T.J. Cloutier Poker Tournament Updates

2,500 NLHE - Day 1 - Cloutier Ousts Another, Fricke Hammered on River

Jun 07, '08

Blinds/Antes: 100-200 moving to 100-200 with a 25 Ante

Players Left: 960 of 1,397

Chip Leaders:

Anthony Chatelain: 19,000
Jason Somerville: 17,000
Humberto Brenes: 12,000
Nenad Medic: 11,700
Jamie Gold: 11,000
Craig Gray: 10,700
Michael Craig: 9,300
Chris Ferguson: 8,200
Johnathan Little: 7,000

Average Stack: 7,276

Eliminations: Gavin Smith, Dmitri Nobles, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier

Big Hands:

Harrington Avoids the Back Door

Before the break, Courtney Harrington got involved in a pot with three other players, who each paid 325 before the flop. The flop came J84. Harrington, who was in the small blind, checked and one opponent bet 800. Another player called and Harrington moved in his entire stack of 4,000, having both opponents covered. The initial bettor folded and the second player called for his last 2,500.

Harrington showed J9 for top pair and one card to a flush, while his opponent showed 65 for a gutshot straight draw and a backdoor spade draw. The turn was a spade, but the river came with a blank and Harrington's stack improved to 8,000.

T.J. Hooks Another

After an opponent raised, T.J. Cloutier pushed all in, having his opponent covered. His opponent called and showed down 99 and Cloutier showed the fish hooks, JJ. The board ran out 642K and a blank on the river. Cloutier eliminated his opponent and his stack was up to 20,000.

Elezra Loves the Ladies...

On a board of J-9-3-2-5, Eli Elezra made a bet of 800. He was called by one opponent. Elezra showed QQ. His opponent threw his cards into the muck and Elezra was up to 7,500.

...But They are so Cruel to "gobboboy"

Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke raised to 600 before the flop and was called by two players. The flop came 1032. Fricke bet 1,200 and both players folded, leaving Fricke to rake the pot and improve his stack to around 11,000. But the tide turned for Fricke on the very next hand.

Fricke raised to 700 before the flop. He was reraised by one opponent, and Fricke came over the top all in, having his opponent covered. His opponent made the call and Fricke showed KK and was in great shape over his opponent's QQ. The board started rather innocently, running out J94J. But the river was the Q and Fricke's stack was cut in half. He now sits around the starting stack of 5,000.

Photo at right Courtesy of Jeff "yellowsub86" Williams

Jesus Rising

Facing a raise, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson repopped it to 1,750 before the flop. His opponent mucked and Ferguson was up to around 12,000 in chips.

Vahedi Muscles Out Rousso, Eliminates Opponent

With the player in seat 7 already all in, Vanessa Rousso and Amir Vahedi each made the call. The flop came 543. Rousso bet 1,475 and Vahedi went into the tank. After thinking for a couple of minutes, Vahedi reached back and shoved his stack all in. Rousso removed the green "25" chip that was capping her cards and threw her hand into the muck. Vahedi still had to deal with the all in player who tabled pocket 10's. Vahedi turned over 33 for a set on the flop. The turn was the 8 and the river was the J and Vahedi improved to over 15,000 in chips.

The Aces Are Doing the Paddling

Michael Binger and his opponent checked a board of AQ777. Binger showed down A9 for a full boat, sevens full of aces and his opponent mucked. Binger took the pot and moved up to 7,000.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Chris Ferguson,   Eli Elezra,   Michael Binger,   Jimmy Fricke,   Courtney Harrington

2,500 NLHE - Day 1 - Madsen Gone, Cloutier Going Strong

Jun 07, '08

Note: Players are now on a 20 minute break and will return with the blinds at 100-200.

Blinds/Antes: 50-100

Entrants: Approx. 1,396

Eliminations: Roland De Wolfe, Andrew Black, Paul Darden, Jeff Madsen

Big Hands:

Rousso Shows Cowboys

With the board showing J43, Vanessa Rousso fired 1,700 into the pot. Her opponent in seat 8 went into the tank. He took a couple of minutes before deciding to throw his hand into the muck. Rousso squeezed her cards in her hand, and then the K squirted out into the middle of the table face up. Rousso showed the K that remained in her right hand. Her stack was around 6,000 after the hand.

Ignominious Triple Up for Kitzis

Early in round 2 three players got it all in on a board reading Q53: Daniel Kitzis with AA; an unknown opponent holding 42 for an open ended straight draw and running flush possibilities; and a third, whose 53 was in the lead, but vulnerable, with bottom two pair. The A peeled off on the turn, giving his opponent the straight and Kitzis trips; and the 5 on the end filled up both players but gave Kitzis a higher full-house. Kitzis, who looked as though he might be heading for the rail, now has more than 12,000 in chips. Kitzis' opponent with the smaller full house was so digusted he slammed his cards down on the table, provoking a one orbit time-out from the tournament director.

Boyd Back In Business

Dutch Boyd smooth called a raise of 350 in position, then fired 400 when the action was checked to him on a flop of J74, and the original raiser called. The 9 on the turn drew two checks. After the board paired on the river when the 4 came off, the original better led out for 500, and Boyd moved in for his last 1,300. "Did you miss?" asked his opponent, who reluctantly called. Boyd showed QQ and took down a pot worth more than 4,000.

Later, the board showed 57649 and Boyd bet over 4,000. Jeff Madsen tanked for such a long time, that he decided to call the clock on himself. It was a joke, but seconds later he declared to the table, "Okay, I fold." Boyd showed Madsen the 9 and took the pot. He was around 6,000 after the pot. Madsen was down to just 1,300 in chips.

