and gestures] may be interpreted to mean other than what the participant intended.”

NOTE: WINNING PERCENTAGES DO NOT INCLUDE TIES. ODDS PROVIDED BY CARDPLAYER.COM/POKER-TOOLS/ODDS-CALCULATOR/TEXAS-HOLDEM

AnalysisTOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP In this hand, Francisco Correia made a sneaky move on the fl op that likely helped him get maximum value with his pocket aces. � e hand began with Correia, who was essentially tied with Dzmitry Urbanovich as the shortest stack, raising from under the gun with the best possible starting hand. Hermogenes Gelonezi was more or less tied for second place with Daniel Dvoress, while Endrit Geci was far out ahead of the pack with fi ve remaining. Gelonezi called from the big blind with A-9 off suit and didn’t fl op much of anything. He checked and Correia, who only had about 2.5 times the size of the pot remain- ing in his stack, elected to check behind. Correia’s sneaky check may have given his opponent a free look at a chance to improve, but with the largest pair possible and not many chips behind, Correia seemed willing to take on some risk. By checking he disguised the strength of his hand and presented his opponent with an opportunity to bluff . Gelonezi decided to take a stab on the turn, betting 16,500,000 into the pot of 26,524,998. Correia made the call with his overpair and the 6� completed the board, making a straight for any player with a seven in their hand. Gelonezi saw an opportunity to put Correia to a tough decision. He moved all-in, which left Correia debating a call for his last 50,716,108 with more than 110 million currently in the middle. Correia could likely only beat bluff s, as hands like J-X for top pair would probably not go for a shove on this river. He did end up making the call, likely factoring in that his hand was under-represented as a result of his fl op check. With that pot, he swapped places with Gelonezi on the leaderboard. Gelonezi was left in a virtual tie for the shortest stack, and went on to fi nish in fi fth place for $189,320.

A

A

A

A

A

A

9

9

J

J

5

5

4

4

6

6

8

8

Gelonezi checked, and Correia checked.

Gelonezi bet 16,500,000, and Correia called.

Gelonezi moved all-in for 135,787,217. Correia called all-in for 50,716,108.

With fi ve players remaining and blinds of 2,500,000-5,000,000 with an ante of 625,000, Francisco Correia raised to 10,449,999 from under the

gun. Hermogenes Gelonezi called from the big blind.

ANALYSIS

Francisco Correia78,291,107

Hermogenes Gelonezi

163,362,216

Winning PercentageBefore Flop: 93.0%

After Flop: 98.0%After Turn: 100.0%

Winning PercentageBefore Flop: 5.0%After Flop: 0.3%After Turn: 0%

FLOP

PREFLOP

TURN

RIVE

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2021 MILLIONS Online$5,300 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event

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CARDPLAYER.COM 34

Strategies, ANALYSIS & Commentary

VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8CARDPLAYER.COM 34

� e poker world recently lost one of its fi nest gentlemen in Robert (Lee) Mougous. Two of Lee’s long-time friends, Lee Markholt and Mark Gregorich, refl ect on their poker mentor.

I am proud to say that Lee was my dearest friend in the poker com-munity. Although we both resided in the state of Washington, I fi rst met Lee in the early ‘90s in Lake Tahoe at the Superstars of Pokerevent. Our fi rst encounter wasn’t exactly friendly, however. On the cash game list, we both went by

‘Lee M.’ Naturally, we got into an argument about which of us was higher on the board. Following this disagreement, we quickly developed a friendship, but from that point on he insisted I go by ‘Lee MM’ on the board.

If you were fortunate enough to be Lee’s friend, you also know that he was generous to a fault. He was always there to help with words of encouragement, or a loan if you were in a slump. Lee was also known for his memorable catchphrases at the tables. “UNBELIEVEABLE,” he would happily exclaim, whenever

something even slightly out of the ordinary happened. And he loved playfully referring to myself and oth-ers as “dummy,” while making sure to call himself “big dummy.”

Lee was not a full-time profes-sional poker player, but I can’t think of anyone with greater passion for the game. He had a good day job, but likely earned nearly as much from his serious part-time poker playing. Although he preferred the

lesser value. Example: ‘I bet fi ve’. If it is unclear whether ‘fi ve’ means 500 or 5,000, the bet stands as 500.” � is rule seems to punish the bettor for causing the ambiguity, for even though it might be reasonable to bet 500, it is probably more likely that the intended bet was 5,000. So it seemed sensible to adjust the rule to provide for more fl exibility.

