William Chen - Live Updates

Bill Chen Eliminated

Jan 05, '09

Bill Chen has busted out of the tournament before dinner on day 1A.

















 

Player Tags: William Chen

$10,000 Main Event - Day 2B - Level 6

Jul 09, '08

Blinds: 250-500, 50 ante

Big Hands and Storylines:

Chen short on chips after doubling up opponent

After calling a raise from the big blind, Bill Chen and two others saw the flop come 1087. Chen checked and the next player to act bet 3,600. The third player folded and Chen moved all in. The bettor had about 16,000 left and Chen had him covered. After a couple minutes to consider he called with JJ. Chen held A10 and needed to improve. But unfortunately for him the turn and river came JQ. After the hand Chen was down to about 17,000 chips.

Goldstein Gets Tough Table Draw

Ken “SCKenny” Goldstein has found himself today at quite a challenging table. Along with Zachary King and Andrew Robl, both of whom have final-tabled an event this year, Goldstein is accompanied by Mike Matusow.

When Card Player checked on the table, Matusow was embroiled in a conversation about live versus online players. Matusow agreed with the sentiment that he could not beat the best internet players online, but also reminded them that the World Series is a live tournament. “This ain’t a video game,” quipped Matusow.

John Juanda Eliminated

John Juanda moved all-in on a flop of 975 and his opponent called. Juanda had a gutshot straight draw and two overcards with J10, and his opponent had A9 for top pair. Juanda’s hand did not improve and he was bounced from the tournament early on day 2b.

Madsen makes call, loses

With the board 9-7-3-8-3, Jeff Madsen checked and his opponent moved all in for about 10,000. Madsen though it over for a couple minutes and made the call. His opponent flipped over aces to take the pot over about 30,000. After the hand Madsen had about 95,000 chips.

River helps Benefield add to stack

In a blind vs. blind battle, David Benefield bet 1,500 from the big blind and then called a raise to 4,000 on a 9-5-3 flop. The turn was a six and Benefield called a 5,000 bet from the small blind. The river brought a second five to the board and the small blind again bet 5,000. This time Benefield moved all in, and his opponent called off the rest of his chips, which was about 10,000 total. Benefield showed 7-5 for trips, while his opponent had pocket kings. With the pot Benefield stack was up to about 140,000.

Player Tags: William Chen,   Jeff Madsen,   David Benefield

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

Jun 28, '08

Blinds: 100-200

Players Remaining: 1,860 of 2,718

Eliminations:

Dustin Woolf
Alex Jacob
Anna Wroblewski
David Singer
Theo Tran

Hands and Storylines:

Schleger misses out when opponent catches ace

After a player moved all in on the button, it folded back around to Shane Schleger. Schleger made a reraise and tossed in the majority of him remaining chips. A third player in the hand took some time to mull calling but folded. Schleger showed pocket queens and was in good shape against his oponent's A-9. But an ace came on the flop and Schleger found himself down to his starting stack of 3,000 chips.

Bill Chen hanging on

With blinds already at 100-200, a player with the starting stack of 3,000 has just 15 big blinds. A third of the field is already gone, and at the rate players are getting all their chips into the pot, another thousand will be gone in no time. Bill Chen had just 2,200 at the start of a hand and moved all in after the player under the gun raised to 475. After thinking for a minute the player folded and Chen showed A-K.

Player Tags: Shane Schleger,   William Chen

$50,000 World Champioship H.O.R.S.E. - Day 3 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 27, '08

Players Left: 41 of 148

Chip Leaders:

Barry Greenstein - 800,000
Huck Seed - 690,000
Michael DeMichele - 690,000
Patrick Bueno - 680,000
Joseph Michael  - 640,000
Edwin Ting - 640,000
Lyle Berman - 614,000
Farzad "Fred" Bonyadi - 520,000
Andy Bloch - 500,000
Mike Wattel - 450,000

Average Stack: 360,975

Eliminations:

Layne Flack
Kenny Tran
George Lind
Minh Ly
Raymon Dehkhargani

Big Hands and Storylines:

Razz

Looking Bleak for Doyle

With 855K exposed during razz Doyle Brunson bet 25,000 on seventh street against Bill Chen, who had 5K99 face up. Chen made the call and then turned over 764 in the hole. Brunson mucked his hand and conceded Chen the medium-size pot. "It's looking bleak," said Brunon after the hand to Abe Mosseri, who had come over to check on Doyle's stack. Doyle held under 300,000 after the hand.

Omaha 8OB

Odd Man Out

On a flop of A107 Mike Wattel bet 10,000 and both Chris Reslock and Andy Bloch made the call. The turn was dealt A and Reslock bet 20,000. Both opponents made the call and the 6 fell on the river. Reslock led out for 20,000 once again and both Bloch and Wattel made the call. Their cards:

Wattel: JJ32
Reslock: A782
Bloch: muck

Reslock took the high and Wattel the low. Bloch was the odd man out.

Stud

Doyle vs. Ivey

Doyle Brunson had A4Q2 exposed against Phil Ivey's QJ87. Bets and raises on every single street had built a nice pot worth more than 150,000 on seventh street when Ivey bet and Doyle raised. Ivey thought for a moment and then mucked his hand. The pot put Brunson back above the 300,000 mark, whil Ivey is now down to about 100,000.

Player Tags: Andy Bloch,   Michael Wattel,   Doyle Brunson,   Phil Ivey,   Chris Reslock,   William Chen

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 3 - Level 12 Recap

Jun 27, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  3,000-6,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  1,500 ante, 2,000 bring in, 6,000-12,000 stakes

Players Left: 59 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Lyle Berman - 603,000
Barry Greenstein - 505,000
Phil Ivey - 501,000
William Chen - 420,000
Huck Seed - 420,000
Joseph Michael - 410,000
Michael DeMichele - 390,000
Chris Reslock - 384,000
David Bach - 380,000
Gene Fisher - 375,000

Average Stack: 256,900

Eliminations:
Doug Ganger
Jeff Lisandro
Lee Markholt
Steve Sung

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Ace-High No Good For Mackey

James “mig.com” Mackey, who has found quite a bit of success in mixed events this year, hit a bit of a road block in Alexander Kostritsyn in the last level. Kostritsyn raised to 12,000 on the button and Mackey upped it to 18,000 in the big blind. Kostritsyn called. On a flop of KJ6, Mackey bet and the young Russian called. Mackey bet and Kostritsyn called again on the 5 turn. Action halted on the river when both players checked the 6. Mackey showed A3 for ace-high and was beaten by Kostritsyn’s pair of jacks with J10. The hand boosted Kostritsyn to 180,000.

Omaha/8b

Big Stacks Tangle

The holders of two of the biggest stacks of the tournament, Phil Ivey and Bill Chen, played an Omaha eight-or-better pot in the last round that resulted in a scoop for one of the two. Ivey raised from early position and it folded around to Chen in the big blind. Chen made the call and the flop came off 865. Chen check-raised Ivey on the flop and Ivey made the call. Chen bet the 2 turn and Ivey made another call. Both players checked the 4 river and Chen showed QQ74 for a straight and a 7-low. Ivey rapped the table and Chen raked in a pot to move to 420,000 in chips. Ivey is not to be pitied though, as he ended the level with 500,000.

Razz

From Russia With Low

Ralph Perry: 2J3Q
Justin Bonomo: A28J

Michael Joseph completed with the 3 showing on third street, Perry raised, and Bonomo made it 18,000. Both Joseph and Perry called. On fourth street, Bonomo bet out with A2 showing, Michael, having drawn a Q, folded, and Perry called despite drawing a jack. On fifth and sixth streets, Bonomo bet and Perry called. Both players checked the river and Bonomo tabled (3)(2)(J). Perry surveyed Bonomo’s cards very closely, then scrutinized his own, before finally revealing (A)(5)(5) for a J-5 low, narrowly edging out Bonomo’s J-8 low.

The pot gave Perry a stack of 245,000. Bonomo is hovering near the 300,000 chip mark.

Stud

Marcel Luske Eliminates Steve Sung

Steve Sung, desperately short-stacked, got his chips all-in against Marcel Luske. The news was bad for Sung when Luske showed (A)(Q)10JK3 for the broadway straight. Sung had a flush draw though – (9)(5)KQ62. Sung looked at his final card and then stood up and quickly left the table. After winning the pot Luske was up to 290,000.

James Mackey Eliminates Doug Ganger

Doug Ganger: 2K75
James Mackey: A738
Mickey Appleman: K4108

With only a few thousand chips left, Ganger brought in with his deuce and found himself all-in on third street. Mackey bet every street on the hand and Appleman called him down all the way until seventh street where he folded. Mackey showed (A)(10)(9) and that was good enough to take down the pot and eliminate Ganger. After some early trouble in the level, Mackey has bounced back to 250,000.

Player Tags: Gene Fisher,   Lee Markholt,   Barry Greenstein,   Huck Seed,   David Bach,   Lyle Berman,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   Phil Ivey,   Marcel Luske,   James Mackey,   Chris Reslock,   Justin Bonomo,   William Chen,   Steve Sung,   Ralph Perry,   Michael DeMichele,   Joseph Michael,   Doug Ganger,   Alexander Kostritsyn

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 - Level 7 Recap

Jun 26, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  1,000-2,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  500 ante, 500 bring in, 2,000-4,000 stakes

Players Left: 122 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Steve Wolff - 285,000
Tom Dwan - 280,000
Isabelle Mercier - 280,000
Abraham "Abe" Mosseri - 260,000
Joe Cassidy - 257,000
Ray Dehkharghani - 245,000
Doug Ganger - 230,000
William Chen - 225,000
Minh Ly - 200,000
Pat Pezzin - 196,500

Average Stack: 121,300

Eliminations:
Andrew Black
David Grey
Antanas “Tony G” Guoga

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Ivey Climbing

Robert Mizrachi raised from early position and was met by a re-raise from Phil Ivey on the button. Mizrachi called and the two saw a AK7 flop. Mizrachi check-raised Ivey’s continuation bet and Ivey made the call. Mizrachi bet 4,000 on the 7 turn and Ivey made a quick call. The river was the 6. Mizrachi checked and Ivey bet. Mizrachi mulled it over his decision for a minute or so before announcing a call. Ivey turned over AJ. His pair of aces was good enough to take down the pot and grow his stack to 130,000. Mizrachi now has about 12 big bets left with 50,000.

