#28 (3k NLHE) - Hellmuth + Norm MacDonald in final 26

[chicken10der]

For the 2p2ers at the final table: did they ask you if it would be ok to call it a day with 10 people left, or was it more of a "zomg hellmuth stop the tourney"?

[Dunkman]

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possible dumb question:
Why is this final table 10-handed when most are 9-handed?

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b/c Hellmuth was the shortstack and the floorpeople decided that they didn't want to risk him busting out and having a Phil-less final table. i've got no problem with that.

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I have a problem with it. It's blatant favouritism. The chip leader(s) have a big advantage on the bubble if they're playing right, and that has been removed. Would this decision have been made if Phil was chip leader and bullying the table ?

ESPN shouldn't be allowed to move the goalposts like this. And please note that this post has nothing to do with Phil's personality or skill as a player. It's more "You're Terrence Chan, not Johnny Chan" and it sucks.

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How can poker getting higher ratings on TV be bad for any of us?

[AngusThermopyle]

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possible dumb question:
Why is this final table 10-handed when most are 9-handed?

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b/c Hellmuth was the shortstack and the floorpeople decided that they didn't want to risk him busting out and having a Phil-less final table. i've got no problem with that.

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I have a problem with it. It's blatant favouritism. The chip leader(s) have a big advantage on the bubble if they're playing right, and that has been removed. Would this decision have been made if Phil was chip leader and bullying the table ?

ESPN shouldn't be allowed to move the goalposts like this. And please note that this post has nothing to do with Phil's personality or skill as a player. It's more "You're Terrence Chan, not Johnny Chan" and it sucks.

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How is it favoritism? How does Hellmuth gain? Did they change the payouts? Did they change the rules in any other way? So the last 10 or so hands (until a player got knocked out) that would have been played last night will be the first 10 today. Or are you saying that the break/rest will help "Old Man Hellmuth"?

[Bonified]

"How can poker getting higher ratings on TV be bad for any of us? "

That's not the point. Do you think, as I said in another thread, that "name" players should get double chips to start with ? Or a second river card when they're behind ? It would help them reach the final table, and that's good for everyone according to you.

"How is it favoritism? How does Hellmuth gain?"

Any short-stacked players who are trying to outlast the bubble to make the TV table gain, at the expense of any large-stacked players who are correctly exploiting the bubble by playing aggressively and pressuring the short stacks. I don't know how Hellmuth was playing at the time. But I do know that if Hellmuth had been chip leader, he would have been exploiting the bubble. Had that been the case, would the same decision have been made ? I doubt it.

[AngusThermopyle]

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"How is it favoritism? How does Hellmuth gain?"

Any short-stacked players who are trying to outlast the bubble to make the TV table gain, at the expense of any large-stacked players who are correctly exploiting the bubble by playing aggressively and pressuring the short stacks. I don't know how Hellmuth was playing at the time. But I do know that if Hellmuth had been chip leader, he would have been exploiting the bubble. Had that been the case, would the same decision have been made ? I doubt it.

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Unless you have a sponsorship deal worded "TV table" instead of "Final Table", do you think "TV exposure" is worth that much to the players?

[teddyFBI]

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For the 2p2ers at the final table: did they ask you if it would be ok to call it a day with 10 people left, or was it more of a "zomg hellmuth stop the tourney"?

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No one asked us, but i didn't mind -- i was drained at the end of a long 2nd consecutive day, and wasn't as mentally focused as I had been earlier. No one knew exactly why the decision had been made at the time...i was sitting right across from PH, but even I didn't realize he was so short...he had just won a few pots, and I thought he was up to a medium chipstack. Then after the floor did the count and we realized that he was basically the short-stack (just a few K ahead of me), and that they most likely called it a day for that reason.
I was happy b/c I'd rather be the shorty at a full table and get a few more hands in before i get gobbled up by the blinds so i can be a little more selective.

[AngusThermopyle]

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I was happy b/c I'd rather be the shorty at a full table and get a few more hands in before i get gobbled up by the blinds so i can be a little more selective.

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Perhaps I was mistaken. I thought they usually combined tables when they got to ten players and then played until the next got busted to set the "final table" with nine players.

[Bonified]

OK, I was assuming that there were two 5-handed tables. If it was one 10-handed table then the difference is not as great, although I still think plenty of players would try to "make the TV final" irrespective of whether it meant more money for them.

How much of an advantage it was or wasn't, my point is that I'm playing in these events and I want to be on a level playing field with all other players, however "good for TV" they are. Is that too much to ask ?

GL in the final Teddy.

[hoyasnaxa]

good luck 2+2ers

[MJBuddy]

To be fair, of course short stacks would rather it...the big stacks are the ones who lost a bunch of small pots by being unable to mace swing their stack around the table.