https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/2013/11/ en Copyright 2026 Fri, 08 Nov 2013 15:12:00 +0000 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification After nearly four months of suspense-building anticipation, the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event has at last concluded with 23-year-old Ryan Riess of Michigan becoming the third-youngest ever Main Event champion. Riess outlasted a tough final table this week, culminating with a 90-hand heads-up battle with VIP host and amateur player Jay Farber to win the bracelet and $8,361,570 first prize. With the win Riess becomes the sixth straight WSOP Main Event champion aged less than 25. Here's a recap of how the final table played out: Final Table, Day 1: From 9 to 2 The first day of final table play saw the final nine players -- what remained of the 6,352-entrant starting field -- play down to two, with J.C. Tran starting play as chip leader with Amir Lehavot in second position. Tran maintained the lead early on then Lehavot enjoyed it for a brief period. Then Riess would push out in front to stay in the top spot for much of the night before Farber won a big hand to take over first place and carry the lead in to heads-up play. Here's how the stacks looked to begin the final table: 1.  J.C. Tran -- 38,000,000 2.  Amir Lehavot -- 29,700,000 3.  Marc-Etienne McLaughlin -- 26,525,000 4.  Jay Farber -- 25,975,000 5.  Ryan Reiss -- 25,875,000 6.  Sylvain Loosli -- 19,600,000 7.  Michiel Brummelhuis -- 11,275,000 8.  Mark Newhouse -- 7,350,000 9.  David Benefield -- 6,375,000 Those three short stacks would all ultimately fall early, the field being trimmed to six players within the first 55 hands of the night. Mark Newhouse was the first to go despite earning a fortunate double-up on the fifth hand of the night with Qs-Qc versus Marc-Etienne McLaughlin's Ks-Kc when a queen appeared among the community cards. His end came a little later in another all-in confrontation, this time holding 9s-9c and hoping the pair would hold against Riess's As-Kh. A king fell on the flop, though, and two cards later Newhouse was out in ninth. Just three hands later David Benefield was eliminated in eighth when his Ks-2s failed to outrun Farber's As-Kd. A deuce did come on the river, but by then Farber had already made a Broadway straight. Prior to that hand Benefield had done well with his short stack, however, making a couple of well-considered folds including once correctly letting go of pocket tens preflop in a hand in which Michiel Brummelhuis had aces. Pocket aces would ultimately prove Brummelhuis's undoing, however, when he found himself all in before the flop later on with 9d-9c and up against Riess's Ac-Ah. The board brought no saving nine, and Brummelhuis was out in seventh, the highest-ever finish for a player from the Netherlands. They would play six-handed for more than 100 hands more with Riess keeping the top spot throughout. Then came that big hand involving Farber mentioned above in which McLaughlin held Ks-Kc while Farber had As-Ah. The better pair held, and with the elimination of the Canadian Farber had assumed a sizeable lead with nearly 95 million chips to nearest-challenger Riess's stack of just over 63 million. In fact, those two were both well in front of the other three by then, with Sylvain Loosli sitting in a distant third with 12,625,000.   Three more hands would pass, then came the next knockout as Farber eliminated J.C. Tran in fifth to conclude a night's worth of struggling for the start-of-day chip leader. Tran's final hand saw him all in with Ah-7s against Farber's Ks-Qh, but the board rolled out Kd-Jh-9h-5d-6h to give Farber kings and end Tran's run. Then eight hands later, the two remaining short stacks would be eliminated in back-to-back hands to end the first night of final table play and set up the following night's heads-up match. Riess would be responsible for both of those final knockouts, the first coming when Loosli open-shoved from the small blind for just under 10 million (or 10 big blinds) with Qh-7c and got a quick call from Riess who had Ac-10h. The board came 9h-Ks-8h-9c-Ad, giving Riess two pair and sending the Frenchman railward in fourth. The next hand saw Riess open with a raise from the small blind, Lehavot push all in for just over 21 million from the big blind, and Riess again call without hesitation.  Lehavot had 7s-7d, but unfortunately for him his opponent had 10c-10d. Five cards later -- Qc-8c-4h-2d-Jd -- Lehavot was done in third and play was done for the night.   Final Table, Day 2: Heads-Up After starting the final table fourth and fifth in the counts respectively, Farber and Riess were the final two left with a chance at the 2013 WSOP Main Event title with Farber still in front. 1.  Jay Farber -- 105,000,000 2.  Ryan Reiss -- 85,675,000 With the blinds still 500,000/1,000,000 (with a 150,000 ante) to start heads-up play, both players were quite deep-stacked and thus were able to exhibit patience when play resumed.  It only took Riess a little over a dozen hands to narrow the gap and draw nearly even with Farber, then Riess won a medium-sized pot without a showdown to jump out in front.  