David Plastik Poker Tournament Updates

David Plastik Doubles Up

Dec 05, '10

David Plastik entered the day very short stacked but now has some more breathing room after doubling through Justin Young.

Plastik moved all in for his last 26,000 and Young made the call with pocket tens. Plastik showed pocket threes and caught up when the board fell 5432K.

Plastik now has about 55,000, while Young is still okay with 80,000.

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Justin Young

Level 9 Hour 1 Update: Tom "Durrrr" Dwan, David Plastik Eliminated

Jul 08, '09

Blinds: 500-1,000 with a 100 ante

Players Remaining: 1,661 out of 6,494

Chip Counts:

1. Troy Weber — 475,000
2. John Hammer — 360,000
3. Andreas Altmeyer — 318,000
4. Amir Lehavot — 280,000
5. Brian Lemke — 275,500
6. Bertrand Grospellier — 250,000
7. Brennan Hanson — 243,000
8. Adam latimer — 242,000
9. Dan Bilzerian — 237,000
10. Kenny Tran — 225,000

Card Player Chip Counts:

Jeff Shulman – 170,000
Phil Hellmuth – 125,000
Lee Watkinson – 80,000
Adam Schoenfeld – 125,000
Matthew Hilger – did not report
Steve Zolotow – 28,000
Thomas Keller – 120,000
Max Pescatori – 47,300
Justin Rollo – did not report

Notable Eliminations:

Tim Vance
Bill Chen
Bernard Lee
Tom “Durr” Dwan
David Plastik

Big Hands:

Alexander Kostritsyn Breaks 100,000

On a flop of 1084, a player at the table moves all in and Alexander Kostritsyn calls.

Kostritsyn: K10
Opponent: 85

Kostristsyn flops top pair while his opponent flops middle pair. The turn and river are the 7 and the 4, no help for Kostritsyn’s opponent who is eliminated. Kostritsyn is up to 125,000 after this hand.

Tom “Durrr” Dwan Eliminated

On a flop of 5-4-2 with two spades, there is a bet and then a raise to 8,000 before Tom Dwan moves all in for 22,000. He is called in both spots. The turn and river were a 7 and a 10 as Dwan turns over pocket kings. His opponent shows a straight on the river and Tom Dwan is eliminated from the tournament.

Tim Phan Doubles on the River

On a board of 10325, Tim Phan gets it all in and is called by one opponent.

Phan: 54
Opponent: J10

Phan flops a an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw while his opponent flops top pair. Phan turns a pair for even more outs, and gets there with the A on the river. Tim Phan doubles up to 60,000 this hand.

Jordan Morgan Eliminates Opponent

Action folds around to the small blind who moves all in on the short stack. Jordan Morgan calls from the big blind and has him covered.

Morgan: Q10
Opponent: J3

Board: 863104

Morgan turns over top pair as he eliminates his opponent and brings his chip count up to 55,000 this hand.

Nick Binger Gets Doubled Through

One player at the table gets it all in pre-flop and is covered by Nick Binger.

Binger: AQ
Opponent: K10

Board: K10937

Binger is out flopped when his opponent pairs his king. Binger is doubled through this hand but stills has 100,000 or so.

Esfandiari Runs Over Table

The player under the gun raises to 3,500 and Antonio Esfandiari calls from the small blind. The flop comes A65, Esfandiari bets 4,200 and his opponent calls. The turn is the 10, and both players check. The river is the J, Esfanidiari bets 22,000 and his opponent folds. Esfandiari rakes another pot and builds his stack up to 164,000 at the moment.

David Plastik Eliminated

David Plastik just flopped a queen-high flush and got it all in against pocket aces. The turn put four spades on the board, his opponent holding the ace of spades. David Plastik is eliminated from the tournament.

Kevin Saul vs. John Racener

John Racener raises from under the gun, Kevin Saul reraises to 5,500, Racener three-bets to 13,500 and Saul calls. The flop comes A72, Racener bets 15,000 and Saul calls. The turn is the 10, Racner checks, Saul moves all in for 44,000 and Racener folds after several minutes in the tank. Saul rakes the pot, climbing up to 112,000 this hand while Racener slips down to 92,000.

