Is making back-to-back November Nines the greatest feat in WSOP history?

Barry Carter celebrate's Mark Newhouse's historic double at the WSOP and suggests it might be something that will never be topped.

Earlier this year we celebrated Vicky Coren’s double-EPT win and at the time I wrote a piece about the greatest poker doubles. If I wrote that piece again today, the number one spot would be Mark Newhouse making back-to-back WSOP Main Event final tables in the November Nine era of poker. 

We have had people make back-to-back finals before. In fact Johnny Chan made the final table three times in a row before, winning it twice then losing the third time to Phil Hellmuth. But this was back when poker was a tiny back room game, and the standard of the competition was very soft by comparison. 

Then in 2003 and 2004 ‘Action’ Dan Harrington made the final table of the WSOP Main Event back-to-back, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. This was considered at the time one of the greatest feats in poker, given that the fields in the Main Event had just skyrocketed thanks to the poker boom. 

Many thought it couldn’t be replicated, and that was at a time when the 2004 Main Event attracted 2,576 runners. It seems almost ludicrous that we are now talking about a player achieving the same feat at a time when the Main Event attracts over 6,000 players a year and the standard of the field is so much tougher. 

Of course this is in no small part due to variance, it is poker after all. However, it is no fluke that it is a player of Newhouse’s quality that does it, he is a WPT Champion after all. If poker were pure chance, the odds of a back-to-back final table would be around 0.0001%, which makes me think that his skill played a significant part in this feat.

Been there, done that

The most interesting thing is that not only is Newhouse a back-to-back Main Event finalist, he is also a back-to-back November Niner. The concept has only been around since 2008 and we already have somewhere who has been there and done it twice. 

Does this give Newhouse a big psychological advantage, given that he knows what to expect during this lengthy delay? Or does it add pressure? Will he relive nightmare scenarios from last year? Last time he went into the final as the short stack, with no real pressure, so will that really have been adequate preparation for the final this time around when he is one of the big stacks?

No matter what, it will certainly make the four-month hype machine that is the November Nine more interesting this year. It will be a very easy to sell narrative for ESPN and Newhouse, who was something of a quiet man last year, will certainly be the most interesting player to interview this year. I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t bag a good sponsorship deal this year. 

The other big stories from the November Nine

This feat has possibly overshadowed another interesting story at the final table, and that is Martin Jacobson getting there. For several years I have been writing that I believe that Jacobson is the best kept secret in poker, who has one of the most exemplary records despite never winning a major. I even picked him in my Best Europeans without a bracelet list this year. 
 
That is because he has over $5 million in earnings, and has made made three EPT and three WPT final tables, as well as two WSOP and a WSOPE final table. Last year he made the final table of the $111,111 One Drop event and now here he is at the final of the biggest event in poker. He has been amongst the leaders from the start, and now could finally be his time. 

Another nice immediate story from the final table is the international feel it has, with players from the Netherlands, Sweden, Brazil, Norway and Spain all represented, and just four Americans. In particular I find it interesting that a Brazilian has made the final. As a nation they are at their lowest sporting point, following the 7-1 demolition by Germany at the World Cup they hosted, perhaps this could spark more interest than usual in poker in South America?

I'm still inclined to think the most marketable and fan pleasing November Nine would be the year Phil Ivey made the final table, and I think the most exciting potential November Nine would be if a woman made the final table. Maybe the mainstream audience won't recognise the significance of Mark's back-to-back final tables, but from a poker purist's standpoint, I think this is about as big an achievement as it gets at the WSOP.

Has Mark Newhouse achieved the toughest feat so far in tournament poker? Let me know what you think in the comments box. 

Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2. He has been working in the poker industry for nine years and in 2013 won the APAT Award for Best Poker Media Provider. You can learn more about his work here.  Follow Barry Carter on Twitter l Follow Barry Carter on Google+