Gambling Today

Depending on who is doing the telling, there are either 193 or 194 countries in the world. Regardless of which is right, one thing is for sure: 107 of those countries were represented in the 2007 World Championship of Online Poker. More than 17,000 unique players bought in over 23 events for a total of $24,218,600 in prize money. off the top of my head, I can’t think of any championship that has those kinds of stats. It’s pretty clear: when PokerStars throws a World Championship, it throws a World Championship.

There were many an impressive performance over the course of WCOOP’s two and half weeks. PokerStars player wwwBTHEREcom made it into the money eight times over the course off 23 events and scored more cashes than any other player in the 2007 WCOOP. Because of the sheer number of players from the U.S., you’d expect that the United States won more bracelets than any other country. The U.S. players won nine of the bracelets. The next biggest number was four bracelets for players from Sweden.

Of course, we already know the biggest money winner was TheV0id from the U.K. Here are the top ten money winners across the entire series.

1. TheV0id (United Kingdom) $1,228,330.50
2. ka$ino (United States) $850,782.50
3. mig.com (United States) $586,387.83
4. LadyMaverick (United States) $467,020.50
5. AB_illusive (Denmark) $398,648.93
6. HelmetSky (Israel) $382,245.00
7. mpg1000 (United States) $307,295.00
8. chulwoo $292,932.50
9. taktloss47 (Germany) $261,093.82
10. nitbuster (United States) $234,587.75

The World Championship of Online Poker rather seeps into a person’s daily routine after a while. When it’s over, players, organizers, and, yes, bloggers, have a hard time figuring out what to do with themselves. It’s almost hard to believe it’s finished.

For now, we must put the WCOOP to bed for another year. After a $24 million year in 2007, it’s nearly impossible to predict how big 2008 will be.

For a full look at this year’s statistics and past years figures, check out PokerStars WCOOP statistics page.

For a look at all the final table reports, see any of the links below.

The PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker is a lot of things to a lot of people. It is appointment poker every year for the world’s serious players. It is the third richest tournament series–live or online–in the entire world (only behind the World Series and WPT championship). It is the biggest online tournament series anywhere in the ethereal world of internet poker. Finally, the main event–unlike any online event of its kind–gave the winner the chance to be an instant poker millionaire.

And that’s exactly what happened in the 2007 WCOOP main event.

Nearly 3,000 players signed up on Sunday to play in the $2,500 WCOOP main event. The prize pool nearly touched $7.5 million. The posted first prize was almost $1.4 million. On Monday morning, the players neared the final table and at that moment there was nothing bigger going on anywhere in the poker world.

When the final table bubble burst, nine players sat down to fight for the $3.7 million on the table. Among them was Team PokerStars’ Vanessa “LadyMaverick” Rousso, and several other top players from the poker world.

Seat 1: LadyMaverick (2620233 in chips)
Seat 2: mpg1000 (18764293 in chips)
Seat 3: Fischer80 (4806266 in chips)
Seat 4: HelmetSky (4387588 in chips)
Seat 5: nitbuster (3574607 in chips)
Seat 6: ka$ino (8945334 in chips)
Seat 7: E-Daddie (4751160 in chips)
Seat 8: mao15 (3611592 in chips)
Seat 9: TheV0id (8498927 in chips)

The final nine started off at the 65000/130000/13000 level and, in the early going, mpg1000 was using the chip lead to his advantage, squeezing the shorter stacks out of pots and building his lead without seeing flops.

The first major confrontation saw TheV0id clash with E-Daddie. E-Daddie came in for a raise to 520,000 and The V0id raised him back to 1,170,000. E-Daddie came back for another raise and TheV0id–who had E-Daddie covered–pushed all-in. E-Daddie called with pocket queens to see TheV0id’s tens. The ladies held up and E-Daddie got a key early double-up.

Shortly thereafter we saw the first elimination of the final table. Mpg1000 had come in for a raise to 350,000 and Fischer80 put the rest of his four million chips in the middle with pocket jacks. Ka$ino called and mpg1000 got out of the way. Ka$ino held KK and flopped his set on a TcQcKs board. Fisher80 needed a nine or ace, but missed and was out in ninth place, earning $59,960.

After the hand, the chip stacks looked like this:

Seat 1: LadyMaverick (2318233 in chips)
Seat 2: mpg1000 (20478293 in chips)
Seat 3: Fischer80 (4123266 in chips)
Seat 4: HelmetSky (3333588 in chips)
Seat 5: nitbuster (3851607 in chips)
Seat 6: ka$ino (10680334 in chips)
Seat 7: E-Daddie (7059320 in chips)
Seat 8: mao15 (2966592 in chips)
Seat 9: TheV0id (5148767 in chips)

On the shortstack, Rousso was looking for a chance to double up. It came in the form of aces on the button. After coming in for a raise, she saw mpg1000 put her all-in. Rousso called in a shot to see mpg1000’s pocket sevens. Rousso’s aces flopped a set and pushed her over four million in chips.

After a few more hands, players took a break. After eighteen hours of play, a quick walk and a cup of coffe were likely what they needed. When they came back, they sat to to 80000/160000/16000 blinds.

A few hands into the new level of play, Ka$ino moved into the chip lead. After picking up a few smaller pots, he played a nearly three million chip pot with mpg1000 on an all-spade king-high flop. When mpg1000 bet into it, ka$ino put in a sizable raise and mpg1000 folded. For the first time at the final table, mpg1000 was without his top spot on the leaderboard.

Nitbuster soon began a trip up through the chip-stacks. After playing quietly for the first hour or so, he ramped up the aggression. After calling TheV0id’s raise in the big blind, nitbuster check-raised TheV0id all-in on a 9h Kd Ah flop. TheV0oid thought for a good, long while before mucking his hand. The pot was worth nearly three million chips and nitbuster had worked his way up over the six million mark. Just a few hands later, he moved over the eight million mark after betting into Rousso on a 6c9hAd7d board and taking down the pot.

