Posted by pokerguru on June 26, 2009
In what seemed like an eternity, the Seniors Event finally crowned a winner and it seems as though it could not have happened to a better person. Davis was contemplating having to go back to work to make ends meet, but he managed to turn his $1,000 buy in into a little financial security with the $437,358 first place prize. It looked a little desperate for him when all of the chips were pushed in as his A9 was totally dominated by the AJ of Buller, but the miracle turn continued to show its face and when the 9 hit, a thunderous roar came from around the table. Michael Davis is the Seniors NL Hold’em World Champion!
In other tournaments…
While it has already been mentioned in a previous post, Jeff Lisandro winning a third bracelet in a single WSOP warrants a quick review. The last time that someone won 3 bracelets in a single season was when Ivey did it in 2002. However, the fact that he has done it in all three versions of 7 Card Stud is simply incredible. He has been playing incredible and is now one of the favorites for player of the year.
Event 45 is down to the final 14 and should be an early finisher on Thursday. This is a tournament that has moved along nicely during each session and with the chip leader having about 30% of the chips in play, the rest of the field is going to have a very tough time of it when they get into pots with him. Expect fast and furious action when this one resumes on Friday.
Event 46, the Omaha Hi/Low Split Event, has made it down to the final 23 and they will play to a winner on Friday. This one has seen some radical changes on the leader board for the entire tournament and it would be no surprise to see that trend continue. Mark Tenner is current chip leader with 285,000 in his stack.
The Mixed Hold’em Event got underway on Wednesday and had a star studded field. Barry Greenstein has taken the chip lead with 177,200 in chips, but the every annoying Hasan Habib is a close second with 165,000. If you don’t remember Habib, he is the one that did this little monkey dance around the tables a few years back every time he eliminated a player. A new rule has been invoked just because of his antics that does not allow a player to leave their seat to celebrate a victory in a hand. Eli Elezra is also high up on the leader board as well as Daniel Negreanu.
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Filed Under: WSOP
Posted by pokerguru on June 22, 2009
Since the poker boom of 2005, Doyle Brunson has not faired very well in WSOP tournaments. He has only cashed 6 times since his last bracelet win and has only one final table to his credit. The multi-day format and are not an old man’s game anymore and while he has continued to dominate on the cash tables, the tournament would has passed him by. However, Doyle has been making some noise and is sitting pretty in third place overall in the Seven Card Stud Championship.
This table is actually loaded with talent as Scotty Nguyen, Jeff Lisasandro and Lyle Berman are all still loaded for bear in what should be a great final day. Abe Mosseri managed to hold onto his chip lead for one more day, but the odds are against him holding off this talented field. There are only 12 players remaining and you know every person in the room is going to be pulling for Big Papa.
Event 36 missed making the final table by 8 players. This tournament appeared as though it was on a good pace to continue down, but the brakes were hit as the money started growing and play has once again come to a grinding halt forcing the final table to play a much longer day than anticipated. Corwin Cole is the most experienced player at the table with a whopping 4 WSOP cashes, but Steven Tabb is holding the lead with just over a million chips in his stack.
Event 38 kicked off on Friday and it still has a mountain of players remaining. Phil Hellmuth made an early run as did Kid Poker, but both are nowhere to be seen on the leader board now. The overall leader is David Baker with 72,100 in chips.
There are two more events kicking off on Saturday and you can expect to see a monster field in Event 39. With only one event going yesterday, players may be a little antsy, well rested and looking for action. The second tournament of the day will be the World Championship of Pot Limit Omaha. The $10,000 buy in assures us of two things: a small field and a lot or professionals. Expect to see Negreanue, Ivey, Clements and several other big names to made a deep run in this tournaments.
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Filed Under: WSOP
Posted by pokerguru on June 16, 2009
One of the most prestigious poker titles that any player can win is the Heads-up Championship. After two very long days, we are finally down to 8 players and all three matches will be played today until we have a champion. One of the most feared players in the world is still alive as Johnny Chan is on his game and looking for his 11th bracelet. Here are the matchups for the remaining 8:
Leo Wolpert –vs- Dustin Wolf
Jamin Stokes –vs- Johnny Chan
Nathan Doudney –vs- Bryan Pelligrino
John Duthie –vs- Steve O’Dwyer
Event 28 continued to move slowly and play was stopped at the 3am deadline. However, they still have 27 players left in the tournament and will be back early on Monday to get this one done. Play is scheduled to start at 1pm. Joe Simmons is the current leader with 1,100,000, but there are several players hot on his heels and well within striking distance. It would be a surprise if they don’t get close to the 3am deadline again to get the bracelet decided on.
Event 30 ended up having 436 people enter and they are down to 109. JC Tran is the current leader with 176,900 in chips. He has a lot of competition for the top spot though as John Juanda, Eli Elezra and Andy Bloch are all in the top 20. Event 31 started with 770 players and was the late starting tournament of the evening. Sabic Sebastian is the overall leader with 72,700 in chips and Marco Traniello (55,000) and Andrew Black (54,300) are on the first page of the leader board.