In that hand the board came Ac-8h-4d, then 7d, then As, with both players putting in chips on all three post-flop streets. On ESPN's coverage they showed hole cards after hands completed, and thus we were able to see Farber had 7c-4c, meaning he had turned two pair. But Riess had Ah-Ks to make trip aces on the river. Four hands later came another dramatic hand that saw Farber call a preflop raise, check-call a bet after the 3s-3h-7c flop, then make a check-raise on the 2c turn that Riess called. Farber followed that with a big river bet after the 9s fell, and after thinking for more than five minutes Riess let his hand go. Again we were able to see afterwards that while Riess had Qh-7s for sevens and treys, Farber had bluffed successfully with 6d-5h. That hand gave Farber a slight lead once again, but just a few hands later Riess had edged back ahead and from there would never relinquish the lead again. After chipping Farber all of the way down under 20 million, Riess had him all in and at risk following a Kc-5h-Qs flop with Riess holding Ks-10h for top pair and Farber with Jc-10s for a straight draw. But the 9s came on the turn to complete Farber's straight, and after the Qc river Farber was still in contention. Farber enjoyed a little momentum after that to chip all of the way back up over 65 million, about a 2-to-1 disadvantage to Riess. But Riess pushed back up again and as they neared the three-and-a-half-hour mark of their duel once more had Farber all in, this time before the flop for his last 14 million. Farber had Qs-5s and Riess Ah-Kh, and amid both players' roaring rails of supporters the board came Jd-10d-4c-3c-4d to give Riess the win. Here's how the payouts ended up at this year's Main Event final table: 2013 WSOP Main Event final table results: 1st:  Ryan Riess (United States) -- $8,361,570 2nd:  Jay Farber (United States) -- $5,147,357 3rd:  Amir Lehavot (Israel) -- $3,727,823 4th:  Sylvain Loosli (France) -- $2,792,533 5th:  J.C. Tran (United States) -- $2,106,893 6th:  Marc-Etienne McLaughlin (Canada) -- $1,601,024 7th:  Michiel Brummelhuis (Netherlands) -- $1,225,356 8th:  David Benefield (United States) -- $944,650 9th:  Mark Newhouse (United States) -- $733,224 Join Betfair Poker Now. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/ryan-riess-wins-2013-world-series-of-poker-main-event-8361570-081113-77.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/ryan-riess-wins-2013-world-series-of-poker-main-event-8361570-081113-77.html WSOP Fri, 08 Nov 2013 15:12:00 +0000 After 111 days of waiting, the nine remaining players in the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event will at last be dealt hands again about 12 hours from now as this year's version of the "November Nine" has finally arrived. From 6,352 players who began the $10,000 buy-in tournament back in July these nine survived, and each is hoping to survive a couple of days further to claim the most coveted title in all of poker, the WSOP Main Event bracelet, and the $8,361,570 first prize. J.C. Tran returns to the chip lead tonight with an even 38 million, the last of his chips coming on the very last hand of play during the summer when he ousted 2001 WSOP Main Event champion Carlos Mortensen in 10th place.   Meanwhile a pack of four players will begin with stacks in the 25-29 million-chip range, with another sitting just under 20 million and three more coming back to relatively short stacks. Here's a look at where things stand to start play tonight: 1st:  J.C. Tran -- 38,000,000 2nd:  Amir Lehavot -- 29,700,000 3rd:  Marc-Etienne McLaughlin -- 26,525,000 4th:  Jay Farber -- 25,975,000 5th:  Ryan Reiss -- 25,875,000 6th:  Sylvain Loosli -- 19,600,000 7th:  Michiel Brummelhuis -- 11,275,000 8th:  Mark Newhouse -- 7,350,000 9th:  David Benefield -- 6,375,000 Play will be resuming with a little over 40 minutes to go in Level 35, where the blinds are 200,000/400,000 with an ante of 50,000. That means ninth-place David Benefield will begin play with about 16 big blinds, and as it happens the first hand will find him posting a big blind right off the top. Meanwhile chip leader Tran begins with a deep stack of 95 big blinds. The schedule calls for play to begin this afternoon at 4:45 p.m. Pacific time in the Penn & Teller Theater in the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Players will play down from nine to three or perhaps two players tonight, depending on how long things take. Then whoever remains will return on Tuesday when play will start back up at 5:45 p.m. PT and they'll play down to a winner. As was the case last year, those in the with access to ESPN's primary networks will be able to watch every single hand of the final table, with ESPN2 picking up the coverage at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET tonight and carrying it through to the stoppage of play, then ESPN showing the finale on Tuesday starting at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET. Those outside of the United States will be able to view the same coverage on WSOP.com starting at 1 a.m. GMT tonight, then at 2 a.m. GMT tomorrow. The "virtually live" coverage will be showing the action on a 15-minute delay and will feature hole cards, but only after a hand has completed with only the cards of players still involved in the hand revealed.   