� e updated WSOP Rule 60 now states that “the bet will be valued at the largest amount possible that does not exceed the value of the pot. Example: Blinds are 200-400 and the fi rst player to act on the fl op throws out a 5K chip and announces ‘fi ve.’ If the amount of the pot at this time is less than 5,000, the bet will be 500. If the amount of the pot is

5K or more, the bet will be 5,000.” � e updated TDA Rule 57 states essentially the same thing.

So now we have more certainty. Under the WSOP rules there is a two-part test. � e fi rst gives the TD some discretion, for he must fi rst decide whether both of the alterna-tive meanings are reasonable. Under the TDA rule, the TD only has to decide whether the alternative mean-ings are legal, which provides for no discretion. However, in most cases the outcome is likely to be the same – it could mean either one.

Once we have reached that point, the resolution is mechanical. Let’s go back to the hypothetical at the begin-ning of the column to apply the rule. First, set out the two reasonable (in

the case of the WSOP) or legal (in the case of the TDA) meanings. Here, they are 500 and 5,000. Compare them to the amount of the pot. � e bet will be the larger amount, as long as that amount does not exceed the value of the pot. When the pot is 5,000, the larger amount does not exceed it, so that will be the amount of the bet. If the pot was 4,900, the larger amount would exceed that number, so the bet would be 500. �

Scott J. Burnham is Professor Emeritus at Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington. He can be reached at

profburnham@yahoo.com.

IN MEMORY OF ROBERT ‘LEE’ MOUGOUSBy Lee Markholt and Mark Gregorich

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cash games and seldom entered tour-naments, he did have a good record at the World Series of Poker, mainly in Omaha, his game of choice. He had several cashes, most notably a third-place fi nish in a $1,500 limit Omaha event.

Over the years, Lee made regu-lar trips to Las Vegas during his time off . He typically did well, but when things went poorly, he often wouldn’t sleep for the entire three- or four-day trip. He wouldn’t even take breaks to eat, for that matter. Lee HATED to quit stuck, and some-how, he usually found a way to turn it around.

But ultimately, Lee was a family man, and his face would light up when he spoke so endearingly and often of them. Lee is survived by his loving wife Carol, his daughter Linda, and sons Robert Lee Jr. and Joseph, as well as his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and countless friends. As for me, and I’m sure many others, the poker community will not be the same without Lee. Rest in peace my dearest friend.

- Lee Markholt

Lee was my fi rst mentor in poker. I met him when I was 18 years old and just getting started in the public cardrooms in Olympia, Washington. He took a liking to me right away, and despite my inexperience I quick-ly realized that he was the cream of the crop in the games.

He was always generous to a fault, which meant he allowed me to pick his brain on all things poker or life. He eff ectively taught me how to play Omaha eight-or-better. When we played together, anytime I made a poor play he would give me the “Big Dummy” expression and then later explain what I had done wrong.

Over the years, we played a million hands together, fi rst in Washington, and then in Las Vegas. In the ‘90s in Vegas, we played $20-40 limit hold’em at the Mirage. I still remember him chastising me for an overly sloppy misplayed hand like it was yesterday.

Lee always went out of his way to look out for me and help me suc-ceed. We played poker together for four decades, and it likely would’ve been fi ve had there been a WSOP in 2020, as we were both fans of the

$75-$150 Omaha/8 game at the Rio every summer.

Lee was a big-hearted individual who was truly one of a kind. I can’t think of anyone who infl uenced my success and career in poker more than him. Rest in peace.

- Mark Gregorich

Lee Markholt is a former professional bull rider who has been playing poker for nearly three decades. He won the PPT Five

Star World Poker Classic in 2005 and the WPT World Poker Challenge in 2008, and has nearly $4.5 million in career live tournament earnings.

Mark Gregorich started his career as a high school teacher before making the move to Las Vegas to play high-limit cash

games. He has been consistently regarded among his peers as one of the best Omaha eight-or-better players, and was asked by Doyle Brunson to contribute to his book Super System II.

