“I guess momentum's a weird word. I believe in frequency, right? If you're on a winning frequency, the right frequency, then history repeats itself a lot.”
Calvin Anderson was certainly tuned into the right frequency on Saturday night in WSOP Event #54, the $10K HORSE Championship, and history did repeat itself.
It was just a couple of days ago that the man from Oklahoma took down the $10K Razz Championship, and he bagged a second WSOP bracelet of the week when he defeated Josh Arieh heads-up in the HORSE — a five-game mix that sees players compete in hold’em, Omaha, razz, 7-card stud and stud hi/lo.
The win comes with a check for $413,580, but also elevates Anderson to an elite club as just the 18th player ever to pick up 7 WSOP bracelets.
“I'm not a disbeliever in momentum,” Anderson told PokerOrg’s Mike Patrick as the dust settled on his second Championship win of the week, “but I'm in a good place, I'm trying to do the same stuff that I'm doing day by day. I'm not trying to switch it up.”
Would you?
Razz skills pay off (again)
Mixed games — in particular limit games like HORSE — don’t always get the attention of the big no-limit hold’em events.
But as many of those in the know will tell you, the skills needed to excel in mixed events can be a major differentiator when it comes to separating the good from the great.
189 players put their skills to the test in this $10K event, creating a prizepool of over $1.4 million. And as befits its championship status, they were among the toughest players in the room.
Brian Rast, Chris Brewer, Marco Johnson and Robert Mizrachi were among those who survived all the way through to the money, and seven-time bracelet winner Josh Arieh ran Anderson close in their heads-up clash, but the champ is not the type to feel the pressure.
“This is a weird thing to say, but I feel like a lot of people are intimidated — I feel uncomfortable even saying that — but still, a lot of people are intimidated in general. And because I don't really feel that intimidation from anybody, I just didn't think that they felt that towards me either. But when I'm playing with people, it's quite apparent that a lot of people are.”
Across the five different poker games played in the HORSE championship Anderson displayed plenty of good reasons why his opponents should be wary.
And true to his reputation as the reigning razz champion, it was the 7-card game that gave Anderson much of his edge.
“I made a huge call in a spot that was questionably bad against Rob Mizrachi, and that was big,” shared Anderson, “but my skills in razz helped a lot. I won a lot of chips specifically in razz.
“It helps being good at any game, but I think the stud games are really good to be good at, because everyone has to ante and it shifts people down pretty fast. So that's what I try to focus on.”
Perfect prep for the PPC?
The final hand of the tournament came in stud hi/lo. Both players went for the high hand, but Arieh’s king-high straight couldn’t stand up to Anderson’s queen-high flush.
Arieh was shooting for bracelet number 8, but will have to keep shooting after Anderson took it down to join him on seven.
We expect both players to make an appearance in the $50K Poker Players Championship (PPC), another mixed game event which starts on Sunday. And if winning a $10K championship bestows elite status, it’s nothing compared with the distinction of winning the PPC.
Former winners include Daniel Negreanu, Dan Cates (twice), Brian Rast (three times) and Michael Mizrachi (four times).
Anderson may not place a lot of belief in momentum, but given the form he’s in this week it’s impossible to ignore the possibility that he’d make it three from three.
So does he have his sights set squarely on the PPC, and underlining his place in poker history?
“I don't know, I don't look at it like that,” says the new HORSE champ. “I'm open to all the possibilities that can happen. I try not to go too high or low with any emotions when it comes to this; I don't wanna be let down. I'm just open to doing well.
“I am not gonna sit here and, you know, ‘manifest’ anything. I think the actions speak for themselves when it comes to this stuff. So I'll just play, I'll do my best."
“There's a lot of stuff people need to get organized in their life to be able to sit down and focus on one thing. Or you need to be good at letting go of other stuff, because you can think about a lot of these things, and it messes you up.
“But I'm zoned in. When I sit down, I'm super zoned in, and I don't know if everybody has that, so that's a big advantage of mine.”
Day 1 of the 5-day PPC starts on Sunday — check out a preview here.
$10K HORSE Championship — final table results
- Calvin Anderson (USA) — $413,580
- Josh Arieh (USA) — $275,620
- John Vetri (USA) — $190,150
- Yannick Jobin (Switzerland) — $134,350
- Robert Mizrachi (USA) — $97,270
- David Bach (USA) — $72,200
- Nicolas Milgrom (France) — $54,990
- David Lin (USA) — $42,990
Featured image courtesy of the WSOP.
