Johnny Neckar Poker Tournament Updates

$3K NL Hold'em - Womanless Final Table

Jun 17, '08

Blinds: 10,000/20,000 with 3,000 ante

Chip Leaders:

Thuyen Doan Eliminated in Seventh Place ($69,165)

A short stacked Thuyen Doan was all in with pocket sixes against the AJ of John Phan. The board rolled out J53A4 and Doan was eliminated in seventh place.

Johnny Neckar Doubles Through Matt Vengrin

Johnny Neckar was all in with pocket eights against the A-9 of Matt Vengrin. The board bricked out and Neckar doubled up to nearly 700,000.
 

NOTE: The players then took a 20-minute break.
 

Player Tags: John Phan,   Matthew Vengrin,   Johnny Neckar,   Thuy Doan

$3000 NL Hold'em - Level 15

Jun 16, '08

Blinds: 3000/6000 with 500 ante

Players Left: 26 of 716

Average Stack: 152,200

Chip Leaders:

Johnny Neckar - 685,000
Alex Zaslavsky - 362,000
Sebastian Segovia - 290,000
Tony Dunst - 270,000
Vincent Peraino - 256,000
Matt Vengrin - 250,000
David Singer - 250,000
John Phan - 238,000
Stewart Newman - 237,000
Matt Stout - 210,000

Eliminations: Kyu Cho, Norman Gautron, Christopher Glover, Alex Melnikow.

Storylines/Big Hands:

There were 30 players remaining when the entrants returned from their dinner break, and it only took 15 minutes of play to narrow the field to 27 and have new seating assignments handed out.

It's Raining Flushes for Peraino

Vincent Peraino has caught lightening in a bottle -- twice -- and suddenly finds himself back in contention. As a shortstack, Peraino was in the small blind when David SInger raised to 15,000 from the button. As a chip leader, Singer easily had Peraino covered. Peraino elected to move all-in for his 45,500 in chips and SInger quickly called, holding AA. Peraino was dominated, holding A8. But the flop gave him hope, coming 1065. The 8 gave Peraino further outs on the turn, but the flush came home when the Q hit on the river.
Chips gained in that hand allowed Peraino to cripple McLean Karr a few hands later. Peraino raised to 12,000 preflop and Karr made the call. The flop came A95 and both players checked. The turn was the 10 and Peraino bet 8,000. Karr raised to 20,000 and Peraino called. The river came 9 and Peraino checked. Karr bet 38,000 and Peraino then check-raised all-in for 58,000 more. Karr called and showed two pair, A10. But Peraino had also flopped an ace, then backed into the flush with the AJ. Karr was left with just 4000 in chips while Peraino had suddenly amassed 256,000.

Melnikow Pushes, and Loses

The flop came A106 and Alex Melnikow bet 19,000. He was raised to 51,000 by Johnny Neckar, and made the call. The turn brought the J and Neckar bet 80,000. Melnikow opted to come over the top for all of his 185,000 in chips. He didn't get the fold he was looking for however, as Neckar called. Melnikow held 43 for a flush draw, while Neckar held A10 for two pair. The 5 was the river and Melnikow was bounced in 27th place.

Phan Trims the Field

Norman Gautron was in the small blind and had action folded to him when he pushed his 43,000 short-stack to the center of the table. "I might call," warned John Phan from the big blind, before looking at his cards. True to his word, Phan did call and showed 33. Gautron had made his last stand with J7. The board came all spades, AJ6, and the 10 on the turn gave Phan the flush. Needing a spade higher than a deuce to chop the pot, Gautron was eliminated when the 9 fell.
 

Player Tags: John Phan,   David Singer,   Alex Melnikow,   Norman Gautron,   Johnny Neckar,   Vincent Peraino

No Limit Hold'em Level 11 recap

Jun 16, '08

Blinds: 800-1600 ante 200

Players Remaining: 72-716

Chip Average: 58,849

Chip Leaders:

Alex Zaslavsky: 210,000
Johnny Neckar: 150,000
Ryan Young: 148,500
Matt Vengrin: 147,500
Hjalti Jacobsen: 134,000
Alex Melnikow: 128,000
John Phan: 124,000
Early Plyler: 122,,000
Douglas Miranda: 115,000
Vincent Peraino: 100,000

Recap:

- Action started off fast and furious as the day began with 81 players vying for 72 spots. In the first deal of the day, one player tried to steal the big blind from a player who was absent by moving all in for about 16,000 from middle position, and Tony Dunst on the small blind chose to call with the A9. It turned out the original player had something of a hand, showing down 44, but the 9 in the window effectively ended his day.
- Alex Zaslavsky, huge-stacked all of yesterday, was involved in two confrontations when big pairs collided. Zaslavsky was ahead both times before the flop, but ended up splitting the two matchups. Fortunately for him, the second pot was worth dramatically more than the first.
- Kathy Liebert and Ryan Young are seated next to each other, and Liebert was overheard presenting Young with a proposition: "If you double me up, I won't try and bust you. How 'bout that?"

