Aaron Gustavson Poker Tournament Updates

Big Hands Make For Big Action

Jun 25, '10

Gustavson Busts In 9th Place ($44,856)

Aaron Gustavson, winner of the 2009 EPT London main event, pushed all in for 440,000 and Niccolo Caramatti took a look at his cards and quickly called from the big blind. Their hands:

Gustavson: QJ
Caramatti: A6

Gustavson was trailing and hoping to see some paint, but the flop missed him completely. It ran 868, keeping Caramatti ahead with two pairs, sixes and eights.

The turn was closer, as the 10 fell to give Gustavson some more outs with a gutshot straight draw.

But his hopes of staying alive ended with the 3 on the river. Gustavson finished 9th for $44,856, and Carmatti jumped into the chip lead with 2.5 million in chips.

Kings Let Johnson Down in 8th Place ($58,571)

Niccolo Caramatti made it 110,000 to go and Thomas Johnson saw him chance to move all in for his last 375,000. Caramatti called and they showed down:

Caramatti: A9
Johnson: KK

Johnson was the favorite to win the hand and double up but the flop was unkind to him, running A36.

Caramatti took the lead and Johnson was down to two kings or running hearts to save his tournament. He got neither, as the 3 hit on the turn and the 2 finished the board. Johnson finished in 8th place for $58,571.

Flopped Set KOs Rosskamm in 7th Place ($77,392)

Andrew Rosskamm raised to 125,000 and was called by Thomas O’Neal. The flop ran 1034 and O’Neal checked to Rosskamm who fired 80,000 into the pot only to have O’Neal check-raise to 200,000. Rosskamm raised again, putting himself all in and O’Neal called.

O’Neal showed 44 for a flopped set.
The J landed on the turn and the 3 officially ended Rosskamm’s run, busting him in 7th place for $77,392. O’Neal had around 2.2 million in chips after the hand.

Hemmel Runs Into Caramatti’s Ladies, Out in 6th ($103,461)

Niccolo Caramatti had already eliminated the first two players from the final table, and he was back at it again when he opened to 115,000 and Ryan Hemmel reraised all in for 680,000. Caramatti called and they showed down:

Caramatti: QQ
Hemmel: AJ

The flop of J8K connected with Hemmel, giving him some hope, but the K on the turn left him dead to another jack or an ace. The 7 came on the river and Hemmel was gone in 6th place, making $103,461.

Player Tags: Andrew Rosskamm,   Aaron Gustavson,   Thomas Johnson,   Niccolo Caramatti,   Ryan Hemmel,   Thomas O'Neal

Level 16 Update: Payday

Apr 27, '10

Blinds: 2,500-5,000 with a 500 ante

Players Remaining: 119 out of 848

Average Chip Count: 213,781

Chip Counts:

Official Counts Coming Soon…

Notable Eliminations:

John Tabatabai
Aaron Gustavson
Yevgeniy Timoshenko
Ake Olsson

Big Hands:

EPT London Winner Shown the Door

Aaron Gustavson has been tangling with Melanie Weisner all day long and the two finally put an end to the battle when Gustavson shipped it from the small blind with 97.

Weisner looked him up with AQ and it held when the board came Q10649.

John Tabatabai Eliminated

John Tabatabai raised to 55,000 on the button and Guerfi Mesbah moved all in over the top from the small blind. Tabatabai only had 15,000 behind, and he elected to put it in with KQ.

Mesbah showed AhJc and his hand won when the board fell 743A6. Weisner is now cruising with over 470,000.

A Tough Blow For Alexandre Gomes

Gianni Giaroni was all in holding A7 againt Alexandre Gomes’ pocket kings. The flop brought an ace and Giaroni doubled up to 160,000.

Gomes took a major hit down to 150,000.

Timoshenko Busted By Kelopuro

Sami Kelopuro raised and Yevgeniy Timoshenko moved all in from the big blind. Kelopuro called and showed pocket aces, which were way ahead of Timoshenko’s pocket kings.

The board fell A10109K and Kelopuro moved up to 560,000. Timoshenko was eliminated.

The Bubble Bursts!

It only took two hands of hand-for-hand play to determine the bubble boy. Ake Olsson moved all in from the small blind for just 15,500. Gilles Haddad made the call with 106 and was live against Olsson’s QJ.

The board fell 1065Q4 and Haddad’s two pair ended the bubble. The remaining players in the room were all guaranteed at least €15,000.

