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 what was the largest field ever in a non-championship event, Steve Sung outlasted everyone else and came out on top of the 6012 person field. The tournament had been extended an extra day as the final table was reached late Tuesday Night. It turned out to be a smart move as the final table took over 9 more hours to settle the winner. Steve Sung took over the table and used his aggressive style to bully his way to a bracelet. His opponent had no chance on the last hand as his 88 only had two outs against Sung’s KK. Sung took home $771,106 as the champion and of course the distinction of winning one of the largest field WSOP Events ever.
Jason Mercier won his first WSOP bracelet in Event #5, the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event. He did what he was supposed to do as the most talented player on the final table, win! With all of the other professionals coming up short, he finally took one down in a large field. In all, 809 players entered and Jason will take home $237,462 for his efforts. Jason Mercier is a young player, but you would never know it from his demeanor at the tables. Calm, cool and collected is an understatement. This is a name that we are going to hear a lot about in future.
Event #6, the World Championship 7 Card Stud event was also supposed to crown a champion by the end of the evening, but last report still had 2 people remaining. Look for the final results of this tournament in the next report. All we can really say is that Eric Drache and Freddie Ellis are still alive.
Event #7, the $1,500 NL Hold’em event wrapped up day two with only 59 players remaining. This was another huge field with 2791 players starting the tournament. There are very few big names left in this tournament and an unknown by the name of Jason Kalb is currently leading the way with 680,000. Plenty of short stacks in play here and we can expect some fast and furious eliminations when play resumes.
Event #8, the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball wrapped up play with only 7 people remaining. The one name that sticks out like a sore thumb on the leader board is Phil Ivey. While the chip leader has a better than 2:1 advantage on him, we all know his aggressive style could have him up there in a heartbeat. This is the table to watch today! Here are the rankings and chip counts for the remaining players:
1) John Monnette – 259,000 2) Raphael Zimmerman – 238,000 3) Yan Chen – 159,000 4) Elia Ahmadian – 139,900 5) Eric Kesselman – 119,400 6) Phil Ivey – 106,300 7) Rodeen Talebi – 94,500
Wednesday was a busy day as there were also 2 new tournaments starting off. Event #9, the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em 6 Handed event got started with a field of 1459 players. It was an absolute massacre with 1354 players going to the rail on day one. This year’s series has proven the effect that both television and the internet have had on poker. Play is aggressive and fearless. It is tough to recall so many players going out so early in tournaments. As play wrapped up, Doug Lee was leading the way with 200,000 in chips.
The last event of the day was the $2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha game. 455 players entered the tournament and almost 300 of them were shown the door. Seidel’s tournament was all but ended when he flopped middle pair on an all in, but it could not hold up against a flush draw that hit on the river. He was left with a mere 125 in chips and they quickly found their way into the center of the table. Day two will resume on Thursday.
So far, this is a pretty interesting WSOP. The early going seems to be fast and furious and then they all slam on the brakes once the final two tables or so are reached. You can see a dramatic change in the way people are playing from that point forward. The pros continue to have a tough time of it, but they are starting to break through. Mercier is an up and coming young player who made his mark and Ivey is still alive on the final table. Two more tournaments get kicked off on Thursday as the craziness continues.
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!
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.
The final 11 players gathered Wednesday for the final of £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. Event at the World Series of Poker Europe. Howard Lederer, Raul Paez, Erik Albinsson, Ivo Donev, Sherkhan Farnood, Jeffrey Lisandro, Mark Gregorich, Phil Ivey, Yuval Bronshtein, Jeff Duval, and Spencer Lawrence all came together to make a run for the bracelet.
On the very first hand we had a player eliminated. In an Omaha 8 round, Raul Paez raised to 8,000 and Howard Lederer made the call from the big blind. The flop fell 7c-6h-2d and Lederer bet out for 4,000. Paez called. The turn fell the 4c and Lederer put Paez in for his last 5,500. Paez held 10h-Ah-10c-8c for a flush draw, gutshot straight draw, and a bad low. Lederer showed 5h-5s-6s-7h for two pair, a straight draw, and a seven low. The river fell the Jd and Lederer scooped the pot and eliminated Paez in 11th place. Paez received £6,188 for his finish.
Yuval Bronshtein was the next player to fall. During a Stud 8 round Yuval Bronshtein was all in on Fifth Street and Phil Ivey made the call. Bronshstein was on an 8 gutshot straight draw on 6th holding 5s-9h-Ad-8d (Jh-Qd). Ivey was holding a pair of kings. The final card for Bronstein was a 4c, and Bronshstein was eliminated in 10th place. £6,875 was his prize for falling to the great Phil Ivey.
