Marc Karam Poker Tournament Updates

Level 5 Hour 1 Update: Scott Clements Eliminated

Jul 06, '09

Blinds: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Chip Counts:

1. Dutch Boyd – 133,000
2. Josh Arieh – 125,000
3. Blair Hinkle – 120,800
4. Chad Brown – 105,000
5. Adam Schoenfeld – 103,200
6. Prahlad Friedman – 92,000
7. Phil Ivey – 82,000
8. John Racener – 79,000
9. Matthew Hilger – 68,000
10. Jeff Shulman – 56,000

Notable Eliminations:

Amir Vahedi
Scott Clements
Sully Erna

Big Hands

Amir Vahedi Eliminated by Marc Karam

Amir Vahedi gets it all in before the flop, Marc Karam calls and has him covered.

Vahedi: AK
Karam: AQ

Board: 832Q6

Vahedi gets it in as the favorite, but Karam spikes a queen on the turn, eliminating Amir Vahedi just minutes into Level 5.

Scott Clements Eliminated

Scott Clements was short stacked and holding the QQ on a board of J559. Clements got the rest of his chips into the middle with the over pair but was drawing dead against the 55 of his opponent. Clements was sent to the rail.

Sully Erna Eliminated

Godsmack member Sully Erna was crippled when put an opponent all in on a board of J326. His opponent called and tabled the AQ for the nuts. Erna mucked and was eliminated shortly after when his short stack of 1,150 didn’t last.

Kristy Gazes Flops the Nuts, Gets Paid Off

On a flop of J85, the player in seat 7 bets 1,100 and Kristy Gazes calls. The turn is the K, and this time Gazes leads out for 2,675. The river is the K, Gazes bets 5,125 and her opponent goes into the tank. After a few minutes he makes the call and Gazes turns over AQ for the nut flush. Gazes rakes the pot, bringing her stack up to 45,000 at the moment.

Arieh On a Run, Breaks 100K

On a flop of AK7, Josh Arieh bets 2,000 from the cutoff and the player on the button makes the call. The turn is the 4, Arieh bets 5,000 and the button calls. The river is the 7, and once again Arieh bets 5,000 and gets a call. Arieh turns over A9 for top pair, his opponent exposes K10 for middle pair. Arieh rakes the pot, bringing his stack up to 125,000 this hand.

Player Tags: Amir Vahedi,   Josh Arieh,   Kristy Gazes,   Scott Clements,   Marc Karam,   Sully Erna

Level 10 Update: Kessler Doubles (PLO), Reslock Triples Up (PLO); Both Bust Shortly After

Jun 05, '09

Level Structure:

2-7 triple draw, limit hold’em, and Omaha 8OB: 1,000-2,000 blinds and 2,000-4,000 limits

7-card stud, razz, and 7-card stud 8OB: 500 ante, 500 bring-in, with a 2,000 completion and 2,000-4,000 limits

no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha: 500-1,000 blinds with a 300 ante

NOTES: Games change every eight hands. Two players will be forced to sit out during 2-7 triple draw each hand.

Players Remaining: 96 out of 194

Chip Counts:

1. Soheil Shamseddin — 210,000
2. John Hanson — 172,000
3. Daniel Negreanu — 160,000
4. Patrick Bueno — 156,000
5. David Oppenheim — 133,000
6. Allie Prescott — 118,000
7. Eric Froehlich — 100,100
8. Doyle Brunson — 94,000
9. Hasan Habib — 92,900
10. Brandon Adams — 92,500

Average Chip Count: 60,625

Notable Eliminations:

Chau Giang
Justin Smith
Allen Cunninhgam
Eli Elezra
Allen Kessler
Chris Reslock

Big Hands:

PLO

Chainsaw Doubles Through Jonathan Tare

Jonathan Tare raises to 800 from middle position and Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler moves all in for 8,100. Tare calls and both players turn over their cards.

