MIAMI 2017 When the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve and 2017 became real, Jason Mercier was at a Billy Joel concert in Miami, struggling to stay awake. While the Piano Man played all of his classic hits in front of a packed house, Mercier was closing the book on one of the most… Continue reading SOMETIMES A FANTASY: Jason Mercier’s Extraordinary 2016

The first day of the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event final table was all about Qui Nguyen. The Vietnamese-born Nguyen got into it with chip leader Cliff Josephy on hand #1 and finished with the chip lead. The storyline from the second day wasn’t much different. Nguyen started play Monday, with five players… Continue reading WSOP Main Event: Qui Nguyen Show Continues as Final Table Down to 3

All eyes were on chip leaderCliff Josephy as the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event final table got underway in Las Vegas on Sunday night, but it took just one hand for another player to let it be known that this wasn’t simply going to be a coronation for one of online poker’s most… Continue reading WSOP Main Event: Qui Nguyen Takes Massive Chip Lead with 5 Remaining

Two years ago, in 2014, for the first time since the November Nine format was created, a Spanish player reached the final table of the WSOP Main Event. His name was Andoni Larrabe, a 22-year-old guy that eventually finished in sixth position in a tournament won by Martin Jacobson. This year, in 2016, Spanish poker… Continue reading November Nine Short Stack Fernando Pons Just Living a Dream

Before the 2016 WSOP Main Event final table begins, PocketFives is providing extensive coverage of the 2016 November Nine including player features, interviews, previews, and statistics. In this edition of Five Questions we introduce you to Kenny Hallaert. PocketFives: You were paid $1,000,000 for finishing ninth back in July. If you were forced to bet… Continue reading Five Questions with November Niner Kenny Hallaert

Over the past decade, more often than not, the guy with the most chips has not walked out of the Rio in Las Vegas with the bracelet. Sure, Joe McKeehen cruised to victory last year, as did Jamie Gold before them, but a quick look at the chip counts can tell you quite a bit… Continue reading NUMBER CRUNCH: The Last 10 WSOP Main Event Champions

Before the 2016 WSOP Main Event final table begins, PocketFives is providing extensive coverage of the 2016 November Nine including player features, interviews, previews, and statistics. In this edition of Five Questions we introduce you to Vojtech Ruzicka. Vojtech Ruzicka finds himself sixth in chips going into the November Nine, but one of the biggest… Continue reading Five Questions with November Niner Vojtech Ruzicka

Tournament director Kenny Hallaert wants to make something clear. Poker is not a job to him. Instead, it is a passion. The fact that the November Niner honoured commitments to work as a tournament director at two tournaments following the conclusion of this year’s World Series of Poker shows that it is his passion for… Continue reading Kenny Hallaert’s Passion for Poker Extends Beyond Playing the Game

Before the 2016 WSOP Main Event final table PocketFives is providing extensive coverage of the 2016 November Nine including player features, interviews, previews, and statistics. In this edition of Five Questions we introduce you to Fernando Pons. Fernando Pons, a native of Palma, Spain, has spent the past 3.5 months knowing he’s returning the 2016… Continue reading Five Questions with November Niner Fernando Pons

“It’s going to be fucking famous,” said Griffin Benger, 2016 November Niner, former #1-ranked player on PocketFives, of the hand that saw him eliminate possibly the most talked about and maybe even most-disliked player of the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event, William Kassouf. To many of the poker fans who have been tuning… Continue reading Benger vs. Kassouf: Possibly the ‘Most Famous’ Hand in WSOP History

The wait is almost over for poker fans waiting to get their annual fix of World Series of Poker Main Event coverage on ESPN. The 2016 WSOP Main Event begins airing on Sunday, September 11 and will run for seven straight weeks as a lead up to the annual November Nine coverage. The first six… Continue reading ESPN Coverage of the 2016 WSOP Main Event Begins September 11

This was supposed to be the final installment of Rank & File for the 2016 World Series of Poker. It was supposed to show the final tally for how the former #1-ranked players on PocketFives did this summer but it turns out there’s going to be at least one more Rank & File needed after… Continue reading Rank & File: Josephy and Benger Steal Show to Close out 2016 WSOP

To many online poker players, Cliff ‘JohnnyBax’ Josephy is already a legend. Monday night at the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event, Josephy found the most incredible way to add to that status by making the November Nine with the chip lead. The 50-year-old Josephy is looking forward to coming back to the Rio… Continue reading WSOP: Cliff ‘JohnnyBax’ Josephy Headlines 2016 November Nine

Players who make televised final tables often times will go out of their way to dress up for the occasion. Some buy a new suit or get their favorite shirt pressed. Down to the final 27 players in the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event, Michael Ruane took some time out of his day… Continue reading WSOP: Michael Ruane a Real Main Event Mystery – On Purpose

Czech poker pro Vojtech Ruzicka ended an abbreviated Day 6 of the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event with the chip lead after eliminating two players on two separate hands in the last few minutes of play. Ruzicka ended the day with 26,415,000 which puts him ahead of Michael Ruane and former PocketFives #1… Continue reading WSOP: Vojtech Ruzicka Surges to Main Event Day 6 Chip Lead