Mike Sica Poker Tournament Updates

$2,000 NL Hold'em - Level 11

Jun 13, '08

Note: Play began 20 minutes late for the day as players were day 2 play was moved to the Brasilia Room and the majority of the black 100 chips were removed from play.

Blinds: 800/1600 with 200 ante

Players Left: 118 of 1344

Eliminations: Phil Hellmuth, Dan Hill, Brandon Marz, Mark Brockington, Steven Krupnick, Ron Linden, Mike Sica.

Big Hands:

Hellmuth Among First to Go

Phil Hellmuth was among the shortstacks when play began and wasn't able to survive for long. Russell Carson raised from the cutoff to 3500 and Hellmuth was next to act on the button. Hellmuth pushed his remaining 5100 in chips to the middle, and Ron Linden -- another shortstack in the big blind -- went all-in as well. Carson called showing ace-queen offsuit, Hellmuth had pocket fours, and Linden had 109. The flop came 1063 to hit Linden, then the Q hit the turn to put Carson in command. The river was the 8 and Carson eliminated both players.

Gazes Adds over $20,000 to Stack

Bill Gazes raised from late position to 4000 and drew a call from Brad Sellnow in the big blind. The flop came AKJ and both players checked. The turn brought the 10, and Sellnow bet 5000, which Gazes called. The river was the 4 and Sellnow bet out 10,000. Gazes made the call and showed QQ for the straight, while Sellnow held KJ for two flopped pair.

Lewis Three Times Lucky

John Lewis was the shortstack to begin the day at just 2200 in chips, but has doubled up three times in the first 30 minutes of play. Lewis held pocket nines on a flop of 6-6-A and hit a nine on the turn for a full house. A few hands later he hit another nine on the river, holding K9, then he doubled up again with ace-10 when he flopped an ace.

Bennett Gets the Call

Ernest Bennett had already raised all-in preflop earlier in the level, and made the move again when under the gun for 20,000. Play folded to Mike Sica in the big blind, who asked for a count then made the call for his remaining 19,000. Sica had 1010 but had walked into the KK of Bennett. The board finished Q8654.

Pellegrini Doubles Through Jeffreys

Ed Pellegrini doubled his short stack to 18,000 courtesy one of the chip leaders in Andrew Jeffreys. Pellegrini had ace-king while Jeffreys had ace-queen, and both players flopped their kicker.

Michael Ellis eliminated Binh Ta when his ace-10 bettered Ta's ace-five, a 10 coming on the flop.


 

Player Tags: Bill Gazes,   Phil Hellmuth,   Ernest Bennett,   Mike Sica,   Russell Carson,   John Lewis,   Andrew Jeffreys,   Brad Sellnow

Boeken, Sica Out; We Have a Winner

Jun 09, '08

Note: Players are now on a 20 minute break.

Blinds/Antes: 800-1,600 with a 200 Ante

Table Winners: Sergey Rybachenko

Big Hands:

Boeken Crippled, Then Finished

Alex Triner fired a bet of 3,300 into the pot after a flop of Q410. Noah Boeken raised to 25,000 total and after much thought, Triner moved all in. Boeken called instantly and the players showed the following:

Triner: KK
Boeken: AQ

The turn was the 2 and was no help to Boeken, who needed an ace or queen to win the hand. The river was the nail in the coffin as the K crippled Boeken, leaving him with just 3,500 in chips and doubling Triner to over 141,000. A few hands later, Boeken busted out.

Sica Flops Ahead, But is Turned Around and Directed Toward the Rail

Michael Sica was all in against Thomas Sliflca. Sica had A-10, dominated by Sliflca's A-J. But the flop put Sica out in front when a 10 showed up and Sliflca was furious. His fury quickly turned to joy, however, as a jack appeared on the turn and the river sent Sica to the rail. Sliflca made his own exit a short time later.

Zeidman Takes One

On a board showing J42, Cory Zeidman led out with 8,200. His opponent went into the tank and decided to pick another spot to play, folding his hand. Zeidman was up to around 43,000.

We Have a Winner

Sergey Rybachenko was heads up against Paul Ferner. Rybachenko had a chip lead of 195,000 to 105,000. It took all of 10 minutes for the winner to be declared.

On a flop of Q39, Ferner bet 3,000. Rybachenko came over the top the whole way, moving all in. Ferner quickly called and turned over A9 thinking his second pair could be good. But the bad news was revealed by Rybachenko when he turned over Q6. The turn was the 8 and the river sealed the victory for Rybachenko when the K hit the felt.


 

Player Tags: Cory Zeidman,   Mike Sica,   Noah Boeken,   Sergey Rybachenko,   European Report

28 Strong

Jun 12, '07

There are 28 players left and the players have redrawn for the three final tables. With the juggling of players, one "super" table has been formed. Greg "FBT" Mueller, Humberto Brenes, Devin "TranquilChaos" Porter and Lars Bonding are now all occupying the same table.

Mike Matusow continues to collect chips and frustrate the players at his table. The player at seat seven bets out $25,000 and both Matusow and Mike Sica make the call. The flop came J 10 3 and Matusow pushed all in. Sica is the only caller and Matusow has him covered. Matusow turned over K Q on the straight draw and Sica showed 10 10 for middle set. The turn is the 9 and Matusow jumps out of his seat screaming, "YES!" The river is the A and Matusow sits back down and says, "It's all skill boys." Matusow now has over $300,000 in chips.

Mark Zand doubled up this round to around $115,000 when he got involved in a hand with Anders Sebastian. All in preflop, Sebastian had Q-Q and Zand was holding 10 10. The flop came A 10 6 and Sebastian suddenly found himself in the back seat. The turn brought the case ten giving Zand quads and making the 3 on the river pointless. Sebastian lost the large pot but was only crippled as a result

The players are going on dinner break at 8:30 p.m. tonight and will return at 9:30 p.m. to play down to the final table.

Player Tags: Humberto Brenes,   Greg Mueller,   Mike Matusow,   Mike Sica,   Lars Bonding,   Devin Porter,   Mark Zand,   Anders Sebastian