2009 WSOP Main Event - The Final Table

November Nine Final Table
Day: 1
Event Info

2009 WSOP Main Event - The Final Table

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
99
Prize
$8,547,042
Event Info
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$27,220,989
Entries
9
Level Info
Level
42
Blinds
1,000,000 / 2,000,000
Ante
300,000

The "Cada" Crew Not Giving up Hope

After a hand in which Joe Cada lost most of his stack with ace-jack versus Jeff Shulman's ace-king it was clear that Cada was distraught. His large fan base showed no disappointment though cheering him on, immediately supporting their hometown hero.

The very next hand Cada was able to double up against Eric Buchman, and while his back is certainly still against the wall, his vocal supporters have not lost hope.

Tags: Joe Cada

Hand #123 - Joe Cada Doubles through Eric Buchman

Steve Begleiter has the button. Eric Buchman opens from the small blind, enough to put big blind Joe Cada all in. Joe Cada dumps his remaining stack into the middle, 2.25 million chips. Here we go again!

Buchman: {5-Clubs} {4-Clubs}
Cada: {J-Clubs} {4-Diamonds}

The flop comes {6-Hearts} {9-Diamonds} {4-Hearts}, giving each player a pair of fours. Cada's kicker is still in the lead. Nothing changes with the {10-Spades} turn, giving Cada's large cadre of supporters something to applaud. Then an intense silence settles over the theater as everyone awaits the river. It comes {7-Diamonds}, giving Cada a little bit of life. He doubles up to 4.8 million!

Tags: Eric BuchmanJoe Cada

Hand #122 - Shulman Orders a Big Slick, Drinks Double

Phil Ivey has the button. First to act, Joe Cada opens to 1.25 million before Jeff Shulman announces an all in for his last 7.025 million. Joe Cada goes into the think tank for an arduous five or six minutes. The table seems a bit surprised when Cada quietly announces the call to put Shulman at risk. It was a big decision as Cada is left with less than 3 million after the call.

Showdown
Cada: {A-Diamonds} {J-Spades}
Shulman: {A-Spades} {K-Hearts}

The crowd rises to life once again as the dealer runs out a clean flop of {3-Hearts} {10-Spades} {9-Clubs}. The {Q-Diamonds} that arrives on the turn leaves Shulman looking to fade the kings and the eights left in the deck to stay alive and double up.

The river: {4-Diamonds}. That's safe for Shulman, and he's now got twice as many chips as he did before. He's all the way up to 15,150,000 now, while Cada slides back to just 2,275,000.

Tags: Jeff ShulmanJoe Cada

Average Age Dropping

The average age of the final table was 34.8 years old when we began today. With the two eliminations, that average has dropped slightly to 33.6 years. This is due mainly to Kevin Schaffel (52) being eliminated as the oldest competitor to make the final table.

Hand #121 - Phil Ivey

Darvin Moon has the button. Action quickly passes to him. He puts in a raise to 1.75 million. Phil Ivey is in the small blind, and in his monk-like Ivey way, calmly moves all in. Big blind Steve Begleiter and Moon both snap-muck.

Tags: Phil Ivey

Cada Still Going for Record

Look at that baby face
Look at that baby face
Joe Cada turns the ripe young age of 22 on November 18, 2009. If Cada goes on to win the Main Event, he'll beat the record for youngest champion by 340 days! That record is currently held by last year's winner, Peter Eastgate.

Cada is no stranger to doing things at a young age. Nearly 22 years old, Cada has racked up nearly $500,000 in career poker winnings and has two cashes at WSOP events. He also bought his first house at age 19. When most people were busy trying to pick out a college to attend, Cada was worrying about how many bedrooms and bathrooms he wanted.

With Cada going for the record of youngest Main Event winner ever and Phil Ivey looking to surpass Daniel Negreanu on the all-time money leaderboard, we could be in for one heck of a historical final table.

Tags: Daniel NegreanuJoe CadaPeter EastgatePhil Ivey