In the Shadow of the Main Event: $50K H.O.R.S.E.The H.O.R.S.E. Winner May Be Considered more Skillful, But Main Event Champ Gets the Fame |
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Today, Freddy Deeb is the king of the 2007 World Series of Poker. He took the throne early this morning, after beating Bruno Fitoussi heads up in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E World Championship event. Arguably offering the hardest bracelet to win, its field was filled with so many pros it could possibly be the toughest ever brought together in a casino.
Click here to see who played.
So all hail Freddy Deeb, king of the poker players. But he better quickly enjoy his time in the spotlight, because next Saturday, what was once known as the WSOP main event starts, and 10 days later, when the main event champion is decided, the spotlight will swing away from Deeb and leave him in the shadows.
It will be this person, and not Deeb, whose picture will be in newspapers everywhere, whose name will be recognized by people who wouldn't know the difference between a bet and a blind, and who will be talked about over beers in every bar in the country, as skewed as that may be.
Semantics
This year, for the first time, the WSOP decided to call certain tourneys "World Championship" events. The main event champion is no longer the main event champion. In fact, the title "main event" can't be found anywhere on the WSOP schedule of events. Event No. 55, the last big-buy-in tournament scheduled, is called the World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold'em event.
ESPN will dedicate 16 hours to broadcasting the tourney formerly known as the main event, which will take 12 days to complete. It will dedicate six hours of broadcasting time to the H.O.R.S.E event, which took five days to complete.
The $10,000 World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold'em event is one of 13 called World Championships this year.
Most players agree that both events take a special player living in a special moment to win. The consensus is that the H.O.R.S.E. event requires most of the skill, while the event formerly known as the main event requires much more luck simply to get through the large field.
Just ask last year's WSOP Champion, Jamie Gold, who doesn't feel that he's a good enough poker player to win the H.O.R.S.E World Championship bracelet.
"There's no question that the H.O.R.S.E event showcases the best of the best of the world. I think that the definition of the main event is it's the last event and the one that has the most money," Gold said. "But if you're asking who should be considered the big winner of the World Series of Poker or the best player of the World Series of Poker, there's no question it should be the H.O.R.S.E. (winner)."
He then added: "I hope that I'm good enough to play in it someday. I think three to five years from now I will be, but I'm nowhere near in the league (now). They're incredible. You have to be."
Two Giants
Nolan Dalla, the spokesman for the WSOP, author of a fantastic Stu Ungar biography, and a man who's been around poker for a long, long time, says players earn different kinds of respect from each of the events. Each event has a different texture, and champions of each should expect different things.
"The H.O.R.S.E. event is maybe the Masters of poker. Sometimes more important than money and glory is peer respect. The H.O.R.S.E. event is the one event that encompasses everything, the gold bracelet, $2 million prize and peer respect," Dalla says. "The other event is all about fame, fortune, and the glory of being a world champion. They are very different events and there is a place for both of them."
Fringe Benefits
The winner of the $10,000 World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold'em event will receive much more than the tableful of cash and the fancy gold bracelet that's shown on TV.
No matter what the other major events are called, he or she will still be called THE World Champion. That player will be asked to go on talk shows everywhere and, as already mentioned, the player's picture will end up in papers in just about every city. It would cost millions to buy that kind of fame.
And then there will be the sponsorship opportunities. Almost instantly, the winner - if not already tied up with an online site - will be part of a bidding war between online poker companies for his or her services. According to an industry insider who represents several poker players, this contract will be in the millions.
That's not all. Take 2004 main event champion Greg Raymer as an example. He turned $160 into the bracelet, $5 million, and plenty more. Because of his win, Raymer has been paid to speak to companies, is a member of Team PokerStars, and sells autographed photos of himself for $29.95 through his website. He might even run for vice president on the Libertarian ticket.
And it's all because of a little game called Texas hold'em, a game so easy to learn and so fun to play, it has its own catchphrase, thanks to Mike Sexton: "It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master."
A million-dollar marketing team couldn't have some up with a better slogan.
Don't Mess with Texas (Hold'em)
So while the winner of this year's $10,000 World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold'em will be sent directly to the front of the poker money line, Deeb's opportunities will be much less apparent. He's already sponsored by Full Tilt, and will soon be overshadowed by the crowning of the real WSOP champion, at least through the eyes of the casual poker fan.
Jennifer Harman doesn't think this is quite right.
"I feel poker is not only about no-limit hold'em; poker is about every single game. So in order to be a world champion, you have to be able to play all the games well," she said.
Just about all the pros Card Player talked to about this agree with both Harman and Dalla: In terms of skill, the H.O.R.S.E. event is the one. In terms of the spectacle of the American Dream, the main event is where it's at.
Among players, poker is a small world, in which respect is earned over time, but for the mainstream media, it's easier and quicker to pick up and package stories that have singular story lines. The main event champion story is one that comes in a neat package and has an amazingly large sum of money attached to it, which makes it compelling to even those who don't like poker. Unlike H.O.R.S.E., hold'em is a singular game that is easily understood (at least on the surface) by a large portion of the public.
But should the WSOP do more to make it clear that the H.O.R.S.E. champion is truly a player's champion?
Professional Justin Bonomo, who competed in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event, likes the way things are now. He only suggested maybe raising the buy-in to the main event to $20,000. But he does think both the events should get equal billing as marquee tourneys since they are both incredibly hard to win for many different reasons.
"I think having a field of 150 to 250 and having the buy-in at $50,000 is probably the best thing," he said. "It separates the H.O.R.S.E., which is your small field, high buy-in and the world championship, which is the 10K and a big field."
Brandon Adams, who also played in the $50,000 World Championship, agrees. He also likes how the WSOP is trying to bill its World Championship tourneys as equals, and he feels the WSOP Player of the Year is an important component to deciding who was playing the best poker at the WSOP.
"I like the way that they're calling it a triple crown, where they're having three main winners. They have the H.O.R.S.E. event winner, the main event winner, and the overall winner. I think that's a pretty good assessment, because it takes a very different skill set to win all three," Adams said.
But the thing is, only one of those three will be THE WSOP Champion. That person will be the face of poker for the next year and, if really good, will be able to parlay the fame and fortune into even more fame and fortune. Freddy Deeb, on the other hand, receives admiration and respect from his colleagues for winning the hardest tournament of the year.
At least Deeb has that. And the $2.24 million prize that came out of the pockets of these players. Life could be worse.
Craig Tapscott contributed to this report.
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