Canadian Cowboys

The player in seat 2 raised to 225 before the flop. The action folded to Gavin Smith, who repopped it to 625 total. Seat 2 made the call and the flop came 553. Smith led out with 800 and seat 2 went into the tank. When he finally made a decision, all his chips were in the middle of the pot. Smith called and turned KK. Seat 2 turned over 1010. The turn was the 2 and the 7 sent seat 2 up the river and out on the rail. Smith was over 15,000 after the hand.

Cloutier Takes Early Lead, Busts Madsen

After three way pot, which included the great TJ Cloutier, was checked around on a flop of A44, the firework show began on the turn, when the deceptive 7 hit. After a flurry of raises, all three players were all in, and it was Cloutier in the lead, with 77 for a sevens full house. His opponents had, respectively, AK and A4. A fourth seven spiked on the river--as if Cloutier needed it.

Later, Jeff Madsen moved all in for 1,300 and was called by T.J. Cloutier. Cloutier showed AA and Madsen was in trouble with 88. His flush draws were covered by Cloutier's aces and Madsen needed to catch one of the remaining 8's or hit a miracle straight to survive. The board ran out KK2J4 and Madsen made his exit. Cloutier was around 15,000.

Scott Ian Doubles Up Wih Jacks

The player in seat 9 raised to 300 and Anthrax front man, Scott Ian reraised to 1,000 from the cutoff. Seat 9 pushed over the top and Ian callled all in for 1,325 more.

Seat 9: 88
Ian: JJ
Board: Q7694

Ian got it all in with the best hand. Jacks held up and Scott Ian doubled up to about 5,500.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Gavin Smith,   Vanessa Rousso,   Dutch Boyd,   Jeff Madsen,   Scott Ian

No Limit Hold 'Em Shootout - Level 2

Jun 06, '08

Blinds:

150-300 ante 25

 

Notable Eliminations: Chad Batista, Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey, Shane Schleger, Josh Arieh, Amir Vehedi, JC Alvarado, Barry Shulman

Big Hands:

Phil Ivey Gone

After Phil Ivey called a preflop raise, he led out on a flop Qd93 for 2,000. Seat 5 raised to 6,000, and Ivey moved all in for a few thousand more, drawing a call. It was off to the races: Ivey showed Q9 for top two pair, while his opponent revealed 98, drawing live to a diamond flush. The K spiked on the turn, pushing Ivey to the brink, and the 3 on the river provided no help. Ivey, who was mid-massage at the time, graciously paid his masseuse before exiting.

Joe Sebok On Fire

After Seat 5 fired 3,000 on a flop of 86 6, Joe Sebok called. The 7 came off on the turn and Seat 5 went into the tank for long enough that Sebok asked the dealer whether he had checked or not. Seat 5 answered by announcing, "All in"; and Sebok immediately called with 88 for a flopped full house. Seat 5 showed 99, drawing slim, and the river changed nothing. Sebok is healthy early, with over 32,000 in chips.

Berger Wamboozles Murphy

Dmitri Nobles raised from under the gun to 600 and Seat 7 and John Murphy both called. Fred Berger reraised an additional 2450, and Dmitri and seat 7 folded, while John Murphy moved all in. Berger made the call with QQ, well ahead of Murphy's 99. The board offered no help to Murphy, who was eliminated.

Froelich in Business

Eric Froelich was called by one opponent after he moved in on a board of J7226. Froelich showed KJ and his opponent mucked. Froelich is up to 24,000.

Vahedi, Shulman Out

On a flop of 109 4, Amir Vahedi moved his short stack into the middle and was quickly called by one opponent. Vahedi's opponents showed J9, slightly ahead of Q8 for a gutshot and flush draw. The 8 gave Vahedi additional hope, but the 5 on the bounced him from the tournament.

Big Bossman Barry Shulman moved all in preflop and was called by two players, including Evelyn Ng. After both players checked down a board of Q985K, Ng showed A7, and Shulman mucked his hand. Ng is up to about 35,000 in chips.

Of Note:

- Antonio Esfandiari, sighting T.J. Cloutier, asked for a hug; T.J. countered with an offer of a handshake, prompting Esfandiari to reraise with a proposition to kiss Cloutier on the cheek. Cloutier laughed, saying, "No way, Jose," and walked away.

- After Chad Brown congratulated Erick Lindgren for his bracelet win in the Mixed Hold 'Em Event two days ago, Lindgren walked over to Brown's table to thank him, only for Humberto Brenes to inquire what he was being congratulated for. "I did 18 jumping jacks without falling over," Lindgren joked, and the table burst into laughter. Lindgren then began negotiating with tablemate Mike Matusow for the terms of a wager on the NBA finals.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Evelyn Ng,   Barry Shulman,   Phil Ivey

$1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em - Hour 3

Jun 02, '08

Blinds: $75-150

Players Left: 386

Eliminations: Lee Watkinson, Erik Seidel, TJ Cloutier

Chip Counts:

Kevin O'Donnell: 22,000
Andy Philacek: 17,100
Stuart Rutter: 15,000
Bart Tichleman: 10,800
Robby Lipkin: 10,800
Benjamin Fineman: 9,400
David Levi: 8,000
Tom McEvoy: 8,000
Steve Paul-Ambrose: 7,800
Dewey Tomko: 7,500



Big Hands:

Tilly Eliminates Another Player

Jennifer Tilly, already a big stack, bet 1,000 after a flop of Q83 and was check-raised all in by the big blind for 1,400 more. Tilly called with KQ, ahead of her opponent's Q10. Tilly survived the turn and river, bringing her up to more than 15,000 in chips.

Brenes Sucks Out Big

Humberto Brenes, calling for his tournament life on a board of 63K5, was woefully behind with K10 against his opponent's KJ. The 10 came on the river, though, and Brenes was still alive.

