When we talk about tests of poker skill, we tend to discuss the two biggest events of the poker calendar in very different ways. We talk about the World Series of Poker Main Event and the sheer scope of the tournament. With over 6,000 players, this is poker’s biggest minefield. You have to be able to play against amateurs just as well as you can play against pros. You have to dodge bullets. You have to trap your prey and pray your hands hold up.
The other biggest event of the year, the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, is spoken of in a much different regard. It is an intimate affair, but each of the 100 or so players is a shark. There are no soft spots. There is no room for mistakes. It isn’t just about making hands and getting them to hold. It is about reading opponents, squeezing out extra bets, and pulling off stealthy bluffs at just the right time.
Even though the events couldn’t be much different, this week’s ESPN coverage of the 2013 WSOP Main Event might have you thinking poker’s World Championship is just like the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. Tonight from 9pm-11pmn ET, you’ll get two hours of coverage featuring the tops in the game. Day 3 coverage continues with Phil Ivey on the feature table, but he will be joined by some insanely tough competition, namely Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. If you were to judge the Main Event by the caliber of players at our feature tables, you might just think there are 6,352 top notch sharks in this year’s Main Event.
The two-time $50,000 Poker Players Champion joins the feature table line-up after being the talk of the tournament for the first two days of this year’s Main Event. On Day 1, Grinder had doubled his stack by the end of the first level. If the story sounds familiar, it is because this is exactly how Mizrachi kicked off his Main Event when he made the final table back in 2010.
So on the feature table, we have 2010 November Niner Mizrachi, 2009 November Niner Ivey, and if that isn’t enough, the secondary table features a literal living legend of the game, Hall of Famer Doyle Brunson. Last week, Texas Dolly proved he still has some poker chops, dominating the lineup.
Still don’t have your fill of top pros? How about Phil Hellmuth at and away from the tables? Not only does Hellmuth get some airtime at the tables, he is also featured “slumming it” both at the $1/$3 No Limit Hold’em cash game tables and by working as a Rio valet.
As you can tell, this week’s coverage is can’t miss stuff with poker play from the best players in the world and even more fun and games with segments like Pro Analysis, Mic Check, and Side Action. Can’t wait until tonight? Here is a preview of what to expect: