Craig Gray Poker Tournament Updates

We Are Heads Up

Jun 19, '10

Pot-Limit Hold’em

Kevin MacPhee made it 60,000 to go from the button and Jose-Luis Velador called from the big blind.

Velador checked to MacPhee on a flop of K65. MacPhee bet 80,000 and Velador check-raised to 200,000. MacPhee pushed all in for half a million and Velador thought a while and called. Their hands:

Velador: K3
MacPhee: 77

Velador’s kings were ahead of MacPhee’s pocket sevens. The turn brought the 10 and MacPhee was down to two sevens for his outs. But the A fell on the river and Velador exploded to 1.5 million in chips as MacPhee was gone in 5th, making $62,791.

Pot-Limit Omaha

Gray Finishes in Fourth ($85,030)

On a flop of K82 Craig Gray moved the rest of his short stack all in and was instantly called by Jose-Luis Velador. Their hands:

Gray: QQ84
Velador: AK92

Velador’s two pair was ahead, and when the K hit on the turn he had a full house. The A finished the board and Gray was gone in 4th place, taking $85,030 of the prize pool.

Pot-Limit Omaha

Hollink Knocked Out in 3rd ($116,359)

Rob Hollink called a 80,000 raise preflop from Jose-Luis Velador and everyone else got out of the way.

The flop came Q83 and Hollink found himself all in for his tournament life. Their hands:

Hollink: Q1084
Velador: KK97

Despite the queen on the flop, Velador held the lead with pocket kings. The turn was the 6 and the 3 finished the board, giving Velador the pot and knocking Hollink out in 3rd place, winning $116,359.

With that, Velador took a commanding chip going into heads up against David Chiu.

Player Tags: Rob Hollink,   Craig Gray,   Jose Luis Velador

Level 9 Hour 2 Update: Dewey Tomko Eliminated

Jul 08, '09

Blinds: 500-100 with a 100 ante

Players Remaining: 630 out of 1476

Chip Counts:

1. Eric Cloutier – 384,000
2. Greg Mueller – 311,000
3. Andy Black – 220,000
4. Mike Sexton – 170,000
5. Sorel Mizzi – 160,000
6. Chris Ferguson – 155,000
7. Jimmy Fricke – 150,000
8. Thor Hansen – 141,000
9. Pamela Brunson – 135,000
10. Vitaly Lunkin – 132,000

CardPlayer Chip Counts:

Ciaran O’Leary – 48,500
Andrew Brokos – 78,000

Average Chip Count Day 2A: 97,650

Notable Eliminations:

Dewey Tomko
Juha Helppi
Craig Gray
Eli Elezra
Grant Levy

Big Hands:

Dewey Tomko Eliminated

Dewey Tomko looked down at the AJ and open-shoved for 17,000. A player in the small blind called with the 99 and the two players were off to a race. They were not even close to racing anymore as the flop came 963, putting Tomko drawing dead with no runner-runner draws. The board completed with the meaning less J and 8.

Juha Helppi Eliminated

Juha Helppi and the big stack of Eric Cloutier got all the money in preflop with Helppi tabling pocket kings. Cloutier exposed pocket aces and Helppi failed to improve, exiting the tournament right before the day ended. Eric Cloutier is the tournament chip leader with 384,000 to end the day.

Luca Pagano Moves All In

A player in late position bet 2,400 and Andrew Brokos made the call from the button. Action was one Luca Pagano in the small blind. He elected to move all in for 33,800 over the small preflop bet of 2,400. The initial raiser folded and Andrew Brokos went into the tank. He eventually mucked and Pagano took down the pot.

Jim Bechtel Doubles Up

Jim Bechtel moved all in for 10,700 on a flop of 942 and was called by the 97 of an opponent. Bechtel exposed the way in front Q9. The 3 hit the turn, giving Bechtel’s opponent a flush draw. However, none of those outs came as the Q fell on the river. Bechtel is now at 26,000.

Craig Gray Eliminated

Craig Gray checked to his opponent on a board of 653J. His opponent threw out a bet and Gray check-raised all in. His opponent contemplated briefly before making the call with the QJ. Gray was disgusted as he tabled the 77 for a bad misstep. Gray was drawing very thin and the 9 on the river ended his 2009 main event.

