As predicted, we are seeing a lot of movement on the leader board at the $50k H.O.R.S.E. Championship Event. Some of the recent eliminations include Doyle Brunson, Eric Lindgren, Phil Ivey, Barry Greenstein and Daniel Alaei. Hasan Habib has slipped all the way down to one of the short stacks and Erik Sagstrom has taken over as the overall leader with 1,250,000. This tournament still has a long way to go with over 30 players still seated at the tables.
Gus Hanson continues to play strong and is currently sitting at 725,000 in chips. Vitaly Lunkin is once again putting in a very strong performance and is currently located in the top ten with 560,000. There are still a lot of big names left in this tourney and you will probably continue to see a lot of movement as this is one of the most volatile games you will see. Every game guarantees a lot of action and your chip leader very well may be a short stack within 5 hands. They are going to play this one till the early hours of the morning.
In other tournaments…
The Limit Shootout Event is down to 6 players, but the stacks are fairly even among the top 3. This is another tournament that you can expect to go on for quite a bit tonight and not see a winner until after midnight. The current leader is Greg Mueller with 950,000. Marc Naalden and Millie Shue round out the top three and are both within less than 200,000 of Mueller.
The dinner break has sounded in event 51 and there are still well over 100 players alive. You will not recognize many of the names in this one as a lot of the pros have stayed away from these $1,500 tournaments as the WSOP has played on. Huge fields have given them all problems and they seem to be sticking with the higher buy ins and other poker variations for the time being. They are going to have enough problems in the Main Event so why sit down with this aggravation now. The one big name that is making his way up the leader board is Men Nguyen. We haven’t heard much from him so far this year so this may be his warm-up for next week’s tournament.
The Triple Chance No Limit Event is at full steam and has had a surprising amount of eliminations already. They started with 854 players and are close to 300 eliminations so far. Overall chip stacks are not available, but a quick glance around the room says that a lot of the pros were taking advantage of the ability to have the free triple re-buy and play very aggressively. Don’t be surprised to see some big names on the leader board at the end of the day in this one.
In what seemed like an eternity, the Seniors Event finally crowned a winner and it seems as though it could not have happened to a better person. Davis was contemplating having to go back to work to make ends meet, but he managed to turn his $1,000 buy in into a little financial security with the $437,358 first place prize. It looked a little desperate for him when all of the chips were pushed in as his A9 was totally dominated by the AJ of Buller, but the miracle turn continued to show its face and when the 9 hit, a thunderous roar came from around the table. Michael Davis is the Seniors NL Hold’em World Champion!
In other tournaments…
While it has already been mentioned in a previous post, Jeff Lisandro winning a third bracelet in a single WSOP warrants a quick review. The last time that someone won 3 bracelets in a single season was when Ivey did it in 2002. However, the fact that he has done it in all three versions of 7 Card Stud is simply incredible. He has been playing incredible and is now one of the favorites for player of the year.
Event 45 is down to the final 14 and should be an early finisher on Thursday. This is a tournament that has moved along nicely during each session and with the chip leader having about 30% of the chips in play, the rest of the field is going to have a very tough time of it when they get into pots with him. Expect fast and furious action when this one resumes on Friday.
Event 46, the Omaha Hi/Low Split Event, has made it down to the final 23 and they will play to a winner on Friday. This one has seen some radical changes on the leader board for the entire tournament and it would be no surprise to see that trend continue. Mark Tenner is current chip leader with 285,000 in his stack.
The Mixed Hold’em Event got underway on Wednesday and had a star studded field. Barry Greenstein has taken the chip lead with 177,200 in chips, but the every annoying Hasan Habib is a close second with 165,000. If you don’t remember Habib, he is the one that did this little monkey dance around the tables a few years back every time he eliminated a player. A new rule has been invoked just because of his antics that does not allow a player to leave their seat to celebrate a victory in a hand. Eli Elezra is also high up on the leader board as well as Daniel Negreanu.
Jeff Lisandro is arguably having the best WSOP of any player in the field so far this season. The funniest thing is that he is doing it in every game other than NL Hold’em. His name is showing up regularly in just about every other game. He continued his dominance on Saturday night by taking down the World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi/Low 8 Event. He was among the leaders from day one and bided his time until they were heads up. For three and a half hours he battled with Farzas Rouhani who had the chip lead going in.