The decision was made to continue until the rest of the level had been played out. We’ll have those finishes on the chip counts tab as soon as they are released by the casino.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Yevgeniy Timoshenko,   Sami Kelopuro

Level 13 Update: Nicolas Levi Takes the Lead

Apr 27, '10

Blinds: 1,200-2,400 with a 200 ante

Players Remaining: 180 out of 848

Average Chip Count: 141,333

Chip Counts:

1. Nicolas Levi — 460,000
2. Chris Moneymaker — 390,000
3. Ekaterina Kolobekova — 360,000
4. Domenico Iannone — 350,000
5. Simon Munz — 340,000
6. Paul Berende — 337,000
7. Owen Crowe — 310,000
8. Moritz Kranich — 280,000
9. Oleksandr Vaserfirer — 275,000
10. Toby Lewis — 255,000

Notable Eliminations:

Jeff Sarwer
Leo Margets
Charlotte Roche
Martin Vallo
Justin Smith
Shaun Deeb

Big Hands:

Aaron Gustavson Going In Wrong Direction

Josef Klinger raised to 6,500 and Aaron Gustavson reraised to 15,500. Klinger then moved all in for 55,600 and Gustavson called with pocket tens.

Klinger was in trouble with A6, but the flop brought came A7543 to give him a straight and a double up. Gustavson was down to 250,000, but his woes weren’t over yet.

A few hands later, he was in a raising war with Melanie Weisner in the blinds. Soon Weisner was all in holding pocket aces and Gustavson turned over AK. The aces held and Weisner doubled up to 220,000. Gustavson is now down to 125,000.

Jeff Sarwer Eliminated

Chess prodigy Jeff Sarwer raised to 5,900 from the button and Laurence Houghton shoved from the big blind for 58,000.

Sarwer talked himself into a call with KJ and was drawing live against Houghton’s AQ. The board fell A10842 and Sarwer was crippled down to 3,800.

Though he doubled up with aces on the next hand, he was eliminated shortly thereafter when his K-Q failed to hit against tens.

Marcel Luske Drops Some To Paul Testud

Marcel Luske raised to 6,400 from middle position and Paul Testud called from the big blind. The flop came down 863 and both players checked.

The turn was the 9 and Testud checked to Luske, who bet 4,000. Testud called and the river was the K. Testud then bet 6,000 and Luske called.

Testud showed K10 and Luske mucked, bringing his stack to 70,000. Testud is up to 110,000.

Leo Margets Eliminated

In some poker girl on girl action, Leo Margets was all in holding AK against Ekaterina Kolobekova’s pocket queens.

The flop board improved Kolobekova to a full house and Margets was eliminated. Kolobekova now has 360,000.

Player Tags: Paul Testud,   Marcel Luske,   Aaron Gustavson,   Laurence Houghton,   Leonor Margets,   Jeff Sarwer

Level 12 Update: Chris Moneymaker Reigns Atop Leaderboard

Apr 27, '10

Blinds: 1,000-2,000 with a 200 ante

Players Remaining: 230 out of 848

Average Chip Count: 110,608

Chip Counts:

1. Chris Moneymaker — 460,000
2. Simon Munz — 340,000
3. Owen Crowe — 310,000
4. Ramzi Jelassi — 260,000
5. Aaron Gustavson — 250,000
6. Toby Lewis — 250,000
7. Paul Berende — 225,000
8. Thiago Nishijima — 215,000
9. Nicolas Levi — 185,000
10. Russell Carson — 180,000

Notable Eliminations:

Liam Flood
Vanessa Rousso
Alfio Battisti
J.J. Liu
Liz Lieu
Nickl Binger

Big Hands:

Mel Judah Chips Up Big

Juan Manuel Pastor raised to 5,200 and the button called before Mel Judah reraised to 33,000, nearly half of his stack.

Pastor folded, but the button moved all in and Judah called for his last 35,000 with AK.

The button showed pocket queens, but Judah connected on a board of A3246 to double up to just under 150,000.

Liam Flood Eliminated

Liam Flood was all in on a queen high flop holding K-Q. Unfortunately, his opponent held A-Q for a higher kicker and ended Flood’s tournament when the turn and river failed to bring a king.

Allie Prescott Doubles Up

Allie Prescott moved all in from the cutoff for his last 30,000 with pocket kings and was called by an opponent holding AJ.

The board rolled out 108334 and Prescott is now sitting with just over 60,000 in chips.

Alfio Battisti Busted by Neil Channing

Team PokerStars Online Pro Alfio Battisti raised to 4,500 and Neil Channing reraised to 14,500 behind him. Battisti then moved all in for 74,000 and Channing immediately made the call, showing pocket kings.

