The World Series of Poker Will Have a Star in the “November Nine”
1-liner, Poker July 16th. 2009, 4:45pmPoker: The World Series of Poker’s Main Event has whittled its 6,494-player field to nine names, and this time you’ve heard of one of them: Phil Ivey. He’s charismatic, on Twitter, and has been called “the Tiger Woods of Poker,” but he has never been to the final table at the Main Event before and will be one of the short stacks when he gets there. The subplots: One of the “November Nine” worked at Bear Stearns, and another says if he wins it all, he’d toss the winner’s bracelet and never play poker again. The final table will be live (ish) on ESPN on November 7th; this blog has good recaps of everything. (ESPN)
44 Responses to “The World Series of Poker Will Have a Star in the “November Nine””
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July 16th, 2009 at 4:51 PM
Is the WSOP’s Main Event on after the ESPYs on Nov. 7th?
July 16th, 2009 at 4:55 PM
Factually incorrect.
July 16th, 2009 at 4:58 PM
So, they don’t just play it out now? Isn’t that just plain stupid? These guys now have to wait until November 9th to finish? Poker is momentum and all, you learn a guys playing style etc.
That sucks for the players.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:06 PM
not sure id call ivey charismatic. hes funny though. hoping he goes on conan or something.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Poker is boring.
/biased fact
July 16th, 2009 at 5:15 PM
one of the other November 9 is the editor of “Card Player” magazine… and has threatened to throw the bracelet in the trash if he wins. Someone took Brock Lesnar’s act from Saturday to a new level!
Too bad Esfandiari couldn’t make it to the final 9, too.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:15 PM
“Charismatic.” Now there’s an adjective that is thrown around all too freely in the world of sports. Seems any dumb jock who can string more than two sentences together makes the grade these days. The truth is, even guys like LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are about as interesting and engaging as days-old cheese.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:17 PM
well… Pauly fromm the Tao of Poker (the link you included) said Ivey is like the freakin’ Beatles. If that’s not inherently charismatic, I don’t know what is.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:17 PM
Is poker really a sport? Let’s answer that question with a question: What kind of athlete competes for a bracelet?! ‘Nuff said.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:19 PM
It may suck for winning, but its great to make money. Now all these guys can get all kinds of sponsorship deals because they will definitely be on TV. At last year’s a bunch of the guys made 6 figures just on endorsement deals.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:19 PM
hes the best player in the world, online or live. its a pretty big deal he made it.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:20 PM
better than a ring, or especially a cup right?
July 16th, 2009 at 5:26 PM
I am actually surprised more of the commenters here aren’t into poker… most of you are right in the target demographic.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:26 PM
professional poker players make bloggers look good
what a stupid fucking thing to televise. If I see another North Korean cyber-hacker or former white trash meth head rocking the mirror shades and low rise ball cap look TO PLAY CARDS, I’m gonna stick C4 up Norman Chad’s ass
July 16th, 2009 at 5:34 PM
“better than a ring, or especially a cup right?”
Nah. The bracelet is without question the girliest of all sports trophies, hands down. I mean, I see a guy sporting one in regular, everyday life, and instantly I think he’s a Nancy-boy. Let alone competing for the right to wear one. Gay.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:37 PM
you sure about that? dont think it went as well for the players as expected. i know the tv ratings were way up.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:42 PM
“At last year’s a bunch of the guys made 6 figures just on endorsement deals.”
What kind of idiot would buy anything endorsed by a freakin’ poker player?! They make their living off of deception and lies!
July 16th, 2009 at 5:42 PM
Duder, I don’t think any of the players got a six-figure sponsorship deal. None of them were big names or personalities. And I hear a couple actually turned down a chance to be on Leno. But some of them did use the 4 month window to get “better” deals (Dennis Phillips and Peter Eastgate, and even Chino Rheem).
July 16th, 2009 at 5:45 PM
You must be kidding. These guys make their money by making difficult decisions based on available (but incomplete) information and math and psychology abilities. Bluffing is a very, very small part of the game.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:47 PM
the major chip leader this year hadnt signed any deals yet. usually the players are locked up by some site by now. he could actually make a lot if he decides to sign one.
ivey is worth so much no deal is even worth it to him.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:50 PM
Ivey is a part owner of Full Tilt… he basically prints his own money. He needs no deals. And Darvin Moon (chip leader) probably wasn’t offered a deal until last night because no one in their right mind thought he would last to the final 9. He was a mega card rack yesterday.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:52 PM
what site you play on?
