Event 4 ended rather early on Tuesday Night as the players and casino staff decided to put the final table off for an extra day. Apparently they figured that the online coverage would not be very popular at 4am so the decision was made to delay the final table until today. Considering that the WSOP has a similar turnout and it takes almost two weeks to play, the tournament staff has done a great job in keeping this tournament on track.
The best two players left in the field also happen to hold the number one and two spots on the leader board and have a significant edge over the remaining players. The winner is going to walk away with $771,106. Your standings and chip counts for the final table are:
Dan Heimiller (4,155,000)
Steve Sung (3,395,000)
Vilandos Panayote (1,940,000)
James Matz III (1,885,000)
Jeff Oakes (1,680,000)
Lary Sidebotham (1,500,000)
Phong Huynh (1,310,000)
Nathan Mullen (1,120,000)
Danny Fuhs (965,000)
The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Event has also reached its final table. Event 5 also had a strong turnout with 809 players starting the event. An Tran and Jason Mercier are the two biggest names left playing, but the lead is held by Kevin Iacofano. He only had one WSOP cash under his belt and it was a 53rd place finish in a NL event. It will be interesting to see how he handles the final table pressure. Your final tables chip counts and standing are:
Kevin Iacofano (770,000)
Jonathon Tare (639,000)
An Tran (445,000)
Jason Mercier (384,400)
Dario Alioto (315,000)
Matt Giannetti (311,000)
Seven Burkholder (263,000)
Chris Biondino (182,000)
Event 6, The $10,000 7 Card Stud World Championship is the third final table of the day. There are only 11 players remaining and when this tournament gets back up, expect some chips to be flying with the remaining pros putting extreme pressure on the rookies. There are still some huge names left and this tournament is the best shot of a big name pro taking down a bracelet so far. Even though Negreanu is short stacked, do not count him out if he gets a couple of decent hands early. However, the smart money should be on Lisandro as he is sitting pretty and playing great cards. Rankings are chip counts are as follows:
Eric Drache (785,000)
Hasan Habib (593,000)
Freddie Ellis (580,000)
Jeff Lisandro (524,000)
Ville Wahlbeck (472,000)
Max Pescatori (401,000)
Ivan Schertzer (368,000)
Gret Mueller (208,000)
Daniel Negreanu (191,000)
Ray Dehkarghani (141,000)
Tim Phan (45,000)
In other tournaments…
Event 7, $1,500 NL Hold’em, started out with another large field. 2791 players showed up and almost 80% of them have been shown the door so far. The pro carnage in this tournament was worse than usual. One thing you can always count on though is an early exit from Chris Moneymaker. Once again, he busts out early and does not make the money. In addition to Moneymaker, Ferguson, Juanda, Deeb and Rousso are all looking on from the rail. 297 players will make the money and top prize is $666,727.
Event 8, the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball (No Limit) has had one of the smallest fields of the series so far. Only 148 players signed up and it would be highly surprising to see anyone but a pro take this one down. Mostly because the game is a little off the wall and many people don’t have a clue how to play it. If you ever want a real shot at a bracelet, learn how to play stud, razz and triple draw and you will find yourself in small fields that you just may be able to sneak your way through. Still standing in this event are the likes of Phil Ivey, Erik Lindgren, Freddy Deeb and Phil Hellmuth. The biggest surprise has to be Negreanu going out early as he had to be one of the favorites to take this one down.
Two more tournaments will kick off today so there will be plenty of action to catch up by the end of the night. Keep coming back for the latest at the 2009 World Series of Poker!
As poker players it is in our nature to gamble, and the World Series of Poker is no different. Every year pros, amateurs and fans alike make there picks on who they think will win the bracelets. Just like sports there will be favorites every year, players who are coming into the events on hot streaks and good runs. Before you go out and make these bets you should educate yourself and figure out a good strategy, find out who the most consistent pros are out there and put your faith in there ability to win tournaments. Its important to remember that not all television professional players play full World Series of Poker schedules, while others play all the tournaments they can possibly fit in. So here we go I am going to list off the 5 best bets heading into any World Series, these will be the guys that I think are most likely to win bracelets on consistent basis’. They might not be the best players or the most decorated, but there names will be familiar to you, they probably show up in a lot of big tournaments and have big finishes.
