WSOP: $25,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Draws Top Poker Pros

Bracelet winner Jeff Papola and the internet young guns turned out in force for the biggest short-handed event in WSOP history. (Photo: Rob Mathis)

When the schedule for the 2010 World Series of Poker was first announced, there were plenty of changes to talk about. But there was only one big, new tournament on the schedule worth nothing: the $25,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event.

With its big buy-in and shorthanded format, the field seemed almost guaranteed to be one of the toughest of the year at the WSOP or elsewhere. With 75,000 in starting chips, blinds beginning at 150-300, and a structure that included antes right away, there’s no way for anybody to sick back and wait out a bad run of cards. If you want to survive in this tournament, you have to jump in and swim with the sharks.

And there were plenty of sharks at the start of the day, from nearly every poker demographic. Fan favorites Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and Tom Dwan all showed up. 2010 WSOP bracelet winners Jeffrey Papola, Praz Bansi, Gavin Smith, Michael Mizrachi all turned up to join double-bracelet winner Frank Kassela and his WSOP Player of the Year race co-leader, John Juanda, at the tables. A good showing by either Kassela or Juanda could go a long way toward locking up Player of the Year.

And as you might expect from a game that rewards aggression, the young guns turned out in force. Scott Seiver, Jason Somerville, Carter Phillips, David Benefield, Andrew Lichtenberger, Ashton Griffin, Isaac Haxton, Craig Bergeron, Eric Baldwin, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Dan Kelly, Chris Moorman, Shaun Deeb, Isaac Baron, Tom Marchese and Sam Stein all took seats to start the day. The turnout of skilled young internet players prompted eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel to tweet this while on the way to the tournament: “I’ll consider it a great table if there’s one other person over 25.”

Turnout wasn’t quite as high as what the WSOP had prepared for. Some 45 tables were ready to go at the beginning of the day, but most of them weren’t actually needed. Many started with only three or four players, and some of them only sat two players. But the tables were quickly broken down and the tournament got down to business.

The day’s plan is to play ten one-hour levels with a dinner break after six of those levels, then bag up and return tomorrow to continue on with one of the world’s supreme tests of hold’em skill. There should be a pretty impressive field of poker pros remaining when this new WSOP event gets down to the money.