Trip Report

So the dust has settled, the winner has been declared and it’s even been shown on TV.  The World Series of Poker 2008 is finally done.  I need to thank Mark and Sazzy for inviting me to take part in covering this event; for a poker player, this was like Christmas.  Now that I’ve had a chance to return home and recover, I thought it might be a good idea to write a post, in order to give my impressions.

First, I’m not sure I agree that waiting until November for the final table was such a good idea.  It wasn’t until I found out that I was going to actually be there, that I started paying attention to who the “November 9″ actually were.  Furthermore, I couldn’t really watch the action that led up to the final table; I don’t get ESPN, and for some reason I’m not able to figure out, the 2008 WSOP episodes are no longer available on iTunes.  I had to get creative with the Internet, in order to figure out a way to watch the WSOP main event episodes.

So as far as publicity goes, I’m not sure that worked out so well.  I wonder if they’ll do it again in 2009.  I hope not.  The fact is, they’re going to get all the publicity they need and/or want after the final table.  I have to believe that the November 9 are all going to be tired of media; I saw it in their eyes at the final table already.

Having said that, the play was absolutely fantastic to watch, and then after the fact, getting to see it on TV with the players’ hole cards was great.  It’s too bad that there’s not more time; what you got to see on TV was such a small portion of what actually went on at the table.  Early in the game, Ivan went all-in with Ace Queen against Dennis Phillips, who folded his Ace King.  I remember watching that live, and wondering what they had; I considered that Dennis might have Ace King, but I put Ivan on Queens or Jacks, possibly something like Aces or Kings – but certainly a high pair.  When I saw it on TV I finally understood – Ivan was playing the player, not his cards.  He wasn’t so much playing on the strength of his own cards, but rather playing what he knew his opponent didn’t have.  It was brilliant.

And I have to hand it to Dennis.  I mean, he was a target, and even after dropping to what, about a quarter of his original chip stack, he held in there and made it to 3rd place.  Considering he’s an amature playing amongst professionals, that’s an AWESOME feat.  That’s not just luck; that’s solid play – and a little bit of luck thrown in there as well.  :)

I really had convinced myself early in the first day that David Rheem was going to win.  I mean, he’s an experienced professional, who, before the final table had shown some really great reading skills.  I remember when he had lost a few hands, and his chip stack had decreased in size, but I thought there was a great chance that he would come back.  I liked his style of play and his table image.  Of course, just as I was writing a blog post, attempting to predict that he would win, he busted out.

These 9 players all deserved to win, in my opinion, and it was a genuine pleasure to watch them play.

What you don’t know, watching it on TV, is that they condensed about 25 hours of play down into – what, 2 hours?  On the second day, as Ivan and Peter battled for 1st place, I remember thinking that they both must be so tired.  First of all, the second day started at 10:00pm.  I honestly believe that one of the reasons Ivan lost was because he was exhausted.  As a general rule of thumb I can play about 4 hours before I start losing focus.  These two had played something like 15 hours the previous day, and then again for another 6+ hours was a display of mental and physical endurance.

So, I really enjoyed watching.  I absolutely LOVE that Phil Hellmuth’s record as the youngest player to win the main event was broken.  Way to go, Peter!

And the winner is…

Peter Eastgate!  Ivan went all-in with two pair, to be beat by Peter’s wheel at approximately 2:30am on November 11, 2008.

What an AWESOME event!

I’m too tired to write much; I’ll write more when I get back home and get some sleep.

Remember to watch the televised event on ESPN tonight at 9:00pm EST.

CONGRATULATIONS, Peter!

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