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Antonio Esfandiari,   Tim Phan,   Kevin Saul,   Jordan Morgan,   Tom Dwan,   Nick Binger,   John Racener,   Alexander Kostritsyn

Level 8 Hour 2 Update: Ylon Schwartz Eliminated

Jul 08, '09

Blinds: 400-800 with a 100 ante

Players Remaining: 1,827 out of 6,494

Chip Counts:

1. Troy Weber — 475,000
2. Joh Hammer — 350,000
3. Andreas Altmeyer — 318,000
4. Brian Lemke — 291,000
5. Amir Lehavot — 280,000
6. Bertrand Grospellier — 250,000
7. Phil Ivey — 245,000
8. Adam Latimer — 242,000
9. Brennan Hanson — 240,000
10. Dan Bilzerian — 237,000

Card Player Chip Counts:

Jeff Shulman – 170,000
Phil Hellmuth – 139,000
Lee Watkinson – 80,000
Adam Schoenfeld – 125,000
Matthew Hilger – did not report
Steve Zolotow – 20,000
Thomas Keller – 120,000
Max Pescatori – 47,300
Justin Rollo – did not report

Notable Eliminations:

Noah Schwartz
Adam Levy
Robert Williamson III
Ylon Schwartz

Big Hands:

Miami John Gets Doubled Through

A player at the table moves all in before the flop and Miami John Cernuto calls, he has him slightly covered.

Cernuto: Pocket Eights
Opponent: AQ

Board: KQ924

Cernuto’s opponent flops a queen and doubles through. Cernuto takes a small hit to his stack as he ships roughly 12,000 across the table.

Theo Tran Breaks 100K…And Still Going

Theo Tran raises before the flop, only to be reraised by another player at the table. Tran calls and the flop comes 832, both players check. The turn is the A, Tran checks, his opponent bets 6,100 and Tran calls. The river is the 4 and Tran bets 45,000, putting his opponent to a decision for the rest of his chips. After a minute in the tank his opponent folds and Tran rakes the pot, breaking the 100,000 mark.

A few hands later and Theo Tran gets involved in a three-way all in pot, Tran getting the best of it once again.

Tran: AA
Opponent 1: AQ
Opponent 2: KJ

Board: KQ953

Tran’s aces hold, eliminating two opponents this hand as he chips up to 130,000.

Tony Hachem Knocks One Out

Tony Hachem calls a 2,000 raise from the button and goes to the flop with one opponent. The flop comes J104, there is a 3,700 bet and Hachem quickly raises to 7,900. The original bettor moves all in for 11,000 and Hachem calls.

Hachem: J10
Opponent: AQ

Hachem flops top two against the royal flush draw of his opponent. The J hits the turn, filling Hachem and not a moment too soon as his opponent ends up making his flush with the 7 on the river. Hachem eliminated yet another player at his table and chips up to 180,000 this hand.

Hellmuth Flops Top Set, Doesn’t Get Paid Off, Shows Cards Anyway

With a raise of 2,500 and one caller in front of him, Phil Hellmuth reraises to 10,000 from hijack. The original raiser calls and the original caller folds. The flop comes KQ8, and it is checked to Hellmuth who bets 7,000. His opponent folds, but Hellmuth shows him anyway, turning over pocket kings for top set. Hellmuth rakes the pot and brings his stack up to 139,000 this hand.

David Plastik Doubles Up

On a flop of 862, David Plastik gets it all in against one opponent.

Plastik: 88
Opponent: 97

Plastik flops top set against his opponent’s open-ended straight draw. The turn and river are the 4 and the J, no help to his opponent a Plastik doubles up to 45,000 in chips this hand.

Ville Wahlbeck Doubles Up

On a flop of A42, Ville Wahlbeck gets it all in and is called in one spot.

Wahlbeck: A4
Opponent: AK

Wahlbeck flops top set against his opponent’s top pair. The turn and river are the 3 and the K, giving his opponent two pair, too late. Wahlbeck doubles up to 109,000 this hand.

Elky Breaks 250,000

On a board of K8626, Bertrand Grospellier bets the pot (40,000) and gets one caller. Grospellier turns over 86 for a full house while his opponent shows K7 for two pair. Grospellier rakes the pot and breaks the quart-million mark this hand.

Ylon Schwartz Eliminated by Bill Gazes

Ylon Schwartz gets it all in pre-flop against Bill Gazes.

Schwartz: K-K
Gazes: A-K

Board: A92QQ

Schwartz gets it in good but Gazes pairs his ace on the flop. Ylon Schwartz is eliminated from the main event.

Left in the Deck

Players are now on their last twenty-minute break of the night and will return at approximately 8:40 pm PDT to begin the last level of the day.

Player Tags: John Cernuto,   David Plastik,   Bill Gazes,   Phil Hellmuth,   Ylon Schwartz,   Ville Wahlbeck,   Theo Tran,   Bertrand Grospellier,   Tony Hachem

Day Two Set to Begin

Jun 27, '07

The second day of event #43, $2,000 Limit Hold 'Em is already underway. Sixty one players returned today to battle down to the final table. Tom Koral is the chip leader heading into day two, with Noah Boeken and David Plastik hot on his tail. Check back with CardPlayer.com to follow all the action of day two of this exciting event and see who survives to make it to the final table.

Notable Chip Counts

Tom Koral	88,000
Noah Boeken	86,500
David Plastik	68,500
Joe Sebok	28,000

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Noah Boeken,   Tom Koral

Play Concludes For The Night

Jun 26, '07

With about 30 minutes left in Level 11 tournament officials have stopped play for the night. 