TheV0id, who had been the chip leader for a while before the final table, soon began working back up. The first order of business was raising from late position and then pushing all-in after mpg1000 re-raised out of the blinds. Mpg1000 eventually folded and TheV0id was up over seven million. He gave some of it back soon thereafter, though. After nitbuster limped into the pot and ka$ino did the same, TheV0id raised to 1.2 million. While TheV0id might have suspected there was a chance nitbuster was a limp re-raise, he likelyy didn’t expect it out of ka$ino. And yet, that’s what k$ino did, raising enough to get TheV0id all-in. The result? A fold, putting ka$ino above the 20 million chip mark.

The blinds moved up to 100000/200000/10000, and moved HelmetSky to get his stack in with AK pre-flop. He got action from E-Daddie’s AJ. No jack came on board and HelmetSky doubled up.

While TheV0id might have given up some chips in the earlier hand, a few hands later, it came time to send an opponent packing. Mao15 was down to 2.7 million chips and open-pushed with pocket eights. TheV0id had pocket kings, pushed to isolate, and picked up the pot. Mao15 finished in eighth place, for $103,431.

Rousso had fallen back below two million chips and open-pushed with AQ. Nitbuster played his pocket kings and was looking good to bust the member of Team PokerStars. The flop came Q77 and opened up a couple more outs for Rousso. Her ace hit on the turn and she was back up to 3.7 million.

HelmetSky proved to be E-Daddie’s downfall. A few minutes later, they got it all-in pre-flop with HelmetSky holding AK to E-Daddie’s AQ. While E-Daddie turned a diamond draw, he missed on the river and finished in seventh place. He was awarded $163,931 for his efforts.

Nitbuster had already been the victim of the small suckout against Rousso. That one will probably never come to mind again, because the next one put him out in sixth place. He sat in the small blind with six million chips. When TheV0id came in for a raise to 550,000, nitbuster pushed back for 2.6 million. TheV0id thought for a bit before pushing all-in for nitbuster’s entire stack. Nitbuster called with AsQs. TheV0id held…AhJc. Right in the door was the Js. Nitbuster had an open-ended draw by the turn, but missed on the river and headed for the virtual exit with a $232,345 prize.

That hand put TheV0id right back in contention for first place. He ended the hand with only 2 million fewer chips that ka$ino.

Seat 1: LadyMaverick (3959932 in chips)
Seat 2: mpg1000 (11424060 in chips)
Seat 4: HelmetSky (8066408 in chips)
Seat 6: ka$ino (19097300 in chips)
Seat 9: TheV0id (17412300 in chips)

After a short break, the blinds moved up to 125000/250000/25000, and Rousso found a quick double-up. In a battle of the blinds, TheV0id put Rousso all-in. She called in a flash with 99. TheV0id held Q7. Rousso turned a set and rivered a full house to move up to 6.2 million. That hand and one a couple orbits later against ka$ino dropped TheV0id down to around 10 million.

Ka$ino, meanwhile, could not be stopped. Over the course of the next twenty minutes, he worked his way up to 28 million in chips, largely without showing his hand. When he did finally turn over his cards, it was to show mpg1000 AK in a 17 million chip pot…pre-flop. MPG1000 held KQ with the queen of clubs. Three clubs were on board by the turn, but mpg1000 missed on the river and was out in fifth place, earning $307,295.

Just a few minutes later, HelmetSky lost a big race against TheV0id. It was QQ for HelmetSky and AK for TheV0id, all-in pre-flop. An ace fell on the turn and HelmetSky couldn’t find a queen on the river. He went out in fourth place, a $382,235 payday.

Rousso was the next to go. Aftr calling a raise in the big blind, she flopped two pair with her 3c6c. She check-called the flop. A second spade came on the turn and both players checked. A third spade came on the river. This time, Rousso bet out and ka$ino put her all-in. Ka$ino held 9s2s for the flush. Rousso’s third place finish earned her $463,940.

Going into heads-up play at 12:10pm ET, the blinds sat at 150000/300000/30000. Ka$ino held a nearly 3:1 chip lead.

Seat 6: ka$ino (44141724 in chips)
Seat 9: TheV0id (15818276 in chips)

Half an hour into heads up play, there had only been on major swing. TheV0id worked his way up to 27 million in chips after flopping a pair of aces and getting paid. After a short break, the players resumed at 200000/400000/40000.

Seat 6: ka$ino (34691724 in chips)
Seat 9: TheV0id (25268276 in chips)

A very odd hand arrived after the break in which the players poked and prodded at each other on a 5QQ flop. The turn was a deuce and TheV0id bet 1.8 million. Ka$ino called. The river was a ten and TheV0id bet a curious one million chips into a nearly seven million chip pot. TheV0id called with K2 to beat TheV0id’s bluff. TheV0id responded with:

TheV0id: omg
TheV0id: wasnt supposed to bet that
TheV0id: so hard to see with all the millions

A few hands later, ka$ino had his biggest lead of the tournament, holding 46 million chips. Then came the big swing. After both checking the flop, the players were looking at a board of 7c 5c Kd 6d. Ka$isno check-raised and TheV0id pushed all in. Ka$ino called to see he was in bad shape. While he held 56 for two pair, TheV0id had K5. For at least a moment, TheV0id had the lead.

Seat 6: ka$ino (29123448 in chips)
Seat 9: TheV0id (30836552 in chips)

It would only take a few minutes for ka$ino to get it all back On the river, he bet into a 8d Js Qc Qd 6s board and TheV0id laid down his hand, giving up a 17 million chip pot. Still, the tables refused to stop turning, and a few hands later, it was all-in pre-flop with TheV0id holding pocket sevens to ka$ino’s AQ. The pair held up and The V0id took over as chip leader.

