World Series of Poker Announces 2014 Dates

Poker’s Most Popular Poker Festival Set to Run From May 27 to July 14, 2014
At Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

45th Running of WSOP and 10th in a Row at Rio, Concludes with Main Event July 5-14

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 19, 2013) – Save the Date(s). The 45th running of the World Series of Poker – the longest-running, richest and most prestigious tournament series – begins on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas – marking the 10th consecutive year the event has been held in the Rio Convention Center.

The action-packed schedule includes gold bracelet events, satellites, cash games and thrice daily deep stack tournaments running for 49 consecutive days, concluding with the final nine players of the WSOP Main Event on Monday, July 14, 2014.

The summer festival reaches its pinnacle with the globe’s longest-running poker tournament -- the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em WSOP Main Event championship -- which is slated to run over ten consecutive days from July 5 - July 14, 2014.

The WSOP Main Event will feature three starting flights – Saturday, July 5; Sunday, July 6; and Monday, July 7.

“In our 45th year, and tenth at the Rio, we are hard at work to make the 2014 World Series of Poker the biggest and best yet,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “We will build it, we hope you will come.”

WSOP.com’s real-money online poker offerings in New Jersey and Nevada will be the exclusive online home for players in these states to win seats into WSOP events, including the Main Event. While in New Jersey or Nevada, eligible players can play on WSOP.com, whether a resident or not, and satellites are expected to run regularly throughout the WSOP.

Buy-ins for tournaments at the Rio start as low as $75. Cash games will begin on May 27 and run 24 hours a day throughout the seven-week series taking place in the Rio Convention Center.

Some key tournaments already penciled in on the schedule include:

Saturday, May 31 – The opening Saturday event features the $1500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em “Millionaire Maker” where the winner walks away with potentially 666 times their investment – a guaranteed $1,000,000. (This event featured 6,343 entries in 2013 and the winner earned $1,198,780). The prize pool for this event last year exceeded $8.5 million.

Sunday, June 29 – The return of the Big One for ONE DROP, the $1,000,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em charity event to benefit ONE DROP where the winner can conceivably walk away with the largest prize ever awarded in poker – in excess of $20,000,000 – with the field capped at 56 players.

Thursday, July 3 & Friday, July 4 – The return of the Little One for ONE DROP, the $1,111 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event to benefit the ONE DROP charity. The two-day start, unlimited re-entry (through first four levels) event featured 4,756 players in its debut and a huge nearly $4.3 million prize pool up for grabs. The winner walked away with $663,727. The Little One for ONE DROP will also be the last No-Limit Hold’em event offered prior to the WSOP Main Event.

Nearly 500 poker tables will be set up across more than 100,000 square-feet of ballroom space to accommodate the thousands of players from around the world who attend poker’s annual Woodstock.

The 2013 WSOP attracted 79,471 participants – the largest attendance in the WSOP’s 44-year history – in a total of 62 events, generating a prize pool of more than $197 million. Participants in WSOP events hailed from 107 countries in 2013. The WSOP Main Event, won by Michigan’s Ryan Riess this year, attracted 6,352 players and awarded Riess $8,361,570.

The current slate of individual events offered during the 45th Annual WSOP are being finalized, with 60+ official gold bracelet events expected, with weekends catering to the No-Limit Hold’em weekend warriors and a broad range of other variations of poker at both entry level and championship level buy-ins being mixed in throughout the series. Specific events for Seniors, Ladies and Casino Employees are all being planned as well.

The full event-by-event schedule is expected to be released sometime in January

Poker Players to Watch 2014

I've decided to start updating the blog with all things poker so for anyone who's interested in whats going on keep an eye out for all your poker updates!!

1. Daniel Negreanu

With the exception of 2010 Daniel Negreanu has banked a seven figure wage in five out of the last six years, and even in that drought he managed to make over $680,000.

He is the one member of the ‘old school’ that continues to learn from the new generation to take his game onto a greater level. But more than that, he has a love for the game that is second to none, and is a goal setter and goal getter.

2013 saw Negreanu return to his inimitable ways as he started to win major tournaments – something that had been missing from his game for a number of years – instead of becoming the ‘so close…but yet so far’ guy.

His triumph at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) High Roller event, that handed him the historic WSOP Player of the Year double, is the event that I believe will lead to a heater of epic proportions.

The other thing that Negreanu has going for him is his number one position on the Global Poker Index (GPI) rankings. That’s not a position he will want to give up without a fight, and I think it will bring out the best in him.

2. Sorel Mizzi

John Tabatabai once told me that Sorel Mizzi is the best pound for pound live tournament player in the world, and after accruing close to $4m in live tournament earnings, this year, the man is starting to live up to that mantle.

