November 21 2011, Chad Holloway

Poker returned to network television this past weekend with the second broadcast of the Epic Poker League. On Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, CBS aired the final table of the EPL’s 8-Max Main Event, which drew a field of 97 players. The broadcast picked up with four-handed action. At that final table but not featured on the broadcast: Dutch Boyd (8th – $57,530), Sean Getzwiller (7th – $69,040), Isaac Baron (6th – $92,050), and Nam Le (5th – $126,570).

Chips Counts at the Top of the Broadcast

And They’re Off: In the first hand, with blinds at 10,000/20,000, Erik Seidel raised to 50,000 under the gun holding and was called by David Steicke in the big blind holding . The flop gave Steicke a pair of sixes, but he checked to Seidel who bet 60,000 with the best hand. Steicke called, the spiked on the turn, and both players checked. The river saw Steicke lead out for 100,000 with his full house, which Seidel paid off. First blood to Steicke.

Button Pressure: David Steicke looked down at on the button and raised to 60,000, which Erik Seidel three-bet to 150,000 from the small blind with . Steicke eyed up the Poker Hall of Famer’s stack before announcing that he was all-in, a huge over-raise to 1,042,000. To call would cost Seidel all of his chips, and he decided against it.

Sick Soul Read: The EPL aired a segment that harkened back to its first broadcast and took a look at a notable hand where Erik Seidel called off his stack with on a board. Seidel, who made the right decision as he bested Chino Rheem’s , explained his thought process in the hand, giving viewers a brief glimpse into the mind of a poker great.

“Erik made a great call. He made like a sick soul read, that’s why he’s who he is,” Rheem admitted in the feature.

Four in the Window: Fabrice Soulier raised to 51,000 from the button, only to have Michael “Timex” McDonald move all-in from the small blind for 560,000. The big blind got out of the way and Soulier made the call.

Showdown
Soulier:
McDonald:

It was a race situation, but not so much after the flop. McDonald had flopped a set and left Soulier drawing to runner-runner. The turn was of no consequence, aside from leaving Soulier drawing dead, and McDonald was guaranteed the double to 1,152,000.

“He’s too good,” Soulier said as he counted his remaining chips.

“Too lucky,” McDonald said with a smile.

Seidel Eliminated in Fourth Place: A short-stacked Erik Seidel moved all-in from the button with only to have Soulier move all-in over the top from the small blind with . McDonald folded from the big blind and the man known as “Seiborg” was a 4-1 dog for his tournament life. With 812,000 in the pot, the flop fell , bringing Seidel one step closer to the door. The left him looking for a five, while the river sent him home in fourth place, worth $184,100.

Soulier Shoves: With the blinds now at 12,000/24,000, Soulier opened from the button for 48,000 with , and watched as McDonald made it 144,000 to go from the small blind with the far superior . Steicke folded the big blind and Soulier stared at his opponent before moving all-in for 1,066,000. McDonald asked for a count before admitting, “This is one of those hands where whatever I do I’m gonna look dumb on the broadcast.” The four-bet shove proved too much for McDonald, who slide his cards to the muck.

Soulier Eliminated in Third Place: A little while later, with the blinds at 20,000/40,000, Soulier moved all-in from the small blind for his last 665,000. McDonald snap-called, and the cards were on their backs.

Showdown
Soulier:
McDonald:

McDonald was a 70 percent favorite to win the hand and had the Frenchman on the ropes. The flop gave Soulier some chop outs to a nine, and the turn increased those outs to an ace, king, nine, or three on the river, not to mention a ten for the win. Unfortunately for Soulier, the blanked and he was eliminated in third place ($299,160).

Heads-Up Play: Steicke began heads-up play as the chip leader with 2,835,000 to McDonald’s 2,015,000. It was the Australian versus the Canadian, old versus young, for the latest EPL title. In the first hand between the pair, Steicke looked down at and raised to 90,000, which McDonald called with . The flop hit McDonald hard, but he checked to Steicke, who bet 150,000. McDonald made the call and then checked the turn.

Steicke checked behind and took a free card on the river, which was the . McDonald played coy with a third check, but Steicke refused to bite. McDonald, who shook his head at the missed opportunity, rolled over his full house to collect to the 490,000 pot. “I did have an out at the end,” Steicke smiled as his opponent pulled even in chips.

Off to the Races for an EPL Title: McDonald raised to 90,000 with and Steicke three-bet to 300,000 with . Both players held quality hands, and you just knew it was going to be a big pot. Sure enough, McDonald moved all-in for 1,965,000 and Steicke made the call. Just like that, there was 4.54 million in the pot. “This is pretty much it,” Steicke deadpanned.

Sure enough, if Steicke won he would be an EPL champion, but if he lost he’d be left with hardly anything. The flop made McDonald a 68 percent favorite, but the turn doubled Steicke’s outs. Either a ten, queen, king, or ace on the river would give Steicke the tournament, but it was not meant to be as the appeared. Suddenly it was the 21-year-old Canadian on the verge of an EPL title.

Timex’s Time: In the next broadcasted hand, Steicke moved all-in for 1,395,000 and was quickly called by McDonald.

Showdown
Steicke:
McDonald:

McDonald was a 65 percent favorite and only five cards separate him from an EPL title. The flop brought him even closer, while the turn left Steicke in need of a king or deuce on the river. Unfortunately for the Aussie, the blanked and he finished in second place for $506,260. Meanwhile, McDonald became the EPL 8-Max Champion and earned himself a hefty $782,410 payday.

