The Big Game is a high-stakes poker cash game played in "Bobby's Room", a cardroom named after Bobby Baldwin, at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas. In 2010, the game partially expanded to "The Ivey Room" at Aria Resort and Casino. The table features no-limit and pot-limit games with wagers up to $100,000 per hand. Limit games as high as $4,000/$8,000 are often played but $800/$1,600 is normal.
Structure
The table features a variety of poker games played in rotation and changing every 8–10 hands. The games are selected from a list of the players' choices, including:
- Texas hold 'em (limit and no limit)
- Seven-card stud (straight high, eight or better Hi/Lo, Hi/Lo without qualifiers, limit)
- Omaha (straight high, eight or better Hi/Lo, limit and pot limit)
- Deuce-to-seven triple draw (limit)
- Deuce-to-seven single draw (no limit)
- Ace-to-Five triple draw (limit)
- Ace-to-Five single draw (no limit)
- Razz (limit)
Usual players
Usually players buy in for $200,000–300,000, but anyone with the minimum buy in of $20,000 is welcome to play. In addition to the occasional drop-in player, the following players have been known to play regularly in the Big Game over the years:
- Patrik Antonius
- David Benyamine
- Todd Brunson
- Johnny Chan
- Allen Cunningham
- Tom Dwan
- Eli Elezra
- Sammy Farha
- Ted Forrest
- Chau Giang
- Barry Greenstein
- David Grey
- Gus Hansen
- Jennifer Harman
- John Hennigan
- Phil Ivey
- Guy Laliberté
- Minh Ly
- Daniel Negreanu
- David Oppenheim
- Ralph Perry
- Nick Schulman
- Huck Seed
Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson were regulars until they died.
References
- Elissa Harwood (2010-09-02). "The New Big Game: $200/$400 Mixed Heats Up Aria's Ivey Room". PokerNews. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
- Dan Michalski (2004). "RISK: The Biggest Game Ever". dmagazine.com. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
- Sam Farha; Storms Reback (1 October 2007). Farha on Omaha: Expert Strategy for Beating Cash Games and Tournaments. Triumph Books. pp. 74–. ISBN 978-1-61749-920-3.
- Des Wilson (2009). Ghosts at the Table: Riverboat Gamblers, Texas Rounders, Roadside Hucksters, and the Living Legends Who Made Poker What it is Today. Da Capo Press, Incorporated. pp. 269–. ISBN 978-0-7867-3205-0.
- "Las Vegas Poker - Bobby's Poker Room - Bellagio"
- Bluff Staff (2006). "The Big Game: A Closer Look At The Biggest Game In The World". BLUFF Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2014-12-23.