Keith Sexton Poker Tournament Updates

Level 15 Update: Sexton Out, So Is Kravchenko

Jun 02, '09

Ante: 1,000
Low Card: 2,000
Completion: 5,000
Limits: 5,000-10,000

Players Remaining: 23 out of 142

Chip Counts:

1. Max Pescatori – 427,000
2. Ville Wahlbeck – 370,000
3. Fu Wong – 332,000
4. Ray Dehkharghani – 310,000
5. Daniel Negreanu – 290,000
6. Eric Brooks – 246,000
7. Tim Phan – 235,000
8. Freddie Ellis – 205,000
9. Brian Goddard – 190,000
10. Chad Brown – 180,000

Average Chip Count: 152,143

Notable Eliminations:

Keith Sexton
Alex Kravchenko
David Chiu
Cory Zeidman

Big Hands:

Goddard Pushes Out Frangos, Eliminates Keith Sexton

Brian Goddard: X-X-4
Nick Frangos: X-X-8
Sexton: X-X-K

Frangos completed the bet to 5,000 and Sexton raised it to 10,000. Goddard made the call and Frangos did the same.

Brian Goddard: X-X-4A
Nick Frangos: X-X-82
Sexton: X-X-K3

Frangos fired 5,000 and Sexton raised again to 10,000. Goddard and Frangos called.

Brian Goddard: X-X-4A2
Nick Frangos: X-X-825
Sexton: X-X-K37

Frangos led out again with 10,000 and both of his opponents called.

Brian Goddard: X-X-4A23
Nick Frangos: X-X-825K
Sexton: X-X-K379

Frangos bet out another 10,000 and his opponents called again. On the river, Frangos bet another 10,000 and Sexton called for his last 2,500. Goddard then raised it to 20,000 much to Frangos’ surprise. He looked both confused and disgusted with the turn of events and mucked his hand. Goddard then showed his hole cards, AA6 for a set of aces. Sexton mucked his hand and he was eliminated. Goddard was at 165,000 while Frangos was down to 50,000.

Alex Kravchenko Drops A Pot, Then Busts

Seat 8: X-X-K
Kravchenko: X-X-Q

Kravchenko completed to 5,000 and seat 8 raised to 10,000. Kravchenko called.

Seat 8: X-X-K4
Kravchenko: X-X-Q2

Seat 8 bet 5,000 and Kravchenko came along for the ride.

Seat 8: X-X-K4J
Kravchenko: X-X-Q2K

Seat 8 fired another shot, this one 10,000. Kravchenko had enough and mucked his hand. He was down to 80,000 after the hand but lost that a short time later and he was eliminated.

Kid Poker Takes a Pot Off Brown and Wong

Daniel Negreanu: X-X-51010J
Fu Wong: X-X-Q723
Chad Brown: X-X-K2AQ

Wong bet 10,000 on the river and Brown made the call. Negreanu then raised it to 20,000 and Wong went into the tank. After some moments of thought, he mucked his hand and Brown followed suit. Negreanu raked in the pot and his stack was at 260,000. Brown’s stack was at 134,000 while Wong was at 160,000.

Ben Lin Ousted By Hasan Habib

Lin was all in against Habib and Eric Drache. Habib and Drache were contesting a side pot and when Habib showed down his hand, Drache could not beat it and mucked his hand. Matt Glantz then asked Lin if he could contest the side pot. Lin nodded and threw his hand in the muck, exiting the tournament area. Habib was up to 100,000 while Drache was at 122,000.

Player Tags: Hasan Habib,   Daniel Negreanu,   Keith Sexton,   Brian Goddard,   Nikolaos Frangos,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Fu Wong,   Eric Drache

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Level 20

Jul 01, '08

Blinds/Antes: Razz, Stud  – Ante: 2000, Bring: 2000, Complete: 8000.  Hold’em – Blinds: 4000/8000

Players Remaining: 13 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 420000          
Tommy Hang - 282000          
Victor Ramdin - 275000        
Sam Silverman - 245000        
James Schaaf - 205000          
Matt Grapenthien - 170000   
Edward Brogdon - 155000    
Jason Dollinger - 145000       
Esther Rossi - 130000            
Phillip Penn Sr. - 130000

Eliminations:
Stephen Wolff Eliminated in 17th Place ($6,686)
Art Young Eliminated in 16th Place ($8,878)
Keith Sexton Eliminated in 15th Place ($8,878)
Arash Ghaneian Eliminated in 14th Place ($11,070)

Big Hands:

Stephen Wolff Eliminated in 17th Place ($6,686)

As the remaining players continued to battle down to final table play, Stephen Wolff made his exit during the hold’em round.  Wolff got it all in with Phillip Penn on a flop of As8c3h and turned over Ad5c.  Penn showed 8s3s for bottom two pair.  The turn and river blanked for Wolff, and he earned $6,686 for his 17th place finish.

Art Young Eliminated in 16th Place ($8,878)

Lonnie Heimowitz’s ten-seven low was good enough to eliminate Art Young during the razz round.  Young earned $8,878 for his 16th place finish.

Keith Sexton Eliminated in 15th Place ($8,878)

Steve Diano continued his elimination binge by taking aim on Keith Sexton during the razz round.  Diano eliminated Sexton when his eight-low was good against Sexton’s ten-low.  Sexton earned $8,878 for his 15th place finish.

Arash Ghaneian Eliminated in 14th Place ($11,070)

Arash Ghaneian was eliminated as the prize amounts continued to rise, earning an $11,070 payday in the stud round when Matt Grapenthein’s two pair, queens and jacks, caused Ghaneian to muck his hole cards.

 

Player Tags: Art Young,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Steve Wolff,   European Report

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 2 - Level 17 Recap

Jun 30, '08

Note: Play will end for the night at the conclusion of level 18

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  2,000-4,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  1,000 ante, 1,000 bring in, 4,000-8,000 stakes

Players Left:  26 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 190,000
Arash Ghaneian - 175,000
Matt Grapenthien - 125,000
Ed Tonnellier – 120,000
Art Young - 112,000
Jens Voertmann - 110,000
James Schaaf - 110,000
Randall Holland - 105,000
Phillip Penn Sr. - 99,000
Michael Scipione - 98,000
Edward Brogdon - 92,000

Average Stack: 92,650

Eliminations:
Alex Jacob
Allen Cunningham
Giovanni Rizzo

Big Hands and Storylines:

Stud

Hellmuth and Tonnellier Tangle Again

Ed Tonnellier: 7109K
Phil Hellmuth: 106AQ

“Omaha” Ed Tonnellier completed with the 7 and Hellmuth raised with the 10. Tonnellier put in a third bet and Hellmuth called. Tonnellier bet out on fourth street and was called by Hellmuth. Hellmuth was dealt an ace on fifth street and opted to check to Tonnellier, who bet. Hellmuth called. “OmahaEd” drew a king on sixth street and bet after Hellmuth checked. As Hellmuth sorted through his chips he asked, “You hit three kings?” Tonnellier replied, “If I hit three kings then why are you calling?” Hellmuth, never content to let anyone else get the last word in, said, “You might have aces. I hope you have aces,” before making the call. Hellmuth checked on seventh street, Tonnellier bet again, and Hellmuth folded. After the hand, Tonnellier showed his set of kings.

Hellmuth has 190,000 and Tonnellier has 120,000.

Ramdin Gets Hang’d

Tommy Hang: A6K3
Victor Ramdin: QK109

The action picks up on fourth street where Hang bets into Ramdin and garners a call. The action plays out the same on fifth street. Hang slows down on sixth street when Ramdin’s board shows four to a straight, and both players check. Both players check on seventh street as well, and Hang turns over an ace for a pair of aces. Ramdin can only muster a pair of queens, and the pot is Hang’s.

After the pot, Hang was up to 60,000 and Ramdin was on life support with only 12,000.

Omaha/8b

Keith Sexton Doubles Up

Keith Sexton got all in on the turn against Giovanni Rizzo. The board read AJ92 and the two turned over their cards:

Rizzo: AKK4
Sexton: AQ32

The river was the 3 and Sexton avoided Rizzo’s slew of outs. Sexton doubled up to 60,000. Rizzo was knocked down to 20,000 and would be eliminated a short time later.

Player Tags: Randy Holland,   Art Young,   Phillip Penn Sr.,   Matt Grapenthien,   Tommy Hang,   Allen Cunningham,   Ed Tonnellier,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Alex Jacob,   Edward Brogdon,   Jens Voertmann,   Michael Scipione,   James Schaaf

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 Begins

Jun 30, '08

Blinds:
Hold'em: 300-600
Omaha 8: 300-600
Razz: Ante 100, Bring-in 200, Completion 600
Stud: Ante 100, Bring-in 200, Completion 600
Stud 8: Ante 100, Bring-in 200, Completion 600

Players Left: 152 of 803

Chip Counts:
Joe Hachem: 39,000
Steven Diano: 38,200
Phil Hellmut: 38,000
Todd Ickow: 37,500
Chad Brown: 36,700
Tommy Hang: 36,000
Michael Craig: 35,000
Lonnie Heimowitz: 33,200
Ken Zeng: 32,500
Michelle Ankenman: 32,100

Eliminations: Victoria Coren, Brett Jungblut, Bryan Devonshire, Shannon Shorr, Brian Taylor, Dennis Thorn, Tim Debenport

Hands:

Hold'em

Buss Rolls Over Opponent

L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss checked a flop of 875 and Tyler Isono bet 600. Buss made the call, and when the A hit on the turn Buss led out for 1,200. Isono made the call and both players checked the Q river. Buss turned over A6 for a pair of aces and Isono mucked. Buss climbed to around 13,000 with the pot.

Showing Up The Boys

2008 WSOP bracelet winner Svetlana Gromenkova raised preflop and was called by Eric Arreca. The flop came KJ2 and Gromenkova bet 600. Arreca made the call and both players checked the 6 turn. They again checked the 8 on the river and Arreca showed A-10 for an ace-high. Gromenkova looked as if she might be beat, but upon seeing his A-10 she flipped over A-Q. The queen played and Gromenkova scooped the pot with a better ace high.

Omaha 8

From Down Under To The Top

Joe Hachem bet the flop and river on a board of K105QJ and was called by Keith Sexton. Hachem showed AK72 and Sexton mucked. Hachem has climbed among the chip leaders with 39,000 in chips.

Razz

Hellmuth Has Arrived... And He's Already Upset

Phil Hellmuth started the hand off by smiling and asking John Juanda, "You got an 8 in the hole?" Juanda and Michael Baxley joined Hellmuth in the pot. The three players traded off betting, Juanda betting four street, Baxley betting fifth street and Hellmuth betting sixth street. Baxley bet the final card and Hellmuth made the call, but Juanda got out of the way. Their cards:
Hellmuth: 7968 (x-x-x)
Baxley: 4529(6A2)
Juanda: 62Q2 - Muck
Hellmuth clinched his fist and mucked, then began to talk about how bad players were in this tournament before telling Baxley in that Hellmuth-like tone, "Nice hit buddy." Even after the hand Hellmuth remained among the chip leaders.

Gromenkova Picks Off Jett

Gromenkova was also active in the razz round, narrowly taking a pot from Chip Jett. Their cards were:
Gromenkova: A-9-10-9 (6-5-2)
Jett: 7-8-9-5 (A-x-x)
Gromenkova showed 9-6-5-2-A for her low, and Jett could only shake his head as he showed 9-8-7-5-A for a worse 9-low.

Cunningham Bets Out Opponent

Allen Cunninghan called his opponent's bet on fourth street, then led out on fifth and again on sixth to make his opponent fold. Their cards were:
Cunningham: 23Q (X-X)
Opponent: 366-Muck
Cunningham took the pot and chipped up to around 14,000.

 

Player Tags: Eric Arreca,   Jerry Buss,   Allen Cunningham,   Chip Jett,   Phil Hellmuth,   Keith Sexton,   Joe Hachem,   Svetlana Gromenkova,   European Report

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - End of Day 1

Jun 29, '08

Big Hands and Storylines:

An astounding 803 players entered today’s $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, surpassing all expectations. Eliminations were hard to find in the first two or three levels, but the pace picked up in the second half of the day. By the conclusion of day 1, only 184 players were left with a chance of taking home the World Series bracelet.

A very familiar name sits atop the leaderboard: Phil Hellmuth concluded the day with an impressive 43,000 chips. Winning this event would give Hellmuth a 12^th bracelet, further distancing him from Brunson and Chan. In addition, this would be Hellmuth’s first World Series win in a non-hold’em event.

Other big names that Hellmuth will need to contend with to take the title down include:

Joe Hachem - 25,000
Thomas Hunt - 25,000
Victor Ramdin - 23,600
Chad Brown - 22,000
Keith Sexton - 22,000
Arash Ghaneian - 21,000
Michael Craig - 20,000
Esther Taylor - 20,000
Perry Friedman - 18,500

Average Stack: 13,100

Action will resume tomorrow at 3 p.m and play will continue until the final table is reached.

---

Here is one final hand from day 1 action:

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  300-500 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  100 ante, 200 bring in, 500-1,000 stakes

Hold’em

Matusow Gets An Unexpected Out

Mike Matusow raised from late position and was called by a player in the cutoff. The flop came down 1084. Matusow checked and the cutoff checked behind. The turn was the 2 and Matusow bet out. He was raised by the player in the one seat and he quickly called. The river was the 7 and both players checked without much thought. Matusow showed 75 for a pair of sevens. His opponent tabled A-Q and Matusow’s hand stood up despite missing both his straight and flush draws. That hand brought Mike Matusow up to 11,000 at day’s end. Matusow summed up his day succinctly when he said, “I couldn’t have played better and I couldn’t have felt worse.”

Player Tags: Mike Matusow,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Thomas Hunt III,   Michael Craig,   Esther Taylor

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 7 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  200-400 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  100 ante, 100 bring in, 400-800 stakes

Players Left: 224 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Victor Ramdin - 23,000
Arash Ghaneian - 22,900
Phil Hellmuth Jr. - 19,000
Chad Brown - 18,000
Keith Sexton - 17,000
Mary Jones - 17,000
Perry Friedman - 15,200
John Juanda - 15,000
Eugene Katchalov - 14,100
Michael Binger - 12,500

Average Stack: 10,750

Eliminations:
Brian Micon
David Sklansky
Isabelle Mercier

Big Hands and Storylines:

Table 28: The Place To Be

Though table 28 has lost David Chiu since we last left them,  that doesn’t mean that the action has slowed down any. Victor Ramdin has been getting in a number of pots while David Sklansky has remained his usual tight, mathematically sound self (edit: until he was eliminated late in the level). And with Bryan Micon and Mike Matusow providing an endless soundtrack for the players and rail alike, this table is worth keeping tabs on even while the dealer is shuffling the cards. A series of entertaining hands took place in rapid succession during the seven-card-stud eight or better round. Here are those hands:

The Mouth Approves

Going into fourth street with a 7 against Victor Ramdin’s 5 and another player’s 4, Matusow, short-stacked, implored of the dealer, “I really need an ace on this next street.” The dealer gave the first player a K, Ramdin the T, and, to Matusow’s delight, he was delivered the A. He exploded, “That’s how to deal this game dealer!” Matusow bet out with his newfound confidence and the first player folded quickly. While Ramdin was thinking over his decision, Matusow kept up that chatter, saying that he didn’t care whether Ramdin called or not, that either way was good for him. Eventually though, Ramdin folded and Matusow raked in the pot.

A Dramatic Finale... Or Not

Ramdin: 58AK
Matusow: 103J8

Victor Ramdin completed with the 5 and Matusow raised with the 10. Ramdin called. Matusow bet fourth street, Ramdin raised, and Matusow called. Ramdin bet fifth street and Matusow called; the same happened on sixth street, only this time Matusow had no further chips to bet. Ramdin showed (Q)(J) and Matusow, professing to having a pair of tens, called for Ramdin to catch “any baby red.” Matusow flipped up his cards: (A)(10). Matusow did have a pair of tens, but the fact that he also had an ace-high flush had completely escaped him until that moment. “I already have a flush!” The only card that Ramdin could catch to win the pot was the A, and when his final card blanked, the 8,000 chip pot was Matusow’s. After the hand, Matusow continued on about his myopia (figuratively, though I believe he is also near-sighted): “I didn’t even know I had it! I knew I had ten-ten-ace...” Fortunately for Matusow he was all-in by the end of the hand anyway, so he didn’t miss gaining an extra bet anywhere.

Ramdwn’d

As Bryan Micon waxed about one of his recent bad beats, Matusow interrupted him and told him that he wasn’t allowed to tell any bad beat stories at the table. In fact, Matusow asserted, Micon was never in front during the hand; Ramdin was the favorite the entire way through. Micon explained his thought process during the hand, “I knew I was beat high but I had infinite odds; I was trying to scoop low.” At just that moment the fairly subdued Ramdin piped in with some of his own bombast. He averred, “You’re playing against Victor Ramdin. You’re not supposed to scoop the low.” This comment earned a (much coveted) high five from Mike Matusow. By the end of the level Ramdin was chip leader with 23,000, so he had reason to be cocksure.

Micon Gone

Bryan Micon found his remaining 1,200 chips all-in against an opponent on 4^th street with the following cards:

Micon: (K)(9)K10
Opponent: (A)(6)8A

Micon needed two-pair to escape elimination, but things took a turn for the worse just seconds later when his opponent was dealt the 8 for aces up. “You are in a world of hurt, my friend,” opined Matusow, despite Micon drawing the 10. Matusow was right, and Micon’s final card blanked. Micon, one of the chip leaders during the early stages of the day, could not quite make it to the end of day 1.

Player Tags: John Juanda,   Mike Matusow,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Isabelle Mercier,   Eugene Katchalov,   Mary Jones,   Michael Binger,   Brian Micon

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 6 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Note: The players are now on a 20 minute break

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  150-300 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  75 ante, 100 bring in, 300-600 stakes

Players Left: 320 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Mary Jones - 20,500
Keith Sexton - 16,500
Tom Schneider - 16,000
Perry Friedman - 14,500
Victor Ramdin – 13,500
John Juanda - 12,600
Claude Cohen - 12,000
Phil Hellmuth Jr. - 11,000
Joe Hachem - 11,000
Yueqi "Rich" Zhu - 10,500
Mickey Seagle - 10,000

Average Stack: 7,525

Eliminations:
Chris Ferguson
David Chiu
Howard Lederer

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Neither Turn Nor River Save Jesus

Chris Ferguson raised from under-the-gun to 600, leaving himself a mere 250 chips behind. The button called, as did the small blind, and the three saw a flop. The flop rolled off K82. The small blind checked, Ferguson put his last sad chips into the pot, the button called and the small blind folded. The two showed their hands:

Ferguson: A6
Opponent: QQ

Ferguson would need one of the remaining aces in the deck to stay alive. The turn was the 2 and the river was the 5 though, ending Ferguson’s day prematurely.

Omaha

Ramdin Keeps Rollin’

Victor Ramdin raised it up from the button and, as so often happens in Omaha/8, the big blind called. On a flop of QQ10 the big blind bet out and Ramdin quickly met him with a raise. The big blind called and then check-called a bet on the turn (4). The river was the J and the action went check-call yet again. Ramdin showed AQ54 for a full house and took down the pot. That hand kept Ramdin climbing, now all the way up to 13,500.

Stud/8b

Now Those Are Some Scary Boards

Cyndy Violette: 6K66
Opponent: 29J8

Violette raised on third street with the 6 and her opponent called with the 2 up after having brought in. Violette bet again when she drew a king and her opponent appeared to blank with a nine. The boards only got better from there. On the next two streets, Violette received a pair of sixes while her opponent drew two hearts. On every single street Violette bet, and on every single street she was called. “Boat,” was her simple response when met with the last call, showing (7)(7)(8). After taking down that pot Violette sits just above average with 7,500.