Mizzi is now one of the regulars on the High Roller circuit and he is more than holding his own against the best players in the world. During a recent interview with Mizzi, he told me that the only difference between his near misses and a few sure things was just a little bit of luck.

A few months later and Mizzi took down the PartyPoker Premier League for close to a half a million dollars, and it’s that injection of winning blood that I think will fire up his heart to go onto greater things in 2014.

Mizzi has also joined forces with the likes of David Randall, Daniel Cates, Max Altergott and Steven McCloughlin to create a poker seminar/training site called 3D poker, and I think that business will also bring greater awareness into everything he does around the poker table.

3. Griffin Benger

If it wasn’t for the turn of a few very unfortunate cards, Griffin Benger could well be a WSOP and World Poker Tour (WPT) champion right now.

Instead, he is still that hungry online tournament revelation who is determined to stamp his footprint on the live tournament world, and stamp it he will.

Benger has had a breakthrough 2013 with close to a million in live tournament earnings that includes an EPT High Roller win that he earned, on his birthday no less, in Berlin for half a million bucks.

Once you have found your way to the top of a live event, it’s a hell of a lot easier to find your way back, and I believe if Benger finds the luck he needs, his patience, studious approach to the game and technical ability will see him land one of the biggest prizes in the game.

4. Stephen Chidwick

Stephen Chidwick is well known within the professional circle as being one of the most underrated all round poker players in the game.

It doesn’t matter if Chidwick is playing live or online, No Limit Hold’em (NLHE) or Happy Families, this kid is great at anything. In fact, I would even go so far as to say he would probably beat himself at Solitaire.

Chidwick has racked up a few milly, both online and live, without ever having to deposit any real dough. Instead, he has grafted his way into the game, and there are few that work as hard as he does on the games that most people don’t give a second glance.

Chidwick has three six-figure scores in some of the most difficult tournaments in the world, and I believe we will see him win at least one bracelet at this years WSOP.

5. Shannon Shorr

Shannon Shorr has burst into the GPI top 10 after another consistent performance that has seen him earn seven six figure annual scores on the trot, after emerging onto the international scene with a seven-figure start back in 2006.

Shorr has his head well and truly screwed on, and his feet firmly rooted into the ground. If this kid has any worries he hides them well, and he has this demeanor about him that screams winner.

The only thing missing from his game is luck, and if he can continue to ride this wave as long as it will allow him, I am sure he will find it when it matters the most, to finally capture one of the big three come 2014.

JPC Report

Setting the Scene

After 4 months of planning, the event seemed to be here before we knew it.  We always knew that to be a success the satellite tournaments would be essential to make sure we had enough players for the main event, the more players, the more attractive the prize pool was, and the more other people would want to be involved too.

We thought 40 players would be a stretch but that was what we had aimed to get, so to have 47 players it was fantastic, so a very big thank you to all the players that took part.

As 12pm approached the room was buzzing with most of the players there already, the prize pool already reading over £20k and 5 full tables.  The dealers we brought over from the UK were brilliant, and it was a pleasure to have them looking after the tables and keeping the game going.  Even our local dealers stepped up their game and were controlling the game and making sure everything was flowing the way it should be.

The First Elimination

In any tournament, no-one wants to be the first player eliminated, and it usually takes a ‘cooler’ something like Aces vs Kings or a Set vs a Set.  Although the first elimination was on my table, I never caught the early action however, this is how I think it went.  Jake Patel raised early position with QQ and was called by Matt Rowles with 44. I was in the big blind and folded which left the two of them to see the monster flop of Q44!!!! WOW “Check” “Check” I hear, the turn came an ace and the river a five - I’m not sure if there was any betting on the turn but I remember on the river Jake had the decision to call after Matt had eventually gone all-in.  Jake asked Matt “Have you got aces” to which Matt simply replied “No” Jake called and flipped his Queens only to see Matt had flopped Quads.

Solid Play

As I wandered round the room, other than the big elimination on my table the chips were pretty static.  Everyone had brought their ‘A’ game and the players were cautious not to lose too much of their starting stack.  Next out was JT who I’d spoke to him earlier and he had lost a few big hands that had crippled him.  Back on my table Rowlesy was still smashing everything, not content with one lot of Quads he hit another one and was easily the early chip leader in the tournament.  I had been very quiet the first hour or so with very poor starting hands however, going into the second level I picked up a few better hands and every pot I played I seemed to win.  I was quickly up to around 40k before I lost 3 big hands.  I hit 3 Jacks on an JJK board with AJ, only for Ritchie to hit a 9 on the turn completing his straight, quickly followed by just being outkicked on a KK5 board whilst holding K9.  Rowlesy had K10 and I was quickly losing all the chips I had won.

