Ever since the 2017 World Series of Poker schedule was released, there has been one event that several of the top names have been eyeing. Mixed games regulars Naoya Kihara and Brian Rast immediately took to Twitter praising its inclusion, and six months later the wait is nearly over.
If you've been keeping an eye on Twitter over the course of the WSOP so far, you will have seen Dan Smith, 2017 bracelet winner Bryce Yockey, Brian Rast and Andrew Robl (to name a few) chiming in about the Big Bet Mix being spread at the cash tables here in Vegas, and now it is time for the tournament version to get underway.
We will have to wait and see whether these players can pull themselves away from the cash tables to play, but Brian Rast has already made it clear how excited he is to play this event, tweeting "The @WSOP is having the inaugural Big Bet Mix tournament tomorrow. This is awesome. I can't wait!"
As a brand new event, there is no defending champion, therefore it presents a unique opportunity for mixed games players to write their name into the history books as the inaugural Big Bet Mix champion.
Play gets underway at 3 p.m. local time, with the following games in the rotation, which changes every six hands: Big O, No-Limit Hold’em, No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw, Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, No-Limit 5-Card Draw High, Pot-Limit Omaha and Pot-Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw.
PokerNews has activated the My Stack App for this event, allowing you to directly adjust your chip counts in our live reporting blog using your iPhone or Android phone.
You can download the app for iPhone or Android now to get started. Then, create a new PokerNews account or update your current one to start updating your status immediately. Your followers can see all the live action that you're involved in.
Click here to download the My Stack app for iPhone, or click here to download the My Stack app for Android.
Ian O'Hara might not be a name recognized by most of the poker community yet, but he's off to a hot start today in Event #59: $2,500 Big Bet Mix, having already doubled his starting stack.
In a recent hand, a player opened under the gun to 250. O'Hara called on the button. Brian Rast called from the small blind and the big blind called as well. Action checked to O'Hara on the flop and he bet 1,075. The big blind reraised to 3,475. O'Hara plopped in a stack of chips and the big blind moved all in. O'Hara called.
O'Hara:
Big blind:
The turn was the and that left the big blind drawing to just one out to make a royal flush, but the river would lock up the pot for O'Hara.
O'Hara has already cashed five times this series, bringing home some profit in Events #54, #47, #43, 339, and #20, and with a hot start today, he may be able to lock up a sixth cash in this event as well.
"Daddy - Use this cake to distract all the fish at your table! Good luck!!! Love, Ellie & Jude"
Those were the words written on a box of bundt cake sat in the middle of the $2,500 Big Bet Mix table. The cake, a present from Briana Ohel to her husband Randy from their two children, had already been dug into by Ohel himself, and then by nearby players such as Jon Turner and Mike Matusow.
Ohel said that he had told tournament staff and officials that they were welcome to a piece, and no sooner had he said it there was an official announcement that there was cake.
Ismael Bojang and Eric Wasserson were two of the players who quickly headed toward the table, as well as Jason Mercier, who insisted that it was a present for his wife Natasha.
Brandon Shack-Harris? No such luck. By the time he had gotten to the table, the cake was gone, eliminated from the tournament by hungry mixed-game players.
Mike Matusow raised to 800 from under the gun. Action folded around and Todd Brunson called from the big blind. Brunson took three while Matusow took one.
Brunson then checked it over to Matusow and Matusow bet 1,400. Brunson thought for about a minute, then called.
"Ace high," Matusow said.
Brunson showed for a pair of kings and Matusow mucked his hand.
"Every other time I've raised I've had two pair or trips," Matusow said after the hand. "Todd Brunson says, 'No, you know what? He's got a four flush this time.' Calls, and he's right."
Brunson very quietly took in the pot as Matusow jokingly flipped Brunson the bird.
"What was your story again?" Brunson asked after the hand.
"Make sure you write 'Todd Brunson Owns Mike Matusow,'" Matusow said after the hand. "He's been owning me for 20 years, why would he stop now?"
Phil Hellmuth just recently entered the tournament, and now he's gone. We caught Robert Mizrachi scooping up Hellmuth's chips so we asked him what happened.
Mizrachi said that he limped in from the small blind and Hellmuth checked from the big blind. Both players drew three and Mizrachi bet and Hellmuth called.
Mizrachi then drew two and Hellmuth took one. Mizrachi said he was holding and made a wheel. He checked to Hellmuth. Hellmuth bet 1,500 and Mizrachi made it 3,000. Hellmuth called.
Mizrachi stood pat and Hellmuth threw away one card, revealing a . Mizrachi checked. Hellmuth bet 4,900, leaving himself with 3,100 behind. Mizrachi then check-raised Hellmuth all in. Hellmuth thought about it for a long time according to David "ODB" Baker and Mizrachi, but eventually decided to call, not wanting to be left with a short stack. Mizrachi turned over his wheel and Hellmuth had for the number four.
That would do it for Hellmuth who lasted less than a level in this tournament.
"He doesn't really dodge bullets that well," Mizrachi said after the hand. "I can't believe he was thinking about folding."
