David Ulliott - Live Updates

Don't Mess With The Fish

Oct 04, '09

David “Devilfish” Ulliott is having a tough day, but you wouldn’t know it based on his table talk.

After a series of preflop raises, Ulliott announced that he was all in and equally stacked with his opponent across the table. The unknown player took quite a while to mull over his decision, so long, in fact, that Ulliott began to give him a hard time about it.

“What’s taking so long?” he asked. “I don’t care what you do, just do it before the blinds go up.”

A bit later, he continued with, “Do you have a pair?” He wasn’t given an answer but he then said, “If you do, then you should definitely call.”

A minute passed by and Ulliott brought out the jokes. He put his sunglasses on his face lopsided and then while laying back in his chair, told the table that he was Vincent Van Gogh at the beach.

This got approximately one laugh and six stares from the table, but the end result was that the unknown player laid down pocket jacks, while politely asking what Ulliott held.

Ulliot didn’t disappoint and quickly turned over pocket tens, much to the dismay of his opponent. The Devilfish now has 42,000 in chips.

Player Tags: David Ulliott

Level 7 Update -- Johansson Gets Caught Out

Oct 03, '09

Blinds: 400-800 with a 75 ante

Players Remaining: 277 out of 426

Average Chip Count: 46,100

Notable Eliminations:

Humberto Brenes
James Akenhead
Sorel Mizzi
Gus Hansen
Jason mercier

Hand of the Level:

Christer Johansson Caught Bluffing

Christer Johansson is in the small blind and Chad Brown in the big blind. The player on the button, Matthias Kurschner, bets 1,625 and Johansson calls. Brown folds. The flop comes 10 10 7 and Johansson checks, as does Kurschner. The turn is the 9 and Johansson bets 2,500. Kurschner calls and the river is the 6. Johansson bets out again, this time for 9,000. The button goes into the tank.

He says, “I played bad. I played real bad,” and continues to mutter this under his breath. He then decides to make the call with not much left behind. Johansson taps the table and mucks even before seeing his opponent’s cards. Kurschner shows A-10 promoting his table-mates to say, “Good call.” “I’m a short stack,” he says in response. Johansson moves back to just over the starting stack.

Kjerstad Moves Up

There’s about 5,000 in chips in the pot and a board showing 9 5 3. Bruno Fitoussi checks from under the gun, Stephan Kjerstad bets 3,000 from the hijack and Fitoussi calls. The river is the 4 and Fitoussi checks. Kjerstad bets 10,500 and Fitoussi goes into the tank. After a few minutes he mucks his cards. Kjerstad has been playing a strong game today and is now up to 102,000 in chips.

Devilfish Applies Pressure

David “Devilfish” Ulliott raised to 1,800 from the cutoff and was reraised to 6,000 from the button. Ulliott made the call and the two players saw a flop of A 7 5.

Both players checked to the turn which was the 2. Ulliott bet 8,000 and his opponent called after some consideration.

The river was the 4, putting a four-liner to the straight on board. Ulliott motioned all in, putting his opponent’s last 11,500 in jeopardy.

After four minutes in the tank and a lot of tension at the table, the button passed, giving Ulliott the pot and a new stack of just over 70,000.

Left in The Deck:

World Series of Poker Europe main event champion and Card Player supremo Barry Shulman has a really tough table with players such as Johannes Strassmann, John Cernuto, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Tobias Reinkemeier, and Eugene Katchalov to his left and right. Despite this, his stack is only improving and he is currently on just over 70,000.

Peter Hedlund doubled up with A-8 versus Q-J when a jack came on the turn, and then as he shouted, “One time” an ace fell on the river. He is now on 37,000.

Here are some other chip counts:

Julien Brecard: 145,000
Lex Veldhuis: 83,000
Neil Channing: 73,400
James Obst: 115,000

Player Tags: David Ulliott,   Christer Johansson

Don't Mess With The Fish

Oct 04, '09

David “Devilfish” Ulliott is having a tough day, but you wouldn’t know it based on his table talk.

After a series of preflop raises, Ulliott announced that he was all in and equally stacked with his opponent across the table. The unknown player took quite a while to mull over his decision, so long, in fact, that Ulliott began to give him a hard time about it.

“What’s taking so long?” he asked. “I don’t care what you do, just do it before the blinds go up.”

A bit later, he continued with, “Do you have a pair?” He wasn’t given an answer but he then said, “If you do, then you should definitely call.”

A minute passed by and Ulliott brought out the jokes. He put his sunglasses on his face lopsided and then while laying back in his chair, told the table that he was Vincent Van Gogh at the beach.

This got approximately one laugh and six stares from the table, but the end result was that the unknown player laid down pocket jacks, while politely asking what Ulliott held.

Ulliot didn’t disappoint and quickly turned over pocket tens, much to the dismay of his opponent. The Devilfish now has 42,000 in chips.

Player Tags: David Ulliott

Level 7 Update -- Johansson Gets Caught Out

Oct 03, '09

Blinds: 400-800 with a 75 ante

Players Remaining: 277 out of 426

Average Chip Count: 46,100

Notable Eliminations:

Humberto Brenes
James Akenhead
Sorel Mizzi
Gus Hansen
Jason mercier

Hand of the Level:

Christer Johansson Caught Bluffing

Christer Johansson is in the small blind and Chad Brown in the big blind. The player on the button, Matthias Kurschner, bets 1,625 and Johansson calls. Brown folds. The flop comes 10 10 7 and Johansson checks, as does Kurschner. The turn is the 9 and Johansson bets 2,500. Kurschner calls and the river is the 6. Johansson bets out again, this time for 9,000. The button goes into the tank.

He says, “I played bad. I played real bad,” and continues to mutter this under his breath. He then decides to make the call with not much left behind. Johansson taps the table and mucks even before seeing his opponent’s cards. Kurschner shows A-10 promoting his table-mates to say, “Good call.” “I’m a short stack,” he says in response. Johansson moves back to just over the starting stack.