Player Tags: Mickey Seagle,   Chris Ferguson,   John Juanda,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Tom Schneider,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Claude Cohen,   Mary Jones,   Joe Hachem

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 5 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  100-200 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  50 ante, 50 bring in, 200-400 stakes

Players Left: 440 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Keith Sexton - 16,500
Tom Schneider - 16,000
Perry Friedman - 14,500
John Juanda - 12,600
Claude Cohen - 12,000
Phil Hellmuth Jr. - 11,000
Joe Hachem - 11,000
Victor Ramdin – 11,000
Yueqi "Rich" Zhu - 10,500
Mickey Seagle - 10,000
Chad Brown - 9,800
Alex Jacob - 8,000

Average Stack: 5,475

Eliminations:
Daniel Negreanu

Big Hands and Storylines:

Show Them What They’re Playing For...

An announcement was just made by the tournament director, and with a field of 803 players starting the tournament, first-prize will be $256,412. This is nearly $100,000 more than last year’s first-place finisher took home, in large part due to the fact that the buy-in has been increased by 50%.

The Table of Death

With a few more than 400 players remaining the tables here in the Amazon Room (and some in the Brasilia Room) have begun to get more saturated with pros. No table is a better example of this than table 28. Sitting there earlier were David Sklansky, David Chiu, and Brian Micon. They were just joined by Victor Ramdin and Mike Matusow, whose chatter has been non-stop since arriving despite having only 2,800 chips.

Omaha

Jacob Busts Another

Alex Jacob raised pre-flop from early position and the only caller was a short-stacked player in the blinds. The flop came J83, and the short stack check-called a bet from Jacob. Jacob’s opponent was all-in after a 3 on the turn and the players showed:

Jacob: AA76
Opponent: AK109

The river was a harmless 8 and Jacob claimed another scalp. This one helped escalate his chip stack to 8,000.

Stud

Ramdin in Charge

Victor Ramdin: A6A8
David Chiu: 5852

David Chiu completed on third street and Victor Ramdin and another player made the call. Ramdin bet fourth street and was raised by Chiu. The third player folded, and Ramdin made the call. Both players open-paired up on fifth street, but Ramdin’s aces were far scarier than Chiu’s fives. Ramdin bet and Chiu called. Action was the same on the last two streets, and after the final call Chiu asked, “Jacks up good?” Ramdin turned over (8h)(6s)(5c). Jacks up were, in fact, no good. This pot propelled Ramdin to the heights of the chip leaders with 11,000. Chiu is not hurting for chips himself, with 7,600.

Player Tags: Mickey Seagle,   John Juanda,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Tom Schneider,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Claude Cohen,   Joe Hachem,   Alex Jacob,   Yueqi Zhu

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 3 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  50-100 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  25 ante, 25 bring in, 100-200 stakes

Entrants: 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Gordon - 8,500
Marsha Waggoner - 7,400
Sam Simon - 7,000
Perry Friedman - 7,000
Thomas Hunt - 7,000
Richard Brodie - 6,700
Keith Sexton - 6,500
Isabelle Mercier - 6,000
Bryan Micon - 5,800
Lou Esposito - 5,500

Big Hands and Storylines:

Stud

Alex Jacob Wins Pot, Busts Opponent

Alex Jacob: K108J
Opponent: 10242

Alex Jacob and a short-stacked opponent went to fourth street with a K and 10 showing respectively. On fourth street, Jacob bet and his opponent called, leaving himself only 525 behind. Jacob bet again on 6^th street and the other player contemplated for a while, picked up his final few chips and said, “What am I going to do with these anyway?” He tossed them in for the call, but would regret it almost immediately. After 7^th street was dealt, Jacob showed (A)(Q)(J) for the straight. The pot gives Jacob 5,200 early on day 1.

Small But Important Pot Gives Ferguson Some Breathing Room

Chris Ferguson: A538
Opponent: Q64A

Ferguson completed on third street and his opponent raised. Ferguson made the call and the two players saw fourth street. On fourth street Ferguson checked and his opponent bet. Ferguson made the call. On fifth street Ferguson again checked, and his opponent put in the last of his chips. Ferguson made the call and the two turned over:

Ferguson: (K)(K)A538
Opponent: (J)(10)Q64A

Ferguson’s opponent said, “Well, I started out okay,” as he flipped over his cards. His river card was the 7 and he was eliminated mid-way through level 3. This pot, though not particularly large, was important for Ferguson as it represented a sizeable portion of his stack. He now sits with 2,600 in chips.

Stud/8b

Andy Bloch Gets Set-up

Andy Bloch: A5JK
Opponent: QJQ8

A player completed to 100 and Andy Bloch raised to 200. The player called and each player was dealt a fourth card. Bloch bet out and his opponent called. The hand switched gears when the opposing player was given a pair of open queens. As a result, he bet out on the final three streets, getting called all the way down by Bloch. Bloch’s showed his set when he flipped over his Q and that was good enough to win the pot. Bloch’s stack took a bit of a hit and now he has 3,000.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Richard Brodie,   Andy Bloch,   Phil Gordon,   Marsha Waggoner,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Isabelle Mercier,   Sam Simon,   Alex Jacob,   Lou Esposito,   Bryan Micon,   Thomas Hunt

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Level 20

Jul 01, '08

Blinds/Antes: Razz, Stud  – Ante: 2000, Bring: 2000, Complete: 8000.  Hold’em – Blinds: 4000/8000

Players Remaining: 13 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 420000          
Tommy Hang - 282000          
Victor Ramdin - 275000        
Sam Silverman - 245000        
James Schaaf - 205000          
Matt Grapenthien - 170000   
Edward Brogdon - 155000    
Jason Dollinger - 145000       
Esther Rossi - 130000            
Phillip Penn Sr. - 130000

Eliminations:
Stephen Wolff Eliminated in 17th Place ($6,686)
Art Young Eliminated in 16th Place ($8,878)
Keith Sexton Eliminated in 15th Place ($8,878)
Arash Ghaneian Eliminated in 14th Place ($11,070)

Big Hands:

Stephen Wolff Eliminated in 17th Place ($6,686)

As the remaining players continued to battle down to final table play, Stephen Wolff made his exit during the hold’em round.  Wolff got it all in with Phillip Penn on a flop of As8c3h and turned over Ad5c.  Penn showed 8s3s for bottom two pair.  The turn and river blanked for Wolff, and he earned $6,686 for his 17th place finish.

Art Young Eliminated in 16th Place ($8,878)

Lonnie Heimowitz’s ten-seven low was good enough to eliminate Art Young during the razz round.  Young earned $8,878 for his 16th place finish.

Keith Sexton Eliminated in 15th Place ($8,878)

Steve Diano continued his elimination binge by taking aim on Keith Sexton during the razz round.  Diano eliminated Sexton when his eight-low was good against Sexton’s ten-low.  Sexton earned $8,878 for his 15th place finish.

Arash Ghaneian Eliminated in 14th Place ($11,070)

Arash Ghaneian was eliminated as the prize amounts continued to rise, earning an $11,070 payday in the stud round when Matt Grapenthein’s two pair, queens and jacks, caused Ghaneian to muck his hole cards.

 

Player Tags: Art Young,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Steve Wolff,   European Report

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 2 - Level 17 Recap

Jun 30, '08

Note: Play will end for the night at the conclusion of level 18

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  2,000-4,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  1,000 ante, 1,000 bring in, 4,000-8,000 stakes

Players Left:  26 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 190,000
Arash Ghaneian - 175,000
Matt Grapenthien - 125,000
Ed Tonnellier – 120,000
Art Young - 112,000
Jens Voertmann - 110,000
James Schaaf - 110,000
Randall Holland - 105,000
Phillip Penn Sr. - 99,000
Michael Scipione - 98,000
Edward Brogdon - 92,000

Average Stack: 92,650

Eliminations:
Alex Jacob
Allen Cunningham
Giovanni Rizzo

Big Hands and Storylines:

Stud

Hellmuth and Tonnellier Tangle Again

Ed Tonnellier: 7109K
Phil Hellmuth: 106AQ

“Omaha” Ed Tonnellier completed with the 7 and Hellmuth raised with the 10. Tonnellier put in a third bet and Hellmuth called. Tonnellier bet out on fourth street and was called by Hellmuth. Hellmuth was dealt an ace on fifth street and opted to check to Tonnellier, who bet. Hellmuth called. “OmahaEd” drew a king on sixth street and bet after Hellmuth checked. As Hellmuth sorted through his chips he asked, “You hit three kings?” Tonnellier replied, “If I hit three kings then why are you calling?” Hellmuth, never content to let anyone else get the last word in, said, “You might have aces. I hope you have aces,” before making the call. Hellmuth checked on seventh street, Tonnellier bet again, and Hellmuth folded. After the hand, Tonnellier showed his set of kings.

Hellmuth has 190,000 and Tonnellier has 120,000.

Ramdin Gets Hang’d

Tommy Hang: A6K3
Victor Ramdin: QK109

The action picks up on fourth street where Hang bets into Ramdin and garners a call. The action plays out the same on fifth street. Hang slows down on sixth street when Ramdin’s board shows four to a straight, and both players check. Both players check on seventh street as well, and Hang turns over an ace for a pair of aces. Ramdin can only muster a pair of queens, and the pot is Hang’s.

After the pot, Hang was up to 60,000 and Ramdin was on life support with only 12,000.

Omaha/8b

Keith Sexton Doubles Up

Keith Sexton got all in on the turn against Giovanni Rizzo. The board read AJ92 and the two turned over their cards:

Rizzo: AKK4
Sexton: AQ32

The river was the 3 and Sexton avoided Rizzo’s slew of outs. Sexton doubled up to 60,000. Rizzo was knocked down to 20,000 and would be eliminated a short time later.