Chris “Jesus” Ferguson – Mr. Ferguson, more affectionately known as “Jesus” was the first person to come to mind when I was making this list. Owner of 5 World Series of Poker bracelets and more then 50 cashes, he is up there on the list of all time earners, taking home more then $4 million in the Series alone. Now Chris hasn’t won a bracelet in some time, but he is still one of the best all around players in the world and he had six cashes and 3 final tables last year. Jesus is the definition of due and I think he will get that long awaited bracelet when the 2009 Series roles around. He hasn’t won a bracelet since 2003, but in that time frame he has won three circuit events and has multiple big finishes including a heads up loss in the Seven Card Stud World Championship in 2008. Feel free to place a bet on Ferguson this year, he is due and I think 2009 might just be the year of Jesus.
Daniel Negreanu – Coming off a big World Series of Poker Europe in 2008, the Canadian born Negreanu will be looking to cash in again in 2009. Daniel has four career bracelets including a limit holdem title in 2008, previous to that he hadn’t won a bracelet since 2004. I don’t know what it is, but “Kid Poker” seems to show up for the big events, he has tremendous skill and great ability to make his way through big fields. Negreanu is the kind of guy you like to root for, not only is he one of the top players in the world, but he is fun at the tables. If my opinion counted, if I had one bet to make heading into the 2009 Series in would be for Daniel to win a bracelet. He will be looking to follow up a great 2008 with an even better 2009.
Allen Cunningham - You might not hear as much about Allen as you do some of the other great players in the world, but he is up there with 5 career bracelets. Allen didn’t win a bracelet in 2008, and I don’t think he will get shut out 2 years in a row. Cunningham is one of the most intelligent and methodical holdem players in the world and I don’t think you can keep him down long. Still just 30 something Allen has a real chance to put his name in the mix as one of the best all around players to ever play the game. The smart money heading into 2009 might be on Allen Cunningham, he is one of the best players in the world who will be hungry for his 6th bracelet.
Phil Hellmuth – You can’t make this list without including the “Poker Brat”, well he does have 11 career bracelets. Phil is the best no limit holdem player in the world, at least he’ll tell you that. I happen to agree that if its no limit Phil’s the favorite. With 11 career bracelets all in holdem you can’t fight the fact that he has earned his spot on top of the list. Phil had 6 cashes in last years Series in Vegas and although he didn’t win his 12th he did make 3 final tables. The one thing about Phil you know is that he takes the World Series of Poker seriously and will do whatever he can to be known as the best holdem player to ever live. You can’t blame a guy for striving for greatness and if you get a price on Phil in 2009 jump at the chance to gamble with him.
Mike Matusow – I don’t; know why, but this one is kind of a gut feeling. “The Mouth” has had a lot of great showing in big tournaments over the years, especially in the main event. He did manage to win his 3rd bracelet last year in a low ball event and made a deep run at the main event once again finishing 30th. If I had to place my money on a big named pro to win the main event, I think I would choose Mike, he has proven he shows up for the big ones.
Well, obviously this is just my opinion, and there are a lot of names to choose from. Special mentions to Erik Seidel, Layne Flack and the 2008 Europe main event champ John Juanda. Always remember gamble only with money you can afford to loose, and that no bet is a sure bet.
Born in China, Johnny Chan has become one of the best players in World Series of Poker history. Johnny sits second all time with 10 WSOP bracelets just one behind Phil Hellmuth. Chan’s first World Series of Poker cash was in 1983 and he plays a full schedule to this day with 3 cashes in 2008. Johnny is popular on poker television and is widely considered one of the top 5 players in World Series of Poker history. Chan came to the United States in 1968, he is married and has six children. Johnny won is first bracelet in 1985 and his tenth in 2005.
