Player of the Year Race

I'd first like to say that it is an honor to be a new member of the Card Player family. Obviously, Card Player is the name that comes to everyone's mind whenever the topic of poker media comes up, and I couldn't be more excited to contribute columns to "The Poker Authority."

I have been traveling the live tournament circuit around the United States since I turned 21 in June. Prior to that, I had been traveling overseas to play in live tournaments. In late 2005, I won a seat in my first live tournament, the Aussie Millions. I finished fourth in that event in Melbourne for my first live score. A week later, I finished second in the Canadian Poker Championship in Nassau, Bahamas. I went on to have some success overseas in Vienna, Austria, and Barcelona, Spain, before turning 21. On June 10, three days after I turned 21, I finished second in a $1,000 World Series of Poker Tournament Circuit event in Lake Tahoe. The next day, I made the final table of another $1,000 event in Lake Tahoe, and finished third. My biggest achievement, however, came at Bellagio in August, when I won the $10,000 Bellagio Cup event. I finished off the year with a final table at the Borgata, in London, at the Festa al Lago, and at the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic. As a result of these cashes and others, I finished the year in fourth place in Card Player's Player of the Year (POY) race and won nearly $1.5 million on the tournament trail.

After my final-table finish in Australia in January, I was in 10th place in the POY race. I remember being very excited, but I realized that it was going to be almost impossible to be that high in the standings at the end of the year, since I wouldn't be able to play the POY events in the United States for another five months. I slipped way down the list until I went on the run in Lake Tahoe. That elevated me to around No. 45. I had a miserable World Series of Poker, but I managed to win a $1,000 event at Bellagio, which propelled me to No. 18. At that point, I realized that I actually had a shot at the title. The night before the final table of the $10,000 Bellagio Cup event, I remember doing the math and seeing that I would move up to No. 3 if I won. I went on to win, and later that night I remember watching the WSOP main event on my laptop and hoping that Allen Cunningham didn't finish fourth or better to pass me in the POY race. A couple of weeks later, I headed to Los Angeles to play in the main event of the Legends of Poker. Before my arrival, Nam Le had made the final table of a $300 event to move past Phil Hellmuth and me for the No. 2 spot, pushing me back to No. 4. I answered three weeks later when I made the final table of the $1,500 event at Borgata to move to the No. 2 spot. I held that spot for almost three months, until Nam Le made the final table of the $2,500 event at the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic to pass me. Just a few days later, J.C. Tran won the $2,000 event to send me down to No. 4. Just when I thought I couldn't slip any further, young sensation Jeff Madsen came out of the woodwork to finish third in a $2,500 event at the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic to send me down to No. 5! The day after Madsen's final table, I really got to work in the $3,000 event. I knew this was one of the last events before the end of the race. I was absolutely devastated when I was knocked out in 15th place at 3 a.m., just short of the final table and more POY points. I needed to finish ninth to pass Madsen in that event. I stayed focused, though, and the next morning, I got up and played in the $5,000 event, the final preliminary event of the year. I played some of my best poker of the year and finished fourth, earning 450 POY points. It was enough to pass Madsen, so I finished the year in the No. 4 spot.

In 2007, I don't plan on playing quite as many of the smaller events. The kind of poker that fascinates me is deep-stack, big buy-in ($5,000 and higher) tournaments. It is just too much of a grind to constantly be on the road playing all of the small preliminary events leading up to the big events. In my time away from the tournament trail, you can find me playing $25-$50 no-limit hold'em and high-limit Omaha eight-or-better cash games online.

In my Card Player columns, I hope to give some insight into what it's like to be a young player on the tournament circuit. Despite what a lot of people think, it isn't all fun and games. I've been traveling the world playing tournaments for a year, and through my experiences, I hope to be able to share some of the highs and lows of this lifestyle.

Shannon Shorr is a professional poker player from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He finished fourth in the Card Player 2006 Player of the Year race. You can follow his progress at hannonshorr.com, or e-mail him with questions andcomments at [email protected].