Bleacher Report - Articles by Andy Thompson

Top 10 Threats for the 2009 WSOP Player of the Year award

Andy Thompson — Wed, 20 May 2009 04:24:58 -0400

With the 2009 World Series of Poker coming up next week, I decided to make a preview that will show some of the players that will be wanting and going for the player of year honors this year. Since this honor is given out to the player who performs the best over the whole WSOP it is most likely going to be someone with the bankroll to play in as many events as possible and has the skills to go deep in a lot of tournaments. With so many good players out there that do indeed have the bankroll a lot of times it comes down to who is running the best at the right moment. There will always be someone unexpected that makes the run, yet these players are the ones that I feel will be there in the end and will be a major threat in every single tournament that they enter in this year's WSOP.

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Atlantic Sun Tournament Predictions

Andy Thompson — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:32:48 -0500

Wednesday, March 4, Allen Arena (Nashville, Tennessee)

No.7 Stetson vs. No. 2 East Tennessee State

The regular season was split between these two teams as the games were both close but Stetson has lost four in a row so I have to give the advantage to the lower seed. East Tennessee State wins.

Thursday, March 5

No. 6 Mercer vs. No. 3 Belmont

The regular season was split this year between Mercer and Belmont, both teams are three-point happy teams so really whoever has the better shooting game will come out of this one with a win. I'm going to go with Belmont due to the seeding, Belmont wins.

No. 5 Campbell vs. #4 Lipscomb

The regular season was split and both teams are on a roll coming in with winning streaks. Lipscomb just seems to be the better team though as they dominated Campbell at Campbell so I am giving them the edge. Lipscomb wins.

Friday, March 6th

No. 2 East Tennessee State vs. No. 3 Belmont

East Tennessee State came off of a tough road trip losing three of four, including one to Belmont, but seem to have got right back on their game. They have dominated in their last two. The 30-point victory over Belmont earlier in the year shows that they know how to play against Belmont. East Tennessee State wins.

No. 1 Jacksonville vs. No. 4 Lipscomb

I dont know if Jacksonville can actually slow Lipscomb down. They lost at Lipscomb earlier and this would be the spot for Lipscomb to get shut down. But, I don't see that happening so Lipscomb rides its hot ride to the championship game. Lipscomb wins.

Saturday, March 7

No. 2 East Tennessee State vs. No. 4 Lipscomb

Both teams are going to be a little worn out by this game playing three in the past four days at least. Lipscomb has more go to players that would be able to step up on game day and help them move past another game and continue their hot streak to the NCAAs. Lipscomb wins.

Patriot League Tournament Prediction

Andy Thompson — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:32:17 -0500

Wednesday March 4th, @ higher seeds

No. 8 Lafayette @ No. 1 American

American won both games in the regular season including an overtime win @ Lafayette this weekend...but seeing how American has won 10 straight, I can't see them losing a first round matchup....American wins

No. 7 Bucknell @ No. 2 Holy Cross

These two teams split there regular season with each winning on the road, yet I see R.J. Evans picking it up for Holy Cross after a rough shooting night against Bucknell in the loss earlier allowing Holy Cross to take an easy win...Holy Cross wins

No. 6 Colgate @ No. 3 Navy

Colgate comes in on a five game losing streak including a loss to Navy this last weekend...Navy won both regular season matchups and seems to have Colgate's number...Navy wins

No. 5 Lehigh @ No. 4 Army

I feel as tho Lehigh is the better team here...They beat Army by 20 at home and lost in triple overtime to them on the road...I think that Lehigh goes into Army and pulls out the win rather than a triple OT loss the second time around...Lehigh Wins

Sunday March 8th

No. 5 Lehigh @ No. 1 American

American has been dominating lately and beat Lehigh both times they played them in the regular season...I see no reason to advance them...American Wins

No. 3 Navy @ No. 2 Holy Cross

Both regular season matchups were close with the home teams winning each one...The game is very dependent on how Evans does again for Holy Cross, but I think that Navy is too good to be beat by Evans alone and will pull this game off...Navy Wins