Heading in to the 1987 World Series of Poker Main Event Chan had already had one bracelet to his name, but the Main Event would be where his career truly started. The Main Event final table in 1987 was littered with poker greats like Howard Lederer, Dan Harrington and Mickey Appleman. At the final table Johnny proved that he was a player to reckon with and beat all those top pros and took home the title. Chan beat Frank Henderson heads up and won $650 000. Once again in 1988 Chan made the final table of the Main Event and once again a lot of names you will recognize were at the table with him, guys like Erik Seidel, TJ Cloutier and Humberto Brenes. Once again Johnny showed that he was one of the top pros in the world besting Seidel heads up to take home the bracelet and $700 000. The 1989 Main Event, Johnny was now the man to watch with back to back wins and three career bracelets. This is where legends are born, Chan once again was there in the end. He battled his way to once again being heads up for the title, and what happened was two future poker legends would take battle. Phil Hellmuth vs Johnny Chan, maybe poker fans didn’t realize it at the time, but it was legend vs legend. Hellmuth would take home the title, but Chan would still take home more then $300 000. We will never see another player make three main event final tables in a row, let alone win 2 and finish second once. Johnny had made his name in the poker world, but he wasn’t done there, he would win more bracelets and even make another Main Event final table in 1992.
Chan wouldn’t win his fourth bracelet until 1994 when he won a seven card stud tournament. His fifth came in 1997 when he outlasted Barry Greenstein, Steve Zolotow and Lyle Berman in winning the deuce to seven lowball bracelet. Chan won his sixth bracelet in 2000 and in 2002 he met an old friend in the no limit holdem heads up tournament. That player was Phil Hellmuth and this time Johnny took home the title and his seventh bracelet. His eighth and ninth bracelet both came in 2003 in event 15 and event 24. In 2005 Chan won his then record 10th bracelet in a pot limit holdem tournament. To win that 10th title he had to beat Phil Laak heads up, which earned him over $300 000. Since then Johnny has cashed eight times and most recently finished 4th in an Omaha event in 2008.
Overall Johnny has 10 bracelets and cashed 41 times in his career. Over his 25 year career Johnny has made more then $4 million at the World Series of Poker alone. 25 years and 27 final tables made, Chan is one of the most consistent poker players in poker history. He has had success playing Holdem of all limits and styles, Omaha and seven card games. The first thing that jumps out at me when I look at Johnny’s WSOP record is the amount of great players he has run into over the years. Chan vs Hellmuth will always be debated, who is the best player of there generation. I am not about to pick, but they will forever be linked in World Series of Poker history.
Johnny is more then just the World Series he commonly appears on Poker After Dark on NBC. He also won Poker Superstars and has career tournament earnings of more then $6.5 million. Johnny has written two books, Play Poker Like Johnny Chan and Million Dollar Holdem. He runs his own online poker site, owns fast food franchises and wants to eventually open his own casino. Chan is a business man and a great poker player who will strive for success in all his endeavors.
I am sure if you took a poll of professional poker players, it would be close to unanimous that Johnny should be considered one of the best players to ever live. With back to back main event titles and 10 bracelets in total Chan has proven that he belongs in that category. He will forever be linked with Phil Hellmuth, and people will wonder who truly is the best player of there generation. Chan is currently sitting tied for second all time in career World Series of Poker wins with poker legend Doyle Brunson, just one behind Phil Hellmuth’s 11 bracelets. I don’t think Johnny is going anywhere, he loves playing poker and I think he will play as long as physically possible. Chan continues to frequently be on poker programming and is still at the top of his game. In the near future Johnny Chan will win his 11th bracelet and the debate will continue Chan or Hellmuth. In a dream world some day they will play heads up to set the record for most career bracelets, but that becomes less likely the bigger the game gets. Chan has proven he could win against the best pros in the world and that he can win in big field events. Johnny Chan is one of the best poker players to ever live, in any generation.
Barbara Enright is the first woman to ever make the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event. In 1995, Barbara Enright headlined a final tabled that featured Chuck Thompson, Captain Tom Franklin, and eventual champion Dan Harrington. It took an unlucky outdraw by Brent Carter to eliminate her from the event, but her legend remained.
Enright followed up her performance in 1995 by becoming the first woman to ever win an open event at the World Series of Poker. She took down the 1996 Pot Limit Holdem event for $180,000 and the coveted gold bracelet. This was her third overall bracelet. She won bracelets in the Women’s Seven Card Stud event in both 1986 and 1994.