Doyle Brunson and Scotty Nguyen also made a nice run in this tournament and at one point, it looked like the possibility of 4 previous bracelet winners fighting it out. Scotty went card dead and Doyle slowly faded and went out in 7th position. This may have been his best shot of the WSOP for number 11 because we are now only 2 weeks away for the circus. The fields are starting to get larger and larger and the pros will continue to have trouble working their way through these humongous fields of amateurs that put targets on their heads the moment they see a pro seated next to them.
The other bracelet winner on the evening was Jordan Smith who outlasted 1694 other players to take down Event 36 and the $586,212 that goes along with it. At one point, this tournament seemed like it was never going to end as day 2 was just brutally slow. However, Jordan Smith stuck to his guns and continued to wear down the field until he has a massive cheap lead and the other player’s fates were sealed. This was his first bracelet, but he is no stranger to the WSOP with 12 other cashes to his credit.
In other tournaments…
At one point, it looked like there was no stopping Phil Hellmuth, but after making a humongous comeback and getting atop the leader board, the cards went the other way on his and he made his way to the rail. The played down to the final table on Saturday Night and will get back at it at 2pm to decide a winner. Marc Naalden is the current chip leader with 755,000 in his stack.
Day 2 of Event 39 will get under way with a lot of work to come before they see a final table. This was an amateur dominated field as most of the pros were eying up the Pot Limit Omaha Championship later in the evening. Mohsin Charania is the current chip leader with 144,100.
Event 40, the World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha got underway and as predicted, it was packed with all the superstars of poker. The leader board is littered with names like David Williams, Josh Arieh, Steve Zolotow and Barry Greenstein. Nate Lindsay currently leads the way with a huge chip lead of almost 200,000 over the second place player. He will start the day off with 482,200 and he is going to need every last one of them to fight off this hungry field of professionals.
Barry Greenstein attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he studies Computer Science. While at college, he would host various poker games where he would offer to teach people how to play poker. The only stipulation was that they must play him in a poker game after the lessons. His games attracted various students and professors. Upon graduating with his Bachelors Degree, Greenstein became a regular in the California card rooms, where he honed his skills
One of the players that Greenstein played with frequently was Larry Flint, who was the owner of Hustler Magazine and owned the Huster Casino. In 2003, Flint put together a 7 Card Stud event with several of the top names in poker and himself. Flint wanted the event to result in only a single winner, but in the end Flint and Greenstein wound up chopping the prize money and Greenstein took home his first large score in poker at $770,000.
Later in the year, Greenstein earned his nickname “The Robin Hood of Poker” during a WPT event in Tunica, MS. Greenstein made the final table of the World Poker Open and eventually took down the top prize. He then donated the prize of over $1.2 Million to charity. Greenstein also took a WPT title in 2006. He placed first in the WPT Invitational held in Los Angeles, CA. For a long time Greenstein donated all of his tournament winnings to charity, but he had to slow down and only donate his overall profit from tournaments.
Barry Greenstein also holds three bracelets at the World Series of Poker. He won an lowball bracelet in 2004, and won a Pot Limit Omaha bracelet in 2005. His third bracelet came in 2008 when he won the Razz event. Greenstein also has made two final tables at the WSOP in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. In both 2007 and 2008, he made the final eight, finishing 7th and 6th respectively.
When not playing at the tables, Greenstein is a member of Team Pokerstars. He is a regular ambassador for the site and is featured prominently on their site. Greenstein also authored the book Ace on the River. This book is primarily his autobiography, but it also delves into the pro poker lifestyle. He frequently autographs a copy of his books and gives it to players that knock him out of different tournaments. Greenstein is a high stakes poker player and is featured on shows such as High Stakes Poker and regularly plays in the “Big Game” at the Bellagio. Greenstein also is extremely respected by his peers. He is even called upon at times to settle disputes amongst professionals.
Greenstein has been around the poker community a long time and has adapted as the games switched from lowball and stud to Texas Holdem. He is skilled in all forms of poker and continues to compete at a championship level. His bracelet in 2008 was just one of many great accomplishments in his career and Greenstein looks to be a successful member of the poker community for many years to come.
