Day 2 of the £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Event at the World Series of Poker saw 45 players return to make their march towards the final table. Among the big names still in contention included Robert Williamson III, Sorel Mizzi, Doyle Brunson, Andy Bloch, David “DevilFish” Ulliott, Allen Cunningham, Max Pescatori, Joe Beevers, Erik Seidel, and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson. Play started at 3 p.m. London time and would continue through to the final table.
The “DevilFish” was the first of the big names to fall and it didn’t take long. On a board of Kd-Jc-5d, Ulliott moved all-in and was called by Markus Golser. Golser claimed to have the Fish in bad shape, but Ulliott disagreed. DevilFish flipped over Ks-Kh-7c-2s for a set of kings. Golser flipped over Ad-Qd-10c-4s for a wrap and a flush draw. Golser was actually the favorite at this point with 17 outs. The turn fell the 9h, giving Golser a straight. DevilFish needed the board to pair, otherwise his day was over. The river was the 6c and DevilFish swam down stream.
Jason Mercier extended his chips lead after eliminating two players, one being Robert Williamson III. On a board of 6d-Ac-10d, Williamson checked to Mercier, who bet out 10,500. Williamson then check-raised pot and Mercier flat called. On the turn of the 5d, Williamson moved all-in for around 16,000. Mercier called and flipped over Kd-Jd with two other cards for a king high flush. Williamson showed two aces with two random cards for a set of aces. He would need the board to pair to win, but alas, the river fell the 8s and Williamson was eliminated. Mercier moved up to 340,000 chips with his win.
Doyle Brunson was the next player eliminated when both he and Erik Friberg flopped a set. Brunson had flopped a set of nines and Friberg a set of tens. All the money went in on the turn and Brunson was unable to catch a fourth nine. Brunson will have to win the Main Event to win his 11th bracelet.
Shortly after the first break, Andy Bloch was all in against Erik Friberg. Bloch had flopped two pair and a gutshow straight draw. Friberg had a better gutshow straight draw and a pair of queens. The turn improved Bloch’s two pair, but the river completed Friberg’s straight and Bloch was out the door.
Erik Seidel was eliminated in 25th place by Theo Jorgensen. Seidel had aces and Jorgensen with some semi coordinated straight cards. Unfortunately for Seidel, Jorgensen flopped two pair and Seidel never improved on his aces. Bruno Fitoussi was the next player to fall just before the dinner break. He moved all in with aces on a jack high flop but Tomi Nyback had flopped two pair. The two pair were good and Fitoussi got an extended dinner break.
Only 18 players would be paid from this event. It wasn’t long before we would reach 19 players and the bubble period began. Pot Limit Omaha is usually a game where the bubble period is not that lengthy due to the drawing potential of a lot of hands. It does induce a bit of gambling. The bubble period didn’t even last 10 minutes in this event as Alex Kravchenko was all in preflop against Ilkka Koskien. Kravchenko held Ah-Ad-9c-10d. Koskien held As-Ac-2c-10c. This hand had split written all over it. That is until the flop anyway. The flop fell Qc-Qd-7c to give Koskien a flush draw. The turn fell the 7h. This pot would be a chop unless a club fell, and indeed a club did fall on the river. The 8c fell, and Kravchenko was this event’s bubble boy.
Elimination then became fast and furious. Jolyne Thompson moved all in with her short stack holding Js-Jc-2c-9h. Allen Cunningham made the call holding Kd-7s-6h-4s. Cunningham would take the lead with trips when the flop fell 7d-3d-7h. Thompson would need a jack to survive, but a jack did not come on the turn or the river. Jolyne Thompson was our 18th place finisher making £14,438.
Stephen Kjaerstad was the next to fall. Kjaerstad raised preflop and was called by Theo Jorgensen. On a flop of 5s-6s-Jd, Kjaerstad bet out 21,500 and Jorgesen potted. Kjaerstad called and was all-in. Jorgensen held 4s-3d-3s-4c and Kjaerstad held 7d-As-8d-Ad. The Qs fell on the turn, giving Jorgensen the flush and eliminating Kjaerstad in 17th place.
About 15 minutes later, Theo Jorgensen raised to 11,000 and Allen Cunnigham potted to 39,000. Jorgensen called. On a flop of 10s-4h-4s, Jorgensen put Cunningham all in holding 9h-4c-Qh-10c for fours full and Cunningham held As-Ah-Qd-2d. An ace did not fall on the turn or river, and Allen Cunningham become our 16th place finisher.
