Mel Judah - Live Updates

Level 18 Update: No Repeat Here, Brooks Out In 13th

Jun 03, '09

Ante: 2,000
Low Card: 3,000
Completion: 10,000
Limits: 10,000-20,000

Players Remaining: 11 out of 142

Chip Counts:

1. Freddie Ellis – 940,000
2. Hasan Habib – 580,000
3. Max Pescatori – 470,000
4. Tim Phan – 435,000
5. Greg Mueller – 390,000
6. Ivan Schertzer – 375,000
7. Eric Drache – 310,000
8. Jeff Lisandro – 305,000
9. Daniel Negreanu – 270,000
10. Ville Wahlbeck – 250,000

Average Chip Count: 250,588

Notable Eliminations:

13th: Eric Brooks – $24,480
12th: Mel Judah – $29,152

Big Hands:

Schertzer Takes Out The Champ, Eric Brooks Out In 13th Place

Eric Brooks was all in against Ivan Schertzer. Once all of the cards were dealt, Brooks could not find a hand to defeat his opponent and the defending champion of this event was sent packing in 13th place.

Mueller Takes One Of Judah’s Legs…

Greg Mueller: X-X-8
Mel Judah: X-X-3

Judah brought in 3,000 with his low card and Mueller completed to 10,000. Judah made the call

Greg Mueller: X-X-89
Mel Judah: X-X-34

Mueller fired another 10,000 and Judah bailed out, leaving himself less than 20,000. Mueller was at 340,000.

…Pescatori Takes the Other, Judah Out In 12th Place

Judah: 53489A(muck)
Max Pescatori: K2K78A5

Mel Judah went all in for 7,000. Hasan Habib decided to make the call as he threw in the 7,000. The action was then on Pescatori who raised 10,000 and Habib mucked a pair of queens. Judah had a whole lot of nothing to fight against Pescatori’s cowboys. He did manage to get a wheel draw heading into the river. However, he bricked, however, and he was eliminated in 12th place. He will take home $29,152 for his efforts.

Pescatori Takes One Off Lisandro

Pescatori: X-X-9
Jeff Lisandro: X-X-10

Pescatori completed to 10,000 and Lisandro popped it to 20,000. Pescatori made the call.

Pescatori: X-X-95
Jeff Lisandro: X-X-107

Lisandro fired another bullet of 10,000 and Pescatori made the call.

Pescatori: X-X-9510
Jeff Lisandro: X-X-1074

Both players checked and saw sixth street.

Pescatori: X-X-9510K
Jeff Lisandro: X-X-1074Q

Pescatori capitalized on the weakness Lisandro showed on the previous street and fired 20,000. Lisandro quickly mucked and Pescatori was around 300,000. Lisandro was down under 200,000.

Negreanu Leaks Some Chips

Daniel Negreanu: X-X-10Q5
Jeff Lisandro: X-X-699

After Max Pescatori folded on fourth street, Lisandro fired 20,000 and Negreanu made the call.

Daniel Negreanu: X-X-10Q59
Jeff Lisandro: X-X-6996

Lisandro was showing two pair and fired 20,000. Negreanu stuck around and they saw the river. Lisandro then fired another shot of 20,000 and Negreanu mucked. Lisandro then offered a side bet to Negreanu, offering him 6 to 1 odds if he turned over a 6 or a 9 from Lisandro’s hole cards. “I couldn’t beat the two pair,” Negreanu said, not biting on the bet. Lisandro finally said “forget it” and raked in the pot, building his stack to almost 400,000. Negreanu was down to around 130,000 after the hand.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Daniel Negreanu,   Max Pescatori,   Greg Mueller,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   Eric Brooks,   Ivan Schertzer

Level 17 Update: Ellis Big On Chips, Landfish First to Cash

Jun 03, '09

Ante: 2,000
Low Card: 2,000
Completion: 8,000
Limits: 8,000-16,000

Players Remaining: 13 out of 142

Chip Counts:

1. Freddie Ellis – 680,000
2. Greg Mueller – 560,000
3. Max Pescatori – 449,000
4. Tim Phan – 418,000
5. Hasan Habib – 360,000
6. Ville Wahlbeck – 330,000
7. Ivan Schertzer – 311,000
8. Eric Brooks – 270,000
9. Mel Judah – 220,000
10. Ray Dehkharghani – 211,000