Pamela Brunson Wins Big Double Up

Pamela Brunson and her opponent got all the chips into the middle preflop. Brunson exposed kings but was up against the aces of an unknown player. However, Brunson caught up as she flopped a king. The turn and river were safe for her and she doubled to 135,000.

Left in the Deck:

Players have just finished playing hand for hand and day 2A is now complete.

Player Tags: Juha Helppi,   Dewey Tomko,   James Bechtel Sr.,   Luca Pagano,   Eric Cloutier,   Craig Gray,   Andrew Brokos,   Pamela Brunson

Men Nguyen Eliminated

Feb 16, '09

Razz

Men Nguyen made a move on the short stack in Razz against Craig Gray.

Nguyen eventually made a queen-low, but Gray's nine-low was enough to take the pot and send Nguyen out of the tournament.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Craig Gray

$10,000 Main Event - Level 5

Jul 03, '08

Blinds/Antes: 200-400, 25 ante

Players remaining: 711 of 1,297

Eliminations:
Jack Haley

Big Hands and Storylines:

Mark Garner Amassing a Big Stack

Mark Garner raised to 1,600 in late position and action folded around to Ted Lawson in the blinds. Lawson raised to 4,000 and Garner made the call. Lawson bet 8,000 on the Q62 flop and Garner made a cautious call. The flop – 4 – put four clubs on the board. Lawson checked over to Garner who wasted little time in betting 16,000. Lawson went into the tank, waiting five minutes before folding his AA face up. Garner, in a sporting gesture, showed his A9. Lawson’s reaction to the hand: “You are so lucky! Jesus!”

Lawson is down to 50,000 on the hand and Garner, lucky or not, now has an impressive 148,000.

Krazy Eyez Killa

Brandon Adams and an opponent got all in on a J9910 board. Adams showed Q9 while his opponent needed a jack to claim the pot outright with his QJ. The river was the 10 and Adams made a full house.  This pot gave him another addition to his massive stack. Adams is one of the day 1a chip leaders with 152,000.

(Gobb)O! The Humanity!

Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke went to a flop heads-up in position. On a flop of K95, Fricke bet 3,000 after being checked to. The 10 slowed down the action, as both players checked. The river was the 3 and Fricke’s opponent immediately looked to his stack before betting 7,500. “Ace-jack of spades?” asked Fricke. He shuffled his chips a bit before looking his opponent up. He was not too happy to see 99. “You re-raise the flop, you get it all,” piped Fricke, “Every cent.” After the hand, Fricke was down to 21,000.

Gray twins can't stay apart

After a player in early position player raised to 1,100, Craig Gray reraised to 3,300 from the button. The blinds and the raiser folded, and Gray took down the pot. He now has 26,000 chips. Meanwhile, his brother Jason Gray was moved from the orange section to the blue, and is now seated at the table right behind Craig. He currently has about 28,000 chips.

Maya Antonius drops some chip to four-flush

On a board of Q6329, Maya Antonius checked and then her opponent checked behind. Her opponent flipped over pocket jacks with the J and took the pot of roughly 6,000. After the hand Antonius had roughly 35,000 chips.

Player Tags: Craig Gray,   Jason Gray,   Brandon Adams,   Jimmy Fricke,   Maya Gellar-Antonius

$1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low - Level 11 Recap

Jun 27, '08

Limits: 200 ante, 300 low card, 1,000-2,000 limits

Players Remaining: 59 of 544

Average Chip Stack: 27,700

Eliminations:

Tony Guoga

Hands and Storylines:

See Phan crippled; see Phan triple up

After he lost a big pot with a pair of sevens and 7-6-5 low to Brenda Rizer's pair of aces and 7-6-4 low, John Phan was down to just 1,500 chips. He won a couple pots but was still in danger when he got all his chips into the middle against Craig Gray and monster chip leader Thomas Hunt. On each subsequent street Hunt bet and Gray called. Meanwhile, Phan asked for a four and caught one on fifth street and asked for a five and caught that on sixth street. Hunt had a low and Gray had two pair to chip the side pot, but Phan flipped over A-2 to make a wheel and scoop the main pot. After the hand Phan had over 10,000 chips.