Erik Albinsson was forced to take a stand shortly after, going all in on Fourth Street in a Stud 8 round holding (3d-6d) 5c-Qd). Jeffrey Lisandro made the call with (Ah-4s) 10c-10d. Albinsson caught a 5h on Fifth Street to give him a pair, but Lisandro caught a 4c to put him far in the lead. Albinsson would need running diamonds, a queen, a five, or running kings or aces to win the hand. He lost one of his outs on 6th when Lidsandro caught a 5s. Albinsson caught a 9h. A 6h on Seventh Street missed Albinsson, and he becomes the 9th place finisher, earning £6,875.
The final table was now set with Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Spencer Lawrence, Sherkhan Farnood, Jeffrey Lisandro, Ivo Donev, Mark Gregorich, and Jeff Duval.
It took nearly three hours for the next elimination. Spencer Lawrence was all in on Third Street and three players stayed in the pot. Jeff Duval made an open pair of tens on fourth and Ivey ducked out. Duval bet out on fifth into Howard Lederer, who was showing three spades, and Lederer made the call. Sixth Street showed duval with three cards to a straight on board and Lederer with three wheel cards. Both players checked. The same action occurred on seventh. Lederer could only muster a pair of aces. Duval showed buried kings for kings up. Lawrence only held nines and threes, and Spencer Lawrence was eliminated in 8th place for £8,938. This was Lawrence’s third final WSOP final table this year, all coming in mixed events. It will be interesting to see how he follows up this performance at the WSOP in Las Vegas next year.
One of the strongest performers at the World Series of Poker the last two years has been Jeffrey Lisandro. Including today, he has 10 WSOP cashes in the last two years, 4 final tables, and a bracelet in the 2007 $2,000 Seven Card Stud Event. During a holdem round, with the board showing 6h-4c-Kh-8h, Lisandro raised all-in to 15,000. Howard Lederer made the call. Lisandro showed Jh-Jd for a pair of jacks and a flush draw. Lederer showed 7h-5s for a straight and a weaker flush draw. Unfortunately for Lisandro, the river fell the Ac, and he became out 7th place finisher, taking home £11,000.
Phil Ivey had a roller coaster final table. He was up and down throughout. For an half an hour after the Lisandro elimination, Ivey went on a losing streak and was left with only 14,500. During a stud round, Ivey became involved in a hand with Mark Gregorich. Gregorich bet out into Ivey on every street and even bet dark on Seventh Street. Ivey begrudgingly made the call on seventh with the last of his chips. Gregorich revealed buried queens to go with a pair of sixes showing on his board for queens-up. Ivey mucked his hand and headed for the rail. Phil Ivey was our 6th place finisher, taking home £13,750.
Although Gregorich eliminated Ivey, he still was only sitting on around 32,000 chips. With the limits 6,000-12,000, Gregorich has to make a stand. In a holdem round, the pot was three bet between Sherkhan Farnood and Gregorich. The flop fell Kc-9c-8c. Gregorich bet and Farnood threw out a raise. Gregorich made the call. The turn fell the 4d and Gregorich checked to Farnood, who bet. Gregorich only had 13,000 left and he elected to put the chips in. Farnood called. Farnood showed 5c-5s for a pair and a flush draw and Gregorich showed Ad-Jh for air. A 9s on the river sealed Gregorich’s fate, and he becomes our fifth place finisher. £17,188 was his reward for a strong performance.
Howard Lederer was controlling most of the action at this final table to this point. He had moved up to 553,000 in chips at one point four handed due to a big stud pot between him and Sherkhan Farnood. Lederer is known for being a limit holdem expert, but other than a win in an Aussie Millions preliminary, Lederer has not had a really big score in poker for a while. He holds two bracelets, one in Omaha Hi-Lo and Deuce to Seven Lowball.
While Lederer was the chip leader at this point, things in Limit poker can change quickly. By the time the players were four handed, the limits were 8,000 and 16,000. A couple of pots could mean a big swing in chips.
The conclusion of this event will be posted in the next post. Did Lederer pull off capturing his 3rd bracelet, or did someone else make a startling comeback?
Marc Goodwin was the next player eliminated in this event as he was all in on sixth street against Mark Gregorich. At showdown Gregorich showed 5h-10d-4c-10s-10h-5d-6s for tens-full. Goodwin had four to broadway showing on the board and only showed a deuce as one of his hole cards. He was apparently drawing dead on seventh, and Goodwin is off to collect his £4,812 prize.
