I hesitate to say I agree with anything that comes out of “The Mouth,” but the outspoken pros are right—the new structure offers more play in the first few levels but turns the late stages into a shove-fest. Players have the freedom to splash around a bit more in the early going, but have little room to maneuver when the chips matter the most.  

The levels that have been removed in the $5,000 No Limit Holdem event were: 25-25, 2.5k-5k, 12k-24k, and 25k-50k.  The smaller events have other levels missing.

The problems with taking the levels out really begin to show on Day 2. By the time they are down to four tables a standard raise usually pot-commits the average stack. If you want to see where the greatest discrepancies lie, look no farther than any final table.

After writing about Mike Binger’s quick start to this year’s WSOP, I began following his play through the final sixty players of the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem event. By the end of the night, Mike had made the final table (albeit as the short stack) along with several other good players.  

The next day I found a seat outside the media center at the Rio to watch the one-hour delayed final table on the big-screen TV. I was anticipating a final table that would demonstrate some great end game play. 

If I were a betting man, I would’ve placed money on Nick Schulman to win. It’s a good thing I’m not, because Nick made an appearance by the TV while he was still on it. Confused? So was I, because Nick had a ton of chips on the big screen, and it was only a one hour delay. As it turns out, play was an all-in fest from the time the cards were in the air.

Last year’s $5,000 event had a field of 622 and a star-studded final table (Phil Hellmuth, Marcel Luske, and Eugene Todd, bro to name a few). Play began just after 2:00 PM and lasted until just after midnight. Take out the dinner break and they played for 8.5 hours.  

As a spectator and poker fan, I was horrified by the rapidity of eliminations at this year’s final table. After whittling down the field of 640, it only took James Mackey 48 hands to claim his bracelet. They played for about 2.5 hours. In no way do I want to take away from the bracelet-winning efforts of “mig.com”, but the disparity in times must be pointed out.

Second place finisher Stuart Fox played exactly one hand before he was heads-up with Mackey. One hand. He then folded the next three before he was all-in and lost. Two hands equals second place. 

When Jon Friedberg captured the $1,000 No Limit Holdem bracelet in the 2006 WSOP, it took him 122 hands. With double the starting stack, this year’s first $1,500 No-Limit event took less than half that many hands to finish—only 59. Brandon Cantu’s victory in event #2 last year lasted nearly 10 hours; Ciarin O'Leary’s took less than 5.  The final blind level for Cantu was 20k-40k-5k, for O'Leary 60k-120k-15k. 

After two and a half hours, the final blind level was 30k-60k-5k for Mackey.  After ten hours, Cabinillas defeated Hellmuth with blinds at 25k-50k.  Even though the average stack for the final 9 may be doubled, the missing levels have clearly impacted late stage play.  While it's possible that some players may be playing faster, almost every no-limit holdem final table has finished in half of the time.  I find it hard to imagine that the difference lies in the players and not the structure.

WSOP officials have shown a bit more willingness to make changes on the fly this year, and I hope they can see a problem when players begin describing the end of tournaments as a “crap-shoot.” I’m not sure what changes the Nevada Gaming Commission allow to structures once they have been posted, but something needs to be done about the late stages of these events.  

An immediate solution would be rolling back the blinds once players reach the final table. Officials could make an easy decision based on X# of big blinds for the average chip stack (50 would be ideal; 35 seems more likely). Yes, events would last several hours longer, putting that much more of a strain on tournament staff and the media…but we’re not the ones playing for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In the words of the not-always-articulate-but-usually-insightful Mike Matusow, “We can fix it.”

FBT: "To make people think they have more play when they really don't"

Mouth: "We can fix it. I know Daniel was going to try to get it fixed.  It's so stupid.  They skip so many levels."

FBT: "It's so annoying.  You want to make a play---it's the World Series.  They used to play for a bracelet until 6 AM because there was play.  Now they just want you out of here. There's more play at the beginning, but who wants to play for four hours then get busted?"

Mouth: "I want to get busted and go to the next tournament."

FBT: "No kidding..."

Mouth: "I've got 330k in chips and it's not worth anything."

As you know from reading my first 18 World Series entries, I came to Vegas for the beginning. I was there for the long lines and endless complaints before the first event (Mixed Hold 'Em), the casino employees event, and the first GIGANTIC no-limit hold 'em event. I made it to day 2 of that event, cashed, and braved the the tent-city of Loserville waiting to get paid. I played late in some other events without getting paid and even got to experience the feeling of playing lousy and going out early.

