WSOP WEEKLY: Online Poker Rookie Scores Big; Q&A with PLO8 Master Nathan Gamble; More
The WSOP Online bracelet hunting rolled on last week with plenty of interesting stories for poker fans. From an online newbie winning a bracelet to additional big numbers to Alan Goehring returning in a big way.
USPoker once again brings you a complete look at last week’s action and upcoming events at WSOP.com. That includes an interview with Nathan Gamble, the Omaha crusher who won Event 6: Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Six-Max.
The series continues to attract major action from players in New Jersey and Nevada. Action continues throughout July with international players getting in on the action at GGPoker beginning July 19.
Big numbers continue in WSOP Online
With 14 events now in the books, there have been some nice numbers in WSOP.com bracelet events. That includes a total prize pool of almost $10.5 million so far.
Those events have paid out $1.8 million to winners with an average payout of $128,441. Every event has paid out six figures for first except two.
Tournaments have seen a total of 13,456 unique entries for an average of 961 per event. Here’s a look at the statistics from the action so far.
| Event | Buy-In | Unique Entries | Re-Entries | Total | Prize Pool | Top Prize | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 NLHE Kick-Off | $500 | 1195 | 520 | 1,715 | $771,750 | $130,426 | Jonathan "Art.Vandelay" Dokler |
| #2 NLHE 8-Handed Deepstack | $1,000 | 647 | 272 | 919 | $873,050 | $168,586 | Louis "PokeThese" Lynch |
| #3 NLHE | $400 | 1450 | 641 | 2,091 | $752,760 | $115,850 | Robert "bustinballs" Kuhn |
| #4 NLHE Super Turbo | $500 | 828 | 351 | 1,179 | $530,550 | $97,091 | Matt "Bodeyster" Bode |
| #5 NLHE Freezeout | $1,000 | 854 | 0 | 854 | $811,300 | $161,286 | Allen "Acnyc718" Chang |
| #6 PLO 6-Handed | $600 | 497 | 386 | 883 | $449,820 | $89,424 | Nathan "surfbum" Gamble |
| #7 NLHE Knockout Deepstack | $800 | 989 | NA | 989 | $731,660 | $103,127 | Joon "jykpoker" Kim |
| #8 NLHE Freezeout | $500 | 1,479 | 0 | 1,479 | $665,550 | $119,400 | Alan "GladiusIII" Goehring |
| #9 NLHE Six-Max | $1,000 | 658 | 368 | 1,026 | $974,700 | $188,214 | Ron “MacDaddy15” McMillen |
| #10 NLHE Monster Stack | $600 | 1,505 | 569 | 2,074 | $1,119,960 | $172,361 | Ryan "Im.sorry" Torgerson |
| #11 NLHE Turbo Deepstack 6-Handed | $500 | 1,081 | 610 | 1,691 | $760,950 | $128,601 | Raman "Acrogum" Afanasenka |
| #12 BIG 500 NLHE | $500 | 1,624 | 803 | 2,427 | $1,092,150 | $159,563 | Ryan "joeyisamush" Depaulo |
| #13 NLHE High Roller Freezeout | $1,500 | 649 | 0 | 649 | $924,825 | $164,249 | Michael "miguelfiesta" Lech |
| TOTALS | 13,456 | 17,976 | $10,459,025 | $1,798,178 |
‘MacDaddy15’ makes statement in first attempt at playing online poker
Winning a massive event the first time playing online poker seems unlikely. But that’s just what happened when Ron “MacDaddy15” McMillen took down Event 9: $1,000 NLHE Six-Max on July 10.
McMillen has some nice finishes on the Mid-States Poker Tour and a 10th-place finish in 2015 in a $1,000 WSOP Hyper Hold’em. His win became one of the highlights for the second week of action including the celebration that followed.
Pretty awesome reaction! WSOP bracelet glory congrats!!! https://t.co/Gzb4IqSpfl
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) July 10, 2020
A native of Iowa, the 70-year-old now has a bracelet and the biggest score of his career.
PLO Hi/Lo assassin Nathan Gamble strikes again
Speaking of big scores, Nathan Gamble notched his second WSOP bracelet on July 7. A native of Richland Hills, Texas, he took down Event 6: $600 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better for $89,424.
“Honestly I didn’t realize how in the zone I was until I won,” says Gamble, who now lives in Las Vegas. “I was just playing my heart out. The same flood of adrenaline and disbelief hit me as the first bracelet, it’s a feeling you don’t ever want to forget.”
When it comes to PLO8, not many are better. Gamble has excelled at the game in WSOP events in recent years. In 2017 at the WSOP, he won the $1,500 version for his first bracelet and $223,339.
A year later, he finished eighth in a mixed $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo for $17,279. In 2018 he also took 10th in the $1,500 PLO Hi/Lo. He then added an 18th in the $10,000 PLO8 and then a 17th in that event in 2019.
Before the WSOP.com event, Gamble told his wife it would be his best shot at a bracelet. That proved to be some fortuitous thinking.
“It was literally an offhand comment,” he says. “She asked for a schedule of my WSOP tournaments the other day. I hadn’t given her one and this one was the next day.
“I told her, ‘I owe you a schedule, but tomorrow is the $600 PLO8, the type I’ve won before, so I’m setting up in the back office – no distractions, dogs are yours, going to give this my all because it’s my best shot at a bracelet this year and I want to make it count.’”
Gamble also finds WSOP last longer success
No Limit Hold’em is the primary game in the WSOP Online, but Gamble knows it’s not his bread and butter. He plans to jump in a few of those, but will focus on the Omaha action.