Day 3 of the Main Event of the World Series of Poker Main Event saw 179 players return to try and begin their march towards the 2nd ever Main Event title on European soil. This field is incredibly pro heavy for a Day 2 with many having aspirations of Main Event glory.
Some of the players still alive in this event include Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Marco Traniello, Vanessa Rousso, Scotty Nguyen, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Tilly, Erica Schoenberg, Joe Beevers, Steve Zolotow, Nenad Medic, Andy Black, Brandon Adams, Scott Fischman, David “DevilFish” Ulliott, Ross Boatman, Mel Judah, Josh Arieh, Phil Laak, and Ted Lawson.
Tom “Durrrr” Dwan was the first big name to fall today. He started the day around 60,000 chips, but he either had a high stakes cash game to get to or he just wanted to game, because he was all in multiple times early on. With a flop of Qs-Kh-9s, Dwan raised Scott Montgomery all-in. Montgomery went into the tank for a while before calling with Ac-As. Dwan showed 3s-4s for a flush draw. The turn and river missed Dwan and he was eliminated. Unfortunately for Durrrr, this wasn’t an online cash game, and he couldn’t buy back in.
Chris “Jesus” Ferguson was eliminated shortly after by Sutha Nirmalananthan. On a board of Qd-5c-Jd-Jh-7d, Ferguson moved all in for 10,600. Nirmalananthan made the call showing Kh-Qh and Ferguson showed a bluff with Ah-Ks. With this, Ferguson headed out the door.
The champion of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the World Series of Poker departed next in the man known as Scotty Nguyen. He was all in with A-J and was called by a paltry 6-3. Sadly, a six hit the flop and we don’t get to see a repeat performance by the man I consider the “True World Champion.”
In an elimination that made many men sad, Vanessa Rousso was next to go. She was all in with Jh-Jd against Kc-Kd. The turn brought a flush draw for Rousso, but the river blanked out and Rousso is history. Meanwhile, Daniel Negreanu regained his position as chip leader, amassing 225,000 chips.
Doyle Brunson will not be able to catch Phil Hellmuth this year. Brunson was all in with A-K against pocket Kings. An ace did not hit the board, and Brunson was eliminated. His elimination was announced to the room, and he exited to a round of applause. Roland de Wolfe followed shortly afterward. He had flopped two pair holding Ac-Kc but his opponent, Martin Vallo, flopped a set of fours on a flop of Ad-Ks-4h. The turn and river missed both players, and De Wolfe hit the rail.
Phillipe Rouas has some light reading for the rest of the event. He was fortunate enough to knock out Barry Greenstein. As is his custom, Greenstein signed Rouas a copy of his book, Ace on the River. Meanwhile, Daniel Negreanu continued to build his chip lead. At this point, he had 285,000 in chips.
Mike Matusow had one of the funniest comments of the tournament. Gordon Vayo and Phil Hellmuth were in an argument about a hand they had played on Day 1a. Mike Matusow spoke up and said, “Kid, are you trying to have a rational conversation with Phil Hellmuth? That’s like trying to talk to the rail on Full Tilt.” I don’t know if any of you have watched some of the conversations in the high stakes games amongst the railbirds, but if you have, you know that his comment is very true.
Phil Hellmuth and Sherkhan Farnood have a little bit of a history. During the £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. Event, Farnood gave Hellmuth a series of beats and Hellmuth had declared him, “The worst player in history.” After Hellmuth berated a dealer a good part of the evening, Hellmuth then ended up getting sucked out on the river by Farnood to eliminate him from that event. Hellmuth made a couple of comments to Farnood at the beginning of the day trying to needle him.
Later, Hellmuth was all in on a flop of 5d-8h-2c. Farnood insta-called Hellmuth’s bet, showing 5s-5h. Hellmuth showed Ks-Kc. The turn and river were both blanks, and Hellmuth was eliminated from this event. Several people were asking Farnood if he was still the “worst player in the world.” He replied, “I’m trying to prove I’m only the second worst.” Personally, I think its poetic justice that the man that Hellmuth belittled so much got the best of him twice. Maybe next time Hellmuth will be nicer to players and dealers. Right, and Phil Ivey won’t make prop bets.
