Rep Porter Wins WSOP Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em championship

"I’m on cloud nine right now. I’ve been trying to win a gold bracelet for three years."

LAS VEGAS, NV – Rep Porter has won the $1,500 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em championship. This event attracted 1,236 players, creating a prize pool totaling $1,687,140. The game was included on the WSOP schedule as a concerted effort to measure as diverse a range of poker skills as possible, and the top 126 places were paid.

Six-Handed Hold’em emphasizes short-handed poker skills. Rather than a full table of nine players, each table is played six-handed (or less, as players bust out). This generally requires competitors to play cards out of the standard range of starting-hand requirements. It also makes post-flop skill paramount to victory.

The tournament was played over three days. On Day Three, the final table was played out on the ESPN stage, also known as the “feature table.” The secondary final table, located adjacent to the main stage area featured the conclusion of Event #10 in a scheduling overlap. Most days at the WSOP this year will include two final tables.

Three different nations were represented at the final table, including Canada, Holland, and the United States. Through the first nine events, every final table played thus far has included a multi-national flavor.

Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em made its WSOP debut in 2005. Three Six-Handed events were included on the 2006 schedule. Last year, there was only one Six-Handed event. Former champions from these events include Isaac “The General” Galazan, Dutch Boyd, Bill Chen, Jeff Madsen, and Jason Warner.

Last year’s winner was Jason Warner. He entered this tournament but did not cash.

When the final table began, John Conkright was the chip leader. He possessed about 27 percent of the total chips in play. Michael Brummelhuis was very close behind, in second place. Rep Porter ranked third.

The winner was Rep Porter. He is a 37-year-old professional poker player from Woodinville, WA – located about 45 miles north of Seattle. He is married to Lisa and they have two children.

Porter is a graduate of the University of Washington. Prior to turning pro, he worked in finance as an equity options trader. Porter plays regularly in cardrooms throughout Washington State. He also makes frequent visits to Southern California and plays in many major poker tournaments.

Porter finished as the runner up in the WSOP Circuit championship at Caesars Atlantic City in 2006. He also cashed in last year’s WSOP Main Event, taking 39th place, worth $237,865. For this victory, Porter collected $372,843 for first place. He also earned his first WSOP gold bracelet. To date, he now has 10 career WSOP cashes (all within the past four years). This win also puts him across the $1 million mark in winnings for all major poker tournaments.

Following his win, Rep made the following statements in a post-tournament interview:

• There were a lot of chips in play. I did not expect it to be a quick day. When push came to shove, I could have had the K-9 and he could have had the K-Q just as easily. – Speaking of the final hand of the tournament when the blinds high, the two finalists got into a pre-flop raising war with Porter holding the dominant hand.