Player Tags: Randy Holland,   Art Young,   Phillip Penn Sr.,   Matt Grapenthien,   Tommy Hang,   Allen Cunningham,   Ed Tonnellier,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Alex Jacob,   Edward Brogdon,   Jens Voertmann,   Michael Scipione,   James Schaaf

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 Begins

Jun 30, '08

Blinds:
Hold'em: 300-600
Omaha 8: 300-600
Razz: Ante 100, Bring-in 200, Completion 600
Stud: Ante 100, Bring-in 200, Completion 600
Stud 8: Ante 100, Bring-in 200, Completion 600

Players Left: 152 of 803

Chip Counts:
Joe Hachem: 39,000
Steven Diano: 38,200
Phil Hellmut: 38,000
Todd Ickow: 37,500
Chad Brown: 36,700
Tommy Hang: 36,000
Michael Craig: 35,000
Lonnie Heimowitz: 33,200
Ken Zeng: 32,500
Michelle Ankenman: 32,100

Eliminations: Victoria Coren, Brett Jungblut, Bryan Devonshire, Shannon Shorr, Brian Taylor, Dennis Thorn, Tim Debenport

Hands:

Hold'em

Buss Rolls Over Opponent

L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss checked a flop of 875 and Tyler Isono bet 600. Buss made the call, and when the A hit on the turn Buss led out for 1,200. Isono made the call and both players checked the Q river. Buss turned over A6 for a pair of aces and Isono mucked. Buss climbed to around 13,000 with the pot.

Showing Up The Boys

2008 WSOP bracelet winner Svetlana Gromenkova raised preflop and was called by Eric Arreca. The flop came KJ2 and Gromenkova bet 600. Arreca made the call and both players checked the 6 turn. They again checked the 8 on the river and Arreca showed A-10 for an ace-high. Gromenkova looked as if she might be beat, but upon seeing his A-10 she flipped over A-Q. The queen played and Gromenkova scooped the pot with a better ace high.

Omaha 8

From Down Under To The Top

Joe Hachem bet the flop and river on a board of K105QJ and was called by Keith Sexton. Hachem showed AK72 and Sexton mucked. Hachem has climbed among the chip leaders with 39,000 in chips.

Razz

Hellmuth Has Arrived... And He's Already Upset

Phil Hellmuth started the hand off by smiling and asking John Juanda, "You got an 8 in the hole?" Juanda and Michael Baxley joined Hellmuth in the pot. The three players traded off betting, Juanda betting four street, Baxley betting fifth street and Hellmuth betting sixth street. Baxley bet the final card and Hellmuth made the call, but Juanda got out of the way. Their cards:
Hellmuth: 7968 (x-x-x)
Baxley: 4529(6A2)
Juanda: 62Q2 - Muck
Hellmuth clinched his fist and mucked, then began to talk about how bad players were in this tournament before telling Baxley in that Hellmuth-like tone, "Nice hit buddy." Even after the hand Hellmuth remained among the chip leaders.

Gromenkova Picks Off Jett

Gromenkova was also active in the razz round, narrowly taking a pot from Chip Jett. Their cards were:
Gromenkova: A-9-10-9 (6-5-2)
Jett: 7-8-9-5 (A-x-x)
Gromenkova showed 9-6-5-2-A for her low, and Jett could only shake his head as he showed 9-8-7-5-A for a worse 9-low.

Cunningham Bets Out Opponent

Allen Cunninghan called his opponent's bet on fourth street, then led out on fifth and again on sixth to make his opponent fold. Their cards were:
Cunningham: 23Q (X-X)
Opponent: 366-Muck
Cunningham took the pot and chipped up to around 14,000.

 

Player Tags: Eric Arreca,   Jerry Buss,   Allen Cunningham,   Chip Jett,   Phil Hellmuth,   Keith Sexton,   Joe Hachem,   Svetlana Gromenkova,   European Report

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - End of Day 1

Jun 29, '08

Big Hands and Storylines:

An astounding 803 players entered today’s $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, surpassing all expectations. Eliminations were hard to find in the first two or three levels, but the pace picked up in the second half of the day. By the conclusion of day 1, only 184 players were left with a chance of taking home the World Series bracelet.

A very familiar name sits atop the leaderboard: Phil Hellmuth concluded the day with an impressive 43,000 chips. Winning this event would give Hellmuth a 12^th bracelet, further distancing him from Brunson and Chan. In addition, this would be Hellmuth’s first World Series win in a non-hold’em event.

Other big names that Hellmuth will need to contend with to take the title down include:

Joe Hachem - 25,000
Thomas Hunt - 25,000
Victor Ramdin - 23,600
Chad Brown - 22,000
Keith Sexton - 22,000
Arash Ghaneian - 21,000
Michael Craig - 20,000
Esther Taylor - 20,000
Perry Friedman - 18,500

Average Stack: 13,100

Action will resume tomorrow at 3 p.m and play will continue until the final table is reached.

---

Here is one final hand from day 1 action:

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  300-500 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  100 ante, 200 bring in, 500-1,000 stakes

Hold’em

Matusow Gets An Unexpected Out

Mike Matusow raised from late position and was called by a player in the cutoff. The flop came down 1084. Matusow checked and the cutoff checked behind. The turn was the 2 and Matusow bet out. He was raised by the player in the one seat and he quickly called. The river was the 7 and both players checked without much thought. Matusow showed 75 for a pair of sevens. His opponent tabled A-Q and Matusow’s hand stood up despite missing both his straight and flush draws. That hand brought Mike Matusow up to 11,000 at day’s end. Matusow summed up his day succinctly when he said, “I couldn’t have played better and I couldn’t have felt worse.”

Player Tags: Mike Matusow,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Thomas Hunt III,   Michael Craig,   Esther Taylor

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 7 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  200-400 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  100 ante, 100 bring in, 400-800 stakes

Players Left: 224 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Victor Ramdin - 23,000
Arash Ghaneian - 22,900
Phil Hellmuth Jr. - 19,000
Chad Brown - 18,000
Keith Sexton - 17,000
Mary Jones - 17,000
Perry Friedman - 15,200
John Juanda - 15,000
Eugene Katchalov - 14,100
Michael Binger - 12,500

Average Stack: 10,750

Eliminations:
Brian Micon
David Sklansky
Isabelle Mercier

Big Hands and Storylines:

Table 28: The Place To Be

Though table 28 has lost David Chiu since we last left them,  that doesn’t mean that the action has slowed down any. Victor Ramdin has been getting in a number of pots while David Sklansky has remained his usual tight, mathematically sound self (edit: until he was eliminated late in the level). And with Bryan Micon and Mike Matusow providing an endless soundtrack for the players and rail alike, this table is worth keeping tabs on even while the dealer is shuffling the cards. A series of entertaining hands took place in rapid succession during the seven-card-stud eight or better round. Here are those hands:

The Mouth Approves

Going into fourth street with a 7 against Victor Ramdin’s 5 and another player’s 4, Matusow, short-stacked, implored of the dealer, “I really need an ace on this next street.” The dealer gave the first player a K, Ramdin the T, and, to Matusow’s delight, he was delivered the A. He exploded, “That’s how to deal this game dealer!” Matusow bet out with his newfound confidence and the first player folded quickly. While Ramdin was thinking over his decision, Matusow kept up that chatter, saying that he didn’t care whether Ramdin called or not, that either way was good for him. Eventually though, Ramdin folded and Matusow raked in the pot.

A Dramatic Finale... Or Not

Ramdin: 58AK
Matusow: 103J8

Victor Ramdin completed with the 5 and Matusow raised with the 10. Ramdin called. Matusow bet fourth street, Ramdin raised, and Matusow called. Ramdin bet fifth street and Matusow called; the same happened on sixth street, only this time Matusow had no further chips to bet. Ramdin showed (Q)(J) and Matusow, professing to having a pair of tens, called for Ramdin to catch “any baby red.” Matusow flipped up his cards: (A)(10). Matusow did have a pair of tens, but the fact that he also had an ace-high flush had completely escaped him until that moment. “I already have a flush!” The only card that Ramdin could catch to win the pot was the A, and when his final card blanked, the 8,000 chip pot was Matusow’s. After the hand, Matusow continued on about his myopia (figuratively, though I believe he is also near-sighted): “I didn’t even know I had it! I knew I had ten-ten-ace...” Fortunately for Matusow he was all-in by the end of the hand anyway, so he didn’t miss gaining an extra bet anywhere.

Ramdwn’d

As Bryan Micon waxed about one of his recent bad beats, Matusow interrupted him and told him that he wasn’t allowed to tell any bad beat stories at the table. In fact, Matusow asserted, Micon was never in front during the hand; Ramdin was the favorite the entire way through. Micon explained his thought process during the hand, “I knew I was beat high but I had infinite odds; I was trying to scoop low.” At just that moment the fairly subdued Ramdin piped in with some of his own bombast. He averred, “You’re playing against Victor Ramdin. You’re not supposed to scoop the low.” This comment earned a (much coveted) high five from Mike Matusow. By the end of the level Ramdin was chip leader with 23,000, so he had reason to be cocksure.

Micon Gone

Bryan Micon found his remaining 1,200 chips all-in against an opponent on 4^th street with the following cards:

Micon: (K)(9)K10
Opponent: (A)(6)8A

Micon needed two-pair to escape elimination, but things took a turn for the worse just seconds later when his opponent was dealt the 8 for aces up. “You are in a world of hurt, my friend,” opined Matusow, despite Micon drawing the 10. Matusow was right, and Micon’s final card blanked. Micon, one of the chip leaders during the early stages of the day, could not quite make it to the end of day 1.