A few hands later Brenes was all-in again, showing A2. His opponent tabled 109 and the board ran out Q65A3, and Humberto's sharks kept swimming, sitting atop twice as many chips.

Watkinson Gone

Lee Watkinson opened to 425 from middle position. After the action folded around, the big blind popped it another 950, prompting Watkinson to move all in for his last 1700. His opponent called with QQ, even money against Watkinson's AK, but the board stayed down, bouncing Watkinson from the tournament.

Sklanksy All In

David Sklansky, who moved all in for 1275 on a board of 977K, was called reluctantly by his opponent with J10. Slansky's AA had to fade eight outs, but the 4 on the river wasn't one of them, chipping up Sklansky to more than 4,500.

Singer Sends Another Player to the Felt

A player in middle position raised to 525 and was reraised by Singer, who sat immediately to his left, to 2,000. The player called and the flop showed KKJ. Both players checked, and the dealer turned the A. The original raiser checked and Singer bet another 2,000. The player check-raised all-in for only a few hundred more, and Singer called instantly. The player showed K9 for a set of kings, but was well behind the flopped full house of Singer's JJ. The river brought the Q and Singer's hand held up. Singer's stack was up to around 10,000 after the hand.

Cloutier Eliminated

"This time I'm raising," said Cloutier from the small blind, after the button had raised 400. Cloutier raised the pot to 950, and then the button reraised another 2850 over the top of that. Cloutier looked disgusted but called, then checked after a flop of QQ6 and folded when the button bet enough to put him all in. That hand took him down to 1600; and before the level was over he was gone.

Player Tags: Lee Watkinson,   T.J. Cloutier,   Humberto Brenes,   Erik Seidel,   Jennifer Tilly

T.J. Cloutier Eliminated in 34th Place ($65,955)

Apr 23, '08

 T.J. Cloutier raises from early position to 40,000, and Gus Hansen calls from the big blind. The flop comes 763, Hansen checks, Cloutier bets 100,000, Hansen thinks for about a minute before raising to 500,000, and Cloutier quickly says, "I'm all in."

Hansen pauses for a moment before he calls with 63 for two pair. Cloutier shows 88 for an overpair. Cloutier needs to improve or he's out.

The turn is the A, the river is the 10, and Gus Hansen winst he pot with two pair, sixes and threes.

T.J. Cloutier is eliminated in 34th place, earning $65,955. As he leaves, he can't help but tell several people how Gus Hansen called a preflop raise with 6-3 offsuit and snapped him off by flopping two pair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier

TJ Cloutier Doubles Up Again

Apr 23, '08

T.J. Cloutier is all in with JJ against the 88 of Steve Billirakis.

The board comes 932310 and Cloutier doubles up to 315,000. Billirakis is left with 282,000.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Steve Billirakis

TJ Cloutier Doubles Up

Apr 23, '08

Vadim Trincher raises to 36,000 and T.J. Cloutier reraises all in for 110,000. Trincher calls and shows A10 and he is racing against Cloutier's 99.

The board comes 98468 and Cloutier doubles up with his full house.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Vadim Trincher

Shooting Star: TJ Cloutier Eliminated

Mar 11, '08

The action is unknown and so is the order of the cards, but the board consisted of A-A-4-4-5 and TJ Cloutier had an ace. His opponent Armando Palomo had A-5 to take him out and collect his $5,000 bounty.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier

Shooting Star Elimination: T.J. Cloutier

Mar 11, '08

T.J. Cloutier just busted out of the tournament in a hand that featured full house over full house. Details coming soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier

T.J. Cloutier Doubles Up and then Advances

Feb 29, '08

T.J. Cloutier and Daniel Schreiber get it all in preflop and then open up their hands:

Board: K 5 2 6 2

On the very next hand the tables have turned and Cloutier has Schreiber covered. They turn up their hands and:

Cloutier: K-5

Schreiber: A-J

Board: 8-5-4-4-6

Schreiber is eliminated and Cloutier advances to the round of 32. This is the final hand of the night as all the contest have been decided.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Daniel Schreiber

JC Beats TJ

Mar 01, '08

TJ Cloutier is all in and covered by JC Tran. Tran shows pocket fours and Cloutier reveals A-4. Cloutier fails to hit his overcard and Tran advances.

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   T.J. Cloutier

Grinder Cashes

Mar 01, '08

Michael Mizrachi puts Clonie Gowen all in and they turn over their hands. Mizrachi has Q-J and is up against the A-10 of Gowen. The board comes 10-6-4-J-7 and Mizrachi moves on. This time, Gowen knows she is beat and heads out the door with a few kind words from TJ Cloutier.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Clonie Gowen,   Michael Mizrachi

T.J. Cloutier Doubles Up and then Advances

Feb 29, '08

T.J. Cloutier and Daniel Schreiber get it all in preflop and then open up their hands:

Board: K 5 2 6 2

On the very next hand the tables have turned and Cloutier has Schreiber covered. They turn up their hands and:

Cloutier: K-5

Schreiber: A-J

Board: 8-5-4-4-6

Schreiber is eliminated and Cloutier advances to the round of 32. This is the final hand of the night as all the contest have been decided.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Daniel Schreiber

JC Beats TJ

Mar 01, '08

TJ Cloutier is all in and covered by JC Tran. Tran shows pocket fours and Cloutier reveals A-4. Cloutier fails to hit his overcard and Tran advances.

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   T.J. Cloutier

Grinder Cashes

Mar 01, '08

Michael Mizrachi puts Clonie Gowen all in and they turn over their hands. Mizrachi has Q-J and is up against the A-10 of Gowen. The board comes 10-6-4-J-7 and Mizrachi moves on. This time, Gowen knows she is beat and heads out the door with a few kind words from TJ Cloutier.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Clonie Gowen,   Michael Mizrachi

Hour Two Recap

Jul 07, '07

Family Affair Continued
 

Left off of the list of family members in the tournament field today were Howard Lederer and Annie Duke, who entered the tournament area a little late.  Lederer actually now shares the table with Allyn Jaffery Shulman, whose original table has already broken.