Before long, the stacks had evened up. After a little more than an hour of heads-up play, the event had become a heads-up sit and go for a difference of nearly $700,000 in prize money. To the amazement of many people watching, there came not even a mention of a deal. With the big money still on the table, the next huge 18 million chip pot slid to TheV0id. Only then did ka$ino mention any sort of business.

ka$ino: want to do a 100k save
ka$ino: for second place?
ka$ino: blinds getting bigger
TheV0id: well not now when im in front
TheV0id:
ka$ino: ok

In front and marching, TheV0oid started hitting some flops and picking up some pairs. Before long, TheV0id was up to 45 million. The lead lasted another ten minutes when the first real ugly hand appeared. They got it all in on a Qs Td Kh flop. Ka$ino had flopped a set of kings to TheV0id’s J9 for a straight. The board paired queens on the river, though, and ka$ino jumped back into the lead with his full house. It lasted until TheV0id flopped trip tens and picked up a 14 million chip pot to retake the lead.

A couple of hands later, the stacks were basically even and the idea of a save was re-visited. And so it was. After a brief discussion, the players decided to award $850,782.50 for second and $1,228,330.50 for first. When the players reached the two hour mark of heads up play, TheV0id held 37 million chips to ka$ino’s 22 million. A few minutes after the break, TheV0id moved back up to 44 million after making two pair with queens and nines vs ka$ino’s AJ on a AKQ9x board. That big lead lasted all of one hand. Ka$ino flopped a set of fours and got paid on the river to move back close to even.

The tournament has nearly been running for 22 hours. Even the toughest among the railbirds wondered how…no, if it would end. Like a flash of heat lightning on a hot night, the final hand came from nowhere and ended the tournament with a $1.2 million clap of thunder. With the blinds at 300000/600000/60000, TheV0id came in for a raise to 1.4 million. Ka$ino re-raised to 4.4 million. The V0id pushed all-in and got an instant call from ka$ino. TheV0id held KsQh to ka$ino’s AcKd. The flop, 3cJhTs, was foreboding. The turn was a quick reprieve from what now seemed inevitable. The river was the thing…the nine of spades, giving the straight and the WCOOP championship to TheV0id.

After two and half weeks, 23 events, and nearly $25 million in prize money, the 2007 World Championship of Online Poker ended by awarding the first ever $1 million prize to the winner, TheV0id.

Congratulations to all the players who cashed in this year’s WCOOP. Final table results for the main event are below.

2007 WCOOP Event #23 Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and $150,000 save for second place

1. TheV0id (United Kingdom) $1,228,330.50
2. ka$ino (United States) $850,782.50
3. LadyMaverick (United States) $463,940.50
4. HelmetSky (Israel) $382,245.00
5. mpg1000 (United States) $307,295.00
6. nitbuster (United States) $232,345.00
7. E-Daddie (United States) $163,391.00
8. mao15 (United States) $103,431.00
9. Fischer80 (Denmark) $59,960.00

The 2007 World Championship of Online Poker main event has just kicked off as the richest tournament in online poker history. Nearly 3,000 players are now set to battle for a nearly $7.5 million prize pool.

It’s impossible to say what’s going to happen over the next 15 hours or so. When the final table hits, players will be looking at a first prize of nearly $1.4 million. There stands a decent chance that we could see online poker’s biggest tournament cash ever. An unchopped first prize will award the winner nearly $1.4 million.

As the event gets underway, players begin with 20,000 in chips and will be playing 30 minute levels. To watch, click on “Events” and “WCOOP” in your PokerStars lobby.

Good luck to everyone in the event. We’ll see you on the other side.

Limit poker is a dysfunctional marriage of a game theorist and a math wonk. They live in a house that looks like any other house in the poker neighborhood and, on the outside, they seem like a happy couple. Inside, though, the debates rage harder than any daytime soap opera. The math half of the marriage insists there is a correct decision for every card on every street. The game theorist insists there are nuances that can override the math. It is an in-house debate that rages through every game of limit hold’em. In this marriage, there are progeny and it’s those people who are limit hold’em winners.

Event #22 of the World Championship of Online Poker drew more than 600 players at $1,050 apiece, all of whom hope to be the perfect child in the imperfect marriage. Nine of those players got closer than the rest.

Seat 1: drbk2 (619733 in chips)
Seat 2: DEVIRUS (1129819 in chips)
Seat 3: emptyseat88 (441326 in chips)
Seat 4: plattsburgh (936478 in chips)
Seat 5: Hansa.no (224548 in chips)
Seat 6: jumper17 (684116 in chips)
Seat 7: BUTCH ACIDY (366173 in chips)
Seat 8: Sowerss (1525467 in chips)
Seat 9: der Falk (232340 in chips)

Der Falk, despite having the chip lead for a good while before the final table, was the first to go. He picked up AK versus BUTCH ACIDY’s KK. Der Falk played the hand as hard as he could, but never caught up. He finished in ninth place for $8,008.

Hansa.no was the next to go. Having lost most of his stack to DEVIRUS in a hand that he didn’t show down, Hansa.no played A7 for the rest of his chips against emptyseat88’s KQ. A queen on the turn ended Hansa.no’s day in eighth place. He was awarded $13,552 for his efforts.

BUTCH ACIDY fell on hard times a few hands later and, with only 100,000 chips left, ended up getting QT in against emptyseat88’s K6 pre-flop. No queen or ten appeared and BUTCH ACIDY finished in seventh place, a $20,328 payday.

