Eric Liu Poker Tournament Updates

And They're Off

Jun 30, '10

Barbero Busto in 9th ($40,364)

With Danny Smith raising to 65,000 and Robert Mizrachi calling in front of him, Jose Barbero pushed his last 256,000 all in. Smith called and Mizrachi folded. Their hands:

Barbero: AKJ8
Smith: AAQ8

Smith hit a set on the flop of A86 and Barbero was in trouble. The turn was the 4 and the 6 river sent Barbero to the rail in 9th for $40,364.

Smith took the pot and moved up to 1.3 million in chips.

Mizrachi Falls in 8th ($52,471)

Robert Mizrachi check-raised a flop of 37J to 480,000 after Scott Mandel led with 120,000. Mandel reraised all in, having Mizrachi covered. Mizrachi called. Their hands:

Mandel: J744
Mizrachi: AAJ10

Mizrachi was trailing but the K turn gave him even more cards to draw to. The 5 hit on the river and Mandel held on to knock Mizrachi out in 8th place ($52,471).

Mandel had 1.3 million after the win.

Liu Outdrawn, Gone in 7th ($68,902)

Chance Kornuth raised to 60,000 and Eric Liu potted to 225,000. Kornuth made the call and the flop ran A107.

Kornuth moved all in and Liu called, putting his tournament life on the line. Their hands:

Liu: AAQ2
Kornuth: QJ102

Liu held top set but Kornuth had straight and flush draws. The K turn card nailed Kornuth’s straight draw and the 9 river meant that Liu was gone in 7th place, making $68,902.

Kornuth’s stack grew to 1.6 million.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Danny Smith,   Jose Ignacio Barbero,   Eric Liu,   Chance Kornuth,   Scott Mandel

Tournamet Update -- End of Day 4

Sep 30, '09

Blinds: 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante

Players Remaining: 9 out of 334

Chip Counts:

Jason Mercier — 3,198,000
James Akenhead — 1,398,000
Praz Bansi — 1,160,000
Barry Shulman — 1,090,000
Markus Ristola — 784,000
Antoine Saout — 701,000
Matt Hawrilenko — 674,000
Chris Bjorin — 518,000
Daniel Negreanu — 438,000

Average Chip Count: 1,113,333

Notable Eliminations:

12: Thomas Bichon — £51,536
11: Keith Hawkins — £51,536
10: Eric Liu — £51,536

Big Hands:

Thomas Bichon Eliminated in 12th Place (£51,536)

On the first hand of level 22 James Akenhead raised to 55,000 preflop and Thomas Bichon reraised all in for 143,000. Akenhead made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Akenhead: KK
Bichon: 1010

Board: 52294

Bichon was eliminated in 12th place and Akenhead continued to build his chip stack up in second chip position behind Jason Mercier.

Keith Hawkins Eliminated in 11th Place (£51,536)

Keith Hawkins raised to 52,000 under the gun and Praz Bansi reraised to 200,000 on the button. Hawkins reraised all in and Bansi made the call. Their cards:

Hawkins: AK
Bansi: 99

Board: Q54JJ

Hawkins was eliminated in 11th place and Bansi grew his stack to 1.2 million, good for third chip position.

Eric Liu Eliminated in 10th Place (£51,536)

Jason Mercier raised in early position preflop and Eric Liu reraised all in. Mercier made the call and they flipped up their cards:

Liu: QQ
Mercier: KJ

Board: AK1073

Liu was eliminated in 10th place and Mercier added to his large chip lead. Day 4 ended with the conclusion of the hand. Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day’s events.