Razz

Chipping Up Off The Old Bloch

Hawrilenko: 85JA
Bloch: 42109

Matt “Hoss_TBF” Hawrilenko completed with the 8 and was raised by Andy Bloch on his left. Johnny Chan and Mike Wattel both called, as did Hawrilenko, and the 4 each drew a fourth card. Hawrilenko caught a 5, Bloch a 2, Chan a J, and Wattel the K. Bloch led out with his 4-low, Chan and Wattel called, but Hawrilenko put in a raise and then Bloch 3-bet, squeezing Chan and Wattel out of the pot, much to their consternation. On 5^th street, Bloch bet and Hawrilenko called. The tables turned on 6^th street and Bloch check-called a bet from Hawrilenko. Both players checked the river and Hawrilenko’s (A-6-4) gave him an 8-low. Bloch briefly showed (9-7-3) and mucked his 9-low. With the pot Hawrilenko moved up to 90,000.

Stud

David Grey Eliminated

Andy Bloch completed with the T and was raised by David Grey with the Q up. Grey admitted that, with about 13,000 chips to start the hand, he was almost certainly going to end up all-in on the hand. That is indeed what ended up happening, with he and Bloch all-in on 6^th street:

Grey: (Q)(6)Q478
Bloch: (K)(J)1025A

Grey’s pair of queens was ahead of Bloch going to the final card, but Bloch had a slew of outs: any diamond, ace, king, or queen would give him the lead in the hand. Bloch flipped over his final card like it was hot: Q. Grey could only laugh as Bloch made a straight with the card that he so desperately needed.

Bloch now has an impressive 180,000 chips.

Stud/8b

Gus’ Flush Trips Up Kravchenko

With boards of:

Hansen: 8355
Kravchenko: 76KK

Hansen was the aggressor on all streets, betting when checked to and leading out when acting first. On 7^th street, Kravchenko timidly check-called Hansen’s river bet and was not happy to see Gus table (Q)(J)(7) for a flush. Kravchenko could not produce a low and the pot was shipped to the Dane. Hansen now has  60,000.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Antanas Guoga,   Andy Bloch,   Minh Ly,   Gus Hansen,   Joe Cassidy,   David Grey,   Phil Ivey,   Abe Mosseri,   Pat Pezzin,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Isabelle Mercier,   Steve Wolff,   Andy Black,   Matt Hawrilenko,   William Chen,   Tom Dwan,   Doug Ganger

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 - Level 6 Recap

Jun 26, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  900-1,800 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  400 ante, 500 bring in, 1,800-3,600 stakes

Players Left: 136 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Ray Dehkharghani - 220,000
William Chen - 215,000
Steve Wolff - 204,000
Erick Lindgren - 202,000
Abraham "Abe" Mosseri - 196,000
Chris Reslock - 195,000
Steve Sung - 194,000
Patrik Antonius - 190,000
Doug Ganger - 190,000
Farzad "Fred" Bonyadi - 185,000

Average Stack: 108,825

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Good Start For Forrest

Erick Lindgren raised from middle position and action folded around to Ted Forrest in the big blind who made the call. The flop was J1010 and Forrest check-called a bet from Lindgren. The turn was the 7. Again Forrest checked and Lindgren bet. Forrest then raised and Lindgren called. Forrest bet the 4 river and Lindgren made the call. Forrest showed down KJ and took down a nice sized pot. Forrest is now just below the starting stack of 100,000. Lindgren is among the chip leaders with 200,000.

Horse Does Start With An “H”

Having been questioned about the situation by a few players, Jack Effel brought up the issue of whether the first game of each day should be hold’em or, instead, a game chosen by random draw. Effel asked for a show of hands from those who were in favor of a random game to start off each day. His request was met by only a meager show of hands, indicative more perhaps of the players ambivalence toward the situation than any real opinion. With such a lackluster show of hands, it appears that hold’em will be the game to start each of the days of this tournament. Mickey Appleman said it best, “Why complicate things?”

Omaha/8b

Fitoussi Gets Cut Out

Hasan Habib limped from early position and was joined on the flop by David Singer, Patrick Bueno, Michael Binger, and Bruno Fitoussi. The flop came AK2. Fitoussi checked, Habib bet, Singer and Bueno folded, Binger raised, and Fitoussi and Habib called. On the J turn, Fitoussi checked, Habib bet, Binger raised again, and Fitoussi and Habib called. The river was the 6. Again Fitoussi checked, Habib bet, and Binger and Fitoussi called. Habib showed A422 for the nut flush while Binger tabled 10543 for the nut low. Fitoussi showed... nothing. He mucked his hand quietly and shuffled his remaining 40,000 in chips. Habib has a more stable 80,000, and Binger has an even better 115,000.

Stud

“I Can’t Believe I Laid It Down!”

With boards reading:

Eli Elezra: Q10K2
Annie Duke: 3896

Elezra after leading out on 5^th street, checked his hand on 6^th street. Duke bet and Elezra went into the tank. After about 90 seconds of thinking, he flipped his upcards over and the conceded the pot to Duke. Apparently Elezra wasn’t too crushed by the lost pot, as he joked, “I can’t believe I laid that down. Two fours!” Elezra has about 85,000. Even with that pot Duke finds herself with only 30,000 in chips.

Stud/8b

Kaplan and Corkins Split Galfond’s Chips

Corkins: 7452
Kaplan: JQ104
Galfond: AK68

Hoyt Corkins completed with the 7 up, Gabe Kaplan called with the J, Phil Galfond raised with an A, and the two others called. Galfond led into his two elder statesmen on 4^th street and was called by both. 5^th street and 6^th street shared the same action: Galfond checked, Corkins bet, and Kaplan and Galfond both called. Corkins bet 7^th street and was raised by Kaplan, this put Galfond in a difficult position and he was forced to lay down his hand. A bit overeager, Kaplan flipped over his hand before Corkins made his decision. Corkins saw his opponent’s JJT  for a full house and made the call, showing A43 for a wheel. Corkins took down half of the pot, but was unlucky not to scoop it. After the hand, Corkins had 45,000, Kaplan 85,000, and Galfond 95,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Fred Bonyadi,   Annie Duke,   Erick Lindgren,   Hasan Habib,   Ted Forrest,   Eli Elezra,   Gabe Kaplan,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Abe Mosseri,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Chris Reslock,   Steve Wolff,   William Chen,   Steve Sung,   Michael Binger,   Phil Galfond,   Doug Ganger

$50,000 H.O.R.S.E - End of Day

Jun 25, '08

Play is done for the day. Day 2 action will resume at 3 p.m.

Blinds:
Hold'em: 800-1,500
Omaha 8: 800-1,500
Razz: 300 ante, 500 bring-in, 1,500 completion
Stud: 300 ante, 500 bring-in, 1,500 completion
Eight or Better: 500 ante, 500 bring-in, 1,500 completion

Players Left: 140 of 148

Chip Counts:
Chris Reslock: 220,000
James Mackey: 200,000
Pat Pezzin: 185,000
Phil Galfond: 180,000
Raymond Dehkharghani: 180,000
Joe Cassidy: 176,000
Ralph Perry: 175,000
Patrik Antonius: 170,000
Bill Chen: 170,000

Elimination: Phil Hellmuth, David Williams

Big Hands:

Hold'em

Flopped It

The player in seat 7 raised in position and David Benyamine called from the small blind and Billy "The Croc" Argyros called from middle the position. The flop came 875 and both Benyamine and Argyros checked to seat 7, who bet. Benyamine and Argyros made the call. The turn was the J and action was again checked to seat 7. He bet and Benyamine called, but Argyros mucked. The river was the 4, putting four hearts on the board. Benyamine bet out for the first time and seat 7 tanked. After lots of thought he made the call and Benyamine flipped over A2, for the flopped ace-high flush, and raked the pot.

A Full Tilt Collision

Full Tilt's Phil Ivey and Perry Friedman (who still has the Full Tilt logo on the side of his head) got involved in a pot when Ivey raised and Perry re-raised in position. Ivey made the call and the flop came K86. Ivey checked, Friedman bet out and Ivey made the call. The turn was the 10 and both players checked. Ivey bet out instantly when the 2 hit on the river and Friedman mucked his hand. Still, day one has not been kind to Ivey. He ended it with around 40,000 in chips.

Omaha 8

Set of Jacks for Antonius

When his opponent bet out on the river on a board of K-J-5-8-2, Patrik Antonius raised. His opponent called and Antonius showed J-J-6-4 for a set of jacks to take the pot while his opponent sat shaking his head.

Razz

Schneider Takes One Down

Tom Schneider bet every street until 7th street, where he slowed down and checked. His opponent called all the way and checked with Schneider on the end. Their cards were:
Schneider: 486J (A-2-Q)
His opponent: 9A69 (X-X-X)
Seeing that Schneider made an 8-low, his opponent mucked and Schneider took the pot.

Oppenheim Makes 9-Low For Pot

After some serious betting early, David Oppenheim and his opponent checked sixth and seventh street. Their cards here:
Oppenheim: 6K59 (9-4-2)
His opponent: 88A3 (Q-10-2)
Oppenheim's 9-low was good enough to edge out his opponent's 10-low and he raked a sizeable pot.

Good Hands

Surely Bill Chen and the player in seat 7 thought they were going to win the heavily bet pot before them. But when they showed down their best razz hands they saw something surprising:
Chen: 6-5-4-3-2-X-X-X
Seat 7: 6-5-4-3-2-X-X-X
Both players made the six-low and they split the pot.

Stud

Guess I'll Fold

Brandon Adams was showing the A when he bet out. His opponent was showing the Q and made the call. When Adams hit the A for his next card, his opponent shrugged at the early pair of aces in front of Adams and mucked his visible Q9.

Stud 8

Hellmuth Elminated by Fitoussi

In a three-way pot with Bruno Fitoussi and Rafi Amit, Phil Hellmuth got all in on fifth street. Their hands were:
Hellmuth: 6492 (6-9-x)
Fitoussi: 84K10 (KQ10)
Amit: 57105 (x-x-x)
Fitoussi's two pair was better than Hellmuth's and Hellmuth was eliminated late in day one.

Dwan Flushes Hennigan's Two-Pair

Tom Dwan has gotten the better of John Hennigan in a number of pots. In one hand Hennigan was showing two pair, yet couldn't get the better of the young internet-sensation. Their cards were:
Hennigan: 33KK (x-x-x)
Dwan: 42J9 (A85)
Dwan hit his ace-high flush and Hennigan angrily mucked his hand.

