The WSOP is back on ESPN! The first episode covers the final table of the 50K mixed event, the opening event of the series and direct descendant of the 50k HORSE.
Lon and Norm are back! They immediately play up the brother vs brother storyline, with Mike and Robert Mizrachi both at the table.
"If they ever find intelligent life on Mars Lon, I believe they will be playing mixed games."
There are shiny new graphics, including a notation informing the viewer which position the player they're watching is in. The first hand has Grinder raising A10 in the HJ and going up against David Baker with 77 in the sb. Baker check calls a c-bet on an 832 flop.
"I believe the continuation bet has cost more people more money than anything other than federal income tax."
The turn is an Ace and the Grinder checks behind. Baker rivers a two-outer and leads into Mizrachi, who has no option but to call given the play of the hand.
The second hand is more typical of an ESPN televised hand, it's a coinflip! Mikael Thuritz, an L.A. based Swede raises the Cut-off to 110k with JJ on 20-40k, Juanda flats KQ off in the sb and then Alaei ships for just over 30bbs with AK out of the bb. Thuritz makes the simple call and Alaei turns the A.
The third hand sees Thuritz crippled down to an ante chip getting 40bbs in with KK vs the AA of the Russian Shchemelev, changing the chip lead.
"Like they say Lon, a chip and a chair, though I would save that chip and use it to buy a whole set of chairs, maybe with leather backs."
The fourth hand is one of those hands where everybody limps in with crap because someone is akready all-in pre-flop. Chad is apoplectic amidst all the limping.
"Boy I hope these new graphics don't explode!"
"Thuritz with a chance to sextuple up, which sounds illegal."
"I'm trying to follow that yellow next to act thing, but man I'm dizzy, I feel like I'm inside of a pinball machine."
Mizrachi flops trips with K9 on 997. He bets 50k into 275k and gets floated by Oppenheim with A8. The turn brings a 10, giving Oppenheim an open-ender, which gives him the impetus to semi-bluff the Grinder, raising his 125k turn bet to 425k. Mizrachi snaps him and they see an offsuit 3 on the river. Mizrachi checks, Oppenheim unleashes 550k, and the Grinder folds his trips, which means Thuritz does sextuple up as his J3 off rivered a pair which beats the A high of 'Opie'. Oppenheim played on the fact that Thuritz was all-in to put money into the dry side=pot and outwit the Grinder, though surely he didn't believe trips would fold? The Grinder had 1.2m left on the river, 30bbs, so calling and losing would have left him around the 15bb mark. Grinder tells his brother Robert, "I thought he had 68 for sure."
"Welcome to the big game" says Norm.
The camera flashes to Robert, Norm ponders his thoughts:
"Did I raise my kid brother this dumb?"
Thuritz gets the infamous ESPN 'We didn't have time to spare for your bust-out hand, so when we come back from an ad-break you will be shaking hands' treatment.
"Ah he was a kid with a dream" - one of the Chad trademarks.
The first backstage interview of the year, predictably goes to the Mizrachi brothers. 2010 is the World Series of Mizrachi - when people reference this year in 10 years time they'll say, "the one with the Mizrach brothers."
Hand 5 is the Wild Card hand. Juanda makes it 150k with J9 suited on 25-50k, and is called by Robert Mizrachi in the bb. Robert's hand is concealed, we see Alaei fold Q3 offsuit.
"I'm putting Alaei on Queen-trey offsuit Lon".
The flop is J98 all clubs, Juanda c-bets 250k with his 2 pair and Mizrachi calls. The turn Qs sees Mizrachi lead 375k into Juanda. Three clubs and a 1 card straight is scary, and Juanda folds his two pair. I had Robert on K10 with the K of clubs, in fact it was AJ without a club, a flopped top pair top kicker that Robert decided to kind of "probe-bluff" on the turn.
Juanda gets an interview, about finding his 'drive' again.