“It was a tough day. A lot of tough players at the table. Things just worked out really well for me today,” McDonald said on the eve of his 22nd birthday in his post-victory interview.

*Photo courtesy of Epic Poker League.

The next new Epic Poker League episode airs on Jan. 14, 2012 on CBS. Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

Follow Chad Holloway on Twitter – @ChadAHolloway

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August 16 2011, Rich Ryan, Eric Ramsey

This past week, the Epic Poker League kicked off its inaugural season at The Palms in Las Vegas. Chino Rheem won the Main Event, defeating Erik Seidel heads up for $1 million. Those in attendance raved about how smoothly the tournament was run and how well the players were treated, but there are still naysayers like Daniel Negreanu who openly boycotted the event, that won’t play EPL events, even though they’re cardholders. We asked our own Eric Ramsey and Rich Ryan to discuss the topic, and examine whether or not the EPL will be successful.

Eric Ramsey: Of course the Epic Poker League will be successful

Let’s start with the decision makers, because a poker tour is only as good as the people who run it. Executive chairman Jeffrey Pollack played a major role in the poker boom, guiding the World Series of Poker through its biggest growth spurt. Pollack bowed out of the way after the wheels were set in full motion, and the WSOP brand has gone on to become a multi-million-dollar, global phenomenon with an enormous marketing presence. Filling the role of commissioner for the league is Annie Duke — a bracelet winner, an active proponent of legalizing poker, and one of the most well-spoken and well-respected minds in the game. On the floor, Tournament director Matt Savage runs a handful of the most successful tournaments in the world, and he has the poker world hanging by his every tweet. Savage is on the Tournament Directors’ Association Board of Directors, and his name on the EPL docket adds instant credibility with the players.

And then there’s television. Network television, to boot. The entire country will get to see the Season One events on CBS, a production that will be overseen by another top-notch entity in this arrangement, 441 Productions. Pollack and 441 have a history of producing some of the most watched, most famous moments in the history of the game, and the Epic Poker canvas figures to be a fine reunion masterpiece. Locking down a big network deal means a certain level of success has already been achieved, in my estimation.

Since the beginning, Pollack and Duke have professed that the league would be about the players themselves, and having an exclusive, invitation-only club makes that vision feasible. Throughout the inaugural event, Twitter and the tournament floor were abuzz with praises raining in from every angle. In fairness, it’s pretty easy to make fans when you wave the rake, add $400,000 to the prize pool, and hand out lots of swag on the way in the door. But the continued commitment to the player first (rather than the viewer) is a refreshing break from the norm in televised poker, and it’s one that seems to please some of the best players in the world.

Before the EPL came around, it would have been hard to find a vacant spot on the tournament block for a new tour to start laying a foundation. With a unique vision and a true focus on the players, though, this EPL already has the earmarks of something that’s here to stay. By all accounts, the league’s events are five-star all the way around, and the opening event had plenty of juicy story lines to keep the players and the fans coming back for more. The EPL has succeeded in bringing together an elite group of poker players for a unique and well-run event, and it’s definitely a broadcast I don’t plan on missing.

Rich Ryan: The EPL is awesome, yet unsustainable. It won’t be “successful”

In 1993, the Wu-Tang Clan taught us a very valuable lesson: “Cash rules everything around me, C.R.E.A.M. get the money, dollar dollar bill y’all.”

The first EPL Main Event was, dare I say it, nah, I won’t. The field was stacked, the final table was incredible, there was a seven-figure payday, and the buzz that was created was tremendous. The only people happier than poker fans were the players and the media in attendance. Duke and Pollack pampered their customers, offering them free rooms, supplying $100 food vouchers for each day of the tournament, and, of course, adding $400,000 to the prize pool. This all sounds fantastic, but where is the money coming from? And once that money dries up, where is the next batch going to come from?

While Neagreanu’s latest blog is very biased (he is anti-Duke), he brings up a lot of valid points. The most important point is that if the World Series of Poker struggles to pull in major sponsorships, and they’re syndicated on ESPN, running hundreds of hours of programming a year, then how is a tour with just seven hours on CBS going to find enough sponsorship money to keep them afloat? Sasquatch isn’t going to be willing to shell out enough money to cover the $400,000 being added to each tournament, and no other major companies are lining up to attach their brand to poker after Black Friday.

Additionally, playing in a $20,000 tournament with some of the best players in the world is terrible game selection. Obviously American players are limited because online poker is basically non-existent, but that doesn’t make lighting two stacks of high society on fire a good idea. Cardholders who are bankroll nits, or who realize that, without online poker, television time means nothing, are going to skip EPL events without a second thought. This depreciates the value of the card, shrinks field sizes, and can ultimately lead to the demise of the EPL as a whole.

For the time being, professional poker players (I’m looking at you, Mr. Negreanu) should enjoy the EPL. It’s truly the only tour in the world that is designed solely for the players, and, even thought it’s unsustainable, it’s great for the game. In a perfect world, there would be millions of dollars in revenue readily available and the EPL would be able to showcase the best players in the world. Unfortunately, that world ceased to exist around 2008, and now the poker economy is a shell of what it once was. The EPL’s spending will eventually catch up with them, and sadly make the tour unsuccessful.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, follow us on Twitter.

*Photo courtesy of EpicPoker.com