This year's
World Championship of Online Poker (
WCOOP) at PokerStars has come and gone, but not without leaving an indelible mark on the world of Internet poker - and not without putting seven figures into one player's PokerStars account.
Ka$ino managed to accomplish in this year's
WCOOP main event what was missed out on last year, when J.C. "area23JC" Tran won the main event, which is collect a first-place payday of more than $1 million. Tran's final table struck a deal that disappointingly left it impossible for first place to break out of a six-figure payout.
Ka$ino outlasted 2,997 other entrants, and a final table that included Team PokerStars member Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso (who earned $700,782 for second place) and Josh "nitbuster" Arieh (who earned $307,295 for fifth place), to take down that historic prize in a tournament with a prize pool of almost $7.5 million. The tournament lasted nearly 22 hours in what was easily one of the longest tournaments in PokerStars history. Still, $1.4 million for a day's work can't be complained about with too much sincerity.
Note: The original winner of the event, TheV0id, was disqualified for a violation of the PokerStars terms of service. Ka$ino had finished as the runner-up, but all entrants moved up one spot in the payout structure when TheV0id was disqualified (and the former bubble boy became a money-winner).
The WCOOP by the Numbers
This year's
WCOOP sported some big numbers. The biggest number, of course, was the combined prize pools of the tournaments. The tournaments guaranteed a combined $15 million in prize money, but actually generated $24.2 million. Out of those prize pools, $4.1 million was won by the first-place finishers. That means that out of 40,280 total entrants across the span of the
WCOOP, 23 collected a combined 17 percent of the prize money.
A Bracelet for Each Arm
The
WCOOP awards a gold bracelet to the winner of each event in the series, and for two players this season, that new bracelet may present a dilemma - which bracelet to wear?
Both
World Series of Poker main-event champ Greg "FossilMan" Raymer (2004) and
WSOP bracelet winner James "mig.com" Mackey (winner of a $5,000 no-limit hold'em event in 2007) now have new jewelry to sport. Raymer outlasted 771 entrants in the $300 pot-limit Omaha (with rebuys) event of the
WCOOP, earning more than $168,000, and Mackey took down the $1,000 no-limit hold'em event, besting a field of 3,324 to make more than $580,000.
Chatbox Cunning
Strategy from top online pros
Jon "apestyles" Van Fleet
On balancing life and poker:
"I think that having some sort of hobby - something outside of poker, something that gets you outside or something that makes you feel productive other than poker - is important, because sitting at your computer every day just to play poker is not a very rewarding lifestyle. Having balance is important."
On online tells:
"There are quite a few online tells. The speed at which people make bets is huge. Quick usually means weak, online. Also, if you're using your timebank when thinking about calling somebody and he says something in the chat box, he's almost always strong. He's trying to convince you to call him."
Tournament Schedule
The PokerStars tournament lineup is one of the most robust of any online poker site, and is getting even more jam-packed every day. Here are some tournaments to look out for:
Those interested in signing up for these tournaments can follow this link to see a complete schedule: http://www.CardPlayer.com/link/ot.
