Jared Jaffee Triumphs At WSOP $1,500 NL Mixed Max (Event #58)

US poker pro Jared Jaffee has just boosted his tournament winnings to $2,083,376, after topping a huge 1,475 player field at the $1,500 NL Mixed Max event. As well as netting the 33-year-old Brooklyn poker pro a cool $405,428, the victory also means Jaffee now has a WSOP bracelet to go with the WPT Jacksonville title he won last year.
Commenting on his impressive performance, Jaffee, said: “It feels great. I feel like there are a bunch of spots in the past where I was like right there and I could have gotten it and I didn’t. Today, I just kind of felt like I was in the zone all day yesterday and today and it just kind of felt like I was going to win. Usually I feel very pessimistic, but today it just kind of felt like it was my time.”
WSOP Event #58: NL Mixed Max has a unique format in which Day 1 is full ring, Day 2 is six-handed, while Day 3 is four-handed until just eight players remain, after which it switches to heads-up. Turning out to compete in the exciting tournament was a whole slew of talented pros, and amongst those top names then cashing in at the event was Erick Lindgren in 98th ($3,245), Allen Cunningham in 89th ($3,584), Darryll Fish in 50th ($5,316), Jason Koon in 39th ($6,969), and Dan Kelly in 30th ($9,956).
With just eight players remaining, Jared Jaffee was then able to outlast Anton Smirnov (8th), Jeff Gross (7th), and Brandon Cantu (6th), before finally squaring off against Canada’s Mike Watson for the title. After a tough final encounter, the defining hand was played with Watson all-in preflop holding J-J to Jaffee’s A-6. Unfortunately for Watson, however, the dealer rolled out a 10-8-5-7-4 board to consign him to a runner-up finish worth $246,068, while Jaffee was awarded a gold bracelet.
Commenting later on his win, Jaffee, said: “I like short-handed. I prefer short-handed. I feel like normally I choose the right spots when I get there, more than when I force the issue a bit in full-ring, but yea, the shorter the better. I like heads-up.. I know Mike is really good, but I have no history with him. I was just kind of feeling it out as I went along. It wasn’t going to be comfortable and I was going to have to figure it out as I went along.”
Final Table Results:
1 Jared Jaffee     $405,428
2 Mike Watson     $246,068
3 Mark Herm     $126,882
4 Joseph Alban     $126,882
5 Xiao Peng     $53,614
6 Brandon Cantu $53,614
7 Jeff Gross     $53,614
8 Anton Smirnov $53,614