Player Tags: John Juanda,   Mike Matusow,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Isabelle Mercier,   Eugene Katchalov,   Mary Jones,   Michael Binger,   Brian Micon

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 6 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Note: The players are now on a 20 minute break

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  150-300 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  75 ante, 100 bring in, 300-600 stakes

Players Left: 320 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Mary Jones - 20,500
Keith Sexton - 16,500
Tom Schneider - 16,000
Perry Friedman - 14,500
Victor Ramdin – 13,500
John Juanda - 12,600
Claude Cohen - 12,000
Phil Hellmuth Jr. - 11,000
Joe Hachem - 11,000
Yueqi "Rich" Zhu - 10,500
Mickey Seagle - 10,000

Average Stack: 7,525

Eliminations:
Chris Ferguson
David Chiu
Howard Lederer

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Neither Turn Nor River Save Jesus

Chris Ferguson raised from under-the-gun to 600, leaving himself a mere 250 chips behind. The button called, as did the small blind, and the three saw a flop. The flop rolled off K82. The small blind checked, Ferguson put his last sad chips into the pot, the button called and the small blind folded. The two showed their hands:

Ferguson: A6
Opponent: QQ

Ferguson would need one of the remaining aces in the deck to stay alive. The turn was the 2 and the river was the 5 though, ending Ferguson’s day prematurely.

Omaha

Ramdin Keeps Rollin’

Victor Ramdin raised it up from the button and, as so often happens in Omaha/8, the big blind called. On a flop of QQ10 the big blind bet out and Ramdin quickly met him with a raise. The big blind called and then check-called a bet on the turn (4). The river was the J and the action went check-call yet again. Ramdin showed AQ54 for a full house and took down the pot. That hand kept Ramdin climbing, now all the way up to 13,500.

Stud/8b

Now Those Are Some Scary Boards

Cyndy Violette: 6K66
Opponent: 29J8

Violette raised on third street with the 6 and her opponent called with the 2 up after having brought in. Violette bet again when she drew a king and her opponent appeared to blank with a nine. The boards only got better from there. On the next two streets, Violette received a pair of sixes while her opponent drew two hearts. On every single street Violette bet, and on every single street she was called. “Boat,” was her simple response when met with the last call, showing (7)(7)(8). After taking down that pot Violette sits just above average with 7,500.

Player Tags: Mickey Seagle,   Chris Ferguson,   John Juanda,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Tom Schneider,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Claude Cohen,   Mary Jones,   Joe Hachem

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 5 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  100-200 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  50 ante, 50 bring in, 200-400 stakes

Players Left: 440 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Keith Sexton - 16,500
Tom Schneider - 16,000
Perry Friedman - 14,500
John Juanda - 12,600
Claude Cohen - 12,000
Phil Hellmuth Jr. - 11,000
Joe Hachem - 11,000
Victor Ramdin – 11,000
Yueqi "Rich" Zhu - 10,500
Mickey Seagle - 10,000
Chad Brown - 9,800
Alex Jacob - 8,000

Average Stack: 5,475

Eliminations:
Daniel Negreanu

Big Hands and Storylines:

Show Them What They’re Playing For...

An announcement was just made by the tournament director, and with a field of 803 players starting the tournament, first-prize will be $256,412. This is nearly $100,000 more than last year’s first-place finisher took home, in large part due to the fact that the buy-in has been increased by 50%.

The Table of Death

With a few more than 400 players remaining the tables here in the Amazon Room (and some in the Brasilia Room) have begun to get more saturated with pros. No table is a better example of this than table 28. Sitting there earlier were David Sklansky, David Chiu, and Brian Micon. They were just joined by Victor Ramdin and Mike Matusow, whose chatter has been non-stop since arriving despite having only 2,800 chips.

Omaha

Jacob Busts Another

Alex Jacob raised pre-flop from early position and the only caller was a short-stacked player in the blinds. The flop came J83, and the short stack check-called a bet from Jacob. Jacob’s opponent was all-in after a 3 on the turn and the players showed:

Jacob: AA76
Opponent: AK109

The river was a harmless 8 and Jacob claimed another scalp. This one helped escalate his chip stack to 8,000.

Stud

Ramdin in Charge

Victor Ramdin: A6A8
David Chiu: 5852

David Chiu completed on third street and Victor Ramdin and another player made the call. Ramdin bet fourth street and was raised by Chiu. The third player folded, and Ramdin made the call. Both players open-paired up on fifth street, but Ramdin’s aces were far scarier than Chiu’s fives. Ramdin bet and Chiu called. Action was the same on the last two streets, and after the final call Chiu asked, “Jacks up good?” Ramdin turned over (8h)(6s)(5c). Jacks up were, in fact, no good. This pot propelled Ramdin to the heights of the chip leaders with 11,000. Chiu is not hurting for chips himself, with 7,600.

Player Tags: Mickey Seagle,   John Juanda,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Tom Schneider,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Claude Cohen,   Joe Hachem,   Alex Jacob,   Yueqi Zhu

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 3 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  50-100 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  25 ante, 25 bring in, 100-200 stakes

Entrants: 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Gordon - 8,500
Marsha Waggoner - 7,400
Sam Simon - 7,000
Perry Friedman - 7,000
Thomas Hunt - 7,000
Richard Brodie - 6,700
Keith Sexton - 6,500
Isabelle Mercier - 6,000
Bryan Micon - 5,800
Lou Esposito - 5,500

Big Hands and Storylines:

Stud

Alex Jacob Wins Pot, Busts Opponent

Alex Jacob: K108J
Opponent: 10242

Alex Jacob and a short-stacked opponent went to fourth street with a K and 10 showing respectively. On fourth street, Jacob bet and his opponent called, leaving himself only 525 behind. Jacob bet again on 6^th street and the other player contemplated for a while, picked up his final few chips and said, “What am I going to do with these anyway?” He tossed them in for the call, but would regret it almost immediately. After 7^th street was dealt, Jacob showed (A)(Q)(J) for the straight. The pot gives Jacob 5,200 early on day 1.

Small But Important Pot Gives Ferguson Some Breathing Room

Chris Ferguson: A538
Opponent: Q64A

Ferguson completed on third street and his opponent raised. Ferguson made the call and the two players saw fourth street. On fourth street Ferguson checked and his opponent bet. Ferguson made the call. On fifth street Ferguson again checked, and his opponent put in the last of his chips. Ferguson made the call and the two turned over:

Ferguson: (K)(K)A538
Opponent: (J)(10)Q64A

Ferguson’s opponent said, “Well, I started out okay,” as he flipped over his cards. His river card was the 7 and he was eliminated mid-way through level 3. This pot, though not particularly large, was important for Ferguson as it represented a sizeable portion of his stack. He now sits with 2,600 in chips.

Stud/8b

Andy Bloch Gets Set-up

Andy Bloch: A5JK
Opponent: QJQ8

A player completed to 100 and Andy Bloch raised to 200. The player called and each player was dealt a fourth card. Bloch bet out and his opponent called. The hand switched gears when the opposing player was given a pair of open queens. As a result, he bet out on the final three streets, getting called all the way down by Bloch. Bloch’s showed his set when he flipped over his Q and that was good enough to win the pot. Bloch’s stack took a bit of a hit and now he has 3,000.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Richard Brodie,   Andy Bloch,   Phil Gordon,   Marsha Waggoner,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Isabelle Mercier,   Sam Simon,   Alex Jacob,   Lou Esposito,   Bryan Micon,   Thomas Hunt

$1,500 HORSE - Final Day - Level 20

Jul 01, '08

Blinds/Antes: Razz, Stud  – Ante: 2000, Bring: 2000, Complete: 8000.  Hold’em – Blinds: 4000/8000

Players Remaining: 13 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 420000          
Tommy Hang - 282000          
Victor Ramdin - 275000        
Sam Silverman - 245000        
James Schaaf - 205000          
Matt Grapenthien - 170000   
Edward Brogdon - 155000    
Jason Dollinger - 145000       
Esther Rossi - 130000            
Phillip Penn Sr. - 130000

Eliminations:
Stephen Wolff Eliminated in 17th Place ($6,686)
Art Young Eliminated in 16th Place ($8,878)
Keith Sexton Eliminated in 15th Place ($8,878)
Arash Ghaneian Eliminated in 14th Place ($11,070)

Big Hands:

Stephen Wolff Eliminated in 17th Place ($6,686)

As the remaining players continued to battle down to final table play, Stephen Wolff made his exit during the hold’em round.  Wolff got it all in with Phillip Penn on a flop of As8c3h and turned over Ad5c.  Penn showed 8s3s for bottom two pair.  The turn and river blanked for Wolff, and he earned $6,686 for his 17th place finish.

Art Young Eliminated in 16th Place ($8,878)

Lonnie Heimowitz’s ten-seven low was good enough to eliminate Art Young during the razz round.  Young earned $8,878 for his 16th place finish.

Keith Sexton Eliminated in 15th Place ($8,878)

Steve Diano continued his elimination binge by taking aim on Keith Sexton during the razz round.  Diano eliminated Sexton when his eight-low was good against Sexton’s ten-low.  Sexton earned $8,878 for his 15th place finish.

Arash Ghaneian Eliminated in 14th Place ($11,070)

Arash Ghaneian was eliminated as the prize amounts continued to rise, earning an $11,070 payday in the stud round when Matt Grapenthein’s two pair, queens and jacks, caused Ghaneian to muck his hole cards.

 

Player Tags: Art Young,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Steve Wolff,   European Report

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 2 - Level 17 Recap

Jun 30, '08

Note: Play will end for the night at the conclusion of level 18

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  2,000-4,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  1,000 ante, 1,000 bring in, 4,000-8,000 stakes

Players Left:  26 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Hellmuth - 190,000
Arash Ghaneian - 175,000
Matt Grapenthien - 125,000
Ed Tonnellier – 120,000
Art Young - 112,000
Jens Voertmann - 110,000
James Schaaf - 110,000
Randall Holland - 105,000
Phillip Penn Sr. - 99,000
Michael Scipione - 98,000
Edward Brogdon - 92,000

Average Stack: 92,650

Eliminations:
Alex Jacob
Allen Cunningham
Giovanni Rizzo

Big Hands and Storylines:

Stud

Hellmuth and Tonnellier Tangle Again

Ed Tonnellier: 7109K
Phil Hellmuth: 106AQ

“Omaha” Ed Tonnellier completed with the 7 and Hellmuth raised with the 10. Tonnellier put in a third bet and Hellmuth called. Tonnellier bet out on fourth street and was called by Hellmuth. Hellmuth was dealt an ace on fifth street and opted to check to Tonnellier, who bet. Hellmuth called. “OmahaEd” drew a king on sixth street and bet after Hellmuth checked. As Hellmuth sorted through his chips he asked, “You hit three kings?” Tonnellier replied, “If I hit three kings then why are you calling?” Hellmuth, never content to let anyone else get the last word in, said, “You might have aces. I hope you have aces,” before making the call. Hellmuth checked on seventh street, Tonnellier bet again, and Hellmuth folded. After the hand, Tonnellier showed his set of kings.