Kjerstad Moves Up

There’s about 5,000 in chips in the pot and a board showing 9 5 3. Bruno Fitoussi checks from under the gun, Stephan Kjerstad bets 3,000 from the hijack and Fitoussi calls. The river is the 4 and Fitoussi checks. Kjerstad bets 10,500 and Fitoussi goes into the tank. After a few minutes he mucks his cards. Kjerstad has been playing a strong game today and is now up to 102,000 in chips.

Devilfish Applies Pressure

David “Devilfish” Ulliott raised to 1,800 from the cutoff and was reraised to 6,000 from the button. Ulliott made the call and the two players saw a flop of A 7 5.

Both players checked to the turn which was the 2. Ulliott bet 8,000 and his opponent called after some consideration.

The river was the 4, putting a four-liner to the straight on board. Ulliott motioned all in, putting his opponent’s last 11,500 in jeopardy.

After four minutes in the tank and a lot of tension at the table, the button passed, giving Ulliott the pot and a new stack of just over 70,000.

Left in The Deck:

World Series of Poker Europe main event champion and Card Player supremo Barry Shulman has a really tough table with players such as Johannes Strassmann, John Cernuto, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Tobias Reinkemeier, and Eugene Katchalov to his left and right. Despite this, his stack is only improving and he is currently on just over 70,000.

Peter Hedlund doubled up with A-8 versus Q-J when a jack came on the turn, and then as he shouted, “One time” an ace fell on the river. He is now on 37,000.

Here are some other chip counts:

Julien Brecard: 145,000
Lex Veldhuis: 83,000
Neil Channing: 73,400
James Obst: 115,000

Player Tags: David Ulliott,   Christer Johansson

A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action

Sep 30, '09

With things slowing down and 50 players left, those remaining are starting to settle down into friendly conversations.

There was something slightly unfriendly (well more tongue-in-cheek) about the conversation on the table holding Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott and Juha Helppi. Talking about a past television tournament they were both in, Ulliott began to tell Helppi off for pushing him off a pot – or in Ulliott’s words, “thieving”.

“That was a bad bet!” said the Fish, “It was so bad I didn’t play you.” He then added smiling, “So it must have been a good bet then.”

On the table beside them, there is an eery feeling of groundhog day as Tony Bloom bets 2,200 preflop, Erik Cajelais calls, and then the pot doesn’t really go anywhere but usually heads in the direction of Bloom. Cajelais is pretty short, so it’s only a matter of time before he makes his move.

Player Tags: David Ulliott

Tournament Update -- Level 17

Sep 30, '09

Blinds: 3,000-6,000 with a 500 ante

Players Remaining: 31 out of 334

Chip Counts:

Matt Hawrilenko — 668,000
Steven Fung — 668,000
Arnaud Mattern — 645,000
Ram Vaswani — 618,000
Praz Bansi — 600,000
Keith Hawkins — 503,000
Barry Shulman — 490,000
Teddy Sheringham — 466,000
Saar Wilf — 460,000
Yevgeniy Timoshenko — 435,000

Average Chip Count: 323,226

Notable Eliminations:

36: David Docherty — £21,142
35: David Ulliot — £21,142
34: Oyvind Riisem — £21,142
33: Michael Fosco — £21,142
32: Steve Zolotow — £21,142

Big Hands:

David Ulliot Eliminated in 35th Place (£21,142)

David Ulliot moved the last of his chips into the middle against Teddy Sherigham preflop. Their cards:

Ulliot: K9
Sheringham: AQ

Board: AQ8JK

Ulliot was the second player to hit the rail on day 4 in 35th place after the hand.

Steve Zolotow Eliminated in 32nd Place (£21,142)

Teddy Sheringham raised from the cutoff and Steve Zolotow reraised all in from the big blind. Sheringham made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Sheringham: KK
Zolotow: 55

Board: 1082A4

Sheringham won the hand and Zolotow, who was one of the chip leaders earlier in this event, was eliminated in 32nd place.

Player Tags: David Ulliott,   Steve Zolotow

Level 3 Update: Devilfish Eliminated

Jun 23, '09

Blinds: 200-400

Players Remaining: 250 out of 276

Notable Eliminations:

David “Devilfish” Ulliott

Big Hands:

Amit Makhija Doubles up Opponent

After a raise to 1200 and a call, Amit Makhija three-bet the size of the pot to 4800 and then the original raiser moved all in for approximately 10,000. The other player got out of the way and Makhija made the call.

Makhija tabled AJ and his opponent showed QQ. There was little drama in this hand as the flop was Q99. Makhija could not hit running aces and lost the pot.

Pocket Fours “Hold Up” for Rajkumar

Vivek Rajkumar and Adam Junglen see a flop of 58Q. Junglen checked and Rajkumar bet 1800, which Junglen called.

The turn was the 6 and Junglen checked and called 3600. The K fell on the river and Junglen checked once more. Vivek thought for a few moments before announcing “one pair” and tabling the 44.

Junglen smirked a little bit and mucked his hand.

Devilfish Drowns at the Hands of Demidov

David Devilfish Ulliott raised to 1200 on the button and Ivan Demidov put in a three-bet from the blinds. Ulliott then moved the rest of his chips in and Demidov made the call.

Demidov tabled the A5 and was up against Ulliott’s A6. The board flop was 529, giving Demidov a pair of fives, but giving Ulliott the nut flush draw.

The turn was the 8 and the river was the J, which sent Ulliott home early.

Player Tags: David Ulliott,   Vivek Rajkumar,   Amit Makhija,   Adam Junglen,   Ivan Demidov

Level 1 Update: Late Start, 250 Players So Far

Jun 20, '09

Blinds: 50-100

Players Remaining: 250

Big Hands:

Hasan Habib vs. Brandon Adams

Hasan Habib limps in the pot for 100 from under the gun, seat 7 raises to 600 from the button, Brandon Adams calls from the small blind and Habib calls the raise as well.

The flop comes 874 and everyone checks around.

The turn is the 6, Adams bets 1,000, Habib calls and seat 7 folds.

The river is the A and both players check.

Adams shows 87 for two pair, but Habib turns over 54 for a straight, raking the pot.