With six players remaining, the chip stacks sized up as follows:

Seat 1: drbk2 (424733 in chips)
Seat 2: DEVIRUS (1234819 in chips)
Seat 3: emptyseat88 (691887 in chips)
Seat 4: plattsburgh (868978 in chips)
Seat 6: jumper17 (1141616 in chips)
Seat 8: Sowerss (1797967 in chips)

There were more cruel rivers in this event than just about any other. The cruelest we’d seen in a while put DEVIRUS out. He flopped a set of deuces against plattsburgh’s pair of sixes on a Qd2dJh flop. They capped the betting and got DEVIRUS all-in. The river? Indeed, a six. DEVIRUS finished in in sixth place for a $27.720 cash.

After a short break, emptyseat88 sat on the shortest stack and was ready to pick up some chips. He came in for a raise with Kc7c and called a re-raise from Sowerss. The flop came own 9sKsJh. With top pair, emptyseat88 was in decent shape. Problem was, Sowerss held A7 and an ace came on the turn. No king on the river and emptyseat88 finished in fifth place for $35,112.

Four-handed play lasted for a long while before drbk2 succumbed to the pressure of the bigger stacks and mounting blinds. His last gasp was getting TJ all-in on a 3sQs6h flop. He was up against Sowerss’ 78. A seven on the river ended drbk2’s morning, out in fourth place and earning $43,120.

Plattsburgh was the neext to find the door. After jumper17 flopped a set against him and took him for half a million chips, plattsburgh only had enough chips to play one more big hand. He decided to go with QsJs. He got it all in pre-flop against jumper17’s 77. Plattburgh never improved and was out in third place for $56,056.

Going into heads up play, the remaining two foes had the following stacks:

Seat 6: jumper17 (3334103 in chips)
Seat 8: Sowerss (2825897 in chips)

With a $60,000 difference between first and second, the players thought it better to cut a deal with the following terms.

$108,967.05 — jumper17
$102,184.95 — Sowerss

They left $18,000 and the WCOOP bracelet on the table. That’s where things got interesting.

After an impressive and hard-fought early battle, jumper17 (at the urging of his opponent) revealed what many people already knew. He is Markus Golser, a tough Austrian pro, known around the world as a fierce competitor.

While Golser had Sowerss on the ropes a couple of times, after a full hour of heads-up play, the stacks were still close to even. Neither player backed down, and for good reason.

Sowerss: i want the full bracelet
Sowerss: i’d almost give u 5k for it
jumper17: me too

After an hour and half, Sowerss had made an amazing comeback and taken a big lead, only to see Golser rebound and recapture his position on top. Then it was even again. Regardless of who came out on top, it was going to be a battle that neither player forgot.

It took a full hour and forty minutes for the heads-up battle to end. Over the course of several hands, Sowerss moved ahead. So many times before, the chip lead had melted back to even. This time, Sowerss held the lead. The final hand saw Golser flopping middle pair, but Sowerss turned a straight and sent Golser out in second place.

Congratualtions to all the players who cashed in Event #22 of the 2007 World Championship of Online Poker.

2007 WCOOP: Event #22 Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and two-way deal that left $18,000 for first place

1. Sowerss (United States) $120,184.95
2. jumper17 (Austria) $108,967.05
3. plattsburgh (United States) $56,056.00
4. drbk2 (United States) $43,120.00
5. emptyseat88 (United States $35,112.00
6. DEVIRUS (Canada) $27,720.00
7. BUTCH ACIDY (United States) $20,328.00
8. Hansa.no (Cyprus) $13,552.00
9. der Falk (Sweden) $8,008.00

The appeal of online poker–or at least part of it–is the ability to play in an event with a relatively small buy-in and have a chance at a major score.

Event #20 of the World Championship of Online Poker had nothing to do with that part of the game’s appeal.

At $5,000, the buy-in to the HORSE event was the largest of the entire tournament series. It drew some of poker’s top name from both the live and online world. One hundred seventy-seven players threw in five grand a piece for a chance at a $225,000 first prize.

Here’s what the final table of the event looked like.

Seat 1: tj_trail (285838 in chips)
Seat 2: svesken (246331 in chips)
Seat 3: BUS02 (116856 in chips)
Seat 4: TwinkleStar (95043 in chips)
Seat 5: BOBALOB (268092 in chips)
Seat 6: hairos (382407 in chips)
Seat 7: ROXY24 (170189 in chips)
Seat 8: Cordelia (205244 in chips)

At the start of the final table, the game was Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo at the 10,000/20,000 limit. TwinkleStar had less than 100,000 in chips. With 8c4c/8d, he came in for a raise and then called a re-raise from BOBALOB who showed a queen up. On fourth and fifth street, TwinkleStar picked up nines and was looking good with two pair. He got a bet in on sixth street, but BOBALOB called and made queens up on the river. TwinkleStars was out in eighth place, cashing for $22,657.

BUS02 came into the final table with the second shortest stack and found the exit shortly thereafter. Reduced to only 43,000 chips, BUS02 got all his chips in with AdKh7c3s showing. We never got to find out what he had in the hole, as hairos pulled a straight flush and and BOBALOB had an 8-low. BUSO2 exited in seventh place for $31,860.

The players took a 30-minute break and came back to 12,000/24,000 limit hold’em, stacked up like this:

Seat 1: tj_trail (341638 in chips)
Seat 2: svesken (363231 in chips)
Seat 5: BOBALOB (430563 in chips)
Seat 6: hairos (443835 in chips)
Seat 7: ROXY24 (97889 in chips)
Seat 8: Cordelia (92844 in chips)

ROXY24 was looking for a double up and came in for a raise with J9. After calling a re-raise from tj_trail, ROXY24 saw the flop: Jc7dKs. Tj_trail bet out, ROXY24 raised, tj-trail re-raised and ROXY24 called. The turn was the 3d. This time tj_trail bet out and ROX24 called all in. Tj_trail held AdTd and had outs to any diamond, any queen, or any ace. The ace fell on the river and ROXY24 was out in sixth place and a $41,595 payday.