Player Tags: Keith Hawkins,   James Akenhead,   Praz Bansi,   Eric Liu,   Jason Mercier,   Thomas Bichon

Level 1 Update: Erik Cajelais Exits Early

May 28, '09

Blinds: 200-400 with a 50 ante

Players Remaining: 180 out of 184

Chip Counts:

1. Phil Laak — 270,000
2. Scott Seiver — 260,000
3. Phil Laak — 245,000
4. Tony G — 240,000
5. David Chiu — 240,000
6. Michael DeMichelle — 200,000
7. Andy Black — 185,000
8. Chad Batista — 175,000
9. Isaac Haxton — 175,000
10. Nenad Medic — 175,000

Average Chip Count: 125,000

Notable Eliminations:

Erik Cajelais
Jim Bechtel

Big Hands:

Erik Cajelais Is Crippled By Tony G

On a board reading 753, Tony G was all in holding pocket aces against the 86 of Erik Cajelais. Cajelais needed to hit his massive draw to bust Guoga, but the turn and river fell A8.

Guoga moved up to 248,000 after the hand and Cajelais was crippled down to just 4,000. He was eliminated by Chris Moneymaker shortly after.

Brandon Adams Gets Caught Lying

Isaac Haxton raises to 1,400 from the cutoff and Brandon Adams reraises to 4,200 from the small blind. The flop comes Q53, and this time Adams leads out for 4,200. Haxton calls and the turn is the J. Adams bets out once again, this time for 6,200. Haxton tanks for a few minutes before making the call. The river is the J and both players check around. Adams turns over A10 for ace-high while Haxton shows 44 for a small pair. Haxton rakes the pot and brings his chip count up to 145,000 while Adams fall to just about 75,000 this hand.

Andy Black Collects Big Pot With Set Over Set

Chris Moore and Andy Black were locked into a hand, each holding a big pocket pair. Moore turned a set of jacks but the river brought a king, and Andy Black bet out 50,000. Moore called and Black turned over a set of kings to collect a big pot.

Phil Laak Cripples Opponent

James Calderaro held pocket kings against Phil Laak’s flopped set of eights. Laak moved all in on the river and was called, collecting a 270,000 chip pot.

Eric Liu Wins Pot on the River

On a board of QQ847, Eric Liu bet 15,550 on the river against Mark Seif. Seif contemplated briefly before folding. Seif is down to around 81,000.

Player Tags: Mark Seif,   Antanas Guoga,   Phil Laak,   Andy Black,   Erik Cajelais,   Brandon Adams,   Chris Moore,   Isaac Haxton,   Eric Liu

Eric Liu Raking Chips

Apr 28, '09

Eric Liu bet out on a board of 1052K from the middle position and one opponent called him down from the small blind. The 9 fell on the river and Liu bet 6,200. Seat 5 went into the tank and then eventually mucked. Liu took down the pot and he continued to build his stack.












 

Player Tags: Eric Liu

Eric Liu Eliminated

Jan 08, '09

Eric Liu has been cruising with a large stack for most of the tournament, but he just met an unfortunate end that sent him to the rail in 44th place ($30,000). He pinned his hopes on a flush draw in a battle of the blinds with Benny Chen. Fellow large stack Chen made two pair and Liu was eliminated after another deep run at an EPT event when he missed his draw.






 

Player Tags: Benny Chen,   Eric Liu

Jeff Shulman Eliminated

Jan 06, '09

Jeff "Happy" Shulman was eliminated from the tournament by one of the current chip leaders Eric Liu. On the final hand Shulman got all of his chips into the middle preflop holding pocket sevens, but Liu held pocket aces. Liu made a set on the flop and Shulman was knocked out of play shortly after dinner.













 

Player Tags: Jeff Shulman,   Eric Liu

Eric Liu Eliminated

Jan 08, '09

Eric Liu has been cruising with a large stack for most of the tournament, but he just met an unfortunate end that sent him to the rail in 44th place ($30,000). He pinned his hopes on a flush draw in a battle of the blinds with Benny Chen. Fellow large stack Chen made two pair and Liu was eliminated after another deep run at an EPT event when he missed his draw.






 

Player Tags: Benny Chen,   Eric Liu

Jeff Shulman Eliminated

Jan 06, '09

Jeff "Happy" Shulman was eliminated from the tournament by one of the current chip leaders Eric Liu. On the final hand Shulman got all of his chips into the middle preflop holding pocket sevens, but Liu held pocket aces. Liu made a set on the flop and Shulman was knocked out of play shortly after dinner.