Kessler: KKJ9
Tare: 8764

Board: Q52A5

Kessler’s pair of kings hold up as he doubles up to just under 20,000. Tare is down to 60,000 after this hand.

Chris Reslock Triples Up

Marc Karam raises to 2,000 from middle position, Chris Reslock calls all in for 500 from the cutoff and Jeff Madsen calls the 2,000 raise from the small blind. The flop comes A10p7, Karam fires 3,000 at the side pot and Madsen folds. Karam rakes the side pot and both him and Reslock turn over their cards for the main pot.

Karam: 8644
Reslock: AJ108

Reslock leads with a pair of aces as the turn and river bring the K and the 5. Reslock triples up to 1,500 this hand.

2-7 TRIPLE DRAW

John Turner Gives Up Some Chips!

John Turner raises to 4,000 from the button and the player in seat 6 calls from the big blind.

First Draw: Seat 6 draws two cards while Turner draws only one.

Turner bets 2,000 and seat 6 calls.

Second Draw: Both players draw one card each.

Both players check.

Third Draw: Both players draw one card each.

This time seat 6 leads out for 4,000 and Turner calls. Seat 6 shows Q7632 for queen-high, Turner mucks a pair. “I made four pairs”, says Turner who is now down to 38,000 in chips.

HOLD’EM

Brett Richey Adds to His Stack

Brett Richey raises to 4,000 from middle position and Alexandre Gomes calls from the big blind. The flop comes 862, Rickey bets 2,000 and Gomes calls. The turn is the 6 and both players check. The river is the K, Richey bets 4,000 and Gomes calls. Richey turns over KJ for top pair and rakes the pot. Richey climbs up to 56,000 this hand while Gomes drops down to 54,000.

Left In The Deck:

The remaining players in the $10,000 Mixed Game Championship will take their first twenty-minute break of the day and will return at approximately 4:25 pm PDT to begin Level 11.

Player Tags: Allen Kessler,   John Turner,   Chris Reslock,   Jonathan Tare,   Brett Richey,   Marc Karam,   Alexandre Gomes

$10,000 Main Event - Day 1B - Level 7

Jul 08, '08

Blinds: 300-600, 75 ante

Chip Leaders:

Hunter Fry - 240,000
Kellen Hunter - 211,000
Michael Johnson - 203,000
Adam Hudson - 191,000
Wayne Brown - 184,000
Brian Schaedlich - 180,000
Robert Mizrachi - 178,000
Brandon Adams - 173,000
Jeremiah Smith - 171,000
Mark Garner - 167,500

Other Notables:

Eliminations:
Scotty Nguyen
Barry Shulman
Jimmy Fricke
Perry Friedman

Big Hands and Storylines:

Karam, Vos Get Pushed Back

Marc Karam raised from early position to 1600 and Mark Vos in the cut-off made the call. The big blind, however, was having none of it. He raised to 4200, leaving himself with 12,000 behind. Both Karam and Vos elected to lay their hands down.

Corkins Steps Aside

Hoyt Corkins was on the button and raised to 1675 when play was folded to him. The small blind reraised to 4500 and Corkins called. The flop came J32, and the small blind bet all-in for 10,600. Corkins folded, now with about 90,000 in chips.

Perry Friedman Eliminated

Perry Friedman’s World Series has come to an end. His A-Q could not improve against his opponent’s pocket threes on a board of J-4-4-K-Q.

Toto’s Mojo Sows Foe's Woe

Toto Leonidas has been consistently chipping up at table blue 6. His latest small victory came against one of the big stacks today, Brian Schaedlich. Schaedlich raised from late position pre-flop and was called by Leonidas in the blind. Both players checked the AQ8 flop and the 5 turn. The river was the 3 and Leonidas bet 4,000 into Schaedlich who made the call. Leonidas turned up AJ for top pair and took down the pot. Leonidas is at 77,000, well up from his starting stack today of 59,000.