Bruno Fitoussi was the next to go out as he was all in against Mel Judah. Fitoussi held As-Ks and Judah held pocket Queens. The flop missed both players and Fitoussi was eliminated. Erica Schoenberg was the last of the last women remaining in the field. After eliminating a player, she built her stack up to 70,000.
Brian Townsend eliminated Martin Vallo when Vallo’s Ac-Kh ran into Townsend’s Ah-Ad. It is unclear where the money went in, but chances are it went in after the flop of 3c-7c-As. Vallo needed running clubs to win, but a spade on the turn sealed the deal for Townsend and sent Vallo packing. Steve Zolotow was unable to get anything doing during Day 2 and was soon seen exiting the tournament area.
Out of seemingly nowhere, Erik Seidel took the chip lead shortly after the start of level 10. Jean Thorel bet out 7,000 on a flop of Ac-7d-2c. Talal Shakerchi made the call and Seidel raised to 23,000. Thorel was the only one to make the call. The turn fell the Js and Thorel checked to Seidel. Seidel bet 40,000 and was called. The river came the Ad. Thorel checked again to Seidel and he moved all-in for 61,000. Thorel made the call. Seidel showed Ah-Kd for a set of Aces and Thorel mucked his hand. After the pot, Seidel moved up to 278,000 chips, wrestling the chip lead from Daniel Negreanu.
The rest of the action for Day 2 will be concluded in the next post.
Day 2 of the £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. started with 110 players trying to make their way to the final table. The field is still overrun with pro players. Barry Greenstein, Mike Matusow, Patrik Antonius, Andy Bloch, Gus Hansen, Robert Williamson III, John Juanda, Joe Beevers, Barny Boatman, David Williams, Max Pescatori, Jeff Lisandro, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Howard Lederer are among the names that are still in contention.
Barry Greenstein was the first casualty of the day. Shortly after the beginning of play, Greenstein was all in with A-10 against John Phan’s A-9. Phan caught a nine on the flop, and Greenstein was left hoping to catch one of the remaining 10’s. A ten did not arrive and Phan now has a copy of Ace on the River.
Bruno Fitoussi busted out shortly afterwards in an Omaha 8 round when his pair of kings were no match for Bruce Yamron’s sixes and fives. Fitoussi was the runner-up in the 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the World Series of Poker. Freddy Deeb was the winner of the event.
Phil Hellmuth has received a tough table draw for this Day 2. His opponents include Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Mark Gregorich, Sherkhan Farnood, and Gary Jones. Gus Hansen started razzing Phil when he asked Howard Lederer if Phil was the 7th or 8th best player at the table. Lederer would not respond, but Hellmuth mentioned that he had only played 5 hands to that point.
Jean-Robert Bellande was voted off the island in a stud round when his queens ran into Ivo Donev’s kings up. Brandon Cantu was out shortly afterwards. In a holdem round with a flop of 8d-4h-3d, Cantu bet out and was raised by Yuval Bronshtein. This was enough to put Cantu all-in. Bronshtein showed 8s-8c for a set and Cantu showed Qh-Jc. Cantu needed running straight cards to win, but they did not come and Cantu hit the rail.
Sadly a few hands later saw the end to one of the more entertaining players, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow. In a holdem hand against Gus Hansen, Matsow called bets from Hansen all the way to the river, where he was all in. The board showed Jd-Js-Jc-Ks-Qc when Hansen tabled pocket threes for a full house. Matusow only held ace high and was gone.
John Phan was involved in a three way pot that included Max Pescatori and Raul Paez. On a flop of Qs-Kh-5h, Phan bet out the last of his stack and was called by both opponents. Pescatori bet both the turn of the 3d and the river of the 6d. At showdown, Pescatori showed Ad-Kc-5c-3c for two pair, Paez showed As-3h-4c-Jc for the low, and Phan showed Ah-Jd-7h-6s, for a pair and a weaker low. As a result, Phan is eliminated from this H.O.R.S.E. event.