Devilfish vs. Stefan Mattsson

Stefan Mattsson raises to 300 from under the gun and David “Devilfish” Ulliott calls from the button.

The flop comes A97, Mattsson bets 600 and Ulliott calls.

The turn is the J, and this time Mattsson checks. Ulliott bets 2,000 and Mattsson calls.

The river is the 6, Ulliott bets 5,000 and Mattsson tanks for a minute before folding.

Left In The Deck:

Play was scheduled to begin at 5:00 pm this evening, but things got off to a slow start and cards didn’t hit the air until a bout 5:25 pm PDT.

Player Tags: David Ulliott,   Hasan Habib,   Brandon Adams,   Stefan Mattsson

Level 18 Update: David "Devilfish" Ulliott Eliminated

Jun 19, '09

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Remaining: 13 out of 363

Chip Counts:

1. Sorel Mizzi — 700,000
2. Cliff Josephy — 690,000
3. Isaac Baron — 540,000
4. Rifat Palevic — 475,000
5. Van Marcus — 460,000
6. Felipe Ramos — 395,000
7. Peter Jetten — 240,000
8. Samuel Ngai — 235,000
9. Richard Austin — 220,000
10. Dan Hindin — 200,000

Average Chip Count: 418,846

Notable Eliminations:

David “Devifish” Ulliott, Matt Gianetti

Big Hands:

David “Devilfish” Ulliott Eliminated

Sorel Mizzi opened from the cutoff to 21,000 and David “Devilfish” Ulliott moved all in for his last 70,000. Mizzi made the call and tabled A10104 and Ulliott showed the AK108.

The board ran out nine-high and contained no hearts, which left Devilfish eliminated in 16th place and left the tournament area a quieter place.

Matt Gianetti Eliminated

Several limpers saw a flop of Q3J. Matt Gianetti led out for 35,000 and Richard Austin opted to make it 125,000. Everybody else got out of the way and Gianetti made the call.

The 3 fell on the turn and Gianetti moved all in and Austin called. Austin showed QQ96, meaning he had made queens full of threes on the turn. Unfortunately for Gianetti, he was drawing dead as he tabled the Q J K 10, good for top two pair and an open-ended straight draw.

The river was meaningless and Gianetti was eliminated in 15th place. He will take home just under $25,000 for his efforts.

Clayton Newman Eliminated

Clayton Newman got it all in preflop against Rifat Palevic. Palevic showed AKQ5 and Newman held AK43.

The board ran out Q63AJ, which meant that two pair for Palevic was good enough to knock out Newman in 17th place.

Player Tags: David Ulliott

Level 14 Update: Sandra Naujoks, Tex Barch, Justin Smith Eliminated

Jun 18, '09

Blinds: 2,000-4,000

Players Remaining: 33 out of 363

Chip Counts:

1. Jesper Hougaard – 500,000
2. Rifat Palevic – 390,00
3. Sorel Mizzi – 375,000
4. Isaac Baron – 255,000
5. Ralph Perry – 177,000
6. Anthony Lellouche – 150,000
7. David Ulliott – 109,000
8. James Smyth – 107,000
9. Michael Watson – 90,000
10. Jeff Lisandro – 20,000

Average Chip Count: 165,000

Notable Eliminations:

Sandra Naujoks
Tex Barch
36. Justin Smith – 11,345

Big Hands:

David Ulliott Doubles Up Twice

Severely short stacked with 26,000 in chips, David Ulliott went all-in preflop and was called by an opponent. Ulliott tabled the AA86 and got the perfect flop of the Q42, to have his opponent drawing stone cold dead. Ulliott is at just 54,000 however, well below average.

Not too long after, Ulliott was put all-in by Justin Smith. Ulliot made the quick call with the majority of his chips already in the middle. Ulliott tabled the AA53 and was up against the AK9J of Smith. The flop was safe for Ulliott as it came 944. The 7 fell on the turn, making spades safe for a double up. The 10 hit the river and Ulliott is up to 109,000. Smith was at 51,000 before being eliminated shortly after.

Sandra Naujoks Eliminated

Sandra Naujoks was all-in, along with Clayton Newman, against Richard Austin.

Their cards:

Naujoks: 101055
Newman: A432
Austin: Q687

The flop came 542. Naujoks flopped top set but was behind against the wheel of Newman. Austin, with his monster drawing hand, was a favorite with the straight and flush draws. Naujoks needed the board to pair in order to survive. Even with the best hand at the moment, Newman had just a 12 percent chance to win, needing to dodge almost the entire deck twice. The J hit the turn and the K fell on the river, as Newman’s wheel miraculously held up. Naujoks was eliminated.

Tex Barch Bubbles To Straight Flush

On a board of A856, Tex Barch was all-in with the J1097, for a nine-high straight and a flush draw. His opponent, Richard Austin, held the 7433 for a lower straight, but also had a straight flush draw to boot. The disaster for the 2005 Main Event third place finisher came on the river, as the 2 fell, giving Austin a straight flush. Barch bubbled the tournament.

Jeff Lisandro Left With 20,000 Chips

With the J1098, Jeff Lisandro had almost all his chips in the middle against the A1052 of Jonathan Cantor. The flop board ran out A107AK and Cantor won the pot with his full house. Lisandro has just 20,000 chips to return to after the break.

Left In The Deck:

The players are now in the money.

Action has stopped for a 60 minute dinner break.

Player Tags: David Ulliott,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   John Barch,   Justin Smith,   Sandra Naujoks

Level 9 Update: Williamson Busts

Jun 17, '09

Blinds: 600-1,200

Players Remaining: 90 out of 362

Chip Counts:

1. Ralph Perry – 155,800
2. Jeff Lisandro – 150,000
3. Cliff Josephy – 140,000
4. Steve Sarrafzadeh – 132,000
5. Jesper Hougaard – 130,000
6. Mortiz Schmejkal – 126,000
7. Sorel Mizzi – 125,000
8. Tex Barch – 123,000
9. David Ulliott – 110,000
10. Bruno Fitoussi – 92,000

Average Chip Count: 55,000

Notable Eliminations:

Robert Williamson III
Kathy Liebert

Big Hands:

Williamson’s Heart Broken On The River

Preflop, Robert Williamson was all in and received two callers, including Sorel Mizzi. “I don’t even want to look,” Williamson announced as he turned his head away from the board. “It won’t make a bit of difference.”

