2010 World Series of Poker Predictions

The 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is almost upon us. Players from around the world will head to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for 57 bracelet events and a host of side tournaments and cash games. Last year, the annual extravaganza topped the $1 billion mark in prize money during its 40-year existence. What will this year’s WSOP hold? Poker News Daily asked several of our writers and Guest Columnists for a few predictions.

We asked several members of our team – staff writer Dan Cypra, poker strategy guru Dan Katz, reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Annie Duke, Cake Poker Card Room Manager Lee Jones, and tournament director extraordinaire Linda Johnson – to weigh in on the hot topics headed into the 2010 WSOP. Here’s what they had to say.

Prediction: The 2010 WSOP Main Event will have ___ entrants.

Dan Cypra: 6,202
Lee Jones: 7,000
Linda Johnson: 7,192
Annie Duke: 5,860
Dan Katz: 6,913

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: The five of us are all over the map on this one. I’ve heard rumblings that attendance at the 2010 WSOP Main Event could be as low as 5,000 given fewer online qualifiers heading to Las Vegas, but Harrah’s officials have touted the large number of pre-registrations so far. Katz’s prediction is about what the Main Event’s attendance would have been last year if 500 players weren’t shut out on Day 1D.

Prediction: ___ women will win bracelets in open events this year.

Dan Cypra: 1
Lee Jones: 1
Linda Johnson: 1
Annie Duke: 1
Dan Katz: 0

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: It looks like Mike Matusow won’t be streaking down the Strip after all, which he threatened to do if three women won bracelets during the 2010 WSOP, including the Ladies’ Event.

Prediction: How will Full Tilt Poker pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad fare in her first WSOP? ___ bracelets, ___ cashes.

Dan Cypra: 0 bracelets, 3 cashes
Lee Jones: 0 bracelets, 3 cashes
Linda Johnson: 0 bracelets, 3 cashes
Annie Duke: 0 bracelets, 4 cashes
Dan Katz: 0 bracelets, 3 cashes

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: None of us picked Obrestad to win a bracelet, which is surprising. She is the darling of this year’s tournament series and will have media hype aplenty surrounding her. Obrestad recently made a splash by departing Betfair for Full Tilt Poker.

Prediction: Who will win this year’s scooter race, Doyle Brunson or Amarillo Slim?

Dan Cypra: Brunson
Linda Johnson: Slim
Annie Duke: Slim
Dan Katz: Brunson

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: This seemed like an obvious vote for Brunson, but maybe the two poker pros on the panel know something I don’t. Is Slim’s scooter turbo-charged this year?

Prediction: The player with most number of cashes will be ___ with ___ cashes.

Dan Cypra: Erik Seidel with 7 cashes
Linda Johnson: Phil Hellmuth with 7 cashes
Annie Duke: Phil Ivey with 9 cashes
Dan Katz: Daniel Negreanu with 7

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: Once again, quite a bit of variety with our answers, but three of us agree that the person with the most number of cashes will have seven. Last year, Seidel had five cashes (including Ante Up for Africa), Hellmuth had six, Ivey had six, and Negreanu had eight on U.S. soil.

Prediction: ___ will win the WSOP Tournament of Champions.

Dan Cypra: Annie Duke
Linda Johnson: Mike Sexton
Annie Duke: Obviously me, but if Huck Seed gets voted in, then him
Dan Katz: Jason Mercier

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: A total of 27 players will compete in the WSOP Tournament of Champions. Duke and Sexton are former winners of the event. Mercier is among the top 50 vote-getters as determined by the general public.

Prediction: Will the Main Event winner be a known pro or an unknown player?

Dan Cypra: Unknown Player
Lee Jones: Unknown Player
Linda Johnson: Known Pro
Annie Duke: Unknown Player
Dan Katz: Unknown Player

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: If recent history tells us anything, it’s that an unknown player will take down the Main Event. However, Ivey and Jeff Shulman gave known pros everywhere a glimmer of hope last year.

Prediction: ___ will win two bracelets.

Dan Cypra: Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier, and Faraz Jaka
Linda Johnson: Daniel Negreanu
Annie Duke: Chris Ferguson
Dan Katz: Daniel Negreanu

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: The panel continues to express its love for Negreanu and Mercier. Negreanu has won one bracelet since 2004.

Prediction: There will be ___ women at the Main Event final table.

Dan Cypra: 0
Lee Jones: 0
Linda Johnson: 0
Annie Duke: 0
Dan Katz: 0

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: We’re unanimous. Everyone take a drink! Duke finished 10th in the 2000 Main Event. Barbara Enright is the only woman ever to make the final table of the Main Event, doing so in 1995.

Prediction: What would you love to happen at this WSOP, but aren’t holding your breath for?

Dan Cypra: PND staking me into the Main Event.
Lee Jones: What I root for every year: a 40 year-old soccer mom from Des Moines taking down the whole thing. It’s Moneymaker, the redux, and women pour into the sport.
Linda Johnson: More tournaments that aren’t No Limit.
Annie Duke: A woman to make the final table of the Main Event.
Dan Katz: A non-poker celebrity making the final table of the Main Event.

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Poker jargon:

WHEEL - A-2-3-4-5. Usually discussed in the context of lowball where it is the best possible hand. Can also refer to a 5-high straight in high games. Also: BICYCLE.
LAY ODDS - To give favorable odds to an opponent.
STAND OFF - To call a raise. "Opener raises, I stand off".
KICKER - In hands containing pairs and trips, the highest card not matched. In draw games, sometimes a card kept for deception purposes.
SPREAD LIMIT - A variation on fixed limit wherein the minimum and maximum bets are different. A 1-4-8 game allows bets from 1 to 4 in the early rounds and 1-8 in the last round. A 1-4-8-16 game allows bets from 1 to 4 in the early rounds, 1 to 8 in the next-to-last round, and 1 to 16 in the last round.
PASSED OUT. - A hand in which nobody opens. What happens next is a function of the game being played.

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