As we began to approach the bubble, Andy Bloch was all in during a holdem round. He had hit a pair of sevens on the flop, but John Juanda he flopped a pair of kings. Neither player improved and Bloch was eliminated from today’s event. Bloch was the runner up of the first ever $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the World Series of Poker. He came up on the short end of the marathon heads-up match with the late Chip Reese.
The two Phil’s have been tangling a bit today. First, Ivey sucked out on a hand against Hellmuth when he caught a queen on seventh in a stud round. The very next hand, Ivey caught a straight flush in five cards to move his chips up to 100,000. Then, a few hands later, David Williams completed showing (X-X) 4c. Ivey raised showing (X-X) Jc and Hellmuth called showing (X-X) Ad. Williams followed along.
Ivey bet out on fourth and fifth, with Williams folding on fourth and Hellmuth calling along. Hellmuth then bet out on sixth showing (X-X) Ad-Qs-6c-5h. Ivey raised showing a board of (X-X) Jc-7s-Kh-4d. Hellmuth three-bet and Ivey made the call. At showdown, Hellmuth showed a bluff and Ivey showed a pair of kings to take another big pot off of Hellmuth.
Howard Lederer has been the biggest surprise of this Day 2 thus far. He has been near the chip lead a good portion of the day. In one hand in a stud round, Lederer was able to eliminate both Gus Hansen and Barny Boatman with kings up. After the hand he was up to 85,000 but moved up to around 100,000 not long afterwards.
As we got closer to the bubble, both John Juanda and Robert Williamson III were eliminated. Both were eliminated during a stud 8 round. Joe Beevers finished in 18th place when his 7-6 low in razz ran into a perfect 6 of Jeff Lisandro.
Max Pescatori ended up being the bubble boy for this event. In a hand against Sherkhan Farnood, Pescatori was all in on Sixth Street showing Ah-5d-2h-8h-3s-7d for a wheel draw and a seven low. Farnood showed 4h-6d-8s-5c-As-7s for an eight high straight and a weaker seven low. A 3h on the river gave Farnood a seven high straight and a six low. Pascatori did not catch a four and he was eliminated.
David Williams was the first player to make the money with a 16th place finish. In an Omaha 8 round, with the flop showing 10c-3h-Kd, Yuval Bronshtein bet out 2,000 and Raul Paez raised to 4,000. Williams made the call and Bronshtein three bet to 6,000. Williams four bet but only for a few hundred more. Both opponents made the call. The turn of the 10s fell and Bronshtein bet out 4,000. Paez made the call. At showdown Bronstein showed 10d-3c-2h-5h for tens full. Paez flashed pocket threes for a weaker full house and Williams mucked his hand. He then went and collected his £4,812 for his finish.
Play will continue until we reach a final table. Of course, Harrah’s has been known to make strange decisions regarding ending tournaments early. The rest of today’s coverage will conclude in the next post.
110 players put up £2,500 each to take a shot at the World Series of Poker Europe H.O.R.S.E. event. H.O.R.S.E. is a rotation game consisting of limit holdem, limit Omaha 8 or better, limit razz, limit seven card stud, and limit stud 8 or better. Each game is dealt for 8 hands before switching. Top name pros participating in today’s event include Roland De Wolfe, Chad Brown, Andy Black, Layne Flack, Jens Voertmann, Thor Hansen, Dave “DevilFish” Ulliott, Vanessa Rousso, Erik Seidel, Allen Cunningham, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, David Benyamine, Mike Matusow, John Juanda, Andy Bloch, John Phan, Barry Greenstein, Gus Hansen, Phil Hellmuth, and Phil Ivey. Doyle Brunson was also spotted in the field, making his first appearance at this WSOP Europe.
Play progressed somewhat slow to begin with but soon picked up as the structure for this even seems a little fast. Phil Ivey took down a nice three way pot during a stud 8 round against Jason Newitt and Thomas Bihl. Ivey led the action on fourth and fifth streets. Bihl caught a pair of queens on sixth, and bet out showing a board of (X-X)Jc-9s-Qd-Qc. Ivey raised showing a board of (X-X) 6c-5s-6s-Jd. Newitt folded. Seventh Street was dealt face down and Bihl checked to Ivey, who fired out a bet. Bihl made the call. Ivey showed 6d-5c for his down cards for the full house and Bihl mucked. At this point in the event, Ivey was around 18,000 in chips.
