November Nine:

Buchman considered a favorite at final table

Buchman likes chances despite limited recent play

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Associated Press

Eric Buchman pauses during the World Series of Poker at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Wednesday, July 15, 2009.

Darvin Moon — 58,930,000
Eric Buchman — 34,800,000
Steven Begleiter — 29,885,000
Jeff Shulman — 19,580,000
Joe Cada — 13,215,000
Kevin Schaffel — 12,390,000
Phil Ivey — 9,765,000
Antoine Saout - 9,500,000
James Akenhead — 6,800,000

World Series of Poker 2009

Count ESPN commentator Lon McEachern as one of the many people in the poker community who believe Eric Buchman will take the World Series of Poker Main Event bracelet.

Buchman, a 28-year old poker professional from New York, is second in chips and has played solid throughout the tournament.

“I think I’m in a good position in chips and whatnot,” Buchman said. “I feel like I’m the second best player on the table.”

Buchman, of course, ranks only Phil Ivey above himself. Buchman has earned just less than $1 million in his poker tournament career.

Buchman, however, plays in cash games more frequently than tournaments. But he’s always kept playing tournaments in hopes of a moment like this.

“You play in tournaments because you dream you are going to hit it big,” Buchman said. “I didn’t play in a $10,000 tournament to cash for $20,000.”

Buchman is certainly not short on confidence. While most of his competitors have played in numerous tournaments since making the final table, Buchman has hardly played poker at all.

He didn’t feel like he needed to.

“I just needed to clear my head,” Buchman said. “I don’t need practice at this point.”

Buchman said he would approach the final table no differently than he did the rest of the tournament, which seemed to work out pretty well. Asked to describe his most memorable moment of the tournament so far, Buchman said there were too many to narrow it down.

But make no mistake: Buchman is ready to play again.

“The waiting has been hard,” Buchman said. “It’s something that keeps your mind occupied and keeps you awake sometimes.”