Last year followed a similar schedule, with the play down from nine to three players on the first night finishing in around seven hours, taking 135 hands total. But on the following night it would take another 264 hands for Greg Merson finally to outlast Jesse Sylvia (runner-up) and Jake Balsiger (third place), which made for a lengthy 12-hour final session. For those thinking about staying up late to watch, here are a few notes about each of the remaining players: J.C. Tran -- 38,000,000 (1st) Tran brings both the biggest chip stack and the longest résumé of poker tournament success to the final table, having earned two WSOP bracelets, a World Poker Tour title, and an incredible $9.5 million worth of tourney earnings in a career lasting just about a decade. The 36-year-old poker pro steadily accumulated chips throughout the seven days of play in July, entering the final Day 7 fourth in chips out of the final 27 and then adding further to lead at night's end. Tran lives in Sacramento, California, has a B.A. in Business Management Information Systems, is married, and has one two-year-old son and a daughter due this month.  Amir Lehavot -- 29,700,000 (2nd) Besides Tran, Lehavot is the only other WSOP bracelet holder at this year's November Nine final table, having earned his in a $10,000 pot-limit hold'em event in 2011. Born in Israel and currently living in Florida, the poker pro is the oldest player among this year's November Nine at age 38. Lehavot started Day 7 in the middle of the pack with 27 left and in fact slipped back to less than 2 million at one point before enjoying a big rush later in the night to finish in second position. Married with one child, Lehavot has a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering. Marc-Etienne McLaughlin -- 26,525,000 (3rd) McLaughlin comes to this year's final table having made his third deep WSOP Main Event run in five years after finishing 30th in 2009 and 86th in 2011. Born in Montreal and currently living in Brossard, McLaughlin is friends with fellow Québécois Jonathan Duhamel, winner of the 2010 WSOP Main Event. McLaughlin has had chips throughout the Main Event thus far, even leading to end Day 5. A self-employed entrepreneur with various business interests, the 25-year-old is single with a successful poker-playing girlfirend, Laurence Grodin, who took third herself in a WSOP event in 2009. McLaughlin lists ping pong and soccer among his interests, and is also a tattoo artist who interestingly has no tattoos himself. Jay Farber -- 25,975,000 (4th) While McLaughlin is not a full-time player, Farber is actually the only one among the nine final tablists who cannot be classified as a poker pro. A VIP Host living and working in Las Vegas, the 29-year-old was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in California, and this marks his first ever WSOP cash after having tried the Main Event three times previously. Farber managed to more-than-triple his starting stack on Day 1 and remained above average for most of the tournament back in July. Single with a B.A. in Business, Farber will likely have one of the more boisterous rails at the final table thanks to his  many friends in the poker community and his connections with Vegas night life. Ryan Riess -- 25,875,000 (5th) Reiss is another player whose supporters will surely be heard tonight chanting "Riess the Beast" as they did back in July. The 23-year-old from Michigan is the youngest player at the final table, and while he may not be well known to most he's a familiar face to those of us who have covered the WSOP Circuit where he played a lot over the past year, a highlight coming a little over a year ago when he finished second in the WSOP-C Hammond Main Event for nearly $240,000. Short-stacked to enter Day 7 -- he was 20th of 27 -- he remained low on chips for most of that final day until pushing back up just over the average stack (21.17 million) before play concluded. Riess is single and has a B.A. in Business. Sylvain Loosli -- 19,600,000 (6th) Loosli hopes to become the first WSOP Main Event champion from France, as the 26-year-old hails from Toulon although currently makes London his home where he rooms with fellow Frenchman Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier. Loosli had never even cashed in a WSOP event prior to the 2013 Main Event, although his background is more online than live where he's earned more than $1 million lifetime, mostly in cash games. He enjoyed a big surge on Day 6 to enter the final day of play with the chip lead, and for a time had a big lead on Day 7 with a stack of more than 30 million before settling into sixth position. Loosli is single and has a Masters in Business. Michiel Brummelhuis -- 11,275,000 (7th) Brummelhuis is the first player from the Netherlands ever to make a WSOP Main Event final table, a development that greatly excited my Dutch tourney reporting colleagues. Previously Marcel Luske recorded the highest-ever finish for a Netherlander when he took 10th in 2004. The 32-year-old poker pro from Amsterdam is single and has a handful of WSOP cashes to his credit and over $1.4 million in career tourney winnings. After maintaining an above-average stack during the first three days of play this summer had a big push on Day 4 to sit among the chip leaders once the money bubble burst. He then fell short on Day 7 but experienced some good fortune -- including hitting a runner-runner straight once to survive -- to keep chips and make the final nine.   