Average Chip Count: 250,588

Notable Eliminations:

16th: Steven Landfish – $21,343
15th: Fu Wong – $21,343
14th: Matt Glantz – $24,480

Big Hands:

Freddy Ellis Taking The Young Boys To School

Ellis: (774)J688
Tim Phan: K635(muck)
Ville Wahlbeck: mucked on river

After the river was dealt, Phan led out with 16,000. Ellis would have none of that nonsense and raised it to 32,000. Wahlbeck thought for a few moments and then mucked. Phan was next to act and he tanked for a few moments, but thought better of messing with Ellis and mucked. It was a good thing too as Ellis showed his diamond flush and his stack ballooned to over 600,000.

Tim Phan Gets Some Chips Back

Eric Brooks: X-X-A
Phan: X-X-6
Fu Wong: X-X-K

Brooks completed to 8,000 and both Phan and Wong made the call.

Eric Brooks: X-X-AJ
Phan: X-X-69
Fu Wong: X-X-K4

Brooks bet 8,000 again and both players stuck around.

Eric Brooks: X-X-AJ2
Phan: X-X-692
Fu Wong: X-X-K44

Wong led out this time for 16,000 as he hit a pair of fours. Brooks mucked and Phan stuck around.

Phan: X-X-6925
Fu Wong: X-X-K443

Wong fired 16,000 again and Phan called. On the river Wong fired another bet of 16,000 and Phan called, showing his A75 for just a pair of fives. It was good enough as Wong mucked and Phan raked in the pot. His stack was at 290,000 while Wong was down to 60,000. Wong later busted in 15th place.

Mueller Takes One Off Judah

Mel Judah: X-X-Q
Greg Mueller: X-X-K

Mel Judah completed to 8,000 and Mueller popped it to 16,000. Judah called and both players saw fourth street.

Mel Judah: X-X-Q9
Greg Mueller: X-X-K3

Mueller fired 8,000 and Judah called.

Mel Judah: X-X-Q97
Greg Mueller: X-X-K37

Mueller fired another shot, this one 16,000 and Judah had enough as he mucked his hand. His stack was down to 240,000 while Mueller was around 420,000.

Matt Glantz Doubles Through Mel Judah, Busts in 14th Later

Glantz: AKQA9K(2)
Judah: QQ6577(muck)

Matt Glantz was all in for his last 37,000 and Mel Judah made the call. Judah was ahead with a pair of Queens but Glantz took the lead on fourth street when he paired his ace. Judah caught consecutive sevens for two pair, but Glantz caught another king for aces up. Judah mucked his river card and Glantz doubled up to around 75,000 while Judah was down to just under 100,000. The good news was short lived for Glantz as he busted later against Hasan Habib when he made a set a Kings on the river to best Glantz’s set of Queens.

Kid Poker Cripples Judah

Mel Judah: X-X-10K
Daniel Negreanu: X-X-72

Judah fired 8,000 and Negreanu made the call.

Mel Judah: X-X-10K8
Daniel Negreanu: X-X-727

Negreanu paired up and fired 16,000. Judah thought for a bit before making the call.

Mel Judah: X-X-10K8Q
Daniel Negreanu: X-X-72710

Negreanu bet again and Judah called. On the river, Negreanu fired another shot but Judah mucked. Negreanu showed 77 in the hole for quads. He was near 300,000 while Judah was left with just 35,000.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Daniel Negreanu,   Greg Mueller,   Eric Brooks,   Tim Phan,   Matthew Glantz,   Ville Wahlbeck,   Freddie Ellis,   Fu Wong

$10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha - Level Nine

Jun 29, '08

Blinds: 600-1,200

Players Remaining: 99 of 381

Average Chip Stack: 77,000

Eliminations:

Terrence Chan
Andy Bloch
Thomas Wohlroos
Alex Kravchenko
Mel Judah

Hands and Storylines:

Lisandro's bold bet fails to work

After raising and then calling a reraise, Jeff Lisandro bet enough to put his opponent all in on a K98 flop. His opponent had under 9,000 left and the pot already had 55,000 in it, but he was extremely worried he was beat. He finally called with AAK8 and was ahead of Lisandro's TJQQ. The turn and river were K6 and Lisandro's opponent took down the pot with a full house.