Table shows Hellmuth respect

After a bring in, the next player to act raised to 1,000 with a jack showing. Marco Traniello raised to 2,000 with a king up, and then Hellmuth raised to 3,000 with a ten up. Hellmuth told to the table to get ready for an exciting hand and leaned in on his chair. But then both players folded. Traniello showed K-8 as he mucked and Hellmuth said, "What do think I have? There aren't many possibilities." He then showed two red aces and took the pot.

Tony G loses on seventh

Tony Guoga was shortstacked and moved all in with a pair of fives. His hand never improved and his opponent caught a second queen on seventh street to eliminate Guoga.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Antanas Guoga,   Phil Hellmuth,   Thomas Hunt III,   Craig Gray

Event 44 - $1,000 Hold'em with Rebuys - Level 11

Jun 26, '08

Blinds/Antes: 800/1600/200

Players Remaining: 115 of 879

Average Stack: 60,000

Chip Counts:
Mark Seif - 256,000
Curt Kohlberg - 158,700
Brent Hanks - 154,300
Simon Ravnsbaek - 153,000
Rene Mouritsen - 135,400
Dan Lu - 132,700
John Hoang - 125,300
Faraz Jaka - 116,400
Conor Tate - 115,500
Albert Iverson - 108,700

Recent Eliminations:
Brock Parker
Craig Gray

Big Hands:

Two Pair on the River Causes a Religious Exclamation

The action folded to Terrance Chan on the button, and he brought it in for an even 4,000. The small blind folded and Lauren Koch made the call from the big blind. Koch fired a bet of 5,000 on the 873 flop and Chan called. The A on the turn brought a check from Koch, and Chan made a bet of 6,000. After deliberating slightly, Koch called the bet. The 9 on the river brought another check from Koch, and this time Chan made a bet of 8,000. Koch instantly declared a call before moving chips into the pot. “Two pair,” Chan declared before turning over 93. “Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Koch frustratingly exclaimed as he mucked his cards and counted out the payoff.

A Huge Pot Doubles Up Mark Seif

On a board of AA84, Mark Seif checked from the small blind to his opponent, Jamel Maistriaux, on the button. Maistriaux made a bet of 22,000, and Seif check-raised to a total of 66,000. Maistriaux went deep into the tank, riffling his chips for minutes without saying a word. One of the shorter stacks at the table apologized to Maistriaux before calling the clock on him out of concern for the quickly disappearing time remaining in the level. The floor came over and gave Maistriaux one minute and 10 seconds to make a decision or his hand would be declared dead. Maistriaux waited until the last six seconds of his remaining time before declaring a call and putting the necessary amount of chips into the pot. The 5 was dealt on the river and Seif declared that he was all in for his remaining 43,000. Maistriaux quickly called this time and Seif turned over A4 for a full house, aces full of fours. Maistriaux mucked his cards and finished the hand with less than 40,000 in chips.

Craig Gray Trapped in His Own “Mess”

After raising pre-flop and being reraised by Craig Gray in late position, Sean Picquelle made the call and the two players saw a flop of Q93. Picquelle declared that he was all in and pushed his remaining chips into the pot. Picquelle had Gray barely covered, so it was Gray’s tournament life at stake. Visibly exasperated, Gray paused and sighed while lamenting his pending decision. “I got myself into this mess. I call,” Gray said. Picquelle turned over AQ for top pair, top kicker. Gray shook his head while staring at his opponent’s head, prompting Picquelle to ask Gray to turn over his cards. Gray finally turned over 1010. The 5 on the turn and 8 on the river failed to improve Gray, and he exited the tournament area.

J.C. Tran Can’t Overtake Aces, Takes a Hit

Facing a pre-flop reraise by Max Greenwood in the big blind, J.C. Tran made the call and the two players saw a flop of 1097. Greenwood checked to Tran who made a bet of 10,000. Greenwood quickly reraised all in for 7,000 more, and Tran made the call. Greenwood turned over AA, the favorite over Tran’s K10. The 3 on the turn gave Tran additional outs as any spade on the river other than the As would be a winner for Tran. The actual river, the 8, failed to deliver for Tran, and his opponent successfully doubled up.