Hellmuth has 190,000 and Tonnellier has 120,000.

Ramdin Gets Hang’d

Tommy Hang: A6K3
Victor Ramdin: QK109

The action picks up on fourth street where Hang bets into Ramdin and garners a call. The action plays out the same on fifth street. Hang slows down on sixth street when Ramdin’s board shows four to a straight, and both players check. Both players check on seventh street as well, and Hang turns over an ace for a pair of aces. Ramdin can only muster a pair of queens, and the pot is Hang’s.

After the pot, Hang was up to 60,000 and Ramdin was on life support with only 12,000.

Omaha/8b

Keith Sexton Doubles Up

Keith Sexton got all in on the turn against Giovanni Rizzo. The board read AJ92 and the two turned over their cards:

Rizzo: AKK4
Sexton: AQ32

The river was the 3 and Sexton avoided Rizzo’s slew of outs. Sexton doubled up to 60,000. Rizzo was knocked down to 20,000 and would be eliminated a short time later.

Player Tags: Randy Holland,   Art Young,   Phillip Penn Sr.,   Matt Grapenthien,   Tommy Hang,   Allen Cunningham,   Ed Tonnellier,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Alex Jacob,   Edward Brogdon,   Jens Voertmann,   Michael Scipione,   James Schaaf

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 Begins

Jun 30, '08

Blinds:
Hold'em: 300-600
Omaha 8: 300-600
Razz: Ante 100, Bring-in 200, Completion 600
Stud: Ante 100, Bring-in 200, Completion 600
Stud 8: Ante 100, Bring-in 200, Completion 600

Players Left: 152 of 803

Chip Counts:
Joe Hachem: 39,000
Steven Diano: 38,200
Phil Hellmut: 38,000
Todd Ickow: 37,500
Chad Brown: 36,700
Tommy Hang: 36,000
Michael Craig: 35,000
Lonnie Heimowitz: 33,200
Ken Zeng: 32,500
Michelle Ankenman: 32,100

Eliminations: Victoria Coren, Brett Jungblut, Bryan Devonshire, Shannon Shorr, Brian Taylor, Dennis Thorn, Tim Debenport

Hands:

Hold'em

Buss Rolls Over Opponent

L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss checked a flop of 875 and Tyler Isono bet 600. Buss made the call, and when the A hit on the turn Buss led out for 1,200. Isono made the call and both players checked the Q river. Buss turned over A6 for a pair of aces and Isono mucked. Buss climbed to around 13,000 with the pot.

Showing Up The Boys

2008 WSOP bracelet winner Svetlana Gromenkova raised preflop and was called by Eric Arreca. The flop came KJ2 and Gromenkova bet 600. Arreca made the call and both players checked the 6 turn. They again checked the 8 on the river and Arreca showed A-10 for an ace-high. Gromenkova looked as if she might be beat, but upon seeing his A-10 she flipped over A-Q. The queen played and Gromenkova scooped the pot with a better ace high.

Omaha 8

From Down Under To The Top

Joe Hachem bet the flop and river on a board of K105QJ and was called by Keith Sexton. Hachem showed AK72 and Sexton mucked. Hachem has climbed among the chip leaders with 39,000 in chips.

Razz

Hellmuth Has Arrived... And He's Already Upset

Phil Hellmuth started the hand off by smiling and asking John Juanda, "You got an 8 in the hole?" Juanda and Michael Baxley joined Hellmuth in the pot. The three players traded off betting, Juanda betting four street, Baxley betting fifth street and Hellmuth betting sixth street. Baxley bet the final card and Hellmuth made the call, but Juanda got out of the way. Their cards:
Hellmuth: 7968 (x-x-x)
Baxley: 4529(6A2)
Juanda: 62Q2 - Muck
Hellmuth clinched his fist and mucked, then began to talk about how bad players were in this tournament before telling Baxley in that Hellmuth-like tone, "Nice hit buddy." Even after the hand Hellmuth remained among the chip leaders.

Gromenkova Picks Off Jett

Gromenkova was also active in the razz round, narrowly taking a pot from Chip Jett. Their cards were:
Gromenkova: A-9-10-9 (6-5-2)
Jett: 7-8-9-5 (A-x-x)
Gromenkova showed 9-6-5-2-A for her low, and Jett could only shake his head as he showed 9-8-7-5-A for a worse 9-low.

Cunningham Bets Out Opponent

Allen Cunninghan called his opponent's bet on fourth street, then led out on fifth and again on sixth to make his opponent fold. Their cards were:
Cunningham: 23Q (X-X)
Opponent: 366-Muck
Cunningham took the pot and chipped up to around 14,000.

 

Player Tags: Eric Arreca,   Jerry Buss,   Allen Cunningham,   Chip Jett,   Phil Hellmuth,   Keith Sexton,   Joe Hachem,   Svetlana Gromenkova,   European Report

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - End of Day 1

Jun 29, '08

Big Hands and Storylines:

An astounding 803 players entered today’s $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event, surpassing all expectations. Eliminations were hard to find in the first two or three levels, but the pace picked up in the second half of the day. By the conclusion of day 1, only 184 players were left with a chance of taking home the World Series bracelet.

A very familiar name sits atop the leaderboard: Phil Hellmuth concluded the day with an impressive 43,000 chips. Winning this event would give Hellmuth a 12^th bracelet, further distancing him from Brunson and Chan. In addition, this would be Hellmuth’s first World Series win in a non-hold’em event.

Other big names that Hellmuth will need to contend with to take the title down include:

Joe Hachem - 25,000
Thomas Hunt - 25,000
Victor Ramdin - 23,600
Chad Brown - 22,000
Keith Sexton - 22,000
Arash Ghaneian - 21,000
Michael Craig - 20,000
Esther Taylor - 20,000
Perry Friedman - 18,500

Average Stack: 13,100

Action will resume tomorrow at 3 p.m and play will continue until the final table is reached.

---

Here is one final hand from day 1 action:

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  300-500 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  100 ante, 200 bring in, 500-1,000 stakes

Hold’em

Matusow Gets An Unexpected Out

Mike Matusow raised from late position and was called by a player in the cutoff. The flop came down 1084. Matusow checked and the cutoff checked behind. The turn was the 2 and Matusow bet out. He was raised by the player in the one seat and he quickly called. The river was the 7 and both players checked without much thought. Matusow showed 75 for a pair of sevens. His opponent tabled A-Q and Matusow’s hand stood up despite missing both his straight and flush draws. That hand brought Mike Matusow up to 11,000 at day’s end. Matusow summed up his day succinctly when he said, “I couldn’t have played better and I couldn’t have felt worse.”

Player Tags: Mike Matusow,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Thomas Hunt III,   Michael Craig,   Esther Taylor

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 7 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  200-400 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  100 ante, 100 bring in, 400-800 stakes

Players Left: 224 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Victor Ramdin - 23,000
Arash Ghaneian - 22,900
Phil Hellmuth Jr. - 19,000
Chad Brown - 18,000
Keith Sexton - 17,000
Mary Jones - 17,000
Perry Friedman - 15,200
John Juanda - 15,000
Eugene Katchalov - 14,100
Michael Binger - 12,500

Average Stack: 10,750

Eliminations:
Brian Micon
David Sklansky
Isabelle Mercier

Big Hands and Storylines:

Table 28: The Place To Be

Though table 28 has lost David Chiu since we last left them,  that doesn’t mean that the action has slowed down any. Victor Ramdin has been getting in a number of pots while David Sklansky has remained his usual tight, mathematically sound self (edit: until he was eliminated late in the level). And with Bryan Micon and Mike Matusow providing an endless soundtrack for the players and rail alike, this table is worth keeping tabs on even while the dealer is shuffling the cards. A series of entertaining hands took place in rapid succession during the seven-card-stud eight or better round. Here are those hands:

The Mouth Approves

Going into fourth street with a 7 against Victor Ramdin’s 5 and another player’s 4, Matusow, short-stacked, implored of the dealer, “I really need an ace on this next street.” The dealer gave the first player a K, Ramdin the T, and, to Matusow’s delight, he was delivered the A. He exploded, “That’s how to deal this game dealer!” Matusow bet out with his newfound confidence and the first player folded quickly. While Ramdin was thinking over his decision, Matusow kept up that chatter, saying that he didn’t care whether Ramdin called or not, that either way was good for him. Eventually though, Ramdin folded and Matusow raked in the pot.

A Dramatic Finale... Or Not

Ramdin: 58AK
Matusow: 103J8

Victor Ramdin completed with the 5 and Matusow raised with the 10. Ramdin called. Matusow bet fourth street, Ramdin raised, and Matusow called. Ramdin bet fifth street and Matusow called; the same happened on sixth street, only this time Matusow had no further chips to bet. Ramdin showed (Q)(J) and Matusow, professing to having a pair of tens, called for Ramdin to catch “any baby red.” Matusow flipped up his cards: (A)(10). Matusow did have a pair of tens, but the fact that he also had an ace-high flush had completely escaped him until that moment. “I already have a flush!” The only card that Ramdin could catch to win the pot was the A, and when his final card blanked, the 8,000 chip pot was Matusow’s. After the hand, Matusow continued on about his myopia (figuratively, though I believe he is also near-sighted): “I didn’t even know I had it! I knew I had ten-ten-ace...” Fortunately for Matusow he was all-in by the end of the hand anyway, so he didn’t miss gaining an extra bet anywhere.