Leonidas Gets Better of Kostritsyn

Toto Leonidas bet every street during the hand. Isabelle Mercier got out of the way after fourth street but Leonidas was called down by Alexander Kostritsyn. Their showdown revealed:
Leonidas: A654 (A-7-6)
Kostritsyn: AJ4Q (Muck)
Seeing Leonidas' two pair, Kostritsyn slowly mucked his cards and Leonidas took the pot.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   David Oppenheim,   David Benyamine,   Phil Hellmuth,   John Hennigan,   Tom Schneider,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Phil Ivey,   Perry Friedman,   Isabelle Mercier,   Patrik Antonius,   William Chen,   Brandon Adams,   Billy Argyros,   Tom Dwan,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   European Report

$50,000 H.O.R.S.E - Level 3

Jun 25, '08

 

Players are on a 20 minute break.

Blinds:
Hold'em: 500-1,000
Omaha 8: 500-1,000
Razz: 200 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,000 completion
Stud: 200 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,000 completion
Eight or Better: 200 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,000 completion

Chip Counts:

Michael Wattel: 186,000
William Chen: 152,000
John Monnette: 151,000
Ralph Perry: 149,000
Shawn Sheikhan: 148,000
Ray Dehkharghani: 145,000
Doug Ganger: 140,000
Layne Flack: 140,000
Michael DeMichele: 140,000
Greg Mascio: 138,000

Money Details Announced

It has been announced that 148 players entered the event, creating a prize pool of $7,104,000 with 16 spots getting paid. FIrst place will take an incredible $1,989,120. After the announcement a joking Andy Bloch asked what second place gets, in light of his several runner-up finishes.

Hold'em

Pickering First Player Eliminated

Michael Mizrachi bet every street on a board of 103274 and Jamie Pickering called each time to put himself all in. Mizrachi showed K10 for top pair, and Pickering was the first elimination of the evening.

Overpair For Fitoussi

Bruno FItoussi bet every street and was called down by Nick Schulman on a board of 753Q4. Fitoussi turned over JJ for an overpair. Schulman mucked and Fitoussi took a nice pot.

Playing Against a Legend 101

Mistake #1: The player on the button raised while Doyle Brunson was in the big blind. Mistake #2: When doyle checked on a 873 flop, the player on the button bet out. Brunson check-raised and the player folded.

Chen's Second Pair Beats Jesus Out of Pot

Bill Chen bet out on a Q105 flop and was called by Chris Ferguson. The 5 turn was checked by both players. Both players again checked the J river and Chen showed A10 for two pair, and Ferguson mucked. Ferguson was very short on chips.

Omaha 8

The Professor Scoops an Early Pot

On the first hand of the level Howard Lederer bet out on a flop of 965 and was called by David Benyamine. Benyamine again called Lederer's bet on the Q turn and A river only to have Lederer turn over a monster - 9-9-7-2. The set of nines were good enough for the high hand and Lederer's 7-low also took the low, giving "the Professor" the pot.

Razz

Hellmuth Ain't Happy

Nick Schulman called Hellmuth's bets on each street, even raising Hellmuth on fifth street. Hellmuth laughed and made the call. He didn't slow down, again betting on sixth street and getting a call. Hellmuth bet the final card and Schulman raised him again. Hellmuth did a quick call and stood from his seat and angrily mucked when he saw what he was up against. Their hands were:
Hellmuth: 587Q (X-X-X)
Schulman: 4Q69 (2-3-5)

Hellmuth shot from his seat and walked away from the table. After the hand it was a while before Hellmuth was able to sit still.

A Large Pot Brewing

Back and forth betting between David Singer and Andy Bloch created a large pot that got even larger when Singer raised and Bloch re-raised on sixth-street. When the final card was dealt to each player Bloch fired out a final bet and Singer quickly mucked, conceding a big pot to Bloch.

Stud

Dwan's Queens Beat Hennigan

Tom Dwan AKA Durrr, called John Hennigan's bets on each street then led out after the final card was dealt to each player. Hennigan made the call and the players showed their hands:
Dwan: A-J-5-3 (Q-Q-7)
Hennigan: J-6-4-2 (X-X-X)
Seeing Dwan's pair of queens, Hennigan mucked his hand.

"Patrik Antonius"

Showing K-J-6-2, both Patrik Antonius and his opponent checked and all Antonius showed was a 2 from his downed hand for a pair of deuces. His opponent mucked and the pair of deuces took the pot - catching Mike Matusow's attention across the table. Matusow said simply, "Patrik Antonius."

Stud 8

Elezra Rakes Monster Pot

Piles of chips were already in the pot when Eli Elezra bet on the final card. Their cards were:
Elezra 7-4-4-J (X-X-X)
Seat 3: Q-10-6-6 (X-X-X)
Elezra's opponent thought long and hard then mucked, giving Elezra the pot. Elezra showed one of his down cards - a 4 for trips.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Andy Bloch,   Howard Lederer,   David Benyamine,   Phil Hellmuth,   Doyle Brunson,   Eli Elezra,   David Singer,   John Hennigan,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Patrik Antonius,   William Chen,   Nick Schulman,   European Report

$50,000 World Champioship H.O.R.S.E. - Day 3 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 27, '08

Players Left: 41 of 148

Chip Leaders:

Barry Greenstein - 800,000
Huck Seed - 690,000
Michael DeMichele - 690,000
Patrick Bueno - 680,000
Joseph Michael  - 640,000
Edwin Ting - 640,000
Lyle Berman - 614,000
Farzad "Fred" Bonyadi - 520,000
Andy Bloch - 500,000
Mike Wattel - 450,000

Average Stack: 360,975

Eliminations:

Layne Flack
Kenny Tran
George Lind
Minh Ly
Raymon Dehkhargani

Big Hands and Storylines:

Razz

Looking Bleak for Doyle

With 855K exposed during razz Doyle Brunson bet 25,000 on seventh street against Bill Chen, who had 5K99 face up. Chen made the call and then turned over 764 in the hole. Brunson mucked his hand and conceded Chen the medium-size pot. "It's looking bleak," said Brunon after the hand to Abe Mosseri, who had come over to check on Doyle's stack. Doyle held under 300,000 after the hand.

Omaha 8OB

Odd Man Out

On a flop of A107 Mike Wattel bet 10,000 and both Chris Reslock and Andy Bloch made the call. The turn was dealt A and Reslock bet 20,000. Both opponents made the call and the 6 fell on the river. Reslock led out for 20,000 once again and both Bloch and Wattel made the call. Their cards:

Wattel: JJ32
Reslock: A782
Bloch: muck

Reslock took the high and Wattel the low. Bloch was the odd man out.

Stud

Doyle vs. Ivey

Doyle Brunson had A4Q2 exposed against Phil Ivey's QJ87. Bets and raises on every single street had built a nice pot worth more than 150,000 on seventh street when Ivey bet and Doyle raised. Ivey thought for a moment and then mucked his hand. The pot put Brunson back above the 300,000 mark, whil Ivey is now down to about 100,000.

Player Tags: Andy Bloch,   Michael Wattel,   Doyle Brunson,   Phil Ivey,   Chris Reslock,   William Chen

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 3 - Level 12 Recap

Jun 27, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  3,000-6,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  1,500 ante, 2,000 bring in, 6,000-12,000 stakes

Players Left: 59 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Lyle Berman - 603,000
Barry Greenstein - 505,000
Phil Ivey - 501,000
William Chen - 420,000
Huck Seed - 420,000
Joseph Michael - 410,000
Michael DeMichele - 390,000
Chris Reslock - 384,000
David Bach - 380,000
Gene Fisher - 375,000

Average Stack: 256,900

Eliminations:
Doug Ganger
Jeff Lisandro
Lee Markholt
Steve Sung

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Ace-High No Good For Mackey

James “mig.com” Mackey, who has found quite a bit of success in mixed events this year, hit a bit of a road block in Alexander Kostritsyn in the last level. Kostritsyn raised to 12,000 on the button and Mackey upped it to 18,000 in the big blind. Kostritsyn called. On a flop of KJ6, Mackey bet and the young Russian called. Mackey bet and Kostritsyn called again on the 5 turn. Action halted on the river when both players checked the 6. Mackey showed A3 for ace-high and was beaten by Kostritsyn’s pair of jacks with J10. The hand boosted Kostritsyn to 180,000.

Omaha/8b

Big Stacks Tangle

The holders of two of the biggest stacks of the tournament, Phil Ivey and Bill Chen, played an Omaha eight-or-better pot in the last round that resulted in a scoop for one of the two. Ivey raised from early position and it folded around to Chen in the big blind. Chen made the call and the flop came off 865. Chen check-raised Ivey on the flop and Ivey made the call. Chen bet the 2 turn and Ivey made another call. Both players checked the 4 river and Chen showed QQ74 for a straight and a 7-low. Ivey rapped the table and Chen raked in a pot to move to 420,000 in chips. Ivey is not to be pitied though, as he ended the level with 500,000.

Razz

From Russia With Low

Ralph Perry: 2J3Q
Justin Bonomo: A28J

Michael Joseph completed with the 3 showing on third street, Perry raised, and Bonomo made it 18,000. Both Joseph and Perry called. On fourth street, Bonomo bet out with A2 showing, Michael, having drawn a Q, folded, and Perry called despite drawing a jack. On fifth and sixth streets, Bonomo bet and Perry called. Both players checked the river and Bonomo tabled (3)(2)(J). Perry surveyed Bonomo’s cards very closely, then scrutinized his own, before finally revealing (A)(5)(5) for a J-5 low, narrowly edging out Bonomo’s J-8 low.

The pot gave Perry a stack of 245,000. Bonomo is hovering near the 300,000 chip mark.

Stud

Marcel Luske Eliminates Steve Sung

Steve Sung, desperately short-stacked, got his chips all-in against Marcel Luske. The news was bad for Sung when Luske showed (A)(Q)10JK3 for the broadway straight. Sung had a flush draw though – (9)(5)KQ62. Sung looked at his final card and then stood up and quickly left the table. After winning the pot Luske was up to 290,000.

James Mackey Eliminates Doug Ganger

Doug Ganger: 2K75
James Mackey: A738
Mickey Appleman: K4108

With only a few thousand chips left, Ganger brought in with his deuce and found himself all-in on third street. Mackey bet every street on the hand and Appleman called him down all the way until seventh street where he folded. Mackey showed (A)(10)(9) and that was good enough to take down the pot and eliminate Ganger. After some early trouble in the level, Mackey has bounced back to 250,000.

