Event 49 - No Limit 1500

First of all, Congratulations to our 2008 PAA Poker Sweepstakes Winner, Jim Forsythe of Clovis, CA. As part of the sweepstakes package, Jim is the newest member of the 2008 Poker Across America Player Team at the 2008 World Series of Poker. Jim is participating in Event 49- NLHE $1,500 Event. Here is a brief interview with Jim conducted before the event. An in depth interview can be found here in a future installment of Chewey's Corner.

Chewey: Jim, Congratulations on winning the 2008 PAA Poker Sweepstakes!

Jim: Thank You Chewey and Poker Across America.com for the opportunity.


Chewey: What is the largest field that you have participated in for a poker tournament?

Jim: To be quite truthful, 3,000 in an online poker tournament.

Chewey: How about in a live tournament setting?


Jim: A few hundred is the largest and that is in some of the daily casino tournaments around the Clovis, CA Area


Chewey: What are some of your emotions regarding your inaugural debut with Team Poker AcrossAmerica at the 2008 WSOP?

Jim: I'm excited and ready to go! Any tips, hints on how I can survive Day 1?
Chewey: Get a good night's rest, stay alert and eat smart!

Onto the highlights of Jim's Day 1 in Event 49 - $1,500 NLHE at the 2008 WSOP. A field of 2,700+ has gathered to participate in this event. With a prize pool of over 3.4 million, 1st place is over 750,000 and the minimum payout is 270th place- $2,700. Players begin with a 3000 chip stack and levels are 1 hour long with a 10 minute break every 2 levels. Jim's seat assignment is Table 4, Seat 1 and he has the fortune of being placed in the Rio Original Poker Room, which is a smaller setting than the WSOP Arena located in the Rio Convention Center. Tournament Space is at a premium and players are placed throughout the Rio and the main field is located in the Rio Convention Center.

Level 1- Blinds 25-50. Jim does not see much in the way of cards and enters a few pots but appears very nervous albeit overwhelmed. His stack is down to 2,500. The eye in the sky and from the rail (me) notices and gives Jim a quick pep talk at the end of Level 1. I tell Jim that he needs to wait until it is his turn before peeking at his hole cards. Also, he needs to start raising the action when he enters the pot as several players are re-raising him and are taking pots from him. Lastly, its okay, one hand, one table at a time.

Level 2- Blinds 50-100. Jim manages to string together a few consecutive pots through raising in mid to late position and grows his stack to 3,100. His nervousness seems to be subsiding and he is calm. However, 15 minutes before the level is over, Jim runs into A9 versus AJ and loses because of his 9 kicker. He ends the level with 2,300.

Level 3 & 4- Jim is moved to a different table in the Poker Room and not much in the way of cards. His stack hovers around 2000. Meanwhile, I also lose track of Jim amidst the huge sea of players as the field has experienced significant eliminations and is now inside 1,500 players. Nearly half of the field has been eliminated in the first few hours. To make matters worse, Jim is moved to 3 different tables in a matter of 15 minutes and is now placed in the 2nd poker area located adjacent to the main casino area. Jim is in official short stack mode with only 900 in chips and is now making the journey and slow process of playing in the main WSOP Arena. The Arena looms ahead for Jim and is a different setting for Jim as hundreds and hundreds of poker tables are all you see in the arena. The arena is vastly different than that of the Rio Poker Room of only 20 tables.

Mid Level 4 & Level 5- Chewey, (me) your fearless reporter, cheerleader, gambler finds his way to a 2/5 No Limit Holdem Table and vegetates there for a long time (3 hours) before backup (PAA team member Jay) arrives in town and at the Rio. Jay shows up and witnesses me donking my chips off in a matter of minutes to one gentleman. Good thing it was only a hundred, dollars that is. We're starving and find our way to The Village Seafood Buffet and proceed to gorge ourselves with plate after plate of food before Jay asks the dreaded question 'How's our sweepstakes guy doing'.' I reply 'He's still in, but I lost track of him in the sea of players. After all, I don't have a media pass and can't just walk everywhere but have been able to obtain pictures and video footage of Jim playing, a feat in itself with the security and watchful eyes of the WSOP staff. Game on for Chewey Spy'. Low and behold, I somehow miss a call from Jim and think to myself; 'Crap, He's out- I should have told Jay that he was down to 900 in chips and had kind of written it off but I guess no news is good news'. I check the voicemail and much to our delight he has somehow survived and it is now dinner break. A field of 2,700 has been whittled to 570, only 300 from the payday. At the current rate, nearly 5 players have been eliminated per minute and we could be down to 100 by 11pm, it is now 7pm. Jim, Jay and I have grand delusions of a deep payday for Jim but my realist side emerges after I go through the mathematical calculations for the remaining players in the field. We tell Jim, easy does it and one player, one hand at a time.

Level 6- Jim manages to double up with two pair and grow his stack to 5,000 and is again moved to a different table. In the process, your crack camera crew of Jay and Chewey have taken residence in the top bleacher section of the WSOP Arena and is secretly taking pics and shooting video of Jim's play. We somehow manage to not get caught and even get a few video close ups of Jim's table and also manage to get into a few crazy antics to get live chip updates for Jim and his table because Jim is now on the far side of the arena and it would take a freakin' tank or mac truck to get thought the security and tournament officials present. The money bubble is getting closer , closer and closer. We are now down to 450, 400, 350, 300. Jay and I are also getting gambler antsy and start betting each other on how many eliminations will take place per minute. Jay loses, I win but secretly I hope he is right and that Jim makes it.

Level 7- blinds 300-600 with 75 antes, Jim is moved to Hevad 'Rain' Khan's table, the player known for playing 60+ online Sit N Go's at once on PokerStars.net. Jim is getting thrown into the frying pan literally and will have to pick up the aggression, as Khan can be and is super aggressive. Jim holds his own for 3 levels at this table and emerges relatively unscathed and with a 30,000 chipstack with not much in premium cards. We sweat it out with the rest of the crowd as the bubble nears and we have entered hand to hand play. We are two from the money. Chewey again manages to pull off getting a live chip count on Jim's stack and get video footage. See the below video for footage 'almost live' from Event 49 of the 2008 WSOP $1,500 NLH, Jim's Highlights, pictures and even a brief interview with Hevad 'Rain' Khan and oh, don't ask how we pulled it off because I will deny, deny, deny!
Now, don't forget to watch the below video on Event 49 highlights and you can almost experience the adrenaline rush of the 2008 PAA Poker Sweepstakes Winner, Jim Forsythe's quest for WSOP glory and PokerAcrossAmerica's 'almost live' coverage from the WSOP. To get this and other PAA videos, check out our YouTube channel . You too could be our next sweepstakes winner.

Join us here at Chewey's Corner for our next installment of Day 2 of Event 49 from the 2008 WSOP!

Almost Live from the 2008 WSOP,
Chewey & Jay