This week, the PocketFives.com Podcast sponsored by the USA-friendly site Carbon Poker welcomes Jordan scarface_79 Smith, who is fresh off finishing 10th in the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Smith had the dubious distinction of being the final table bubble boy, but banked nearly $900,000 for his efforts. This weekend, Smith and the rest of the poker community will watch as the $10,000 buy-in feature tournament crowns a champion in Las Vegas.

In Smith’s final hand back in July, the Texan check-raised all-in on a flop of 8-4-2 with pocket aces. Darvin Moon quickly made the call and turned over pocket eights for top set. The turn was a five, which gave Smith a gutshot straight draw, but the river came a ten, sending him home. Consequently, Moon owns a massive chip lead over the rest of the field entering Saturday’s play, which will see the pack dwindle from nine to two. Smith told the PocketFives.com Podcast, “I’ve been really fortunate and, besides that one hand, I can’t complain about anything. I could have easily busted out on Day 7 or Day 1 for much less money. I definitely had a great summer.”
Besides his top 10 finish in the Main Event, Smith’s run through the 2009 WSOP included a bracelet win in a $2,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament. Nearly 1,700 players bought into that event and Smith took home $586,000. He explained his approach to the 2009 WSOP festivities: “This year, I took more of a business approach to it. I got more rest, got more sleep, and just worked harder this year than in previous years. I didn’t play hardly any online and didn’t go out that much.” He walked away from Las Vegas $1.5 million richer for his efforts.

Reaching the final table in 2009 is Full Tilt Poker pro Phil Ivey (pictured at left), who has already taken home two bracelets in preliminary events leading up to Saturday’s finale. Ivey was a candidate for the Poker Hall of Fame this year and is regarded by many as the top all-around player in the game. Ivey owns the seventh largest stack in the November Nine. On his horse this weekend, Smith commented, “Phil Ivey or Darvin Moon. I think [Darvin Moon winning] would be great for poker. I think Phil Ivey winning would [also] be great for poker. It’s both ends of the spectrum. It’s a more exciting final table than in years past.”

The poker industry watched as Ivey mucked a winning flush during ESPN’s Day 8 coverage of the WSOP Main Event against Smith. In the hand, Smith showed a pair of aces on a four-spade board and Ivey mucked a pair of eights, including the eight of spades. ESPN announcer Norman Chad (pictured at right), who annually picks Ivey to win the Main Event, exclaimed, “Phil, you had a flush. Five suited cards is a flush. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

On seeing the hand play out on television and realizing that Ivey mucked a flush, Smith recalled, “I think he thought I was strong, so my plan was to check-raise him all-in on the river. I was definitely more shocked than anyone when I saw he had a spade on the television broadcast. For the best player in the world like that, he basically gave me two million chips for misreading his hand. That’s more surprising than anything.” The pot has created a tremendous amount of buzz around the poker community even though Ivey cruised to his first November Nine appearance.

Check out the rest of this week’s PocketFives.com Podcast.

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