River Makes Three Hands, Nielsen Scoops

Play was folded around to the short-stacked button, who had pushed all-in on his previous hand and doubled up through Rasmus Nielsen. The button went the same route again and moved all-in for 6300. Nielsen, in the small blind, then raised to 6300 in an isolation bid. However, the big blind chose that opportunity to push all-in for 31,700. Nielsen, with over 110,000 in chips, made the call. The big blind showed A10, while Nielsen held AQ. The button possessed JJ. The flop came K96 to provide further outs to Nielsen, who spiked the Q on the turn to take the lead. He clinched the victory with the J on the river for the flush, which ironically gave the button a set of jacks and the big blind a straight.

Series over for H.O.R.S.E. champ

Scotty Nguyen was short-stacked for a while and moved all in for just 4,000. He held pocket nines and ran into pocket kings. He flopped a set, but the flop was all hearts and his opponent had the K. Another heart came on the river, sending Nguyen to the rail.

Player Tags: Marc Karam,   Mark Vos,   Rasmus Nielsen

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

Jul 08, '08

Blinds/Antes: 250-500, 50 ante

Eliminations:

Anna Wroblewski
Phillip Hilm

Big Hands and Storylines:

Scotty Nguyen Pulls a Hellmuth

Dodging through the masses of spectators in the Amazon Room, Scotty Nguyen scrambled to his seat – seat 1, table 1 in the orange section – 30 minutes into level 1. Nguyen explained to the table and all of the people on the rail that he was late not for any fashionable purpose, but because he thought that he was playing tomorrow. “I’m serious,” Nguyen said, “Lucky my wife waked me up.” Despite starting his day off on a bit of an off note, Nguyen remains in very high spirits.

Anna Wroblewski Crippled, Eliminated

On a 3-handed flop of 1075 an early position player checked and the middle player made a near pot-sized bet of about 6,000. Action was then on Wroblewski who went into the tank. ESPN cameras scrambled to get into a better position to hopefully catch a big hand with the poker starlet, and they were given a treat when Wroblewski raised an additional 6,500, putting her opponent all-in. The early position player folded and action was back to her opponent who, after sighing heavily, made the call. The two showed their hands:

Wroblewski: 99
Opponent: JJ

The turn and river were the 6 and 4.

That hand would knock Wroblewski down to 12,000, but she would be eliminated a scant few hands later, an early casualty of day 2a.

Brandon Adams Bullying All

Brandon Adams, coming into the day at the top of the leaderboard with over 175,000, has started the day with aggression befitting a chip leader. Adams has been raising pots left and right, meeting little resistance from his tablemates. It will be interesting to see if they begin to play back at Adams or, fearing elimination, continue to let him dominate the table.

Corkins Busts One

Hoyt Corkins raised from under the gun and was called by the player to his immediate left, as well as the big blind. The flop came K64, and after the big blind and Corkins checked, the last remaining player bet 2500 of his short-stack. The big blind called, then Corkins check-raised to 7500. The next player pondered his fate, then elected to push all-in for his remaining 11,300. The big blind folded and Corkins made the call, showing AA. His opponent held K10. The 9 fell on the turn and the 8 completed the board on the river and Corkins raked in the pot.

Karam Talks Himself into Trouble

Marc Karam was the button and called a raise from a player in middle position. The flop came AQ7 and his heads-up opponent bet out 6000. Karam called. After the 5 on the turn his opponent bet another 6000, and again Karam called. The river brought the 10, and a third 6000 bet followed. Karam tanked, mulling over his predicament. “I really thought you had kings,” he muttered, “but maybe I was wrong.” He continued to tank, then reluctantly made the call, saying “I really think you have kings.” His opponent didn’t have kings, but rather had AQ for top two pair and gathered in the chips.

Greenstein picks up chips but still short

After a player in the hijack raised to 1,600 Barry Greenstein moved all in. The raise was 11,150 and it took the initial raiser a minute to fold his hand. Greenstein is up to 15,550 after the hand.