The flop came down K98 and the player in seat 4 put out a bet. Mizzi mucked his hand and then the players turned over their hands.

Williamson: K9Q10
Seat 4: AAJ5

Williamson got a great flop and was in the lead. The turn was even better when the K gave him a full house. But Williamson should have kept his head turned away as the A was the death card for Williamson and he was eliminated.

Fitoussi Straightens Out His Opponent

On a board showing QJ96, Bruno Fitoussi bet 5,400 and his opponent in seat 4 made the call. The river brought the K and Fitoussi fired another shot, this one worth 12,000. His opponent tanked for a bit and then decided to make the call. Fitoussi turned over A10QJ for Broadway on the river. His opponent mucked and Fitoussi was at 85,000.

Clements Falters

Scott Clements raised to 7,200 preflop and his opponent in the big blind made the call, putting himself all in.

Clements: AA83
Big Blind: K987

Board: 1010657

Clements was ahead with the bullets for most of the way but his opponent hit the money card on the river as the 7 gave him a straight to crack Clements’ aces. Clements surrendered the pot and he was down to 34,000.

Benyamine Tangles With Hougaard

After David Ulliott called 1,200 from the hijack, Jesper Hougaard raised to 4,000 preflop from the cutoff and the button folded. David Benyamine was next to act in the small blind and he reraised to 9,500. Ulliott mucked and Hougaard made the call.

The flop came down 952 and the action was passive enough as both players checked. The 2 on the turn ignited a fuse as Benyamine fired 10,500. Hougaard then tanked for a few minutes and came back with two towers worth 50,000. Benyamine quickly released his hand and he was down to 40,000 while Hougaard improved to 128,000.

Player Tags: David Ulliott,   David Benyamine,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Scott Clements,   Robert Williamson III,   Sorel Mizzi,   Jesper Hougaard

Level 8 Update: Black Drops Some Chips Then Goes Bust

Jun 17, '09

Blinds: 500-1,000

Players Remaining: 99 out of 362

Chip Counts:

1. Cliff Josephy – 166,000
2. Jeff Lisandro – 142,000
3. Isaac Baron – 120,000
4. David Ulliott – 109,000
5. Sorel Mizzi – 100,000
6. Ralph Perry – 91,000
7. Tex Barch – 90,000
8. Jesper Hougaard – 85,000
9. Andrew Chen – 81,500
10. Nam Le – 76,000

Average Chip Count: 50,417

Notable Eliminations:

Ted Lawson
Michael Binger
Isaac Haxton
Greg Raymer
Andy Black

Big Hands:

Black Muscled Off Hand, Loses Half Of His Chips

In a three way pot totaling 6,000 Andrew Black and his two opponents saw a flop of KK3. The player in seat 1 led out with 6,000 and Black raised to 18,000 total. Seat 4 mucked and the action was back on seat 1. He then reached for two stacks and raised 30,000 more. Black went in the tank for a bit and eventually decided to cut his losses and muck his hand. He was down to just 14,000. He would later lose the rest of those chips and make his exit from the tournament.

Big Names, Small Pot

Robert Williamson III, Hoyt Corkins and Nikolay Evdakov each called 1,000 preflop. The flop then came down J97 and everyone checked. The turn brought the 2 and Williamson decided to lead out, firing 2,500 into the 4,000 pot. Evdakov mucked and Corkins followed suit. Williamson took the pot but was still quite short with 13,000. Evdakov was at 22,000 and Corkins was at 65,000.

Perry Wins As Clock Is Called On Opponent

After a flop of AQ9 hit the felt, the player in seat 6 fired 10,500 into the pot. All other players in the hand folded except for Ralph Perry. After a few minutes of thought, he raised to 35,000 total. The action was back on his opponent and he took a massive tank session. After more the six minutes, the clock was finally called and he had one minute to decide what to do with his holding. Not long after the clock was called, he released his hand and Perry took the pot, improving to 90,000.

Ride With The Devil

On a flop of Q72, David Ulliott moved all in and was called by Jesper Hougaard.

Hougaard: AQ87
Ulliott: KK107

Ulliott was trailing Hougaard’s two pair but the 5 on the turn gave him a flush and the 3 on the river offered no help to Hougaard. Ulliott was at 110,000 after the double while Hougaard was at 88,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   David Ulliott,   Andy Black,   Robert Williamson III,   Ralph Perry,   Jesper Hougaard,   Nikolay Evdakov

Level 18 Update: David "Devilfish" Ulliott Eliminated

Jun 19, '09

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Remaining: 13 out of 363

Chip Counts:

1. Sorel Mizzi — 700,000
2. Cliff Josephy — 690,000
3. Isaac Baron — 540,000
4. Rifat Palevic — 475,000
5. Van Marcus — 460,000
6. Felipe Ramos — 395,000
7. Peter Jetten — 240,000
8. Samuel Ngai — 235,000
9. Richard Austin — 220,000
10. Dan Hindin — 200,000

Average Chip Count: 418,846

Notable Eliminations:

David “Devifish” Ulliott, Matt Gianetti

Big Hands:

David “Devilfish” Ulliott Eliminated

Sorel Mizzi opened from the cutoff to 21,000 and David “Devilfish” Ulliott moved all in for his last 70,000. Mizzi made the call and tabled A10104 and Ulliott showed the AK108.

The board ran out nine-high and contained no hearts, which left Devilfish eliminated in 16th place and left the tournament area a quieter place.

Matt Gianetti Eliminated

Several limpers saw a flop of Q3J. Matt Gianetti led out for 35,000 and Richard Austin opted to make it 125,000. Everybody else got out of the way and Gianetti made the call.

The 3 fell on the turn and Gianetti moved all in and Austin called. Austin showed QQ96, meaning he had made queens full of threes on the turn. Unfortunately for Gianetti, he was drawing dead as he tabled the Q J K 10, good for top two pair and an open-ended straight draw.