Ramdwn’d

As Bryan Micon waxed about one of his recent bad beats, Matusow interrupted him and told him that he wasn’t allowed to tell any bad beat stories at the table. In fact, Matusow asserted, Micon was never in front during the hand; Ramdin was the favorite the entire way through. Micon explained his thought process during the hand, “I knew I was beat high but I had infinite odds; I was trying to scoop low.” At just that moment the fairly subdued Ramdin piped in with some of his own bombast. He averred, “You’re playing against Victor Ramdin. You’re not supposed to scoop the low.” This comment earned a (much coveted) high five from Mike Matusow. By the end of the level Ramdin was chip leader with 23,000, so he had reason to be cocksure.

Micon Gone

Bryan Micon found his remaining 1,200 chips all-in against an opponent on 4^th street with the following cards:

Micon: (K)(9)K10
Opponent: (A)(6)8A

Micon needed two-pair to escape elimination, but things took a turn for the worse just seconds later when his opponent was dealt the 8 for aces up. “You are in a world of hurt, my friend,” opined Matusow, despite Micon drawing the 10. Matusow was right, and Micon’s final card blanked. Micon, one of the chip leaders during the early stages of the day, could not quite make it to the end of day 1.

Player Tags: John Juanda,   Mike Matusow,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Arash Ghaneian,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Isabelle Mercier,   Eugene Katchalov,   Mary Jones,   Michael Binger,   Brian Micon

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 6 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Note: The players are now on a 20 minute break

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  150-300 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  75 ante, 100 bring in, 300-600 stakes

Players Left: 320 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Mary Jones - 20,500
Keith Sexton - 16,500
Tom Schneider - 16,000
Perry Friedman - 14,500
Victor Ramdin – 13,500
John Juanda - 12,600
Claude Cohen - 12,000
Phil Hellmuth Jr. - 11,000
Joe Hachem - 11,000
Yueqi "Rich" Zhu - 10,500
Mickey Seagle - 10,000

Average Stack: 7,525

Eliminations:
Chris Ferguson
David Chiu
Howard Lederer

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Neither Turn Nor River Save Jesus

Chris Ferguson raised from under-the-gun to 600, leaving himself a mere 250 chips behind. The button called, as did the small blind, and the three saw a flop. The flop rolled off K82. The small blind checked, Ferguson put his last sad chips into the pot, the button called and the small blind folded. The two showed their hands:

Ferguson: A6
Opponent: QQ

Ferguson would need one of the remaining aces in the deck to stay alive. The turn was the 2 and the river was the 5 though, ending Ferguson’s day prematurely.

Omaha

Ramdin Keeps Rollin’

Victor Ramdin raised it up from the button and, as so often happens in Omaha/8, the big blind called. On a flop of QQ10 the big blind bet out and Ramdin quickly met him with a raise. The big blind called and then check-called a bet on the turn (4). The river was the J and the action went check-call yet again. Ramdin showed AQ54 for a full house and took down the pot. That hand kept Ramdin climbing, now all the way up to 13,500.

Stud/8b

Now Those Are Some Scary Boards

Cyndy Violette: 6K66
Opponent: 29J8

Violette raised on third street with the 6 and her opponent called with the 2 up after having brought in. Violette bet again when she drew a king and her opponent appeared to blank with a nine. The boards only got better from there. On the next two streets, Violette received a pair of sixes while her opponent drew two hearts. On every single street Violette bet, and on every single street she was called. “Boat,” was her simple response when met with the last call, showing (7)(7)(8). After taking down that pot Violette sits just above average with 7,500.

Player Tags: Mickey Seagle,   Chris Ferguson,   John Juanda,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Tom Schneider,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Claude Cohen,   Mary Jones,   Joe Hachem

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 5 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  100-200 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  50 ante, 50 bring in, 200-400 stakes

Players Left: 440 of 803

Chip Leaders:
Keith Sexton - 16,500
Tom Schneider - 16,000
Perry Friedman - 14,500
John Juanda - 12,600
Claude Cohen - 12,000
Phil Hellmuth Jr. - 11,000
Joe Hachem - 11,000
Victor Ramdin – 11,000
Yueqi "Rich" Zhu - 10,500
Mickey Seagle - 10,000
Chad Brown - 9,800
Alex Jacob - 8,000

Average Stack: 5,475

Eliminations:
Daniel Negreanu

Big Hands and Storylines:

Show Them What They’re Playing For...

An announcement was just made by the tournament director, and with a field of 803 players starting the tournament, first-prize will be $256,412. This is nearly $100,000 more than last year’s first-place finisher took home, in large part due to the fact that the buy-in has been increased by 50%.

The Table of Death

With a few more than 400 players remaining the tables here in the Amazon Room (and some in the Brasilia Room) have begun to get more saturated with pros. No table is a better example of this than table 28. Sitting there earlier were David Sklansky, David Chiu, and Brian Micon. They were just joined by Victor Ramdin and Mike Matusow, whose chatter has been non-stop since arriving despite having only 2,800 chips.

Omaha

Jacob Busts Another

Alex Jacob raised pre-flop from early position and the only caller was a short-stacked player in the blinds. The flop came J83, and the short stack check-called a bet from Jacob. Jacob’s opponent was all-in after a 3 on the turn and the players showed:

Jacob: AA76
Opponent: AK109

The river was a harmless 8 and Jacob claimed another scalp. This one helped escalate his chip stack to 8,000.

Stud

Ramdin in Charge

Victor Ramdin: A6A8
David Chiu: 5852

David Chiu completed on third street and Victor Ramdin and another player made the call. Ramdin bet fourth street and was raised by Chiu. The third player folded, and Ramdin made the call. Both players open-paired up on fifth street, but Ramdin’s aces were far scarier than Chiu’s fives. Ramdin bet and Chiu called. Action was the same on the last two streets, and after the final call Chiu asked, “Jacks up good?” Ramdin turned over (8h)(6s)(5c). Jacks up were, in fact, no good. This pot propelled Ramdin to the heights of the chip leaders with 11,000. Chiu is not hurting for chips himself, with 7,600.

Player Tags: Mickey Seagle,   John Juanda,   Phil Hellmuth,   Victor Ramdin,   Tom Schneider,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Claude Cohen,   Joe Hachem,   Alex Jacob,   Yueqi Zhu

$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. - Day 1 - Level 3 Recap

Jun 29, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  50-100 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  25 ante, 25 bring in, 100-200 stakes

Entrants: 803

Chip Leaders:
Phil Gordon - 8,500
Marsha Waggoner - 7,400
Sam Simon - 7,000
Perry Friedman - 7,000
Thomas Hunt - 7,000
Richard Brodie - 6,700
Keith Sexton - 6,500
Isabelle Mercier - 6,000
Bryan Micon - 5,800
Lou Esposito - 5,500

Big Hands and Storylines:

Stud

Alex Jacob Wins Pot, Busts Opponent

Alex Jacob: K108J
Opponent: 10242

Alex Jacob and a short-stacked opponent went to fourth street with a K and 10 showing respectively. On fourth street, Jacob bet and his opponent called, leaving himself only 525 behind. Jacob bet again on 6^th street and the other player contemplated for a while, picked up his final few chips and said, “What am I going to do with these anyway?” He tossed them in for the call, but would regret it almost immediately. After 7^th street was dealt, Jacob showed (A)(Q)(J) for the straight. The pot gives Jacob 5,200 early on day 1.

Small But Important Pot Gives Ferguson Some Breathing Room

Chris Ferguson: A538
Opponent: Q64A

Ferguson completed on third street and his opponent raised. Ferguson made the call and the two players saw fourth street. On fourth street Ferguson checked and his opponent bet. Ferguson made the call. On fifth street Ferguson again checked, and his opponent put in the last of his chips. Ferguson made the call and the two turned over:

Ferguson: (K)(K)A538
Opponent: (J)(10)Q64A

Ferguson’s opponent said, “Well, I started out okay,” as he flipped over his cards. His river card was the 7 and he was eliminated mid-way through level 3. This pot, though not particularly large, was important for Ferguson as it represented a sizeable portion of his stack. He now sits with 2,600 in chips.

Stud/8b

Andy Bloch Gets Set-up

Andy Bloch: A5JK
Opponent: QJQ8

A player completed to 100 and Andy Bloch raised to 200. The player called and each player was dealt a fourth card. Bloch bet out and his opponent called. The hand switched gears when the opposing player was given a pair of open queens. As a result, he bet out on the final three streets, getting called all the way down by Bloch. Bloch’s showed his set when he flipped over his Q and that was good enough to win the pot. Bloch’s stack took a bit of a hit and now he has 3,000.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Richard Brodie,   Andy Bloch,   Phil Gordon,   Marsha Waggoner,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman,   Isabelle Mercier,   Sam Simon,   Alex Jacob,   Lou Esposito,   Bryan Micon,   Thomas Hunt

Mixed Hold'em - Level 6

Jun 22, '08

Note: Players are on a 20 minute break. Play resumes at 12:10 a.m.

Limit Blinds: 300-600
No Limit Blinds: 100-200

Average Chip Stack: 12,183

Chip Counts:
Ivan Schertzer: 37,000
Jan Von Halle: 33,000
Richard Redmond: 30,000
Fabrice Soulier: 27,000
Tino Lechich: 24,000
Nick Binger: 23,000
Todd Witteles: 22,000
Michael Guzzardi: 20,000
David Levi: 18,500
David Plastik, 18,000

Players Left: 180 of 731

Big Hands/Storylines:

Limit Session

Liv Boeree Wins Big

Facing a bet of 1,200 on a board of Q746, Liv Boeree raised to 2,400 after some thought. Her opponent made the call and the river brought the 2. Her opponent checked and Boeree fired out 1,200. Her opponent called but mucked when Boeree turned over 108 for a flush. After the hand Boeree had around 17,000 in chips.

Tran Picks a Bad Spot

Mimi Tran bet on a board of 10965 and was called by her opponent. They both checke dthe J river and Tran's opponent showed K10 for a pair of 10s, which was good enough to take the pot. Tran still had around 10,000 after the hand.