61 players survived to see Day Two, with a few of the formerly-big stacks wishing they could take a mulligan on that last level.

Joe Sebok was very active in that last level, but saw his $40,000 in chips dip down closer to $20,000 after his opponent hit the nut flush against his second-nut flush with running hearts, and then he had pocket Kings cracked by A-J.

Rick Fuller also lost a large portion of his stack, once again raising Rolf Slotboom's big blind.  After a flop of 8 7 6 Slotboom bet $1,500, Fuller raised, and Slotboom called.  The turn was the 9, Slotboom bet $3,000, Fuller raised to $6,000, Slotboom reraised to $9,000, Fuller made it $12,000, and Slotboom called.  The turn 6 paired the board, Slotboom checked, Fuller bet, and Slotboom made a reluctant call, saying, "Maybe we'll split it"  Fuller immediately replied "Boy, did I donk off chips to you!" tabling Q Q.  Slotboom nearly jumped out of his seat as he flipped over 10 7, and raked in the pot.

Noah Boeken has ended the day second in chips, flopping a full house with a pocket pair of fours to help build his stack over $80,000.  David Plastik is also enjoying a healthy chipstack going into Day 2.  Other notables still in the field include bracelet winner Benjamin Lin, Ayaz Mahmood, and Terence Chan.

Play will resume tomorrow at 2pm PST.

Keep your browsers tuned to CardPlayer.com for your favorite Pro Blogs and all the tournamnent action.

Player Tags: Ayaz Mahmood,   David Plastik,   Rick Fuller,   Noah Boeken,   Benjamin Lin,   Terrence Chan,   Joe Sebok,   Rolf Slotboom

Color Up Time

Jun 26, '07

Tournament officials are currently coloring up the $100 chips, and the players will take a 15 minute break once the color up is finished.  They will then play until 2am PST. 

Men Nguyen and Chris Ferguson were some of the casualties of the last level.  Also Lacey Jones finallly succumbed to the short stack, committing the last of her chips with A 5.  Unfortunately David Plastik woke up with Kings.  Jones caught two clubs on the flop, but couldn't catch up and was eliminated in approximately 87th place.

Rick Fuller and Rolf Slotboom have been having a great time at their table.  Apparently Fuller has been involved in hands everytime when Slotboom is the big blind, and when he finally folded one, he actually apologized.  Slotboom has continued to enjoy some good luck, flopping trip sevens with J 7 against his opponent's J J, to rake a nice pot.

Joe Sebok enjoyed a nice run of cards to pump his stack back up among the chip leaders.  In one hand with lots of action, Sebok called on the river, and pleaded with his opponent, "I hope you don't have Ace-King"  His opponent announced "Jacks" and Sebok showed A-Q for Aces and took the pot.  On the very next hand Sebok raised from under-the-gun and picked up the blinds and antes.  He showed A-K as he added the blinds to the chips he was already stacking.

There is very little poker left to be played tonight, but with 76 players remaining on nine tables, we are still a ways from the money.

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Chris Ferguson,   Men Nguyen,   Rick Fuller,   Joe Sebok,   Lacey Jones,   Rolf Slotboom

15 Tables

Jun 26, '07

There are currently 135 players left in the tournament tonight.

Jared Hamby and Eric Lynch have both been eliminated from the tournament.  They should have been taking lessons from Rolf Slotboom.  Slotboom has be referring to himself as "Shortstack Rolf" (foregoing the obvious alliterative option of Shortstack Slotboom).  He has dipped down to as little as $1,000, but has fought his way back many times.  He took a significant pot off of the player in seat 1 at his table as he got his to lead betting on all three streets with only Ace high.

David Plastik has propelled himself to the chip lead, notably knocking out a player at Tony Nasr, and Lacey Jones table with pocket Aces.  Nasr seemed to think that this was newsworthy, as he must have trouble not getting his Aces cracked.

Joe Sebok has slipped from the lead down to an average chip stack, and Clonie Gowen had a set of Jacks cracked by Men Nguyen's flopped flush to put her on life support.

A few players have been seen trying to do jumping jacks in between their tables to keep their blood flowing.  Much more still to come in this Limit paradise

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Men Nguyen,   Tony Nasr,   Clonie Gowen,   Joe Sebok,   Eric Lynch,   Lacey Jones,   Jared Hamby,   Rolf Slotboom

Day Two Set to Begin

Jun 27, '07

The second day of event #43, $2,000 Limit Hold 'Em is already underway. Sixty one players returned today to battle down to the final table. Tom Koral is the chip leader heading into day two, with Noah Boeken and David Plastik hot on his tail. Check back with CardPlayer.com to follow all the action of day two of this exciting event and see who survives to make it to the final table.

