Player of the Year Comes Down to Final Event

For the past few months, the talk has been about whether or not John Juanda can catch Daniel Negreanu in the Player of the Year standings. The race was so close that both decided to play in all of the events at Bellagio. A trend began in which John played and got to the final two tables every day, but didn't get any points because the Player of the Year standings are based on final-table results. (This may change for 2005). Anyhow, Daniel wasn't cashing, but his eye was on Juanda. It was very similar to a golf tournament.

Using the golf analogy, Daniel started the final day's round with the lead and posted a good score. As he waited in the clubhouse, there was nothing to do except hope that his lead would hold up. Meanwhile, John was a stroke behind with a long birdie putt on the 18th green. This is how it was for the month of December at Bellagio. As Daniel was watching John's "birdie putt," David "The Dragon" Pham started sinking all of his putts and had a few eagles along the way. Continuing with the golf analogy, David posted such a good score that he made it to the playoff, so to speak, with the tiebreaker in his favor.

So, what does this mean in poker terms? Well, David Pham won the $3,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em event a few days before the Bellagio championship event, pocketing $440,000 and earning 1,400 points in the Player of the Year race to pull ahead of Daniel and John. Thus, if none of them make the final table, David will win the Player of the Year title for 2004. However, all three are still in action after the first day of the championship, and Daniel is second in chips. Of course, when you read this, the event will be over. If you can't wait until the next issue of the magazine is published for the results, go to cardplayer.com to see who won.

The month of January is going to be a busy one for those on the tournament circuit. There are $10,000 buy-in events at Harrah's in Atlantic City, the Horseshoe in Tunica, PokerStars in the Bahamas, and another in Australia. If that isn't enough, there is a fantasy camp at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. The Ultimate Poker Experience, presented by Card Player, will be an intense three-day learning seminar that can help you improve your game. Speakers at the camp include Bob "The Coach" Ciaffone, Mark Gregorich, and Kristy Gazes. After learning from them, you will be able to practice your new tricks against T.J. Cloutier, Chris Moneymaker, and Amir Vahedi; $85,000 in cash will be up for grabs. The registration fee is $3,250, and you can register online at cardplayer.com and get a discount.

I hope you had a great 2004.

P.S. As a result of an abundance of reader e-mails "encouraging" me to change the photo in my column, I have done so. Now, I hope everyone's happy!