Mizrachi doubles with straight

Michael Mizrachi was one of three players to put 8,500 into the pot and see a 864 flop. Mizrachi open pushed for 23,500 and one player called and the second folded, showing a pair of aces. Mizrachi held 9765 for a straight, and was way ahead of his opponent's K854. The turn and river were AK and Mizrachi had more than 70,000 after the hand.

Clemens river bet too much for D'Agostino

With the board T9378, John D'Agostino checked and Scott Clements bet 25,000. D'Agostino took a couple minutes to count his stack and debate calling, but ultimately folded. After the hand he had 55,000 chips, while Clements was up to 75,000.

Chan up to 80k

Johnny Chan bet 10,000 on the flop and then 25,000 on the turn on a board of K982. One of the two others in the hand called his flop bet, but he then folded on the turn. 

Judah's trips run into boat

Mel Judah bet 5,000 and was raised to 10,000 on a KQQ flop. He only had about 10,000 chips left and chose to put them in. But he saw he was drawing dead when Q-J-T-8 was up against A-K-Q-7. The turn and river were 6K and Judah headed for the exit.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   John D'Agostino,   Michael Mizrachi,   Johnny Chan,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   Scott Clements

$1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo - Level 1

Jun 26, '08

Ante: 10
Bring In: 15
Complete: 50
Limits: 50/100

Players Entered: 495

Storylines/Big Hands

Cards were in the air a little after the scheduled start time as tournament officials moved the tournament to the Brasilia Room and players were still finding their seats as the event began.

Elizabeth Misses Draw

Shannon Elizabeth had the bring-in with the 5, and was called by three players. Elizabeth added the K on fourth street to take the betting lead, and added the 6 on fifth street. The player to her left had drawn an ace and bet out 100, and when action came to Elizabeth she raised to 200, which drew three calls. Elizabeth added the 4 on sixth street, and the same pattern played out again, with one player folding. Seat 3, to Elizabeth's left, showed Q6A3, while seat 1 showed J835. Play was checked after the final card was dealt, and Elizabeth showed A-K-10, a missed low draw and a pairs of kings for high. Seat 1 held 5-2-2 for two pair and swept the pot.

Judah Spills Early

Mel Judah was in a heads-up battle, and on the surface appeared in OK shape. He showed A-K-K-Q while his opponent showed 9-10-J-2. But Judah was called to the end before being raised, when his opponent showed 9-9-2 in the hole for a full house.

Barbieri Misses Out

Al Barbieri, who claimed second in the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud straight high event earlier in the WSOP, was showing 344Q and bet with his pair of fours until sixth street. Seat 3 was showing 4323, while seat 7 showed 87A7. Sixth and seventh street was checked by all three players, and seat 7 won the high hand with aces and sevens while seat 3 took down the low.

 

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Al Barbieri,   Shannon Elizabeth

$1,500 PLO - Level Four

Jun 24, '08

Blinds/Antes: 100/200

Players Remaining: 351 of 720

Average Stack: 6,334

Chip Counts:
Stephen Graboski - 26,000
Randy Kaas - 14,200
Gavin Smith - 14,000
Martin "Dick" Corpuz - 13,200
George Danzer - 12,500
Eric Lynch - 12,400
Joe Hachem - 10,000
Jean-Robert Bellande - 10,000
Chip Jett - 10,000Brett Jungblut - 8,800

Big Hands:

Four-Way All In Pot Draws a Crowd

The spectators and media were buzzing around table No. 46 as a massive pot was brewing. Barny Boatman and Layne Flack, also at the table but not involved in the hand, looked on as several players put their tournament life at risk. With two players all in pre-flop, the two remaining active players saw a flop of J108. The first player put the other all in, and after serious deliberation the player called. All players turned over their hands:

Seat 1: 9964
Seat 3: AKJ2
Seat 6: A952
Seat 8: AJ42

The final board: J101085

Seats 8 and 3 chopped the pot with the same high hand. Seat 6, who was all in pre-flop, was eliminated. Seat 1 had all the players covered, and took a large hit but remains alive.