The river was meaningless and Gianetti was eliminated in 15th place. He will take home just under $25,000 for his efforts.

Clayton Newman Eliminated

Clayton Newman got it all in preflop against Rifat Palevic. Palevic showed AKQ5 and Newman held AK43.

The board ran out Q63AJ, which meant that two pair for Palevic was good enough to knock out Newman in 17th place.

Player Tags: David Ulliott

Level 14 Update: Sandra Naujoks, Tex Barch, Justin Smith Eliminated

Jun 18, '09

Blinds: 2,000-4,000

Players Remaining: 33 out of 363

Chip Counts:

1. Jesper Hougaard – 500,000
2. Rifat Palevic – 390,00
3. Sorel Mizzi – 375,000
4. Isaac Baron – 255,000
5. Ralph Perry – 177,000
6. Anthony Lellouche – 150,000
7. David Ulliott – 109,000
8. James Smyth – 107,000
9. Michael Watson – 90,000
10. Jeff Lisandro – 20,000

Average Chip Count: 165,000

Notable Eliminations:

Sandra Naujoks
Tex Barch
36. Justin Smith – 11,345

Big Hands:

David Ulliott Doubles Up Twice

Severely short stacked with 26,000 in chips, David Ulliott went all-in preflop and was called by an opponent. Ulliott tabled the AA86 and got the perfect flop of the Q42, to have his opponent drawing stone cold dead. Ulliott is at just 54,000 however, well below average.

Not too long after, Ulliott was put all-in by Justin Smith. Ulliot made the quick call with the majority of his chips already in the middle. Ulliott tabled the AA53 and was up against the AK9J of Smith. The flop was safe for Ulliott as it came 944. The 7 fell on the turn, making spades safe for a double up. The 10 hit the river and Ulliott is up to 109,000. Smith was at 51,000 before being eliminated shortly after.

Sandra Naujoks Eliminated

Sandra Naujoks was all-in, along with Clayton Newman, against Richard Austin.

Their cards:

Naujoks: 101055
Newman: A432
Austin: Q687

The flop came 542. Naujoks flopped top set but was behind against the wheel of Newman. Austin, with his monster drawing hand, was a favorite with the straight and flush draws. Naujoks needed the board to pair in order to survive. Even with the best hand at the moment, Newman had just a 12 percent chance to win, needing to dodge almost the entire deck twice. The J hit the turn and the K fell on the river, as Newman’s wheel miraculously held up. Naujoks was eliminated.

Tex Barch Bubbles To Straight Flush

On a board of A856, Tex Barch was all-in with the J1097, for a nine-high straight and a flush draw. His opponent, Richard Austin, held the 7433 for a lower straight, but also had a straight flush draw to boot. The disaster for the 2005 Main Event third place finisher came on the river, as the 2 fell, giving Austin a straight flush. Barch bubbled the tournament.

Jeff Lisandro Left With 20,000 Chips

With the J1098, Jeff Lisandro had almost all his chips in the middle against the A1052 of Jonathan Cantor. The flop board ran out A107AK and Cantor won the pot with his full house. Lisandro has just 20,000 chips to return to after the break.

Left In The Deck:

The players are now in the money.

Action has stopped for a 60 minute dinner break.

Player Tags: David Ulliott,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   John Barch,   Justin Smith,   Sandra Naujoks

Level 9 Update: Williamson Busts

Jun 17, '09

Blinds: 600-1,200

Players Remaining: 90 out of 362

Chip Counts:

1. Ralph Perry – 155,800
2. Jeff Lisandro – 150,000
3. Cliff Josephy – 140,000
4. Steve Sarrafzadeh – 132,000
5. Jesper Hougaard – 130,000
6. Mortiz Schmejkal – 126,000
7. Sorel Mizzi – 125,000
8. Tex Barch – 123,000
9. David Ulliott – 110,000
10. Bruno Fitoussi – 92,000

Average Chip Count: 55,000

Notable Eliminations:

Robert Williamson III
Kathy Liebert

Big Hands:

Williamson’s Heart Broken On The River

Preflop, Robert Williamson was all in and received two callers, including Sorel Mizzi. “I don’t even want to look,” Williamson announced as he turned his head away from the board. “It won’t make a bit of difference.”

The flop came down K98 and the player in seat 4 put out a bet. Mizzi mucked his hand and then the players turned over their hands.

Williamson: K9Q10
Seat 4: AAJ5

Williamson got a great flop and was in the lead. The turn was even better when the K gave him a full house. But Williamson should have kept his head turned away as the A was the death card for Williamson and he was eliminated.

Fitoussi Straightens Out His Opponent

On a board showing QJ96, Bruno Fitoussi bet 5,400 and his opponent in seat 4 made the call. The river brought the K and Fitoussi fired another shot, this one worth 12,000. His opponent tanked for a bit and then decided to make the call. Fitoussi turned over A10QJ for Broadway on the river. His opponent mucked and Fitoussi was at 85,000.

Clements Falters

Scott Clements raised to 7,200 preflop and his opponent in the big blind made the call, putting himself all in.

Clements: AA83
Big Blind: K987

Board: 1010657

Clements was ahead with the bullets for most of the way but his opponent hit the money card on the river as the 7 gave him a straight to crack Clements’ aces. Clements surrendered the pot and he was down to 34,000.

Benyamine Tangles With Hougaard

After David Ulliott called 1,200 from the hijack, Jesper Hougaard raised to 4,000 preflop from the cutoff and the button folded. David Benyamine was next to act in the small blind and he reraised to 9,500. Ulliott mucked and Hougaard made the call.

The flop came down 952 and the action was passive enough as both players checked. The 2 on the turn ignited a fuse as Benyamine fired 10,500. Hougaard then tanked for a few minutes and came back with two towers worth 50,000. Benyamine quickly released his hand and he was down to 40,000 while Hougaard improved to 128,000.