 

Player Tags: Jeff Shulman,   Eric Liu

Eric Liu Grabs an Early Pot

Oct 28, '08

Eric Liu bet 2,500 from the cutoff on a board of AQ35 to open the action on the turn. His opponent in seat 4 raised to 11,500 from the small blind and Liu went into the tank. He made the call and the river brought the 6. The small blind checked and Liu bet 20,000. It was now the small blind that spent some time in the tank as he pondered a call. He eventually made the call and Liu flip over QQ. The small blind mucked and Liu took down the pot to give his stack an early boost.











 

Player Tags: Eric Liu

Eric Liu Eliminated in Fourth Place (£234,920)

Oct 05, '08

Eric Liu moves all in preflop and Michael Martin makes the call. Their cards:

Liu: J10
Martin: A9

Board: AK5A7

Liu is eliminated in fourth place, and he will take home £234,920 in prize money.










 

Player Tags: Michael Martin,   Eric Liu

Eric Liu Crippled

Oct 05, '08

Michael Tureniec gets it all in preflop and Eric Liu makes the call. Their cards:

Liu: A6
Tureniec: AA

Board: J75710

Tureniec doubles up on the hand to take the chip lead, while Liu is below 500,000.









 

Player Tags: Michael Tureniec,   Eric Liu

Marcin Horecki Wins a Big Pot

Oct 05, '08

Eric Liu raises to 120,000 preflop on the button and Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki calls from the big blind. The flop is dealt K87 and both players check. The turn card falls the Q, and Horecki checks once again. Liu bets 200,000 and Horecki check-raises all in for 750,000 more. Liu makes the call and they turn up their hands:

Liu: A10
Horecki: K10

River: 5

Liu misses his draws and Horecki wins the huge hand to double up and take the chip lead with over 2.1 million. Liu is still healthy with 2 million.





 

Player Tags: Marcin Horecki,   Eric Liu

Yet Another Double Up

Oct 05, '08

Johannes Strassmann moves all in preflop and Eric Liu makes the call. Their cards:

Liu: AQ
Strassmann: 1010

Board: J1048A

Strassmann doubles up on the hand, and you guessed it, play continues seven-handed again.

Player Tags: Johannes Strassmann,   Eric Liu

A Huge Freeroll

Oct 05, '08

Eric Liu raises all in preflop for 1,893,000 and Michael Tureniec makes the all-in call to build a pot that contains half of the chips in play. Their cards:

Liu: AK
Tureniec: AK

Board: J33KQ

Tureniec is dealt the biggest freeroll of his life on the flop, but a third club fails to come and make him a flush that would have made him a massive chip leader. The players chop up the pot and play continues seven-handed.

Player Tags: Michael Tureniec,   Eric Liu

Chip Leader: Eric Liu

Oct 05, '08

Eric Liu has been quite busy building his chip stack during this slow stretch of play. While other players are sitting on their hands, he keeps picking up pot after pot with a constant stream of aggression. This is very similar to what he did yesterday at the featured table on EPT Live video. Liu is approaching 2 million in chips and pulling away from the field.













 

Player Tags: Eric Liu

Erik Sjodin Eliminated in Ninth Place (£50,574)

Oct 04, '08

Erik Sjodin is all in preflop against Eric Liu, and they turn up their hands:

Sjodin: AJ
Liu: KK

Board: 65310J

Sjodin is eliminated on the hand in ninth place, and he will take home £50,574 in prize money.









 

Player Tags: Erik Sjodin,   Eric Liu

Chris Wolters Eliminated in 13th Place (£26,102)

Oct 04, '08

Christopher Wolters moves all in preflop for 118,000 and Eric Liu makes the call. Their cards:

Wolters: A2
Liu: KK

Board: AJ10K6

Wolters is eliminated in 13th place, and he will take home £26,102 in prize money.