Runner Up Affair

 Sammy Farha (Main Event runner-up 2003) and David Williams (2004) have been chatting with each other as they are seated at adjacent tables.  Last year's recipient of the most heart-breaking $6,000,000 prize Paul Wasicka (2006) is on the floor.  Also in the field today is perhaps the most famous runners-up of the pre-Moneymaker age.  Eight-time bracelet winner and 1988 runner up Erik Seidel is in the field today.  To most, Seidel is famously the player who falls for Johnny Chan’s slowplaying of the flopped straight in the final hand of the Main Event, immortalized in the movie Rounders.  Two-time runner up TJ Cloutier (1985, 2000) has been seen ambling around the tournament area, but he doesn’t play until tomorrow.

 
The Royal Treatment

 
The massage therapists have decided to offer a complimentary massage to first player to get a royal flush.  Several players are then heard complaining that their royal flush draws didn’t get any action.  It seems the massage team is looking for a gimmick each day, and without Brad Garrett they’re clutching at straws.

 

Also Joe Sebok seems to be the only real poker royalty (don’t tell Prince of Poker Scotty Nguyen though).  Sebok, the winner of the prop bet between Gavin Smith and Jeff Madsen is adorned today in a royal cape, which has been rather lucky for him as he has chipped up to about $35,000.

 
Antonius Sniffs Out Bluff

 
On a board of K 4 4, Patrik Antonius checks, his opponent in the cutoff bets $350, and Antonius calls.  Antonius checks again on the 2h on the turn, his opponent bets $1,100, and Antonius calls.  The 7 hit on the river, Antonius bet $2,600, his opponent raised to $6,000, and Antonius called after much deliberation.  The player in the cutoff hemmed and hawed, knocking the table, and eventually showed A-J, while Antonius showed K Q to take the pot.

 
Ylon Schartz, Kirk Morrison, and Robert Cheung are among the early chip leaders as the players head into their 30 minute break.

Power out gunned

Recent Irish Open finalist Nicky Power has been eliminated. 'I found aces the hand before, raised it up and got no callers,' he explained to CardPlayer.com. 'The next hand i found A-K and the flop came K-K-4. All the money went in the middle and the other fella had 4-4. I don't mind really, folding is not a big part of my game so what can you do,' he grinned.

Trumper trumped this time.

Englishman Simon Trumper had to fold 10-10 to a raise from 'a loose-agressive guy' in seat nine. He didn't seem too upset though as he described his various observations of the playing styles and strategies of the players at his table to CardPlayer.com.

Euro Chip Counts

Donnacha O'Dea $16,700
Pascal Perrault $23,050
Jen Mason $13,050
Simon Trumper $21,800
Ross Boatman $23,500
Rob Taylor $13,025
Neil Channing $42,000
Thomas Finneran $16,350
Eoghan O'Dea $23,000
George McKeever $35,300
Derek Murray $15,900
Alan Smurfit $27,200
John Duthie $36,200
Dave Murray $19,675
Adam Noone $17,050
Vicky Coren $22250

Notable Chip Counts

Robert Cheung	42,075
Justin Bonomo	41,000
Ylon Schwartz	38,000
Joe Sebok	34,000
Kirk Morrison	33,000
Doug Kim	32,000
Tony G	29,000
Sammy Farha	27,000
Evelyn Ng	27,000
Scotty Nguyen	25,800
J.J. Liu	25,000
Dan Alspach	25,000
Joe Hachem	24,000
Dan Harrington	24,000
Barry Shulman	23,500
Bob Bright	23,100
Erik Seidel	23,000
Robert Mizrachi	22,000
Norm MacDonald	22,000
Isabelle Mercier	21,500
Jennifer Harman	21,300
Kathy Liebert	21,000
Jeffrey Lisandro	21,000
Allyn Jaffrey Shulman	21,000
Scott Fischman	20,500
Howard Lederer	20,500
Berry Johnston	20,500
Scott Clements	20,000
Rhett Butler	20,000
Jordan Morgan	20,000
Alexander Kravchenko	20,000
Noah Boeken	19,000
Sabyl Cohen	18,900
Steve Sung	18,500
Annie Duke	18,500
Kido Pham	17,500
Tom McEvoy	17,000
'Miami John' Cernuto	17,000
Barny Boatman	15,800
John Juanda	15,600
Hoyt Corkins	15,400
Paul Wasicka	15,300
Juha Helppi	14,600
Mark Seif	14,500
Roland De Wolfe	14,400
Max Pescatori	14,400
Aaron Kanter	13,500
Captain Tom Franklin	13,300
David Singer	13,000
Davidson Matthew	12,500
David 'The Dragon' Pham	11,500
Young Phan	11,000
Dan Shak	11,000
David Williams	10,500
Bill Chen	10,000
Sam Grizzle	6,200

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Erik Seidel,   Annie Duke,   Howard Lederer,   David Williams,   Sam Farha,   Ylon Schwartz,   Paul Wasicka,   Patrik Antonius,   Joe Sebok,   Kirk Morrison,   Robert Cheung

Level Two Recap

Jul 08, '07

Hour four has come and gone with the completion of the second level of play. Tables are starting to open up in the fary corner of the Amazon room and cash games have been started. It is always an interesting experience for the players in the tournament that have to deal with being seated near the noise and chaos of players risking one tenth of their tournament buy in.