Player Tags: Gene Fisher,   Lee Markholt,   Barry Greenstein,   Huck Seed,   David Bach,   Lyle Berman,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   Phil Ivey,   Marcel Luske,   James Mackey,   Chris Reslock,   Justin Bonomo,   William Chen,   Steve Sung,   Ralph Perry,   Michael DeMichele,   Joseph Michael,   Doug Ganger,   Alexander Kostritsyn

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 - Level 7 Recap

Jun 26, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  1,000-2,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  500 ante, 500 bring in, 2,000-4,000 stakes

Players Left: 122 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Steve Wolff - 285,000
Tom Dwan - 280,000
Isabelle Mercier - 280,000
Abraham "Abe" Mosseri - 260,000
Joe Cassidy - 257,000
Ray Dehkharghani - 245,000
Doug Ganger - 230,000
William Chen - 225,000
Minh Ly - 200,000
Pat Pezzin - 196,500

Average Stack: 121,300

Eliminations:
Andrew Black
David Grey
Antanas “Tony G” Guoga

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Ivey Climbing

Robert Mizrachi raised from early position and was met by a re-raise from Phil Ivey on the button. Mizrachi called and the two saw a AK7 flop. Mizrachi check-raised Ivey’s continuation bet and Ivey made the call. Mizrachi bet 4,000 on the 7 turn and Ivey made a quick call. The river was the 6. Mizrachi checked and Ivey bet. Mizrachi mulled it over his decision for a minute or so before announcing a call. Ivey turned over AJ. His pair of aces was good enough to take down the pot and grow his stack to 130,000. Mizrachi now has about 12 big bets left with 50,000.

Razz

Chipping Up Off The Old Bloch

Hawrilenko: 85JA
Bloch: 42109

Matt “Hoss_TBF” Hawrilenko completed with the 8 and was raised by Andy Bloch on his left. Johnny Chan and Mike Wattel both called, as did Hawrilenko, and the 4 each drew a fourth card. Hawrilenko caught a 5, Bloch a 2, Chan a J, and Wattel the K. Bloch led out with his 4-low, Chan and Wattel called, but Hawrilenko put in a raise and then Bloch 3-bet, squeezing Chan and Wattel out of the pot, much to their consternation. On 5^th street, Bloch bet and Hawrilenko called. The tables turned on 6^th street and Bloch check-called a bet from Hawrilenko. Both players checked the river and Hawrilenko’s (A-6-4) gave him an 8-low. Bloch briefly showed (9-7-3) and mucked his 9-low. With the pot Hawrilenko moved up to 90,000.

Stud

David Grey Eliminated

Andy Bloch completed with the T and was raised by David Grey with the Q up. Grey admitted that, with about 13,000 chips to start the hand, he was almost certainly going to end up all-in on the hand. That is indeed what ended up happening, with he and Bloch all-in on 6^th street:

Grey: (Q)(6)Q478
Bloch: (K)(J)1025A

Grey’s pair of queens was ahead of Bloch going to the final card, but Bloch had a slew of outs: any diamond, ace, king, or queen would give him the lead in the hand. Bloch flipped over his final card like it was hot: Q. Grey could only laugh as Bloch made a straight with the card that he so desperately needed.

Bloch now has an impressive 180,000 chips.

Stud/8b

Gus’ Flush Trips Up Kravchenko

With boards of:

Hansen: 8355
Kravchenko: 76KK

Hansen was the aggressor on all streets, betting when checked to and leading out when acting first. On 7^th street, Kravchenko timidly check-called Hansen’s river bet and was not happy to see Gus table (Q)(J)(7) for a flush. Kravchenko could not produce a low and the pot was shipped to the Dane. Hansen now has  60,000.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Antanas Guoga,   Andy Bloch,   Minh Ly,   Gus Hansen,   Joe Cassidy,   David Grey,   Phil Ivey,   Abe Mosseri,   Pat Pezzin,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Isabelle Mercier,   Steve Wolff,   Andy Black,   Matt Hawrilenko,   William Chen,   Tom Dwan,   Doug Ganger

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 - Level 6 Recap

Jun 26, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  900-1,800 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  400 ante, 500 bring in, 1,800-3,600 stakes

Players Left: 136 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Ray Dehkharghani - 220,000
William Chen - 215,000
Steve Wolff - 204,000
Erick Lindgren - 202,000
Abraham "Abe" Mosseri - 196,000
Chris Reslock - 195,000
Steve Sung - 194,000
Patrik Antonius - 190,000
Doug Ganger - 190,000
Farzad "Fred" Bonyadi - 185,000

Average Stack: 108,825

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Good Start For Forrest

Erick Lindgren raised from middle position and action folded around to Ted Forrest in the big blind who made the call. The flop was J1010 and Forrest check-called a bet from Lindgren. The turn was the 7. Again Forrest checked and Lindgren bet. Forrest then raised and Lindgren called. Forrest bet the 4 river and Lindgren made the call. Forrest showed down KJ and took down a nice sized pot. Forrest is now just below the starting stack of 100,000. Lindgren is among the chip leaders with 200,000.

Horse Does Start With An “H”

Having been questioned about the situation by a few players, Jack Effel brought up the issue of whether the first game of each day should be hold’em or, instead, a game chosen by random draw. Effel asked for a show of hands from those who were in favor of a random game to start off each day. His request was met by only a meager show of hands, indicative more perhaps of the players ambivalence toward the situation than any real opinion. With such a lackluster show of hands, it appears that hold’em will be the game to start each of the days of this tournament. Mickey Appleman said it best, “Why complicate things?”

Omaha/8b

Fitoussi Gets Cut Out

Hasan Habib limped from early position and was joined on the flop by David Singer, Patrick Bueno, Michael Binger, and Bruno Fitoussi. The flop came AK2. Fitoussi checked, Habib bet, Singer and Bueno folded, Binger raised, and Fitoussi and Habib called. On the J turn, Fitoussi checked, Habib bet, Binger raised again, and Fitoussi and Habib called. The river was the 6. Again Fitoussi checked, Habib bet, and Binger and Fitoussi called. Habib showed A422 for the nut flush while Binger tabled 10543 for the nut low. Fitoussi showed... nothing. He mucked his hand quietly and shuffled his remaining 40,000 in chips. Habib has a more stable 80,000, and Binger has an even better 115,000.

Stud

“I Can’t Believe I Laid It Down!”

With boards reading:

Eli Elezra: Q10K2
Annie Duke: 3896

Elezra after leading out on 5^th street, checked his hand on 6^th street. Duke bet and Elezra went into the tank. After about 90 seconds of thinking, he flipped his upcards over and the conceded the pot to Duke. Apparently Elezra wasn’t too crushed by the lost pot, as he joked, “I can’t believe I laid that down. Two fours!” Elezra has about 85,000. Even with that pot Duke finds herself with only 30,000 in chips.

Stud/8b

Kaplan and Corkins Split Galfond’s Chips

Corkins: 7452
Kaplan: JQ104
Galfond: AK68

Hoyt Corkins completed with the 7 up, Gabe Kaplan called with the J, Phil Galfond raised with an A, and the two others called. Galfond led into his two elder statesmen on 4^th street and was called by both. 5^th street and 6^th street shared the same action: Galfond checked, Corkins bet, and Kaplan and Galfond both called. Corkins bet 7^th street and was raised by Kaplan, this put Galfond in a difficult position and he was forced to lay down his hand. A bit overeager, Kaplan flipped over his hand before Corkins made his decision. Corkins saw his opponent’s JJT  for a full house and made the call, showing A43 for a wheel. Corkins took down half of the pot, but was unlucky not to scoop it. After the hand, Corkins had 45,000, Kaplan 85,000, and Galfond 95,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Fred Bonyadi,   Annie Duke,   Erick Lindgren,   Hasan Habib,   Ted Forrest,   Eli Elezra,   Gabe Kaplan,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Abe Mosseri,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Chris Reslock,   Steve Wolff,   William Chen,   Steve Sung,   Michael Binger,   Phil Galfond,   Doug Ganger

$50,000 H.O.R.S.E - End of Day

Jun 25, '08

Play is done for the day. Day 2 action will resume at 3 p.m.

Blinds:
Hold'em: 800-1,500
Omaha 8: 800-1,500
Razz: 300 ante, 500 bring-in, 1,500 completion
Stud: 300 ante, 500 bring-in, 1,500 completion
Eight or Better: 500 ante, 500 bring-in, 1,500 completion

Players Left: 140 of 148

Chip Counts:
Chris Reslock: 220,000
James Mackey: 200,000
Pat Pezzin: 185,000
Phil Galfond: 180,000
Raymond Dehkharghani: 180,000
Joe Cassidy: 176,000
Ralph Perry: 175,000
Patrik Antonius: 170,000
Bill Chen: 170,000

Elimination: Phil Hellmuth, David Williams

Big Hands:

Hold'em

Flopped It

The player in seat 7 raised in position and David Benyamine called from the small blind and Billy "The Croc" Argyros called from middle the position. The flop came 875 and both Benyamine and Argyros checked to seat 7, who bet. Benyamine and Argyros made the call. The turn was the J and action was again checked to seat 7. He bet and Benyamine called, but Argyros mucked. The river was the 4, putting four hearts on the board. Benyamine bet out for the first time and seat 7 tanked. After lots of thought he made the call and Benyamine flipped over A2, for the flopped ace-high flush, and raked the pot.

A Full Tilt Collision

Full Tilt's Phil Ivey and Perry Friedman (who still has the Full Tilt logo on the side of his head) got involved in a pot when Ivey raised and Perry re-raised in position. Ivey made the call and the flop came K86. Ivey checked, Friedman bet out and Ivey made the call. The turn was the 10 and both players checked. Ivey bet out instantly when the 2 hit on the river and Friedman mucked his hand. Still, day one has not been kind to Ivey. He ended it with around 40,000 in chips.

Omaha 8

Set of Jacks for Antonius

When his opponent bet out on the river on a board of K-J-5-8-2, Patrik Antonius raised. His opponent called and Antonius showed J-J-6-4 for a set of jacks to take the pot while his opponent sat shaking his head.

Razz

Schneider Takes One Down

Tom Schneider bet every street until 7th street, where he slowed down and checked. His opponent called all the way and checked with Schneider on the end. Their cards were:
Schneider: 486J (A-2-Q)
His opponent: 9A69 (X-X-X)
Seeing that Schneider made an 8-low, his opponent mucked and Schneider took the pot.

Oppenheim Makes 9-Low For Pot

After some serious betting early, David Oppenheim and his opponent checked sixth and seventh street. Their cards here:
Oppenheim: 6K59 (9-4-2)
His opponent: 88A3 (Q-10-2)
Oppenheim's 9-low was good enough to edge out his opponent's 10-low and he raked a sizeable pot.

Good Hands

Surely Bill Chen and the player in seat 7 thought they were going to win the heavily bet pot before them. But when they showed down their best razz hands they saw something surprising:
Chen: 6-5-4-3-2-X-X-X
Seat 7: 6-5-4-3-2-X-X-X
Both players made the six-low and they split the pot.