Several tables had very strong lineups but none compared to table 8. Table 8 had Doyle Brunson, Chad Brown, Max Pescatori, Thor Hansen, John Juanda, Chris Bjorn, Jean-Robert Bellande, Robert Wiliamson III, and some unknown guy. Oh wait, the unknown guy is the dealer.
Chad Brown ended up being the first big name eliminated from today’s H.O.R.S.E. event. In an Omaha 8 or better round, Chad Brown made it two bets to go on a flop of 5h-2c-7h. Both Robert Williamson III and Jean-Robert Bellande made the call. The turn of the Qc and the river of the 10h were checked down. Williamson showed 8h-6c-3s-Ac for the nut low and Bellande showed 6d-3h-2h-Kc for the flush. Brown mucked his hand and headed out of the tournament area.
Andy Black was the next big name to hit the door. During a stud round, Black made a raise on Fourth Street showing a (X-X) Jd-4h. The original bettor, Ivo Donev, made the call showing (X-X) Jh-5s. Black caught a 3c on fifth and Donev caught the 3s. They both checked. On sixth, Donev fired out a bet after catching an Ah. Black only had three 25 denomination chips and made the call after catching the 2c. Donev showed Js-9h for a pair of jacks. Black showed A-Q for a wheel draw. Donev caught a nine on the river for jacks up and Black only caught a king, and Andy faded to Black.
Phil Hellmuth has been really holding his own today. He has been near the top of the chip lead for most of the session. In an Omaha 8 hand between himself, Layne Flack, and Neal Friets, Hellmuth bet out on a board of 5h-6s-4h-6d and Flack moved all in. Hellmuth and Friets called along. The river fell the Jd and Hellmuth bet out. Friets made the call. Friets showed 2s-3d-9c-7s for a seven high straight and a 6 low. Hellmuth then flipped over Ac-3c-6h-6c for quad sixes and second nut low. Flack commented, “Quad sixes and the second nut low, is that all you got?” He then mucked his hand and departed from the tournament area.
Shortly afterwards Mike “the Mouth” Matusow started razzing Hellmuth about the fact that Hellmuth has not won a bracelet in a non-holdem event. This is actually true. Hellmuth has 11 gold bracelets, but all in one form of holdem or another. Norman Chad has been quoted as saying, “He is a one trick pony, but boy, what a trick.”
H.O.R.S.E. is not the only thing being played today. During the breaks Mike Matusow, Doyle Brunson, John Juanda, and Phil Hellmuth decided to play some $1,000 a point Chinese Poker. Unfortunately for Matusow, he didn’t win a hand. The crowd could hear his tirade across the room after the break.
Thor Hansen again could not summon help from Odin and busted out from today’s event, although we do not have the details of his bustout. Dave “DevilFish” Ulliott busted out shortly after losing a big stud pot against Gary Jones “ace high.” Michael Binger was eliminated by David Williams when Binger’s buried queens could not outdraw Williams split aces. Chris Ferguson and Mike “Timex” McDonald were also casualties of the last level.
After a 12 and ½ hour session, the first day of the H.O.R.S.E. event concluded with Phil Ivey in the lead. This should come as a shock to noone since Ivey is considered by many to be the best overall poker player alive. In a shocking development to all, Phil Hellmuth is in second place with 54,200 chips. Woody Deck is third in chips at 37,500. Daniel Negreanu and Howard Lederer are both hovering around the 30,000 chip mark. At present it appears that Richard Ashby is the short stack at 3,200 in chips. For some unknown reason, Mike Matusow did not report the amount of chips he had remaining, but he is indeed still in this event. It also appears that Doyle Brunson busted somewhere around the end of the day, but we do not have any information on how this occurred.
56 players survived Day 1 of this £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. event. Tomorrow promises to be a long day as we are expected to play to the final table. With the fast structure of play, expect a lot of early bustouts and then play to slow to a grind as we approach the money bubble. Only 16 players will be paid in this event with 16th place paying £4,812. The winner of this event will take £76,999 and the coveted gold bracelet. Day 2 of this event will start Sunday at 2 p.m.