Notable Chip Counts

Tom Koral	88,000
Noah Boeken	86,500
David Plastik	68,500
Joe Sebok	28,000

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Noah Boeken,   Tom Koral

Play Concludes For The Night

Jun 26, '07

With about 30 minutes left in Level 11 tournament officials have stopped play for the night. 

61 players survived to see Day Two, with a few of the formerly-big stacks wishing they could take a mulligan on that last level.

Joe Sebok was very active in that last level, but saw his $40,000 in chips dip down closer to $20,000 after his opponent hit the nut flush against his second-nut flush with running hearts, and then he had pocket Kings cracked by A-J.

Rick Fuller also lost a large portion of his stack, once again raising Rolf Slotboom's big blind.  After a flop of 8 7 6 Slotboom bet $1,500, Fuller raised, and Slotboom called.  The turn was the 9, Slotboom bet $3,000, Fuller raised to $6,000, Slotboom reraised to $9,000, Fuller made it $12,000, and Slotboom called.  The turn 6 paired the board, Slotboom checked, Fuller bet, and Slotboom made a reluctant call, saying, "Maybe we'll split it"  Fuller immediately replied "Boy, did I donk off chips to you!" tabling Q Q.  Slotboom nearly jumped out of his seat as he flipped over 10 7, and raked in the pot.

Noah Boeken has ended the day second in chips, flopping a full house with a pocket pair of fours to help build his stack over $80,000.  David Plastik is also enjoying a healthy chipstack going into Day 2.  Other notables still in the field include bracelet winner Benjamin Lin, Ayaz Mahmood, and Terence Chan.

Play will resume tomorrow at 2pm PST.

Keep your browsers tuned to CardPlayer.com for your favorite Pro Blogs and all the tournamnent action.

Player Tags: Ayaz Mahmood,   David Plastik,   Rick Fuller,   Noah Boeken,   Benjamin Lin,   Terrence Chan,   Joe Sebok,   Rolf Slotboom

Color Up Time

Jun 26, '07

Tournament officials are currently coloring up the $100 chips, and the players will take a 15 minute break once the color up is finished.  They will then play until 2am PST. 

Men Nguyen and Chris Ferguson were some of the casualties of the last level.  Also Lacey Jones finallly succumbed to the short stack, committing the last of her chips with A 5.  Unfortunately David Plastik woke up with Kings.  Jones caught two clubs on the flop, but couldn't catch up and was eliminated in approximately 87th place.

Rick Fuller and Rolf Slotboom have been having a great time at their table.  Apparently Fuller has been involved in hands everytime when Slotboom is the big blind, and when he finally folded one, he actually apologized.  Slotboom has continued to enjoy some good luck, flopping trip sevens with J 7 against his opponent's J J, to rake a nice pot.

Joe Sebok enjoyed a nice run of cards to pump his stack back up among the chip leaders.  In one hand with lots of action, Sebok called on the river, and pleaded with his opponent, "I hope you don't have Ace-King"  His opponent announced "Jacks" and Sebok showed A-Q for Aces and took the pot.  On the very next hand Sebok raised from under-the-gun and picked up the blinds and antes.  He showed A-K as he added the blinds to the chips he was already stacking.

There is very little poker left to be played tonight, but with 76 players remaining on nine tables, we are still a ways from the money.

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Chris Ferguson,   Men Nguyen,   Rick Fuller,   Joe Sebok,   Lacey Jones,   Rolf Slotboom

15 Tables

Jun 26, '07

There are currently 135 players left in the tournament tonight.

Jared Hamby and Eric Lynch have both been eliminated from the tournament.  They should have been taking lessons from Rolf Slotboom.  Slotboom has be referring to himself as "Shortstack Rolf" (foregoing the obvious alliterative option of Shortstack Slotboom).  He has dipped down to as little as $1,000, but has fought his way back many times.  He took a significant pot off of the player in seat 1 at his table as he got his to lead betting on all three streets with only Ace high.

David Plastik has propelled himself to the chip lead, notably knocking out a player at Tony Nasr, and Lacey Jones table with pocket Aces.  Nasr seemed to think that this was newsworthy, as he must have trouble not getting his Aces cracked.

Joe Sebok has slipped from the lead down to an average chip stack, and Clonie Gowen had a set of Jacks cracked by Men Nguyen's flopped flush to put her on life support.

A few players have been seen trying to do jumping jacks in between their tables to keep their blood flowing.  Much more still to come in this Limit paradise

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Men Nguyen,   Tony Nasr,   Clonie Gowen,   Joe Sebok,   Eric Lynch,   Lacey Jones,   Jared Hamby,   Rolf Slotboom

Hour Three Update; Numbers

Jun 22, '07

The blinds have now escalated to the point were some players need to gamble.  Jean Gaspard let everyone in his immediate area know that he won a traditional race the hard way.  Gaspard and his opponent were all-in preflop Gaspard held J J against his opponent’s A K.  The flop was Ace high, but with three hearts.  A fourth heart fell on the river and Gaspard took the pot.

