Table Of Contents
Wsop Prop Bets Odds
The 2018 World Series of Poker is underway in Las Vegas. OddsShark takes a look at some of the proposition betting – 'prop bets' – on the different action that occurs during the tournament. When it comes to betting on poker tournaments at the sportsbooks, you can do the simple thing and wager just on the outcome of an event. Prop bets (also known as proposition bets) are extremely popular in the poker world and come in all shapes and sizes. These, as you would expect to, include a proposition of some sorts and a bet. I can guarantee that you've probably made a proposition bet.
Last week, two poker pros who made names for themselves during the poker boom as a part of 'The Crew' had a long-standing prop bet disagreement settled in a court of law. In 2006, Dutch Boyd and Joe Bartholdi allegedly entered into a $10,000 bet – who would win more World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets over a 10-year period.
The World Series of Poker is less than a week away, with Event 1, the $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em tournament, set to begin on Sunday, May 27. As always, Bodog Sportsbook and Racebook and Bovada are opening up markets to bet on, and if you think you can predict turnouts for events, bracelet and money winners, you can win big on the WSOP without ever stepping foot in Las Vegas.
According to a small claims suit, three-time bracelet winner Boyd was seeking to collect from Bartholdi, who has failed to win a bracelet.
'Plaintiff now asks the Court to treat the bet as a valid legal contract,' stated court documents obtained by PokerNews.
Unfortunately for Boyd, the fact the bet was verbal and not written down came back to bite him.
Get It in Writing
Nevada Revised Statutes require that some agreements be made in writing, and according to a judgment dated Feb. 24 and ordered by Hearing Master Amy L. Ferreira, this was one such instance.
That's because according to statutes, an agreement is void if not in writing when that agreement is not to be performed within one year from the making thereof. Because this particular bet spanned a lengthy 10 years, the terms needed to be in writing.
'Here, according to the terms of the agreement, payment would occur 10 years after the agreement was made,' the decision read. 'The agreement was made verbally and no written document was created at the time of said agreement. Therefore, according to NRS 111.220, the agreement is void. As a result, Boyd was awarded nothing against the defendant.'
While the court could not provide relief, a resolution may still be in the cards.
When reached by PokerNews, Bartholdi offered the following in regards to the lawsuit: 'I am paying what I owe to Dutch — but I guess it wasn't fast enough and he sued me. I am still paying what I owe.'
Prop Bets with Friends
At the 2004 WSOP, Boyd and company rose to fame as part of The Crew, which was comprised of Boyd, his brother Bobby, Scott Fischman, David Smyth, Tony Lazar, Brett Jungblut, and Bartholdi. They were the young guns of the game who shared a bankroll in their communal quest for poker glory, which was documented in part by ESPN cameras during WSOP coverage.
However, The Crew didn't last long as they disbanded in subsequent years.
According to Boyd, the bet in question was made after Bartholdi, who has more than $4.3 million in lifetime earnings according to The Hendon Mob, had won the 2006 World Poker Tour $25,000 Championship for a career-high $3,760,165.
Boyd claimed that Bartholdi paid him $1,500 over the last five years, but then rebuffed his attempts to get further payments.
'When I started dealing on the Strip, there was a time I saw him in the $25/$50 no-limit game with what looked like $80K in front of him,' Boyd recalled. 'Yet, he claimed he couldn't pay it off. I also remember once pushing him a pot in the $5/$10 game big enough to pay it off. He didn't even toke me that hand. That cut. So that's when I decided to try to push it.'
While the case did not go his way, Boyd said he may explore appealing the decision.
'I think I have some good arguments for unjust enrichment and can maybe find an exception to that bit of contract law nuance. I guess the lesson is to make sure to always have your prop bets written down and signed. And also, I guess, not to make prop bets with friends for too much.'
He added: 'This whole experience has turned me off of ever making a prop bet with a friend again. I wish we never made the bet.'
Boyd also revealed that he and Bartholdi aren't really on speaking terms these days.
The Next Step in Boyd's Legal Career
Boyd, a child prodigy who released an autobiography titled Poker Tilt in 2014, actually began his law pursuits when he was just 15 years old. During his third year of law school, 'Rounders' came out and Boyd became infatuated with the game.
'I finished up law school, but didn't take the bar until last year,' he said. '[My wife] Michele was pregnant and I started thinking about just how unstable poker is. It's really hard to make it even when you just have to take care of yourself.'
For stability's sake, Boyd took the Nevada Bar exam in February 2020.
'I spent about six weeks straight studying every day and walked in feeling completely unprepared,' he said. 'It was a really tough test with only 53% passing, but I got through it. So now I have a bar number and am a licensed attorney. I got a job doing civil defense work here in town at a big law firm.
'I'm still looking forward to playing the occasional tournaments and cash games on the weekends. I think I'll enjoy poker a lot more, and probably do even better, when I don't have to feel the desperation of needing to win.'
Boyd, who also took and passed the Missouri Bar exam last summer, won his first gold bracelet at the 2006 WSOP when he took down Event #5: $2,500 NLH 6-Handed for $475,712. Four years later, he captured No. 2 in the 2010 WSOP Event #23: $2,500 Limit Hold'em 6-Handed for $234,065, and then he got his third at the 2014 WSOP when he won Event #33: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $288,744.
