We’re back! Following a seven-week hiatus after the conclusion of the Big One for One Drop, and Daniel Coleman’s impressive victory (which was followed by unfortunate press treatment), the World Series of Poker has resumed broadcasting on ESPN.
In July, approximately 6,700 individuals attended the WSOP Main Event at the Rio in Las Vegas. Around 700 of these participants persisted until Day 4, which is the main focus of tonight’s episodes. The episodes primarily feature Ronnie Bardah and Phil Ivey. Let’s delve into the details.
Episode 1: Day 4- “1 chip, all in first hand!”
Following a brief introduction discussing the significance of the Main Event and a quick look at the Humphries, ESPN shifts its focus to Charles Freeman. Freeman, who has the smallest stack this morning, has only one 5,000 chip. With the blinds set at 2,000/4,000, Freeman is forced to go all-in and hope for the best. Despite the odds stacked against him and luck not being on his side, he exits the event with grace and dignity.
The Ivey love
Phil Ivey assesses his chances of reaching the final table as 16 to one. I would be more hopeful, but I am in the future and aware of the outcome.
Lon and Norman share that the major difference this year is the $10,000,000 prize. However, what remains unchanged is Norman’s profound admiration for Ivey.
The admiration for that man, Ivey, seems warranted as he eliminates Robert Gaudio. Gaudio quickly goes all-in with a suited A-Q against Ivey’s pair of tens, leading to Ivey leaving the well-liked player with 676,500.
Spreading the attention
Dan Smith currently has nearly a million chips, while the current average is approximately 270k.
We draw attention to the newcomers, among them is a racehorse breeder named Richard Rigney. Despite having no prior experience with poker, he managed to reach Day 4. Unfortunately, he was seated with Jack Schanbacher, which proved to be his downfall.
Somehow, both ended up going all-in, with Rigney’s suited A-Q transforming into a flush when three diamonds were flopped. The room appears shocked when Schanbacher’s 6-6 turned into a four-of-a-kind on the river.
Five-in-a-row
The main focus of the night is Robbie Bardah. Although he has never made it beyond 24th place in the Main Event, he has consistently cashed for the past four years. Should he achieve this for the fifth year in a row, he will set a new Main Event record.
Bardah goes all out against Canadian hockey player Eric Cloutier, playing A-8 against a pair of fives. Lucky for Bardah, he lands his Ace on the river, just barely keeping him in the game as he aims for the record.
Even after wisely retreating from a losing hand against Marty Verdegaal, Ivey currently has the largest stack at the featured table.
Immediately following, Ivey ends up with K-K against Kyle Keranen’s K-Q. The river reveals a fourth king, 7J3TK. Keranen wisely refrains from betting too high, preventing Ivey from making a significant gain. Nonetheless, both players display impressive calmness and intelligence.
In the money
Upon reaching the midpoint, we survey the room. Dan Smith is leading with 1.65 million chips. During one round:
- John Dwyer achieves a full house on the turn, which simultaneously awards Mark Newhouse a four-of-a-kind. Newhouse successfully convinces Dwyer to go all-in on the same turn.
- Zhen Cai pushes all his chips with Q-Q but loses to Darren Keys who has A-A.
- Despite having pocket Aces, Corey Hunter is knocked out when Harry Kaczka’s 9-8 turns into two pair on the river.
The players are out in a single round, but they will share the 693rd place. Everyone remaining now has a chance at the money. Ronnie Bardah has secured his record.
In an interview with Kara Scott, Bardah is primarily at a loss for words due to his achievement, but he manages to express his love for his father. We then witness him compelling Cloutier to go all in with a 2-2 against a 6-6.
Bardah triumphed over Cloutier’s two pair with a full house, but his total sum of 140,500 (represented as 324AA) is still significantly lower than the average stack.
Ivey eats an apple without any expression, watching as Kyle Keranen uses a 3-3 to knock out James Duncan.
Keranen is performing impressively. So impressive, that soon after, Ivey refrains from attempting to bluff him, consequently losing 18% of his stack to Keranen’s three-of-a-kind.