Stud

Guess I'll Fold

Brandon Adams was showing the A when he bet out. His opponent was showing the Q and made the call. When Adams hit the A for his next card, his opponent shrugged at the early pair of aces in front of Adams and mucked his visible Q9.

Stud 8

Hellmuth Elminated by Fitoussi

In a three-way pot with Bruno Fitoussi and Rafi Amit, Phil Hellmuth got all in on fifth street. Their hands were:
Hellmuth: 6492 (6-9-x)
Fitoussi: 84K10 (KQ10)
Amit: 57105 (x-x-x)
Fitoussi's two pair was better than Hellmuth's and Hellmuth was eliminated late in day one.

Dwan Flushes Hennigan's Two-Pair

Tom Dwan has gotten the better of John Hennigan in a number of pots. In one hand Hennigan was showing two pair, yet couldn't get the better of the young internet-sensation. Their cards were:
Hennigan: 33KK (x-x-x)
Dwan: 42J9 (A85)
Dwan hit his ace-high flush and Hennigan angrily mucked his hand.

Leonidas Gets Better of Kostritsyn

Toto Leonidas bet every street during the hand. Isabelle Mercier got out of the way after fourth street but Leonidas was called down by Alexander Kostritsyn. Their showdown revealed:
Leonidas: A654 (A-7-6)
Kostritsyn: AJ4Q (Muck)
Seeing Leonidas' two pair, Kostritsyn slowly mucked his cards and Leonidas took the pot.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   David Oppenheim,   David Benyamine,   Phil Hellmuth,   John Hennigan,   Tom Schneider,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Phil Ivey,   Perry Friedman,   Isabelle Mercier,   Patrik Antonius,   William Chen,   Brandon Adams,   Billy Argyros,   Tom Dwan,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   European Report

$50,000 H.O.R.S.E - Level 3

Jun 25, '08

 

Players are on a 20 minute break.

Blinds:
Hold'em: 500-1,000
Omaha 8: 500-1,000
Razz: 200 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,000 completion
Stud: 200 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,000 completion
Eight or Better: 200 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,000 completion

Chip Counts:

Michael Wattel: 186,000
William Chen: 152,000
John Monnette: 151,000
Ralph Perry: 149,000
Shawn Sheikhan: 148,000
Ray Dehkharghani: 145,000
Doug Ganger: 140,000
Layne Flack: 140,000
Michael DeMichele: 140,000
Greg Mascio: 138,000

Money Details Announced

It has been announced that 148 players entered the event, creating a prize pool of $7,104,000 with 16 spots getting paid. FIrst place will take an incredible $1,989,120. After the announcement a joking Andy Bloch asked what second place gets, in light of his several runner-up finishes.

Hold'em

Pickering First Player Eliminated

Michael Mizrachi bet every street on a board of 103274 and Jamie Pickering called each time to put himself all in. Mizrachi showed K10 for top pair, and Pickering was the first elimination of the evening.

Overpair For Fitoussi

Bruno FItoussi bet every street and was called down by Nick Schulman on a board of 753Q4. Fitoussi turned over JJ for an overpair. Schulman mucked and Fitoussi took a nice pot.

Playing Against a Legend 101

Mistake #1: The player on the button raised while Doyle Brunson was in the big blind. Mistake #2: When doyle checked on a 873 flop, the player on the button bet out. Brunson check-raised and the player folded.

Chen's Second Pair Beats Jesus Out of Pot

Bill Chen bet out on a Q105 flop and was called by Chris Ferguson. The 5 turn was checked by both players. Both players again checked the J river and Chen showed A10 for two pair, and Ferguson mucked. Ferguson was very short on chips.

Omaha 8

The Professor Scoops an Early Pot

On the first hand of the level Howard Lederer bet out on a flop of 965 and was called by David Benyamine. Benyamine again called Lederer's bet on the Q turn and A river only to have Lederer turn over a monster - 9-9-7-2. The set of nines were good enough for the high hand and Lederer's 7-low also took the low, giving "the Professor" the pot.

Razz

Hellmuth Ain't Happy

Nick Schulman called Hellmuth's bets on each street, even raising Hellmuth on fifth street. Hellmuth laughed and made the call. He didn't slow down, again betting on sixth street and getting a call. Hellmuth bet the final card and Schulman raised him again. Hellmuth did a quick call and stood from his seat and angrily mucked when he saw what he was up against. Their hands were:
Hellmuth: 587Q (X-X-X)
Schulman: 4Q69 (2-3-5)

Hellmuth shot from his seat and walked away from the table. After the hand it was a while before Hellmuth was able to sit still.

A Large Pot Brewing

Back and forth betting between David Singer and Andy Bloch created a large pot that got even larger when Singer raised and Bloch re-raised on sixth-street. When the final card was dealt to each player Bloch fired out a final bet and Singer quickly mucked, conceding a big pot to Bloch.

Stud

Dwan's Queens Beat Hennigan

Tom Dwan AKA Durrr, called John Hennigan's bets on each street then led out after the final card was dealt to each player. Hennigan made the call and the players showed their hands:
Dwan: A-J-5-3 (Q-Q-7)
Hennigan: J-6-4-2 (X-X-X)
Seeing Dwan's pair of queens, Hennigan mucked his hand.

"Patrik Antonius"

Showing K-J-6-2, both Patrik Antonius and his opponent checked and all Antonius showed was a 2 from his downed hand for a pair of deuces. His opponent mucked and the pair of deuces took the pot - catching Mike Matusow's attention across the table. Matusow said simply, "Patrik Antonius."

Stud 8

Elezra Rakes Monster Pot

Piles of chips were already in the pot when Eli Elezra bet on the final card. Their cards were:
Elezra 7-4-4-J (X-X-X)
Seat 3: Q-10-6-6 (X-X-X)
Elezra's opponent thought long and hard then mucked, giving Elezra the pot. Elezra showed one of his down cards - a 4 for trips.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Andy Bloch,   Howard Lederer,   David Benyamine,   Phil Hellmuth,   Doyle Brunson,   Eli Elezra,   David Singer,   John Hennigan,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Patrik Antonius,   William Chen,   Nick Schulman,   European Report

$50,000 World Champioship H.O.R.S.E. - Day 3 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 27, '08

Players Left: 41 of 148

Chip Leaders:

Barry Greenstein - 800,000
Huck Seed - 690,000
Michael DeMichele - 690,000
Patrick Bueno - 680,000
Joseph Michael  - 640,000
Edwin Ting - 640,000
Lyle Berman - 614,000
Farzad "Fred" Bonyadi - 520,000
Andy Bloch - 500,000
Mike Wattel - 450,000

Average Stack: 360,975

Eliminations:

Layne Flack
Kenny Tran
George Lind
Minh Ly
Raymon Dehkhargani

Big Hands and Storylines:

Razz

Looking Bleak for Doyle

With 855K exposed during razz Doyle Brunson bet 25,000 on seventh street against Bill Chen, who had 5K99 face up. Chen made the call and then turned over 764 in the hole. Brunson mucked his hand and conceded Chen the medium-size pot. "It's looking bleak," said Brunon after the hand to Abe Mosseri, who had come over to check on Doyle's stack. Doyle held under 300,000 after the hand.

Omaha 8OB

Odd Man Out

On a flop of A107 Mike Wattel bet 10,000 and both Chris Reslock and Andy Bloch made the call. The turn was dealt A and Reslock bet 20,000. Both opponents made the call and the 6 fell on the river. Reslock led out for 20,000 once again and both Bloch and Wattel made the call. Their cards:

Wattel: JJ32
Reslock: A782
Bloch: muck

Reslock took the high and Wattel the low. Bloch was the odd man out.

Stud

Doyle vs. Ivey

Doyle Brunson had A4Q2 exposed against Phil Ivey's QJ87. Bets and raises on every single street had built a nice pot worth more than 150,000 on seventh street when Ivey bet and Doyle raised. Ivey thought for a moment and then mucked his hand. The pot put Brunson back above the 300,000 mark, whil Ivey is now down to about 100,000.

Player Tags: Andy Bloch,   Michael Wattel,   Doyle Brunson,   Phil Ivey,   Chris Reslock,   William Chen

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 3 - Level 12 Recap

Jun 27, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  3,000-6,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  1,500 ante, 2,000 bring in, 6,000-12,000 stakes

Players Left: 59 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Lyle Berman - 603,000
Barry Greenstein - 505,000
Phil Ivey - 501,000
William Chen - 420,000
Huck Seed - 420,000
Joseph Michael - 410,000
Michael DeMichele - 390,000
Chris Reslock - 384,000
David Bach - 380,000
Gene Fisher - 375,000

Average Stack: 256,900

Eliminations:
Doug Ganger
Jeff Lisandro
Lee Markholt
Steve Sung

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Ace-High No Good For Mackey

James “mig.com” Mackey, who has found quite a bit of success in mixed events this year, hit a bit of a road block in Alexander Kostritsyn in the last level. Kostritsyn raised to 12,000 on the button and Mackey upped it to 18,000 in the big blind. Kostritsyn called. On a flop of KJ6, Mackey bet and the young Russian called. Mackey bet and Kostritsyn called again on the 5 turn. Action halted on the river when both players checked the 6. Mackey showed A3 for ace-high and was beaten by Kostritsyn’s pair of jacks with J10. The hand boosted Kostritsyn to 180,000.

Omaha/8b

Big Stacks Tangle

The holders of two of the biggest stacks of the tournament, Phil Ivey and Bill Chen, played an Omaha eight-or-better pot in the last round that resulted in a scoop for one of the two. Ivey raised from early position and it folded around to Chen in the big blind. Chen made the call and the flop came off 865. Chen check-raised Ivey on the flop and Ivey made the call. Chen bet the 2 turn and Ivey made another call. Both players checked the 4 river and Chen showed QQ74 for a straight and a 7-low. Ivey rapped the table and Chen raked in a pot to move to 420,000 in chips. Ivey is not to be pitied though, as he ended the level with 500,000.

Razz

From Russia With Low

Ralph Perry: 2J3Q
Justin Bonomo: A28J

Michael Joseph completed with the 3 showing on third street, Perry raised, and Bonomo made it 18,000. Both Joseph and Perry called. On fourth street, Bonomo bet out with A2 showing, Michael, having drawn a Q, folded, and Perry called despite drawing a jack. On fifth and sixth streets, Bonomo bet and Perry called. Both players checked the river and Bonomo tabled (3)(2)(J). Perry surveyed Bonomo’s cards very closely, then scrutinized his own, before finally revealing (A)(5)(5) for a J-5 low, narrowly edging out Bonomo’s J-8 low.