Player Tags: Mark Seif,   J.C. Tran,   Craig Gray,   European Report

$1,500 No-Limit Hold'em - Level Six Recap

Jun 14, '08

Note: Players are now on a 90-minute dinner break.

Blinds/Antes: 200-400-50

Player Remaining: 650 of 2706

Average Chip Stack: 12,500

Chip Counts:

Alan Jaffray - 62,000
Bernard Lee - 58,000
Eli Berg - 53,000
Sarah Bilney - 43,000
Kevin Saul - 40,000
Joe Awada - 39,000
Tony Dunst - 33,500
Jean-Robert Bellande - 28,000
Seth Weinger - 26,500
Ryamond Davis - 25,500
Craig Gray - 22,000

Eliminations:

Nam Le
Amnon Filippi

Big Hands and Storylines:

Great Scott! Justin eliminates three, including Tilly

A player raised from the cutoff position to 1,200 and Jennifer Tilly called on the button. Justin Scott reraised from the small blind, and then the player in the big blind moved all in. Then the player in the cutoff moved all in, and then Tilly moved all in. Scott, who had all three players covered, made the call. They four hands were:

Justin Scott (Small Blind): A-A
Big Blind: 9-9
Cutoff: K-K
Jennifer Tilly (Button): 97

Board: 85473

Only the player in the cutoff had a heart, but Scott's aces held up. 

Gray shows table how it's done

With the board of QT62, Craig Gray raised a bet of 1,200 to about 8,000 chips more. After a third player in the hand folded, the player who bet out thought for a couple minutes before calling with AT. It was good at that moment, but Gray's 86 had outs. And he caught one of them, the A, on the river. As Gray raked in the pot another player at the table said to him, "So that's how you guys do it," and Gray replied, "You got it." After the hand Gray had about 23,000 chips.

Lee flops set to get up to 58k

Holding JJ, Bernard Lee raised to 1,450 from under the gun. The button, small blind and big blind called and the four of them saw a flop of KJ3. The blinds checked and Lee bet 2,650. The button raised all in for 12,000 and after the blinds got out of the way Lee called. The button held Q-T for a straight draw, and didn't get there, as the turn and river were the 5 and 3, respectively. Lee ended the level with 58,000 chips and is among the chip leaders.

Saul picks up pot with trips

Kevin Saul raised to 1,100 from under the gun and a player in middle position and another player in the big blind called. The three players checked the flop of QJJ. After the K on the turn the player in the big blind bet 2,500 and both players called. The river was the 4, and the blind checked and Saul bet 4,200. The player in middle position called and the big blind folded. Saul showed JT, and his opponent flipped over pocket aces. After the hand Saul had about 35,000 chips.

Player Tags: Bernard Lee,   Craig Gray,   Kevin Saul,   Justin Scott

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

Jun 11, '08

Note: Players returned from break around 7:20 pm to begin Level 3.

Blinds/Antes:
Hold'em-Omaha 8: 75-150
Razz-Stud-Stud 8: 25 ante, 50 bring-in, 150 completion

Players Left: 392 of 414

Chip Leaders:
Mel Judah: 11,500
Marcel Luske: 11,450
Billy Argyros: 11,200
Walter Browne: 11,000
Stuart Patterson: 11,000
J.J. Hazan: 10,600
Hoyt Corkins: 9,800
Victor Ramdin: 9,450
Chau Giang: 9,300
Mickey Appleman: 9,300

Eliminations: Freddy Deeb, Keith Sexton, Linda Johnson

Big Hands:

Stud - David Chiu Wins a Nice Pot

David Chiu raised the door card and seat 4 called. Chiu continued to bet the entire way while seat 4 called him down.

Chiu: 3Q84 - JJ6
seat 4: 6105A - X-X-X

Chiu never improved his wired jacks, but in the end it was enough to take down the pot. After the hand Chiu had 5,800 in chips.

Stud 8 - Mark Vos Chops a Pot For a Profit

After a series of pre-flop raises and reraises, three players went to fourth street for a total of 750.

