If you wanted to see a Pot Limit Omaha clinic, all you needed to do was watch the final table of Event 35 on Friday night. Play after play, read after read was absolutely perfect and Richard Austin made quick work of the remaining players to capture his first WSOP Bracelet. While it was not a very large field, the $5,000 buy in made the payoff over $400,000. This tournament ended just after 8:00pm and is easily the fastest moving final table of the tournament. We saw lots of aggression and some bad timing from the other players at the table. The final hand was typical of the action with all three players committed and Austin obviously coming out on top.
In other tournaments… Event 36 is moving along very well and as of this posting, there were only 66 players remaining. The bubble was 171 and after it was reached, they never looked back. Chips are continuing to fly and Jonathon Plens holds a small chip lead with 520,000 in his stack. Still a long way to go in this one though and lots of players are well within striking distance.
“You know it baby” is probably being heard quite often in Event 37 as the ever enjoyable Scotty Nguyen holds the chip lead with 317,000. As stated yesterday, this field is packed with superstars and they are all still hanging around. Both Doyle and Todd Brunson have worked their way up the leader board and are only 5,000 in chips apart. Some other notables that are stacking chips are Greg Raymer, Dutch Boyd and Howard Lederer. With only 36 players remaining, this final table is starting to shape up to be an all-star cast.
Event 38 was the only event kicking off today and it is still a little early for overall chip counts, but Kid Poker is making some noise early on in the $2,000 Limit Hold’em event. Erick Lindgren looks to be in trouble and Hellmuth’s stack seems to be growing at a steady pace. This is far and away the slowest day we have had in a while and it seems as though a lot of these players are starting to wear down. This is the break that a lot of them needed, except of course for those in the limit tournament and Stud Championship.
For those of you in the fantasy WSOP leagues, start taking the long days into account as a lot of these old-timers are starting to wear down. Frustration is also taking its toll on a lot of the cash players that are wasting days at a time only to get knocked out right before the bubble. If you want some insight, start reading the Tweets from the players and you can see that these big fields and multiple day tournaments are starting to wear thin. Look for a lot of the younger players and the season tournament pros to really start to shine.
One common theme throughout these multi-day tournaments is the frustration that you see start to show on players that are not mentally ready for the grind. Most players are used to their home games or the single day tournaments that they play at their local casinos. When they get into this kind of a field and have to play for 3 or 4 days, it starts to wear on them. The last day of Event #7 was proof positive of how that frustration can cost someone a tournament.
Steve Karp was in this poker tournament the whole way until the last few hours. Travis Johnson literally bullied his way to the bracelet as his aggressive play frustrated and wore down Karp. It became more noticeable in the last hour as Karp had seemed to have about enough of it and looked like he just wanted to go to bed. He got his wish and Johnson got the bracelet. Here is the final hand recap.
Karp had the button and limped in and Johnson immediately applied more pressure and pushed all in. Karp took no time at all to make the call. The cards were rolled and Karp had 55 to Johnson’s AQ. Karp managed to dodge the flop with K-10-4, but more outs had been added for Johnson. The Q in the turn but him behind to a 2 outer and the river J buried him.
In other tournaments….
We had already mentioned Phil Ivey’s win in our last post, but it definitely deserves another blurb. Ivey play phenomenally all night long and against a very good player and showed why always feared at a table. The only shame of it all was that he had already bought in for the $10,000 mixed event and did not get over there until very late and ended up busting out on the first day. I am sure the bracelet and the 7 figure side bet winning will help him get over that though. He said that he plans on taking a couple of days to get himself back together and then will be right back at it. Ivey seems poised to have a great series.
Event #9, the Six Handed $1,500 NL Hold’em event did not get to the final table, but they are pretty close. There are only 8 players left and play will resume today through to the bracelet winner. We think the two players to watch out for here are Peter Gould and Praz Bansi. They are both hurting a bit for chips here, but one good run and they can start to put some pressure on. Here is your chip count and standing for the day:
1) Charles Furey (1,690,000) 2) Bryce Yockey (1,489,000) 3) Carmen Cavella (1,059,000) 4) Peter Gould (780,000) 5) Bryn Kenney (656,000) 6) Praz Bansi (630,000) 7) Ken Aldridge (411,000) 8) Manny Minaya (339,000)
Event #10 concluded its second day with only 29 players remaining. The ever annoying Hevad Khan still has chips and we all know how lucky this guy can get. Daniel Makowsky has the chip lead and also some WSOP experience with a second place finish under his belt. Hopefully we will not have to endure the little rain dance that Khan has become so infamous for.
Event #11 finished day one in much the way the other tournaments have, by railing over 85% of field on the first day of play. This one started out a little slow and then it just took off as player after player was sent packing. The name to look out for here is the always dangerous Phil Hellmuth. He has chips and the money is sneaking up on the players. Chip counts were still up in the air on this one, but it would appear that one of the wonder kids is leading the pack as Scott Hall as about 140,000 in his stack.
