Kane Kalas Makes Big WSOP Prop Bets With Shaun Deeb and Doyle Brunson
With the 50th World Series of Poker right around the corner, one of the most enjoyable ways to enjoy the action is to keep an eye on the prop bets players have booked against each other. One man who has a lot to gain or lose on the side of the 2019 WSOP is Kane Kalas.
A Bet With Deeb
Kalas, a former online crusher turned live tournament player, has invested in a big way by wagering 5% of his and Joe McKeehen’s action (2.5% each) against Shaun Deeb’s belief in 5% of Phil Hellmuth’s action in the WSOP Main Event. Kalas is confident he’ll be booking a win against Deeb come mid-July.
“I’m pretty happy about it.”
Deeb talked about it a bit with Joey Ingram in the video '(SHOTS FIRED) Shaun Deeb Adresses Negreanu Feud, Markup Comments & Upcoming 2019 WSOP Preparation' (time stamps here)
A Bet With Brunson
“After that bet when we were talking about it on stream, Doyle [Brunson] spoke up and said that he also liked Hellmuth’s chances, so Doyle and I made a separate bet.”
This one is slightly more complicated. If Hellmuth finishes in the top 1% of the Main Event field, Kalas will have to pay ‘Texas Dolly’ $50,000. In return, Kalas gets to pick ten players, each of whom is worth $5,000 to him from Brunson’s pocket if they finish in the top 1% of the field.
"Hellmuth’s obviously had tremendous success at the World Series, but he misses most of Day 1"
“McKeehen is on that list and I threw in myself, too. I feel good about both bets. Hellmuth’s obviously had tremendous success at the World Series, but he misses most of Day 1, where there’s a decent amount of value because he often likes to register near the end of the Day.”
While Kalas admits that Hellmuth has “a huge edge” against amateurs, he believes those will have been thinned out by the solid professionals who fill the leaderboard later in the tournament.
“I think you’ll see Hellmuth’s edge go down compared to a Joe McKeehan for example, or some of the people on my list, Jake Schindler or Justin Bonomo, for example.”
Kalas’ research led him to some interesting statistics as he dug deeper into players cash-to-participation ratios. Bonomo made the cut for Kalas’ ten picks, but not because of his WSOP Main Event record.
“I didn’t think [Bonomo’s] early Main Event results were indicative of how he’d perform this year. He’s spent a lot of time in the last couple of years specifically on live tournaments.”
The full list features some fantasy draft dream team members such as Alex Foxen and Paul Volpe. The poker Twittersphere has already been lit up by the imagination of the prop bet alone.
Kane Kalas' picks in his bet against Doyle Brunson:
- Jake Schindler
- Joe McKeehen
- Justin Bonomo
- Alex Foxen
- Kane Kalas
- Paul Volpe
- Ivan Luca
- Brian Yoon
- Adrián Mateos
- David Peters
“Brian Yoon has just done fantastically in this tournament, He’s four for seven in cashing the Main and he’s gone deep a couple of times. Between regging late and Hellmuth missing a couple of hands after dinner breaks, in the top 100, he’s going to have to battle against some other great players and I’m fairly confident.”
Some great players didn’t make it onto his list, which Kalas admits was hard. He wanted Timothy Adams and Christoph Vogelsang, but they fell victim to Kalas only being able to choose ten of the best.
"It’s on my bucket list to win a bracelet, but I’m young and I’m confident it’ll happen in due time."
Kalas' Expectations
For Kalas himself, he’s hoping to turn years of online profit into live tournament glory, just like Bonomo. Just don’t expect to see him in many six-max events come the summer.
“Now that I play mix[ed games], there are so many events to choose from. While I prefer six-max and think I’m better at it, those fields are quite a bit tougher. For whatever reason, it seems every professional seems to love it and wants to play.”
While the money is always more important to him - he concedes that he’d take a seat in a juicy PLO game ahead of any smaller bracelet events if he had to make the choice - he does want to grab his first WSOP bracelet.
“Obviously, the tournament I want to win most is the Main Event. It’s on my bucket list to win a bracelet, but I’m young and I’m confident it’ll happen in due time. Having a trophy case that’s full isn’t important to me, but I’d be pretty disappointed if, whenever I walk away from the game, I don’t have one in my back pocket.”
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Singing While You're Winning
If he is to win a bracelet, Kalas would like the WSOP bracelet ceremonies to return. Obviously, that would mean he’s won a bracelet, for a start, but he could even sing the national anthem if required - he’s done so in very celebrated circumstances.
Great Opening Day, Go Phils! https://t.co/jotCrGswt4
— Kane Kalas (@KaneKalas)
“My father [Harry Kalas] was a huge Phillies fan, and he broadcasted with them for 36 seasons. After my father’s passing, the Philly fans got together and raised funds to put up a statue at Citizens Bank Park in his honor.”
Every year for the past four years on opening day for the Phillies, the Major League Baseball club have asked Kane Kalas to sing the national anthem in the shadow of his father’s statue. While Harry never got to see his son become such a successful poker player, he did get to see him win as a professional in his early years in the game.
Kalas’ father broadcast for the Phillies for many dry seasons, but his career culminated in the Phillies winning the 2008 World Series, a huge moment that came just a year before his passing.
"There was not a happier person in the world whenever the Phillies won. But I’ve had $100,000 losing sessions where I’ve been less upset than my father if another team come from five runs behind to beat the Phillies."
“It was just so special. There was not a happier person in the world whenever the Phillies won. But I’ve had $100,000 losing sessions where I’ve been less upset than my father if another team come from five runs behind to beat the Phillies.”
“My fondest memory in life is the first time I sang the national anthem at a Phillies game and my dad was so nervous, and him hugging me afterwards and telling me how proud was of me, they shoot up to him in the booth and you can just see tears I his eyes.”
Kalas believes that the World Series of Poker should bring back the bracelet ceremonies of a few years ago.
“I think they did away with it because the bracelet ceremonies took too long and delayed play. If they bring it back, who knows, maybe I’ll hear the anthem, or even sing it!”
For now, Kalas is concentrating on the first part of that fantasy - winning a WSOP bracelet. He’ll be busy with his World Series of Poker prop bets against Shaun Deeb and Doyle Brunson and hoping to close out a World Series that he and his family will never forget.
