Event #44: $2,500 Mixed Hold'em
Day 3 Started
2010 World Series of Poker
Event #44: $2,500 Mixed Hold'em
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2010 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$2,500
Prize Pool
$1,166,100
Entries
507
Level
26
Blinds
0 / 0
Ante
0
“Limit poker is a science, but no-limit is an art.”
So once said Crandall Addington, as quoted in The Biggest Game in Town, that great chronicle of the 1981 World Series of Poker by Al Alvarez. If Addington is correct, then an event like this one -- a mixed hold’em event in which players repeatedly move back and forth between limit and no-limit poker -- provides a special challenge.
It is probably safe to say the nine who have successfully negotiated their way through a tough field of 507 to make today’s final table have already proven themselves to possess both the technical know-how to handle the “science” of limit and the imagination and creativity to practice the “art” of no-limit. And, of course, the versatility to be able to switch between the two.
Jarred Solomon and Gavin Smith return today nearly even with the most chips, although the short stacks Dwyte Pilgrim and Mike Santoro are only one big hand away from positioning themselves to go deep. Play will begin with most of the limit half of Level 19 still left to go, after which the game will change back to no-limit, alternating every half-hour until a winner is determined.
By way of further explanation of the contrast he was drawing, Addington had something else to say about the difference between limit and no-limit: “In limit, you are shooting at a target. In no-limit, the target comes alive and shoots back at you.”
Come back at 2:30 p.m. to see our final nine each employ all the technique and creativity they can as they aim for the next WSOP gold bracelet.
Getting Close
We're about 10 minutes away from the scheduled start of today's Event #44 final table. Camera crews are currently setting up and it could be a bit of a delay before we actually get started.
Meanwhile, let's meet the nine who have made it through to today's final day of play.
Seat 9: Timothy Finne (331,000)
Timothy Finne of Arizona has collected numerous cashes over the last three years, and is nearing the $250,000-mark in career tourney earnings already. Among his accomplishments are a half-dozen previous WSOP cashes, including a third-place finish in the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event in 2009.
Seat 8: Danny Hannawa (542,000)
Danny "The Hurricane" Hannawa of West Bloomfield, Michigan has a couple of cashes in Venetian Deep Stack events, but today marks his most significant tourney score by far.
Seat 7: Mike Santoro (179,000)
Mike Santoro successfully nursed a short stack for much of the latter part of Day 2 to make today's final table. Santoro hails from Atlantic City, New Jersey where he's enjoyed a couple of final table finishes at WSOP Circuit events, both of which ended in eighth place for Santoro.
Seat 6: Daniel Idema (237,000)
Just a couple of weeks ago, Daniel Idema of Vancouver, British Columbia earned himself over a quarter million dollars by finishing runner-up in the $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship won by Matt Keikoan. That wasn't his largest tourney score, however, as in 2007 he won the British Columbia Poker Championship, worth more than $400,000. He's the brother of Adam Schwartz, co-host of the popular Two Plus Two Pokercast.
Seat 5: Jarred Solomon (748,000)
Jarred Solomon of Johannesburg, South Africa begins today's final table as the chip leader, barely edging past Gavin Smith at the end of Day 2. Solomon already has one WSOP final table to his credit this summer, having placed fifth in Event #26, the $2,500 six-handed no-limit hold'em event for which he earned a six-figure score. Solomon has also enjoyed deep runs in PLO/PLH and H.O.R.S.E. events in his short career, further proving his versatility in different games.
Seat 4: Gavin Smith (745,000)
Gavin Smith comes to today's final table as one of the most recognizable faces in poker, thanks in large part to his victory at the 2005 WPT Mirage Poker Showdown where he picked up a cool $1.12 million, plus his appearances at many other WPT and WSOP final tables. With more than $5 million in tourney career winnings, the Canadian is a leading member of the "best without a bracelet" group, his closest call being a runner-up finish in the 2007 $1,500 pot-limit hold'em event.
Seat 3: Dwyte Pilgrim (196,000)
Dwyte Pilgrim of New York makes his first WSOP final table today, culminating a remarkable two-year run of impressive results, including amassing a collection of gold rings from WSOP Circuit events. Back in March of this year, Pilgrim won his third WSOP Circuit event at Harrah's Rincon where he previously won the Main Event in 2009. Pilgrim has amassed over $700,000 in career tourney earnings since 2008.