Battisti could only sheepishly reveal pocket tens and they couldn’t find friends on a board of Q8779. Channing is now up to 220,000.

Nothing But A Flesh Wound

Team PokerStars Pro Alex Gomes called a short stacks push of 32,000 with As10h and saw that he was in good shape against his opponent’s QJ.

Unfortunately, the board fell J82K5 and the short stack doubled up. Gomes is still strong, however, with 160,000 in chips.

Aaron Gustavson Takes A Hit

Aaron Gustavson was well on his way to the chip lead, but he lost about 70,000 from his stack after calling Martin Schmidkunz’s all in with pocket queens.

Schmidkunz showed pocket kings and they held to boost his stack to 145,000. Gustavson still has 250,000 to work with.

Player Tags: Mel Judah,   Neil Channing,   Allie Prescott,   Liam Flood,   Aaron Gustavson,   Alexandre Gomes,   Alfio Battisti

Aaron Gustavson Wins 2009 EPT London Main Event (£850,000)

Oct 07, '09

Peter Eastgate raised to 350,000 on the button and Aaron Gustavson reraised to 900,000. Eastgate responded by moving all in for his last 4.5 million and Gustavson instantly called him with AQ.

Eastgate was dominated with A9 and failed to connect on a board reading 653KJ. Eastgate was eliminated in second place and earned £530,000, but the lion’s share went to Gustavson, who picked up £850,000 for the win.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Peter Eastgate

Player Profile: Aaron Gustavson

Oct 07, '09

Here is a player profile of one of the three remaining players left in the event courtesy of PokerStars:

Aaron ‘Aguskb’ Gustavson is 23 and from Las Vegas, USA. He is a PokerStars qualifier and started the day with 7,140,000 in chips. He now has 8,995,000 for the chip leader position.

Aaron is an accomplished online player who has had some good results on Poker Stars. Back in July he won a Sunday Warm Up for $135,010 and finished 12th in a WCOOP event this year.

Prior to winning big, he claims to have been a student although when asked about his major, he said: “It’s not important, I never went to class.”

His best live tournament result to date was a win worth $53,592 at Borgata in Atlantic City. This will be his best result regardless of where he finishes.

As to what he does in his spare time, he said: “basketball, mostly basketball.”

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson

Raymond Wu Eliminated in Seventh Place (£87,000)

Oct 07, '09

Raymond Wu waited a long time to get the rest of his chips in the middle, but finally put in the last 650,000.

Aaron Gustavson obliged by moving all in behind him to isolate and both players turned over their cards. Gustavson showed K6 and Wu was in trouble but live with Q10.

The board rolled out K8552 and the Team PokerStars pro was eliminated in seventh place.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Raymond Wu

Battle Of The Big Stacks

Oct 07, '09

Martin Gudvangen raised preflop and Aaron Gustvason made the call in the big blind. The flop came down QJ and both players checked.

The turn was the 5 and Gudvangen bet 165,000 and Gustavson called. The river is the 7 and Gudvangen bet 415,000. Gustavson called and mucked when Gudvangen showed Q-5 for two pair and has closed the gap a bit between the two players.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Martin Gudvangen

Josef Samanek Eliminated in 13th Place (£23,000)

Oct 06, '09

Well, it didn’t take long for short stack Josef Samanek to make his move. Unfortunately for the young pro he did it at the wrong time, running his 103 into Aaron Gustavson’s AJ.

The board didn’t provide much drama, coming A7562 to bust Samanek in 13th place. Gustavson is now challenging Gudvangen for the chip lead with around 4.7 million.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Josef Samanek

Two Million Pot Changes Chip Lead

Oct 06, '09

Aaron Gustavson is on the small blind and Martin Gudvangen is on the big blind. Both are on top of the chip leader board with Gudvangen out in front.

Coming in late into the action, the pot is already at 1,579,000 in chips and the board shows 9 7 2 A 5. Gudvangen bets 535,000 and Gustavson goes into the tank. After about two or three minutes he calls and says, “I was thinking of raising but I call.” He turns over Q J for the queen-high flush and Gudvangen has nothing.

2,114,000 in chips goes Gustavson’s way. He now has a whopping 4,865,000.

Gudvangen’s stack decreases to 2,779,000.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson

Michael Berry Eliminated in 15th Place (£19,000)

Oct 06, '09

I don’t think these players realize how deep stacked we are. Last night’s chip leader Michael Berry is now out, after open shoving with pocket threes and running into the pocket jacks of Aaron Gustavson.