Cordelia was the next to go. Tj_trail rivered a flush on a 4s9cTh7c8c board to put Cordelia on life support. Cordelia was all-in in the big blind on the next hand and couldn’t find a winner. For fifth place, Cordelia picked up $55,755.

Despite being the only person at the final table interested in a deal, tj_trail could not stop winning. Whether it was a rivered flush or a flopped full house, he won hand after hand and, before long, was up over 800,000 in chips.

The hold’em round simply belonged to tj_trail. After it was over, he held a firm lead.

Seat 1: tj_trail (859527 in chips)
Seat 2: svesken (303462 in chips)
Seat 5: BOBALOB (187407 in chips)
Seat 6: hairos (419604 in chips)

The beginning of the Omaha/8 round cut further into BOBALOB’s stack. His frustration started to set in and he gave some clue as to his identity.

BOBALOB: this is sick 4th in both the biggest horse events of the year.

While he managed to double up and stick around for a while longer, he finally got his remaining chips in with KhKsJd6s. It was both a good and bad flop, KcQcTc. While tk_trail didn’t hold clubs, he did have AAJx for the flopped straight. The board didn’t pair and BOBALOB was out in fourth place for $71,685.

All the while, hairos was making a steady climb and, midway through the O8 round, had moved up to the chip lead. At the same time, tj_trail fell all the way back to third place after losing a 300,000 chip pot when svesken rivered two pair, nines and threes.

As the game turned to Razz, the chips stacks looked a lot different than they did an hour before.

Seat 1: tj_trail (409248 in chips)
Seat 2: svesken (588648 in chips)
Seat 6: hairos (772104 in chips)

Razz was unkind to tj_trail. Where he had the chip lead for a good long while, he had fallen back during the O8 round. The Razz round–and svesken–proved to be his undoing. Over the course of 20 minutes in Razz, his opponents beat him up. TJ_trail sat incredulous as his stack dwindled down to nearly nothing. The more he didn’t believe his opponent had made their hand, the more they actually did. The final nail came After losing with a ten-low to svekson’s six, Tj_trail finished in third place, earning $103,987.

Here’s how the stacks looked going into heads-up play.

Seat 2: svesken (1056144 in chips)
Seat 6: hairos (713856 in chips)

Within a few minutes, hairos had drawn even with svesken and the players decided to chop up the money. They left $26,000 on the table and and took $176,921 a piece.

In the end, hairos picked svesken apart piece by piece over half an hour and finished him off to pick up the extra cash and the gold WCOOP bracelet.

2007 WCOOP: Event #21 Final Table Results
Results based on finishing order and two-way deal that left $26,000 for first place

1. hairos (Denmark) $202,921.00
2. svesken (Denmark) $176,921.00
3. tj_trail (United States) $103,987.50
4. BOBALOB (United States) $71,685.00
5. Cordelia (United States) $55,755.00
6. ROXY24 (Canada) $41,595.00
7. BUS02 (United States) $31,860.00
8. TwinkleStar (United States) $22,567.50

Imagine this scene.

It’s been a bloody fight on an Old West street. The shoot out has been blazing for fourteen hours and all but two of the gun fighters lay dead in the dirt. The two remaining foes are trading bullets and staring at each other across a High Noon landscape. One fighter falls, gutshot, and bleeding in the dirt. He’s still breathing, but could succumb to his injuries at any moment. Maybe even resigned to his fate, the bloodied man raises his head and down the barrel of the standing cowboy’s gun.

Click.

It would seem too good to be true. The gun is jammed.

Now, the bleeding man has a choice. He can empty his gun into his defenseless opponent. Or, he can say, “Oh, I’ll wait. Unjam your pistol and we’ll resume when you’re ready.”

Yeah, that kind of thing didn’t happen in the Old West, and, frankly, that kind of thing doesn’t happen in poker very often. In a world where angle shooters are everywhere, catching a break in poker is rare. And yet, that’s what happened in Event #20 of the 2007 World Championship of Online Poker, a $530 Triple Shootout.

However, we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Seven hundred and twenty nine people packed the triple shootout event. To make the final table, players would have to win two single tables in a row. These nine did just that.

Seat 1: adotlee
Seat 2: lyerly_
Seat 3: “Dumping”KGB
Seat 4: Cobra234
Seat 5: Nutedawg
Seat 6: Zock’n'Rock
Seat 7: THE__D__RY
Seat 8: AJunglen7
Seat 9: pannipha

With 3000 in chips and super-low blinds, there was less action at the beginning stages and more questions about the conspicuous absence of Cobra324. Apparently, he was taking a little nap and missed quite a few orbits before making it to the table. In the meantime, “Dumping”KGB jumped out to early lead after rivering a spade flush in a hand against Zock’n'Rock. Zock’n'Rock was not deterred however, and over the next half an hour managed to work his way up over 4,400 in chips.

The first huge confrontation of the third round came when lyerly_ and “Dumping”KGB were all-in pre-flop. At the 25/50 level, it would take a lot to get all the chips in the middle. No surprise then that both players had aces. Drama came up on the turn when a third spade appeared on the board. Lyerly_ held the ace of spades. No spade on the river saved “Dumping”KGB an ugly beat and play resumed.

It only took a few hands before the action monster raised its ugly head again, and this time, the ugliness prevailed. After raising and calling a re-raise from Cobra234, AJunglen7 saw a flop of Tc2c4s. When Cobra234 bet out, Ajunglen7 raised, and Cobra put him all-in. AJunglen7 couldn’t have been happier to call. He’d flopped a set of fours, good enough to beat Cobra234’s pair of kings. Cobra234 was out a few hands later in ninth place, cashing for $3,645.

