| Nguyen Ahead in Bluff POY Every year Bluff magazine declares the Poker Player of the Year award. It is a much-valued recognition and definitely a feather in the cap of the winner.
As of last week Men (The Master) Nguyen was in the lead for this year’s honors, closely followed by Michael Binger and Glen Chorny in the second and third places. Earlier winners of this award have been Phil Ivey in 2005, Chad Brown in 2006 and William (Bill) Edler in 2007. This year Phil Ivey is presently in the 11th spot, Chad Brown in the 1,787th spot and William Edler does not figure anywhere in the list. This is indicative of the volatility in the world of poker and makes poker both exciting and challenging.
The Bluff magazine Poker Player of the Year is neither chosen by an elite panel nor through votes of the magazine’s readers. There is a precise mathematical formula that tournament after tournament awards points to players in a totally transparent manner. There is no room for ant hanky panky or favoritism whatsoever. This impartiality and transparency make the Bluff magazine Poker Player of the Year award one of the most prestigious awards in the poker world. The merit of the award is recognized by peer organizations as well. The National Heads-Up Poker Championship provides automatic invite to the Bluff magazine Poker Player of the Year.
The methodology of awarding points is as follows. Certain major tournaments have been selected for consideration. These obviously include the WSOP events and the WPT events. Also included are the premier tournaments held in the European, Asian and Australian poker circuit. The winner is awarded 100 points and the runner up is awarded 70 points. Other players who cash are awarded decreasing points depending on the nature of the tournament. These points are then factored by two considerations. One is the number of people playing in the tournament and the other is the buy-in. The factors lie between 1 and 3. The more the number of initial entrants, the greater is the factor. The greater the buy-in, the greater is the factor. The points awarded for the placement are then multiplied by the two factors.
Men Nguyen is in the lead with 703 points from 13 tournaments played this year. He secured the first place in 3 LA Poker Classic events in February and the first place in the World Poker Open in January. A winner of 6 WSOP bracelets, his successes are all the more astounding considering the fact that landed in America after escaping from Communist rule in Viet Nam by boat and not knowing a word of English. Michael Binger is in the second place with 685 points with wins in 1 LA Poker Classic event in February and a win in the Annual Five-Star Poker Classic in April. Glen Chorny is in the third place with 664 points with wins in 1 World Poker Open event in January and a win in the EPT Grand Final in April, which gave him a whopping 450 points.
The year has a long way to go and the field is likely to see changes. Only time will tell who the eventual winner is. |