After accumulating a mountain of chips from eliminating Phil Hellmuth, Robert Mizrachi has followed him out the door. David "ODB" Baker recounted the action for us.
According to Baker, he raised to 800 and was accidentally raised by the small blind to 1,300. Mizrachi called in the big and Baker called as well.
The small blind took one on the first draw while Mizrachi took two and Baker took three. The small blind bet 2,200. Mizrachi called and Baker made it 11,000. The small blind folded but Mizrachi moved all in for 22,000 more. Baker tanked for about three or four minutes, then called.
Mizrachi took one on the second draw and Baker stood pat. Mizrachi took one more on the third draw and Baker stood pat again. Baker had . Mizrachi showed but drew a and was eliminated from the tournament. According to the table Mizrachi said he broke a better eighty-seven low.
Baker said if Mizrachi had stood pat he would've taken one anyways, and improved with the that Mizrachi drew, so it didn't matter either way.
That being said David "OBD" Baker is now the clear chip leader in the room with just around 80,000 chips.
We caught up to Ryan Riess and Ismael Bojang in the midst of a hand. Both players had already taken their first draw and Riess had put most of his stack in the middle of the table already. He only had 250 behind. Both players took one. Bojang checked. Ries moved all in for 250 and Bojand called.
Both players took one again on the last draw then tabled their hands.
Riess:
Bojang:
"Eight or three," Bojang asked the dealer.
"You show first so I know what I have to beat," Riess asked. Both wishes were granted when Bojang turned up the , making his low.
Riess sweated his last card. He needed a five or three to stay alive.
"It's a two spotter," Riess said. "Could be a five."
But it wasn't. He flipped it up and revealed a and he was removed from the tournament while Bojang closed in on the chip lead.
There was already 6,800 in the pot when we approached the table. A flop of was laid out before Calvin Anderson and one other player. Anderson had checked over to his opponent and a bet of 10,000 was out in front of him. Anderson had moved all-in with a covering stack and his opponent was in the tank.
As he thought Anderson started talking.
"You got a flush draw?" he asked. "How big is your flush draw?"
Anderson smiled as he started talking.
"Nines?" he asked. "Tens? Ace eight? Six seven of spades?"
Anderson then shook his head. "Nah, you don't have any of those hands."
Anderson studied his opponent as he flicked chips back and forth in his hands, then smiled again. "You probably shouldn't have gotten involved in this game," Anderson said. "You came here for the mix right? You're probably better at the other games.
"Not many people come for hold'em," he continued. "I'm one of those guys though."
While Anderson was talking another player at the table called the clock. The floor came and started coutning down the clock and the player folded before his time expired.
Anderson showed the .
"What happened preflop," Anthony Zinno asked from across the table. "I missed that whole thing."
"I raised and he three bet," Anderson said.
With that, Anderson took down the pot and showed his prowess for the game of No-Limit Hold'em.
Joao Simao was all in before the first draw heads-up against another player.
On the first drew, his opponent stood pat and Simao stood pat also. The dealer looked perplexed but, with some guidance from David "ODB" Baker, she burnt a card ready for the second "draw".
Both players stood pat again, and the dealer burnt for the third draw.
Simao's opponent stood pat for a third time and Simao smiled, agonizing over his decision before eventually deciding to draw one.
His opponent showed and Simao looked semi-relieved showing having said he had thrown away a .
He drew a completing a better low than his opponent and doubled up.
A player in middle position opened to 1,400. Daniel Negreanu three-bet to 4,700 and James Obst four-bet all in for 11,250. The original raiser folded and Negreanu called.
"I think I might be live," said Negreanu.
Obst showed .
"Yes, I'm live!" exclaimed Negreanu.
"Please don't show King-Queen," said Obst, but Negreanu turned over .
The flop came giving Obst a set. "It's ok," said Negreanu, I'm going to make a flush."
The turn was the eliminating any flush outs.
"Ok a ten then," said Negreanu. The river was the eliminating Obst and boosting Negreanu into the chiplead.
flop and he bet 1,075. The big blind reraised to 3,475. O'Hara plopped in a stack of chips and the big blind moved all in. O'Hara called. 
and that left the big blind drawing to just one out to make a royal flush, but the 
for a pair of kings and Matusow mucked his hand. 
and made a wheel. He checked to Hellmuth. Hellmuth bet 1,500 and Mizrachi made it 3,000. Hellmuth called. 
. Mizrachi checked. Hellmuth bet 4,900, leaving himself with 3,100 behind. Mizrachi then check-raised Hellmuth all in. Hellmuth thought about it for a long time according to David "ODB" Baker and Mizrachi, but eventually decided to call, not wanting to be left with a short stack. Mizrachi turned over his wheel and Hellmuth had 
was laid out before Calvin Anderson and one other player. Anderson had checked over to his opponent and a bet of 10,000 was out in front of him. Anderson had moved all-in with a covering stack and his opponent was in the tank. 
. 
.
.
.
eliminating Obst and boosting Negreanu into the chiplead.