Along with his bracelet, Gamble found some success in a “last longer” bet. That win adds to an interesting trend in WSOP events for him.
“When I won in 2017 I was part of a last longer, probably 50 people worth,” he says. “I ended up winning it. This time I was part of a last longer – only three people but still ended up winning it. Those are the only two last longer bets I’ve participated in as best I can recall.”
It will be interesting if Gamble gets any more last longer action with three Omaha events still on the schedule:
- $1,000 PLO 8-Max High Roller, July 15
- $500 PLO 6-Handed, July 20
- $1,000 Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better, July 28
Just registered for my 3rd @WSOP of the summer. Trying to maintain a perfect 100% cash rate but I’m confused on how to play with only 2 cards… help me @jeffplatt !
— Nathan Gamble (@Surfbum4life) July 12, 2020
A blast from the past – and a bracelet
A few other interesting names have made nice WSOP runs in the last week. One of those has been off the poker radar for a while.
In Event 8: $500 NLHE Freezeout, Alan Goehring found the winner’s circle for the first bracelet of his career. He’s also a two-time World Poker Tour champion from 2003 and 2006.
A regular on the scene during the poker boom, he’d been away from the game for a few years until 2019. He’s now returned to the action in a big way for a bracelet and $119,400. What kept him away from the game for so long?
“I’m trading financial markets – index futures, bond futures, forex,” he told WPT.com in January. “I retired from Wall Street and now I trade on my own. I didn’t play a single hand of poker in 2018.”
Goehring may not have played poker in a while, but has returned to the action in grand style.
Other names with big WSOP Online scores
In other action, longtime pro John Esposito took third in the PLO8 event won by Gamble. In a poker career dating back to the early 1980s, he has $3.7 million in live tournament winnings.
Esposito won a bracelet in 1999 and now has three third-place finishes in the last two years. The biggest of those came last summer in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $466,407.
In Event 7: $800 NLHE Knockout Deepstack, two-time bracelet winner Eric Baldwin took third for $44,914. PokerGO broadcaster and Twitch streamer Jeff Platt also took seventh for $12,657.
While he may only have a few cashes, New Jersey’s Ryan Torgersen has impressed during the series. He finished runner-up on July 9 in the $1,000 NLHE Six-Max for $116,379.
A day later, Torgersen followed that up by winning the $600 Monster Stack for $172,362. He’ll be a player to watch in the second half to see if he can continue that streak of success.
Another player always on the radar is Chance Kornuth. The founder of Chip Leader Coaching came close to his third bracelet in Event 9: $500 NLHE Turbo Deepstack 6-Handed.
Kornuth took second for a payday of $79,291, and is also anxiously awaiting another big final table. In January he qualified for the final table of the WPT Gardens Poker Championship. He returns as chip leader when that final table finally plays out at HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas.
Robert Kuhn continues crushing Online Bracelet Leaderboard
After already scoring one bracelet in the series, Robert “bustinballs” Kuhn came close to a second. He finished fourth in the same event Goehring won.
Kuhn now has seven cashes and two final table appearances and remains atop the leaderboard. There’s an extra $100,000 on the line with the winner taking home $18,000. Here are the top spots as of Monday, July 13.
- 1st – Robert Kuhn, 1,613.7 points
- 2nd – Allen Chang, 1,475.02
- 3rd – Alan Goehring, 1,138.48
- 4th – Philip Yeh, 1,068.25
- 5th – Jonathan Dokler, 1,042.75
Here’s a look at the remaining events on the schedule.
2020 WSOP Online bracelet series
Event Date Time (PT) Game Buy-In
1 July 1 (W) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Kick-Off $500
2 July 2 (Th) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em 8-Handed Deepstack $1,000
3 July 3 (F) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em $400
4 July 4 (Sa) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Super Turbo $500
5 July 5 (Su) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Freezeout $1,000
6 July 6 (M) 3 p.m. PLO8 6-Handed $600
7 July 7 (Tu) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Knockout Deepstack $800
8 July 8 (W) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Freezeout $500
9 July 9 (Th) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em 6-Max $1,000
10 July 10 (F) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em MonsterStack $600
11 July 11 (Sa) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Turbo Deepstack 6-Handed $500
12 July 12 (Su) 3 p.m. The BIG 500 No Limit Hold'em $500
13 July 13 (M) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em High Roller Freezeout $1,500
14 July 14 (Tu) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em High Roller $3,200
15 July 15 (W) 3 p.m. PLO 8-Max HR $1,000
16 July 16 (Th) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Turbo $500
17 July 17 (F) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'emÊ $777
18 July 18 (Sa) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em 8-Handed Turbo DeepStack $1,000
19 July 19 (Su) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em $400
20 July 20 (M) 3 p.m. PLO 6-Handed $500
21 July 21 (Tu) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em 6-Handed $777
22 July 22 (W) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Turbo Deepstack $500
23 July 23 (Th) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Knockout $500
24 July 24 (F) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em 8-Handed $400
25 July 25 (Sa) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Summer Saver $500
26 July 26 (Su) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Grande Finale $500
27 July 27 (M) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Freezeout $400
28 July 28 (Tu) 3 p.m. Omaha 8 6-Max $1,000
29 July 29 (W) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Turbo Deepstack 6-Handed $600
30 July 30 (Th) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Seniors Event $500
31 July 31 (F) 3 p.m. No Limit Hold'em Championship $1,000
For a complete WSOP Online guide including Twitch streams to follow all the action, click here.