Friday March 13th

No. 3 Navy @ No. 1 American

American won both of the regular season matchups but by a total of 6 points overall...I just think that American is on too much of a roll and will be too much for anyone in the league to handle right now, and don't really have any reason to bet against them...I see American heading to the NCAAs

Horizon League Tournament Prediction

Andy Thompson — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:16:54 -0500

Tuesday, Mar. 3 (at higher seeds)

No. 10 Detroit @ No. 3 Cleveland State

Cleveland State won both regular season game by double digits. I don't see a reason to think they won't do it again. Cleveland State wins.

No. 7 Illinois-Chicago @ No. 6 Youngstown State

Youngstown State won both regular season matchups but have lost three of their last four including a loss to Valpo, while Illinois-Chicago comes into the tourny having won their last four. I think the run continues for both teams and Illinois-Chicago comes out on top.

No. 9 Valparaiso @ No. 4 Wright State

Wright State beat Valpo both games this season by double digit numbers and is coming off a win against Green Bay, showing they are running well. I don't see them having much of a problem here. Wright State wins.

No. 8 Loyola @ No. 5 Milwaukee

Loyola may have beaten Butler on the road, but I see that as a fluke and have them taking an early exit here to Milwaukee, who beat them by double digits in both of their matchups in the regular season. Milwaukee wins.

Friday, Mar. 6, Hinkle Field House (Indianapolis)

No. 4 Wright State vs. No. 5 Milwaukee

In both games this year, Milwaukee came out firing to take the lead with Wright State fighting back in the second half to win once. I feel with it being a tournament game and the win-or-go-home being on the line that Wright State has a lot of momentum in that second half and Milwaukee throws away its first-half lead. Wright State wins with a second-half comeback.

No. 3 Cleveland State vs. No. 7 Illinois-Chicago

Both teams are running well, with Illinois-Chicago winning their last four and Cleveland State having won eight of their past nine conference games (one loss by two at Butler), so I'm going to have to give it to the better team in Cleveland State.

Saturday, Mar. 7

#4 Wright State vs. #1 Butler

Butler seems to have Wright State's number, and even though they had a couple of late losses, they seem to have gotten back into a little groove, which I think is enough to advance them to the championship. Butler wins.

No. 3 Cleveland State vs. No. 2 Green Bay

This matchup could go either way, but I just feel that Green Bay is going to have more time to prepare and is going to be very into this game, while there may be a little bit of slug from Cleveland State. Green Bay wins.

Tuesday, Mar. 10

No. 1 Butler vs. No. 2 Green Bay

This game should be a good one. Green Bay has already shown that they can beat Butler and will be playing for an NCAA berth, while Butler will probably be in either way. I think that senior forward Ryan Tillema steps up his game and Green Bay pulls of the upset, ruining the day for some bubble teams' fans

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Prediction

Andy Thompson — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:33:29 -0500

Tuesday March 3 (at higher seeds)

No. 8 Tennessee Tech @ No. 1 UT Martin

Tennessee Martin beat Tech both times they played them in the regular season and I don't see any reason for that to stop here so UT Martin wins...

No. 5 Eastern Kentucky @ No. 4 Morehead State

The matchups were split in the regular season with the home team winning by four each time, basically meaning that these two teams are pretty closely matched up so I have to give the home team the advantage...Morehead State wins.

No. 6 Tennessee State @ No. 3 Murray State

Murray State won both of the regular season matchups including a 30 point rout at Tennessee State so have to give them the edge...Murray State wins

No. 7 Eastern Illinios @ No. 2 Austin Peay

Austin Peay won both of the regular season matchups including one a week ago...don't see any reason not to give this one to Austin Peay

Friday March 6 Sommet Center (Nashville, Tennessee)

No. 1 UT Martin vs No. 4 Morehead State

The regular season was split between these two but Morehead state is on a four game losing streak including one to UT Martin on Saturday so UT Martin has to have the edge...UT Martin wins

No. 2 Austin Peay vs No. 3 Murray State

Austin Peay won both of the regular season matchups by a total of four points...but I have to give the edge to Murray State this time, because of the fact they are running good against the best teams in the conference winning seven of their last eight including wins against UT Martin, Morehead State, and Eastern Kentucky in the final two weeks of the regular season...Murray State wins a very close game.

