GGPoker Successfully Brings Online Flip & Go Concept to Live 2021 WSOP
Table Of Contents
The first portion of Event #20: $1,000 Flip & Go No-Limit Hold'em at the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP), a GGPoker special, was wildly entertaining, and for some players such as David Williams and Daniel Negreanu, perhaps a bit frustrating. But that's exactly what made this unique bracelet event so intriguing.
For those who aren't familiar with the Flip & Go game on the GGPoker poker site, the concept is unique and action-packed. In the case of Sunday's WSOP event, each player paid $1,000 to enter.
Participants were initially seated at an eight-player table but didn't receive any poker chips. Instead, they were dealt three cards face-down. The dealer then turned over the flop. Moving clockwise, players looked at their hands and then mucked one card. They each turned over their hands and the dealer flipped over the turn and river. After all five community cards were dealt, the player with the best poker hand at the table moved on and everyone else was eliminated.
You might think it's all a bunch of luck, and you're mostly correct. But two-time WSOP bracelet winner Chance Kornuth told PokerNews there's a minimal amount of skill involved in determining which card to fold.
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Flip & Go Structure
Play began at 10 a.m. PT inside the Brasilia room at the Rio for the first of two opening sessions. Each player who won the initial hand automatically advanced into the money. Those who lost the first hand could rebuy and give it another try up until 3 p.m., or they could enter the 4 p.m. session.
Negreanu, a GGPoker ambassador, advanced but it took him nine tries. Williams, the 2004 WSOP Main Event runner-up, bought in 19 times ($19,000) and finally won a hand. He clenched his fist and frustratingly shouted, "it's about f*****g time" upon hitting a river six for trips to take down the hand.
Other big name pros who survived and advanced, most after multiple tries, included Shaun Deeb, Josh Arieh, Jeff Gross, and Paul Volpe. A min cash is only worth $2,000, so some players will have to advance deep just to break even. First place pays out $180,665, plus a gold bracelet.
In total, the tournament attracted 1,232 buy ins, and 155 players reached the money. Those individuals came back at 7 p.m. to compete in the actual poker tournament portion of the event. Play should move along quickly as the competitors began with 160,000 chips and they'll start at 1,000/2,000 blinds with a 2,000 big blind ante. You can follow the action via PokerNews live reporting.
Lively Atmosphere
When each opening session started, the players took their seats but only one dealer dealt a hand at a time. This allowed players, media, and spectators to hover over the tables to watch and cheer as the cards came out. PokerNews' Chad Holloway captured the action during a 10 a.m. hand in which Courtney Binnie, the girlfriend of popular poker vlogger "Greg Goes All In," a GGPoker ambassador who was nearby to celebrate, won.
Up early to sweat the @WSOP @GGPoker Flip & Go Event. Lots of excitement. Some bad beats taking place. 8 players st�� https://t.co/F5nExfWMAF
— Chad Holloway (@ChadAHolloway)
In most cases, it took two pair or better to win the flip hand. But there were a few hands in which a marginal hand somehow held up against seven other players. During the 4 p.m. session, one player flopped a pair of sevens with an ace kicker and somehow was able to hold on, dodging just about every out in the deck on the turn and river, to win and advance.
Winning players cheered and high-fived, and some acted rather shocked they actually won the hand. A number of recreational and lower stakes players won a flip hand, not just the big name pros like Negreanu. That includes Jim Reid, host of "Forums Edition" of the RecPoker Podcast, and he was rather stoked to reach the money.
Reid, from Ontario, Canada, is on his first trip to the World Series of Poker, and the Flip & Go event is his first-ever WSOP cash.
While the flip-and-go portion of the event is over, the rest will play out as a standard no-limit hold'em tournament.