Jeff Madsen Crippled By Three-Way All In Pot

The action continued to heat up in level 4 as many of the tournaments shorter stacks began to aggressively push all in. After one such player got all his chips in pre-flop from under-the-gun, Jeff Madsen and his opponent on the button remained active players on a flop of K85. Madsen put his remaining opponent all in and got a call. Madsen turned over KKA2 for a set of kings, and his opponent on the button turned over A763 for an open-ended straight draw and low draw. The opponent who was all in pre-flop turned over 7432.

The final board read: AK985

The button scooped the side pot with a straight and a low and split the main pot with the under-the-gun player’s nut low. Madsen was crippled and left the hand with only 975 in chips.

Mel Judah on the Brink of Elimination

In an already large pot, Mel Judah checked from the small blind when the 975 flop fell. The player in the cut-off checked, and the button bet 1,000. Both players called, and the Q appeared on the turn. Judah bet 4,000 and the cut-off moved all in for slightly more than Judah’s bet. The button folded, and Judah made the call. The hands were turned over:

Judah: 8643 (nut straight)
Opponent: AK92 (nut flush and nut low draw)

The 4 on the river completed both draws for his opponent, and Judah was left with less than 1,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Gavin Smith,   Stephen Graboski,   Jeff Madsen,   Randy Kaas,   European Report

$1,500 PLO - Level Two

Jun 24, '08

Note: Players are now on a 20 minute break.

Blinds/Antes: 50/100

Players Remaining: 714

Average Stack: 650,000

Chip Counts:
Jean-Robert Bellande - 13,000
Gavin Smith - 12,000
Brett Jungblut - 7,500
Jan Von Halle - 7,200
Barny Boatman - 5,000
Noah Jefferson - 4,700
Alan Smurfit - 4,650
Mel Judah - 4,150
Chip Jett - 4,100
Shannon Shorr - 3,900

Recent Eliminations:
Barry Shulman

Big Hands:

Barry Shulman Eliminated by Jean-Robert Bellande

Jean-Robert Bellande raised to 375 from middle position and Barry Shulman made the call from the small blind. The flop came J75, and Shulman led out with a pot-sized bet. Bellande asked Shulman how many chips he had remaining before calling. Shulman checked the 4h on the turn, and Bellande bet enough to put Shulman all in. Barry quickly called and turned over Q1098. “I just have a set,” Bellande said as he turned over his A553. The river failed to complete a straight for Shulman, and he hit the rail.

Hachem Makes Top Pair, Top Kicker Fold

World Series of Poker 2005 main event winner Joseph Hachem raised from middle position and was quickly called by Full Tilt pro Gavin Smith, who was next to act. The action folded the player in the small blind, and he made the call. The three players saw a flop of K103. The small blind checked, and Hachem made a pot-sized bet of 1,150. Smith threw away his hand, and the small blind labored before ultimately folding and showing the AK. Hachem and Gavin continued to mix it up during most of the level.

Paul Darden Chops One Up With His Fellow Blind

After seeing the player in the cut-off and the player on the button limp into the pot, Paul Darden completed from the small blind and the big blind checked his option. The flop came AK7, and Darden checked. The big blind led out with a bet of 300, causing both the limpers to fold. Darden made the call and checked again to the big blind when the 3 fell on the turn. The big blind checked behind, and the J fell on the river. Darden made a pot-sized bet of 1,000, and his opponent called. Darden turned over 8422 for the nut low and one pair of deuces for high. His opponent showed 10c7s7c6c for a set of sevens, no low. The pot was split between the two.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Barry Shulman,   Gavin Smith,   Paul Darden,   Barny Boatman,   Jean-Robert Bellande,   Joe Hachem,   European Report

World Championship Omaha High-Low Split 8 or Better - Level 11 - Booth Climbing

Jun 20, '08

Blinds: 1,300-2,500

Players Left: 92 of 235

Chip Counts:
Bob Slezak: 162,000
Soheil Shamseddin: 126,000
Brad Booth: 123,000
Ray Dehkharghani: 109,000
Greg Jamison: 99,000
Shunjiro Uchida: 97,000
Meng La: 95,000
Robert Stevanovski: 93,000
William McMahon: 88,500
Scott Bohlman: 85,000