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NOTE: WINNING PERCENTAGES DO NOT INCLUDE TIES. ODDS PROVIDED BY CARDPLAYER.COM/POKER-TOOLS/ODDS-CALCULATOR/TEXAS-HOLDEM

AnalysisTOURNAMENT HAND MATCHUP Endrit Geci was in fantastic position with four players remaining in this event. Not only was he sitting with more than 88 big blinds, but the chip dynamic among the fi nal four set up quite well for him to apply pressure to his most accomplished opponent Daniel Dvoress, who had more than $17.6 million in tournament earnings prior to this event. Dvoress had just knocked out Hermogenes Gelonezi in fourth place to climb to just over 50 big blinds, while Dzmitry Urbanovich and Francisco Correia were both sitting with less than 25 big blinds. � is dis-tribution of chips incentivized a more cautious approach from Dvoress, with two short stacks below him on the leaderboard and a $146,294 diff erence between fi nishing fourth and making the top three. In this hand, Dvoress picked up K-Q and limped in from the small blind for 6,000,000. Geci decided to make a large raise with 8-3 suited from the big blind, making it 21,000,000 to play. Dvoress made the call and the fl op gave both players a pair. Dvoress check-called his top pair and then checked on the turn. Geci checked behind this time with his bottom pair and improved to trips on the river. Dvoress now opted to lead out for value, betting 24,600,000 into a pot of 74,7000,000. His sizing could be interpreted as a blocker bet by Greci, who might then decide to raise as a bluff given the stack dynamics in play. In this particular instance, though, Greci had actually just improved to a strong hand. He raised to roughly 3.75 times Dvoress’ bet and received a call to earn the pot of 259,500,000 (43 big blinds). Dvoress remained in second place but was now much closer to the bottom two stacks and had to adjust his play accordingly. He went on to fi nish third for $422,422, while Geci converted his sizable stack into the title and a top payout of $774,838 after striking a deal heads-up.

K

K

Q

Q

8

8

3

3

Q

Q

5

5

3

3

3

3

6

6

Dvoress checked, and Geci bet 14,850,000. Dvoress called.

Dvoress checked, and Geci checked.

Dvoress bet 24,600,000, and Geci raised to 92,400,000. Dvoress called.

With four players remaining and blinds of 3,000,000-6,000,000 with an ante of 750,000, Daniel Dvoress limped in from the small blind. Endrit

Geci raised to 21,000,000 from the big blind, and Dvoress called.

2021 MILLIONS Online$5,300 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event

ANALYSIS

Daniel Dvoress294,400,896

Endrit Geci544,666,500

Winning PercentageBefore Flop: 63.0%

After Flop: 77.0%After Turn: 89.0%

Winning PercentageBefore Flop: 36.0%After Flop: 23.0%After Turn: 11.0%

FLOP

PREFLOP

TURN

RIVE

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028_S&A.indd 35 3/18/21 10:43 AM

Schedules

VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

MARCH Mar. 29-Apr. 25 DeepStack Extravaganza II Venetian Hotel & Casino • Las Vegas, NV

APRIL Apr. 15-28 WPT Poker Showdown Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino • Hollywood, FL

Apr. 30-May 2 Trifecta Poker Series bestbet Jacksonville • Jacksonville, FL

MAY May 14-16 South Dakota State Poker Championship Silverado Franklin • Deadwood, SD

FOR COMPLETE TOURNAMENT RESULTS AND LISTINGS, VISIT CARDPLAYER.COM

AO-Add On B-Bonus CP-Crazy Pineapple H.O.R.S.E.-Hold’em, Omaha Eight-or-Better, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better R.O.S.E.-Razz, Omaha Eight-or-Better, Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better KO- Knock Out or Bounty LH-Limit

Hold’em MP-Mexican Poker NLH-No-Limit Hold’em O H/L-Omaha Eight-or-Better PLO-Pot-Limit Omaha RB-Rebuy SH/L-Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better SLH-Spread-Limit Hold’em