 

In one crazy hand, three players at one table were all in with two diamonds  in their hand. (A 4, K Q, 8 6).  Amazingly enough there were two diamonds on the flop 4 3 2.  The 4 hit on the river.  The 5 landed on the river and the player with the worst of it preflop took the whole pot with a six-high straight.

 

Phil Laak was involved in a few pots he might want to take back.  In a three-way pot, Laak leads out with $250 on a flop of 9 8 2, one player calls, Chris Ferguson moves all in for $775 more, Laak re-raises $1,225 more to isolate, and the other player folds.  Laak has 9 7, and Ferguson shows J 8.  The turn is the 10, leading Ferguson to say, “That’s exactly the card I wanted.”  The river is the 8 and Ferguson adds, “That’s the other one” as he rakes the pot.  A few hands later the player in Seat 2 bets  $900 on a flop of 7 63, Laak raises $2,150 more, Seat 1 re-raises all in and flips over 8 7 before Laak has a chance to call.  Laak calls all in anyway after a few minutes with 7 5.  The Q and the 9 peel off the deck, and Laak is eliminated.

 

Jennifer Tilly took down a nice pot soon after. In a three-way pot, Tilly checks to Erica Schoenberg on a board of 10 9 4 J, Schoenberg bets $1,100, the third player raises to $3,500, Tilly calls all in for $2,875, Schoenberg folds, and Tilly shows 8 5.  The other player folds before the 6s hits on the river, and Tilly more than doubles up.

 

David Plastik, Mark Seif, Mike Gracz, and Jeff Lisandro have all been recently eliminated.

 

The official numbers have been announced.  There were 599 entrants creating a prize pool of $1,090,180.  The top 54 players will be paid with 54^th place good for $4,797, while top prize will garner $269,274.

Notable Chip Counts

John Gale	17,000
T.J. Cloutier	16,500
Joe Hachem	16,500
Tony Hachem	9,800
Jennifer Tilly	7,800
Joe Pelton	7,300
Mark Seif	6,700
Thomas Wahlroos	6,400
Jon Turner	6,100
Shannon Elizabeth	5,300
Chris Ferguson	5,200
Barry Greenstein	4,600
Vanessa Rousso	4,000
Mimi Tran	4,000
Humberto Brenes	4,000
Darrell Dicken	4,000
Sorel Mizzi	3,800
Allen Cunningham	2,900
Joe Awada	2,300
Juha Helppi	2,200
Michael Binger	1,600

 

Player Tags: Mark Seif,   David Plastik,   Michael Gracz,   Chris Ferguson,   Phil Laak,   Jeffrey Lisandro,   Jennifer Tilly,   Erica Schoenberg

Twelve Tables, Chip Up

Jun 10, '07

Players are now returning from a 15 minute break in which the $100 chips were raced off the table.  Internet players John "PearlJammer" Turner and Scott "BigRiskky" Clements have pulled themselves among the chip leaders with over $200,000 in chips.  However, Fabrice Souiller has pushed his stack past $300,000 and is the current chip boss.  David Plastik could not survive on the short stack any longer and was elimnated in 113th place.  There are currently 12 tables and 107 players left.  It seems the shorter stacks are very willing to gamble to get themselves back in contention, and the bigger stacks have no problem snapping them off.

The railbirds are still flocked to catch a glimpse of media darling Phil Hellmuth, hoping of course to catch a meltdown.  Hellmuth is firing on all cylinders today, and with his current chip stack over $150,000 he is in great position to make his first final table of this year's World Series. But as always he has a few players at every table trying to make moves on him, those players are only one lucky river card away from giving the spectators and the ESPN cameras exactly what they want.

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Phil Hellmuth,   John Turner,   Scott Clements

Hellmuth Busy Early

Jun 10, '07

Hopefully just making it to day 2 was satisfying enough, for many players today, because the bust outs are cropping up quickly so far.

Phil Hellmuth has vaulted himself among the chip leaders, despite being seated next to David Plastk and across from James Van Alstyne.  Early on Hellmuth made his 99 stand up calling his opponents bluff on a board of 76455.  He also called a short stack's all in from the button with AK, while his opponent tabled 76.  The flop came KK10, and the turn and river came 56.  Soon after that Hellmuth crippled Van Alstyne when he rivered a flush to Van Alstyne's trip tens.  Van Alstyne was all in soon after with KQ with two callers.  One player pushed the other caller out on the turn with the board showing 10987.  Now heads up the opponent showed JJ, the Q on the river was no help for Van Alstyne and he hit the rail in 122nd place. 