Eliminations: Gabe Kaplan, Shannon Elizabeth, David Sklansky

Big Hands:

Tough Love for Elizabeth

Tom Love and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson called Shannon Elizabeth's all in bet on a flop of A93 and Ferguson kept firing on the 7 turn and then both players checked the J river. Love showed A-9-5-2 for two pair and the 7-low. Ferguson showed A-7-6-4 and couldn't beat either of Love's hands. Elizabeth showed 10-7-3-2 and was eliminated from the tournament.

Lawson Gone to Monster

Ted Lawson led out 2,500 on a Q85 flop and was called by Gabe Kaplan and Brent Carter. On the 2 turn, Carter bet 5,000 and Gaplan and Lawson called. The river was the 2 and Carter bet 5,000 again and was called by both players.
Carter confidently showed A3K2 for the nut flush and 8-low. Kaplan showed A387 for the same 8-low and Lawson mucked his hand and was eliminated. Carter took 3/4 of the pot and has around 45,000.

Booth Climbs the Ranks

Mel Judah bet 2,500 into a flop of KQ7 and Brad Booth called. The turn was the A, Judah checked and Booth fired 5,000. Judah mucked and Booth continues to accumulate chips, nearing 123,000.

Too Late For Duke

Annie Duke bet 2,500 on a flop of J74 and was called by her opponent. She bet 5,000 when the A came on the turn and was again called. The K came on the river and Duke check-called her opponent. Her opponent showed A932 and Duke mucked her hand. A split second later she said, "Wait! Wait! Pick it up!" but it was too late and her hand was considered dead. She said she may have had a better hand than she thought.

Same Hands Lose to Slightly Better One

Chau Giang bet 2,500 and was called on a AQ10 flop by the players in seat 4 and seat 7. All three players checked the J turn and Q river and showed down their hands.Both Giang and seat 4 showed A-7 as the best cards they could muster from their hands, and seat 7 showed A-9 to take narrowly take the pot.

Player Tags: Annie Duke,   Mel Judah,   Ted Lawson,   Gabe Kaplan,   Chau Giang,   Tom Love,   Brad Booth,   Shannon Elizabeth,   European Report

Event 22 - H.O.R.S.E - Level 8 - End of Day

Jun 11, '08

Play is done for the day. 136 players will return tomorrow at 3 p.m. to play down to the final table.

Blinds/Antes:

Hold'em-Omaha 8: 300-600
Razz-Stud-Stud8: 100 ante, 200 bring-in, 600 completion

Players Left: 136 of 414

Average Chip Stack: 18,265

Eliminations: David Benyamine, Andy Bloch, Allen Kessler

Chip Counts:

Kevin Saul: 35,000
Shannon Elizabeth: 34,500
Marc Goodwin: 30,500
James Mackey: 30,000
Josh Arieh: 28,000
Marco Traniello: 27,000
Max Pescatori: 27,000
James Van Alstyne: 27,000
Paul Sexton: 27,000
Annie Duke: 26,000

Big Hands:

Stud 8

Rousso Loses Big, Wins Bigger

Vanessa Rousso got well over half her chips in the pot in this hand:
Rousso: A-9-8-K (6-7-X)
Seat 4: 10-8-J-2 (J-J-X)
Rousso left the table angrily after losing to her opponent's set of jacks, explaining that she had low, straight and flush draws and missed all of her outs.

Still furious after losing a big pot with so many out, Rousso put all but a few thousand of her chips in a 3-way pot the very next hand. The players' cards were:
Rousso: J95J (642)
Seat 4: K-5-4-3 (K-A-5)
Seat 6: 10-Q-A-5 (Q-Q-6)
Rousso's flush beat seat 4's two pair and seat 6's set of queens, and Rousso nearly trippled back up. As she collected her new chips she explained sarcastically that you had to play bad cards to win.

Judah Triples Up

Mel Judah committed all of his chips in a 3-way pot. The player's cards were:
Judah: A-Q-4-3 (A-J-9)
Seat 4: A-Q-Q-9 (5-X-X)
Marcel Luske: 10-3-5-K (X-X-X)
To the surprise of the table, Judah's pair of aces was enough to win the entire pot and triple up.

