2007 WSOP Event #36 – John Guth Wins $5,000 Omaha High-Low 8/B World Championship

Cocky?  Maybe.  Confident?  Definitely.  26-year-old John Guth won the Omaha High-Low World Championship at the 2007 World Series of Poker, but that isn’t enough for him.  In his post-game interview, he predicted that he would win the next Omaha high-low tournament, as well.  That game, you see, is Guth’s specialty.  Unlike most 20-something internet pros, who typically play no-limit hold’em, Guth sticks strictly with Omaha high-low.  “All I do all day long is sit at home and play Omaha High-Low,” he said. 

He also looked the part of a brash, do-no-wrong internet wunderkind, with his old-school Washington Bullets NBA jersey, white-rimmed sunglasses, and clean-shaven head.  Guth also had the now common posse of a couple dozen friends, all hanging on his every hand and erupting in cheers whenever “Sir Scoopalot” took down a pot. 

But seeing his reaction immediately after winning the tournament, you would not have known that he essentially expects to beat everybody at this game.  He jumped up and down, screamed with glee, and just could seemingly not believe that he had actually won, that the glory was his.   

Guth dominated for a long stretch of the final table, scooping (appropriately) pot after pot to build a nice lead going into heads-up with Robert Stevanovski.  Stevanovski made a massive comeback though, taking a more than 2-to-1 chip lead at one point. 

The lead changed hands a few more times until Guth took the pot of the night.  He raised to $120,000 pre-flop and Stevanovski called.  On both the flop and turn, Stevanovski check-called Guth’s bets.  On the river, Stevanovski decided to lead out with a bet, Guth raised, and Stevanovski called.  Both players had the same straight for the high, but Guth had the nut low, quartering Stevanovski on a big pot.   

A few minutes later, Guth completely scooped a pot, giving himself a $2 million lead and from there he didn’t look back as he went on to win the bracelet. 

Final Table Standings 

1. John Guth -- $363,216
2. Robert Stevanovski -- $218,456
3. David Flores -- $148,708
4. Massimo Reynaud -- $101,332
5. Greg Jamison -- $75,012
6. Randy Jensen -- $59,220
7. Michael Pollowitz -- $44,744
8. Bart Hanson -- $32,900
9. Jim Grove -- $23,688