For more on poker and the law, be sure to check out our library of articles from PokerNews legal contributor Maurice 'Mac' VerStandig.
Tags
Poker and the LawWSOPWorld Series of PokerNevadaDutch BoydJoe BartholdiRelated Tournaments
World Series of PokerRelated Players
Dutch BoydJoe Bartholdi
Wsop Prop Bets Rules
LAS VEGAS -- Poker is famous for prop bets between players, but what about the rest of us?
While walking through the Rio Convention Center during Wednesday's Day 2AB of the Main Event at the World Series of Poker, I kept wishing I could make some prop bets, wondering why this kind of thing has failed to catch on here in Las Vegas.
Through 2010, the sports books here weren't allowed to take bets on the WSOP (there are legendary tales of legal and illegal bookies taking WSOP action in the past, but that's another story entirely), since it doesn't take place on an athletic field. In 2011, however, the Nevada Gaming Control Board took what was thought to be a major step at the time by lifting that restriction.
Most of the sports books in town began offering odds on that year's Main Event final table (aka the November Nine), while Caesars Entertainment, the parent company of the host Rio, offered a few props such as 'Will the first flop have more red or black cards?' (-110 each way), 'Who will finish in ninth place?', 'What will the final winning hand be?' (pair was the 1-3 favorite) and 'How many hands will be dealt at the final table?' (with segments ranging from 'less than 180' to '301 or more').
Wsop Prop Bets Cheat
In subsequent years, Caesars dropped the other props, offering only November Nine odds, like the other casinos. Howard Greenbaum, vice president of specialty gaming at Caesars Entertainment, told me that the props didn't generate enough interest, so they decided to just concentrate on the odds to win.
Looking back, I'm wondering if the props didn't attract betting handle because of several outside factors.
I don't think the casinos got the word out enough.
The period we're talking about was before the explosion of smartphone apps, which now allow Nevada bettors to wager from anywhere in the state; they now would have access to all the lines without having to physically be at the Rio or another book.
Maybe the props just weren't interesting enough.
If I was running a sports book (which I don't), these are the prop bets I would have wanted to put up for this year's World Series of Poker.
Will there be over/under 25,000 players in Colossus II?
This prop would have been a huge winner for any casino willing to book it as EVERYONE was predicting that the event would shatter last year's record of 22,374, but it instead drew only 21,613.
Will the Main Event go over/under 6,240 players (the total amount of entries from the 2015 main event)?
Wsop Prop Bets
This is a much-discussed prediction every year at the WSOP, and would certainly lead to a solid handle -- the over would have cashed, with 6,737 players this year.
Over/under the second break on Day 4 (Friday, July 15) for the money bubble to burst?
WSOP.com's update page projects it to 'burst very early on Day 4,' so I'll make it under -150/over +130
Will at least two players in Ben Keeline's 'last longer' make the final table?
It sounds as if this would have to be a long-shot price on the 'yes,' but Keeline's contest has had two players at the final table at Colossus I and II, so you might get a few takers at the right price.
Will the Main Event champion be over/under 30 years of age?
The average age in this year's field is 40.08 years, but recent champs have all been much younger.
Which continent will the Main Event champion be from?
Eighty countries are represented at this year's Main Event, but that's too many to make odds for. North America would have to be less than even money here.
Which past Main Event champion will last longer?
This would be a great conversation starter, but I believe it would draw action, too -- including the former champs themselves, who might be willing to bet on themselves at decent odds. The former champs in this year's field: Tom McEvoy, Johnny Chan, Huck Seed, Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, Robert Varkonyi, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Joe Cada, Greg Merson, Ryan Riess, Martin Jacobson and Joe McKeehen.
Which continent will the Main Event champion be from?
Eighty countries are represented at this year's Main Event, but that's too many to make odds for. North America would have to be less than even money here.
Which past Main Event champion will last longer?
This would be a great conversation starter, but I believe it would draw action, too -- including the former champs themselves, who might be willing to bet on themselves at decent odds. The former champs in this year's field: Tom McEvoy, Johnny Chan, Huck Seed, Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, Robert Varkonyi, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Joe Cada, Greg Merson, Ryan Riess, Martin Jacobson and Joe McKeehen.
Of course, this opens the door to all sorts of head-to-head wagers, just like we see in golf and auto racing. See if you think any of these would attract wagers:
Howard Lederer vs. Chris Ferguson (former Full Tilt board members)
Phil Hellmuth vs. Phil Ivey (battle of the Phils, the top two players on the all-time WSOP bracelet list)
Ray Romano vs. Brad Garrett (sibling rivalry from 'Everybody Loves Raymond')
Richard Seymour vs. Antoine Winfield (former NFL players)
Vanessa Selbst vs. Mario Ho (there could also be a 'last woman standing' prop)
Again, if I was running a sports book (which I don't), I would welcome suggested wagers from customers. And if you do run a sportsbook, feel free to use any of these ideas during the rest of the main event, or next year, and hopefully we can turn the WSOP into the all-around bettor's event it's meant to be.
What prop bets or head-to-head matchups would you like to see on the board? Reply in the comments section below if you have some ideas.
