WSOP 2011 Player of the Year – Ben Lamb – to Focus on Cash Games
Last year’s WSOP Player of the Year, Ben Lamb will not frequent the tournament tables at the event this year. Instead, he will play cash games as he is quite optimistic he will be able to make more money in them than in tournaments. He will limit the number of tournaments this year to just 8 to 10.
Lamb not Confident as Tournaments have High Variance
A factor that pushed the player to take this decision was that he believes tournaments have a variance based on luck. This does not allow him to feel confident that he can land the title of Player of the Year again. He stated that no matter how many games he plays this year, he will most likely be the underdog. He values the title of Player of the Year from WSOP 2011, as it took a lot of perseverance and hard work to win it.
Very Good Run at Tournament Tables in 2011
Between June and November 2011, Ben Lamb had a very good run at a $3,000 Pot Limit Omaha event in which he came second, a $10,000 PLO event that he won, a $10,000 6-handed No Limit Hold’em event where he finished twelfth. He also made it to the final table in the Poker Players’ Championship which was a $50,000 event. The WSOP 2011 Main Event followed this.
His success in the event helped him get to his 4th final table – in the November Nine. After finishing third in the event, he had close to $5.3 million in earnings. Though Lamb did not set out to win the title of Player of the Year at the beginning of the tournament, he was thrilled when he got it.
Win in $10,000 PLO Event Encouraged Lamb to Try for Player of the Year in 2011
During the summer of 2011, Lamb entered ten tournaments. After a few games, he got talked into playing for the title of Player of the Year. The turning point was when he landed the pot in the $10,000 PLO event. He then entered events like the 6-handed $10,000 game that he would not opt for otherwise. The times he lost after going all-in, he only gave up short stacks, which he was able to build later in the event.
After he won the title in November 2011, he spent a lot of time relaxing and traveling. Along side, he played a few games of poker, though not as much as he wanted to. Some of the places he played at were the Bellagio, Aria and Bay 101. Click here to find out about the broadcast schedule for WSOP 2012 and watch the events.