Player Tags: David Ulliott,   David Benyamine,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Scott Clements,   Robert Williamson III,   Sorel Mizzi,   Jesper Hougaard

Level 8 Update: Black Drops Some Chips Then Goes Bust

Jun 17, '09

Blinds: 500-1,000

Players Remaining: 99 out of 362

Chip Counts:

1. Cliff Josephy – 166,000
2. Jeff Lisandro – 142,000
3. Isaac Baron – 120,000
4. David Ulliott – 109,000
5. Sorel Mizzi – 100,000
6. Ralph Perry – 91,000
7. Tex Barch – 90,000
8. Jesper Hougaard – 85,000
9. Andrew Chen – 81,500
10. Nam Le – 76,000

Average Chip Count: 50,417

Notable Eliminations:

Ted Lawson
Michael Binger
Isaac Haxton
Greg Raymer
Andy Black

Big Hands:

Black Muscled Off Hand, Loses Half Of His Chips

In a three way pot totaling 6,000 Andrew Black and his two opponents saw a flop of KK3. The player in seat 1 led out with 6,000 and Black raised to 18,000 total. Seat 4 mucked and the action was back on seat 1. He then reached for two stacks and raised 30,000 more. Black went in the tank for a bit and eventually decided to cut his losses and muck his hand. He was down to just 14,000. He would later lose the rest of those chips and make his exit from the tournament.

Big Names, Small Pot

Robert Williamson III, Hoyt Corkins and Nikolay Evdakov each called 1,000 preflop. The flop then came down J97 and everyone checked. The turn brought the 2 and Williamson decided to lead out, firing 2,500 into the 4,000 pot. Evdakov mucked and Corkins followed suit. Williamson took the pot but was still quite short with 13,000. Evdakov was at 22,000 and Corkins was at 65,000.

Perry Wins As Clock Is Called On Opponent

After a flop of AQ9 hit the felt, the player in seat 6 fired 10,500 into the pot. All other players in the hand folded except for Ralph Perry. After a few minutes of thought, he raised to 35,000 total. The action was back on his opponent and he took a massive tank session. After more the six minutes, the clock was finally called and he had one minute to decide what to do with his holding. Not long after the clock was called, he released his hand and Perry took the pot, improving to 90,000.

Ride With The Devil

On a flop of Q72, David Ulliott moved all in and was called by Jesper Hougaard.

Hougaard: AQ87
Ulliott: KK107

Ulliott was trailing Hougaard’s two pair but the 5 on the turn gave him a flush and the 3 on the river offered no help to Hougaard. Ulliott was at 110,000 after the double while Hougaard was at 88,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   David Ulliott,   Andy Black,   Robert Williamson III,   Ralph Perry,   Jesper Hougaard,   Nikolay Evdakov

Level 12 Update: Brian Townsend Builds a Huge Stack

May 29, '09

Blinds: 3,000-6,000 with a 500 ante

Players Remaining: 67 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Alex Veldhuis – 1,090,000
2. Brian Townsend – 950,000
2. Brian Rast – 910,000
3. Justin Bonomo- 760,000
4. Chris Moneymaker – 700,000
6. Ted Forrest – 690,000
7. Matthew Marafioti – 540,000
8. Alec Torelli – 494,500
9. JC Tran- 491,000
10. Andy Black- 470,000

Average Chip Count: 354,706

Notable Eliminations:

Doyle Brunson
Kenny Tran
Lee Markholt
John Duthie
Matt Giannetti
Adam Junglen
Michael DeMichele
Chris Mooreman
David “Devil Fish” Ulliott

Big Hands:

Chau Giang Doubles Up

Facing a 26,500 button raise from Andrew Robl, Chau Giang moved all in pre-flop for 45,000 more. Robl was committed and quickly called with the A10 and Giang was happy to see he had his opponent dominated with the AK. The board ran out Q643K and Giang doubled up to a modest stack of 146,000.

Chris Moneymaker Avoids Disaster

Chris Moneymaker raised pre-floped and Humberto Brenes just called. The flop brought the A and both played the hand cautiously until Moneymaker made a 25,000 bet on the river that Brenes quickly called. Moneymaker turned over pocket queens and Brenes exposed pocket kings to take the small pot. Moneymaker exclaimed, “I got lucky with that flop,” and Brenes said, “Yes you did.”

Brian Townsend Wins a Huge Pot

On a board of A87103 with 330,000 already sitting in the pot, Brian Townsend bet 300,000, leaving just 45,000 in his stack. Mark Seif then went into the tank for a few minutes on the button. Seif was sitting on a stack of 415,000 and he decided to make the call after some deliberation. Townsend flipped over AK and Seif mucked. Seif took a huge hit down to 115,000 after the hand and Townsend’s stack grew to 975,000.

Chris Moore Busts One

Chris Moore (UTG) and his opponent on the small blind got it all in preflop. Their cards:

Moore: AA
Small Blind: 99

Board: 854JJ

Moore won the hand and sent his opponent packing.

Michael DeMichele Sent to the Rail

On a board of 810585, Alexander Veldhuis put Michael DeMichele all in. DeMichele looked disgusted and tanked for quite some time before calling with pocket aces. Veldhuis exposed 88 for quads to eliminate DeMichele.

Brian Rast Gets Lucky to Double Up

On a flop of 75A, Brian Rast got it all in against the A5 of Bruno Fitoussi. The turn brought the Q, giving the online cash game player extra outs. The Q fell on the river and Rast rivered a better two pair to double up to about 650,000.

David “Devil Fish” Ulliott is Eliminated

On the very next hand after Brian Rast’s huge double up, the short stack David Ulliott raised pre-flop to 25,000 with pocket kings. Rast min-raised to 50,000 and Ulliott went all-in instantly. Rast called and exposed 77 and Ulliott tabled pocket kings. The flop was a disaster for Ulliott, as it came A67. Ulliott failed to connect with a higher set and was sent home.

Table 60 is running hot

At the same table and a hand after Rasts double up and Ulliot’s elimination, Greg Raymer called the all-in of Ville Wahlbeck. Raymer showed AJ and Wahlbeck exposed pocket kings. Kings were no good once again as Raymer flopped an ace and built his stack to around 300,000.