DraftKings.com has dubbed Bardah as “King of the Night”, yet he remains in a precarious situation. Dan Smith, on the other hand, has risen to 1.855 million. The second episode still has 575 players in the running.
Episode 2: The Fall of Bardah and Ivey
Currently, Mark Newhouse has a stack of 383K. Norman has made an unusual pledge to skinny-dip in the LA river if Newhouse reaches the final table. Hearing this in the future strikes me as odd.
Bruno Politano of Brazil, holding a pair of nines, raises against Ivey’s Ace-King. Ivey retaliates with a further raise, prompting the Brazilian to go all in with 169K.
Q3Q doesn’t go in favor. Politano starts to snap repeatedly to diffuse the rising tension. Following another round, Ivey misses a pair, leading to a loss of 29% of his stack, leaving him with only 425K. Meanwhile, Politano’s stack increases to 356K.
One downfall
Bardah goes all-in using a K-K against Cristian Rotondo from Argentina who has an A-K.
Bardah finds 562JA Bad River displeasing, however, Rotondo maintains his elegance.
Ronnie Bardah may be able to set his record of six in a row next year, but for now, he departs in 475th place, earning $25,756.
Then the other
Ivey’s stack desperately needs to rebound from the Politano incident. Following another hand loss to Stephensen, Ivey will be departing from the highlighted table.
Maria Ho, with a stack of 556K, takes her seat, being the first female player to receive any attention from ESPN tonight. After a hand in which Joe Degeorge fails to secure a straight, she increases her stack by another hundred thousand.
Ivey’s stack has dwindled down to 278K, prompting him to go all in with an A-K against Brit Kabbaj, who holds a pair of Js. The board reveals 99225, producing two additional pairs, but none of them benefit Ivey. Consequently, his tournament run comes to an end. He finishes in 430th place, taking home $25,756.
Norman is completely clueless about his next move. His tear-stained cheeks bear testimony to his deep-seated longing for a brighter day that may come next year when Phil Ivey achieves success. The overwhelming anguish he’s experiencing is more than he can handle. He vehemently proclaims his disdain for Ivey, declaring him dead in his eyes.
Shameless filler time
I’m currently uncertain about ESPN’s plans. They have half an hour left (and many more episodes to come) and so far, the focus has primarily been on Bardah and Ivey. It’s clear they anticipated at least one of them sticking around longer as we’ve been killing time with blatant filler content, like observing card shuffleboard in the “Side-Action Championship”.
We examine Robert Mapp, a southern debutant who’s found himself at the main table. He successfully ousted Bruno Lopes with a spade flush before claiming a pot from Haugen and then defeating Thomas with a Q-Q. This newcomer is enjoying a successful day, now boasting a stack of 1,167M.
Both Haugen and Margolin have hefty stacks exceeding 2M when substantial raises start to occur. Haugen, holding a pair of kings, goes all-in with 2,046,000, compelling Margolin, who has an 8-3 suited, to fold. As a result, Haugen emerges as the chip leader with 2,822M, displacing Dan Smith from his position.
The next time we encounter Robert Mapp, he has depleted half of his stack. He is unable to resist calling against Margolin’s three tens, which results in a loss of an additional 35%, reducing him to 343K.
Final hand of the day
Margolin, who has A-T, raises to 22K. Vladimir Bozinovic holds pocket Aces while Mapp, with a stack of 143K, decides to go all-in with his pocket Kings. Margolin then ups the ante, raising to 227K. Delighted, Bozinovic re-raises to 415K, forcing Margolin to back off. The flop reveals 872, leaving Mapp with a mere 8% chance of staying in the game. This slim chance evaporates with the turn of a 5 of spades, marking the end of Mapp’s run. Despite a rollercoaster ride at the featured table, the first-time player bows out in 292nd place, taking home $33,734 for his grandchildren.
33 tables remain. Bozinovic currently has a stack totaling 2.055 million. Haugen continues to lead with 2.808M chips and stands as the second “King of the Night” on DraftKings.com. Both Politano and Kerangen rank in the top ten, along with Dan Smith, of course. Meanwhile, Norman remains significantly distressed over Ivey.
Day four has concluded, looking forward to Day 5 next week.