Lyerly_ must have been a little misty about missing his freeroll a few hands earlier. Just a few hands after Cobra234 went out, Lyerly_ went head to head with adotlee. Both held AK, but lyerly_’s was suited in spades. They got it in pre-flop and saw two spades on the flop and one on the river to send adotlee out in in eighth place, a $6,561 payday.

The beginning hour of the third round had been void of big action until those hands happened. Suddenly, things were getting crazy. Witness Nutedawg raising to 241 and AJunglen7 putting him all in for another 1,000. AJunglen7 held KQ suited in spades to Nutedawg’s AT. This time, all three spades fell on the flop and Nutedawg was out in seventh place. He earned $10,206.

Players took a thirty-minute break and came back to some tighter play. After ten more minutes of small action at the 50/100 level, the chip stacks looked like this:

Seat 2: lyerly_ (2508 in chips)
Seat 3: “Dumping”KGB (4542 in chips)
Seat 6: Zock’n'Rock (5300 in chips)
Seat 7: THE__D__RY (4585 in chips)
Seat 8: AJunglen7 (7560 in chips)
Seat 9: pannipha (2505 in chips)

Zock’n'Rock moved into the lead after playing AQ against AJunglen7’s AK. While both players played the hand relatively carefully, the queen on the flop gave Zock’n'Rock the chip lead. It was a position he clearly relished. A few hands later, he called a 1350 bet from THE__D__RY on a Qc5d4c8sAs board with a pair of nines. THE__D__RY held KcJc for the busted flush draw. Zock’n'Rock’s chip lead got even bigger and he held close to half the chips in play.

The final table had not yet seen a brutal suckout. THE__D__RY was the unfortunate victim of the first. Lucky enough to get pocket aces all-in against lyerly_’s AcQc, THE__D__RY likely threw up in his mouth a little when he saw the flop 9TJ with two clubs. The turn meant nothing, but the river was a king, filling in lyerly_’s straight and sending THE__D__RY out in sixth place with a $14,580 cash.

Pannipha had not been playing a lot of hands, but by this point also didn’t have a ton of chips. When he came over the top of an AJunglen7 raise, he didn’t have enough chips to force a fold. While Pannipha held AK, AJunglen7’s Q4 turned a four and sent Pannipha out in fifth place. He picked up $20,047.

Here’s what the chip stacks looked like after the hand:

Seat 2: lyerly_ (4953 in chips)
Seat 3: “Dumping”KGB (1897 in chips)
Seat 6: Zock’n'Rock (12190 in chips)
Seat 8: AJunglen7 (7960 in chips)

On the short-stack, “Dumping”KGB was looking for a chance to double up. When Zock’n'Rock came in for a raise, “Dumping”KGB pushed with AT. He was in bad shape. Zock’n'Rock held pocket queens. “Dumping”KGB didn’t improve and finished in fourth place for $27,337.

Three-handed play was tough, but did not see an exit before the next break. Zock’n'Rock had moved his chip stack above the 15,000 mark. AJunglen7 was in second place with 6,400. Lylerly_ was not too far behind with 4,700. When the players returned from break, they faced 100/200 blinds.

Within a few hands after play resumed, the shorter stacks went to war. AJunglen7 raised from the button, lyerly_ re-raised from the small blind. After thinking for a bit, Ajunglen7 pushed and lyerly_, who had moved up to second place in chips, called with pocket tens. AJunglen7 called with A9, a hand rendered useless after a ten came on the flop. AJunglen7 was out in third place and cashed for $36,450.

Seat 2: lyerly_ (10693 in chips)
Seat 6: Zock’n'Rock (16307 in chips)

Zock’n'Rock quickly chipped up to 18,000 and kept the aggression on. Lylerly_, however, would not back down. He waited for his spot and then bet out on a Jh 9c 3d flop. Zock’n'Rock raised and lyerly_ moved all-in. Zock’n'Rock thought for a second before folding and moving lyerly_ up above 12,000 in chips. Just a few hands later, though, he gave all of it back after Zock’n'Rock flopped trip eights and rivered a full house.

The players then settled into a chip-passing rhythm that would’ve been hypnotic if not for the money on the line. Just when the rail started to get dreamy, the first huge confrontation hit. Zock’n'Rock held 66 to lyerly_’s pocket nines. Lyerly_’s hand held up, and for the first time, he held the chip lead. Now, it was his turn to turn up the aggression. After an entire game on the offensive, Zock’n'Rock was set back on his heels and suddenly had only 7,000 chips.

What might have turned into a quick bloodbath soon came to a standstill as lyerly_ lost his internet connection. This was the moment in which Zock’n'Rock had a choice. He could blind lyerly_ out or he could exhibit something far too rarely seen in poker: sportsmanship.

Only six hands went by before Zock’n'Rock asked tournament adminstrators to pause the event. As the rail waited, this appeared in the chat box.

StaffBryanS [Supervisor]: We have reached lyerly on the phone. He is dashing to a friend’s house. Approximately 15-20 minutes, okay?

Zock’n'Rock: well alright, I hope I dont fall asleep by then. Gonna make some more coffee heh.

Twenty more minutes passed before lyerly_ re-appeared and said, “Thank you for the respect and consideration.”

In a Western made by Disney, these two men would’ve stood up from the ghost town dust and headed to the saloon for a root beer. However, Disney doesn’t cotton to poker and poker tournaments don’t end with two people standing.

With lyerly_’s virtual gun un-jammed, the fight resumed, and it was short. Zock’n'Rock’s dying gasp was an all-in bluff with 63. It ran directly into lyerly_’s pocket sevens and never caught up.

While Zock’n'Rock finished in second, his sportsmanship alone gained him respect, something a poker player simply can’t buy. So, respect to Zock’n'Rock and congratulations to lyerly_ for winning Event #20 of the World Championship of Online Poker.

