It was an accomplishment just to be one of the final six players in the 2008 World Poker Tour World Poker Challenge at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. To get down to the final table of 10, the players had to fight through a field of 261 players over three days of poker just to have a chance at the $468,315 first-place prize. Once they had accomplished that feat, the final 10 found themselves at one of the strongest final tables in the history of the WPT. Three players who were lost along the way to the final six have won at least two World Series of Poker gold bracelets (Phil Ivey - 10th place, Pat Poels - ninth place, and Chau Giang - eighth place), while another was the Card Player Player of the Year in 2006 (Michael Mizrachi - seventh place). "The final 10 were probably as tough as any final 10 ever, I would guess," said Lee Markholt.

And once the final six were set, a strong field remained. Two veteran professionals looking for their first WPT win joined four solid, up-and-coming players at the television table. Here is how the chip stacks looked at the start of play:



"There wasn't a bad player at that final table. Anything could have happened, as everybody at that table was probably good enough to win it," said Markholt. Markholt was seated at his first WPT final table (his 15th WPT cash, with six in season six alone), and he was looking for the one piece of glory that had eluded him during his consistent success on the tour - a WPT title. The other veteran at the final table was reigning Card Player Player of the Year David "The Dragon" Pham, who was at his sixth WPT final table, and his second in Reno (he finished third in this event last year), but he was looking for his first WPT win, as well. These two players had high hopes when the final table began, but they held quite different chip stacks, which eventually led to quite different endings for them in the "Biggest Little City in the World."

The short stack at the final table wasted little time trying to make his move, as Jeff Dewitt risked all of his chips on the eighth hand of play with a flush draw. Markholt called him down with pocket queens, though, and they held up, sending Dewitt home in sixth place. He took home $84,297 for a gritty performance that saw him close to elimination a few times before he fought back to make the final table.

Markholt now held the chip lead, and he increased it even further when he tangled with The Dragon and picked up a pot of 407,000 with a pair of jacks. This sent the two pros on divergent paths; Markholt was in good shape, while Pham was the new short stack at the table. Markholt was not completely invincible, though, and Zachary Hyman proved that point when he doubled up through Markholt to survive on the 18th hand of play. Hyman, ironically, faded 18 outs that Markholt had with the A J and the 10 8 7 3 on the board after the turn. But, Hyman survived with pocket fours after the river brought the Q.

The Dragon was pretty low at this point with just under 200,000, but he managed to more than double up without a single player calling his all-in bet of 115,000 on a flop of 8 7 5. The next time he moved all in, he had to show his cards, and the outcome was bleak when he turned over the A 2 against Markholt's A 10 on a board of A Q 7. Pham was dominated, and after the 10 and the 2 fell on fourth and fifth street, respectively, he was eliminated in fifth place and took home $93,664. Pham has now finished in sixth, fifth, fourth, third (twice), and second place at WPT final tables, but a WPT title still eludes him. He needs a win for the WPT final-table cycle, and when he claims it, he will join Ivey as the only other player to accomplish the feat.

Devonshire had been the most animated, lively player at the final table during the early going, and that excitement only increased when he hit an ace on the river to double up through Jason Potter on hand No. 58. This put Potter close to elimination, and he suffered a fate similar to Pham's when he flipped over the A 3 preflop, only to discover that he was dominated by the A 5 of Hyman. The board sealed Potter's fate when it delivered an ace-high spade flush to Hyman, which sent Potter home in fourth place with $103,030.

The table then experienced a case of déjà vu, as the next player to head home was crippled on one hand and then eliminated shortly thereafter. Hyman lost more than 400,000 to Markholt on hand No. 69, and on the very next hand, he moved all in for 385,000, which Devonshire called from the big blind with pocket nines. Hyman showed down the K J and the board ran out Q Q 7 4 10. Devonshire won the pot with two pair, queens and nines, and Hyman was eliminated in third place, earning $149,862.

Here is a look at the chip counts heading into heads-up play:

Lee Markholt: 2,380,000
Bryan Devonshire: 1,525,000

It had taken 70 hands to narrow the final table down to two competitors, but the final battle was a diminutive affair. Only two hands were needed to determine the champion. On the first of those hands, Devonshire folded from the small blind. On the next hand, he moved all of his chips into the middle on a board of 4 3 2 J, and Markholt made the call. Devonshire turned up the 8 4, but discovered that he was drawing dead when Markholt showed down the J 4. The inconsequential river brought the 3 and Devonshire was eliminated in second place. He took home $271,625 in prize money, and now has more than $500,000 in lifetime tournament winnings.