Enright is known around the poker world for her ability as a stud player. In fact, many of her earlier tournament wins and cashes were in Stud. She has proven herself as a competent No Limit Holdem player as well, holding numerous cashes and 4 titles in No Limit Holdem. In 2007, Enright was inducted into the Professional Poker Hall of Fame with 11 time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.
2008 has been a banner year for Enright. She has 10 cashes so far this year in tournaments, including 6 final tables and 3 wins. Earlier in 2008, Enright was inducted into the Women’s Poker Hall of Fame. A tournament was held as part of the induction festivities. Enright showed the field why she was in the Hall of Fame by winning the event.
I actually know Barbara from traveling around the tournament circuit and she is one of the friendliest professionals that you will ever meet. She can play every game inside of a casino and she plays them better than most men. Her friendly personality is not just an act she puts on either. Whether I see her in LA, Las Vegas, or wherever, she always is friendly to anyone that approaches her and is very gracious in either victory or defeat. Barbara also was gracious enough to teach me a thing or two about the game of Razz and her advice got me started on becoming a solid Razz player.
Some of us were sitting with Enright in the 2006 Orleans Open discussing the issue of Women’s Only No Limit Holdem events. Barbara spoke up and said that she enjoys playing in them for the fact that she can go in them and be very aggressive. She says that most women play the game too soft and that when a woman goes into a tournament and plays aggressive like a man, they can do very well.
Barbara Enright is an old school professional poker player that has been around the block quite a few times. Even at her age, she is more than a match for many of the players that she faces. Regardless of the fact that people claim poker to be a young person’s game, Enright proves that anyone at any age can play this game at a high level.
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.
The World Series of Poker Main Event began on Saturday at the Empire Casino in London. 159 players put up £10,000 on this Day 1a to take their shot at this championship, which is the last bracelet of this year. Many of poker’s top names from both the United States and Europe gathered to take their shot at the title. Annette Obrestad is the current defending champion of this event. She became the youngest person in history to win a bracelet last year and the only woman to ever win a WSOP Main Event title.
Big names that participated in today’s event included Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Scott Fischman, Andy Black, Erik Seidel, Josh Arieh, Erica Schoenberg, Steve Zolotow, Ross Boatman, Joe Beevers, Phil Hellmuth, Ted Lawson, Kathy Liebert, Vanessa Rousso, Alexander Kravchenko, Chad Brown, Eli Elezra, Freddy Deeb, Patrik Antonius, Max Pascatori, Phil Ivey, David Benyamine, and Howard Lederer.
David Benyamine was the first big name to be eliminated from this Main Event. Apparently he had tangled early on with Andy Bloch and Bloch took around 6,000 of Benyamine’s 20,000 stack before they got tangled in another huge hand. There was a lot of action preflop between the two before the flop fell 4c-4d-6d. Benyamine bet out 2,800 and Bloch raised enough to put Benyamine all-in. Benyamine went into the tank, probably sensing what was about to come. He finally called showing Kc-Ks. As he was probably guessing, Bloch flipped over Ah-Ad. Benyamine was unable to catch a king and his day was done early.
Howard Lederer was the next to exit. Chris Moorman called a raise to 1,000 from Lederer preflop and the flop fell 9-6-3. Moorman checked and Lederer bet 1,500. Moorman check-raised to 4,800 and Lederer called. When the turn fell a 7, Moorman bet enough to put Lederer all-in and Lederer called. Moorman showed pocket sixes for a set of sixes and Lederer showed pocket aces. The river was a blank, and Lederer headed for the door.
One interesting note was that the seat formerly occupied by David Benyamine was shortly replaced by Erica Schoenberg. Schoenberg is the fiancé of David Benyamine. Also apparently the crews over in Europe aren’t quite sure who Phil Hellmuth is. An intern with ESPN asked Phil Hellmuth to fill out a player profile sheet, which is kind of funny considering that there shouldn’t be a poker fan out there that doesn’t know who he is.
