As expected during this period, Nevada’s poker scene was bustling yet again. We saw Joe Cada, the 2009 WSOP Main Event champion, become the first to win a post-victory bracelet since Carlos Mortensen.
Dutch Boyd, always controversial and now bald, would join an elite group of three-time bracelet winners a day later.
Indeed, during the WSOP, noteworthy poker news hits the internet faster than Phil Hellmuth can throw insults at “idiot” players. To such an extent, we’ll bend the rules slightly and assign an entire section solely to the events at the Rio.
Initially, WSOP NV saw a significant online surge, becoming the most popular regulated poker room in the U.S. However, things have since calmed down somewhat. Cash-game participation is still strong, but both WSOP and Ultimate Poker have had to dig into their own pockets multiple times to cover large tournament overlays.
In this edition of Nevada Online Poker Review, we will investigate the value one could gain from playing online, examine Ultimate Poker’s Chase the Dream promotion, and analyze recent traffic trends.
Down at the Rio – WSOP Updates
Cada wins Event #32 – 6-Max Championship
Last Monday, Joe Cada quieted his critics by securing his second bracelet in the $10k NLHE 6-Max Championship.
Young Joe found himself up against 2012 WSOP Main Event finalist Jeremy Ausmus for the title, after making his way through a challenging final table that included 2013 November Niner JC Tran, multiple bracelet winner Erick Lindgren, and Max Silver.
Although Cada entered the heads-up with fewer chips, he ultimately demonstrated that getting lucky a few times in ’09 doesn’t mean his skills aren’t comparable to the world’s best.
Boyd Does It Again: Wins Event #33 – $1k NLHE
On Tuesday, Dutch Boyd won his third WSOP gold, nearly five years after he was accused of driving players away from the Two Plus Two forums and four years since his last bracelet.
What’s truly remarkable about the victory of the former PokerSpot.com owner is that he triumphed over a huge competition of almost 1,700 players to win the title.
Danzer becomes summer’s first multiple bracelet winner
Last week, George Danzer, a professional German poker player, claimed victory in his second $10,000 buy-in event of the series. Remarkably, both wins were in non-Hold’em events. In addition to these achievements, Danzer already boasts two more top-ten finishes and has collected additional winnings.
Not bad for someone who is largely unknown in the western poker world.
If Danzer continues to perform half as well in the remaining series, it’s almost certain that he will secure the elusive WSOP Player of the Year award, a significant mark of excellence.
Humberto Brenes still plays poker?
Absolutely! The senior representative of the sport is on track to surpass Konstantin Puchov’s record for the most cashes in a single series, a clear representation of the old-guard. Brenes, who is always full of energy, currently boasts an impressive seven cashes – just four shy of the record Puchov set in 2012.
Weekly Guaranteed Tournaments in Nevada
WSOP Main Event Satellite
Last week’s Main Event satellite on WSOP.com saw a decrease in entries from 65 to 55.
Although we anticipated increased weekly attendance as the Main approached, Father’s Day could have posed a potential disruption. After all, poker players are also sons and daughters.
Despite this, the satellite still attracted enough runners to meet its $10k guarantee and provide a $1k consolation prize to the second-place finisher.
1. CindrllaMan won a seat at the WSOP Main Event worth $10,000 <br>2. Jamie17 won $1,000.
WSOPOC Main Event – $200,000 Guaranteed
This week, the online poker community was abuzz with the WSOP.com Online Championship Series Main Event taking place simultaneously in both regulated markets where WSOP.com operates – Nevada and New Jersey.
The version from Nevada would perform noticeably better than its counterpart on the East Coast, attracting 571 runners and 155 rebuys. However, that wasn’t particularly impressive.
The players managed to create a prize pool of only $137,000 with a mere $200 entry fee. This is a whopping $62,800 less than the minimum payout offered by WSOP.
Talk about value.
1. Peaches – $48,000<br>2. Science – $25,400<br>3. Specialk33 – $16,600<br>4. lvkid7 – $12,600<br>5. Perry_White – $10,600<br>6. Renoaces44 – $8,600<br>7. The_Swede – $6,400<br>8. FishN.chips – $4,200<br>9. bcmclawh – $2,800
It’s plausible (and probable) that the turnout numbers for the Main were adversely impacted by the Holiday Weekend.
Ultimate Poker: $10,000 Guarantee
The weekly major event at UP experienced an overlay of $991. The occasion attracted 99 participants, each paying a fairly affordable entry fee of $91 + $9.
Results as follows:
1. MattZman – $2900<br>2. Kristin – $2000<br>3. JP – $1500<br>4. Shoveitrick – $1000<br>5. Blue1974 – $800<br>6. DatDude – $600<br>7. Moses7 – $500<br>8. MrBeaumont – $400<br>9. SpewArtist – $300
Ultimate Poker: Chase the Dream
For the second consecutive week, I found myself yearning to be in Nevada due to Ultimate Poker’s Chase the Dream promo. Mainly because it’s currently providing some of the highest percentage overlays in the world of online poker.
Only 148 runners paid the $25 entry fee for the $15,000 guaranteed tourney last week. Given that the entry fee was a mere shiny red penny, this amounted to an extraordinary overlay of $11,301.48, or 75.3%.
1. 4BETFOLD – $5,000<br>2. commatoast – $5,000<br>3. ohdohno – $1,500<br>4. upking13 – $1,000<br>5. Cash Plays – $700<br>6. McConnico – $550<br>7. bansman – $400<br>8. luckysnake – $250<br>9. TheGameKat – $150
As part of the promotion, the top two finishers each week will be presented with the option to either stake their five grand on a single hand of blackjack at the Red Rock casino in Las Vegas or simply take the money.
If you defeat the dealer, you will earn a substantial $10k. However, if you lose, you will still receive 2,500 U$ points as a consolation.
Ring game traffic on WSOP falls off, then stabilizes
The volume on the WSOP NV network reached a seven-day average peak of 149 on June 10th, but had decreased to 140 by June 19th. However, this is still significantly higher than its traffic before the WSOP. With many new players heading to the Rio for the Main, it is likely that the network could exceed 150 by early July.
PokerScout provided the data through PokerFuse Pro.
The loss experienced by WSOP was partially offset by Ultimate Poker, which saw an increase in its traffic margins by just over 12% in the past week. Despite the fluctuations this week, the volume on Ultimate Poker has remained relatively stable in the mid-50s since the start of the live WSOP.