John Turner and Joe Bartholdi also saw their fortunes grow.  Turner put his opponent all in on a board of K963.  When his opponent called quickly Turner thought he was behind with K5, but his opponent showed A9, and Turner was able to dodge the twelve outs when the 5 hit on the river.  Bartholdi managed to win a race for his tournament life.  The player in Seat 8 raised to $6,400 from the cutoff, and Seat 9 called from the button after lots of thought.  Bartholdi then moved all in for $25,900 more from the big blind.  After the cutoff folded, Seat 9 made the call.  Bartholdi showed 66, and his opponent showed AQ.  The board came K93107, and Bartholdi more than doubled up to $74,600.

There are currently 122 players remaining on 13 tables.

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Phil Hellmuth,   John Turner,   Joe Bartholdi,   James Van Alstyne

Play Moving Fast

Jun 09, '07

Play has been moving considerably fast despite the overwhelming amount of entrants in today’s event. Tables have been breaking at an alarming rate, and all alternates have now been seated. With such a large field today, it is unusual to see many stacked tables, but as time has taught us, being an alternate is the easiest way to get stuck at a tough table. Alternate Table 44 is now host to Huck Seed, Erick Lindgren, Anthony Reategui, and Chris Bell.

There has however been one strong table from the start of the day with J.C. Tran sitting in the 2 seat followed by David Plastik to his left and John Racener to his left. Tran took an early chip lead at his table, bringing his stack up to roughly four times the starting amount, and although Tran may have most of the chips, it was David Plastik with all the moves. Within minutes of Level 2, Plastik had already pushed all-in several times, two of which were back-to-back from his blinds. The table folds to the button who limps in the pot followed by Tran in the small blind and Plastik checks his option in the big blind. The flop comes 854, and Tran and Plastik both check to the button who makes it $550 to go. Tran folds and Plastik looks this guy square in the eyes and pushes all-in. The button folds his hand.

The very next hand the player in Seat-10 raises to $325 and David Plastik makes the call, this time from the small blind. The flop comes K96, and Plastik checks to Seat-10 who bets $700. And for the second time in two hands, Plastik check-raises his opponent all-in and takes down the pot.

Some early eliminations include John Gale and Shannon Shorr. John Gale went broke in a three-way pot when he called a pre-flop raise of $425. The flop comes 1094 and Gale leads out for $750, leaving himself with only $900 behind it. The player in Seat-5 smooth calls his bet. The turn brings the A and Gale quickly moves all-in, but not as quickly as Seat-5 can make the call and flip over 1010 for a set against Gale’s AQ. The Q hits the river, not that it matters as John Gale is eliminated in Level 2.

Keep your browsers locked on CardPlayer.com for more updates and your favorite Pro Blogs.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   David Plastik,   Erick Lindgren,   Huck Seed,   Chris Bell,   John Gale,   Anthony Reategui,   John Racener

Full House

Jun 09, '07

The Amazon is at max capacity with all 258 tournament tables being used for this event.  Only one hour into the event twelve alternate tables have been seated, amounting to 120 alternates in the first hour.  So far the field looks thin in terms of professional players.  Many of them may be taking a break to take a shot at this afternoon's HORSE event.  But with many alternates yet to be seated who knows.  The entrants to this event have already reached 2,700.  We will have to see if that number will reach 3,000 before registration closes. 

Despite the lighter field there are a few tables containing more than one familiar face.  Table 204 houses Player of the Year frontrunner J.C. Tran, John Racener, and David Plastik.  Racener received a double up courtesy of Tran early in action today.  In a three-way pot with a flop of AQ8, Racener pushed all-in after Tran called the seat 9's raise of 625.  Tran and made the call and Racener had him crushed with 88 to Tran's AK.  Tran picked up some outs with the K on the turn, but the 5 hit on the river to send the pot to Racener. 

Also seen in the poker room are writer/director Kevin Smith, David Williams (two tables down from his mom Shirley), Jared Hamby, and recent bracelet winner Burt Boutin.  Keep your browser with Card Player today as we follow the progress of Freddy Deeb, Erica Schoenberg, and Chris Bell in our Pro Blogs.

Official numbers will be posted as soon as they are announced

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   David Plastik,   Burt Boutin,   David Williams,   Chris Bell,   Shirley Williams,   Erica Schoenberg,   Jared Hamby,   Freddy Deeb,   John Racener

Twelve Tables, Chip Up

Jun 10, '07

Players are now returning from a 15 minute break in which the $100 chips were raced off the table.  Internet players John "PearlJammer" Turner and Scott "BigRiskky" Clements have pulled themselves among the chip leaders with over $200,000 in chips.  However, Fabrice Souiller has pushed his stack past $300,000 and is the current chip boss.  David Plastik could not survive on the short stack any longer and was elimnated in 113th place.  There are currently 12 tables and 107 players left.  It seems the shorter stacks are very willing to gamble to get themselves back in contention, and the bigger stacks have no problem snapping them off.

