Posts Tagged ‘Mark Newhouse’

Mark Newhouse’s Nightmare: 9th Place at WSOP Again

Tuesday, November 11th, 2014

Mark Newhouse captured quite a few poker headlines this summer when he made his second-straight final table in the WSOP Main Event. Last year, Newhouse battled through 6,352 players to make the final table, only to bust out in ninth when it resumed four months later.

At the 2014 Main Event, he survived an even bigger 6,683-player field to once again land in the November Nine. This time, it seemed impossible for him to bust out first, given that he had experience and 26 million chips on his side. However, just as improbable as making two straight final tables in the November Nine era, Newhouse again busted out in ninth.

Despite collecting $730,725, Newhouse was very disappointed about his finish. He still went through the motions at a press conference, which you can see below, but he was far from thrilled about being the first November Niner gone again.

On the hand that saw him eliminated, Newhouse was trying to bluff William Tonking. The latter was holding pocket queens while Newhouse held pocket 10’s on a paired board (4’s). Mark went all-in on the river, hoping to force a fold in this large pot, but Tonking called and won with his pair of queens.

When asked what he was going to do after netting another large Main Event score, Newhouse simply replied that he’d “figure it out within the next hour.” The North Carolina native also said he was headed back to his hotel room, presumably to sulk about the disappointing finish for a bit longer.

While Newhouse may not be happy about a second straight ninth-place effort, it is pretty impressive that he now has over $3.5 million in live tournament winnings.

Maria Ho not Worried about Last Woman Standing Honor

Sunday, July 13th, 2014

Back in 2007, Maria Ho took 38th place in the WSOP Main Event, which made her the “Last Woman Standing.” Now, seven years later, Ho has earned this honor once again since she’s the only female player alive in the 2014 WSOP Main Event.

Going into Day 6 of the Main Event, there are just 79 players left from the original 6,683 entrants. Ho happens to be one of these players, though she’s on the fringe of busting out with 435,000 chips (79th place). Even still, she doesn’t seem to be thinking about anything other than the November Nine.

Ho told PokerNews that it was an honor to receive the Last Woman Standing title again and interest more ladies in the game. This definitely won’t be enough to satisfy her, though. “I’m playing for something that’s much, much more than that, right,” she said. “There’s bigger goals ahead for me in terms of how I wanna finish here.”

The famed female poker pro also explained the difference from her 38th place effort in 2007 and what she’s done this year. Ho said that not many players really knew what they were doing in ’07, and she “knew just a little bit more” about what she was doing. The 31-year-old added that she’d like to think her game has improved up to her 2014 Main Event run.

Ho needs to hope for a little luck if she’s going to make a realistic run at the November Nine. Assuming she can pull off the feat, it would make her the first female November Niner in history. However, her 435k chips are quite a ways off of the current leader, Mark Newhouse, who has 7.4 million chips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kRDpHckYwA

2014 WSOP Main Event Unkind to Early Chip Leaders

Saturday, July 12th, 2014

It’s commonsense that you want to build your chip stack in the early stages of the WSOP Main Event. But for the superstitious types out there, you might consider that being in the lead of the 2014 WSOP Main Event is almost like a curse. Don’t believe us? Just take a look at what’s happened to chip leaders from the first five days of the Main Event.

Day 1 Leaders
1A: Martin Jacobson – still in with 3.925 million chips (14th place)
1B: John Luxemburger – did not cash
1C: Eric Tracy – did not cash

As you can see here, it certainly didn’t pay for Luxemburger or Tracy to grab early chip leads in their flights of the tournament. However, the 2014 Main Event has treated Jacobson pretty well since he still has a good shot at the November Nine going into Day 6.

Day 2 Leaders
2AB: Timothy Stansifer – cashed by finishing 289th ($33,734)
2C: Phil Ivey – cashed by finishing 430th ($25,756)

All that anybody could talk about following the second day was how Ivey was leading the field. Unfortunately for the 10-time WSOP champ, he quickly lost his chip lead on the third day and continued falling. As for Stansifer, the unknown amateur’s cinderella story ended with him barely cracking the top 300.

Day 3 Leader
Andrew Liporace – cashed by finishing 159th ($52,141)

With the field consolidated on Day 3, Liporace lived up to his name by racing out to the chip lead. And while he didn’t do too badly by finishing 159th, he probably dreamed of more glory when he was atop the leaderboard on the third day.

Day 4 Leader
Matthew Haugen – still alive with 760,000 chips (71st)

Haugen’s Main Event title dreams are on life support as he’s sitting in 71st place with 760,000 chips. It took just one day for him to tumble down the standings.

Day 5 Leader
Mark Newhouse – Leader with 7.4 million chips

We’re now entering Day 6, so it’ll be interesting to see what Newhouse can do. He made the November Nine last year, so he’s definitely got some experience. And with just 79 players left, Newhouse has a very realistic shot at becoming the first two-time November Niner.

Mark Newhouse looking for Redemption at 2013 WSOP Main Event

Wednesday, July 17th, 2013

Eight years ago, Mark Newhouse was on the path to poker stardom. Three months after final tabling his first WSOP event, the 21-year-old went on to win the 2006 WPT Borgata Poker Open along with $1,519,020. With a bankroll worth well over a million dollars, Newhouse took his game to the L.A. Commerce Casino.

Newhouse’s plan was to spin his profits into an even larger bankroll through cash games at the Commerce. Unfortunately things didn’t work out quite as planned since the young grinder “lost his mind” and set his money “on fire.” As Newhouse attests to, he wasn’t very smart with his winnings and this cost him.

But the Chapel Hill, North Carolina native never gave up on poker. He’s continued to play professionally for the past decade through a mix of online games and traveling between L.A and Las Vegas. He’s sporadically played tournaments during this time as well and decided to enter the 2013 WSOP Main Event.

Throughout the 2013 ME, Newhouse looked like a determined man, never giving up on his bid for the final table. And Newhouse managed to do the unthinkable by battling through 6,358 players and into the November Nine. “I’m feeling great, it was a crazy day,” he said after making the final table. “Anyone who knows me and who plays poker with me on a regular basis knows I’m not a patient person, but there’s so much on the line, you just have to do it sometimes.”

With 7,350,000 chips, Newhouse’s odds of winning the 2013 Main Event aren’t the greatest. He’s miles away from chip leader J.C. Tran (38 million chips) and the second shortest overall stack at the final table. But win or lose, Newhouse has already accomplished quite a bit just by making it this far. And even if he busts out in ninth place, he’s still guaranteed a $733,224 payout.