The pot gave Perry a stack of 245,000. Bonomo is hovering near the 300,000 chip mark.

Stud

Marcel Luske Eliminates Steve Sung

Steve Sung, desperately short-stacked, got his chips all-in against Marcel Luske. The news was bad for Sung when Luske showed (A)(Q)10JK3 for the broadway straight. Sung had a flush draw though – (9)(5)KQ62. Sung looked at his final card and then stood up and quickly left the table. After winning the pot Luske was up to 290,000.

James Mackey Eliminates Doug Ganger

Doug Ganger: 2K75
James Mackey: A738
Mickey Appleman: K4108

With only a few thousand chips left, Ganger brought in with his deuce and found himself all-in on third street. Mackey bet every street on the hand and Appleman called him down all the way until seventh street where he folded. Mackey showed (A)(10)(9) and that was good enough to take down the pot and eliminate Ganger. After some early trouble in the level, Mackey has bounced back to 250,000.

Player Tags: Gene Fisher,   Lee Markholt,   Barry Greenstein,   Huck Seed,   David Bach,   Lyle Berman,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   Phil Ivey,   Marcel Luske,   James Mackey,   Chris Reslock,   Justin Bonomo,   William Chen,   Steve Sung,   Ralph Perry,   Michael DeMichele,   Joseph Michael,   Doug Ganger,   Alexander Kostritsyn

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 - Level 7 Recap

Jun 26, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  1,000-2,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  500 ante, 500 bring in, 2,000-4,000 stakes

Players Left: 122 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Steve Wolff - 285,000
Tom Dwan - 280,000
Isabelle Mercier - 280,000
Abraham "Abe" Mosseri - 260,000
Joe Cassidy - 257,000
Ray Dehkharghani - 245,000
Doug Ganger - 230,000
William Chen - 225,000
Minh Ly - 200,000
Pat Pezzin - 196,500

Average Stack: 121,300

Eliminations:
Andrew Black
David Grey
Antanas “Tony G” Guoga

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Ivey Climbing

Robert Mizrachi raised from early position and was met by a re-raise from Phil Ivey on the button. Mizrachi called and the two saw a AK7 flop. Mizrachi check-raised Ivey’s continuation bet and Ivey made the call. Mizrachi bet 4,000 on the 7 turn and Ivey made a quick call. The river was the 6. Mizrachi checked and Ivey bet. Mizrachi mulled it over his decision for a minute or so before announcing a call. Ivey turned over AJ. His pair of aces was good enough to take down the pot and grow his stack to 130,000. Mizrachi now has about 12 big bets left with 50,000.

Razz

Chipping Up Off The Old Bloch

Hawrilenko: 85JA
Bloch: 42109

Matt “Hoss_TBF” Hawrilenko completed with the 8 and was raised by Andy Bloch on his left. Johnny Chan and Mike Wattel both called, as did Hawrilenko, and the 4 each drew a fourth card. Hawrilenko caught a 5, Bloch a 2, Chan a J, and Wattel the K. Bloch led out with his 4-low, Chan and Wattel called, but Hawrilenko put in a raise and then Bloch 3-bet, squeezing Chan and Wattel out of the pot, much to their consternation. On 5^th street, Bloch bet and Hawrilenko called. The tables turned on 6^th street and Bloch check-called a bet from Hawrilenko. Both players checked the river and Hawrilenko’s (A-6-4) gave him an 8-low. Bloch briefly showed (9-7-3) and mucked his 9-low. With the pot Hawrilenko moved up to 90,000.

Stud

David Grey Eliminated

Andy Bloch completed with the T and was raised by David Grey with the Q up. Grey admitted that, with about 13,000 chips to start the hand, he was almost certainly going to end up all-in on the hand. That is indeed what ended up happening, with he and Bloch all-in on 6^th street:

Grey: (Q)(6)Q478
Bloch: (K)(J)1025A

Grey’s pair of queens was ahead of Bloch going to the final card, but Bloch had a slew of outs: any diamond, ace, king, or queen would give him the lead in the hand. Bloch flipped over his final card like it was hot: Q. Grey could only laugh as Bloch made a straight with the card that he so desperately needed.

Bloch now has an impressive 180,000 chips.

Stud/8b

Gus’ Flush Trips Up Kravchenko

With boards of:

Hansen: 8355
Kravchenko: 76KK

Hansen was the aggressor on all streets, betting when checked to and leading out when acting first. On 7^th street, Kravchenko timidly check-called Hansen’s river bet and was not happy to see Gus table (Q)(J)(7) for a flush. Kravchenko could not produce a low and the pot was shipped to the Dane. Hansen now has  60,000.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Antanas Guoga,   Andy Bloch,   Minh Ly,   Gus Hansen,   Joe Cassidy,   David Grey,   Phil Ivey,   Abe Mosseri,   Pat Pezzin,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Isabelle Mercier,   Steve Wolff,   Andy Black,   Matt Hawrilenko,   William Chen,   Tom Dwan,   Doug Ganger

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 - Level 6 Recap

Jun 26, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  900-1,800 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  400 ante, 500 bring in, 1,800-3,600 stakes

Players Left: 136 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Ray Dehkharghani - 220,000
William Chen - 215,000
Steve Wolff - 204,000
Erick Lindgren - 202,000
Abraham "Abe" Mosseri - 196,000
Chris Reslock - 195,000
Steve Sung - 194,000
Patrik Antonius - 190,000
Doug Ganger - 190,000
Farzad "Fred" Bonyadi - 185,000

Average Stack: 108,825

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Good Start For Forrest

Erick Lindgren raised from middle position and action folded around to Ted Forrest in the big blind who made the call. The flop was J1010 and Forrest check-called a bet from Lindgren. The turn was the 7. Again Forrest checked and Lindgren bet. Forrest then raised and Lindgren called. Forrest bet the 4 river and Lindgren made the call. Forrest showed down KJ and took down a nice sized pot. Forrest is now just below the starting stack of 100,000. Lindgren is among the chip leaders with 200,000.

Horse Does Start With An “H”

Having been questioned about the situation by a few players, Jack Effel brought up the issue of whether the first game of each day should be hold’em or, instead, a game chosen by random draw. Effel asked for a show of hands from those who were in favor of a random game to start off each day. His request was met by only a meager show of hands, indicative more perhaps of the players ambivalence toward the situation than any real opinion. With such a lackluster show of hands, it appears that hold’em will be the game to start each of the days of this tournament. Mickey Appleman said it best, “Why complicate things?”

Omaha/8b

Fitoussi Gets Cut Out

Hasan Habib limped from early position and was joined on the flop by David Singer, Patrick Bueno, Michael Binger, and Bruno Fitoussi. The flop came AK2. Fitoussi checked, Habib bet, Singer and Bueno folded, Binger raised, and Fitoussi and Habib called. On the J turn, Fitoussi checked, Habib bet, Binger raised again, and Fitoussi and Habib called. The river was the 6. Again Fitoussi checked, Habib bet, and Binger and Fitoussi called. Habib showed A422 for the nut flush while Binger tabled 10543 for the nut low. Fitoussi showed... nothing. He mucked his hand quietly and shuffled his remaining 40,000 in chips. Habib has a more stable 80,000, and Binger has an even better 115,000.

Stud

“I Can’t Believe I Laid It Down!”

With boards reading:

Eli Elezra: Q10K2
Annie Duke: 3896

Elezra after leading out on 5^th street, checked his hand on 6^th street. Duke bet and Elezra went into the tank. After about 90 seconds of thinking, he flipped his upcards over and the conceded the pot to Duke. Apparently Elezra wasn’t too crushed by the lost pot, as he joked, “I can’t believe I laid that down. Two fours!” Elezra has about 85,000. Even with that pot Duke finds herself with only 30,000 in chips.

Stud/8b

Kaplan and Corkins Split Galfond’s Chips

Corkins: 7452
Kaplan: JQ104
Galfond: AK68

Hoyt Corkins completed with the 7 up, Gabe Kaplan called with the J, Phil Galfond raised with an A, and the two others called. Galfond led into his two elder statesmen on 4^th street and was called by both. 5^th street and 6^th street shared the same action: Galfond checked, Corkins bet, and Kaplan and Galfond both called. Corkins bet 7^th street and was raised by Kaplan, this put Galfond in a difficult position and he was forced to lay down his hand. A bit overeager, Kaplan flipped over his hand before Corkins made his decision. Corkins saw his opponent’s JJT  for a full house and made the call, showing A43 for a wheel. Corkins took down half of the pot, but was unlucky not to scoop it. After the hand, Corkins had 45,000, Kaplan 85,000, and Galfond 95,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Fred Bonyadi,   Annie Duke,   Erick Lindgren,   Hasan Habib,   Ted Forrest,   Eli Elezra,   Gabe Kaplan,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Abe Mosseri,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Chris Reslock,   Steve Wolff,   William Chen,   Steve Sung,   Michael Binger,   Phil Galfond,   Doug Ganger

$50,000 H.O.R.S.E - End of Day

Jun 25, '08

Play is done for the day. Day 2 action will resume at 3 p.m.

Blinds:
Hold'em: 800-1,500
Omaha 8: 800-1,500
Razz: 300 ante, 500 bring-in, 1,500 completion
Stud: 300 ante, 500 bring-in, 1,500 completion
Eight or Better: 500 ante, 500 bring-in, 1,500 completion

Players Left: 140 of 148

Chip Counts:
Chris Reslock: 220,000
James Mackey: 200,000
Pat Pezzin: 185,000
Phil Galfond: 180,000
Raymond Dehkharghani: 180,000
Joe Cassidy: 176,000
Ralph Perry: 175,000
Patrik Antonius: 170,000
Bill Chen: 170,000

Elimination: Phil Hellmuth, David Williams

Big Hands:

Hold'em

Flopped It

The player in seat 7 raised in position and David Benyamine called from the small blind and Billy "The Croc" Argyros called from middle the position. The flop came 875 and both Benyamine and Argyros checked to seat 7, who bet. Benyamine and Argyros made the call. The turn was the J and action was again checked to seat 7. He bet and Benyamine called, but Argyros mucked. The river was the 4, putting four hearts on the board. Benyamine bet out for the first time and seat 7 tanked. After lots of thought he made the call and Benyamine flipped over A2, for the flopped ace-high flush, and raked the pot.

A Full Tilt Collision

Full Tilt's Phil Ivey and Perry Friedman (who still has the Full Tilt logo on the side of his head) got involved in a pot when Ivey raised and Perry re-raised in position. Ivey made the call and the flop came K86. Ivey checked, Friedman bet out and Ivey made the call. The turn was the 10 and both players checked. Ivey bet out instantly when the 2 hit on the river and Friedman mucked his hand. Still, day one has not been kind to Ivey. He ended it with around 40,000 in chips.