Player Tags: Eric Liu,   Christopher Wolters

Gualter Salles Eliminated in 14th Place (£26,102)

Oct 04, '08

Gaulter Salles moves all in preflop for 145,000 and Eric Liu makes the call. Their cards:

Salles: JJ
Liu: AJ

Board: A94K2

Salles is eliminated in 14th place on the hand, and he will take home £26,102 in prize money.

Player Tags: Gualter Salles,   Eric Liu

Michael Tureniec Doubles Up Twice

Oct 04, '08

Michael Tureniec has doubled up twice against Eric Liu to bring Liu back down to earth. First, the Swede spiked a king on the river, with J667 sitting on the board, and KQ in the hole. Liu had held the lead with A5 until that point.

A few minutes later Tureniec was all in once again against Liu, this time with KJ in the hole. Liu held 88, and the board ran out KJ3K10. Tureniec as up to 333,000 after this sequence, while Liu was down to 438,000.



 

Player Tags: Michael Tureniec,   Eric Liu

Eric Liu Eliminated in Fourth Place (£234,920)

Oct 05, '08

Eric Liu moves all in preflop and Michael Martin makes the call. Their cards:

Liu: J10
Martin: A9

Board: AK5A7

Liu is eliminated in fourth place, and he will take home £234,920 in prize money.










 

Player Tags: Michael Martin,   Eric Liu

Eric Liu Crippled

Oct 05, '08

Michael Tureniec gets it all in preflop and Eric Liu makes the call. Their cards:

Liu: A6
Tureniec: AA

Board: J75710

Tureniec doubles up on the hand to take the chip lead, while Liu is below 500,000.









 

Player Tags: Michael Tureniec,   Eric Liu

Marcin Horecki Wins a Big Pot

Oct 05, '08

Eric Liu raises to 120,000 preflop on the button and Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki calls from the big blind. The flop is dealt K87 and both players check. The turn card falls the Q, and Horecki checks once again. Liu bets 200,000 and Horecki check-raises all in for 750,000 more. Liu makes the call and they turn up their hands:

Liu: A10
Horecki: K10

River: 5

Liu misses his draws and Horecki wins the huge hand to double up and take the chip lead with over 2.1 million. Liu is still healthy with 2 million.





 

Player Tags: Marcin Horecki,   Eric Liu

Yet Another Double Up

Oct 05, '08

Johannes Strassmann moves all in preflop and Eric Liu makes the call. Their cards:

Liu: AQ
Strassmann: 1010

Board: J1048A

Strassmann doubles up on the hand, and you guessed it, play continues seven-handed again.

Player Tags: Johannes Strassmann,   Eric Liu

A Huge Freeroll

Oct 05, '08

Eric Liu raises all in preflop for 1,893,000 and Michael Tureniec makes the all-in call to build a pot that contains half of the chips in play. Their cards:

Liu: AK
Tureniec: AK

Board: J33KQ

Tureniec is dealt the biggest freeroll of his life on the flop, but a third club fails to come and make him a flush that would have made him a massive chip leader. The players chop up the pot and play continues seven-handed.

Player Tags: Michael Tureniec,   Eric Liu

Chip Leader: Eric Liu

Oct 05, '08

Eric Liu has been quite busy building his chip stack during this slow stretch of play. While other players are sitting on their hands, he keeps picking up pot after pot with a constant stream of aggression. This is very similar to what he did yesterday at the featured table on EPT Live video. Liu is approaching 2 million in chips and pulling away from the field.













 

Player Tags: Eric Liu

Erik Sjodin Eliminated in Ninth Place (£50,574)

Oct 04, '08

Erik Sjodin is all in preflop against Eric Liu, and they turn up their hands:

Sjodin: AJ
Liu: KK

Board: 65310J

Sjodin is eliminated on the hand in ninth place, and he will take home £50,574 in prize money.









 

Player Tags: Erik Sjodin,   Eric Liu

Chris Wolters Eliminated in 13th Place (£26,102)

Oct 04, '08

Christopher Wolters moves all in preflop for 118,000 and Eric Liu makes the call. Their cards:

Wolters: A2
Liu: KK

Board: AJ10K6

Wolters is eliminated in 13th place, and he will take home £26,102 in prize money.

