$10,000 entry Razz Final Table

I had the privilege of being one of the three dealers to deal the final table of Event 17, the Razz Championship. It is not only a "Bracelet Event" but it is also considered a "World Championship" as are all events at the WSOP that have a $10,000 entry fee.

The three of us, Eric Green, Shaun Harris and I, began setting up two tables for the last sixteen players at about 1:30 pm and finished up a little after midnight.

What is Razz?  It is a variation of 7-Card Stud lowball. It is dealt like 7-Card Stud but the winning hand is the lowest combination of five cards, the best being A-2-3-4-5-x-x. Straights and Flushes have no bearing on the hand value. Some say it is not really Poker because it does not use the conventional poker rank of hands but the essential elements of poker are there: the ability to win pots with the best hand at showdown and the ability to win by betting to convince your opponent to fold.

We started the day with two tabes in the northeast corner of the Amazon Room. Shaun was on 446, Eric on 449 and I was on first break.  Every half hour we rotate, so we do 30 minutes at 446, 30 minutes on 449 followed by a 30 minute break. We ran this rotation until around 3:30 when the seventh player had busted out losing all of his chips. With 9 players left we took a quick break and moved our table into the Amazon Arena, the stadium like setup where Championship final tables are broadcast live on the Internet, recorded and archived.

Dealers stay in the same rotation but responsibilities change. One dealer is at the table, one acts as a runner assisting the floor and players with whatever is needed and escorting any player busting out to the payout clerk for processing, and the third on break. The difference is that when on a final table, you get paid for all three positions as if you were dealing continuously.

That is the rotation we were in. The extra money isn't really important to me, although I appreciate being fairly compensated for my labor, I get great personal satisfaction from being in the center of the arena, on camera, with a lot on the line and proving to myself that I can perform well under the stress.   On this day, I was quick, accurate, precise and my procedures were by the book right down to clearing my hand after the cut (a procedure many dealers fail to perform). It can be tough. You have an earpiece in your ear with a producer giving some instructions as you deal. There are many spectators in the stadium all watching your moves with multiple video screens showing every action and a set of video cameras with potentially thousands of viewers all around the world watching the game you are running. Seeing that I do this part-time as a hobby rather than for a living, I'm pretty proud of being able to perform in the arena.

But enough about me. Phil Hellmuth, who has won the Main Event and won more WSOP Bracelets than any other captured his 14th bracelet by winning this 2015 World Championship Razz Event. Eric Green had the privilege of dealing the final winning hand.