July 16th, 2009 at 5:53 PM
all of ‘em.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:54 PM
please tell me not ub. what a joke. ps is by far the best.
July 16th, 2009 at 5:57 PM
Haha. Someone posted a good analogy about UB: If I knew about a gumball machine that kept spitting out $5 bills but every now and then ate my quarter… would I keep using it?
(And yes, I recognize that UB/AP are big time cheaters, etc.)
July 16th, 2009 at 6:07 PM
I fuckin LOVE poker. I watch it on TV all the time. even if I’ve seen it before. Even if I’ve seen it before, I will watch it over and over. I play weekly with friends and non-stop online via Full Tilt.
Phil Ivey is like the Tim Duncan of Poker. He’s awesome, yet has NO personality (escept for flashing a smile once in a while). Perhaps because he cant clown around and play well.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:10 PM
Man, Gonzo. You really like poker.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:13 PM
I can only imagine how much money that sight rakes in every day.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:14 PM
gonzo, ivey is a funny dude. go to pokerroad and listen/watch some of his stuff. cocky as hell but real likeable guy.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:16 PM
which is why its even more unreal what ub/ap did.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:20 PM
I can only imagine how much money that sight rakes in every day.
I remember reading something about this. It was either 1 MIL a week or 1 MIL a month. Either way, he’s set for 300 lifetimes.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:22 PM
How do the payouts work on those sites? I’ve heard sketchy things.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:23 PM
Duder, I’ll check it out. I was referring to Ivey’s table personality. he doesn’t speak at all. Phil Laak and Antonio Esfandiari are awesome to watch though. and their TV show “I Bet You” was very fun to watch.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:26 PM
Clown, I have had zero problems. I deposit using my checking account via E-Check (no fees). When I withdraw, they send it right back using the same method (again, no fees). And I always get my money within 2 days.
Ivey has a 1% stake in Full Tilt. The other people you see in the commercials also have a percentage (probably less than 1%).
July 16th, 2009 at 6:27 PM
Ivey is also the best Ms pac-man player in the world, so he has that going for him.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:29 PM
@Clown – When I was playing 3-4 years ago (before i had a kid) I played on Party Poker and they would just deposit the money in my bank account I signed up with. But I do think the government is making it harder to get your payments, not sure how Full Tilt or Poker Stars works.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:30 PM
Is that with Full Tilt Gonzo?
July 16th, 2009 at 6:32 PM
@bbryan: a month ago, the gov’t put a hold on checks from one bank that paid people playing poker. I dont recall the name of the bank, but banks around the country could not cash checks. The same day the article came out, I tried to withdraw $300 from my account. it took about 10 business days to get the money, when it normally took 2 days.
/I said earlier I had ZERO problems, but I didnt consider this a problem, because the bank in question was not the one that gives me my money.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:35 PM
Yes, I use Full Tilt. I like that the best because it’s easy on the eyes, unlike Poker Stars, UB or Doyles Room. Plus, there are no fees for me on FT.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:39 PM
I need to start playing again, if your patient and play solid poker you can make some coin against some of the fools that play. Unless things have changed in the last 4 years.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:43 PM
You must be VERY VERY patient and extremely tight. Tighter than a virgin whore.
July 16th, 2009 at 10:43 PM
I was going to complain to soemone today about poker not being a sport, after I saw another Sportscenter segment on it, then I realized that the E in ESPN is for Entertainment, and I zipped it. Just because I could give a rat’s ass about it, doesn’t mean it’s not OK for others to be engrossed in. I’m actually envious of those who play a lot and have the kind of mind that can excel in it
July 17th, 2009 at 12:16 AM
its actually harder to put money on then take it off. they will just send you a check and are pretty quick about it. it used to be real easy where you could transfer to/from your bank account through an intermediary. dont play nearly as much as i did in college.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:22 AM
Oh, one last thing – the final table will NOT be “live” on ESPN on the 7th. They will play the Final Table the day before and there will be a 2 hour edited version on the 7th.