The board ran out K-7-2-4-7 and Berry was eliminated.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Michael Berry

Rodrigo Caprioli Eliminated in 16th Place (£19,000)

Oct 06, '09

Rodrigo Caprioli wasn’t exactly circling the drain, but he did decide to push all in for his last 800,000 and was insta-called by Aaron “aguskb” Gustavson.

Caprioli’s pocket kings easily bested Gustavson and his A-9 offsuit, giving Gustavson an even bigger chip lead to over 3.2 million.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Rodrigo Caprioli

Aaron Gustavson Wins 2009 EPT London Main Event (£850,000)

Oct 07, '09

Peter Eastgate raised to 350,000 on the button and Aaron Gustavson reraised to 900,000. Eastgate responded by moving all in for his last 4.5 million and Gustavson instantly called him with AQ.

Eastgate was dominated with A9 and failed to connect on a board reading 653KJ. Eastgate was eliminated in second place and earned £530,000, but the lion’s share went to Gustavson, who picked up £850,000 for the win.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Peter Eastgate

Player Profile: Aaron Gustavson

Oct 07, '09

Here is a player profile of one of the three remaining players left in the event courtesy of PokerStars:

Aaron ‘Aguskb’ Gustavson is 23 and from Las Vegas, USA. He is a PokerStars qualifier and started the day with 7,140,000 in chips. He now has 8,995,000 for the chip leader position.

Aaron is an accomplished online player who has had some good results on Poker Stars. Back in July he won a Sunday Warm Up for $135,010 and finished 12th in a WCOOP event this year.

Prior to winning big, he claims to have been a student although when asked about his major, he said: “It’s not important, I never went to class.”

His best live tournament result to date was a win worth $53,592 at Borgata in Atlantic City. This will be his best result regardless of where he finishes.

As to what he does in his spare time, he said: “basketball, mostly basketball.”

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson

Raymond Wu Eliminated in Seventh Place (£87,000)

Oct 07, '09

Raymond Wu waited a long time to get the rest of his chips in the middle, but finally put in the last 650,000.

Aaron Gustavson obliged by moving all in behind him to isolate and both players turned over their cards. Gustavson showed K6 and Wu was in trouble but live with Q10.

The board rolled out K8552 and the Team PokerStars pro was eliminated in seventh place.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Raymond Wu

Battle Of The Big Stacks

Oct 07, '09

Martin Gudvangen raised preflop and Aaron Gustvason made the call in the big blind. The flop came down QJ and both players checked.

The turn was the 5 and Gudvangen bet 165,000 and Gustavson called. The river is the 7 and Gudvangen bet 415,000. Gustavson called and mucked when Gudvangen showed Q-5 for two pair and has closed the gap a bit between the two players.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Martin Gudvangen

Josef Samanek Eliminated in 13th Place (£23,000)

Oct 06, '09

Well, it didn’t take long for short stack Josef Samanek to make his move. Unfortunately for the young pro he did it at the wrong time, running his 103 into Aaron Gustavson’s AJ.

The board didn’t provide much drama, coming A7562 to bust Samanek in 13th place. Gustavson is now challenging Gudvangen for the chip lead with around 4.7 million.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Josef Samanek

Two Million Pot Changes Chip Lead

Oct 06, '09

Aaron Gustavson is on the small blind and Martin Gudvangen is on the big blind. Both are on top of the chip leader board with Gudvangen out in front.

Coming in late into the action, the pot is already at 1,579,000 in chips and the board shows 9 7 2 A 5. Gudvangen bets 535,000 and Gustavson goes into the tank. After about two or three minutes he calls and says, “I was thinking of raising but I call.” He turns over Q J for the queen-high flush and Gudvangen has nothing.

2,114,000 in chips goes Gustavson’s way. He now has a whopping 4,865,000.

Gudvangen’s stack decreases to 2,779,000.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson

Michael Berry Eliminated in 15th Place (£19,000)

Oct 06, '09

I don’t think these players realize how deep stacked we are. Last night’s chip leader Michael Berry is now out, after open shoving with pocket threes and running into the pocket jacks of Aaron Gustavson.

The board ran out K-7-2-4-7 and Berry was eliminated.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Michael Berry

Rodrigo Caprioli Eliminated in 16th Place (£19,000)

Oct 06, '09

Rodrigo Caprioli wasn’t exactly circling the drain, but he did decide to push all in for his last 800,000 and was insta-called by Aaron “aguskb” Gustavson.

Caprioli’s pocket kings easily bested Gustavson and his A-9 offsuit, giving Gustavson an even bigger chip lead to over 3.2 million.

Player Tags: Aaron Gustavson,   Rodrigo Caprioli