Saturday March 7

No. 1 UT Martin vs No. 3 Murray State

UT Martin has won 13 of their last 14 conference games, but that one lost was a 15 pointer @ Murray State, the regular season was split and this will be another close game in a very close conference, but I feel that Murray State is the better team right now and will pull off the "upset" and be the team heading to the NCAA tournament

Big South Conference Tournament Prediction

Andy Thompson — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:56:18 -0500

Tuesday, March 3 (games at higher seed)

No. 8 High Point @ No. 1 Radford

Radford beat High Point the two times they played them this year, yet strangely enough with their 15-3 conference record, Radford's only losses came at home. However, High Point shouldn't be too much of a challenge for Radford, so I'm saying Radford wins this game.

No. 7 Coastal Carolina @ No. 2 VMI

Coastal Carolina has been a tough matchup for VMI, as both games went to the end and were both decided by fewer than four points as they split the series over the regular season. However, Coastal Carolina has lost four in a row and is going to be on the road against a very tough team in VMI, so I don't see them turning it around in this game...VMI wins.

No. 6 Gardner-Webb @ No. 3 Liberty

The regular season matchups were split, but since Gardner-Webb didn't win an away game in February and Liberty is just coming off of an away win vs. Radford and having the scoring power of Seth Curry, I see it hard to bet against Liberty come tournament time, especially in this matchup, so Liberty wins.

No. 5 Winthrop @ No. 4 UNC Asheville

Winthrop won both of the matchups in the regular season and is on a five-game winning streak going into the tournament. This is the game that should probably be the closest due to rankings, but it seems to me to be the most one-sided—I give the edge to Winthrop in this one.

Thursday, March 5 at the Dedmon Center (Radford, VA)

No. 2 VMI vs. No. 3 Liberty

This game is what I believe is the Championship game from the beginning...VMI showed that they had talent with their very early win over Kentucky, and Liberty has a freshman star in Seth Curry.

VMI destroyed Liberty @ Liberty late in the year, while Liberty won by 11 at VMI...Seth Curry scored 14 in the loss and 35 in the win, so he seems to be the deciding factor. After seeing the way his brother played in the tourney, I decided that the Big South tourney is Curry Time, and Liberty wins in a closer game than what these two teams are used to having against one another.

No. 5 Winthrop vs. No. 1 Radford

Radford has beaten Winthrop both times they played each other in the regular season and have won nine of their last 10, so obviously are a lock in this game, right? But it's March, and crazy things happen in March, and for some reason I feel Winthrop pulling off the upset and getting into the Championship game...Winthrop wins a thriller.

Saturday, March 7 (at highest seed)

No. 5 Winthrop @ No. 3 Liberty

The regular season was split between these two teams, but were split where the winner was always at home...so I guess I am going to have to keep riding the Curry train to the NCAA tournament...Liberty wins pretty comfortably by about nine or 10 and heads to the NCAAs.