2007 WCOOP: Event #20 Final Table Results

1. lyerly_ (United States) $76,545.00
2. Zock’n'Rock (Germany) $51,030.00
3. AJunglen7 (United States) $36,450.00
4. “Dumping”KGB (United States) $27,337.50
5. pannipha (United Kingdom) $20,047.50
6. THE__D__RY (United States) $14,580.00
7. Nutedawg (United States) $10,206.00
8. adotlee (United States) $6,561.00
9. Cobra234 (Denmark) $3,645.00

No matter whether it’s the World Championship of Online Poker, the World Series, or your local bar league’s yearly championship series, when it starts getting toward the end, the pressure to put up a good score starts to mount. With only three days left in the 2005 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker, the $530 Pot-Limit Omaha event drew all kinds of wild gamblers to compete for the $523,000 prize pool. More than 1,000 runners jumped into the Friday event. One hundred fifty-three of them got paid, bot only nine could say they made it to the final table. There, the gold WCOOP bracelet and some big money waited for first place.

Seat 1: buck21 (675653 in chips)
Seat 2: cpfactor (346548 in chips)
Seat 3: Gu Minda (254942 in chips)
Seat 4: tralaira (321000 in chips)
Seat 5: Taknapotin (610847 in chips)
Seat 6: muzzu (278486 in chips)
Seat 7: Egar1m (130656 in chips)
Seat 8: villepn (398332 in chips)
Seat 9: Niiiv (121536 in chips)

The first big hand of the final table saw a rough runner-runner beat for villepn. On a 5dJs2c flop, muzzu re-raised villepn all-in. Villepn had flopped a set of fives. Muzzu only held JdAhKh4d for a pair of jacks and a gutshot draw. A running king and jack, though, pushed the pot the muzzu. His reponse? “Uuups.”

Villepn said nothing. Or, at least, we couldn’t hear it. His neighbors? That may be a different story. Villepn was left with 128,000 in chips, while muzzu moved up into second place.

Gu Minda was the next to double up after flopping jacks full of sevens against Taknapotin and getting paid off. That hand cut Taknapotin down to less than 300,000 in chips. He wasn’t around for much longer. He came in for a raise with 9cQc7dTc and called a re-raise from buck21. It was the kind of flop that was going to get Taknapotin all in: 7cQd8s. With two pair and the open-ended draw, Taknapotin got his money in to see buck21’s As3s7sAd. When the board paired eights on the turn, buck21 moved ahead in the hand and Taknapotin missed his myraid of outs. He finished in ninth place for $6,014.

Niiiv didn’t have a lot of chips at the start of the final table and wasn’t able to climb out of the hole. Niiiv re-raised all-in with KdKc4hQd versus villepn’s 8c8sAc9h. An eight fell on the flop, Niiiv never caught up, and ultimately finished in eighth place for $10,460.

It took a few more minutes for the action to heat back up, but when it did, it was hot. Gu Minda flopped quad aces and got paid off by buck21. Then villepn got all in with aces and flopped a full house versus cpfactor.

Aces worked for those players, but failed Egar1m. He got all-in pre-flop with them against buck21’s 8d9c7hQs. Buck21 flopped two pair and rivered a boat to send Egar1m out in seventh place and a cash of $10,206.

Seconds later, cpfactor went on a run and doubled up twice, once against muzzu (in which his aces held up) and once against villepn (in which he cracked aces). After that, play slowed down for a while. Some measured action led up to a big confrontation between villepn and tralaira. Villepn held queens pre-flop to tralaira’s kings. Villepn couldn’t suck out and was reduced to getting his remaining chips in against two players. While, the rail never saw his hand, he coudn’t beat Gu Minda’s trip threes and exited in sixth place for $14,580.

Five handed, the stacks looked like this:

Seat 1: buck21 (1345638 in chips)
Seat 2: cpfactor (350432 in chips)
Seat 3: Gu Minda (901980 in chips)
Seat 4: tralaira (153000 in chips)
Seat 6: muzzu (386950 in chips)

Sitting third in chips, cpfactor came in for a raise and got action from Gu Minda. The flop came down Ks8d4d and both players checked. The turn was the Ts. Gu Minda bet out and cpfactor raised. Gu Minda put him all in and cpfactor called. Cpfactor held 8c7sTdQd to Gu Minda’s JsKhTc9s. A king on the river solidified Gu Minda’s winning hand and cpfactor was out in fifth place, cashing for $26,934.

Within the next few hands, tralaira was down below 100,000 in chips and got all-in on a 999 flop. Bad timing, for sure, as Gu Minda held the case nine and put tralaira out in fourth place, a $33,472 payday.

Buck21 took three-handed play as an opportunty to slowly build his stack and, before long, had more than two million chips. His stack grew even bigger when his pocket aces held up against muzzu’s 7hTsJs7s. Muzzu finished in third for $41,840.

Heads-up, buck21 had a better than 2:1 chip lead and refused to talk about a deal, saying it was “only a 60k difference.” Gu Minda accepted the denial and set about chipping into buck21’s lead. He nearly did it in less than 15 minutes. Finally, buck21 said okay to a chop. It took a while to negotiate it, but the deal ended with $16,000 left on the table and the players getting the following payouts.

buck21 - $81,262
Gu Minda - $77,053

It took a while, but buck21 prevailed. He gradually worked Gu Minda down to a 1:4 deficit. All the money eventually went in after Gu Minda turned two pair. At the same time, buck21 had turned his Broadway straight. Gu Minda didn’t boat up on the river and finished in second place.

Congratualtions to all the people who cased in Event #19. Final table results are below.

