Gimbel's #1...for now

Our latest issue of BLUFF will regale you with the story of how Jason Mercier came to be our 2009 BLUFF Player of the Year, but if you want to stay ahead of the game, here is your chance to get in on our 2010 Player of the Year race from the starting line. January is in the books and we’ve already seen players moving up and down the rankings thanks to big events in the Bahamas, Biloxi, Melbourne, Tunica and Atlantic City.

Unfortunately for the man at the top of our rankings, he can only play in two of those places. At 19 ears-old PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) winner Harrison Gimbel is not exactly poised to make a run at Player of the Year. Gimbel did inform BLUFF that he would love to travel the European and international circuits following his $2.2 million bankroll boost, but he did not make an appearance at Deauville or down under in Melbourne for the Aussie Millions.

One player who did make the trek to the Crown Casino is Dan Shak, who had quite a run during the series. First he bested Phil Ivey heads-up for the High Roller crown in the AUD$100,000 buy-in event. Then he followed it up with a deep run in the Aussie Millions Main Event, where he just missed out on the final table, finishing in 11th place. If that wasn’t enough, Shak also cashed in the PCA Main Event, coming in 85th place.

Rounding out our top three is the man who won the Aussie Millions Main Event, Tyron Krost of Sydney. He made his debut in the rankings solely on the points earned by his win, which was worth AUD$2,000,000. Meanwhile, the runner-up in the 746-person event, Fred Jensen, is sitting in a nice position in the ranks as well, holding strong at lucky #13, hot on the heels of Phil Ivey, who is #12.

Other notables who are hot out of the gate are Mike “Timex” McDonald, whose PCA prelim win and EPT Deauville 3rd place finish put him at #5, Southern Poker Championship winner Hoyt Corkins at #7 and Scott Clements, who has already made five final tables this year.

Here are the top twenty contenders for 2010 BLUFF Player of the Year. Be sure to check back each week to see who’s running hot, who’s ice cold and who is one week closer to claiming the POY honors:

Dan Shak has won over $1.1 million so far this year

1. Harrison Gimbel - 472.50
2. Daniel Shak - 401.25
3. Tyron Krost - 360.00
4. Jon Kantor - 354.25
5. Mike McDonald - 344.00
6. Tyler Reiman - 330.75
7. Hoyt Corkins - 315.00
8. Jake Cody - 306.00
9. William Reynolds -297.00
10. Scott Clements - 274.08
11. Martin Kabrhel - 265.30
12. Phil Ivey - 257.25
13. Fred Jensen - 252.00
14. Sorel Mizzi - 247.50
15. Barry Shulman - 236.25
16. Stefan Huber - 227.60
17. Chris Bell - 218.70
18. Teodor Caraba - 214.20
19. Benjamin Zamani - 207.90
20. Will Molson - 207.90

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