Dangerous Beauty

Showing Q2J10, Shannon Elizabeth bet out and got her opponent to fold his hand. She smiled and collected her chips. She ended the level among the chip leaders with around 34,500 in chips.

Hold'em

River Straight Puts Jett on Life Support

Facing a bet on a board of 10988J, Chip Jett thought long and hard before electing to call. His opponent showed 75 for a straight and Jett tossed his cards in the muck and was knocked down to around 8,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Chip Jett,   Vanessa Rousso,   Shannon Elizabeth

$3K H.O.R.S.E. - Hour Two

Jun 11, '08

Note: Players have just completed the second level of the day and will take their first twenty-minute break.

Blinds/Antes:
Hold'em-Omaha 8: 50-100
Razz-Stud-Stud 8: 25 ante, 25 bring-in, 100 completion

Players: 414

Chip Leaders:
Allen Kessler: 8,500
Chau Giang: 8,000
Perry Friedman: 8,000
Stuart Patterson: 7,400
Greg Raymer: 7,100
David Levi: 7,000
Mel Judah: 7,000
Annie Duke: 6,900
Rober Mizrachi: 6,800
Alex Kostritsyn: 6,600

Big Hands:

Stud 8 - Hard To Scoop a Pot in This Game

Steve Wong completed the bet with the 7 and Phil Gordon raised with the 8. Gordon would continue to be the aggressor, betting down to and through the river, Wong would call the whole way to a showdown.

Gordon: 8264 - AKK
Wong: 7Q87 - 996

It was a chopped pot with Wong winning the high hand with two pair (nines and sevens) and Gordon taking the low hand (8-6-4-2-A). After the hand Steve Wong had just over 3,000 in chips while Gordon had just over 6,000.

Omaha 8 - David Williams Scoops a Pot

The action folded around to the small blind who raised to 200 and David Williams called from the big blind. The flop came 953, and the small blind bet 100. Williams raised to 200 and the small blind called. teh turnwas the 9 and Williams bet 200, the small blind called. The river was the 3 and once again Willaims bet 200 and the small blind called. Williams showed 101042 and scooped the pot with two pair (high).

Mel Judah Wins a Big Pot, Uncontested

The under the gun played limped into the pot and Mel Judah raised to 200. TUG called and the flop came Q109. UTG bet 100 and Judah called. the turn was the 7 and TUG bet 200, Judah raised to 400, and UTG called. The river was the 3 and Judah bet 200. UTG folded to the last bet and Judah raked a good pot. After the hand Judah had roughly 7,500 in chips.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Phil Gordon,   David Williams,   Steve Wong

$2,000 Omaha H/L - Level Two

Jun 08, '08

Blinds/Antes: 50/75, 75/150 limits

Players Remaining: 551 of 551

Notable Chip Counts:
Tom Schneider - 7,100
Amnon Filippi - 5,800
Jordan Morgan - 5,775
Matt Savage - 5,600
Kristy Gazes - 5,100
Brett Jungblut - 5,000
Perry Friedman - 4,675
Chip Jett - 4,600
Barry Greenstein - 4,400
Mel Judah - 4,400

Big Hands:

Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke Gets Scooped

The total number of participants in the $2,000 Omaha high-low tournament has reached 551, although registration for this tournament has not yet closed. Nevertheless, last year’s total of 534 players has officially been beaten. It seems that many of the top pros are joining this tournament as soon as they bust out of the $10,000 stud world championship, currently still going on elsewhere in the Amazon Room. This is creating some very stacked late entry tables, one in particular featuring Men the Master, Hoyt Corkins, Greg Raymer, and Jimmy Fricke.