On another table you could hear a “OOOH” so I pop across to see Danny Paxton at risk with all his chips in the middle.  The board read 3,7,6,6 and all the chips were in on the turn, Danny with two pair and Darie with trip 6’s holding 6,5 suited.  The “Oooh” came as the two outer hit and Danny hit a full house with a Queen on the river, Darie losing some of his big stack that he had clearly built up earlier in the day.

Big Decision

So 4 Hours in and I’ve lost most of my stack, so I need some action to start building it back up, I pick up 10,J and raise the chip leaders BB.  Rowlesy was in no mood to fold so smooth calls.  The flop comes down AKQ, I’ve flopped a straight and think I’m golden however, Matt leads out on the flop, I then realise they are all diamonds.  I have the Jack of diamonds, so not only have I flopped a straight I have the royal flush draw so I call to see a brick on the turn.  This leaves me with just 1 chip(It was a 10k chip – but still 1 chip), and Matt puts me all in. I ponder for quite some time playing with my last remaining chip, and try to work out what he has.  After some time I fold and he shows me the flush which I knew he had but with the big draw, I had to weigh up the pot before I folded.

I lose a couple more small hands and I’m down to about 6 or 7k before I go on a hot streak and start to build my stack back up again.  6 hours played and we break for dinner, with not that many players having been eliminated, so we decided to play 10 levels on day 1 to make sure we have around 20 players returning for Day 2.

Tables Break

As the first of our tables break we pick up a few new players John the beast Beadle and Nik ward who happens to be the tournament chip leader join us, and the dynamics of the table change somewhat.  On another table I hear a “Get in” as Eddie Quinn gets it all in pre flop with Kings against the aces of Ricky Weir, Eddie had obviously spiked a King and that sent him off on a roll to amass one of the biggest chip stacks of day 1.

Sam Jackson was another player who joined our table, and obviously had not had the best of luck throughout the day as he was a relative short stack.  Whippy raised his big blind and Sam shipped it all in, Gary called and tabled JJ, whilst Sam tables KK.  Both ask the dealer for “One Time”, and it is Whippy who gets the lucky set hitting a Jack on the turn to knock out Sam.

Turning Point

So I’ve built my stack back up to around the 20k mark and get involved in a hand with The Beast and Whippy.  The flop comes 2, 10, Q, which the beast leads out on, Gary calls and so do I on the button.  The turn is a King completing some straights, and also puts a flush draw down.  The river is a Jack putting a four card straight on the board.  Gary checks, so does the beast and I lead out for a value bet on the river.  Gary folds and after some lengthy deliberation so does the Beast.  Whippy said he had top two, the beast a set and I tell them I have the nuts, however no-one shows any cards and I’m up to 40k.

Matt Rowles has lost most of his big stack however, still has around 15k and raises quite big in early position.  I look down and have pocket 10’s, I’m struggling to work out his raise so I think it is wise to flat call and evaluate a flop.  The flop comes 2, 3, 10 so it doesn’t take me long to evaluate that!  Matt leads out and I flat call in position, the turn is an ace and Matt goes all-in, I call to see he is dead with A9 and no re-draw, and I’m up to 55k.

The final hand of the day I get pocket Queens, and the big blind is Nik Ward who I’ve been in a few hands with, always showing the best hand, and including Aces.  I don’t want to scare him off so a small raise and he calls.  The flop has a Queen on it so I’m happy he’s stuck around, I manage to value bet all 3 streets and I end the day with 67k.  With 21 players remaining the average stack is around 56k so I’m more than happy with how the day has ended.  I look around the room and the chip leaders are James Cummings, Eddie Quinn and still Nik Ward, as everyone bags up their chips for day 2.

Day 2

I return early on the Sunday as I remember I haven’t sorted out the chips for the side event, only to realise I need another laptop for the side event, so I go to pick up the one from the poker club.  As everyone starts to arrive everyone seems to be a little jaded from a marathon 1^st day, with 21 players still remaining and the blinds not even 1,000 2,000 it wasn’t going to be over quickly.  Big stack Eddie hadn’t even managed to make it here and after rumours of him going out drinking we started the phone calls to make sure he was alive!!  The action quickly got underway and Roger joined us from another table, sat next to big stack Nik Ward, their fortunes quickly reversed as they got involved in two big hands with roger winning both.  The big one I recall was Rogers Aces vs Nik’s Jacks all in pre-flop and Roger holding on to knock him out.

Shortly after it was the turn of Whippy who 3 bet all-in, after roger had raised from an early position.  Roger called to see his Queen Jack was dominated by Whipps pocket Jacks.  The dealer flipped the flop and the Queen was there giving Whippy just 1 out, two bricks and he was out.