Gavin Griffin has been hard to miss during the 2007 World Series of Poker, his trademark bright pink mohawk has the tendency to stand out in the crowd. Griffin has been sporting the new look in an effort to raise awareness for breast cancer, a cause he is passionate about. Griffin has been drawing attention today not only becuase of his hair, but for his play as well. The player in seat three limped for $200 and Griffin raised to $800 preflop. Griffin recieved two calls and the flop came 6 3 2. The player in seat three checked and Griffin threw out $1,525. The player in seat three tries to fold out of turn but quickly brings his cards back in. The player in seat nine pushes all in and the player seat three throws his cards away. Griffin instantly makes the call and turns over A A. Seat nine showed K Q and was far behind. The turn was the 6 and the river brought the 7, giving Griffin the huge pot and increasing his stack to $44,000. The pot gave Griffin help on his way to catching the two new chip leaders, Chad Brown ($58,000) and Phil Ivey ($54,000).

Whatever method ESPN uses to choose who sits at the featured table, it works. Mike Matusow and T.J. Cloutier are sitting in the one and ten seats at one of the featured tables and the presence of two great poker personalities is attracting attention. Matusow was complaining to a tournament official about having to play such a long day one and his lamenting inspired Cloutier to chime in. "I've never played a 16 hour day one in a tournament ever in my life!" exclaimed Matusow. "If there are going to be two day 2's, why do we have to play so long?" Cloutier added, "Yeah, they did just the opposite for H.O.R.S.E! They thought there was going to be more than 200. Ha! I bet you (Matusow) would have bet there was going to be more than 200, you bet on everything that moves!" In between complaining, the two actually did play some poker as well.

Antonio Tarver, Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, couldn't make it past the first day of this year's main event. Tarver had a relatively rough day, not as rough as his usual day at work, but still. Tarver had his aces cracked earlier in the day and on what would be his last hand, found himself with only $1,600. Two players limped in front of Tarver and he raised to $600. The player in seat four called and Roy Park reraised to $1,600 total from the small blind. The two limpers and Tarver called. The flop came K K Q and Park pushed all in. The action folded to Tarver who put his last $1,000 into the middle. Park showed A K and Tarver was way behind with his 6 6. The turn was the 3and the river brought the 4, sending Tarver to the rail.

Jose Canseco, Shannon Elizabeth and Greg Raymer, member of Team Pokerstarswww.pokerstars.com, were all eliminated this round as well. Raymer got his last few chips in the middle with J-10 up against an opponent with pocket sixes. A six hit on the flop and Raymer recieved applause as he exited the tournament area. Elizabeth got all her money in with pocket kings against an opponent with Q-J. A queen and a jack hit on the flop, ending Elizabeth's tournament. A player at an adjacent table cried out, "No! Give her more chips!" Maybe next year bud.

Amnon Filippi is cruising through the day at his table and now has over $30,000. With the board showing K 9 7 the player in seat five at Filippi's table bet out $800. The player in seat seven called and so did Filippi. The turn was the 8 and all players checked. The river was the 3 and the player in seat seven checked. Filippi threw out $2,600 and seat five folded. The player in seat seven went into the tank and Filippi chastised him into calling by saying, "How can you possibly think of folding for $2,600?" Seat seven called and Filippi threw his cards, 3 3, onto the board. "Set" said Filippi. The player in seat seven mucked his hand. "How many pairs you gonna get today?" asked Kenna James in the six seat. Filippi just laughed and said to himself, "Some people can't sleep at night if they don't see your cards." The very next hand Filippi raised preflop and took the blinds. Filippi turned over 6 6 and said, "See, I'm not stealing." James just shook his head in disbelief.


Notable Chip Counts

Chad Brown	58,200
Allen Cunningham	45,500
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson	44,000
Steve Dannenmann	42,000
Gavin Griffin	40,000
Amir Vahedi	39,000
Warren Karp	36,000
Jason Alexander	34,050
Lee Watkinson	33,000
Todd Brunson	32,900
Vanessa Rousso	31,500
David Sklansky	31,000
Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken	31,000
T.J. Cloutier	28,700
Shannon Shorr	26,000
Humberto Brenes	25,000
Amnon Filippi	24,000
Phil Gordon	22,350
Katja Thater	22,000
Andy Bloch	22,000
Men "The Master" Nguyen	21,500
Rene Angelil	20,000
Chris Moneymaker	20,000
Kristy Gazes	19,600
Tony Hachem	19,000
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow	19,000
Chau Giang	19,000
Bill Gazes	18,200
Melissa Hayden	17,000
Jennifer Tilly	16,200
Eric Cajelais	15,900
Rafe Furst	15,500
JC Alvarado	15,500
Clonie Gowen	15,500
Toto Leonidas	14,000
Greg Raymer	14,000
Kenna James	10,800
JC Tran	6,000
Tex Barch	4,575

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Kenna James,   Mike Matusow,   Phil Ivey,   Gavin Griffin,   Greg Raymer,   Amnon Filippi,   Shannon Elizabeth,   Antonio Tarver,   Jose Canseco

Hour Two Recap

Jul 07, '07

Family Affair Continued
 

Left off of the list of family members in the tournament field today were Howard Lederer and Annie Duke, who entered the tournament area a little late.  Lederer actually now shares the table with Allyn Jaffery Shulman, whose original table has already broken.

Runner Up Affair

 Sammy Farha (Main Event runner-up 2003) and David Williams (2004) have been chatting with each other as they are seated at adjacent tables.  Last year's recipient of the most heart-breaking $6,000,000 prize Paul Wasicka (2006) is on the floor.  Also in the field today is perhaps the most famous runners-up of the pre-Moneymaker age.  Eight-time bracelet winner and 1988 runner up Erik Seidel is in the field today.  To most, Seidel is famously the player who falls for Johnny Chan’s slowplaying of the flopped straight in the final hand of the Main Event, immortalized in the movie Rounders.  Two-time runner up TJ Cloutier (1985, 2000) has been seen ambling around the tournament area, but he doesn’t play until tomorrow.

