CHIP CHATS: BREAKING DOWN THE NOVEMBER NINE COUNTS
We'll have to wait four months to see who will end up with all the chips, but now that the dust has settled on the summer, it seems like just as good a time as any to look at this year's November Nine and their journey towards the final table. In this final edition of Chip Chats, we see where each player ended up on each day and how their stacks compare historically to their fellow members of the November Nine fraternity:

Jorryt van Hoof – 38,375,000

Our chip leader may have the big stack, but historically his big stack is actually on the smaller side. Not since Dennis Phillips in 2008 have we had a chip leader with less than 20% of the chips in play. If you look at the Dutchman’s performance throughout the tournament though, he actually spent much of it with not a lot of chips. On Day 4, van Hoof was in the bottom ten chip counts, but rallied to end Day 5 near the top. Again though, van Hoof found himself in a come from behind situation, as we was the shortest stack of our final tablists, beginning Day 7 15th in the chip counts with just a hair over 5 million chips. Considering what van Hoof has pulled off with not a lot of chips, it will be interesting to see what he does with a big stack at the final table.

Day 1B: 77,925 (165 of 1,428)
Day 2: 65,700 (1,218 of 1,864)
Day 3: 197,500 (404 of 746)
Day 4: 131,000 (282 of 291)
Day 5: 3,900,000 (15 of 79)
Day 6: 5,395,000 (15 of 27)

Felix Stephenson – 32,775,000

The Norwegian is second in chips and just about 6 million chips behind van Hoof, a player Stephenson has clashed with several times on the online cash Pot Limit Omaha tables. Stephenson never spent much time atop the counts. If you look at his progress over the first five days of the tournament, you’ll see he was never much of a big stack. Stephenson was the shortest in chips of the nine heading into Day 4 and he and William Tonking were near the bottom of the counts on Day 5 as well. Days 6 and 7 were when Stephenson really emerged as a threat in this tournament though, so perhaps the trend will continue upwards at the final table.

Day 1C: 39,350 (1,237 of 2,572)
Day 2: 120,800 (634 of 1,864)
Day 3: 362,000 (185 of 746)
Day 4: 739,000 (102 of 291)
Day 5: 1,355,000 (56 of 79)
Day 6: 7,740,000 (9 of 27)

Mark Newhouse – 26,000,000

This time last year, Mark Newhouse barely squeaked into the final table with a short stack. This year, Newhouse took final table matters into his own hands, eliminating Luis Velador in 10th place to set the final table and put him in the top three counts heading into November. His journey did have some similarities to last year though. In 2013, Newhouse was short on chips before vaulting to the top of the counts courtesy of Anton Morgenstern. This year, he began the playdown day in the middle of the pack when it came to chips and flopped a couple of sets, logged a couple of Kos, and ended with a big stack. If you look at his tournament journey as a whole, it was actually pretty smooth sailing for the pro save for a rough Day 1, where he actually bagged 325 chips less than the starting stack.

Day 1C: 29,675 (1,656 of 2,572)
Day 2: 220,400 (139 of 1,864)
Day 3: 423,500 (131 of 746)
Day 4: 1,301,000 (27 of 291)
Day 5: 7,400,000 (1 of 79)
Day 6: 6,820,000 (11 of 27)

Andoni Larrabe – 22,500,00

The youngster at the table, this 22 year old Spaniard ended Day 3 in the top ten and never looked back, each day doubling or tripling his start of day count. Larrabe is just the third player in the past six years to end Day 3 in the top ten and make the November Nine. He and short stack Bruno Politano are the only players in this group to have four top ten end of day finishes. In fact, judging by the end of day chip counts, it appears Larrabe never really spent any time in this tournament with a below average stack.