On that table, the player in the cut-off raised pre-flop and Jimmy Fricke called from the button. Both blinds called as well, and the four players saw a flop of K76. The small blind checked, the big blind bet, and the original raiser folded. Fricke raised from the button, and the small blind called both bets. The big blind raised again, and Fricke and the small blind called. The 5 on the turn brought a check from the small blind, a bet from the big blind, and a call by both players. All checked the 4 on the river, and the small blind turned over T842. When the dealer announced his hand, eight-high straight for high and a live deuce for low, both the big blind and Fricke mucked their cards.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Phil Hellmuth Has Arrived

In his trademark tardy fashion, Phil Hellmuth sauntered into the Amazon Room in the middle of level two and found his seat, dressed in full race car driver apparel. No word on any accidents in the parking lot...

After one player from middle position limped into the pot, Hellmuth and another late position player joined only to have Perry Friedman raise from the button. The small blind and all the limpers called, and the five players saw a flop of T64. The small blind and the original limper checked to Hellmuth, who commented that he didn’t think checking was the right play for him as he fired a bet into the pot. One of the limpers called, and Friedman raised. The small blind called, Hellmuth called, and another limper called.

On the 5 turn, all checked to Friedman who again bet. All players called, and the 7 brought another round of checks. This time Friedman checked, causing Hellmuth to erupt with a burst of, “God, dang it! I’ve got the nuts.” He turned over his AK94 for the nut flush. Friedman flipped over his AT62 for ace-deuce nut low. “Checking ace-deuce? Really?” Hellmuth wondered as he split the pot with Friedman.

Player Tags: Barry Greenstein,   Mel Judah,   Phil Hellmuth,   Tom Schneider,   Perry Friedman,   Amnon Filippi,   Jordan Morgan,   Jimmy Fricke

$10,000 Seven-Card Stud World Championship - Day 1 - Level 8 Recap

Jun 07, '08

Limit: 1,000/2,000, 200 ante, 300 bring in

Players Left:  81 of 158

Chip Leaders:
Chad Brown - 97,000
Daniel Negreanu - 82,000
Cyndy Violette - 65,000
Erik Seidel - 63,000
Alexander Kravchenko - 58,000
Greg Raymer - 54,600
Minh Ly - 54,000
Alan Boston - 53,000
David Williams - 52,500
David Benyamine - 52,000

Average Stack: 39,000

Eliminations:
Allen Kessler
Jen Harman
Mel Judah

Big Hands and Storylines:

Kravchenko Quietly Builds Big Stack

Despite a lack of fanfare, Alex Kravchenko has positioned himself as one of the chipleaders near the end of day 1. His latest accumulation came courtesy of busting out the player sitting to his left. Getting all of their chips in on 6^th street, the players showed:

Kravechenko: (K)(7)J7TT
Opponent: (J)(4)3JA9

Kravchenko was dealt the (K) on the end, leaving his opponent drawing to an ace or the case jack for his survival. Nothing good came, however, and Kravchenko raked in yet another pot, bringing his total chip count to about 60,000.

Negreanu’s Roll Continues

With a board showing 77A7, Daniel Negreanu bet 2,000 into his opponent on 7^th street, enough to put the gentleman all-in. His opponent pondered deeply over his board of AQJT. It was evident he had a straight, but he could not make up his mind whether or not Negreanu had a full house. In the end, with the pot laying him 6-to-1 odds, he made the call. Negreanu stated matter-of-factly, “I have a full house,” before flipping over (5)(5). His opponent exited the area without a word. With the day coming to an end, Negreanu has a supremely healthy stack of 82,000.

Masterful

Men Nguyen: JAQ5
John Duthie: K57T

The action picks up on 6^th street when Nguyen bets into Duthie and gets a quick call. Nguyen bets again on 7th and this time Duthie thinks longer about his decision. He convinces himself to call and then mucks when Nguyen shows (A)(J) for a quick two-pair. Duthie mucks his hand and claims that he had the nut-flush draw turn into two-pair on the river. Duthie is down to only 23,000 now, but Nguyen has a much more robust 46,000.

Player Tags: Erik Seidel,   Minh Ly,   Chad Brown,   Men Nguyen,   Mel Judah,   Daniel Negreanu,   David Benyamine,   Allen Kessler,   Jennifer Harman,   Cyndy Violette,   Alan Boston,   John Duthie,   Greg Raymer,   David Williams,   Alexander Kravchenko,   European Report

Mel Judah Eliminated

Apr 14, '08

Mel Judah pushed all in preflop with A-7 and was called by an opponent holding pocket deuces. Judah received no help from the board, and he was eliminated from the event early on day 3.