It took a while for the next big name to fall by the wayside, but finally Layne Flack was all in with Ah-Kc against Ac-10s. The flop fell 10c-9c-10h, leaving Flack drawing thin. He was drawing dead after the 8c fell on the turn. Mike Matusow was among the early chip leaders after knocking out Finnish rocker Voittlo Rintala. Around the mid point of the day, Matusow had 75,000 chips.
I’m not sure why Odin is pissed right now, but he must be, because Thor Hansen had a really bad beat put on him at the river. Hansen and Liebert were all in against Liya Gerasimova after a pre-flop raising war. Hansen held Jc-Jd, Liebert held Qc-Qh, Gerasimova held Kh-Kd. Hansen was far behind and fell behind further on the flop of Ad-10h-3d. It must have seemed that Odin smiled upon Hansen when the Jh hit the river, giving Hansen a set. Odin was clearly just teasing Hansen, because the fell the Ks, giving Liebert a straight, and sending Hansen home. Why Odin, why?
Barny Boatman was eliminated later in the day when he moved all in with pocket 10’s. Isaac Haxton had limped in pre-flop with pocket aces and made the call. The board missed both players and Boatman is done. Linda Lee will not be making another final table at this WSOP Europe. She was all in with pocket sixes against the pocket tens of Praz Bansi. Neither player hit the board and Lee was eliminated. Eli Elezra was one of the short stacks the entire day and had survived a few all-in’s. Finally he went all-in with 7h-8h and was called by Andy Bloch who was holding A-K. An ace hit the board, and Elezra hit the bricks.
Phil Hellmuth had been grinding for the better part of the day himself. Earlier in the day he was all the way down to 4,000 after losing to a set holding pocket aces. He had moved up a little over 10,000 and had hovered around there most of the evening. During the last level, Hellmuth was in the big blind and was raised by the small blind. Hellmuth then moved over the top all-in. The call to the small blind was 8,000. After tanking for a while, the small blind made the call. Hellmuth flipped over Ad-Kc and the small blind showed As-Qd. Hellmuth had his opponent dominated. The flop came with two kings on it to give Hellmuth a set. With the hand, he doubled up to 24,800 and remained alive for Day 2. Hellmuth was head saying, “That’s what I’ve been waiting for and I have them dominated. That’s the first time I’ve been all in today.”
Josh Arieh was among the chip leaders when he ran into a big hand against Scott Montgomery. Montgomery went all in preflop for around 40,000 chips and Arieh inexplicably made the call with Ac-Jd. Montgomery flipped over As-Kc. An ace hit both players when the flop fell 7s-5h-Ad. The turn and river fell running 8’s and Arieh was reduced to 43,000 in chips.
86 players remain out of the 159 players that started this Day 1a. Many pros were eliminated on this first day including big names such as Phil Ivey, Max Pescatori, and Patrik Antonius. Justin “BoostedJ” Smith is the Day 1a chip leader with 158,925 in chips. Andy Bloch finished third in chips and will enter Day 2 with 97,100. Many top names remain in contention for this title and Day 2 should prove interesting. Day 1b will commence at 1pm Sunday London Time.
Wedneday kicked off the £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event at the World Series of Poker Europe. 165 players put up £5,000 each to take their shot at the PLO bracelet. This event attracts the best players from both the US and Europe. PLO is the most popular form of poker in Europe, and it is expected that the Americans will have their hands full in the event.
Many big names put up the cash for this event. Daniel Negreanu, Jens Voertmann, Gus Hansen, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Josh Arieh, Brandon Cantu, Patrik Antonius, Ross Boatman, Phil Hellmuth, Nanad Medic, Layne Flack, John Juanda, Freddy Deeb, Eli Elezra, David Benyamine, Barny Boatman, Andy Black, Tom “Durrrr” Dwan, Thor Hansen, Doyle Brunson, Allen Cunningham, Erik Seidel, Robert Willaimson III, Chris Ferguson, and Andy Bloch all were on hand as well as many other known players.
This event gave each player the option of a free 10,000 chip rebuy that could either be taken at the beginning of their tournament or at the any time during the first 3 levels. Daniel Negreanu was the first big name to be eliminated from the event. He apparently took his rebuy at the start of the event and proceeded to lose it in quick fashion.