Omaha 8

Set of Jacks for Antonius

When his opponent bet out on the river on a board of K-J-5-8-2, Patrik Antonius raised. His opponent called and Antonius showed J-J-6-4 for a set of jacks to take the pot while his opponent sat shaking his head.

Razz

Schneider Takes One Down

Tom Schneider bet every street until 7th street, where he slowed down and checked. His opponent called all the way and checked with Schneider on the end. Their cards were:
Schneider: 486J (A-2-Q)
His opponent: 9A69 (X-X-X)
Seeing that Schneider made an 8-low, his opponent mucked and Schneider took the pot.

Oppenheim Makes 9-Low For Pot

After some serious betting early, David Oppenheim and his opponent checked sixth and seventh street. Their cards here:
Oppenheim: 6K59 (9-4-2)
His opponent: 88A3 (Q-10-2)
Oppenheim's 9-low was good enough to edge out his opponent's 10-low and he raked a sizeable pot.

Good Hands

Surely Bill Chen and the player in seat 7 thought they were going to win the heavily bet pot before them. But when they showed down their best razz hands they saw something surprising:
Chen: 6-5-4-3-2-X-X-X
Seat 7: 6-5-4-3-2-X-X-X
Both players made the six-low and they split the pot.

Stud

Guess I'll Fold

Brandon Adams was showing the A when he bet out. His opponent was showing the Q and made the call. When Adams hit the A for his next card, his opponent shrugged at the early pair of aces in front of Adams and mucked his visible Q9.

Stud 8

Hellmuth Elminated by Fitoussi

In a three-way pot with Bruno Fitoussi and Rafi Amit, Phil Hellmuth got all in on fifth street. Their hands were:
Hellmuth: 6492 (6-9-x)
Fitoussi: 84K10 (KQ10)
Amit: 57105 (x-x-x)
Fitoussi's two pair was better than Hellmuth's and Hellmuth was eliminated late in day one.

Dwan Flushes Hennigan's Two-Pair

Tom Dwan has gotten the better of John Hennigan in a number of pots. In one hand Hennigan was showing two pair, yet couldn't get the better of the young internet-sensation. Their cards were:
Hennigan: 33KK (x-x-x)
Dwan: 42J9 (A85)
Dwan hit his ace-high flush and Hennigan angrily mucked his hand.

Leonidas Gets Better of Kostritsyn

Toto Leonidas bet every street during the hand. Isabelle Mercier got out of the way after fourth street but Leonidas was called down by Alexander Kostritsyn. Their showdown revealed:
Leonidas: A654 (A-7-6)
Kostritsyn: AJ4Q (Muck)
Seeing Leonidas' two pair, Kostritsyn slowly mucked his cards and Leonidas took the pot.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   David Oppenheim,   David Benyamine,   Phil Hellmuth,   John Hennigan,   Tom Schneider,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Phil Ivey,   Perry Friedman,   Isabelle Mercier,   Patrik Antonius,   William Chen,   Brandon Adams,   Billy Argyros,   Tom Dwan,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   European Report

$50,000 H.O.R.S.E - Level 3

Jun 25, '08

 

Players are on a 20 minute break.

Blinds:
Hold'em: 500-1,000
Omaha 8: 500-1,000
Razz: 200 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,000 completion
Stud: 200 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,000 completion
Eight or Better: 200 ante, 300 bring-in, 1,000 completion

Chip Counts:

Michael Wattel: 186,000
William Chen: 152,000
John Monnette: 151,000
Ralph Perry: 149,000
Shawn Sheikhan: 148,000
Ray Dehkharghani: 145,000
Doug Ganger: 140,000
Layne Flack: 140,000
Michael DeMichele: 140,000
Greg Mascio: 138,000

Money Details Announced

It has been announced that 148 players entered the event, creating a prize pool of $7,104,000 with 16 spots getting paid. FIrst place will take an incredible $1,989,120. After the announcement a joking Andy Bloch asked what second place gets, in light of his several runner-up finishes.

Hold'em

Pickering First Player Eliminated

Michael Mizrachi bet every street on a board of 103274 and Jamie Pickering called each time to put himself all in. Mizrachi showed K10 for top pair, and Pickering was the first elimination of the evening.

Overpair For Fitoussi

Bruno FItoussi bet every street and was called down by Nick Schulman on a board of 753Q4. Fitoussi turned over JJ for an overpair. Schulman mucked and Fitoussi took a nice pot.

Playing Against a Legend 101

Mistake #1: The player on the button raised while Doyle Brunson was in the big blind. Mistake #2: When doyle checked on a 873 flop, the player on the button bet out. Brunson check-raised and the player folded.

Chen's Second Pair Beats Jesus Out of Pot

Bill Chen bet out on a Q105 flop and was called by Chris Ferguson. The 5 turn was checked by both players. Both players again checked the J river and Chen showed A10 for two pair, and Ferguson mucked. Ferguson was very short on chips.

Omaha 8

The Professor Scoops an Early Pot

On the first hand of the level Howard Lederer bet out on a flop of 965 and was called by David Benyamine. Benyamine again called Lederer's bet on the Q turn and A river only to have Lederer turn over a monster - 9-9-7-2. The set of nines were good enough for the high hand and Lederer's 7-low also took the low, giving "the Professor" the pot.

Razz

Hellmuth Ain't Happy

Nick Schulman called Hellmuth's bets on each street, even raising Hellmuth on fifth street. Hellmuth laughed and made the call. He didn't slow down, again betting on sixth street and getting a call. Hellmuth bet the final card and Schulman raised him again. Hellmuth did a quick call and stood from his seat and angrily mucked when he saw what he was up against. Their hands were:
Hellmuth: 587Q (X-X-X)
Schulman: 4Q69 (2-3-5)

Hellmuth shot from his seat and walked away from the table. After the hand it was a while before Hellmuth was able to sit still.

A Large Pot Brewing

Back and forth betting between David Singer and Andy Bloch created a large pot that got even larger when Singer raised and Bloch re-raised on sixth-street. When the final card was dealt to each player Bloch fired out a final bet and Singer quickly mucked, conceding a big pot to Bloch.

Stud

Dwan's Queens Beat Hennigan

Tom Dwan AKA Durrr, called John Hennigan's bets on each street then led out after the final card was dealt to each player. Hennigan made the call and the players showed their hands:
Dwan: A-J-5-3 (Q-Q-7)
Hennigan: J-6-4-2 (X-X-X)
Seeing Dwan's pair of queens, Hennigan mucked his hand.

"Patrik Antonius"

Showing K-J-6-2, both Patrik Antonius and his opponent checked and all Antonius showed was a 2 from his downed hand for a pair of deuces. His opponent mucked and the pair of deuces took the pot - catching Mike Matusow's attention across the table. Matusow said simply, "Patrik Antonius."

Stud 8

Elezra Rakes Monster Pot

Piles of chips were already in the pot when Eli Elezra bet on the final card. Their cards were:
Elezra 7-4-4-J (X-X-X)
Seat 3: Q-10-6-6 (X-X-X)
Elezra's opponent thought long and hard then mucked, giving Elezra the pot. Elezra showed one of his down cards - a 4 for trips.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Andy Bloch,   Howard Lederer,   David Benyamine,   Phil Hellmuth,   Doyle Brunson,   Eli Elezra,   David Singer,   John Hennigan,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Patrik Antonius,   William Chen,   Nick Schulman,   European Report

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 12

Jun 23, '08

Note: The players are now on a 20-minute break

Blinds: 800-1,500

Players Left: 22 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Shun Uchida - 101,000
Jose Luis Velador - 78,000
Gioi Luong - 74,100
David Baker - 70,500
Ray Davis - 67,700
Michael Wattel - 67,000
James Copeland - 62,700
Billy Baxter - 58,000
Chris Vitch - 54,500
Robert Mizrachi - 52,400

Average Stack: 44,100

Eliminations:
Bill Chen
Trung Ly

Big Hands and Storylines:

Trung Is The Bubble Boy... Juuuuust Bare-Ly

Trung Ly was so low on chips that there was no trying to sneak into the money for him. Left with only 1,000 chips, Ly found himself all-in on the 1^st draw. The drama didn’t come until after the 3^rd draw however. Ly declared a jack-low... and so did Claude Cohen. Ly clarified, “Jack-seven,” and again, Cohen had the same. The third card was the deciding one, and Ly’s J-7-6 low was bested by his Cohen’s J-7-5. Ly was eliminated in 25th place.

Ray Ray Ruins Chen Check-Raise Connivance

Ray Davis raised to 3,000 on the button and was called by Bill Chen in the big blind. Chen drew 2 and Davis took 1. Chen then check-called Davis’s bet. On the next draw each player asked for 1 card and, again, Chen check-called a Davis bet. On the final draw Chen drew a single card and Davis stood pat. Chen checked and Davis fired again. Chen sprung into action for the first time in the hand with a raise which was quickly called by Davis. Chen’s check-raise was a bluff however, and his pair of deuces was soundly defeated by Davis’s 8-7-5-4-3.

This would signal the beginning of the end for Chen’s day, as he would be eliminated in 24^th place, just squeaking into the money.

Sklansky Bucks Elimination, Triples Up

David Sklansky raised from early position with a short stack and eventually got his money all-in after the final draw. Both Steve Sung and Greg Raymer folded to Sklansky’s last bet of 2,500, but John Phan made the call. Sklansky showed 9-8-5-4-3 and Phan could only claim a 10-low before folding. That hand boosted him to 24,000 and allowed him to make the money.

Raymer Celebrates a Cash

Greg Raymer has just informed his table that this is his first cash in his past 24 World Series attempts. Congratulations are in order for Greg, but don’t feel too bad for him. After all, not many players have cashed for $5 million in a single World Series event.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Raymond Davis,   Michael Wattel,   Trung Ly,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Claude Cohen,   Greg Raymer,   William Chen,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Chris Vitch,   Jose Luis Velador

$2,500 2-7 Triple Draw - Level Five Recap

Jun 22, '08

Blinds: 150-300
Limits: 300-600

Players Remaining: 114 of 238

Average Chip Stack: $10,400

Eliminations:

Michael Mizrachi
Mark Gregorich
John Juanda
Marcel Luske
Daniel Negreanu
Chris Ferguson
Todd Brunson
Mel Judah
Dario Minieri
Jimmy Fricke

Hands and Storylines:

Bill Chen mows down another

Bill Chen is up to 28,000 after elminated a player with a wheel, 7-5-4-3-2. As the player he knocked out shook hands, Greg Raymer told him that he's learned the lesson not to play limit poker with Bill Chen. Raymer explained that Chen runs amazingly well when playing limit and that nothing can stop it. Chen chimed in saying, "I'd like to think I also play well."