Mark Newhouse -- 7,350,000 (8th) Newhouse is one of a few "names" at the final table -- i.e., players those of us who have followed tournament poker over the last decade had known about previously -- thanks to his victory in 2009 at the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open to earn a more than $1.5 million first prize. Originally from North Carolina, the 28-year-old professional player is single and now lives in California. Newhouse experienced some major swings on Day 7, enduring as an extreme short stack for a while, then enjoying the chip lead briefly before becoming short and surviving some all-ins late to make the final table. David Benefield -- 6,375,000 (9th) Speaking of nursing a short stack, David Benefield -- known as "Raptor" online -- did so with great success on Day 7 as well after starting the day dead last in chips (27th of 27) and managing to keep enough chips to make the final nine. After years as a full-time pro, the 27-year-old recently took time off to go back to school where he's studying political science and Chinese. Benefield is single, was born in Texas, and now lives in New York City. Benefield was featured not long ago in Ship It Holla, Ballas by Jonathan Grotenstein and Storms Reback (reviewed here). Finally, here's what they're playing for: 1st:  $8,361,570 2nd:  $5,147,357 3rd:  $3,727,823 4th:  $2,792,533 5th:  $2,106,893 6th:  $1,601,024 7th:  $1,225,356 8th:  $944,650 9th:  $733,224 Join Betfair Poker Now. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/the-november-nine-is-here-2013-wsop-main-event-final-table-begins-tonight-041113-77.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/the-november-nine-is-here-2013-wsop-main-event-final-table-begins-tonight-041113-77.html WSOP Mon, 04 Nov 2013 16:35:00 +0000 The World Series of Poker Main Event not only showcases some of the best poker players around, but over its history has also often been the context for some of the most memorable hands of no-limit Texas hold'em ever played. Many of these hands have occurred at WSOP Main Event final tables, with the outcomes often resulting in the winning or losing of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. While any list compiling the most memorable hands in WSOP Main Event history will necessarily be subjective, here are seven hands that all poker players and fans would have to agree made their mark on WSOP history, becoming the most talked about hands in the lengthy history of poker's most prestigious tournament. 1. Ten-Deuce Delivers for Brunson, Again (1977) Famed player Doyle "Tex Dolly" Brunson won his first WSOP Main Event bracelet in 1976 after topping a small but tough field of 22 entrants. Brunson outlasted Jesse Alto heads-up to win the title, with the final hand seeing Brunson call a preflop raise from Alto holding 10s-2s, then raise all in over an Alto bet once the flop came Ah-Js-10h. Alto called and showed As-Jd for two pair, way better than Brunson's pair of deuces. But the turn then brought the 2c and river the 10d, and Brunson had made an improbable runner-runner full house to win the hand and the winner-take-all $220,000 first prize. A year later Brunson found himself among a field of 34 in the Main Event, once more making it to heads-up play, this time versus Gary "Bones" Berland. Amazingly, the final hand went similarly to a year before with Brunson again holding 10s-2h and Berland 8h-5c. Once again the flop gave Brunson one pair and his opponent two, coming 10d-8s-5h. Both checked, however, then when the 2c fell on the river all of the chips went in the middle with Brunson holding a better two pair. The river brought the 10c -- making Brunson a full house again -- winning him $340,000 and forever cementing the legend of Brunson and the hand that would be named after him, ten-deuce. 2. Amateur Fowler Cracks Pro Hoff's Aces (1979) Another memorable hand concluded the 1979 WSOP Main Event, the first one ever won by an amateur player when Hal Fowler bested a field of 54 including professional Bobby Hoff heads-up to win a $270,000 first prize. After a lengthy battle between the two in which Fowler came back repeatedly and then assumed a big 4-to-1 chip lead, the last hand saw Hoff raising before the flop with the best hand in hold'em -- Ac-Ah -- and Fowler calling with the measly 7s-6d. The flop came 5h-3c-Js, Hoff bet, and Fowler called. The turn then brought the 4s. Fowler had made a seven-high straight, but he checked and let Hoff bet all in. Fowler called, of course, and the dealer put out the 10d on the river as Hoff turned over his aces only to see Hoff's hand to learn he was already beaten. The hand became famous, with the lowly 7-6-offsuit beating pocket aces in a way resembling the amateur surprisingly beating the professional. 