North Carolina Sits at No. 1 Overall in First Ever HSL Bracket Prediction

Andy Thompson — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:43:26 -0500

Midwest (Indianapolis) West (Arizona)

1 Pittsburgh 1 Oklahoma

16 Cornell 16 Lamar

8 Texas AM 8 Wisconsin

9 Florida State 9 Davidson

5 Xavier 5 Minnesota

12 Utah 12 Stanford

4 Tennessee 4 Notre Dame

13 VMI 13 Utah State

6 Arizona State 6 Baylor

11 Virginia Commonwealth 11 Illinois State

3 Clemson 3 Syracuse

14 Middle Tennessee State 14 Belmont

7 Illinois 7 Gonzaga

10 Boston College 10 Dayton

2 Texas 2 Wake Forest

15 Navy 15 Binghamton

East (Boston) South (Memphis)

1 North Carolina 1 Duke

16 Play In (Prairie View AM/Western Illinois) 16 Robert Morris

8 Butler 8 Missouri

9 Michigan 9 Ohio State

5 Memphis 5 Villanova

12 Kansas 12 South Carolina

4 Marquette 4 Purdue

13 Miami (OH) 13 Siena

6 Louisville 6 West Virginia

11 BYU 11 Maryland

3 Michigan State 3 UCLA

14 Portland State 14 Hampton

7 Florida 7 Arkansas

10 St. Mary's 10 California

2 Georgetown 2 Uconn

15 Long Beach State 15 Austin Peay

YAY or NAY: Main Event Final Table in November

Andy Thompson — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:28:35 -0400

This year it was decided that the Main Event Final Table would be held on November 9th rather than having the tournament just continue till there is only one.

My guess is that this idea can be greatly credited to the people at ESPN. The idea is that they can show the final table and have some excitement and build up for the table since people will not know who has already won the tournament like in year's past.

This will allow for players to get big exposure and sponsorships making the actual making of the final table an absolutely huge profit for basically anyone.

With this year's final table consisting of players that have not really made a name for themselves in the WSOP having no bracelets between them and with most of them being completely unknown by the poker community or the people watching at home.

This move will allow for people to get to know the players and get to choose who they are going to root for and hope for. Yet, I am not a fan of the move at all.

The move is great for the nine players that make the table; there is no doubt about that and congratulations to them and everything that they are going to make from the move.

Yet, what makes the main event so difficult and such a tough tournament is being able to play consistently all of those days in a row, and being able to play at the top of your game after seven days of just poker, poker, poker.

Also, I don't really know who the wait is going to attract to the watching the game. Most people that have seen poker on ESPN have either decided "yeah I enjoy watching this," and are going to watch it if it comes on and those who say "why is this on my television there is no way this is a sport."

Now by hyping the event up, I seriously doubt that any of those, "why is poker on ESPN" people are going to decide to watch it. Also, there is not going to be a lot of people that see it and go WOW, there are tournaments that big, since this wouldn't be the first time the main event would be shown on TV.

This move is taking poker even further away from the original...ok maybe not the original tradition, but the game is going in a strange direction. More and more obnoxious, jumpy, yelling players are coming into the game making the main event seem like a circus.

Then, to delay the final table of the biggest tournament four months just to get a pump a little more into it, just shows where poker is going. It is becoming more of a charade or promotion compared to an actual competition that requires an extreme control of consistent concentration in the most pressured situations.

Now I guess it is okay to give this a shot since there is a little bit of an upside, but it won't be long until something happens and this whole idea of delaying the final table is changed back to the way it was.

I would guess that at least in the next five years it will be changed back as there is more downside compared to upside on poker as a whole.

2008 Main Event: 10 Players to Watch For

Andy Thompson — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:10:06 -0400

With the biggest event of the year only hours away, here are 10 players that could end up World Champion.

10. Nikolay Evdakov—Not really a known name in the poker world, yet after Evdakov took this year's World Series by storm, breaking the record for the number of cashes in a single year's world series (eight), with 10 cashes going into the Main Event.

He didn't make a final table in those 10 cashes, yet obviously has shown the skills to get deep in a tournament.

9. John Phan—Phan has two bracelets and, conveniently enough, they are both in this year's World Series of Poker. Ranked at No. 5 in the WSOP Player of the Year standings, the Razor has shown that he can get deep in tournaments and then, more importantly, finish the job and win.

8. J.C. Tran—Tran cashed in last year's Main Event and has seven cashes and a bracelet in this year's World Series. Every cash this year has been in a hold 'em event, which only adds to Tran's value as a pick to be the eventual champion.

