Daily 3-Bet: Millionaire Chess, Big SHRPO Overlay, Hellmuth Owns Greenstein

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In today’s 3-Bet we’ll take at a very poker-sounding chess tournament, a big overlay in Florida and Phil Hellmuth experiencing some run good.

1) Chess Takes Poker Approach, Launches $1 Million Tournament

Step right up, Jen Shahade

 

A high-stakes $1 million guaranteed tournament in Las Vegas usually means a poker event but not this time.

Later this month more than 500 chess players will travel to Planet Hollywood to compete in Millionaire Poker, the richest chess tournament in history.

Despite having a $1,000 buy-in Millionaire Poker is expected to lose money but organizer Amy Lee considers the event the first step in a multiyear plan to run regular chess tournaments with big prizepools and attract sponsors.

“In order to bring sponsors in, you have to make chess exciting, you have to make it fun,” said Lee in an article with the NY Times.

Sound familiar.

There may be a few poker players who have a shot at at the $1 million in prize money including Jen Shahade, Ylon Schwartz, Almira Skripchenko and Jeff Sarwer who all play both games.

PokerStars is also planning on running a hybrid chess/poker event in October, which means it’s one heck of a time to be a chess/poker player.

2) Huge $2.5 Million Overlay for SHRPO, Colman Looking Dangerous

Can't stop Dan Colman.

 

Players who skipped the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open this year may be kicking themselves today.

The event missed its massive $10 million guarantee this weekend and will provide an enormous $2.5 overlay to players.

That’s a ton of value for the 1,499 players who did make the trip to Florida to play.

Day 3 of the contest began today with just 52 players remaining with a few former November Niners taking a serious shot at the final table.

John Dolan was the overnight chip leader with 3 million chips while John Racener and Russell Thomas will need to chip up in a hurry.

Interestingly Dan Colman is in the top 10 in chips with 1.2 million. Since winning an astounding $15 million in the Big One for One Drop this year Colman has also added a $796k score in the Aria $100k for third place and then $1.1 million for finishing second in the EPT Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller.

Colman also won the EPT Grand Final Super High Roller for $2.1 million in the spring.

With a strong finish at the SHRPO, Colman could take the Player of the Year lead despite his view that poker is “just a distraction.”

3) Hellmuth Crushing Greenstein at OFC: “I’m Rooting for HIM to Make a Few Big Hands”

You know your OFC session is going well when you’re rooting for your opponent to make a big hand.

That’s exactly what Hellmuth was doing, according to Twitter, in some extended sessions against Barry Greenstein this weekend.

Hellmuth said he was running absurdly hot against Greenstein but that didn’t come with one big caveat: He’s losing against a plethora of other players.

Ah, variance. The great equalizer.

I'm running so absurdly hot vs @BarryGreenstein at Pineapple Open Face poker that I find myself rooting for HIM to make a few big hands!

Regarding my last tweet: as hot as I am vs BG in Pineapple OFC Poker, I'm having trouble beating a plethora of other players! #Variance