3. Chan Calls Down Seidel (1988) The last hand of the 1988 WSOP between Johnny Chan and Erik Seidel was already a memorable one before it was featured a decade later in the 1998 film Rounders. In the hand Chan held a lead over Seidel when the pair saw a flop come Qc-10h-8d. Seidel checked, Chan bet, Seidel check-raised, then Chan called. Both then checked the 2s turn. The river brought the 6d. Seidel had Qc-7h and decided to push all in with his pair of queens. But alas for him, Chan had Jc-9c -- he had flopped the nut straight -- and instantly called, thereby becoming WSOP Main Event champion for the second year in a row. Chan had topped a field of 167 to win, earning $700,000 for the triumph. 4. River Ten Saves Matloubi (1990) In 1990 there were 194 entrants in the WSOP Main Event, with Monsour Matloubi and Hans Lund the final two. The pair played heads-up for several hours, with the most dramatic -- and most memorable -- hand starting with Matloubi raising with 10c-10d and Lund calling with Ac-9d. The flop came 9s-2c-4d, giving Lund a pair of nines. Lund checked, Matloubi bet, and Lund check-raised. Matloubi then decided to push all in, and Lund, having Matloubi covered, called. Matloubi had the advantage at that moment, but the turn brought the As to give Lund two pair and a huge advantage with one card to come. It looked for all the world like Lund would be winning the Main Event, but the river brought the 10s to give Matloubi a set and the pot. They'd play on for hours more before Matloubi eventually won the title and $895,000 first prize. 5. Ungar Makes a Wheel, Wins Third Title (1997) When Chan won the Main Event in 1988 he became the fourth (and last) player to win back-to-back WSOP championships, following Johnny Moss (1970-71), Brunson (1976-77), and Stu Ungar (1980-81). Moss would win a third WSOP title in 1974, and Ungar became the only other player to equal that feat when he came back to win in 1997 by defeating a field of 312 players to win $1 million. The last hand between Ungar and runner-up John Strzemp saw Ungar raising from the button with Ah-4c and Strzemp calling with As-8c. The flop came As-5d-3h, giving both players a pair of aces but Strzemp had the better kicker. Strzemp led with a bet, then after thinking a while Ungar pushed all in and Strzemp called right away. The turn was the 3d and Strzemp still led, but the river was the 2s, giving Ungar a five-high straight or "wheel" and the title. 6. You Call, Gonna Be All Over, Baby (1998) The following year's Main Event also provided a memorable final hand between Scotty Nguyen and Kevin McBride, the last two players standing from the 350 who entered. They began heads-up play with McBride in the lead, but Nguyen eventually grabbed the advantage by the time a hand arose in which Nguyen was dealt Jd-9c and McBride Qh-10h. McBride raised and Nguyen called, then Nguyen check-called a bet after the flop came 8c-9d-9h. Nguyen check-called again after the 8h came on the turn to give Nguyen a full house. The river then brought the 8s, putting a full house on the board -- eights full of nines -- but Nguyen had a better one with nines full of eights. That's when Nguyen bet enough to put McBride all in, then famously said "You call, gonna be all over baby." McBride did call, saying "I play the board" as he did. And just as Nguyen said, it was all over, with Nguyen winning the $1 million first prize and the bracelet. 7. Moneymaker's Big Bluff (2003) Finally, no list of the most memorable hands in WSOP history would be complete without Chris Moneymaker's famous bluff versus Sam Farha when heads-up for the 2003 title. A total of 839 played that year, with first prize worth $2.5 million. The amateur Moneymaker had almost a 2-to-1 chip lead to start heads-up play, but the pro Farha had narrowed the gap when the following hand arose. Moneymaker raised from the button with Ks-7h, Farha called with Qs-9h, then both checked the 9s-2d-6s flop. The turn brought the 8s, a bet by Farha, a raise by Moneymaker, and a Farha call. The river was the 3h, meaning Farha's pair of nines was best and Moneymaker had missed his flush and straight draws to sit with nothing but king-high. This time Farha checked, and Moneymaker pushed all in as a bluff. Farha thought a while -- correctly noting that he thought his opponent had missed his flush draw -- then folded. Moneymaker had his big chip lead again, and before long would win the last of Farha's chips to earn his historic win. Join Betfair Poker Now. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/the-seven-most-memorable-hands-in-wsop-history-050813-77.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/the-seven-most-memorable-hands-in-wsop-history-050813-77.html WSOP Mon, 04 Nov 2013 12:07:00 +0000