Online Poker

July 17, 2009

The 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event final table has been decided at last, with Team Full Tilt’s Phil Ivey well placed to take the tournament.

From an initial field of 6,494 players, only 9 remain to face off in November for the most coveted of the WSOP bracelets. Of all the remaining players, Phil Ivey has the greatest motivation to win the tournament, having won many other major poker tournaments while having never taken a WSOP Main Event bracelet. He is only 33-years-old, yet Ivey has managed to take 7 WSOP bracelets in his career, two of them won in the 2009 series. He plays at Full Tilt Poker as a star member of Team Full Tilt, so even casual poker players can get the opportunity to play with this legendary poker pro.

Phil Ivey is likely to be the strongest player left in the tournament, at a final table with a rich mix of experience levels. Interestingly, Ivey has come to the final table with one of the smaller chip stacks, while a logger from Maryland, Darvin Moon, has come to the final table with the largest chip stack by far. It’s almost as if the less experienced players have come in with extra chips to account for the advantages of experienced players like Ivey. It’s looking like it should end up being a very exciting final table.

The positions and chip counts of the November Nine are set at:

• Seat 1: Darvin Moon – 58,930,000 chips
• Seat 2: James Akenhead – 6,800,000 chips
• Seat 3: Phil Ivey – 9,765,000 chips
• Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel – 12,390,000 chips
• Seat 5: Steven Begleiter – 29,885,000 chips
• Seat 6: Eric Buchman – 34,800,000 chips
• Seat 7: Joe Cada – 13,215,000 chips
• Seat 8: Antoine Saout – 9,500,000 chips
• Seat 9: Jeff Shulman – 19,580,000 chips

Darvin Moon has an exceptional lead in chips, but does he have the experience to win if he ends up head to head with a seasoned pro like Ivey? These chip counts may end up having very little effect on the end results of the tournament, as a big chip advantage may do no good if you cannot play aggressively, and an amateur like Moon may find himself unable to effectively use his chip advantage.

No doubt Phil Ivey will try to get in plenty of practice before the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event final table meets for the last time in November. If you would like to play against him, he plays at Full Tilt Poker and his name is highlighted in the games he enters, just like all the other Team Full Tilt pro players. By playing in a cash game or tournament with a pro like Phil Ivey, you might learn a thing or two to improve your poker game. Also, right now is a great time to play, as Full Tilt Poker is holding a series of promotions to celebrate its fifth birthday. This means excellent value for existing Full Tilt players, while new members can also benefit from a bonus of 100% on first deposits of up to $600. For the best chance of playing with Phil Ivey, be sure to register a real money account with Full Tilt Poker and look for the red highlighted games.