 
The Royal Treatment

 
The massage therapists have decided to offer a complimentary massage to first player to get a royal flush.  Several players are then heard complaining that their royal flush draws didn’t get any action.  It seems the massage team is looking for a gimmick each day, and without Brad Garrett they’re clutching at straws.

 

Also Joe Sebok seems to be the only real poker royalty (don’t tell Prince of Poker Scotty Nguyen though).  Sebok, the winner of the prop bet between Gavin Smith and Jeff Madsen is adorned today in a royal cape, which has been rather lucky for him as he has chipped up to about $35,000.

 
Antonius Sniffs Out Bluff

 
On a board of K 4 4, Patrik Antonius checks, his opponent in the cutoff bets $350, and Antonius calls.  Antonius checks again on the 2h on the turn, his opponent bets $1,100, and Antonius calls.  The 7 hit on the river, Antonius bet $2,600, his opponent raised to $6,000, and Antonius called after much deliberation.  The player in the cutoff hemmed and hawed, knocking the table, and eventually showed A-J, while Antonius showed K Q to take the pot.

 
Ylon Schartz, Kirk Morrison, and Robert Cheung are among the early chip leaders as the players head into their 30 minute break.

Power out gunned

Recent Irish Open finalist Nicky Power has been eliminated. 'I found aces the hand before, raised it up and got no callers,' he explained to CardPlayer.com. 'The next hand i found A-K and the flop came K-K-4. All the money went in the middle and the other fella had 4-4. I don't mind really, folding is not a big part of my game so what can you do,' he grinned.

Trumper trumped this time.

Englishman Simon Trumper had to fold 10-10 to a raise from 'a loose-agressive guy' in seat nine. He didn't seem too upset though as he described his various observations of the playing styles and strategies of the players at his table to CardPlayer.com.

Euro Chip Counts

Donnacha O'Dea $16,700
Pascal Perrault $23,050
Jen Mason $13,050
Simon Trumper $21,800
Ross Boatman $23,500
Rob Taylor $13,025
Neil Channing $42,000
Thomas Finneran $16,350
Eoghan O'Dea $23,000
George McKeever $35,300
Derek Murray $15,900
Alan Smurfit $27,200
John Duthie $36,200
Dave Murray $19,675
Adam Noone $17,050
Vicky Coren $22250

Notable Chip Counts

Robert Cheung	42,075
Justin Bonomo	41,000
Ylon Schwartz	38,000
Joe Sebok	34,000
Kirk Morrison	33,000
Doug Kim	32,000
Tony G	29,000
Sammy Farha	27,000
Evelyn Ng	27,000
Scotty Nguyen	25,800
J.J. Liu	25,000
Dan Alspach	25,000
Joe Hachem	24,000
Dan Harrington	24,000
Barry Shulman	23,500
Bob Bright	23,100
Erik Seidel	23,000
Robert Mizrachi	22,000
Norm MacDonald	22,000
Isabelle Mercier	21,500
Jennifer Harman	21,300
Kathy Liebert	21,000
Jeffrey Lisandro	21,000
Allyn Jaffrey Shulman	21,000
Scott Fischman	20,500
Howard Lederer	20,500
Berry Johnston	20,500
Scott Clements	20,000
Rhett Butler	20,000
Jordan Morgan	20,000
Alexander Kravchenko	20,000
Noah Boeken	19,000
Sabyl Cohen	18,900
Steve Sung	18,500
Annie Duke	18,500
Kido Pham	17,500
Tom McEvoy	17,000
'Miami John' Cernuto	17,000
Barny Boatman	15,800
John Juanda	15,600
Hoyt Corkins	15,400
Paul Wasicka	15,300
Juha Helppi	14,600
Mark Seif	14,500
Roland De Wolfe	14,400
Max Pescatori	14,400
Aaron Kanter	13,500
Captain Tom Franklin	13,300
David Singer	13,000
Davidson Matthew	12,500
David 'The Dragon' Pham	11,500
Young Phan	11,000
Dan Shak	11,000
David Williams	10,500
Bill Chen	10,000
Sam Grizzle	6,200

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Erik Seidel,   Annie Duke,   Howard Lederer,   David Williams,   Sam Farha,   Ylon Schwartz,   Paul Wasicka,   Patrik Antonius,   Joe Sebok,   Kirk Morrison,   Robert Cheung

Level Two Recap

Jul 08, '07

Hour four has come and gone with the completion of the second level of play. Tables are starting to open up in the fary corner of the Amazon room and cash games have been started. It is always an interesting experience for the players in the tournament that have to deal with being seated near the noise and chaos of players risking one tenth of their tournament buy in.

Gavin Griffin has been hard to miss during the 2007 World Series of Poker, his trademark bright pink mohawk has the tendency to stand out in the crowd. Griffin has been sporting the new look in an effort to raise awareness for breast cancer, a cause he is passionate about. Griffin has been drawing attention today not only becuase of his hair, but for his play as well. The player in seat three limped for $200 and Griffin raised to $800 preflop. Griffin recieved two calls and the flop came 6 3 2. The player in seat three checked and Griffin threw out $1,525. The player in seat three tries to fold out of turn but quickly brings his cards back in. The player in seat nine pushes all in and the player seat three throws his cards away. Griffin instantly makes the call and turns over A A. Seat nine showed K Q and was far behind. The turn was the 6 and the river brought the 7, giving Griffin the huge pot and increasing his stack to $44,000. The pot gave Griffin help on his way to catching the two new chip leaders, Chad Brown ($58,000) and Phil Ivey ($54,000).