Lederer loses hand, then finishes story

Howard Lederer was about to tell a story to demonstrate Phil Ivey's willingness to gamble, but put it on hold when he called a raise from the player to his immediate right in seat one. Lederer drew two cards and called a bet from his opponent. After drawing one card, seat one stood pat and bet. Lederer took one card and called then called. Again, seat one stood pat and Lederer took one card. Seat one bet, Lederer folded, and then Lederer continued on with his story.

Dario's raise backfires

Dario Minieri called a bet after the second draw and took one card. When his opponent bet on the final betting round Minieri raised to 1,200. When his opponent reraised to 1,800, Minieri took a moment to think before folding and his opponent shows an eight. The hand left him short on chips and soon afterward he was eliminated.

Hellmuth takes one down

Phil Hellmuth drew one card and then bet without looking. He stood pat after the second and third draws and took down the pot with 9-8-7-5-2. After the hand he had over 10,000 chips.

Player Tags: Howard Lederer,   Phil Hellmuth,   William Chen,   Dario Minieri

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 12

Jun 23, '08

Note: The players are now on a 20-minute break

Blinds: 800-1,500

Players Left: 22 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Shun Uchida - 101,000
Jose Luis Velador - 78,000
Gioi Luong - 74,100
David Baker - 70,500
Ray Davis - 67,700
Michael Wattel - 67,000
James Copeland - 62,700
Billy Baxter - 58,000
Chris Vitch - 54,500
Robert Mizrachi - 52,400

Average Stack: 44,100

Eliminations:
Bill Chen
Trung Ly

Big Hands and Storylines:

Trung Is The Bubble Boy... Juuuuust Bare-Ly

Trung Ly was so low on chips that there was no trying to sneak into the money for him. Left with only 1,000 chips, Ly found himself all-in on the 1^st draw. The drama didn’t come until after the 3^rd draw however. Ly declared a jack-low... and so did Claude Cohen. Ly clarified, “Jack-seven,” and again, Cohen had the same. The third card was the deciding one, and Ly’s J-7-6 low was bested by his Cohen’s J-7-5. Ly was eliminated in 25th place.

Ray Ray Ruins Chen Check-Raise Connivance

Ray Davis raised to 3,000 on the button and was called by Bill Chen in the big blind. Chen drew 2 and Davis took 1. Chen then check-called Davis’s bet. On the next draw each player asked for 1 card and, again, Chen check-called a Davis bet. On the final draw Chen drew a single card and Davis stood pat. Chen checked and Davis fired again. Chen sprung into action for the first time in the hand with a raise which was quickly called by Davis. Chen’s check-raise was a bluff however, and his pair of deuces was soundly defeated by Davis’s 8-7-5-4-3.

This would signal the beginning of the end for Chen’s day, as he would be eliminated in 24^th place, just squeaking into the money.

Sklansky Bucks Elimination, Triples Up

David Sklansky raised from early position with a short stack and eventually got his money all-in after the final draw. Both Steve Sung and Greg Raymer folded to Sklansky’s last bet of 2,500, but John Phan made the call. Sklansky showed 9-8-5-4-3 and Phan could only claim a 10-low before folding. That hand boosted him to 24,000 and allowed him to make the money.

Raymer Celebrates a Cash

Greg Raymer has just informed his table that this is his first cash in his past 24 World Series attempts. Congratulations are in order for Greg, but don’t feel too bad for him. After all, not many players have cashed for $5 million in a single World Series event.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Raymond Davis,   Michael Wattel,   Trung Ly,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Claude Cohen,   Greg Raymer,   William Chen,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Chris Vitch,   Jose Luis Velador

$2,500 2-7 Triple Draw - Level Five Recap

Jun 22, '08

Blinds: 150-300
Limits: 300-600

Players Remaining: 114 of 238

Average Chip Stack: $10,400

Eliminations:

Michael Mizrachi
Mark Gregorich
John Juanda
Marcel Luske
Daniel Negreanu
Chris Ferguson
Todd Brunson
Mel Judah
Dario Minieri
Jimmy Fricke

Hands and Storylines:

Bill Chen mows down another

Bill Chen is up to 28,000 after elminated a player with a wheel, 7-5-4-3-2. As the player he knocked out shook hands, Greg Raymer told him that he's learned the lesson not to play limit poker with Bill Chen. Raymer explained that Chen runs amazingly well when playing limit and that nothing can stop it. Chen chimed in saying, "I'd like to think I also play well."

Lederer loses hand, then finishes story

Howard Lederer was about to tell a story to demonstrate Phil Ivey's willingness to gamble, but put it on hold when he called a raise from the player to his immediate right in seat one. Lederer drew two cards and called a bet from his opponent. After drawing one card, seat one stood pat and bet. Lederer took one card and called then called. Again, seat one stood pat and Lederer took one card. Seat one bet, Lederer folded, and then Lederer continued on with his story.

Dario's raise backfires

Dario Minieri called a bet after the second draw and took one card. When his opponent bet on the final betting round Minieri raised to 1,200. When his opponent reraised to 1,800, Minieri took a moment to think before folding and his opponent shows an eight. The hand left him short on chips and soon afterward he was eliminated.

Hellmuth takes one down

Phil Hellmuth drew one card and then bet without looking. He stood pat after the second and third draws and took down the pot with 9-8-7-5-2. After the hand he had over 10,000 chips.

Player Tags: Howard Lederer,   Phil Hellmuth,   William Chen,   Dario Minieri

Omaha World Championship - Hour Three

Jun 19, '08

Blinds/Antes: 200/400

Limits: 400-800

Players Remaining: 234 of 235

Average Stack:  20,085

Chip Counts:
Soheil Shamseddin - 37,000
Dario Minieri - 33,200
Ralph Perry - 32,000
Tom Schneider - 31,000
Men Nguyen - 28,000
Bruno Fitoussi - 27,500
Lee Watkinson - 26,000
Markus Golser - 26,000
Daniel Alaei - 25,500
Chau Giang - 25,000

Recent Eliminations:
Barry Shulman

Big Hands:

Hoyt Corkins Chops One With an Opponent

A player raised from his position under-the-gun, and received calls by Phil Hellmuth on the button, Bill Chen in the small blind, and Hoyt Corkins on the button.  The four players saw a flop of J97, and Chen checked.  Corkins led out and was called by the initial aggressor.  Hellmuth and Chen folded, and the two remaining players saw the 6 on the turn.  Corkins bet again and this time was raised by his opponent.  Corkins called and bet out when the 8 hit the river, and his opponent called and turned over A854 for a straight and a low.  Corkins turned over J1076 for a better straight, but no low.  The pot was split between the two hands.

Doyle Brunson vs. Bill Chen

Doyle Brunson raised from under-the-gun and was called by Bill Chen in middle position and Barny Boatman in the big blind.  The flop came J75, and Boatman checked.  Brunson bet and was raised by Chen, causing Boatman to fold.  Brunson made the call, and the turn brought the 5.  Brunson checked and called Chen’s bet.  The 6 came on the river, and again Brunson check-called a bet from Chen.  Chen turned over A1052, and Doyle mucked his cards.

Mike Matusow Apparently Psychic

Mike Matusow called a late position raise from the button along with several other players.  On a board of KQ4, the player in the cut-off made a bet and Mike Matusow raised.  The other players folded, and Matusow’s opponent made the call.  The A came on the turn and the player checked to Matusow, who fired another bet.  This time his opponent folded, and the pot was pushed to Matusow.  “How did I know these cards were going to hit?” Matusow asked as he turned over his KJ108 face-up on the table.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Mike Matusow,   Phil Hellmuth,   Doyle Brunson,   Bruno Fitoussi,   William Chen,   Dario Minieri,   European Report

Level Eight Recap - Hevad flattened

Jun 16, '08

Note: Players are now on a 20-minute break.

Blinds/Antes: 400-800-100

Players Remaining: 114 of 1,012

Average Chip Stack: 44,400

Chip Counts:

Alon Shahar - 160,000
Cory Albertson - 107,000
Sebastian ruthenberg - 105,000
Dario Minieri - 90,000
Shankar Pillai - 80,000
Max Pescatori - 77,000
Justin Filtz - 76,000
Tom Antonucci - 70,000
Philip Collins - 62,000
Shannon Shorr - 62,000

Eliminations:

John Racener
Hevad Khan

Big Hands and Storylines:

Khan knocked out on two-outer

Hevad Khan got his last few chips into the pot with pocket jacks, and found himself up against pocket nines. But the great feeling didn't last long. A nine came on the flop and Khan didn't catch a jack.

Is Chen playing mind games with table?

Bill Chen is talking to the rest of his table about his book, The Mathematics of Poker. He says that among the things that he explains in the book is why he defends his blinds as often he does. Meanwhile, actual poker is being played, and Chen is in the big blind as this discussion continues. And guess what -- everyone folds and he collects the pot. As the tournament headed to break, Chen was at roughly 50,000 chips.

Player Tags: William Chen,   Hevad Khan

Level Seven Recap

Jun 16, '08

Blinds/Antes: 300-600-75

Players Remaining: 156 of 1,012

Average Chip Stack: 32,400

Chip Counts:

Alon Shahar - 115,000
Shankar Pillai - 104,000
Cory Albertson - 98,000
Tom Antonucci - 94,000
Dave Ulliott - 66,000
Andrew Emory - 60,000
Ian Kim - 55,000
Kenna James - 52,000
Jonas Danielsson - 47,000
Max Pescatori - 43,000

Eliminations:

Jonathan Aguiar

Big Hands and Storylines:

Chen enjoys dominant level

Early in the level Bill Chen was down to just a few thousand chips. But that changed drastically. First he doubled up with A-T against Q-J when he flopped an ace on the flop. Then later in the level he won big hands with a set of eights and pocket aces. He currently has over 60,000 chips.

Fitoussi wins pot on turn

With the board showing 966, Bruno Fitoussi bet 1,800 when his opponent checked. Fitoussi's bet was called and the turn was the 4. Fitoussi bet 5,000 when it was his turn to act and his opponent thought it over and then folded. After the hand he had roughly 40,000 chips.

Minieri stays aggressive

After a big raise from early position, Dario Mineri was not fazed. He reraised from the big blind for 8,000 chips more and took down the pot. He currently has over 40,000 chips and is close to the top-10.

Player Tags: Bruno Fitoussi,   William Chen,   Dario Minieri