World Series of Poker Final Table Odds: Jesse Sylvia Leads November Nine

He has the tallest stack, therefore the shortest odds.

Jesse Sylvia is the 3/1 favorite as the World Series of Poker set its final table this week. After starting with nearly 7,000 players, nine remain and the 26-year-old Sylvia’s $43.87 million chip stack has him at top of most betting lists.

There are eight Americans and one Hungarian in the November Nine, the name given to the Final Table players who will now wait until autumn to complete poker’s signature event.

There are former WSOP winners, a former World Poker Tour champion and others who have dominated the world of online Texas Holdem in recent years.

But the final day of the WSOP proved that owning the biggest stack of chips is anything but a guarantee for success. There were 27 players starting the final day and the two chip leaders - Marc-Andre Ladouceur and Daniel Strelitz – ran into bad luck and busted out in 24^th and 12^th place.

“With a commanding chip lead Jesse Sylvia is a strong favorite, but the underdog, Jerry Ausmus with 9.8 million in chips, could end up surprising us all,” said Debi O'Neill of CardsChat.com, one of the Internet’s busiest online poker forums.

Andras Koroknai (29.37 million) is from Hungary and was good and lucky to make the November Nine. He won the WPT’s 2010 LA Poker Classic and is 9/2, according to most sportsbooks offering lines on the WSOP.

Greg Merson (28.72 million) is a major threat. The cash-game player entered four tournaments at the WSOP and cashed in four of them. At 5/1, he has good value if his run of hot play continues.

Russell Thomas (24.8 million) is a former WSOP Final Table player from a no-limit holdem tournament two years ago. He is 6/1 at Bovada.

Steven Gee, a WSOP bracelet winner in 2010, is joined by Michael Esposito at 9/1 odds. Robert Salaburu and Jacob Balsiger are 10/1, while the short-stacked Jeremy Ausmus is 11/1.

Current World Series of Poker Final Table odds – courtesy of Bovada

Jesse Sylvia 3/1

Andras Koroknai 9/2

Greg Merson 5/1

Russell Thomas 6/1

Steven Gee 9/1

Michael Esposito 9/1

Robert Salaburu 10/1

Jacob Balsiger 10/1

Jeremy Ausmus 11/1