Whatever method ESPN uses to choose who sits at the featured table, it works. Mike Matusow and T.J. Cloutier are sitting in the one and ten seats at one of the featured tables and the presence of two great poker personalities is attracting attention. Matusow was complaining to a tournament official about having to play such a long day one and his lamenting inspired Cloutier to chime in. "I've never played a 16 hour day one in a tournament ever in my life!" exclaimed Matusow. "If there are going to be two day 2's, why do we have to play so long?" Cloutier added, "Yeah, they did just the opposite for H.O.R.S.E! They thought there was going to be more than 200. Ha! I bet you (Matusow) would have bet there was going to be more than 200, you bet on everything that moves!" In between complaining, the two actually did play some poker as well.

Antonio Tarver, Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, couldn't make it past the first day of this year's main event. Tarver had a relatively rough day, not as rough as his usual day at work, but still. Tarver had his aces cracked earlier in the day and on what would be his last hand, found himself with only $1,600. Two players limped in front of Tarver and he raised to $600. The player in seat four called and Roy Park reraised to $1,600 total from the small blind. The two limpers and Tarver called. The flop came K K Q and Park pushed all in. The action folded to Tarver who put his last $1,000 into the middle. Park showed A K and Tarver was way behind with his 6 6. The turn was the 3and the river brought the 4, sending Tarver to the rail.

Jose Canseco, Shannon Elizabeth and Greg Raymer, member of Team Pokerstarswww.pokerstars.com, were all eliminated this round as well. Raymer got his last few chips in the middle with J-10 up against an opponent with pocket sixes. A six hit on the flop and Raymer recieved applause as he exited the tournament area. Elizabeth got all her money in with pocket kings against an opponent with Q-J. A queen and a jack hit on the flop, ending Elizabeth's tournament. A player at an adjacent table cried out, "No! Give her more chips!" Maybe next year bud.

Amnon Filippi is cruising through the day at his table and now has over $30,000. With the board showing K 9 7 the player in seat five at Filippi's table bet out $800. The player in seat seven called and so did Filippi. The turn was the 8 and all players checked. The river was the 3 and the player in seat seven checked. Filippi threw out $2,600 and seat five folded. The player in seat seven went into the tank and Filippi chastised him into calling by saying, "How can you possibly think of folding for $2,600?" Seat seven called and Filippi threw his cards, 3 3, onto the board. "Set" said Filippi. The player in seat seven mucked his hand. "How many pairs you gonna get today?" asked Kenna James in the six seat. Filippi just laughed and said to himself, "Some people can't sleep at night if they don't see your cards." The very next hand Filippi raised preflop and took the blinds. Filippi turned over 6 6 and said, "See, I'm not stealing." James just shook his head in disbelief.


Notable Chip Counts

Chad Brown	58,200
Allen Cunningham	45,500
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson	44,000
Steve Dannenmann	42,000
Gavin Griffin	40,000
Amir Vahedi	39,000
Warren Karp	36,000
Jason Alexander	34,050
Lee Watkinson	33,000
Todd Brunson	32,900
Vanessa Rousso	31,500
David Sklansky	31,000
Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken	31,000
T.J. Cloutier	28,700
Shannon Shorr	26,000
Humberto Brenes	25,000
Amnon Filippi	24,000
Phil Gordon	22,350
Katja Thater	22,000
Andy Bloch	22,000
Men "The Master" Nguyen	21,500
Rene Angelil	20,000
Chris Moneymaker	20,000
Kristy Gazes	19,600
Tony Hachem	19,000
Mike "The Mouth" Matusow	19,000
Chau Giang	19,000
Bill Gazes	18,200
Melissa Hayden	17,000
Jennifer Tilly	16,200
Eric Cajelais	15,900
Rafe Furst	15,500
JC Alvarado	15,500
Clonie Gowen	15,500
Toto Leonidas	14,000
Greg Raymer	14,000
Kenna James	10,800
JC Tran	6,000
Tex Barch	4,575

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Kenna James,   Mike Matusow,   Phil Ivey,   Gavin Griffin,   Greg Raymer,   Amnon Filippi,   Shannon Elizabeth,   Antonio Tarver,   Jose Canseco

In the Money

Jun 29, '07

After close to nearly a half hour of painfully slow hand-for-hand play, the last 198 players standing have all made the money and are guaranteed to cash for at least $4,080. There’s not much action to report as at least half of Level 10 was wasted during hand-for-hand play. The remaining 190 or so players are on a short fifteen minute break, and will return to Level 11 and a blind increase to $1,000-$2,000 with a $300 ante.

Right after making the money, and right before the break, Raymond Davis shoved all-in against an opponent’s raise and used some fancy trickery to entice the call. The player in seat no. 9 makes a pre-flop raise of $6,600 and Raymond Davis re-raises all-in for $18,400 more. The player in seat no. 9 is on the brink of folding when Davis grabs his bag and starts to gather his things as if he is certain that his opponent will call and eliminate him. Davis pulls the ole’ stand up and shake T.J. Cloutier’s hand routine as he prepares for his departure. A floor supervisor walks over and Davis makes a joke about him being there to escort him to the payout table, alluding to the idea that his hand is so bad that there’s no way he can win. Davis then goes on to tell everyone that he was just glad to make the money and it’s time for him to geo to bed now anyway. After some more deliberation and getting the clock called on him, seat no. 9 reaches for his chips and says, “This is a really bad call here.” Davis turns over 10 10 while seat no. 9 shows A Q.  The board comes 7 5 4 2 6, no help to either player as Davis’ tens hold up and he doubles up with seconds left before the break.

Be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com for more updates and your favorite Pro Blogs.