Chris Bjorin followed Cunningham out the door soon after when he was all-in against Joe Beevers. Bjorin held Aces at the river but Beever was sitting on nines full. Bjorin was the 16th place finisher making £16,500. Justin Smith was the next out when Tomi Nyback flopped the nut flush. Smith didn’t have any redraws and exited in 14th place, also taking home £16,500.
Padraig Parkinson was eliminated next. He had flopped a straight draw, but his opponent Jason Mercier caught running aces to make trips and Parkinson was the 13th place finisher. Joe Beevers was knocked out next when his As-5s-Kc-8c ran into the Ah-Ks-Jh-10d of Jason Mercier. Beever flopped a pair of fives on a 5d-Qs-6d board, but the 9d gave Mercier a straight draw. He completed his straight draw with the 8h on the river and Beevers became the 12th place finisher, taking home £18,562.
Neil Channing was knocked out next in 11th place when his pair and straight draw couldn’t outdraw Tomi Nyback’s flopped two pair. Ilkka Koskinen then was our final elimination of the day. He was all in on the turn of 8h-7-h-3d-Jc against Theo Jorgensen. Koskinen held Ac-Jh-10h-9d for a straight and a gutshot straight flush draw. Jorgensen held Js-9s-9c-8c for jacks and eights. The river fell the Jd, which gave Jorgensen a full house and make Koskinen our final table bubble boy.
Our final nine looks like this:
Seat 1: Erik Friberg 189,000 Seat 2: David Penly 162,000 Seat 3: Jason Mercier 650,000 Seat 4: Sorel Mizzi 290,000 Seat 5: Tomi Nyback 434,000 Seat 6: Theo Jorgensen 897,000 Seat 7: Max Pescatori 126,000 Seat 8: Eric Dalby 277,000 Seat 9: Chris Ferguson 282,000
Theo Jorgensen made a late run to take the chip lead from Jason Mercier. Overall, this will be one of the stronger final tables of this World Series of Poker with several big names and a couple of bracelet winners in the mix. The final table will start at 4 p.m. London time on Friday.
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.
Jeff Duval was the next man to exit the stage during an Omaha 8 round. On a board of Kd-Jc-7d-2s-6d, Duvall bet out 16,000 and Lederer raised to 32,000. Duvall called all-in. Lederer showed Ad-5d-4c-9h for the nut flush and a second nut low. Duval shook his head in agreement and said, “That’s good.” Duval mucked his hand and was eliminated in 4th place. £22,000 was Duval’s reward for a strong showing.
With three players remaining, Howard Lederer was in the lead with 563,000 chips. Sherkhan Farnood was second with 295,000 chips and Ivo Donev was last with 255,000. Ivo Donev took a couple of beats and was getting short stacked, but then went on a little rush of cards, mostly against Howard Lederer. All of a sudden, the three stacks were fairly even. Lederer was on 410,000, Farnood had 355,000, and Donev with 335,000. At this point it was anyone’s game.
No sooner than you could say switcheroo, things started turning south for Lederer. Lederer ran a large bluff against Ivo Donev in a Stud round and Donev called him down all the way with just a lowly pair of queens. After the hand, Lederer was down to 186,000 chips and Dovev was the new chip leader with 516,000 in chips. As I mentioned before, at this level, things can change quick.
Lederer was able to make a bit of a comeback and moved his stack back up to over 360,000, but then he lost back to back hands. First, in a Razz round, Lederer and Sherkhan Farnood tangled in a hand that saw bets on every street to seventh. On seventh, Farnood caught a 9-low to outdraw the 10-low of Lederer.
Next, in a stud round, Lederer and Donev were in a hand that saw Donev raise a bet from Lederer on Sixth Street. On seventh, Donev bet out and Lederer made the call. Donev showed (6h-5d-3c) 6d-4c-7d-Jh for a straight and Lederer just mucked his hand. After the two hands, Lederer was the short stack with 135,000.
Sherkhan Farnood ended up crippling Ledered a hand later during stud. It appeared that Lederer was either running a bluff, or he was on a draw that missed. Farnood won the hand with just a measly pair of eights. After the hand, Lederer was down to only 22,000.
Lederer was able to win steal the antes the next hand during a Stud 8 round, but the following hand, his completion to 12,000 with an 8d showing saw Farnood raise to 24,000. Donov was also involved in the hand and called along. Lederer moved all in with his last 9,000 and both opponents called. Both opponents created a side pot that saw Farnood bet out on both Fourth Street and Sixth Street. In the end, Farnood showing aces and kings for the high, and Donev showed an eight low for low. Lederer mucked his hand and finished as our 3rd place finisher. £30,250 was Lederer’s prize for his strong finish, but I am sure that Lederer probably feels sick right now. After having such a commanding lead, to finish 3rd is tough.