Big Hands:

Neckar Wins Big Pot Against Glover

Johnny Neckar and  Chris Glover got it all in for a big pot in a classic coinflip situation: Neckar held 99 and Chris Glover AK. The board ran out 1075J4, and Glover was eliminated and walking away before the dealer had a chance to count his chips. Neckar chipped up to about 150,000.

No, That's More Like a Bad Beat

The action checked to Sebastion Segobia on a flop of A108 and Sebobia bet 14,000. Joshua Norse on the small blind raised all in for 18,600 more. "Ace king?" asked Segobia, who had Norse covered by a few thousand. Finally, he decided to call. "Cooler, bro," said Norse, showing 1010 for the set. Segobia was in bad shape with AQ, but the J on the turn provided some help, giving him two ways to make a straight. The 9 on the river was one of those ways, and Norse was eliminated. Segobia saw his stack balloon to about 110,000 in chips.

Zaslavsky's Revenge

As the bubble neared, Zaslavsky was involved in two big pots, the first with Byron Kaverman, the second with Roberto Romanello.
In the first hand, Kaverman shoved all in over the top of Zaslavsky's early position raise for 34,100, and Zaslavsky deliberated before making the call. Kaverman showed 1010 but was behind Zasklavsky's JJ. "Oh, c'mon," said Zasklavsky, when he saw the 10 in the window. It got worse, as the flop came down Q1010. There were no running jacks to be had for Zaslavsky, who was left with about 100,000 chips after the hand.
A few hands later, Romanello raised to 4,500 and Zaskavsky reraised to 11,000. Romanello instantly shoved for about 90,000 more, and Zaskevsky instantly called with AA. Romanello showed QQ, and there were no miracle flops to be had this time, as it came down A64. Romanello was eliminated in 73rd place, and Zaskevsky was propelled back to the top of the leaderboard.

Player Tags: Byron Kaverman,   Johnny Neckar

$3K NL Hold'em - Womanless Final Table

Jun 17, '08

Blinds: 10,000/20,000 with 3,000 ante

Chip Leaders:

Thuyen Doan Eliminated in Seventh Place ($69,165)

A short stacked Thuyen Doan was all in with pocket sixes against the AJ of John Phan. The board rolled out J53A4 and Doan was eliminated in seventh place.

Johnny Neckar Doubles Through Matt Vengrin

Johnny Neckar was all in with pocket eights against the A-9 of Matt Vengrin. The board bricked out and Neckar doubled up to nearly 700,000.
 

NOTE: The players then took a 20-minute break.
 

Player Tags: John Phan,   Matthew Vengrin,   Johnny Neckar,   Thuy Doan

$3000 NL Hold'em - Level 15

Jun 16, '08

Blinds: 3000/6000 with 500 ante

Players Left: 26 of 716

Average Stack: 152,200

Chip Leaders:

Johnny Neckar - 685,000
Alex Zaslavsky - 362,000
Sebastian Segovia - 290,000
Tony Dunst - 270,000
Vincent Peraino - 256,000
Matt Vengrin - 250,000
David Singer - 250,000
John Phan - 238,000
Stewart Newman - 237,000
Matt Stout - 210,000

Eliminations: Kyu Cho, Norman Gautron, Christopher Glover, Alex Melnikow.

Storylines/Big Hands:

There were 30 players remaining when the entrants returned from their dinner break, and it only took 15 minutes of play to narrow the field to 27 and have new seating assignments handed out.

It's Raining Flushes for Peraino

Vincent Peraino has caught lightening in a bottle -- twice -- and suddenly finds himself back in contention. As a shortstack, Peraino was in the small blind when David SInger raised to 15,000 from the button. As a chip leader, Singer easily had Peraino covered. Peraino elected to move all-in for his 45,500 in chips and SInger quickly called, holding AA. Peraino was dominated, holding A8. But the flop gave him hope, coming 1065. The 8 gave Peraino further outs on the turn, but the flush came home when the Q hit on the river.
Chips gained in that hand allowed Peraino to cripple McLean Karr a few hands later. Peraino raised to 12,000 preflop and Karr made the call. The flop came A95 and both players checked. The turn was the 10 and Peraino bet 8,000. Karr raised to 20,000 and Peraino called. The river came 9 and Peraino checked. Karr bet 38,000 and Peraino then check-raised all-in for 58,000 more. Karr called and showed two pair, A10. But Peraino had also flopped an ace, then backed into the flush with the AJ. Karr was left with just 4000 in chips while Peraino had suddenly amassed 256,000.