Craig Gray:  10A3 - fold
Mark Vos: 498K - QQ3
Seat 7: 2J67 - K58

Mark Vos took the betting lead on fourth street and continued to bet down to the river. Seat 7 called all the way while Gray folded on fifth street. Both Mark Vos and seat 7 split the pot for a profit. Vos won the high hand with a pair of queens while seat 7 took the low pot with an 8-7-6-5-2 low. After the hand Mark Vos had 7,400 in chips.


 

Player Tags: David Chiu,   Craig Gray,   Mark Vos

$2,500 No-Limit Hold'em - Level 15 recap

Jun 08, '08

Blinds-Antes: 1,500-3,000-400

Players left: 45 of 1,397

Average chip stack: 109,100

Chip leaders:

Joel Casper - 290,000
Pascal Baumgartner - 268,000
Theo Tran - 265,000
Dean Bui - 255,000
Brent Ditzik - 250,000

Eliminations:

Craig Gray
Chau Giang

Big hands:

Gray goes out on two-outer

Craig Gray pushed all in for over 50,000 preflop and was called. Gray showed QQ, and was a four to one favorite over his opponent's 88. But the 8 came on the flop and Gray was knocked out.

Race goes to Wildman

Brent Hanks bet enough to Brian Wildman all in and he quickly made the call. Hanks showed AK and Wildman flipped over 22. The flop brough a king but also a deuce, and Wildman doubled up. Wildman currently has about 130,000 chips, while Hanks has over 200,000 chips.

River raise takes down big pot

James Hall and Steven Merrifield were involved in a massive pot early in the level. After a K77 flop both players checked. Then when the 8 came on the turn, Merrifield bet 25,000 chips and Hall called. The A came on the river, and Merrifield bet 30,000. Hall quickly raised to 100,000 chips, and after a minute Merrifield folded his hand.

Selbst stays aggressive

After Vanessa Selbst raised to 15,000 from late position, Salvatore Simeone reraised to 40,000 from the small blind. Selbst quickly moved all in for about 100,000 more. Simeone folded to drop to about 80,000 chips. After the hand Selbst's chip stack increasted to about 200,000 chips.

Player Tags: Craig Gray

$2,500 No-Limit Hold'em - Level 14 recap

Jun 08, '08

Blinds-Antes: 2,000-4,000-500

Players left: 50 of 1,397

Average chip stack: 139,700

Chip leaders:

Frank Vukasin - 320,000
Dean Bui - 250,000
Vanessa Selbst - 230,000
Theo Tran - 220,000
Jason Manger - 210,000
Jason Mercier - 180,000
Anthony Phillips - 140,000

Eliminations:

Paul Kobel
Joe Simmons

Big hands:

Merrifield wins another big pot

In an attempt to steal a big pot, Loren Klein pushed all in with just 7-6 offsuit. He hoped to get Steven Merrifield and Vanessa Selbst to fold, but was unable to. Merrifield called, and after thinking for a few moments Selbst folded. Klein knew he was in trouble, but it was the worst possible situation; Merrifield had pocket sevens. Selbst folded Q-T, and was mad at herself for not going all in to force Merrifield to fold. After the hand Merrifield had about 200,000 chips.

Theo takes a couple hits

After losing a pot when Craig Gray hit a three-outer on the river, Theo Tran lost some more chips soon after. Tran raised preflop and he and two callers saw a KQ8 flop. It checked to Pete de Best at the button position and he moved all in for for about the size of the pot. The third player in the hand folded and Tran made the call with QT. de Best showed KJ and the turn and river were 7 and J, respectively. Currently Tran has about 220,000 chips.

Chattha loses race

Charles Chattha raised to 11,000 preflop and faced an all in reraise for 26,000 more from Billy Ragatz in the small blind. Chattha called with two red tens and was up against AK. But the board came A725A. Currently Chattha has about 40,000 chips and Ragatz has 30,000 chips.

Bui's chip lead is no more

With the flop 859, Dean Bui bet 8,000. After one player folded, Joel Casper pushed all in for about 50,000 chips. Bui called immediately with JT, while Casper just had A4. With two hearts giving Bui the straight flush, Casper had just five outs. But one of those outs came on the turn, and then Bui didn't hit a two-outer on the river. After the hand Bui was down to 250,000 chips, while Casper's stack shot up to 120,000 chips.

