The November Nine: five hands from five years
With the most anticipated poker event of the year fast approaching, join us in reflecting on some of the best hands produced by the November Nine since its induction in 2008.
2008: Dennis Phillips vs. Ivan Demidov
The two big stacks at the start of play lock horns early on in a monster pot which turns into a scrap on the flop when they both draw a blank. With Demidov holding the reputation of the hottest player on the planet having finished 3rd in the WSOP Europe main event during the final table break, you can sense Phillips is feeling the pressure having brought so many along in support holding high expectations.
2009: Darvin Moon vs. Phil Ivey
Despite there being absolutely no skill involved in this one, poker's very own David vs. Goliath showdown on the biggest stage has to make an appearance. Ivey who had been short stacked throughout finally makes his move in a bid to gain ground on the leaders, but runs head on into the mild mannered logger from Maryland who despite being "new at this game", simply cannot stop winning pots.
2010: Joseph Cheong vs. Jonathan Duhamel
With play cut down to three handed action, the hyper aggressive but extremely talented Joseph Cheong and the self confessed action craving adrenaline junkie Jonathan Duhamel clash in a pre-flop war of epic proportions. Eighty percent of the chips in play are at stake as the two big stacks battle it out to go heads up holding a massive lead against short stacked John Racener for the title.
2011: Pius Heinz vs. Eoghan O'Dea
In what turns out to be a hand lasting more than ten minutes, Pius Heinz may look back at this as his defining moment. The German calls a three-bet from Irishman O'Dea pre-flop who has him out chipped at the start of the hand, and looks deeply pained by the situation throughout the proceedings. Following a relatively blank flop and turn and two continuation bet barrels from O'Dea, Heinz goes deep into the time bank to make the biggest decision of his poker career.
2012: Steve Gee vs. Russell Thomas
From the most recent instalment of the November Nine saga, Steven Gee and Russell Thomas hold an intense all American duel early on at the final table with all nine players still in contention. Gee opens with a raise from under the gun and continues to fire out on all three streets, emptying his chamber with a final all-in bullet on the river, leaving Thomas with a huge decision to make with most of his chips on the line in the first hand of the video below:
If you think there's another hand worthy of making this list, we'd love to hear from you in the chat box!
