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5th Street articles
By Jake Gosselin
BodogNation Contributing Writer
Each year the World Series
of Poker just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Last year first place paid out $7.5 million.
This year it will be over $10 million with total
cash prizes equaling over $70 million. With
that much blood in the pool, we’re sure
to see every shark in the ocean there.
Qualifying for the WSOP
is relatively easy. Bodog alone is sending 700
of its online players through dozens of weekly
online
poker tournaments. With 30 tournaments on
Saturdays and 10 on Sundays, there's a new qualifier
every 20 minutes during the course of the 10
hours of play each weekend.
But once you get there,
it will be a whole different game. BodogNation
has taken the liberty of assembling a list of
some of the biggest sharks guaranteed to be
hunting the WSOP waters. Study their play style,
because who knows, it could save your stack
one day.
At the 1998 WSOP, Negreanu
won $169,460 at the $2,000 Pot Limit Holdem
event and became the youngest WSOP bracelet
winner in history — a record he held until
2004. Since then he has gone on to become the
second-highest money earner in professional
poker and one of the most successful poker tournament
players in history, winning two World Poker
Tour events, another two WSOP bracelets, and
appearing at 11 final tables.
Negreanu is known for his
uncanny ability to read other players. You’ll
want to keep your tells in check as much as
possible when seated against him. He reads players
like most people read books.
With career winnings totaling
close to $4 million, poker pro and Team Bodog
player Arieh is known for his aggressive, unpredictable
style of play. Arieh is widely regarded as the
poster boy for a new generation of players with
his remarkably high level of confidence and
ability.
Watch out for Arieh’s
aggressive style and be ready for his sudden
gear changes that can leave you guessing in
the dark.
Cloutier is a legend who
secured his status as such when he became the
all-time leading money winner at the WSOP in
2001.
Cloutier’s powers
of observation and keen memory give him access
to more information than almost anyone else
who might be sitting at his table. In an interview
with Poker Pages, Cloutier said:
“I've been very observant
throughout my entire life and I've always had
a sort of photographic memory for how people
play their hands in certain situations. If you
and I had played poker together five years ago,
I wouldn't necessarily recall your name today,
but I would remember your face and how you played
your hands in different spots, your tendencies.”
A savvy tournament and
online player, Williams rocketed into the spotlight
as a 23-year-old at the WSOP Main Event in 2004.
Williams won $3.5 million when he finished second
at the WSOP and also won $573,000 as runnerup
at the World Poker Tour's Borgata Open.
Remarkably bright, Williams
is a scholar with numerous academic achievements
to his credit. The Team Bodog pro began college
at age 16, entering the accelerated Texas Academy
of Math and Science at North Texas University.
With those credentials,
you know his math is going to be perfect. His
foresight and ability to read a table are just
sauce on top.
The Master has been playing
professional poker for more than 17 years and
has won more than 75 tournaments. Though he
has never won a main WSOP event, Nguyen has
collected six WSOP bracelets and over $4.1 million
in tournament earnings.
Nguyen is Buddhist which
might indicate why he is master of himself,
always maintaining composure and focus in all
situations.
Facing a player like Nguyen
is going to require you play your perfect game.
He will not be rattled or intimidated. They
don’t call him “The Master”
for nothing.
Hellmuth is a well-known
character in the poker community. He has nine
WSOP bracelets, and five top 10 finishes in
World Poker Tour events. He is perhaps best
known for his John McEnroe-like behavior at
the poker table, when he often badgers opponents
and gets upset after bad beats.
Hellmuth's table antics
aside, his track record speaks for itself. With
$6 million in lifetime tournament earnings,
Hellmuth is the fourth-highest earner in professional
poker.
If you are ever to face
Hellmuth, you’d better have the calm and
composure of a Men Nguyen or he’ll have
you rattled faster than you can say, “Where
the hell’s my stack?”
Brunson, arguably the best
poker player around, owns 10 WSOP bracelets
and has already been inducted into the Poker
Hall of Fame. His books Super System and Super
System II are generally considered standard
reading for anyone interested in playing poker
effectively.
The best thing you could
do to prepare for Brunson would be to read his
books. At least then you would understand something
of how he plays.
Mizrachi grew up with ambitions
of becoming a doctor. When he dropped out of
college to be come a professional poker player
he took his intellignence and discipline with
him. Known as "The Grinder", Mizrachi
plays a solid and consistent style, which makes
up for its lack of flash with very good results
at the table.
Don't expect Mizrachi to
be a heavy bluffer, which means that if you
see him go heavy into the middle, he's probably
got the best hand.
Qualifying for the WSOP
with Team Bodog
You want to go up against
the pros? Bodog's giving you the best chance
to do it.
Starting May 6, Bodog Poker
will be offering 40 WSOP seats on the weekends.
There will be 30 online Qualifier Tournaments
on Saturdays and 10 on Sundays with a total
of 400 seats given out for the Main Event and
300 for preliminary WSOP events.
Buy-ins range from $67.50-$270
with a half-million dollars in seats up for
grabs. Check out Bodog's poker tournament schedule
for the tournament that's right for you.
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