Action was hot and heavy early on. The 2007 WSOP Europe Pot Limit Omaha Champion Dario Alioto was eliminated shortly after Negreanu. Jens Voertmann was also eliminated around the same time. Voertmann won the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the WSOP in Vegas in June.
Gus Hansen was eliminated by Jason Mercier. At showdown the board showed Ad-8-6d-Q-J. Mercier held 8-7-6-4 for two pair and Hansen held 9-7-5-3 for a couple of draws that missed. Mike “The Mouth” Matusow did not make it to the dinner break in this event. We aren’t sure of how he was eliminated but when someone mentioned how quiet it was, we realized it was due to his departure.
Josh Arieh and Phil Ivey were eliminated not long after the dinner break. Arieh was all in against Donnacha O’Dea. Arieh had a straight and O’Dea a set of aces. The river card paired the board, giving O’Dea the full house and Arieh the shaft. Phil Ivey was down to around 3,000 after the dinner break and shortly was eliminated. He’s probably looking for Mike Matusow to try and start a Chinese Poker game.
Sherkhan Farnood was playing in this event while playing the £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. final table. On a board of 4h-Qh-3s-9h-Jd, Farnood was all in against Erik Seidel and Andreas Krause. Farnood showed Qs-8s-10c-9c for the nut straight. Seidel only held a pair of aces. Krause mucked his hand. After the hand Farnood tripled up to 37,000.
Annette Obrestad was soon eliminated by David Williams. Obrestad had flopped a full house with the board showing 5-5-7 on the flop. She had a 5-7 in her hand. Sadly, Williams had pocket sevens for the nut boat. As a result, Obrestad floated down the river.
This event will not bring John Phan his third bracelet of the year. On a flop of 8h-7h-7c, Phan bet out 3,000. Jani Sointula raised the size of the pot, followed by Phan moving all-in. Sointula called. Phan showed Ad-Ah-8c-10c for aces up. Sointula showed Qs-8s-5h-6h for two pair and the straight flush draw. The turn fell the Kh, giving Sointula the flush and the river card fell the Kc, sealing the win for Sointula.
Three big names were eliminated in short order. First Richard Ashby was eliminated by Surindar Sunar. Soon afterwards, Sunar was eliminated when his two pair were outdrawn by another opponents better two pair. Patrik Antonius went all in holding a pair of queens but the hand was outdrawn and he was sent to the rail as well.
Barry Greenstein was eliminated by Neil Channing. As a result Greenstein is short another copy of his book. Channing made the final table in the Event #1 of the World Series of Poker Europe. Adam Junglen and Tom “Durrrr” Dwan didn’t fare much better and were eliminated shortly after the beginning of the last level of the night.
David Williams had a roller coaster of a day. He was down to just 13,000 chips at one point in the evening but increased it to over 100,000 by the last level. Part of that stack came at the expense of Jeff Madsen. Williams crippled Madsen when he flopped a set of kings, outdrawing Madsens’ aces. Then shortly afterwards, Madsen was all in with a straight draw and a pair. Williams had a pair of queens and a backdoor flush draw. The board came running hearts to fill out Williams’ flush and Madsen was out the door.
Jason Mercier finished the day as the chip leader with 209,800 in chips. Shaun Deeb was next with 190,700. Bruno Fitoussi was the high pro of the day with 123,700. Other notables are David Williams at 122,400, Phil Laak at 111,400, and Andy Bloch at 109,200. Chris Ferguson, Erik Seidel, Robert Williamson III and Allen Cunningham are all around the middle of the field. Doyle Brunson is still alive in his hunt for his 11th bracelet, but he is one of the short stacks with 36,500. Don’t count him out however as this a few well timed pots could turn him from a short stack to a chip leader.
Many pros bit the dust in this day one, including fan favorite Daniel Negreanu. David Benyamine and Phil Hellmuth also did not make it through the day. 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Champion Freddy Deeb couldn’t find any magic on this day.
The day started with 165 players but in the end only 45 players remained in this Pot Limit Omaha Championship. While the pace of play on Day 1 was fast and furious, expect Thursday’s play to be a little more subdued due to the large stacks that will be in play. Players will return at 3 P.M. on Thursday London time to make a march towards the final table in this event.