In this Series
- 1 WSOP 2021 Schedule: 88 WSOP Bracelet Events, Sept. 30 - Nov. 23
- 2 WSOP 2021: Best Events to Play on a Budget
- 3 WSOP 2021 Main Event Satellites From $80 Hit GGPoker
- 4 WSOP 2021: Former Champ Chris Moneymaker Set to Miss This Year's WSOP
- 5 WSOP 2021: COVID-19 Vaccination Required for Players, Update on Staff
- 6 WSOP 2021: Best Hotels in Las Vegas
- 7 WSOP 2021: Try These 5 Hidden Gem Las Vegas Restaurants
- 8 World Series of Poker 2024: Read Phil Ivey's Top WSOP Tips
- 9 WSOP 2021: 8 Things Poker Players Should Definitely Bring to the WSOP - and 2 You Shouldn't!
- 10 How to Enter the WSOP 2021 Freezeout Events
- 11 Is It Worth Playing Cash Games During the WSOP?
- 12 What Game Should You Pick in Dealer��s Choice?
- 13 What We've Learned from the First Week of the 2021 WSOP
- 14 Hands That Helped GGPoker Ambassador Jason Koon Win 1st WSOP Gold Bracelet
- 15 GGPoker Successfully Brings Online Flip & Go Concept to Live 2021 WSOP
- 16 Jason Koon, Connor Drinan Lead 2021 WSOP Player of the Year Race
- 17 Anthony Zinno in Exclusive One-Player Club Following Fourth WSOP Title
- 18 Looking Back At The Illustrious History of the Poker Players Championship
- 19 Phil Hellmuth Blows Up AGAIN; Rails Against WSOP POY Rules
- 20 Poker Fan Loses Job, Twitch Streamer Gifts Him WSOP Main Event Package
- 21 WSOP 2021: Are the Fields Tougher or Softer than Recent Years?
- 22 Doyle Brunson Treats Crowd to Surprise WSOP Return on Halloween
- 23 Spooktastic: Best & Worst Halloween Costumes from the 2021 WSOP
- 24 Phil Ivey NFT Launch Party a True 'What Happens in Vegas' Night
- 25 Poker Community Buys Man Facing Terminal Cancer into WSOP Main Event
- 26 Everything You Need to Know About the 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 27 WSOP Temporarily Goes on Lockdown Over Suspect's "Suspicious Item"
- 28 Did Phil Hellmuth's Sex Ban Lead to 1989 WSOP Main Event Glory?
- 29 Doyle Brunson Arrives; Defending Champ Salas Busts Before 1st Break of 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 30 Aces Cracked Leaves Kevin Campbell as the 2021 WSOP Main Event Bubble
- 31 Quads Vs. Quads Sends Chang Liu Home Near WSOP Main Event Bubble
- 32 The Muck: Mike "The Mouth" Matusow Wants to End Max Late Reg
- 33 Doyle Brunson Proves He Still Has it Despite WSOP Main Event Exit
- 34 Phil "Gandalf" Hellmuth Makes Grand Entrance in 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 35 Chris Moneymaker Makes Late Decision to Play WSOP Main Event
- 36 Who is GGPoker Ambassador and YouTube Vlogger 'Greg Goes All In?'
- 37 The Muck: Poker Twitter Debates Potential Angle-Shooting in WSOP Main Event
- 38 Nick Rigby Plays the 2-3 "Dirty Diaper" in 2021 WSOP Main Event
- 39 Is Josh Arieh Running Away with WSOP Player of the Year?
- 40 'Wedding Crashers' & 'Old School' Star Vince Vaughn to Join WSOP's Move to Strip in 2022
- 41 Eli Elezra Selected as 2021 Poker Hall of Fame Inductee
- 42 Master of Ceremonies Vince Vaughn Suffers Bad Beat in His First WSOP Tournament
- 43 Players Implement Covid Contract During WSOP $250K Super High Roller
- 44 How Much Money Did Players at the WSOP Main Event Final Table Really Make?
- 45 Phil Hellmuth Breaks WSOP Single Series Final Table Record
- 46 Daniel Negreanu's Most Mind-Boggling WSOP Stat at the Rio
- 47 Josh Arieh a Surprising 2021 WSOP Player of the Year Winner