Event #51: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better
Giorno 1 iniziato
2011 World Series of Poker
Event #51: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better
Giorni 1
Event Info
Risultati finali
Event Info
Informazioni livello
2011 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$1,500
Montepremi
$1,227,100
Entries
946
Livello
26
Bui
25,000 / 50,000
Ante
0
Fun, Fireworks, and Frustration: PLO/8 Awaits!
![[user38338]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
It's not hold'em. Not no-limit, either. It ain't Omaha/8. Nor is it PLO.
Welcome to Event No. 51, the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better event that is guaranteed to bring lots of action, and perhaps a wild variety of skill and preparation, given the relative uniqueness of PLO/8.
A game largely confined to the online realm, PLO/8 was added to the WSOP schedule for the first time in 2007. It's a game that attracts specialists, many of whom believe they can find an edge against less experienced players coming to it from PLO high or fixed limit O/8. Too great a reliance on high cards (as the PLO players sometimes demonstrate) or only playing low cards (as will happen with some from the O/8 crowd) can get players in trouble, an edge the more agile PLO/8 players hope to exploit. The relative value of draws and made hands is different here than in other Omaha games, too, creating more challenges for the less experienced.
It's also a game in which the frustration factor may be a touch higher than in other games. As Lou Krieger and Mark Tenner write of PLO/8 in Mastering Omaha/8 Poker, "this is a game in which even solid players often tilt the hand following a tough beat, or after a hand where they miss a big draw with a lot of money committed to the pot."
Expect fireworks, then, with lots of wild hands and hotly-contested pots as players today line up with hopes of repeating the success of Steve Jelenik, who last year bested a field of 847 in this event to earn a cool $245,871 return on his $1,500 investment.
Play is scheduled to start at noon Vegas time. See you back here then when the action begins!
Livello: 1
Bui: 25/25
Ante: 0
"Shuffle Up and Deal!" "Rebuy!"
Livello 1
: 25/25, 0 ante
"Rebuy, 37!" "Rebuy, 41!" "Rebuy, 31!"
Cards are in the air and the first hands of Event No. 51 are being dealt. Immediately players at nearby tables indicated to dealers their wish to go ahead and use their two "add-on" chips and top off to the full 4,500 to begin.
To clarify, players start with 1,500 chips plus two add-ons, both worth 1,500 each. They can use those add-ons at any point during the first four one-hour levels, at which point they'll be required to cash them in for chips.
Familiar Faces
Livello 1
: 25/25, 0 ante
After a quick sweep of this side of the Pavilion room at the start of play we've already spotted a few familiar faces. Dan Heimiller is here, as are Kathy Liebert, Robert Mizrachi, Jeff Madsen, Chris Bell. Brett Richey, and John Racener. And Tom "durrrr" Dwan has just taken his seat, positioned a couple to the left of Bill Chen.
A Few Notables
We did a lap around the white section of the Pavilion Room and found the following notables in today's field:
| Giocatore | Chip | Avanzamento |
|---|---|---|
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 |
Triple Chance Format Means No Slow Start
Livello 1
: 25/25, 0 ante
As has been the case with all Pot-Limit Omaha events at this year's WSOP, it is a triple chance format. In this case, each player starts with 1,500 and two re-buy chips worth 1,500 each for a grand total of 4,500. It's always interesting to see the strategy players will use in deciding how to cash these re-buys in. Plenty will take their full stack right away, others might try and grind out a single stack until they have to cash in their re-buys at the end of Level Four.
Either way, for many this means that the all ins come early and often. At a table in the black section, we saw three players already all in (each for only a single 1,500 stack only) on a board of 
. One player showed 
another showed 
and the third showed 
. Two players split the low with 
and the player with 
took down the high with twos full of fives. In standard limit Omaha 8 or Better, you don't see a lot of all ins early, but since this is Pot-Limit, expect to continue to see lots of all ins and lots of chopped pots. Should be an interesting Day 1 to say the least
Welcome Mr. Laak & Mr. Raymer
We just spotted 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Greg Raymer in the field; likewise, Phil "Unabomber" Laak has also taken his seat.
| Giocatore | Chip | Avanzamento |
|---|---|---|
|
4,500 | |
|
4,500 |
Neither a Call Nor a Speech from the Mouth
Livello 1
: 25/25, 0 ante
With 800 in the pot and a board reading 
, the player in the small blind bet 800 and Mike "The Mouth" Matusow called from middle position. When the 
appeared on the river, the small blind bet his last 250, a relatively small bet into the 2,400 pot.
Matusow looked at his hand, grinned, and tossed it to the muck. Matusow has a stack of 1,775 in front of him, plus two rebuy chips worth T1,500 apiece.
Don't I Know You?
Livello 1
: 25/25, 0 ante
Some other familiar folks here. Barny Boatman has taken his seat, located to the immediate right of Tom Schneider. Dutch pro Noah Boeken and our PokerNews colleague Chris "Homer" Hall are both here. And Justin Phillips -- he of the famous royal flush-vs.-quad aces hand from the 2008 WSOP Main Event -- has taken a seat as well.
Phillips' table is engaging in some jovial small talk here in the early going, much of it to do with how well they know PLO/8. Amid their talk, one player pointed at both Phillips and the player to his right, saying they both looked familiar, although he insisted it was the other one -- not Phillips -- who looked more so.
"He looks more familiar?" said Phillips with a wide grin, then with a thumb pointed to his characteristic tank top, added "I'm kind of a big deal." The table laughed as Phillips said he was kidding around, and resumed the discussion of their relative experience (or lack thereof) in Omaha/8.