Left in the Deck:

Mike Matusow is entered in the Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better tournament that is running simultaneously and has ran over to the other table to see a hand.

Players went to a 20 minute break, and will return to play more 2 more levels before a 60 minute dinner break later this evening. After the break they will play four levels or down to 18 players, whichever comes first.

Card Player TV

Check out this video from CardPlayer TV with chip leader Lex Veldhuis.

Player Tags: Mark Seif,   David Ulliott,   Humberto Brenes,   Chris Moneymaker,   Chau Giang,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Greg Raymer,   Brian Rast,   Chris Moore,   Brian Townsend,   Andrew Robl

Level 9 Update: Howard Lederer Out

May 28, '09

Blinds: 1,500-3,000 with 400 ante

Players Remaining: 106 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Michael DeMichele – 690,000
2. Lex Veldhuis – 625,000
3. Emil Patel 615,000
4. Justin Bonomo 570,000
5. Kyle Wilson 465,000
6. Chris Moneymaker 460,000
7. Alan Sass 440,000
8. Ted Forrest 380,000
9. Alex Jacob 370,000
10. Antonio Esfandiari 365,000

Average Chip Count: 227,000

Notable Eliminations:

Howard Lederer
Cory Zeidman
Dennis Phillips
Brett Richey
Philippe Rouas
Steve Sung
David Einhorn

Big Hands:

Table 70 Is Stacked

In case we haven’t made this clear yet, table 70 may be one of the toughest tournament tables ever assembled. Here is a look at the table:

1. Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver
2. Scotty Nguyen
3. Phil Ivey
4. Brett “get crunk” Richey (Eliminated During the Level)
5. David “The Dragon” Pham
6. Alan “The Usher” Sass
7. Phil Hellmuth
8. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier
9. Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis

Phil Ivey Takes 90,000 Pot From Bertrand Grospellier

Bertrand Grospellier raised to 7,200 from under the gun and Phil Ivey reraised to 22,000 from the hijack seat. Grospellier called and both players checked down a board of K5292 until Ivey fired out a 20,000 value bet. Grospellier reluctantly called and mucked his hand when Ivey showed pocket queens.

Ivey is now stacked with 358,000 while Grospellier finds himself with only 57,000. Grospellier picked up some chips later on against Steve Billirakis shortly after without a showdown.

School’s Out for the Professor

Dave Ulliott raised to 6,400 under the gun and the action folded around to Howard Lederer moved all in from the small blind for his last 30,000. Next to act was Jeff Lisandro from the big blind and he made the call. Ulliott got out of the way and Lisandro tabled AK while Lederer showed JJ. The flop was bad news for Lederer as it dropped A7K giving Lisandro top two pair. The 9 and 3 completed the board and Lederer was gone. Lisandro improved his stack to 270,000.

Philippe Rouas Out, Marco Johnson Gets Healthier

Philippe Rouas found himself all in and covered by Marco Johnson. Rouas showed pocket sevens and was racing against the QJ of Johnson. The flop brought a jack and Rouas failed to catch up, busting from the tournament.

Seif and Makhija Chop It Up

Amit Makhija raised to 8,000 preflop from middle position. The action came around to Mark Seif who pushed in most of his chips, election to only keep his black “100” chips in front of him. The bet totaled close to 225,000 and Makhija made the call with his last 118,000. He flipped over AQ while Seif showed AQ. “That was a bad call sir,” Seif joked with Makhija. The board ran out 1098K7 and both players chopped the pot. Seif was at 290,000 while Makhija was around 126,000.

Left in the Deck:

Mike Matusow just walked over to table 62 where Andy Black and Phil Laak are seated. Matusow commenced to poke a little fun at Laak. Black then playfully interrupted “The Mouth,” telling him that making fun of people is not allowed at the World Series of Poker. Matusow countered, saying that making fun of Laak is the exception. All the players laughed and Matusow went back to his table.

Later on, Matusow resumed roaming the room and chatted up Nam Le for a bit while Phil Laak began building an elaborate Stonehenge-like structure with his chips. Yes folks, things are starting to slow down here late in the night.

Player Tags: David Ulliott,   Howard Lederer,   Phil Laak,   Mike Matusow,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   Phil Ivey,   Andy Black,   Bertrand Grospellier,   Philippe Rouas,   Marco Johnson

Level 12 Update: Brian Townsend Builds a Huge Stack

May 29, '09

Blinds: 3,000-6,000 with a 500 ante

Players Remaining: 67 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Alex Veldhuis – 1,090,000
2. Brian Townsend – 950,000
2. Brian Rast – 910,000
3. Justin Bonomo- 760,000
4. Chris Moneymaker – 700,000
6. Ted Forrest – 690,000
7. Matthew Marafioti – 540,000
8. Alec Torelli – 494,500
9. JC Tran- 491,000
10. Andy Black- 470,000

Average Chip Count: 354,706

Notable Eliminations:

Doyle Brunson
Kenny Tran
Lee Markholt
John Duthie
Matt Giannetti
Adam Junglen
Michael DeMichele
Chris Mooreman
David “Devil Fish” Ulliott

Big Hands:

Chau Giang Doubles Up

Facing a 26,500 button raise from Andrew Robl, Chau Giang moved all in pre-flop for 45,000 more. Robl was committed and quickly called with the A10 and Giang was happy to see he had his opponent dominated with the AK. The board ran out Q643K and Giang doubled up to a modest stack of 146,000.

Chris Moneymaker Avoids Disaster

Chris Moneymaker raised pre-floped and Humberto Brenes just called. The flop brought the A and both played the hand cautiously until Moneymaker made a 25,000 bet on the river that Brenes quickly called. Moneymaker turned over pocket queens and Brenes exposed pocket kings to take the small pot. Moneymaker exclaimed, “I got lucky with that flop,” and Brenes said, “Yes you did.”