 

Player Tags: Mel Judah

Tomas Brolin Busts A Player

Apr 12, '08

Former Swedish soccer star Tomas Brolin just busted a hapless player who threw his last 7,200 chips into the middle with 7-7. Brolin thought for a moment before realising his K-K was pretty good and his cowboys held up.

In other news Peter Roche has joined Bill Edler's table and Mel Judah, who had been missing from his table for a while, is back and sitting pretty on around 47,350.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Bill Edler,   Tomas Brolin

Thomas Brolin Bets Big and Wins

Apr 12, '08

Former Swedish soccer international Thomas Brolin has a tricky table. He has to contend with motor-mouth Stephen Pearce (who despite having 25,600 in chips has gone very quiet), Mel Judah (on 22,000 is his usual contemplative self), and Noah Boeken (with 16,800 is up-and-down from his seat speaking with friends ).

However it is an unknown young player who has been proving his nemesis of late. Having just taken around 4,000 in chips from Brolin the pair tangled again in the very next hand. The ex-soccer star bet 6,500 on a board of 732JJ and his foe went into he tank.

About 2 minutes later his call looked reluctant and he shook his head ruefully when Brolin turned over a pair of queens to win back his earlier loss and then some. He now has around 23,500 in chips.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Noah Boeken,   Stephen Pearce,   Tomas Brolin

Noah Boeken Doubles Up

Apr 11, '08

Team Pokerstars pro Noah Boeken got a very nice touch in the third hand of the tournament. He found aces and was a little worried when his raise of 150 was met with four callers. When the action ws on the big blind he raised to 1,200 and the rest of the players obviously got out of the way pretty quickly as Noah made it 4,000. The big blind then went all-in, having Boeken covered by just 75 in chips.

The big blind showed A-K and the board came an innocuous 8-4-3-Q-K giving the Dutch star a tidy double up. He is rightly looking very relaxed and bantering with Mel Judah who is sat to his right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Noah Boeken

Mel Judah Eliminated

Apr 14, '08

Mel Judah pushed all in preflop with A-7 and was called by an opponent holding pocket deuces. Judah received no help from the board, and he was eliminated from the event early on day 3.










 

Player Tags: Mel Judah

Tomas Brolin Busts A Player

Apr 12, '08

Former Swedish soccer star Tomas Brolin just busted a hapless player who threw his last 7,200 chips into the middle with 7-7. Brolin thought for a moment before realising his K-K was pretty good and his cowboys held up.

In other news Peter Roche has joined Bill Edler's table and Mel Judah, who had been missing from his table for a while, is back and sitting pretty on around 47,350.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Bill Edler,   Tomas Brolin

Thomas Brolin Bets Big and Wins

Apr 12, '08

Former Swedish soccer international Thomas Brolin has a tricky table. He has to contend with motor-mouth Stephen Pearce (who despite having 25,600 in chips has gone very quiet), Mel Judah (on 22,000 is his usual contemplative self), and Noah Boeken (with 16,800 is up-and-down from his seat speaking with friends ).

However it is an unknown young player who has been proving his nemesis of late. Having just taken around 4,000 in chips from Brolin the pair tangled again in the very next hand. The ex-soccer star bet 6,500 on a board of 732JJ and his foe went into he tank.

About 2 minutes later his call looked reluctant and he shook his head ruefully when Brolin turned over a pair of queens to win back his earlier loss and then some. He now has around 23,500 in chips.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Noah Boeken,   Stephen Pearce,   Tomas Brolin

Noah Boeken Doubles Up

Apr 11, '08

Team Pokerstars pro Noah Boeken got a very nice touch in the third hand of the tournament. He found aces and was a little worried when his raise of 150 was met with four callers. When the action ws on the big blind he raised to 1,200 and the rest of the players obviously got out of the way pretty quickly as Noah made it 4,000. The big blind then went all-in, having Boeken covered by just 75 in chips.

The big blind showed A-K and the board came an innocuous 8-4-3-Q-K giving the Dutch star a tidy double up. He is rightly looking very relaxed and bantering with Mel Judah who is sat to his right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Noah Boeken