2007 WCOOP: Event #19 Final Table Results

1. buck21 (Canada) $97,262
2. Gu Minda (France) $77,053.00
3. muzzu (Finland) $41,840.00
4. tralaira (Spain) $33,472.00
5. cpfactor (United States) $26,934.50
6. villepn (Finland) $20,397.00
7. Egar1m (United States) $15,167.00
8. Niiiv (United States) $10,460.00
9. Taknapotin (United States) $6,014.50

There are certain things in your life that you shouldn’t attempt without a solid working knowledge of how they work. While opinions vary on what these things are, I’d think the top ten would include driving a tractor, using a pressure cooker, and playing Seven Card Stud Eight or Better.

I’ve spent several years around some of the greatest poker thinkers in the world. I’ve traveled with somebody who has a World Series bracelet in the same event, and I’ve played the game in Vegas casinos. However, if someone asked me how to play, I’d only be able to say (as a friend once told me), “If you have a nine in your hand to start, fold.”

Fortunately, there are people out there who love this game and are, by all accounts, quite good at it. Nearly 600 people signed up to play in Event #18 of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker. Eleven hours later, eight of them still had a chance at the WCOOP bracelet.

Seat 1: theowl48 (193105 in chips)
Seat 2: BigLL (116329 in chips)
Seat 3: mysticaces (215596 in chips)
Seat 4: TheActionKid (179319 in chips)
Seat 5: pinfishtom (218792 in chips)
Seat 6: Sensor (81840 in chips)
Seat 7: motor1963 (489027 in chips)
Seat 8: crazyjanie (299992 in chips)

Sensor started the final table with the shortest stack, and by the time the limits moved up to 10,000/20,000, he was down to 50,000 in chips. It was time to pick a hand and go with it. Starting with 6c5c/5d, Sensor made his move. It was as if he knew he was on his way out when he said, “Big shout out to my grandmother who is watching me play this tonight, my mom, my girlfriend, and all of my friends . Thanks for the support.” He came in for a raise and got action from motor1963, who was showing a 2. By sixth street, Sensor had committed himself to the hand and was all-in. While he finished with aces up, he never made a low. Motor1963, meanwhile, picked up trip threes to send Sensor to the rail in eighth place for a $5681 payday.

Motor1963, already flush with chips, continued his tear a few hands later when he rivered a straight and six-low to cut a big chunk out of TheActionKid’s stack. The mood at the table then turned a little sour.

TheActionKid: nice river
motor1963: ty
TheActionKid: keep betting into the best player at the table

TheActionKid did his best to fight back and was able to work his stack back up to where he started at the final table. However, no matter his level of talent, he would be the next to go down. Over the course of the next half an hour, his opponents whittled his stack down to a mere 30,000 at the 15,000/30,000 limit. Dealt 3h5c/As, he got all his chips in against his foe, motor1963’s 2sAh/2h. Four cards later, motor1963 had trip deuces, good enough to beat TheActionKid’s pair of aces. TheActionKid placed seventh for $8,730.

After a 30 minute break, the limits moved up to 20,000/40,000 and hands that went to the river started to get expensive. Six-handed, the average stack was risking half his stack by playing a hand to the river. BigLL used this time to take over a commanding chip lead, building his stack above 800,000. However, this chip lead wouldn’t last for long. After making a few unsuccessful attempts to knock out the short-stacks, BigLL ran into crazyjanie’s rolled up sevens and handed the chip lead across the table.

Theowl48 was the first to succumb to the bigger stacks. With 115,000 left in his stack, he started with a pair of kings. He got his stack in against mysticaces and motor1963. Motor1963 had three jacks by fourth street and mystic aces was on a low draw. By the river, theowl48 had an eight low and the pair of kings he started with. Neither was good enough for half the pot and he was out in sixth place, cashing for $11,661.

While motor1963 had his share of victories at the final table, he couldn’t hold up against the relentless action at the table. We never saw his full hand. He had 5dThQc9h showing and had all his chips in on fourth street. At the river, he couldn’t beat a pair of threes. Motor1963 finished in fifth place for $14,950.

BigLL may have had a massive chip lead for a while, but crazyjanie had sights set on the man with the Bacardi player icon. When BigLL was dealt two aces down, the pot was sure to be big. It got even bigger when crazyjanie made trip sixes on fourth street. BigLL never caught up and the 400,000 chip pot slid to crazyjanie, moving the player over the million chip mark.

Pinfishtom may not have been the most active player at the final table, but he managed to make it all the way to fourth place and a $18,567 cash. Ultimately, a pair fours dealt down was his downfall. Mysticaces started with a pair of nines and ended with aces up, while pinfishtom never improved.

Mysticaces looked to be on his way to getting heads up with crazyjanie, but BigLL missed having the chip lead and set about getting it back. The first order of business was pulling an ace-high flush by fifth street and picking up a pot worth more than half a million chips.

By and by, the chips kept moving around the table, but not much was changing. Crazyjanie maintained the chip lead, while mysticaces and BigLL sat closely together. Eventually, the players decided to make a deal that left $9,000 and the WCOOP bracelet on the table.

BigLL: $39,367
mysticaces: $38,712
crazyjanie: $49,473

The deal got things moving. BigLL jumped into the game like a man on a mission to win it all or go to bed. When his pair of three ran out trips against craxyjanie’s queens, BigLL started a march that had him rolling over the table. Within five minutes, he had more than a million chips and more than half the chips on the table. Five minutes later, he sent crazyjanie to the rail after crazyjanie missed a heart flush draw and ended with jack-high.

Heads-up, BigLL started with a big chip lead, but it evaporated quickly in a scene that looked a lot like a bar fight–punches being thrown with no particular aim, sometimes landing, sometimes not, but always hurting somebody or something. The chip lead moved back and forth faster than even instant hand histories could understand. Ultimately, BigLL started landing the big blows, took the chip lead, and eventually the bracelet after making trip deuces and a six low against mysticace’s king-high.

Congratulations to all the players who cashed in Event #18.

2007 WCOOP Event #18 Final Table Results
Based on finishing order and a three-way deal that left $9,000 for first place