The railbirds are still flocked to catch a glimpse of media darling Phil Hellmuth, hoping of course to catch a meltdown.  Hellmuth is firing on all cylinders today, and with his current chip stack over $150,000 he is in great position to make his first final table of this year's World Series. But as always he has a few players at every table trying to make moves on him, those players are only one lucky river card away from giving the spectators and the ESPN cameras exactly what they want.

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Phil Hellmuth,   John Turner,   Scott Clements

Hellmuth Busy Early

Jun 10, '07

Hopefully just making it to day 2 was satisfying enough, for many players today, because the bust outs are cropping up quickly so far.

Phil Hellmuth has vaulted himself among the chip leaders, despite being seated next to David Plastk and across from James Van Alstyne.  Early on Hellmuth made his 99 stand up calling his opponents bluff on a board of 76455.  He also called a short stack's all in from the button with AK, while his opponent tabled 76.  The flop came KK10, and the turn and river came 56.  Soon after that Hellmuth crippled Van Alstyne when he rivered a flush to Van Alstyne's trip tens.  Van Alstyne was all in soon after with KQ with two callers.  One player pushed the other caller out on the turn with the board showing 10987.  Now heads up the opponent showed JJ, the Q on the river was no help for Van Alstyne and he hit the rail in 122nd place. 

John Turner and Joe Bartholdi also saw their fortunes grow.  Turner put his opponent all in on a board of K963.  When his opponent called quickly Turner thought he was behind with K5, but his opponent showed A9, and Turner was able to dodge the twelve outs when the 5 hit on the river.  Bartholdi managed to win a race for his tournament life.  The player in Seat 8 raised to $6,400 from the cutoff, and Seat 9 called from the button after lots of thought.  Bartholdi then moved all in for $25,900 more from the big blind.  After the cutoff folded, Seat 9 made the call.  Bartholdi showed 66, and his opponent showed AQ.  The board came K93107, and Bartholdi more than doubled up to $74,600.

There are currently 122 players remaining on 13 tables.

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Phil Hellmuth,   John Turner,   Joe Bartholdi,   James Van Alstyne

Play Moving Fast

Jun 09, '07

Play has been moving considerably fast despite the overwhelming amount of entrants in today’s event. Tables have been breaking at an alarming rate, and all alternates have now been seated. With such a large field today, it is unusual to see many stacked tables, but as time has taught us, being an alternate is the easiest way to get stuck at a tough table. Alternate Table 44 is now host to Huck Seed, Erick Lindgren, Anthony Reategui, and Chris Bell.

There has however been one strong table from the start of the day with J.C. Tran sitting in the 2 seat followed by David Plastik to his left and John Racener to his left. Tran took an early chip lead at his table, bringing his stack up to roughly four times the starting amount, and although Tran may have most of the chips, it was David Plastik with all the moves. Within minutes of Level 2, Plastik had already pushed all-in several times, two of which were back-to-back from his blinds. The table folds to the button who limps in the pot followed by Tran in the small blind and Plastik checks his option in the big blind. The flop comes 854, and Tran and Plastik both check to the button who makes it $550 to go. Tran folds and Plastik looks this guy square in the eyes and pushes all-in. The button folds his hand.

The very next hand the player in Seat-10 raises to $325 and David Plastik makes the call, this time from the small blind. The flop comes K96, and Plastik checks to Seat-10 who bets $700. And for the second time in two hands, Plastik check-raises his opponent all-in and takes down the pot.

Some early eliminations include John Gale and Shannon Shorr. John Gale went broke in a three-way pot when he called a pre-flop raise of $425. The flop comes 1094 and Gale leads out for $750, leaving himself with only $900 behind it. The player in Seat-5 smooth calls his bet. The turn brings the A and Gale quickly moves all-in, but not as quickly as Seat-5 can make the call and flip over 1010 for a set against Gale’s AQ. The Q hits the river, not that it matters as John Gale is eliminated in Level 2.

Keep your browsers locked on CardPlayer.com for more updates and your favorite Pro Blogs.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   David Plastik,   Erick Lindgren,   Huck Seed,   Chris Bell,   John Gale,   Anthony Reategui,   John Racener

Full House

Jun 09, '07

The Amazon is at max capacity with all 258 tournament tables being used for this event.  Only one hour into the event twelve alternate tables have been seated, amounting to 120 alternates in the first hour.  So far the field looks thin in terms of professional players.  Many of them may be taking a break to take a shot at this afternoon's HORSE event.  But with many alternates yet to be seated who knows.  The entrants to this event have already reached 2,700.  We will have to see if that number will reach 3,000 before registration closes. 

