Event #16: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship

Jason Mercier is the newest member of poker’s elite four-gold bracelet club.  He became only the 39th player in history with four or more WSOP titles to his name.  The four-gold bracelet club includes an illustrious list of legendary player, both past and present, including Bill Boyd, Puggy Pearson, Amarillo Slim Preston, Mike Matusow, Huck Seed, and others.  Now, add Mercier to that list.

The highly-accomplished poker pro from Hollywood, FL won the $10,000 buy-in Deuce-to-Seven Lowball (No-Limit) tournament, which was played over three days and nights and just concluded on the ESPN main stage at the Rio in Las Vegas.  Aside from this being his fourth career title, at the relatively young age of 29, he also owns a European Poker Tour win and two victories in the World Championship of Online Poker.  His career winnings at the WSOP alone totals more than $3.8 million.

Mercier collected $273,335 in prize money, one of many big cashes during his career.  Yet oddly enough, he may have won far more money in various side bets with other poker pros which were made before the 2016 WSOP started.  Mercier wouldn’t disclose the amount of money won from this first gold bracelet win of the series, but he did divulge “it’s more than the first place prize for this event.”

Mercier went on to say he has a number of other gold bracelets still pending, including multiple win propositions.  If he wins a second WSOP title in 2016, he stands to make far more money in side bets and should he somehow get in the position to win three gold bracelets this year, some poker players are going to be in for the sweat of their lives.

“I’d say this was the second best of the four,” Mercier said when asked where this victory ranks among the four gold bracelet victories.  “The first one you get is always the most special.  But I have been wanting to win this event for a long time and to get here against this kind of field was really nice.  It also helps that I had lots of side action riding on winning a bracelet this year.”

Mercier won his victory by prevailing at a tough final table which included four gold bracelet winners – (Mercier), Benny Glaser, David Grey, and Jesse Martin.  The moment of triumph came when Mercier was up by about a 3 to 2 margin and scooped the final pot of the against Mike Watson.  Mercier tabled 8-6 low to Watson’s 9-7 low, which was the decisive hand of the tournament.  Hence, Watson after coming close many times to victory, finished as the runner up.  The highly-skilled Canadian poker player from Toronto collected $168,936 as a consolation prize.  This marked his 41st time to cash at the series.

This tourney attracted 100 entrants which created a prize pool totaling $940,000.  The top 15 finishers collected prize money.  The number of entries was up significantly over last year’s tournament, which drew 77 players.

No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Lowball has been called “the purest form of poker.”  It’s been a staple on the WSOP schedule since 1973.  Although not played as widely as other forms of poker, it’s been a favorite game for high-stakes cash game players for many decades.

Aside from the winner, here’s a brief report of the other top finishers who made the final table

Second Place:  Mike Watson, from Toronto, Ontario continues to be on the list of “best players without a WSOP win,” although he came as close as ever in this tournament to winning what’s been an elusive gold bracelet.  Watson had the chip lead at various times during Day Three, but wasn’t able to hold it.  Watson now has three runner-up finishes at the WSOP, and nine final table appearances.  It should also be noted he won the Majestic Super High Roller at WSOP Europe in 2012, although that was not a gold bracelet event (it did pay 1 million euros).  Second place in this tournament paid $168,936.

Third Place:  Lamar Wilkinson, one of the owners of the California Grand Casino, made his sixth WSOP final table in this event.  His cashes date back to 1994.  Wilkinson now has a 2^nd, two 3^rds, two 4^ths, and a 5^th on his WSOP resume.  His payout for this nice finish came to $120,025.

Fourth Place:  David Grey, from Henderson, NV posted his second cash of the series with a deep run in this event.  The two-time gold bracelet winner hung in short stacked for five hours at the final table before finally busting out.  With this cash, which paid out $86,302, Grey officially crossed the $1 million mark in career WSOP earnings.

Fifth Place:  Benny Glaser, from Southhampton, UK ended up as the fifth-place finisher.  He also finished 12th in the $1,500 buy-in version of this tournament.  Glaser won a gold bracelet at the 2015 WSOP in Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw, so he’s clearly on a big run this lowball games and looks to be a player to watch closely in future tourneys of that kind.  Glaser’s take amounted to $62,810.

Sixth Place:  Stephen Chidwick, from Deal, UK posted this third top-25 finish of the 2016 WSOP with this debut final tabe appearance.  Chidwick earned $46,277.

Seventh Place:  Alex Luneau, from Paris, France is enjoying a profitable WSOP.  He made it as far as the semi-finals in the $10K Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship.  This deep run paid $34,522.

Jason Mercier raises to 115,000 from the button and Mike Watson calls from the big blind.

Watson draws two, Mercier draws one, Watson checks, Mercier bets 165,000, and Watson calls.

Mercier tables      , Watson mucks, and Mercier wins the pot.

Jason Mercier - 3,355,000 (67 bb)
Mike Watson - 1,650,000 (33 bb)

Jason Mercier raises to 115,000 from the button and Mike Watson calls from the big blind.

Watson draws one, Mercier stands pat, Watson checks, and Mercier bets 185,000. Watson calls.

Mercier fans      , Watson mucks, and Mercier takes the lead.

Jason Mercier - 2,805,000 (56 bb)
Mike Watson - 2,200,000 (44 bb)

Mike Watson raises to 100,000 from the button and Jason Mercier calls from the big blind.

Both players draw two, Mercier checks, Watson bets 180,000, and Mercier calls.

Watson shows       for a pair of queens, while Mercier shows       for an ace to win the pot.

The following hand, Mercier raises to 115,000 from the button and Watson calls.

Watson draws two, Mercier stands pat, and Watson check-folds to a bet from Mercier.

Mike Watson - 2,530,000 (50 bb)
Jason Mercier - 2,475,000 (49 bb)

Mike Watson - 2,880,000 (57 bb)
Jason Mercier - 2,125,000 (42 bb)

Jason Mercier raises to 120,000 on the button and Mike Watson three-bets to 375,000 out of the big blind. Mercier calls and Watson stands pat and Mercier draws one.

Watson checks and Mercier checks behind. Watson tables       and Mercier mucks his hand.

Mike Watson - 2,050,000 (41 bb)
Jason Mercier - 2,450,000 (49 bb)

Mike Watson raises to 80,000 from the button and Jason Mercier calls from the small blind.

Mercier draws two, Watson draws one, Mercier checks, and Watson bets 175,000. Mercier folds.

Mike Watson - 1,475,000 (37 bb)
Jason Mercier - 2,600,000 (65 bb)

Lamar Wilkinson raises to 80,000 from the small blind and Mike Watson calls from the big blind.

Both players draw two and both check.

Watson shows      , Wilkinson mucks, and Watson wins the pot.

Mike Watson - 1,700,000 (42 bb)
Lamar Wilkinson - 650,000 (16 bb)

Jason Mercier raises to 80,000 from the button and Mike Watson calls from the big blind.

Both players draw one, Watson bets 150,000, and Mercier calls.

"Very big pair," says Watson.

Mercier fans       to win the pot and increase his lead.

Jason Mercier - 2,700,000 (67 bb)
Mike Watson - 1,690,000 (42 bb)

David Grey raises to 85,000 from under the gun and Jason Mercier calls from the big blind.

Both players draw one, Mercier bets 105,000, and Grey calls.

Mercier tables      , Grey mucks, and Mercier reclaims the chip lead.

Jason Mercier - 2,150,000 (53 bb)
David Grey - 430,000 (10 bb)