ARIZONA

TALKING STICK RESORT - SCOTTSDALEMONDAY-THURSDAY 10:15 a.m. NLH, $125FRIDAY-SUNDAY10:15 a.m. NLH, $200

CALIFORNIA

COMMERCE CASINO - COMMERCEMONDAY-THURSDAY 4:00 p.m. NLH, $125 AO $100

OCEAN’S ELEVEN - OCEANSIDEDAILY 10:00 a.m. NLH, $75 AO $5

FLORIDA

BESTBET - JACKSONVILLEMONDAY 7:00 p.m. PLO H/L, $140WEDNESDAY 12:00 p.m. NLH, $60FRIDAY 12:00 p.m. NLH, $160SUNDAY 12:00 p.m. NLH, $160

PALM BEACH KENNEL CLUB - W. PALM BEACHMONDAY 12:15 p.m. NLH, $125 KO $25TUESDAY 12:15 p.m. NLH, $70WEDNESDAY 12:15 p.m. NLH, $70THURSDAY12:15 p.m. NLH, $100 FRIDAY12:15 p.m. NLH, $1256:30 p.m. NLH, $40 SATURDAY12:15 p.m. NLH, $125 6:30p.m. NLH, $40

ILLINOIS

RCG POKER (for locations see RCGPoker.com)EVENTS, NEWS, AND UPDATES CAN BE VIEWED AT RCGPOKER.COM

MARYLAND

LIVE! CASINO & HOTEL - HANOVERMONDAY 11:15 a.m. NLH, $120 KO $25 7:15 p.m. NLH, $150TUESDAY11:15 a.m. NLH, $120 7:15 p.m. NLH, $220WEDNESDAY11:15 a.m. NLH, $1407:15 p.m. NLH, $130THURSDAY11:15 a.m. NLH, $1507:15 p.m. NLH, $160 KO $50FRIDAY11:15 a.m. NLH, $2207:15 p.m. NLH, $320 KO $75 SUNDAY11:15 a.m. PLO, $160 KO $506:15 p.m. NLH, $130 MGM NATIONAL HARBOR - OXON HILLMONDAY 11:15 a.m. NLH, $140 ($3.5K Guarantee) 7:15 p.m. NLH, $240 ($6K Guarantee)TUESDAY11:15 a.m. NLH, $140 ($3.5K Guarantee) 7:15 p.m. NLH, $140 ($3.5K Guarantee)WEDNESDAY11:15 a.m. NLH, $165 KO $25 ($3.5K Guarantee)7:15 p.m. NLH, $140 ($3.5K Guarantee) THURSDAY11:15 a.m. NLH, $140 ($3.5K Guarantee)7:15 p.m. NLH/PLO, $240 ($5K Guarantee)

NEVADA

SAHARA - LAS VEGASFRIDAY1:00 p.m. H.O.R.S.E., $105 ($1K Guarantee)7:00 p.m. NLH, $55 RB $20 AO $20 ($500 Guarantee)SATURDAY1:00 p.m. NLH, $100 RB $50 AO $50 ($3K Guarantee)7:00 p.m. NLH, $55 RB $20 AO $20 ($500 Guarantee)SUNDAY7:00 p.m. NLH, $55 RB $20 AO $20 ($500 Guarantee)

VENETIAN HOTEL & CASINO - LAS VEGASMONDAY11:10 a.m. NLH, $150 ($4K Guarantee)6:10 p.m. NLH, $125 KO $25 ($2K Guarantee)TUESDAY

11:10 a.m. NLH, $150 ($4K Guarantee)

6:10 p.m. NLH, $200 KO $50

($6K Guarantee)

WEDNESDAY11:10 a.m. NLH, $150 ($4K Guarantee)

6:10 p.m. NLH, $125 ($2K Guarantee)

THURSDAY11:10 a.m. NLH, $150 ($4K Guarantee)

6:10 p.m. NLH, $125 ($4K Guarantee)

FRIDAY11:10 a.m. NLH, $200 AO $100

($20K Guarantee)

SATURDAY11:10 a.m. NLH, $340 ($20K Guarantee)

6:10 p.m. NLH, $125 ($4K Guarantee)

SUNDAY11:10 a.m. NLH, $250 ($12K Guarantee)

6:10 p.m. NLH, $125 ($4K Guarantee)

NEW YORK EASTERN POKER TOUR

PUB POKER EVENTS, NEWS, RANKINGS

AND UPDATES CAN BE VIEWED AT

EASTERNPOKERTOUR.COM

SOUTH DAKOTA

SILVERADO FRANKLIN - DEADWOODWEDNESDAY 6:30 p.m. NLH, $33 RB $10 AO $10

THURSDAY 6:30 p.m. NLH, $88 AO $10

SUNDAY 3:00 p.m. NLH, $33 AO $10

TEXAS

CELEBRITY CARD CLUB - GALVESTONWEDNESDAY 7:00 p.m. NLH, $30 RB $20

($500 Guarantee)

THURSDAY 7:00 p.m. NLH, $30 RB $20

($500 Guarantee)

FRIDAY 7:00 p.m. NLH, $60 AO $50 AO $75

CARDPLAYER.COM 36

036_Schedules.indd 36 3/18/21 10:44 AM

www.CardPlayer.com/poker-podcasts

Poker Stories Podcast

Poker Stories is a long-form audio podcast series that features casual interviews with some of the game’s best players and personalities. Each episode highlights a well-known member of the poker world and dives deep into their favorite tales both on and off the felt.

Download it directly to your device from any number of mobile apps, such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify. Catch up on past episodes featuring notables such as Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, Justin Bonomo, Nick Schulman, Barry Greenstein, Michael Mizrachi, Bryn Kenney, Mike Sexton, Maria Ho, and many more.

CP_Brand_40_Podcast.indd 3 3/16/21 9:40 AM

CARDPLAYER.COM 38

Poker Leaderboards

VOLUME 34 / ISSUE 8

UNDER 40 YEARS OLD,OVER $30 MILLION IN EARNINGS

Rank Player Age Tournament Earnings

1st Bryn Kenney 34 $56.6 Million

2nd Justin Bonomo 35 $55.2 Million

3rd Dan Smith 32 $37.1 Million

4th David Peters 33 $35.2 Million

5th Stephen Chidwick 31 $35.1 Million

6th Fedor Holz 27 $34.2 Million

7th Jason Koon 35 $32.1 Million

8th Steve O’Dwyer 38 $31.2 Million

9th Mikita Badziakouski 29 $30.4 Million

There are only 13 players to ever exceed $30 million in recorded career tournament earnings. Incredibly, nine of those 13 players are under the age of 40, with the average age being around 32 and a half years old. The four players who are past the 40-year age limit for this are 46-year-old Daniel Negreanu ($41.1 million in earnings), 61-year-old Erik Seidel ($37.9 million in earnings), 44-year-old Phil Ivey ($30.8 million in earnings) and 51-year-old Cary Katz ($30.6 million in earnings).

The highest-earning tournament poker player in the world is 34-year-old Bryn Kenney with $56.6 million in career cashes. Kenney wrote his name in the history books in August of 2019, securing the largest-ever payday

in the history of the game when he struck a heads-up deal in the record-setting £1,050,000 (equivalent to more than $1.3 million USD at the time) buy-in. Kenney earned $20,606,421 as the result of the deal he cut with Aaron Zang, who was able to overcome Kenney’s chip lead to ultimately secure the title. Kenney has earned seven other seven-figure cashes in his career, which are included as part of his incredible 61 tournament scores of six-figures or more. In fact, his lone WSOP bracelet win in the 2014 $1,500 10-game mix event for $153,220 just barely squeaked into his top 50 largest scores.

Justin Bonomo joins Kenney as the only players so far to exceed the $50 million in earnings mark. The 35-year-old American held the lead on the all-time money list for just over a year, having moved into the top spot by winning the 2018 WSOP Big One For One Drop $1 million buy-in for $10 million. The three-time bracelet winner had a historic year in 2018, winning 10 titles and cashing for just shy of $25.3 million over a 12-month span to help secure his place at the top of the leaderboard before Kenney surged ahead.

The youngest player among this group is Germany’s Fedor Holz. The 27-year-old has already cashed for more than $34.2 million during his tournament career. His larg-est score came when he finished runner up to Bonomo in the 2018 Big One For One Drop for $6 million. Holz had won the $111,111 buy-in WSOP High Roller for One Drop in 2016 to earn nearly $5 million for his second-largest score. His second bracelet victory came in the 2020 WSOP Online $25,000 buy-in heads-up no-limit hold’em event. Holz earned $1,070,250 as the champion of that event, securing the eighth seven-figure score of his career, with five being for $2 million or more.

038_Leaderboard.indd 38 3/18/21 10:46 AM

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