Notable Chip Counts

TJ Cloutier	56,000
Michael Mizrachi	32,000
Jennifer Tilly	30,000
Rene Angelil	12,800
Tom McEvoy	8,800
Jared Hamby	6,000

 

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Raymond Davis

Slow Hour Two

Jun 29, '07

Despite the size of the field, the pace in the early levels of todays event is not quite as fast as would be expected.   Perhaps the extra thousand chips that players get in comparison to a $1,500 event do make a real difference. 
Table 75 broke early in the second level to make room for the restart of the $5,000 short-handed event, scattering Amnon Filippi, Andrew Black and Johnny Chan throughout the field.  Filippi placed fourth last night in the H.O.R.S.E. event and is already back in  the game.  He joined tournament veteran T.J. Cloutier and internet-turned-live pro Eric Lynch, creating another tough table.  William Thorsson joined Amir Vahedi and Dave Stann at another stacked table.

Make sure to check back for hourly updates here at Cardplayer.com as the day goes on and the pace picks up.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Amnon Filippi,   William Thorson,   Eric Lynch

Two Tables

Jun 30, '07

The players have redrawn again this time for the final two tables.  Three notable names have risen to the top of the pack, as three of the chip leaders are Joe Pelton, Anna Wroblewski, and Roland de Wolfe. 

 

Wroblewski gained some of those chips by elminating Pro Blogger Gary Bogdanski when he pushed all in from the small blind with pocket sixes and she held pocket Aces.  The suspense would be short lived as she flopped a full house to put a stranglehold on the hand.  Bogdanski earned $21,884 for his finish.

 

The eliminations then began to stack up very quickly, causing one tournament floorperson to mutter a few colorful words under his breath as he was constantly balancing tables.

 

Klein Bach and Kuong Lu had a quite a rapport built up as they traded chips.  Bach ended up with the last laugh.  First Bach pushed all in after Lu’s preflop raise of $65,000.  A few hands later Bach raised from middle position, and Lu pushed all in for almost $350,000.  Bach called and showed As Kc while Lu showed Ks Jd and was trailing.  The board came out 7c 7h 4s 7d Ad and Bach eliminated Lu in 19^th place ($21,884).  Before the tables could be combined, Jaydee Bade pushed all in with 6s 6h and was called by As Js.  He was safe on the board of Kd Qc 4h 9d, but couldn’t fade the Ac on the river and he busted in 18^th place earning $25,593.

 

T.J. Cloutier was the severe stack and wasted no time doubling up when the tables combined.  With $379,000 now in his stack, he pushed all in again with Ad Kh and was called by Klein Bach with Ah Qs.  He was primed to vault among the chip leaders, and then the board rolled out Qc 9d 7s 8d 6c, and Cloutier was headed to the rail in 17^th place, earning $25,593.

 

There are currently 16 players left.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Klein Bach,   Joe Pelton,   Roland de Wolfe,   Anna Wroblewski,   Kuong Lu,   Jaydee Bade

Back From Dinner; Three Tables

Jun 30, '07

There were three quick eliminations after the dinner break and they are currently redrawing for the final three tables.  This will take longer than normal because of the large number of $1,000 chips in play.  Luckliy one of the chip leaders, Anna Wroblewski drew the same seat and will not have to rearrange her large towers of chips.

Jennifer Tilly was eliminated in 30th place earning $18,546, when she pushed all in with A-7, was called by A-J, and received no help.  TJ Cloutier is one of the short stacks and will need to double up a couple times to get back into contention.

Notable Chip Counts

TJ Cloutier	110,000

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Jennifer Tilly,   Anna Wroblewski

Hour One Recap

Jun 30, '07

The cards finally got into the air on day two of event #47 at around 3:30 p.m. The returning players finished the last few minutes of level 11 and played straight into level 12. The players are now on a 15 minute break following the completion of the twelfth level.

There are fewer than 90 players left and with tables breaking and players moving seats some tough tables have been formed. At table 68 David Singer, Nick Frangos and Blair Rodman are all sharing the felt. Across the tournament area T.J. Cloutier, Raymond Davis, and Rafe Furst can all be seen sitting at the same table.

Though the money bubble has burst, there is still a long, hard road ahead for any of these players to survive until the final table. Jordan Morgan is making a serious push for the final table and has been putting pressure on the other players at his table all day. Morgan raised to $6,500 preflop and the player in seat eight pushed all in for a little under $50,000. Morgan didn't even wait for the dealer to count out the bet before announcing that he would make the call. The player in seat eight showed A 10 and Morgan was holding J J. The board came 5 5 2 Q 4 and Morgan added his opponent's chips to his stack. Morgan now has over $130,000.

Kirk Morrison was eliminated in 111th place, earning $4,822. John Esposito raised to $9,000 from middle position and Kirk Morrison reraised to $29,000 total. Esposito went deep into the tank and began to interrogate Morrison for information. "You trying to pull something?" asked Esposito. "If I'm gonna call I might as well put you all in, " said Esposito. Esposito then put $50,000 into the middle, reraising Morrison all in. Morrison only had a few thousand left and made the call. Esposito showed A Q and Morrison was holding 6 6. "Thought you had somethin' like that, " said Esposito. The board came K Q 9 K 10 and Esposito took down the pot, eliminating Morrison in 111th place.

Notable Chip Counts

Eugene Todd	210,000
Jennifer Tilly	170,000
Roland de Wolfe	135,000
Jordan Morgan	133,000
Anna Wroblewski	130,000
Nick Frangos	120,000
Rafe Furst	118,000
TJ Cloutier	62,000
David Singer	62,000
Noah Boeken	61,000
Tom McEvoy	43,000
Joe Pelton	25,500

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   John Esposito Jr.,   Raymond Davis,   Blair Rodman,   David Singer,   Nikolaos Frangos,   Rafe Furst,   Jordan Morgan,   Kirk Morrison