World Series of Parker · Event 1-2
Greg Howell Knocks Out Five of Seven in the Razz Event and Still Loses
Rick Mazza made two eliminations all night and won the thing.
The second event of the series was Razz — seven-card stud played for the worst hand, where a pair is a disaster and the wheel is the nuts. Eight players entered, three got paid, and Rick Mazza won $95 of the $195 after four and a half hours.
Greg Howell did most of the work and none of the winning. He eliminated five of the seven players who went out — everyone who finished third, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth — and then lost heads-up to a man who had made two knockouts in the whole tournament. Greg took $60 for second, which is his second runner-up finish in two WSOP events.
Jeff Ferguson completed the money in third for $40, in the first WSOP event he has played, without making a knockout.
Where the money went
| Player | Prize | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick Mazza | $95 |
| 2 | Greg Howell | $60 |
| 3 | Jeff Ferguson | $40 |
The undercard
Charlie Drotar bubbled in fourth in his first WSOP event. Mike Short was fifth and Lee Ugarte sixth, the two of them going out within twelve seconds of each other.
Eric Denny, who won the opener in June, finished last of the eight after an hour and thirty-seven minutes.
The bigger picture
Two events, two winners, and neither game has been hold'em. Razz drew eight players where Omaha Hi/Lo drew six, and the pool went up accordingly — $195 against $145 — with three paid instead of two.
The pattern of the series so far is that knowing the game matters more than being the best hold'em player in the room. Greg Howell has made seven of the twelve eliminations across the two events and has nothing but two second places to show for it.
World Series of Parker, Event 1-2 — Friday, August 25, 2017. Razz, $25 buy-in, 8 entrants, no rebuys, three paid from a $195 prize pool.