The Big Game

I was browsing the 2+2 forums and came across a thread that looked intriguing. Someone asked who wins in the big game? The big game, in case you don’t know, is a $4,000-$8,000 mixed game that usually plays at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, NV. It’s “the” game so to speak - Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein, Chau Giang, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, Chip Reese - all the big names play (or try to, anyway) in the “big game.” So, with so many great players sitting at the table, who wins?

I don’t know for sure, but I think there are definitely a few players who have an edge.

The game is a mixed game - it includes a all or a lot of these games on any given night:

Hold ‘em
No Limit Hold ‘Em ($100,000 max per hand)
Omaha
Omaha Hi/Lo
PL Omaha ($100,000 max per hand)
PL Omaha Hi/Lo ($100,000 max per hand)
2-7 Triple Draw
A-5 Triple Draw
Stud
Stud Hi/Lo

I’m sure there are games played that I don’t know about or have never heard of, but I think that list covers al the main games played. The point of playing so many variations of poker is that the best player will come out on top. If you’re an expert at NL Hold ‘Em you’re goin to lose money at 9/10 of the games they play on any given night. You have to be well versed in each game so that you can avoid losing money on stupid mistakes from inexperience.

I don’t know numbers, but I’m almost certain Phil Ivey, Chip Reese, and Chau Giang are regular winners are the game. As for the others, I’m not 100% positive. It would take years of playing in the big game for someone to proe themselves as a long term winner. Daniel Negreanu posts his results on his blog and for the past year he’s been doing well, but he has not been a regular for a while as his poker-related commitments beyond playing seem to pull him away from the tables. Barry Greenstein is one of the great players and I’m sure he does well.

They thing about the big game is that it can’t be treated like any other game. Winning 0.25BB per hour is incredible - $2,000 an hour. If you make $2000 an hour at a full time job you’re pulling in $4,000,000 a year - not too shabby.

The big game is something 99.9% of poker players will never get to experience. One hand of poker in that game is more expensive than the WSOP Main Event or the WPT Championship. If you lose a big hand of NL Hold ‘Em you’re out $100,000 - in 5 minutes. The bankroll necessary to play at that level is incredible, sustaining a few bad nights means losing millions.

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