Pham Loses a Pot

After chipping up to around 25,000 today, David "the Dragon" Pham lost a little pot midway through the limit level. He raised preflop and got two callers. Action was checked all the way down to the river, with the board running J52K2. On the river the player in seat 2 bet 1,200 and was called by Pham. Seat 1 didn't have the flush, and showed AK for top pair, but Pham apparently didn't have a club either and mucked his hand. He still had around 20,000 after the hand.

No Limit Session

Sexton Takes Nice Pot

Keith Sexton called a raise and was heads up on a flop of 943. Both players checked and on the 9 turn Sexton bet 700. His opponent called and both players checked the Q river. Sexton showed 66 and his opponent mucked. Sexton moved up to around 10,000 in chips after the hand.

Juanda Can't Take It Down

Heads up, John Juanda bet 500 after action was checked to him on a Q55 board. His opponent called and both players checked the 5 turn. Both players again checked the J river and Juanda's opponent showed Q9 for a full house. Juanda mucked and had around 4,000 after the hand.

Von Halle Running Over Table

Jan Von Halle has been bullying his table throughout the level. In one hand he called seat 4's raise of 575, and after both players checked the QQ2 flop Von Halle bet 900 on the 4 turn, prompting his opponent to fold.
The very next hand, Von Halle called another opponent's raise, and when his opponent bet 2,500 on a KQ6 flop, Von Halle didn't waste any time saying, "all in." His opponent mucked and Von Halle has around in chips.

Player Tags: David Pham,   John Juanda,   Mimi Tran,   Keith Sexton,   European Report

Seven Card Stud - Level 1 recap

Jun 18, '08

Limits: Limits 50-100 ante 10 bring-in 15

Players Entered: 368

Big Hands:

Sexton Loses Small Pot

The seat 7 player brought it in with the 4 showing, Keith Sexton completed, and the player to his left called. Seat 7 folded.

Sexton: J9Q4
Seat 6: K427

Seat 7 was leading the betting the whole way and Sexton was calling. Both players checked the river and seat 6 showed KQ for a pair of kings. Sexton mucked his hand.

Cernuto Misses A Draw

"Miami John" Cernuto was involved in a pot with the seat 3 and seat 1 players.

Cernuto: 8K69
Seat 3: K810 (muck)
Seat 1: 757A

Seat 1 led out after his seven paired on fifth street and seat 3 folded. Seat 1 continued to bet through seventh street, and Cernuto eventually mucked. He's down to 2,200 early.

Kessler Fills Up

Allen Kessler checked sixth street after pairing his ace: Q7AA. His seat 3 opponent, who showed KJ10K, bet and Kessler raised. His opponent called, and then called again after seventh street. Kessler showed:AQ for aces full. His opponent disgruntedly showed a king high straight. Kessler is up to more than 4,000 early.

Player Tags: John Cernuto,   Allen Kessler,   Keith Sexton

The Rockets Blow Up Sexton, Boeken Doubles Up

Jun 09, '08

Blinds/Antes: 600-1,200 with a 200 Ante

Eliminations: Keith Sexton
Big Hands:

Rockets Ride Sexton to the Rail

Alex Triner in seat 5 raised to 3,200 before the flop. Action folded to Keith Sexton who simply called. The flop came 972 and Triner led out with 6,000. Sexton counted out his chips and stacked them on top of his cards. He finally pushed them into the middle and Triner called instantly. Sexton showed JJ and Triner flipped AA. Sexton was in need of help, but instead received a death blow when the A showed up on the turn, giving Triner a set and leaving Sexton drawing dead. The meaningless river was the 3 and Sexton was sent to the rail.

Boeken Doubles Up

Michelle John in seat 1 put in a raise before the flop. One opponent called and action folded around to Noah Boeken. He looked down at his cards and moved in for 13,200 total. John made the called and the other player folded. Boeken showed 99 while John showed 88. The board ran out J623Q and Boeken doubled up to over 27,000 in chips.

Rybachenko Running Away With It

On a board showing 933, Sergey Rybachenko check raised after his opponent bet 4,100. Rybachenko made it 13,000 to go and his opponent mucked. He took the pot, but was not finished there.

On the next hand, Rybachenko opened for a raise preflop. His opponent repopped it to 10,100 and Rybachenko called. The flop of 433 was checked by both players. The turn brought the A and Rybachenko called a 12,500 bet by his opponent. The river was the 8 and was checked. Rybachenko showed AQ and took the pot. He stood at over 150,000.

Player Tags: Keith Sexton,   Noah Boeken,   European Report

Sica Still In It, Zeidman Climbing

Jun 09, '08

Note: Players are now on a 20 minute break.

Blinds/Antes: 400-800 with a 100 Ante

Big Hands:

Gregrorich Climbing

On a board that read 52108, Mark Gregorich fired off a bet and was called by his opponent. The river was the A and both players elected to check. Gregorich showed 109 while his opponent showed 77. Gregorich took the pot with his pair and improved his stack to around 38,000.

A Nice Pot, Chased Down by a Cold Beer

Sergey Rybachenko raised to 2,200 before the flop. Michael Sica was next to act and moved all in for another 6,000. Rybachenko went into the tank to make his decision. While he was doing that, a cocktail waitress arrived with a beer for Sica. He took a drink from his cup and Rybachenko mucked as Sica improved to 13,000 in chips, quenching his thirst at the same time.

Sexton Chased From a Pot

The board was 632. Keith Sexton fired a shot of 3,200 into the pot. Jesper Hougarrd in seat 1 raised another 5,000 to 8,200 total. Sexton thought for a minute and then mucked his hand. His stack was down to 17,100.

Zeidman Takes It Down

Before the flop, John Wagner raised to 2,500 from seat 1. One opponent made the call and Cory Zeidman followed suit. The flop came Q93. Wagner checked and the first caller bet 4,400. Zeidman raised to 11,400 total. Wagner and the other player mucked their hands and Zeidman raked in the pot. His stack was around 35,000 after the hand.

No More Mullets

Seven players saw a flop of K65. Action was checked around to Darren Rice, the man with the most magnificent mullet known to all mankind. He bet 3,600. Action folded to Sergey Rybachenko who popped it to 10,600 total. Michael Sica was next to act and he went into the tank. After much thought, he mucked his hand. The rest of the players folded around and action was back on Rice, who moved all in. Rybachenko thought for some time and made the call, tabling 65 for two pair. Rice showed AK for top pair and was in need of help. Sica was thrilled to see the hands, telling the table he folded K-Q. The turn was the 4 and the river was the 2. After much counting, Rice was covered and he was out of the tournament.

Player Tags: Mark Gregorich,   Cory Zeidman,   Keith Sexton

Dinner Makes It All Better

Jun 16, '07

The long, slow grind that is the $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. event had definitely taken its toll on the 46 players that came back from the dinner break.  But the dinner break allowed many of the players' spirits to rise and while the action is still relatively slow, the players are laughing and joking around with each other much more than before.  Apparently, Sam Grizzle skipped dinner, because he has since picked up a big bag of beef jerky and is munching away while raking in pot after pot. 

During the last hour we lost seven players, including 2007 bracelet winner Chris Reslock and John Juanda.  Still remaining in the field are notables Bill Gazes, Sam Grizzle, Gavin Smith, Doyle Brunson, Robert Mizrachi, Ali Eslami, Erik Seidel, Phil Ivey, David Benyamine, Keith Sexton, Ralph Perry, Daniel Alaei, Cliff Josephy and Toto Leonidas. 

The shortstacks seemed to all hang around for a long while during the Stud eight-or-better round and it wasn't until the Hold'em round that players started hitting the rail or doubling up. 

Robert Mizrachi got it all in with 10 10 against his opponent's A Q on a flop of 762.  The turn and the river came 4 9 and Mizrachi doubled up to $40,000, keeping alive the quest for his second final table of the series. 

By the end of the level we were down to 39 players with roughly 80 spectators crowded behind Doyle Brunson's table, seeing if Texas Dolly and "Casper" can possibly bring home their 11th bracelet. 

Ali Eslami is looking to make his second H.O.R.S.E. event final table of the series.  After his disappointing finish in the $2,500 H.O.R.S.E., Eslami is looking for redemption. 

We're paying the final three tables in this event, and play will continue down to the final table. 

Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com for action from every event at this year's World Series of Poker.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Sam Grizzle,   Erik Seidel,   Toto Leonidas,   John Juanda,   Bill Gazes,   David Benyamine,   Doyle Brunson,   Gavin Smith,   Daniel Alaei,   Phil Ivey,   Keith Sexton,   Ali Eslami,   Chris Reslock,   Cliff Josephy,   Ralph Perry

Up and Down

Jun 08, '07

Phil Ivey and Mimi Tran were on short stacks last level but won key pots to survive.  Both have continued their comeback, and now sit with more than double the starting chip stack. On the other hand, both Andy Bloch and Keith Sexton had been wheedled down to short chips. Bloch eventually busted, and with only $150 left Sexton was all in with a board of JQK3 6against his opponents pair of threes. The 10 on sixth made things interesting for Sexton, and it was the 10 that did indeed win the small pot for Sexton. Despite winning this, Sexton was eliminated only a short time later.

A few notable players have amassed sizable chip stacks, including Josh Arieh and Michael Mizrachi, who both sit with more than $15,000.  Ted Forrest increased his stack when he check-raised an opponent on the river with a board of 9798.  The opponent, who was showing the 6K102 called, and Forrest revealed the (AAA) for rolled down aces, making a full house.  His opponent mucked and Ted, who had just moved to the table, raked in the huge pot. "Welcome to the table, sir," Perry Friedman said with a wry smile.

Play will end after one more hour, so make sure to check back for the end of the night update at 3 a.m. here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: Josh Arieh,   Andy Bloch,   Mimi Tran,   Ted Forrest,   Michael Mizrachi,   Phil Ivey,   Keith Sexton,   Perry Friedman