Heads up play between Ivo Donev and Sherkhan Farnood saw them relatively close in chips. Donev held 654,000 and Farnood held 448,000.
Ivo quickly picked up two pots from Farnood to put him in a commanding lead. First in a Stud 8 round, Donev raised a bet from Farnood on Fifth Street. Farnood caght and open pair of deuces but Donev was the aggressor. Farnood called. Sixth Street brought a Js to Farnood and a 7h to Donev. Farnood checked and Donev bet. Farnood must have put Donev on a huge hand, as he mucked.
Next, during a Holdem round, Donev raised and Farnood called. The flop was Qd-9d-8d. Farnood check raised a bet from Donev, and Donev made the call. The Ad fell on the turn and the action was checked around. The river fell the Kc and Farnood bet out. Donev then raised and Farnood made a crying call on the river. Donev showed Jd-3d for the second nut flush, and Farnood mucked his hand. At this point, Donev had almost a 3 to 1 chip lead with 849,000 chips to Farnood’s 253,000.
At this point, limits were 15,000 and 30,000. It only took one hand to put Farnood back in contention. During a Razz round, a big pot of 230,000 happened. Farnood looked far behind being boardlocked to a Jack-low. Donev had a potential seven-low draw. Surprisingly, the best that Donev could pull off was a J-7 low. Farnood caught perfect on the river and won the pot with a J-6 low. It appeared that Farnood started with A-3-5, chased, and got lucky. I wonder what Phil Hellmuth would say about his play?
Over the course of the next half hour, Farnood won a series of pots that turned the tide into his favor. In fact, Farnood was able to take a 798,000 to 304,000 chip lead. Donev was then dealt a crippling blow during an Omaha 8 round. Most of his chips went into the pot with a board of 2s-8s-4d-7c-6. Donev showed 10c-7s-5c-6d for an eight high straight and a 2-4-5-6-7 low. Farnood showed A-2-10d-9c for the nut straight and a A-2-4-6-7 low. This scooped pot left Donov with only 30,000 chips.
Less than 10 minutes later, the last of Donov’s chips went in on Third Street in a Stud round. Farnood started with split eights and Donev had three clubs and two over cards. Fourth and Fifth Street’s were blanks for both players. Donev picked up a flush draw on sixth when the 7c fell. Farnood picked up a Qh on Seventh Street to make two pair. Donov would need a club to win. Donov’s final card was the 4h, and Sherkhan Farnood wins the £2,500 H.OR.S.E. Event. Ivo Donov received £48,125 for his runner up finish.
110 players started this £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. event. The “worst player of all-time” as proclaimed by Phil Hellmuth, outlasted 109 other opponents to take down the gold bracelet and the £76,999 top prize.
Congratulations to Sherkhan Farnood, £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. Event Champion.
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.
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.
Today final table of this £1,500 No Limit Holdem event started with nine players looking to take their shot at winning their first bracelet. Fuad Serhan was in Seat #1 with 61,000 chips. This was his first ever WSOP final table. Serhan starts as the short stack today. Seat #2 was occupied by Daniel Nutt. He started the day with 207,000 chips and is also playing his first ever WSOP final table. Yevgeniy Timoshenko occupied Seat #3 with 345,000 chips. This 20 years old recently won the APPT Macau Main Event. Seat #4 was occupied by Irishman John Dwyer. He begins today with 511,000 chips. This is his third overall WSOP cash and first final table. Poker pro Ian Woodley was in Seat 5 with 153,000 chips. This is his fourth WSOP cash and first WSOP final table.
Jesper Hougaard could be considered a veteran of making WSOP final tables in today’s field. Today is his second WSOP final table appearance and fifth WSOP cash. He is in Seat #6 and has 89,000 chips. Seat #7 is occupied by our last woman standing, Linda Lee. She currently has 121,000 chips. This is her second overall WSOP cash. 40 year old Neil Channing has the most experience in World Series of Poker events. Today marked his 15th WSOP cash. This is his first ever WSOP final table. He is in Seat #8 and has 199,000 chips. Our chip leader is in Seat #9. 20 year old Adam Junglen starts today with 795,000 chips.
The first few hands of the final table saw the short stacks push and take down the blinds and antes. On the eight hand of the final table, Adam Junglen raised to 25,000. Jesper Hougaard moved all in and received a call from Junglen. Hougaard held 9h-9s and Junglen held As-Kd. The board missed both players and Hougaard was sitting with 200,000 in chips.