Brian Townsend Wins a Huge Pot

On a board of A87103 with 330,000 already sitting in the pot, Brian Townsend bet 300,000, leaving just 45,000 in his stack. Mark Seif then went into the tank for a few minutes on the button. Seif was sitting on a stack of 415,000 and he decided to make the call after some deliberation. Townsend flipped over AK and Seif mucked. Seif took a huge hit down to 115,000 after the hand and Townsend’s stack grew to 975,000.

Chris Moore Busts One

Chris Moore (UTG) and his opponent on the small blind got it all in preflop. Their cards:

Moore: AA
Small Blind: 99

Board: 854JJ

Moore won the hand and sent his opponent packing.

Michael DeMichele Sent to the Rail

On a board of 810585, Alexander Veldhuis put Michael DeMichele all in. DeMichele looked disgusted and tanked for quite some time before calling with pocket aces. Veldhuis exposed 88 for quads to eliminate DeMichele.

Brian Rast Gets Lucky to Double Up

On a flop of 75A, Brian Rast got it all in against the A5 of Bruno Fitoussi. The turn brought the Q, giving the online cash game player extra outs. The Q fell on the river and Rast rivered a better two pair to double up to about 650,000.

David “Devil Fish” Ulliott is Eliminated

On the very next hand after Brian Rast’s huge double up, the short stack David Ulliott raised pre-flop to 25,000 with pocket kings. Rast min-raised to 50,000 and Ulliott went all-in instantly. Rast called and exposed 77 and Ulliott tabled pocket kings. The flop was a disaster for Ulliott, as it came A67. Ulliott failed to connect with a higher set and was sent home.

Table 60 is running hot

At the same table and a hand after Rasts double up and Ulliot’s elimination, Greg Raymer called the all-in of Ville Wahlbeck. Raymer showed AJ and Wahlbeck exposed pocket kings. Kings were no good once again as Raymer flopped an ace and built his stack to around 300,000.

Left in the Deck:

Mike Matusow is entered in the Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better tournament that is running simultaneously and has ran over to the other table to see a hand.

Players went to a 20 minute break, and will return to play more 2 more levels before a 60 minute dinner break later this evening. After the break they will play four levels or down to 18 players, whichever comes first.

Card Player TV

Check out this video from CardPlayer TV with chip leader Lex Veldhuis.

Player Tags: Mark Seif,   David Ulliott,   Humberto Brenes,   Chris Moneymaker,   Chau Giang,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Greg Raymer,   Brian Rast,   Chris Moore,   Brian Townsend,   Andrew Robl

Level 9 Update: Howard Lederer Out

May 28, '09

Blinds: 1,500-3,000 with 400 ante

Players Remaining: 106 out of 201

Chip Counts:

1. Michael DeMichele – 690,000
2. Lex Veldhuis – 625,000
3. Emil Patel 615,000
4. Justin Bonomo 570,000
5. Kyle Wilson 465,000
6. Chris Moneymaker 460,000
7. Alan Sass 440,000
8. Ted Forrest 380,000
9. Alex Jacob 370,000
10. Antonio Esfandiari 365,000

Average Chip Count: 227,000

Notable Eliminations:

Howard Lederer
Cory Zeidman
Dennis Phillips
Brett Richey
Philippe Rouas
Steve Sung
David Einhorn

Big Hands:

Table 70 Is Stacked

In case we haven’t made this clear yet, table 70 may be one of the toughest tournament tables ever assembled. Here is a look at the table:

1. Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver
2. Scotty Nguyen
3. Phil Ivey
4. Brett “get crunk” Richey (Eliminated During the Level)
5. David “The Dragon” Pham
6. Alan “The Usher” Sass
7. Phil Hellmuth
8. Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier
9. Steve “MrSmokey1” Billirakis

Phil Ivey Takes 90,000 Pot From Bertrand Grospellier

Bertrand Grospellier raised to 7,200 from under the gun and Phil Ivey reraised to 22,000 from the hijack seat. Grospellier called and both players checked down a board of K5292 until Ivey fired out a 20,000 value bet. Grospellier reluctantly called and mucked his hand when Ivey showed pocket queens.

Ivey is now stacked with 358,000 while Grospellier finds himself with only 57,000. Grospellier picked up some chips later on against Steve Billirakis shortly after without a showdown.

School’s Out for the Professor

Dave Ulliott raised to 6,400 under the gun and the action folded around to Howard Lederer moved all in from the small blind for his last 30,000. Next to act was Jeff Lisandro from the big blind and he made the call. Ulliott got out of the way and Lisandro tabled AK while Lederer showed JJ. The flop was bad news for Lederer as it dropped A7K giving Lisandro top two pair. The 9 and 3 completed the board and Lederer was gone. Lisandro improved his stack to 270,000.

Philippe Rouas Out, Marco Johnson Gets Healthier

Philippe Rouas found himself all in and covered by Marco Johnson. Rouas showed pocket sevens and was racing against the QJ of Johnson. The flop brought a jack and Rouas failed to catch up, busting from the tournament.

Seif and Makhija Chop It Up

Amit Makhija raised to 8,000 preflop from middle position. The action came around to Mark Seif who pushed in most of his chips, election to only keep his black “100” chips in front of him. The bet totaled close to 225,000 and Makhija made the call with his last 118,000. He flipped over AQ while Seif showed AQ. “That was a bad call sir,” Seif joked with Makhija. The board ran out 1098K7 and both players chopped the pot. Seif was at 290,000 while Makhija was around 126,000.

Left in the Deck:

Mike Matusow just walked over to table 62 where Andy Black and Phil Laak are seated. Matusow commenced to poke a little fun at Laak. Black then playfully interrupted “The Mouth,” telling him that making fun of people is not allowed at the World Series of Poker. Matusow countered, saying that making fun of Laak is the exception. All the players laughed and Matusow went back to his table.

Later on, Matusow resumed roaming the room and chatted up Nam Le for a bit while Phil Laak began building an elaborate Stonehenge-like structure with his chips. Yes folks, things are starting to slow down here late in the night.

Player Tags: David Ulliott,   Howard Lederer,   Phil Laak,   Mike Matusow,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   Phil Ivey,   Andy Black,   Bertrand Grospellier,   Philippe Rouas,   Marco Johnson