7. Kenny Tran—Kenny finished 16th in last year's Main Event, and has continued his WSOP success by winning his first bracelet in the Heads Up Championship. Kenny has an aggressive call-call-call style and has proven himself to be one of the best at it. It seems to be the perfect style for this event with the huge fields.

6. Phil Ivey—Ivey really hasn't done much in this year's WSOP, yet it's hard to ignore him. He has five bracelets and is a major threat in any tournament he enters. With this being the Main Event, he will probably be focused and will be a major threat if he doesn't get too bored in the first slow days of the event.

5. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson—Ferguson is the 2000 Main Event champion and has 56 cashes to his name. He is known for his well thought-out decisions and mathematical style to the game, which has proven to be very successful for him over the years in the WSOP.

4. Barry Greenstein—Greenstein is No. 2 on the 2008 WSOP Player of the Year standings and has been playing great poker. He finished sixth in the 50K buy-in HORSE event, which is usually filled up with only the best of the best.

3. Daniel Negreanu—Negreanu is one of the best player readers ever. Every WSOP he wows the crowd and his opponents with his pinpoint accuracy in calling people's hands—usually knowing what the other person has makes the game a little bit easier to win.

2. Eric Lindgren—Lindgren didn't have a bracelet before this year's event and was considered one of the best without a bracelet. But now he has one, and has the monkey off his back.

He can now focus on winning, which he seems to be doing a lot of lately. He has made three final tables in this year's World Series, and is playing some really really good poker right now.

1. Phil Hellmuth, Jr.—Well, I basically have to put Phil in this spot. With more bracelets than anyone and having them all be in Texas hold 'em, it's tough to argue that there is anyone better than him, especially if you are arguing with him.

He just got done finishing third just three events before the big one, so he is obviously on his game right now. If Phil gets deep in the tournament and dodges all of the bullets early on in the tournament, he will be a monster favorite and the one the everyone has to fear.

Now of course in an event with over 5,000 people to pick 10 players at the start and get the winner would be basically crazy—most of the previous winners have been people that nobody had heard of before the Main Event.

Also, I always end up underestimating Scotty, and he always tends to make me look a little silly when he is playing well. Also, Michael Binger could be there at the end, but making the final table two years ago basically rules him out.

WSOP Event #31: Dario Minieri King of Chaos

Andy Thompson — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:41:40 -0400

Dario Minieri has won event #31 ($2,500 No-limit Hold'Em 6-handed) and takes home $528,418 and his first World Series of Poker bracelet.

The super aggressive, 23 year old, scarf wearing, Italian "kid," sat atop the leaderboard from the start, ending day one in second place then continuing his hot streak to finish day two, and start today's final table in 1st place.

Raising about 1/3 of the hands at the final table, Minieri seemed to have control of the table, and eventually was able to take what had always seemed to be his. Yet, all of this came with one of the craziest final tables I've seen for some time.

Though it shouldn't have been a huge surprise with a super aggressive Minieri at the wheel, the final table consisted with some of the biggest suck outs, and the biggest moments in these people's poker playing careers.

The game really didn't seem to start till it got down to the final three: Minieri, Seth Fischer, and Justin Filtz. What had always looked to be Minieri's tournament with at least a million chip advantage suddenly became basically even a little after hand 100, with Minieri at 1.8 mil, Fischer at 1.7 mil, and Filtz at 1.565 mil.

Yet, after some hands Minieri began to take control of the game again, when suddenly the craziest began. On hand 154 on the night everyone limped in to see a flop of 2h 10h 7s. After checks from Fischer and Minieri, Filtz bet 85k from the button only to be raised by Minieri up to 240k. Filtz paused for a while before finally deciding to move all in, allowing Minieri to realize where he was at and instantly call.

Minieri- Q 10 vs Filtz- J 10, Minieri has him dominated, being more than a four to one favorite.