Player Tags: Eric Liu,   Christopher Wolters

Gualter Salles Eliminated in 14th Place (£26,102)

Oct 04, '08

Gaulter Salles moves all in preflop for 145,000 and Eric Liu makes the call. Their cards:

Salles: JJ
Liu: AJ

Board: A94K2

Salles is eliminated in 14th place on the hand, and he will take home £26,102 in prize money.

Player Tags: Gualter Salles,   Eric Liu

Michael Tureniec Doubles Up Twice

Oct 04, '08

Michael Tureniec has doubled up twice against Eric Liu to bring Liu back down to earth. First, the Swede spiked a king on the river, with J667 sitting on the board, and KQ in the hole. Liu had held the lead with A5 until that point.

A few minutes later Tureniec was all in once again against Liu, this time with KJ in the hole. Liu held 88, and the board ran out KJ3K10. Tureniec as up to 333,000 after this sequence, while Liu was down to 438,000.



 

Player Tags: Michael Tureniec,   Eric Liu

Eric Liu Eliminated 16th ($87,277)

Apr 16, '08

With 140,000 in the pot, and a flop of AA10 on the board, Valeriy Ilikyan bets 80,000 and Eric Liu raises all in. Ilikyan calls and confidently turns up  A5. Liu shows QJ and the turn and river fall Q2. Liu is eliminated in 16th place, earning $87,277.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Eric Liu,   Valeriy Ilikyan

Eric Liu Doubles Through Esfandiari

Apr 16, '08

Antonio Esfandiari raises to 40,000 preflop and Eric Liu reraises all in for 180,000. Esfandiari thinks for a while before calling, showing 9 8. Liu shows Q J for a surprising lead. The board runs out A A 5 10 6, giving Liu an unneeded flush to double up to more than 300,000.

Player Tags: Antonio Esfandiari,   Eric Liu

Valeriy Ilikyan Chops Then Doubles

Apr 16, '08

Valeriy Ilikyan pushes all in preflop and is called by Walid Habib, who has him covered. Ilikyan shows A-K and Habib has pocket eights. The board to the turn comes A 3 2 5, putting Ilikyan in the lead, and also giving him a flush draw, leaving Habib with just an eight left to win the pot. The river, however, is the 4, putting a straight on the board to chop the pot, and both short stacks remain where they were before the hand.

Very soon thereafter, Ilikyan pushes all in yet again, and he is again called, this time by Eric Liu, who shows A 10. Ilikyan shows K Q and needs to improve. The board ran out Q Q 5 5 K, giving Ilikyan a full house to win the hand and double up. He now has more than 200,000.

Player Tags: Eric Liu,   Valeriy Ilikyan,   Walid Habib

Eric Liu Doubles Up

Apr 16, '08

Eric Liu gets all in preflop versus Oyvind Riisem. Riisem turns over pocket sevens, and Liu is in a fortuitous coin-flip with 10-9. The flop comes Q J 10, putting Liu in the lead and in prime position to double up. The turn and river brick out, and Liu win the pot to put him at 257,000.




 

Player Tags: Eric Liu,   Oyvind Riisem

Riisem Rising -- Takes Down Two Huge Pots

Apr 16, '08

On a board of 9 8 2 8 6, Walid Habib makes a 90,000 bet to make the pot 285,000. Oyvind Riisem thinks for a long while before calling with A-10 for ace high. Habib mucks before even seeing Riisem's hand, and Riisem takes down the huge pot.

Shortly thereafter, on a board of K-10-2-3-8, Riisem makes a huge 210,000 bet, and Eric Liu makes what looks like a crying call. Riisem shows A-10, and Liu mucks, taking a huge hit to his stack. Liu now sits with 142,000, while Riisem has 995,000.




 

Player Tags: Eric Liu,   Oyvind Riisem,   Walid Habib