The side event was well under way, and we had a very good turnout with 34 players entering, 5 or 6 re-entries and a prize pool of around £4k!!  The room was buzzing again and was jammed with players playing both events.  It was good to see quite a few players who hadn’t played the main event get involved, so again a big thanks to all who came down to play.

I started to run good in the main, and quickly built my stack to nearly 100k.  By the time we got to the final 9 myself, Roger and James all had around 200k each with around 50% of the chips between us.

Final Table

The final 9 saw Roger in seat 1, Dave Nuth in 2, Craig Hartley seat 3, Warren Mudge in 4, Matt Thebbault in 5, Eddie in 6, James in 7, Smurf in 8 and myself in seat 9.  The first to go was Dave Nuth after 3 betting my initial raise I called with AK and was up against pocket 9’s.  I hit the flop and Dave was out in 9^th.  The next to go was Eddie Quinn, who flat called a pre-flop raise by Warren with pocket 10’s.  The flop came 2,8,9 and Warren shipped all-in, to which Eddie had a very difficult decision to make.  After a few moans and groans Eddie says “Have you got AK” and calls to see that is exactly what Warren was holding.  The turn was a brick but the Ace came on the river to cruelly knock Eddie out in 8^th place. Next to go was Matt who was one of the short stacks when we started the final table and that left the final 6 players with only 5 place paid.  At the start I had said I didn’t want to do any chops, but agreed to pay £100 to the bubble from everyone’s own pocket, leaving the prize  money exactly as it was.  The Smurf was the man in Danger as the short stack however, he managed to double through James and continue to hang around.

Big Hand

With no-one wanting to go out on the bubble and with a short stack nearly out of chips, it was going to take a big hand to eliminate another player.  I found myself in the small blind against Roger in the big, and with no callers or raises I decided to raise with 6,2 of diamonds.  Roger calls and we see a flop of 3d,4d,5c, BOOM I’ve flopped a straight with the straight flush draw.  I bet the flop and Roger ships all in for a massive pot, I have to call and flip my cards over.  Roger turns over 5,9 of diamonds for top pair and a bigger flush draw!!  The turn brings a 9, so he now has top two pair, and a flush draw so I’m praying for a brick on the river to which the dealer duly delivers and I have him covered.  Roger is the bubble, and I’m up to 500k in chips, the Smurf the happiest man in the room as he has made the big cash with his short stack.  A couple of hands later and I find pocket 8’s, the Smurf move all-in with KJ and hits a King on the flop, unlucky for him there are 3 spades and a fourth one on the river gives me a flush and sends him out in 5^th.

I’m on a roll, and when Warren 3 bet shoves my initial raise for 80k with AJ I call with AK and have him dominated.  I was just about to have 70% of the chips, when a jack hits the turn, and reality sets in that I need to slow down and make sure I make the top two.

Craig Hartley eventually takes out Warren, and then James takes out Craig to leave me with roughly 500k and James with 675k heads up, to be crowned the 1^st Jersey Poker Champion!

Heads –Up

After about a 15 minute break to clear our heads and realise we were the last two remaining, we return for the heads up action.  It’s around 6pm and the blinds are still only 6k, 12k so there is plenty of play with 1.175million chips available.

The first big hand see’s James taking me down to about 200k, I’m dominated and need to compose myself.  I slightly adjust my game as I regularly do in heads up play depending on who I’m playing and how they are playing.  I find myself with pocket 5’s and after James has raised I shove all-in to be called by A3.  My 5’s hold up and I’m back in the game with around 450-500k.  I start to win a few more hands, and I’ve taken the chip lead when I find myself with pocket Kings.  Nearly every hand has been raised so I carried on as normal with James calling.  The flop came K,J,9 and I lead out which James calls.  The turn is a 5 and this gives James two pair as he is holding J5, I bet again and he calls.  The river isn’t too scary and I put a big bet in, which would only leave James with around 5% of the chips in play, he thinks about it for quite some time, we play a few mind games with each other and eventually he calls.

A few hands later we get it in with my K10 dominating James K6 and it holds up – I’ve won it and am crowned the first Jersey Poker Champion WHOOP WHOOP!

The Final Table

JPC In Pictures

Martin 'Nav' Hodson

Matt Thebbault

Ricardo

The Smurf

Smudge

James "The Pro"

Danny "Plumber" Paxton

Mr Dransfield

Guersney Alex

Jason Harrison

Nik Ward

Dave "The Fisherman"

Diamond Dave

Mr Planet Poker

The Fish

Thinking Time

Rowlesy

Phil "The Mouth"

Jonesy "666"

Craig Hartley

The Fly

Gutshot Gordon

Nick "Harry Hill"

Kev Hodkinson

The Rock

Richie

Whippster

Quinston