Harrah's New Orleans Bayou Poker Challage 5k Main Event

Today marks day 1 of Harrah’s New Orleans Bayou Poker Challenge WSOP Circuit 5k Main Event. The event attracted 156 players, some earning entry via satellite & with the remaining entrants buying in directly for the $ 5,150 entry fee. Today the players will complete 9 levels of play & play will conclude at 2 am CST.

Tournament director Steve Frezer & his staff have done a phenomenal job in providing player friendly structures which allow players to methodically chip up instead of turning into what would resemble an online shove fest in the late stages of the tournament where players have no option but to re-raise all-in or fold pre-flop because the blind to chip ratio is so high. Players will begin with 22k in tournament chips which is approximately 440 big blinds deep with 75 minute levels. The top 18 finishers, which is just over 10% of the field, will be competing for the massive prize pool of $ 750,000. The winner of this event will receive a gold ring & an entry into the WSOP Main Event this summer in Las Vegas Nevada.

Today I had my first chance to talk to Dwyte Pilgrim who is quite arguably the hottest player on the live tournament poker circuit. Currently ranked 3rd in the Card Player Magazine Player of the Year standings, Dwyte is always 24 hours from greatness. One opportunity after another arises in his world. It’s a shot in the dark. He has an unbelievable work ethic & is obviously loaded with natural talent. Look for him to make some noise this summer as he continues his run toward poker immortality.

For most of the day I sat on the rail behind a table that included Dan “Thunder” Walsh, TK Miles, & Eric “Lafayette” Cloutier. It didn’t take long before a few big hands developed within the early stages of this tournament. Fresh off the first break within a few hands in the early stages of level 3, the blinds are at 75/150 & Dan Walsh raises to 600. Small blind & big blind fold & the Green Bay donkey in seat 7 flats Walsh’s pre-flop raise. They see a flop of A-K-2 rainbow. The donkey leads out & ships 5k into a pot of only approximately 1,425. Dan snap calls all-in & tables 22 for a set of deuces vs the villains AQ which was top pair with a Q kicker. The board ends up running out A-K-2-J-A. Dan Walsh doubles up. The rest of the table including TK Miles was pretty quiet for the most part with the exception of Eric Cloutier. Eric is quite a colorful character full of energy & brings a lot of action to the table. Look for these three to make it relatively deep into this event.

Mid-way through level four, I decide to go grab a bite to eat & scope out the cash game action in the poker room. During tournament events the cash game action just gets to be completely insane. People are dying to give their money away. It is definitely a grinder’s paradise.

I would also like to thank Mr. Nolan Dalla for all of his advice & insight. He is truly a great man & it was an honor to meet him. I surely hope most of this makes sense as this is my first blog on a tournament in which I was not involved in. This makes me respect guys such as Nolan Dalla & Bryan Heptinstall who tirelessly provide the coverage for these events year around.