Another World Championship Event kicks off tonight at the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Event will get underway. There were some noticeable absences from the last couple of tournaments which should mean that this field is going to be loaded with a lot of well rested professionals. Don’t be surprised to see the likes of Hellmuth, Negreanu, Lindgren, Brunson and Harmon going deep in this one.
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Posted by pokerguru on June 15, 2009
At one point, it looked like Clements was going to run away with Event 27, the Pot Limit Omaha Hi-low Split 8 or Better Tournament. He was making all the right moves and then in a matter of 13 minutes he went from massive chip leader to the rail. He had to feel as though he had been run over by a train. Once they were heads up, the action continued to be fast and furious and eventually Roland De Wolfe would take down Brett Richey for his first bracelet and the $246,616 first place prize.
The final hand did not hold much drama. A nominal raise was made before the flop and both players watched a flop of 10c8c4d. After De Wolfe checked, Richey made a move on the pot, but was rewarded with a pot bet by De Wolfe. Richey continued the action with an all in and the cards were turned. Richey showed a QdJsw10h9h and De Wolfe showed AdQc8d4h. De Wolfe was in the lead, but Richey has a lot to root for on the turn and river. Both fell harmlessly and Richey only walked with the $152,618 second prize.
Event 26 ended not long after as the $1,500 Limit Hold’em Event did not take long at all to decide a winner. This is far and away the earliest evening so far for the WSOP bracelet events. The tournament came down to Tomas Alenius and Jason Tam. Tam held a considerable chip lead when they went heads up, but Alenius make a Parkeresque comeback and ended up winning the event.
The final hand had Tam raising from the button and Alenius coming right back over the top. Tam was committed at this point and put the rest of his chips in the middle for a 4 bet. The cards were turned and Alenius was way ahead with A4 to Q5. The board didn’t hit either player and Alenius had made the comeback complete by putting on a new piece of jewelry and fattening up his back account with $197,488. Tam received $122,000 for second place.
In other tournaments…
Event 28 still has a rather large field left and while it is early, getting down to a final table will definitely take until the 3am limit. If they don’t get there, they will more than likely have to come back early tomorrow to finish off the event. Joe Simmons is the current chip leader with 485,000.
They are down to the Sweet 16 in the Heads Up Championship and there are still two major names floating around. Both Johnny Chan and Jason Mercier are still alive and playing well. The bubble was 32, so these guys are deep into the cash. At stake would be record tying bracelet for Chan and of course the little matter of the $625,682 for first place. The money really starts to jump from this point forward, so expect some tightening up by the less experienced players.
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Filed Under: WSOP
Posted by pokerguru on
Jeffrey Carris has only cashed in the WSOP on two occasions, but he made his second one count. The winner of the No Limit Hold’em Shootout tournament outlasted 9 other players in what amounted to be a 12 hour SNG tournament. With all players starting out with the same amount, this final table is like nothing you will see in any other format. Play usually drags out and it is a true test of grit and talent.
It all came down to Somerville and Carris, but the two players did not waste any time in settling this one. After only a few hands of heads up play, Somerville threw all his chips into the middle of the table with Qs6d. Carris took a few seconds to think about it but then decided correctly that his Kc6d was a big enough hand to make the call. The board fell harmlessly and totally missed both players’ hands and Carris got the jewelry and $313,913 to go with it.
In other tournaments…
The story of the day on Saturday so for is easily Phil Ivey. He has been dominating the Omaha/ Seven Card Stud Hi/Low 8 or better tournament from close to the beginning and is still not letting up. At this point, they are down to only 3 players and he has a huge chip lead of almost a half million chips over second place. As impressive as that is, he is also about to make the money in the Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Low Split 8 or better tournament as well.
The truly amazing thing is that he has barely played a hand in the second tournament. As chip leader of the other mixed tournament, he has been unwilling to leave the table and risk his position in the second tournament. He has only been over there when he is on break. Once he reached the final table, he was barely noticeable, but on every break he seemed to win a key hand that kept him alive. There currently 22 players remaining with only 18 getting paid and while he is one of the short stacks, he continues to make an appearance at precisely the right time to stay alive. This will be a huge accomplishment if he somehow stays alive in that tournament long enough for his final table to be over and then make a run here as well. More to come on this one as soon as it is available.
Event 24 is also on its final table, but it would appear to have quite some time left to go as the chips are pretty event. Panayote Vilandros is the current leader with 5 players remaining. Event 26 is now down to 34 players and should be able to get down to the final table tonight as well as Event 27 with only 22 players remaining. Event 28 has already lost about 75% of the starting field and Event 29 is just getting underway. No chip counts or leader information is available as they are both on Day 1.