Player Tags: Craig Gray,   Billy Ragatz,   Theo Tran,   Charles Chattha,   Steven Merrifield

$2,500 No-Limit Hold'em - Level 13 recap

Jun 08, '08

Blinds-Antes: 1,500-3,000-400

Players left: 64 of 1,397

Average chip stack: 109,100

Chip leaders:

Dean Bui - 380,000
Theo Tran - 270,000
Vanessa Selbst - 240,000
Jason Mercier - 165,000
Jason Manson - 144,000
Greg Sellgren - 130,000
Anthony Phillips - 128,000

Eliminations:

Lee Watkinson

Big hands:

Selbst multitabling

Vanessa Selbst is playing the women's tournament in addition to this tournament, and recently her two tables were side-by-side. It led to an interesting few minutes before the women's event went to a break. One hand, she held A-K and eliminated David Cai, who had A-Q. Then she hustled over to her table in the women's event to see one last hand before that tournament's break. Then she came right back, saying there was no way she was going to pass on playing from the button position.

Later, after she moved to a new table in this event, she got in a blind vs. blind battle with Steven Merrifield. Merrifield raised from the small blind to 9,000 and then Selbst reraised to 29,000. Merrifield quickly moved all in for another 123,600 chips. Selbst took a minute to think it over, and ultimately folded. After the hand Merrifield had over 180,000 chips, while Selbst dropped to around 240,000 chips.

Mercier takes a hit

From the big blind, Jason Mercier raised to put Matthew Brown all in. Brown called and flipped over two black aces, crushing Mercier's A-2. The board came AT976 and Brown doubled up to about 40,000 chips. Mercier now has 150,000 chips.

de Best bests MrCasino

Pete de Best was all in and in bad shape with A-Q against Craig 'MrCasino' Gray's pocket aces. But he managed to end up with a straight and double up. de Best recently doubled up again and has over 60,000 chips, and Gray has about 70,000 chips.

Player Tags: David Cai,   Craig Gray,   Vanessa Selbst,   Jason Mercier

Omaha 8 / Stud 8 Level 17

Jun 06, '08

Stud 8: 1,000 ante, 2,000 bring in, 5,000-10,000 limits
Omaha 8: 2,500-5,000 blinds, 5,000-10,000 limits

Players Remaining:  13 of 388

Average Chip Stack: 150,000

Chip Counts:

Farzad Rouhani - 310,000
Greg Pappas - 248,000
Michael Mizrachi - 145,000
Tom Chambers - 145,000
John Racener - 140,000
Yueqi Zhu - 125,000
Matthew Graham - 113,000
John Cernuto - 112,000
James Van Alstyne - 95,000
Mark Gallo - 93,000
Daniel Mowczan - 92,000
Brandon Cantu - 67,000
Tad Jurgens - 30,000

Eliminations:

Hoyt Corkins
Craig Gray
Sam Silverman

Big Hands:

Chambers knocks out MrCasino on 7th street

On third street, Tom Chambers and Craig Gray raised back and forth to put Gray all in. Craig started out with 236 but ended with K4JJ for a pair of jacks. Chambers, though, didn't have anything until seventh street, but caught a four to complete a wheel and take the pot.

Corkins' luck runs out

Hoyt Corkins thought he was in good shape when he went all in with rolled up queens. But James Van Alstyne hit a seven-high straight on sixth street. Corkins needed a seven, four or three on seventh street to win with a full houe, but got a ten and was knocked out in 14th place.

Cantu stays alive with 'nut-nut'

After raising under the gun and getting reraised by 'Miami' John Cernuto, Cantu called but said he was worried. On a flop of 62Q both players checked. When the K and 4 came on the river Cantu bet out. After calling on the turn, Cernuto said that he just had nothing to call with and mucked his hand. Cantu stood up and groaned that he couldn't win any more chips. He said he had 'nut-nut' meaning A-3 and the ace-high flush, and flashed his cards to Cernuto.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Sam Silverman,   Craig Gray