I've been at the Rio at 9 AM; I've been there at 3 AM.

I've seen an incredible march of history, both part of the moment and frustrated that I wasn't doing more to record it. Tom Schneider, a very nice guy from Scottsdale who is friends with my buddy Robert Goldfarb, won a bracelet and made another final table. Annie Duke and Chris Ferguson, two of my very best friends in poker, made the same final table where Tom won his first bracelet. I was so addled by the break-in of my car that I couldn't give them and their situation enough attention. Plus Gavin Smith, my friend and collaborator, was in the process of falling just short of winning his first bracelet at exactly the same time.

Phil Ivey came close to number 6. Humberto Brenes and Marco Traniello have each made a pair of final tables. Many, many top pros have been knocking at the door. And I feel like it's been a struggle to keep up.

Wait, I've definitely lost the battle to keep up. It's been a struggle just to keep within hailing distance. I'm pleased with what I've written so far and I'm catching up with my notes from the first 10 days, but I want to do a lot more. And, paradoxically, I'm playing well during all this, which both gives me a closer view of what's going on and some stories of my own, but makes it difficult for me to write detailed pieces in real-time.

I already skipped my first trip home. I combined trips 1 & 2 into a 1-AM-Sunday-to-Thursday-morning trip to Scottsdale, to call dibs on my family and watch Valerie's dance recital rehearsal and one of her two performances.

So what happens when I get home? All hell breaks loose in Vegas.

On Saturday afternoon, Melissa Hayden invites me to use her and Allen Cunningham's spare bedroom. Home on Sunday night, I am sending her text messages after Allen wins his fifth bracelet. On Monday, I see Howard is hanging around the limit hold 'em championship late on day 2. Apart from being a good friend, he wrote the limit hold 'em chapter of the FULL TILT POKER STRATEGY GUIDE. If he makes the final table, I have to get to Vegas. It would be a monster promotional opportunity, and I don't think he has a single copy of the book with him.

We have out-of-town guests but I keep excusing myself to check chip counts and flight schedules. If he makes the final table, I'll fly out Tuesday morning, miss Val's dress rehearsal, then fly back home Wednesday morning. I'll watch her Wednesday performance and Thursday performance, and blow off the Thursday interview I've scheduled in Las Vegas.

But he busts out, which disappoints me, but keeps my schedule as I planned.

Then I see Phil Hellmuth has won his ELEVENTH bracelet. I am not close friends with Phil Hellmuth, but I have great admiration for his game and his place in poker's history. I think this is a great development and one I would have preferred watching from a closer vantage.

By the way, I may have blown an opportunity to do just that. BLUFF is doing one-hour delayed complete webcast final table coverage of 17 bracelet events (I think Phil's 11th was their first). They do hole cards, every hand. The whole shot. They're also doing the final tables of Circuit Championships and all the events at the WSOP Europe. I read that Robert Williamson III did final table commentary yesterday. The whole package is just $50, through worldseriesofpoker.com. I want to be THERE and be PART of it but I'm sure that's better than missing it like I did and moaning and groaning about it.

Just as I'm writing these words, I get a call from Matthew Parvis, my editor at BLUFF. He is asking if I'll write the cover profile on Hellmuth for the August issue. It's a tight deadline and I don't know Phil especially well, but I never want to say no to a cover. I never want to say to no BLUFF. I never want to say no to feature money.

I never want to say no.

I said I'll think about it and we'll talk tomorrow.

And now there is Mike Matusow to balance in all this. He is near the chip lead after Day 1 in the $2500 NLHE. The longest final-table streak in WSOP history belongs to T.J. Cloutier. He has made a final table every year since 1992, but he hasn't made one yet this year. Phil Hellmuth has made a final table every year since 1999 and now has made one nine years running.

Guess what streaky, erratic, inconsistent maniac is the model of steady success with a similar 1999+ streak. Not Cunningham or Chan or Negreanu or Juanda. Mike Matusow. And he's made final tables in the $2500 NLHE event in 2003 and 2006.

So I am once again looking at flight schedules and rescheduling interviews and dance recital performances. Because you better believe if Mike makes the final table of this one, I'm going to be there.

I can't believe it's 48 hours until I'm SUPPOSED TO be back in Las Vegas. Who knows how the world of poker will turn between now and then?

When I'm at the Series, I wish I was home. When I'm home, I wish I was at the Series.