All eyes are now on Event #12, the$10,000 World Championship Mixed Event. Play was a little slow as there is still about 60% of the field standing, but this was a late starting tournament and they did not have the full day to play. Already out are Phil Ivey, Greg Raymer and Mike Matusow. However, the story is the players that are atop the leader board. We are still loaded with some significant pros and Kid Poker leads the pack. Negreanu has a grip on the overall chip lead and it is hard to imagine him giving it up. It has been a while since he has had a strong showing in the WSOP and hopefully this can get him turned around. There is nothing better in poker than watching Kid Poker on a final table.
Two more events get kicked off today and all in all, we will have 6 tournaments going and hopefully 2 more bracelets getting awarded.
In one of the more entertaining final tables we have seen in quite some time, Vitaly Lunkin outlasted Isaac Haxton in a marathon 3 hour and 20 minute heads up match. With only 2 big name pros making it through to the final table, the odds were that we would see a new poker millionaire, and Vitaly Lunkin is it.
Play on the final table was pretty tight the entire night and it took much longer than anticipated for the champion to be decided. Our pick for the championship, Greg Raymer, played exceptionally well, but went out in third place trying to make a huge move. With the way he had been playing, I am still baffled at why he chose the hand that he did to get all of his chips in the middle. It just goes to show that one wrong move can end an otherwise perfect day.
Raymer was on the button and made a pre-flop raise to 400,000. Lunkin got out of the way and the Haxton came over the top to make it 1,250,000. Raymer then made a very questionable move by pushing all in for 8,105,000 and Haxton immediately called. Raymer and his 55 were way behind Haxton and his 99. The play comes into question as Raymer had to know that his best possible scenario only had him at about 60-40% to win the hand and he was very likely up against a better pair. The board never improved either player and Raymer was sent to the rail with a standing ovation from the room.
The moment everyone had been waiting for all night was about to take place. The first major event of the 40th WSOP was about to go into heads up. The money was brought out to the table and Haxton and Lunkin settled in with Haxton holding a better than 2:1 chip edge.
The first big h and of heads up play happened about a half hour in. Lunkin ended up pushing all in on the river and Haxton gave up the hand. The pot improved Lunkin to 13,900,000 in chips. The players traded small hands back and forth and while Lunkin had captured the lead for a bit, the bulk of the small hands were going Haxton’s way. Over the next hour and a half, he would regain his 2:1 edge. Unfortunately, his house of cards was about to blown down.
Haxton took a devastating blow to his stack on hand #154 of the night. Haxton made a pre-flop raise to 400,000 and Lunkin came over the top for 1,400,000. Haxton then pushed with his K3c. Again, a foolish move after playing strong poker all night long. Lunkin immediately called and flipped over 1010. With a flop of 10-4-2 and no clubs, Lunkin doubled up and was now holding the huge chip lead.
Haxton came right back at him 7 hands later on a horrible beat. With a flop of K53, Lunkin check-raised a bet of 525,000 and made it 1,450,000. Haxton made the call and watched the turn show a 6s. Lunkin fired another 1,500,000 at the pot and Lunkin made the call. Lunkin was sitting on AA to Haxton’s K10. Lunkin was absolutely shattered when a 10c hit the river and cheated him from snagging the championship. However, this was only a prelude of things to come as both of these players now appeared to be ready to mix it up. Haxton – 13,970,000, Lunkin – 10,125,000.
Just two hands later, all of the chips would be back in the middle of the table, and Lunkin would once again have a huge chip lead. Haxton called Lunkin’s preflop raise of 1,400,00 and aw a flop of A54c hit the board. Lunkin fired out with 2,000,000 and Haxton pushed his stack in the middle. Lunkin called and the players flipped their cards. Lunkin turned over Qc10s and Haxton had Qs8c. Haxton hit a miracle 8 on the turn, but a river 2c brought him back down to earth. At his point, Haxton was left with only 5,505,000 in chips and had to be mentally devastated.
It all came to an end about 3 hours and 20 minutes after they started playing heads up and was a part of this massive flurry of action that came out of nowhere. The final hand of the tournament started with Lunkin on the button and making the call from the SB. The board hit Q-10-8, all diamonds. Haxton took a shot at the pot for 1,200,00 and Lunkin them moved all in and was called. The cards where flipped and Haxton showed 3d8c to Lunkin’s AsAh. Amazingly, all Haxton needed to crack his AA was a diamond. However, none of his 14 outs would show up and Lunkin had finally taken down what will be one of the most important titles of the season. Both players are now millionaire’s, but Lunkin gets the jewelry and the honor of having his national anthem played at the second bracelet ceremony of the year.
