The Mix is In
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
Just a few years ago it seemed like poker was dying. Wait, that’s not quite I mean to say–Texas Hold-Em was going like gangbusters, but the other poker games players had enjoyed for decades–Stud, Omaha, even Razz–faded away in the face of the Hold-Em supernova. The World Poker Tour only featured Hold-Em tournaments. The vast majority of online play was Hold-Em cash games or tournaments. Every poker instructional book focused on Hold-Em, Hold-Em was the game in every poker-themed movie and TV show.
It was in 2006 that the revolt started. The 2006 World Series of Poker was criticized by many top players as the “World Series of Hold-Em”. So many of the events were switched to Hold-Em that many players felt the World Series was in danger of not being a true test of overall poker skills. And they wanted the WSOP to reflect that there are poker games other than Hold-Em (Pot-Limit Omaha, for example, which has long been the dominant game in Europe).
And Harrah’s listened to those complaints and made some changes to the schedule. They added three H.O.R.S.E. events, a S.H.O.E. event, and a few mixed-game events. 2007 brought a new crown jewel to the poker calendar, the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. This year there are 23 Hold-Em events among the World Series’ 54 open tournaments, and while that may sound like a lot there’s even variation within the Hold-Em sphere, with Pot-Limit, Shootout, Heads-Up, and Six-Handed tournaments among them. Then factor in all the split-pot, mixed-game, Omaha/Stud/Razz/Deuce to Seven games were in danger of being eased off the WSOP stage.
And poker players have taken to this restored diversity en masse. There were 770 entrants for the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event (and one of the players in the final 20, Lana Maier, is a friend/fellow blogger). The final pairing of the $10,000 Heads-Up World Championship between John Duthie and Leo Wolpert is playing out right now on the ESPN Feature Stage. The final table of the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha starts at 2pm, and the $10,000 Limit Hold-Em event will restart then as well (and with Annie Duke still in the hunt).
Of course there’s still good ‘ol Texas Hold-Em to be found at the Rio today as well. A $1,500 No-Limit event started at noon, and Day 2 of the $2,000 No-Limit tournament resumes in a few minutes. It’s not that Hold-Em isn’t a great game, because it is–and some would say that it’s the greatest game. But there are other great games as well, great poker games, and it’s good to see so many people enthusiastic about them. Variety is the spice of life, and the variety of games offered at the 2009 World Series of Poker is tasty enough for the most discerning palate.
Related posts:
- Full Throttle In a manner of speaking today will be the busiest...
- Rule 96 We’re about to start Event #13 of the World Series...
- Another Day at the Office Day 15 of the World Series of Poker (I think...
- Two Cards Good, Four Cards Better While Adam Levy and Brandon Cantu press forward in the...
- The Marathon, the Sprint For many poker players sitting down in a WSOP event...
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, pot-limit omaha, split-pot, Stud, texas hold-em, world series of hold-em, world series of poker, WSOP