Despite the lighter field there are a few tables containing more than one familiar face.  Table 204 houses Player of the Year frontrunner J.C. Tran, John Racener, and David Plastik.  Racener received a double up courtesy of Tran early in action today.  In a three-way pot with a flop of AQ8, Racener pushed all-in after Tran called the seat 9's raise of 625.  Tran and made the call and Racener had him crushed with 88 to Tran's AK.  Tran picked up some outs with the K on the turn, but the 5 hit on the river to send the pot to Racener. 

Also seen in the poker room are writer/director Kevin Smith, David Williams (two tables down from his mom Shirley), Jared Hamby, and recent bracelet winner Burt Boutin.  Keep your browser with Card Player today as we follow the progress of Freddy Deeb, Erica Schoenberg, and Chris Bell in our Pro Blogs.

Official numbers will be posted as soon as they are announced

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   David Plastik,   Burt Boutin,   David Williams,   Chris Bell,   Shirley Williams,   Erica Schoenberg,   Jared Hamby,   Freddy Deeb,   John Racener

Tourney Gaining Speed

Jun 05, '07

There are approximately 100 players left in today's field that started with 844. It seems that tables are continously breaking and forcing new match ups. Brett Jungblutt is now seated to the right of Gavin Griffin and Alex Prendes Jr. moved into the ten seat at his new table, directly to the left of Amir Vahedi and across the table from Kristy Gazes. Vahedi has been on a roll recently and has built his stack to $165,000. Vahedi has created a revolving door at his table, sending players packing before they can even get comfortable. Playing on his good fortune, Vahedi has taken it upon himself to grab the seat cards and yell "Floorman!" every time he busts another player.

Freddy Deeb and Kathy Liebert were eliminated in hand involving Tommy Vu and plenty of action. As told to CardPlayer.com, Liebert pushed all in for $6,000 and a player in middle position came over the top all in for about $3,000 more. Freddy Deeb and Tommy Vu both make the call and the flop came 986. Vu pushed all in and both Deeb and the player in middle position call. Liebert was holding A-A and Deeb had AQ for the nut flush draw. Vu turned over 9-9 for top set and the player in middle position had J-10. The turn was the K and the river was the 5 bringing no heart for Deeb, no ace for Liebert and no straight for the player in middle position. All three players were eliminated and Vu collected a very large pot. Daniel Negreanu and David Plastik were both eliminated this round as well.

The tournament will continue for one more level until 2 a.m., which conclude play for day one.

Player Tags: Amir Vahedi,   David Plastik,   Kathy Liebert,   Kristy Gazes,   Daniel Negreanu,   Alex Prendes Jr.,   Freddy Deeb,   Tommy Vu

End of Day 1

Jun 03, '07

Event 4, the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em event has come to an end on Day 1. The tournament staff decided to end the day promptly at 2:00a.m., which leaves us with twenty five minutes of play remaining in Level 11. 51 players remain all vying for the coveted gold bracelet and a place in the World Series of Poker history books. That dream came to an end for David Plastik who was eliminated in Level 10, pocketing $2,981 for his efforts. And soon to be joining Plastik on the rail was Dan Alspach who finished in 54th place, taking home $4,365.
            Short-stacked at an aggressive table, Dan Alspach limps into a pot from middle position and to his surprise he gets to see a flop. The flop comes 1094 and Alspach immediately moves all-in for his last $5,500. He is called by the small blind and Eric Lynch from the big blind. The turn brings the 7 and both Lynch and the big blind check. The river brings the Q and Lynch bets out and is immediately called by the small blind. Lynch shows QJ for the side pot, and to his disappointment, the small blind flips over QJ for the split pot. Neither player more disappointed than Dan Alspach as he throws his hand into the muck and quietly makes his way to the bust-out table to claim his prize money.

It wasn’t all bad news for the remaining pros as a now short-stacked Freddy Deeb gets some action from Gavin Smith. Gavin Smith limps into a pot, and Freddy Deeb pushes all-in for a total of $7,500. Smith makes the call and turns over J10 while Deeb shows KQ for the lead. The board comes K8456 and Freddy Deeb doubles up with a pair of kings.

            Marco Traniello had a hard time finding his groove tonight as he was constantly being ushered from table to table, beginning the final level of the night sitting right between Freddy Deeb and Gavin Smith, and ending the night sitting across from Jean-Robert Bellande and his $147,000 chips.

Notable players and chip stacks still left in the field are Gavin Smith, Eric Lynch, Marco Traniello, and Jon Friedberg, all of which whom are sitting with more than $60,000. Jean-Robert Bellande has amassed nearly $150,000 in chips by the end of Day 1, while Freddy Deeb had dropped down to nothing and climbed back up to $19,000.

Play will resume tomorrow at 2:00p.m.

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Dan Alspach,   Gavin Smith,   Marco Traniello,   Jon Friedberg,   Jean-Robert Bellande,   Eric Lynch,   Freddy Deeb