A Quiet Week at the Tables But Players Still Moving Up the Rankings

Mizzi Jumps Up the Rankings; Rettenmaier and Seidel Also Gain Ground

The poker world was quiet this week as many top players continue to enjoy some much needed rest following the busy WSOP. With no GPI-ranked players posting new results this week, the Top Twenty remain the same. However, there was plenty of movement in position, mostly due to the aging of results from the past three Aussie Millions Poker Championships.

Sorel Mizzi (GPI#12 +6) gets a big jump in rank this week thanks to his aging results from the Aussie Millions. Having final tabled the A$10,000 NLHE Main Event in both 2010 and 2011 and finishing runner-up in this year’s A$5,000 NLHE Heads-Up event, Mizzi has three scores aging into lower Periods this week.  As has been seen in the past, while a score aging into a lower Period reduces a player’s score due to the lowering of the aging multiplier, it also provides opportunities for players to add points if they have more cashes in a Period than allowed by the cap. Mizzi’s score this week is a great example of those opportunities. One way this can happen is if a player does not have a full complement of scores in each Period. For example, Mizzi’s A$5,000 NHLE Heads-Up result ages into Period 2 but is replaced with a nearly identical score for his final table in this year’s WSOP $2,500 LHE – Six-Handed event keeping his Period 1 score virtually the same. Therefore, he ultimately gains points from the aging result because he previously only had two results in Period 2 with the aging of the Aussie Millions score providing him a third Period 2 score. Another example of Mizzi taking advantage of an aging score occurs in Period 4. His 2011 Aussie Millions A$10,000 Main Event result ages into Period 4 this week knocking out a score from the 2010 EPT London. While he loses points in Period 4 due to the EPT London event being knocked out, the aging score is replaced in Period 3 by a score nearly identical to the EPT London score netting the loss and gain from those two Periods. This allows him to ultimately gain points because his score from the Aussie Millions is so much larger than the score it knocks out.

Eric Seidel (GPI#6 +1) and Marvin Rettenmaier (GPI#4 +2) also move up thanks to aging this week. Seidel gets a bump because his aging results give him additional scores in Periods 4 and 6. His 3rd place finish in the 2011 Aussie Millions A$10,000 NLHE event ages into Period 4 where he previously only had two scores. That nets him a gain of 31 points. Additionally, Seidel’s win in the 2010 Aussie Millions A$10,000 PLO event ages into Period 6 where he previously only had one score netting him an additional 20 points for a total gain of 51 points. Rettenmaier moves up 2 spots this week despite picking up only 12 points demonstrating how tight the scores are at the top.

2012 Borgata Winter Open Event Aging Benefits Parker and Brikis

Outside of the Top Twenty the aging of the 2012 Borgata Winter Open events had the largest impact on score and rank changes. The two largest gains in rank and score this week go to John “Brock” Parker (GPI#103 +60) and Josh Brikis (GPI#152 +45). Parker’s win in the $1,650 NLHE Bounty event and his final table finish in the $3,300 NLHE Championship Event at the 2012 Borgata Winter Open both age into Period 2 this week where he previously had no scores. Because he had excess cashes in Period 1 to replace the aging results, he gains a net 218 points this week. Like Parker, Brikis also adds two scores in Period 2 this week because of cashes from the 2012 Borgata Winter Open aging. Brikis finished 3^rd in the $1,650 NLHE Bounty event won by Parker and 5^th in the $1,500 NLHE Heads-Up event. The Bounty event is replaced in Period 1 by his cash in the $2,500 NLHE Four-Handed event at this year’s WSOP netting him a 75 point gain. He gains an additional 53 points in Period 2 for the $1,500 NLHE Heads-Up score which was being excluded by the cap in Period 1, for a total gain of 128 points.

New and Returning to GPI

New to the GPI this week are Stanislav Barshak (GPI#238), Mike Gorodinsky (GPI#280), and Justin Zaki (GPI#293). Making their return this week are Jeff Madsen (GPI#285) and Marko Neumann (GPI#299).

Farewell

Leaving the GPI this week are familiar faces Luca Pagano and Manuel Bevand after spending 45 and 49 weeks, respectively, of the past 58 on the Index.  Bevand’s cash in the 2012 Euro Finals of Poker €5,000 NLHE Diamond Championships ages into Period 2 this week leaving him with only one Period 1 score causing his exit. Pagano’s win in the 2011 IPT San Remo €2,000 NLHE Main Event ages into Period 3 this week.  Like Bevand, he has no new score to replace it in Period 2 causing him to fall from the GPI 300. Also exiting the Index this week are Basil Yaiche, Mark Rose, and Andrey Gulyy.

Players To Watch

Micah Raskin, Toby Lewis, Hans Winzeler, Ilan Boujenah