Five Thoughts: Copag Comes Back, Bonomo Takes a Stand, and Nice Guys Finish Seventh

While there were several player complaints and issues surrounding the 2015 World Series of Poker, the cards were by far the biggest.

Some players complained the first-place prize of Colossus should have been bigger and the limit game structures should have been better, but the largest and loudest voices were heard when it came to new decks introduced after the WSOP struck a deal with Italian card manufacturer Modiano.

Apparently the cards were too thin and too easily marked, eating away at the integrity of the game. It took the WSOP a minute or two to react, but they eventually gave in to the players’ demands for new decks.

And now, heading into the 2016 WSOP, after already announcing a bevvy of fan- and player-friendly changes to all sorts of things surrounding poker’s biggest and most prestigious tournament series, they are even getting ahead of the curve on the cards.

1. Know When To Fold ‘Em

The WSOP announced last week it had inked a multi-year deal with Copag to bring the card manufacturer’s product back to the WSOP, a year after a deal with another card company gave them nothing but headaches.

Last year, the list of players complaining about the decks supplied by Italian card manufacturer Modiano read like a poker who’s who, with almost the entire community agreeing they were too easily bent and marked.

WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said in a press release that putting quality playing cards on the tables at the WSOP is one of the most important elements of the entire event. Kudos to Stewart and the entire organization for realizing this, and getting out ahead of things in 2016.

Related: WSOP Announces New and Improved Online Registration ProcessRelated: WSOP Announces “Enhancements” for 2016 Including eQueue Payouts2. Nice Guys Finish Seventh

UK pro Max Silver took the lead into the final table of the 2016 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo® Casino EPT Grand Final €25,750 High Roller last week. However, a terrible run of cards and horrible luck saw him fizzle out seventh.

Sometimes that’s the way the cookie, or stack, crumbles, but I can’t help thinking Silver deserved better.

Deep into Day 2, I witnessed a hand that highlighted Silver’s true integrity — an admirable quality in this world of edges and angles. He had raised and another player three-bet, when a third player peeled back his cards to take a look. Glancing over, Silver accidentally saw the .

Instead of keeping this valuable information to himself, Silver immediately spoke up, doing the right thing by sharing it with the rest of the table.

Despite having one card exposed, that player pushed in and both Silver and the other raiser folded. The outcome of the hand seemed rather insignificant at the time, except …

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