Hasan Habib Hot

On a board of Q9742, Hasan Habib made a bet of 8,200 against his lone opponent into a pot containing over 10,000 in chips. The player deliberated heavily for several minutes, counting out the amount of chips necessary to make a call. He ultimately folded, and Habib took the pot without a show. Habib’s stack grew to over 80,000 with the addition of the chips gained from the pot.

Michael McKenna Mucks

Michael McKenna checked a flop of AK7, and another opponent checked. The last player bet 1,200, and both his opponents called. The turn brought the 10, and this time McKenna led out for 3,500. The next player to act made the minimum raise to a total of 7,000 and the remaining player cold called. McKenna also called, and the dealer put down the J on the river, and the action checked to the last player, who made a bet of 7,000. McKenna and the other player folded. McKenna’s stack sat at 17,000 after the hand.

 

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Scotty Nguyen,   Barry Greenstein,   Hasan Habib,   Michael McKenna,   Philip Hilm,   Brandon Adams,   Marc Karam,   Anna Wroblewski

Into the Myst: Karam Eliminated

Apr 13, '08

Marc Karam has busted out of the tournament and has ended his quest for a three-peat final table bid.

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Marc Karam

Karam vs. Lehmann

Apr 13, '08

Marc Karam opens the pot with a standard raise and Markus Lehmann reraises to 1,675. "How much do you have," says Karam. Lehmann moves his arms away to reveal the rest of his stack and Karam makes the call. The flop rolls out 542 and Lehmann bets 2,500. Karam goes into the tank for a few minutes and then asks for a count. Lehmann has 5,150 left and Karam raises to exactly that amount to put Lehmann all in. Lehmann calls all in and flips up two kings. Karam shakes his head and says "I thought you had ace-king." He turns up two eights and the turn and river bring AJ. Lehmann takes dwon the pot and survives. "Nice hand," says Karam after the hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Markus Lehmann,   Marc Karam

Marc Karam Back in Action and Looking to Make Third Straight Final Table

Apr 12, '08

Marc Karam has already chipped up in the 2008 PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Grand Final here in Monte Carlo. Karam has made back-to-back final tables in the previous two Grand Finals, finishing in fourth place in 2006 and as runner-up last year. Given that kind of track record, he is expected to do well today, as well. Will he continue his trend of one-upping himself? If so, expect him to win this season.

Player Tags: Marc Karam

Level 12 Recap

Jun 22, '07

After taking a short break, 57 players returned to the remaining 7 tables in the $5,000 World Championship of Omaha Eight or Better event.  Blinds have increased to $1,500-$3,000, with limits at $3,000-$6,000. 

Stacked Tables

 Because of table balancing and breaking, a number of stacked tables have emerged.  Table 51 played home to David Benyamine, Marc Karam, Mike Matusow and Kirill Gerasimov.    At table 56 Gavin Smith, Davood Mehrmand and Todd Brunson were all battling it out as well.  With payouts beginning at at 27 players, the money bubble was just on the horizion. Tournament directors broke a table fifteen minutes into the level.  This evidenced the fact that the pace of eliminations was ramping up. 

Hellmuth Wears Short Shorts...

 The shorts are pretty average in length, actually, but seeing Phil Hellmuth's lanky frame in something beside his usual black pair of jeans is still very surprising.  Hellmuth is back to rail the event, which he took to doing last night after busting from the limit hold'em event.  He apparently has a bet with Ivey as to results of Mike Matusow in the event and is therefore sweating Matusow. 

At the end of the level, only six tables and fifty players remained as the players went on their dinner break. Make sure to check back around 11 p.m. for more updates and the Pro Blog of Allen Kessler here at Cardplayer.com.
Notable Chip Counts

Allen Kessler	143,000
David Benyamine	42,000
Mike DeMichele	33,000
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow	32,000
Todd Brunson	31,000
Perry Friedman	30,000
Annie Duke	29,000
Huckleberry Seed	19,500

Player Tags: Davood Mehrmand,   Mike Matusow,   Allen Kessler,   Marc Karam