Hand 12 saw Fuad Serhan and Daniel Nutt call a raise preflop from Yevgeniy Timoshenko for 25,000. The flop came Qd-10s-8h and Serhan moved all in for 47,000. Only Timoshenko called. Serhan held 10h-10d and Timoshenko held 9h-9c. Timoshenko needed a jack or running nines. The turn card eliminated all hope when the case ten fell, giving Serhan quads and a double up to 175,000.
Daniel Nutt was eliminated the very next hand. Timoshenko raised to 130,000 and a couple of players took a while to fold their hand. They were likely thinking that he was steaming from just losing the prior hand. Action was folded around to Daniel Nutt, who moved all in. Timoshenko called and showed 9d-9c. Nutt showed Kc-Qc. The flop of Ad-8s-10s gave Nutt some hope, but alas, a jack did not fall by the river and Daniel Nutt was eliminated in 9th place. He received £13,222.
Hand 24 saw Jesper Hougaard double up to around 300,000 when his Ad-4d outdrew Adam Junglen’s As-9d on the river. The next hand, Ian Woodley was all in against Hougaard. Woodley held Ah-Qc and Hougaard held 6s-6c. The flop missed both opponents, but the turn 6h gave Hougaard the win with a set of sixes and sent Woodley out in 8th place. He received £17,835 for his efforts.
Linda Lee picked hand 49 to move all in with her short stack. She moved in with 40,000 and was called by Fuad Serhan. Lee was ahead with her Ks-5c against Serhan’s Qd-9d. Her lead did not last long as the flop fell As-Qc-3d. The turn and river both failed to produce a king and Lee finishes as the last woman standing and the 7th place finisher. She would take home £22,448 for her fantastic performance.
Adam Junglen doubled up two opponents in the span of eight hands to reduce his stack to 70,000. First, he lost a big pot to Yevgeniy Timoshenko when Timoshenko turned a flush to outdraw Junglen’s pocket jacks. Eight hands later, Junglen called an all-in bet from Neil Channing but was behind when Channing showed Ac-Kh to his As-Qd. Both players missed the board and Junglen was on life support.
Two hands after doubling Channing up, Adam Junglen moved all-in for 74,000 and John Dwyer made the call. Junglen held Ac-5c and Dwyer held 5d-5h. Junglen hit his three outer on the flop when the board fell Ad-Kc-3d. Dwyer then turned around and hit a 45 to 1 longshot when the 5s fell on the turn making him a set of fives. This left Junglen drawing dead and heading to the rail in 6th place. He took home £28,598 and dreams of what could have been.
It took 40 hands to eliminate the next player. John Dwyer moved all-in preflop and was called by Yevgeniy Timoshenko. Dwyer held 5c-5d and Timoshenko held Kc-Kh. Neither player hit the flop and Dwyer was eliminated in 5th place. £36,285 was Dwyer’s prize for his three days of effort.
Six hands later, Jesper Hougaard moved all-in from the small blind and Neil Channing called. Hougaard had him covered. Channing held 8h-8c and Hougaard held Ah-6s. The flop of Jc-Jd-10d missed both players, but gave Hougaard additional outs. The turn fell the 10s, counterfeiting Channing’s eights and leaving Channing with only two outs to win and four outs to chop. The river card of the 5c sent Channing to the rail in 4th place, earning him £44,588.
By the time we reached three way action, Jesper Hougaard had a nearly 3 to 1 chip lead over Yevgeniy Timoshenko and nearly a 5 to 1 lead over Fuad Serhan. Play continued through the dinner break and for quite a while afterwards. Finally on hand 157, Jesper Hougaard moved all-in and was called by Yevgeniy Timoshenko. Timoshenko held 4s-4h and Hougaard held Ad-Jd. The flop put Hougaard in the lead when the board fell 5h-Ac-9c. Timoshenko was unable to catch a four on either the turn or river, and Timonshenko becomes our 3rd place finisher. He took home £55,350 for his efforts.
Jesper Hougaard held over a 4 to 1 chip leads heading into heads-up play with Fuad Serhan. Heads-up play lasted only five hands. On hand 162 of this final table, Fuad Serhan raised to 120,000 from the button. Hougaard moved all-in and Serhan called. Serhan held Ac-Kc and Hougaard held Ad-Jd. In one fell swoop, Serhan went from being a dominating favorite to eliminated. The board fell 10d-6d-5d, giving Hougaard the nut flush and instant win. The turn and river were irrelevant and Fuad Serhan is our runner up, taking home £89,175. Jesper Hougaard is the champion of Event #1 of this year’s World Series of Poker Europe. In addition to the gold bracelet, Hougaard wins £144,218.
Congratulations to Jesper Hougaard, Event #1 Champion.