As predicted, the fireworks started early as soon as Day 3 got underway. In less than an hour and a half, the field was down to 18 poker players and it did not stop there. Play tightened up somewhat, but his crew showed that they were not afraid to sling chips regardless of what they were holding.
The two major stories of the day have to be Tony G and Isaac Haxton. Somehow, Tony G had managed to hang on despite being short stacked just about the whole way. When his luck ran out and he was eliminated in 10th place, you had to feel for the guy. He had fought so hard to get to the final table and had his dreams squashed when he only had a little over $200,000 left in front of him. He pushed with A7h and was called by Torelli who was holding onto J10h. Both players hit the board, unfortunately for Tony G., he only hit his 7 and was sent to the rail.
As incredible as Tony G.’s staying power had been, the run of Haxton has been even more incredible. He started the day off with only a little over 500,000 in chips and has managed to climb his way up to the top spot of the leader board with 5,520,000 in chips.
While Raymer has not had the climb that we anticipated, he has continued to play solid poker. Unfortunately for him, his cards have not held up as well as they did in prior sessions, but somehow he is managing to dodge some major bullets and has remained right around the count that he started the day off at.
Shocking or not is a decision that you will have to make, but Bonomo crashed and burned all day. As well as his young, aggressive style worked over the last couple of days, it came back to bite him in Day 3. He continued to dump chips and finds himself at the bottom tier of the final table with a huge target on his stack.
The final table has shaped up very nicely with a great mix of the new and the old, the amateurs and the pros. Tomorrow should be a great session, but my money is still on Raymer to hoist the bracelet and scoop the cash.
Here is your final table and chips counts: 1) Isaac Haxton 5,520,000 2) Vitaly Lunkin 4,565,000 3) Lex Veldhuis 3,805,000 4) Greg Raymer 3,345,000 5) Alec Torelli 2,340,000 6) Justin Bonomo 1,685,000 7) Dani Stern 1,300,000 8) Noah Schwartz 660,000 9) Ted Forrest 560,000
In other tournaments…. The Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or Better (Event #30 continues to move fast and furious. The top 10 is a definitive who’s who of the poker world. As of this posting, Eli Elezra continues to lead the way and looks absolutely unbeatable so far in this tournament. Other pros that are on top are Freddy Deeb, Layne Flack, Toto Leonidis, Chip Jett and the infamous Annie Duke. With only 90 players remaining, the remaining amateurs are going to have a tough time getting through to the final table.
Event #4 ($1,000 Stimulus NL Hold’em Event) stole the headlines early in the day as it was sold out (6,000 players) well before the tournament started. Players went flying out the door early and often and as of this posting, over 65% of the field was already gone. There were no chips counts posted as of yet, but we will have them for you as soon as they are available.
Sundays action should feature two final tables. The 40K event will be on its fourth and final day and the 3 day scheduled event #3 is also scheduled to finish up tomorrow. The question remains if they will be able to get the tournament down to that point in enough time to actually have the final table on Sunday. Day 2 of the 4 day Stimulus event will take place as well as Day 1 of the Champions Invitational. Monday is the beginning of the two a days with events 5 and 6 kicking off.
Just when you thought normalcy was going to settle in at the WSOP, all hell broke loose. As the bubble got closer, some big names took major hits and the leader board got flipped around just a bit. Once again, one of the younger players on tour, Justin Bonomo, took charge and headed into the third day of the tournament as the chip leader with 2,678,000.
Grey Raymer has been playing great poker for the entire tournament and although he hit a small hiccup, he is still in this tournament with 2,287, 000. A name we have not seen atop the leader boards in quite some time, Ted Forrest, is also perched to make a run at the final table. With 2,586,000, he is sitting in second place and looking strong.
They had intended on playing down to 18, but play slowed down dramatically and 23 players will sit down at the table on day 3 in an effort to get to the final table. There are a lot of short stacks which may lead to a very short session. The next few players should go out rather quickly as they begin to play short-handed tables.
Here are your chip leaders heading into day 3: Justin Bonomo 2,678,000 Ted Forrest 2,586,000 David Baker 2,367,000 Greg Raymer 2,287,000 Lex Veldhuis 2,103,000 Alex Torelle 1,725,000 Keith Lehr 1,257,000 Vitaly Lunkin 1,166,000 Matthew Marafioti 1,003,000 The rest of the field is under 1,000,000 in chips with the bottom 6 having less than 500,000.
In other tournaments…. The first bracelet of the season was won by Andrew Cohen, winner of the $500 Casino Employees Event. He takes home a healthy $83,778 as he bested 866 other players. He also had the honor of going through the first ever bracelet ceremony.