Number 6 sees brother vs brother, Robert opening UTG with J9, Michael calling out of the SB with KJ off (hmmm). Michael donks out (he loves the donk-bet by the way) on 954 and Robert flats, it goes check-bet-fold on the 2 turn.
"By the way Lon, correct me if I'm wring, but I believe Cain murdered Abel after tsking a bad beat in Razz."
Number 7 sees a misstep from David Baker, opening K10cc utg, he gets flatted by MM with about 25bbs and Q10 off on the button. Baker check-raises all-in on the Q 10 3 flop, and obv gets snapped and doubles up the Grinder. Chad revealed during this hand that Baker believes he will be the best all-around player in the world in 5 years, an Ian Poulter-like prediction.
Hand 8 sees Alaei open-limp KQ off utg+1, a curious move, Opie picks up Aces and makes it 225k in the hi-jack which Alaei flats. the flop is K104 and Alaei check-raises all-in abd Opie calls. Alaei turns two pair but Opie rivers a better one. Alaei had 40bbs to start the hand and it feels like a bit of a waste to lose all but 9 of those bbs with that hand in this spot, esoecually in the fashion he did.
Opie gets an interview with the usual high-stakes-cash-game-player-moaning-about tournaments-on-tv-stuff.
Hand 9 sees Alaei ship his last chips in, re-raising a Schemelev open with A6hh. Schemelev has AK, Alaei departs.
"Lon we are closer to a possible heads-up between Robert and Michael Mizrachi, that would be like Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez auditioning for the same lead role."
Number 10 sees Baker bust, shipping AJ and 30bbs over Grinder's utg+1 open. He gets the first 'whamboozling' of the year from Norm as he departs in 6th.
Chad makes a mistep in Hand 10, being obsessed about Schemelev's amateur status. Norm still doesn't understand that it's enntirely possible for a professional to play badly and an amateur to play well. There are also quite a few rich "amateurs" (such as Eli Elezra and Dan Shak) that do nothing but play poker having made a fortune in the 'real' world. Vladimir could easily be one of these characters. The Russian makes it 175k on 30-60k with 44 in the c/o. Mizrachi flats Q10dd out of the sb.
"I know it's suited, but if he plays this I'm going to send him to Queen Ten rehab centre. After two weeks there you won't play Queen Ten against a guy playing with just one card!".
Mizrachi does his favourite move and donks out with air on a 762ss. the turn is an Ace and Mizrach checks, Schemelev checks behind, then MM bluffs small on the river J. It costs Vladimir 330k to win 1.3m and if he has been paying attention to the donk-betting MM I think it's a call he has to make.
The last hand (11 of the first episode sees the chip leaders MM and Opie clash in a huge hand. mizrachi covers Opie by 1m (18bbs). This is important because that is the amount Michael has left after losing the chip lead!
Opie opens to 175k utg on 30-60k with 44. Mizrachi flats him with AQ out of the bb. The flop is the cooler-esque Q54ss. The pre-flop effective stacks were just shy of 80bbs. Grinder checks, Opie bets 235k into 455k. Mizrachi check-raises to 735k. I'm not sure I'm a fan of this move out of position, because he will either get flatted and be in limbo out of position vs a great player on the turn, or he will get worse hands to fold. If Oppenheim comes back over the top then surely AQ has to be folded given this is 1st in chips vs 2nd in chips and there are intetense money jumps coming up. Oppenheim flats which means there is 1.9m in the pot and Oppenheim has about 3.5m back. The turn is the blankish 8 of hearts, giving 76 a straight. Mizrachi bets 1m and Oppenheim ships in 2.7m more. Grinder calls, presumably putting Opie on a semi-bluff flush draw, total air or KQ. I hate the way Mizrachi played this hand given the dynamics of the Final Table.
That concludes the first episode, leaving 5 players left, Oppenheim having double the chips of Schemelev in 2nd. Oppenheim has 150bbs, Schemelev about 65, Juanda with 35, Michael 15 and Robert 12bbs. The brothers at the bottom of the totem pole.
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