Day 1B: 86,125 (121 of 1,428)
Day 2: 289,300 (48 of 1,864)
Day 3: 923,000 (6 of 746)
Day 4: 2,195,000 (7 of 291)
Day 5: 5,470,000 (5 of 79)
Day 6: 15,280,000 (5 of 27)

Dan Sindelar – 21,200,000

This Las Vegas local originally from Nebraska spent a good chunk of Day 7 as the chip leader, but quieted down as the field played from 18 to the final table. After playing the event for five or six years, this is Sindelar’s first time cashing in this event. His Main event journey is one of steady forward progress, each day ending with more chips than he started with. Day 4 was when Sindelar climbed into the top 10% of the chip counts, but Day 5 was the day he put himself near the top and in position to make a run at the final table.

Day 1B: 40,850 (686 of 1,428)
Day 2: 152,900 (407 of 1,864)
Day 3: 421,500 (132 of 746)
Day 4: 1,621,000 (17 of 291)
Day 5: 5,240,000 (7 of 79)
Day 6: 16,345,000 (3 of 27)

Billy Pappaconstantinou – 17,500,000

We’re not quite sure what happened to Billy Pappaconstantinou’s Day 3 chip count, but given his 17-letter last name, it seems possible the chip count inputters had trouble figuring out his name. Even without a Day 3 count, there is still something to glean from these numbers, which is that Pappaconstantinou struggled through this tournament more than most players at this final table. Frequently languishing in the middle of the pack, it was only when the field got under 100 players that Pappaconstantinou, who is one of two amateurs at this final table, picked up chips to work with. Going into the final table though, he is back in the middle, but given the success he found there getting to the November Nine in the first place, we wouldn’t necessarily consider this a bad thing.

Day 1B: 68,775 (253 of 1,428)
Day 2: 104,900 (774 of 1,864)
Day 3: N/A
Day 4: 757,000 (97 of 291)
Day 5: 3,370,000 (24 of 79)
Day 6: 15,640,000 (4 of 27)

William Tonking – 15,050,000

Tonking was all-in and at risk on the final table bubble of this tournament, but managed to double through Martin Jacobson to stay alive and secure his seat in the November Nine. He and va Hoof are the only players in this bunch to not end at least one day of play in the top ten chip counts. Going into Day 6, Tonking was in the bottom 20 in chips, but managed to chip up through the day to head into the final 27 in the top half of the chip counts.

Day 1C: 45,275 (1,010 of 2,572)
Day 2: 158,200 (376 of 1,864)
Day 3: 179,000 (453 of 746)
Day 4: 740,000 (101 of 291)
Day 5: 1,295,000 (58 of 79)
Day 6: 5,870,000 (13 of 27)

Martin Jacobson – 14,900,000

This Swedish pro joins the short list of Ben Lamb and Joe Cada as the only players of the November Nine era to finish Day 1 number one in chips and go one to make the final table. As Jacobson tells it, he was never all-in for his tournament life in a week of playing poker. His chip count reflects as much, as he never finished a day with less than a top-30 stack. He is the only player in this group to finish as chip leader for more than one day of play, but thanks to a hand where he doubled up Tonking on the money bubble, Jacobson finds himself in an unfamiliar position heading into the fall: sitting on a below average stack sitting on less chips than he started the previous day with.
Day 1A: 200,100 (1 of 505)
Day 2: 342,700 (21 of 1,864)
Day 3: 721,500 (29 of 746)
Day 4: 1,594,000 (18 of 291)
Day 5: 3,925,000 (14 of 79)
Day 6: 22,335,000 (1 of 27)

Bruno Politano – 12,125,000

This Brazilian may be the short stack, but he is actually the biggest short stack we’ve had since the inception of the November Nine. With blinds at 200,000/400,000, Politano will begin play with over 30 big blinds at the final table. By contrast, last year, David Benefield began final table play with half that number. Politano managed to pick up just 500,000 chips between the start and end of Day 7, which earned him a spot at the final table, but puts him in a position to do some work if he wants to ladder up a couple of spots.

Day 1C: 66,800 (474 of 2,572)
Day 2: 72,400 (1,134 of 1,864)
Day 3: 447,500 (112 of 746)
Day 4: 2,289,000 (5 of 291)
Day 5: 5,475,000 (4 of 79)
Day 6: 11,625,000 (6 of 27)