Daniel Negraneu was sitting short stacked after a hand against Howard Lederer in a limit holdem round. With a board of 9h-2h-Qs-Jc-Qc, Lederer bet out and Negreanu had to fold. Negreanu was left with only 18,000 in chips. Lederer moved up to 107,000 chips, which was second overall.
The best poker player alive, Phil Ivey, continued to show his dominance in this event. With 14 players left, he was sitting with 124,300 in chips. Jeff Lisandro, winner of the $2,000 Stud Event at the 2007 WSOP was sitting third at 102,000 chips.
Spencer Lawrence has been on a tear in limit events at this year’s World Series of Poker. He had three cashes and two final tables. He finished 2nd in $1,500 Omaha 8 or better event and then 6th in the Limit Holdem Shootout. I was on hand to watch both performances. His other cash was in the $10,000 Limit Holdem Championship where he finished 22nd. Regardless of where he finishes in the event, he is proving himself to be one of the most prolific limit poker players in the world.
Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey got into a raising war on a flop of 7s-9d-6h. When the smoke cleared, Negreanu was all in and showed As-6s-2d-6c for a nut low draw and a set of sixes. Ivey showed 10d-7c-2s-8s for the flopped straight and weak low draw. The turn fell the 2h, counterfeiting Negreanu’s nut low draw, but leaving him a weak low draw. The king of diamonds on the river ended Negreanu’s quest for a bracelet and made him our 14th place finisher.
Mark Gregorich doubled up twice in a row during a stud round against Phil Hellmuth. First he made an eight against Hellmuth’s jack. The very next hand, he was able to secure another double up and move up to 50,000 chips. Hellmuth had been complaining earlier about the dealer’s shuffling habits and continued to do so after these back to back losses.
The Tournament Directors went around and talked to all the players about putting an early end to the event as it appeared that we were nowhere near making the final 8. It was decided that play would conclude at the end of level 13.
Hellmuth’s attacks on the dealer ended up getting out of hand. At one point, he made the dealer cry. The tournament director came over and explained to her that it is not her fault that he is losing. The dealer was so upset that the TD told him that he would receive a penalty if his behavior did not improve.
Phil Ivey put Isaac Haxton all-in during a holdem round. Unfortunately for Haxton, Ivey came out on top. Haxton becomes our 13th place finisher taking home £5,500.
I don’t know if you are a believer in Karma, but sometimes things happen that has to make us wonder. For example, in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event, Prahlad Friedman accused Jeffrey Lisandro of stealing an ante chip during the Main Event. This ended up becoming a big issue when he continued to berate Lisandro for over an hour regarding the “ante theft.” Finally, the Tournament Director had to get involved to restore order. It was later discovered that Lisandro did not steal the ante, but Friedman never apologized. Since that event, Friedman has not been heard of on the tournament scene. He has not cashed in an event in over 2 years. Lisandro on the other hand has had 9 cashes at the WSOP, including 3 final tables and one bracelet. He also finished 2nd in the 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Race. The game he won the bracelet in was 7 Card Stud. In stud, you must ante before each hand.
What does the above have to do with this event? Preflop during a holdem round, Phil Hellmuth angrily threw his chips in announcing all-in. Since this was a limit event, this was actually just a raise. Sherkhan Farnood raised enough to cover Hellmuth and they were off to the races. Just to give you a little background, Farnood had won a few pots earlier in the day and Hellmuth had berated him as being the “worst player in history.”
Hellmuth held As-Kh and Farnood held 3h-3c. The flop came Jd-Qh-Kd to give Hellmuth top pair and a straight draw. The turn fell the 5d. Only two cards in the deck could come to give Farnood the win. The river fell the 3d, giving Farnood a set of threes and eliminated Hellmuth from the event. Hellmuth stormed off to complain about Farnood, the dealer, and anything that folks would listen to him complain about. How much you want to bet that Farnood is the dealer’s new best friend.
Howard Lederer made a late day push and is our current chip leader with 208,500 chips. After his suckout against Phil Hellmuth, Sherkhan Farnood is right behind him with 141,500 chips. Phil Ivey is sitting in fourth position with 114,000. Spencer Lawrence is the middle of the pack with 88,500. Raul Paez is our short stack at the moment with 17,500. With the limits about to go up to 4,000 – 8,000, he is left with just over two big bets.
The final 11 players will return tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. and play until we reach our champion. Also, the £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event starts tomorrow. The best Omaha players from both the U.S. and Europe will gather to take their shot at the bracelet. PLO is the most popular form of poker in Europe, so the Americans will have a disadvantage in tomorrows contest. Play for that event starts at 3 p.m. London time.
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.