Day 1 is over for the Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (Event #3). This tournament saw a record breaking entry of 918 players. If it is a sign to come, this WSOP is going to have the largest prize pools that we have ever seen. The day saw a lot of action with over 700 players in the starting field finding the rail. Chip counts were not yet available as of this posting, but some big names are still hanging tough. Defending Champion Luu is still in the field and Eli Elezra finished the day very strong and is over 50,000.
In addition to Day 3 of the $40k event and Day 2 of the Omaha Hi/Low tournament, Event #4, a $1000 NL Hold’em event, kicks off today at 12 noon Vegas time. This event will actually be covered on ESPN if you are interested in seeing the live stream.
Day 2 of the 40th Annual No Limit Hold’em event was filled with fireworks. Mike ‘the mouth’ Matesow finally started to get some cards, but was eventually eliminated. Chris Moneymaker showed his true form and once again went out before the money. It is amazing that he managed to squander away a second place chip position early on in day two. You read it right here that he was quite capable of doing exactly that and he did not disappoint.
Moneymaker broke one of the cardinal rules of poker in shoving a huge stack into the middle of the table with anything less than AA or KK. The hand that started him on tilt happened around 6:15pm. Tony G. started the action and Moneymaker immediately applied the pressure with QQ in the hole. Tony G. made the call and turned over AK. We all know what happened and with Moneymaker getting up to take a walk, you almost knew the end was near.
Chris should have stayed away from the tables a few minutes more because when he returned, he found himself looking at 1010. He made a move in middle position by throwing out a $43,000 bet that was quickly called by Forrest and his KK. Moneymaker walked away disgusted and before Forrest could stop him, a flop of KJ10 showed up to but a further damper on Moneymakers outs.
With only one card left I the deck to help him, he was sent to the rail when it did not hit the turn or river. Once again, Moneymaker misses the cash in a major tournament. Some will say he can take solace in finishing only 10 out of the money, but it is quite apparent that his 2003 win was nothing more than a fluke as he continues to get shut out at the WSOP.
The leaderboard now looks more like a who’s who of poker as a lot of the pretenders have finally been dropped. While there are still a few amateurs left, the bulk of the field consists of big name pros that are out for that monster payday. Even with the all-star cast, the biggest name on the board is Greg Raymer.
The 2004 WSOP Champion has proven that he was no fluke. He continues to grab headlines and made it all the way back to the top 25 in 2005 after his amazing win in 2004. He has been playing perfect poker in the second session and it shows as he was the first player to cross the 2,000,000 chip barrier. As of this posting, he holds a 1,000,000 chip lead over the next closest competitor.
The hand that put him over the top of this mark was one of the biggest of the tourney so far. Steve Z. was dealt the dreaded QQ and Raymer found AK in the hole. Raymer had called a raise by another player and then Steve Zotlow pushed the action to 100,000. Neil Chirss, the initial raiser, called and then it was Raymer’s turn to start the fireworks. He came over the top and pushed all in and Steve Z. pushed in his remaining 670,000. Chriss decided to get out of the way of this battle. Steve Z. was still good on the flop, but once again, AK pops as a K hit the turn and Zotlow was sent to the rail.
Raymer is always tough with a chip stack as there are few better at big stack poker than him. He has not fear and will put every small stack on a decision as the money gets closer and closer. With only 7 players left to the money, people will be holding onto their stacks with both hands. It would not be a surprise to see Raymer knocking on the door of 3,000,000 when the money is finally hit.
As the WSOP looms in the very near future, poker players off shapes and sizes are trying to use the last couple of events on the schedule to tighten up their games and get ready for the big show. This was ever more apparent than at Day 1a of the EPT Monte Carlo. Looking around the room, you would have thought that it was a who’s who over poker.
With only one other major event going on, the WSOP Circuit Tour Event in Las Vegas, the majority of the professionals, especially Team Poker Stars chose to take the last opportunity to skip over the pond and enjoy Monte Carlo. With the Circuit Tour Event being held in Las Vegas so close to the WSOP, it is no wonder that they took the opportunity to skip town one last time before digging in for the 49 day event.
As usual, the room was littered with former World Champions and as usual, everyone in the field was gunning for them. The most notable of the day one massacres was Greg Raymer. He got his money in with a hand that is every player’s dream, gold old AA. However, he was up against KK and the K on the turn sent him to the rail.
In other news…
As we touched on above, the WSOP Circuit Tour Event is well under way in Las Vegas and a name that has not been heard from in a while is catching steam once again. Mike ‘the grinder’ Mizrachi took over a leader board spot and looks to get back to his winning ways just as the WSOP is getting ready to hit town. Mike made a huge impact just a few years ago and between cash games and WPT tournaments, he seemed as though he could not be stopped. He has cooled off a bit, but if he uses this tournament as a springboard, everyone at the WSOP better look out. There are few better at the game when he is playing his best.