Markholt, a former professional bull rider, walked away with $493,815 and a $25,000 seat in the WPT Championship. After all of his consistency and cashes on the WPT, Markholt was happy to finally win one. "All of the cashes is a great feat, and the consistency is good, because it proves you're doing something right, but there's nothing like winning one … it's a great feeling," he exclaimed. Markholt compared the adrenaline rush that he experienced at the final table to what he felt before riding a bull. During the finale of the show, Markholt was quick to point out the huge difference between the mental aspect of poker and the physical aspect of bull riding, but he was also quick to appreciate that they both "take a lot of heart."

Hand Analysis With JP_OSU and BadBeatNinja
By Julio Rodriguez

Bryan Devonshire and Jason Potter had spent the majority of the World Poker Challenge playing at the same table, so when a hand came up, near the TV final-table bubble, that had both players eyeing each other's stack, they had to draw upon past experience to not only make their decisions, but to explain them, as well.

The Hand
Potter raises to 32,000 and Devonshire calls from middle position. The flop comes A 6 3. Potter bets 46,000, and Devonshire calls. The turn card is the 7, Potter bets 82,000, and Devonshire calls.

The river card is the 2, Potter bets 181,000, and Devonshire says, "I call." Potter shows the A 7 for two pair, and Devonshire mucks. Potter picks up the huge pot of 718,000, moving him into the chip lead.

After the hand, Devonshire smiles and says, "Nice turn, lucky."

Potter replies, "I knew that when I hit it."

The Interview
Card Player caught up with both players to discuss the hand that sent Potter to the TV final table with the chip lead.

Julio Rodriguez: Jason, you raised from middle position to 32,000 with A-7 offsuit.

Jason Potter: Correct. I thought the big blind was fairly weak-tight and would give it up pretty easily.

JR: Bryan, first of all, what did you call his preflop raise with?

Bryan Devonshire: I called with the ace and the queen of … different colors [laughing]. I decided not to reraise because I did not want to play a big pot with somebody I consider to be just as good as I am, not to mention that we both were really deep-stacked at the time.

JR: The flop came A-6-3 with two clubs, and Jason, you bet 46,000.

JP: At this point, I thought I had to throw a bet out there to see where I was in the hand.

BD: Well, you also flopped top pair.

JP: Exactly. So when you called, I put you on a better ace, a set, or a total float.

BD: [Laughing] Yeah, the sick part is that I can totally float you there.

JP: So, I wasn't really feeling too good in the hand - until the turn came, that is.

JR: Why did you decide to just call, Bryan?

BD: Well, his range is really wide there. He could have A-K. He could have ace-rag. He could have a set. He could have a club draw. He could have total oxygen. He could have a lot of different things. It's really hard to put him on a specific hand, given my line, and I had to give him credit for a pretty wide range. That being said, my hand against his range had positive value. I mean, whatever, I could have raised on the flop instead of just calling, but he could have just as easily reraised me off my hand. That's what's great about playing against poker players who know what they are doing; you have to think on that level, rather than, "Oh, I have top pair, second kicker. I have to raise." [Laughing] I mean, do I want to play a pot of 1.2 million with one pair?

JR: So, the turn brings an offsuit 7. How do you like your hand now, Jason?

JP: After the turn came, I figured that I just got lucky and was going to win a big pot, or I just got really unlucky and was going to go broke to a set.

JR: Jason bet 82,000, and Bryan, you called once again.

BD: It was a rag. Sure, it could be in his range, but it is just a 7. He has to pretty much hit his garbage kicker to win, and I'm not going to fold my hand for that bet, considering the hands he is representing. Unfortunately for me, it was pretty disguised on the turn.

JR: The river was a deuce, putting another rag on board and negating the flush possibility, and Jason bet 181,000. Why that amount, Jason?

JP: Well, I actually should have made it more, in retrospect.

BD: Absolutely, you could have made it more!

JP: I think it looked kind of like a value-bet, which he knows that I know that he knows, and so on [laughing].

JR: Care to elaborate?

BD: On day two, he put a sick three-barrel bluff on me, and we play a lot online, and I know he's more than capable of three-barreling me again. Of course, it's another case of I know that he knows that I know, and so on [laughing]. So he could easily be doing it again; not to mention that it's a pretty dry board, so I thought I had to call. Hey, if I had to lose chips on the hand, at least they went to J.P.

JR: Thanks, guys.