Turn- 5s, even better for Minieri now, since there is no chance of a tie, and Filtz only has three outs...All Minieri has to do to knock out Filtz is avoid one of the last three Jacks in the deck as...

River- Jc...Filtz wins the hand to stay alive and here we go again...

10 hands later more excitement begins as Minieri makes a raise to 150k preflop, just to watch Fischer reraise up to 525k, just to have even more action take place as Filtz stands up and moves all in for 1.3 mil...Minieri folds but Fischer makes the call showing...

Filtz- As Ah vs Fischer- Ac Kh... Filtz is in amazing position to double up and have a great shot at taking the title being over a 15 to one favorite in the hand

Flop- 9d Jh Kc...uh oh Fischer can take the lead with a K on the turn but Filtz still in a great position being a 9 to one favorite until...

Turn- Ks...an absolute miracle card for Fischer, who now has Filtz stuck up against the wall, needing to hit the last Ace in the deck in order to take the hand...

River- Jd...but no such luck for Filtz as he is eliminated in 3rd place, taking home just under $215,000.

So now it is heads up and for the most part is just players taking the blinds when in position with little showdowns occurring as usual heads up, when suddenly possibly the most exciting hand of the tournament occurs at hand #191...

Fischer raised to 180k and I'm guessing in Minieri's mind was just trying to steal the blinds and antes when Minieri decided to push all in for about 1.5 mil just to watch Fischer instantly call him, they show...

Fischer- Ks Kd vs Minieri- 3s 4s...Dario realizes he made a huge mistake as he is a 4 to oneunderdog with the championship at stake...

Flop- 2d 8s Js...one of the best flops that Dario could be looking gaining a flush draw and is now only a two to one underdog in the hand

Turn- 4d...giving Dario some more outs, yet still keeping Dario at about a two to one disadvantage...Dario needs to hit either a spade, four, or three on the river to stay alive in the tournament...

River- 4h...Amazingly Minieri escapes and doubles up through Fischer to take back the chip lead now having about a three to two advantage in chip stacks.

Less than ten hands later Minieri finshed Fischer off after raising to 125k pre flop and having Fischer move all in over the top with an instant call by Minieri showing...

Minieri- Qd Qh vs Fischer- Kd 10d

Fischer was unable to improve on his hand and Minieri took down the title.

Congratulations goes out to Dario Minieri on his first bracelet in one of the craziest final tables I have seen for some time.

World Series of Poker: 'Robin Hood' Barry Greenstein Seeks Top Honor

Andy Thompson — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:14:12 -0400

Barry Greenstein, also known as the Robin Hood of poker, finds himself in third place in the overall standings for the 2008 WSOP Player of the Year, just 20 points behind Erick Lindgren for the title.

Greenstein is also playing at the highest level in the World Series this year. After winning Event No. 26, a $1,500 buy-in razz event three days ago, Greenstein now finds himself again near the top of the leader board sitting in fourth in the $10,000 buy in Stud Hi/Lo event.

Greenstein also already finished third in the 2-7 Draw event, which featured a final table with some of the best players in the world including Lindgren, Tony G, Jeff Lisandro, and eventual winner Mike Matusow.

With the 50k buy in HORSE Championship coming up in a little over a week, it's tough to argue that Greenstein is not the favorite, having finished 12th in 2006 and seventh in last year's HORSE tournaments.

Winning this event would almost assure Greenstein the WSOP player of the year title, and would make for his second bracelet in this year's WSOP.

With the prize pool of the 2007 50K HORSE tournament being over $7 million and the number of participants increasing for the event, there is no reason to doubt a first-place prize of over $2 million.

So with Greenstein donating most of his tournament winnings to children's charities, there is no way that anyone could be against him on his way to the title.

Greenstein is a class act and deserves all of the luck that comes his way in the future. If Barry is to take the title, the image of the poker player could get a little bit more positive, as there are still many people out there that see the game as evil and its players to be greedy, grimy people.

So, best of luck to you, Barry.