Melnikow Pushes, and Loses

The flop came A106 and Alex Melnikow bet 19,000. He was raised to 51,000 by Johnny Neckar, and made the call. The turn brought the J and Neckar bet 80,000. Melnikow opted to come over the top for all of his 185,000 in chips. He didn't get the fold he was looking for however, as Neckar called. Melnikow held 43 for a flush draw, while Neckar held A10 for two pair. The 5 was the river and Melnikow was bounced in 27th place.

Phan Trims the Field

Norman Gautron was in the small blind and had action folded to him when he pushed his 43,000 short-stack to the center of the table. "I might call," warned John Phan from the big blind, before looking at his cards. True to his word, Phan did call and showed 33. Gautron had made his last stand with J7. The board came all spades, AJ6, and the 10 on the turn gave Phan the flush. Needing a spade higher than a deuce to chop the pot, Gautron was eliminated when the 9 fell.
 

Player Tags: John Phan,   David Singer,   Alex Melnikow,   Norman Gautron,   Johnny Neckar,   Vincent Peraino

No Limit Hold'em Level 11 recap

Jun 16, '08

Blinds: 800-1600 ante 200

Players Remaining: 72-716

Chip Average: 58,849

Chip Leaders:

Alex Zaslavsky: 210,000
Johnny Neckar: 150,000
Ryan Young: 148,500
Matt Vengrin: 147,500
Hjalti Jacobsen: 134,000
Alex Melnikow: 128,000
John Phan: 124,000
Early Plyler: 122,,000
Douglas Miranda: 115,000
Vincent Peraino: 100,000

Recap:

- Action started off fast and furious as the day began with 81 players vying for 72 spots. In the first deal of the day, one player tried to steal the big blind from a player who was absent by moving all in for about 16,000 from middle position, and Tony Dunst on the small blind chose to call with the A9. It turned out the original player had something of a hand, showing down 44, but the 9 in the window effectively ended his day.
- Alex Zaslavsky, huge-stacked all of yesterday, was involved in two confrontations when big pairs collided. Zaslavsky was ahead both times before the flop, but ended up splitting the two matchups. Fortunately for him, the second pot was worth dramatically more than the first.
- Kathy Liebert and Ryan Young are seated next to each other, and Liebert was overheard presenting Young with a proposition: "If you double me up, I won't try and bust you. How 'bout that?"

Big Hands:

Neckar Wins Big Pot Against Glover

Johnny Neckar and  Chris Glover got it all in for a big pot in a classic coinflip situation: Neckar held 99 and Chris Glover AK. The board ran out 1075J4, and Glover was eliminated and walking away before the dealer had a chance to count his chips. Neckar chipped up to about 150,000.

No, That's More Like a Bad Beat

The action checked to Sebastion Segobia on a flop of A108 and Sebobia bet 14,000. Joshua Norse on the small blind raised all in for 18,600 more. "Ace king?" asked Segobia, who had Norse covered by a few thousand. Finally, he decided to call. "Cooler, bro," said Norse, showing 1010 for the set. Segobia was in bad shape with AQ, but the J on the turn provided some help, giving him two ways to make a straight. The 9 on the river was one of those ways, and Norse was eliminated. Segobia saw his stack balloon to about 110,000 in chips.

Zaslavsky's Revenge

As the bubble neared, Zaslavsky was involved in two big pots, the first with Byron Kaverman, the second with Roberto Romanello.
In the first hand, Kaverman shoved all in over the top of Zaslavsky's early position raise for 34,100, and Zaslavsky deliberated before making the call. Kaverman showed 1010 but was behind Zasklavsky's JJ. "Oh, c'mon," said Zasklavsky, when he saw the 10 in the window. It got worse, as the flop came down Q1010. There were no running jacks to be had for Zaslavsky, who was left with about 100,000 chips after the hand.
A few hands later, Romanello raised to 4,500 and Zaskavsky reraised to 11,000. Romanello instantly shoved for about 90,000 more, and Zaskevsky instantly called with AA. Romanello showed QQ, and there were no miracle flops to be had this time, as it came down A64. Romanello was eliminated in 73rd place, and Zaskevsky was propelled back to the top of the leaderboard.

Player Tags: Byron Kaverman,   Johnny Neckar

Mixed Hold 'Em - Day 2 - Levels 29 and 30

Jun 03, '08

Blinds/Antes: 3000/6000 limit, 2000/4000/500 no-limit

Players Remaining: 19 of 332

Average Stack: 174,000

Chip Counts:
David Rheem - 500,000
Ron Haeri - 270,000
Justin Bonomo - 270,000
Pat Pezzin - 250,000
Johnny Neckar - 240,000
Andy Bloch - 240,000
Isaac Haxton - 220,000
Erick Lindgren - 195,000
Howard Lederer - 180,000
Roland de Wolfe - 152,000

Recent Eliminations:
Ariel Schneller
Michael McKenna
Pete de Best

Big Hands:

Ariel Schneller Busts to the New Chip Leader

After maintaining the chip lead at the end of day 1 and most of day 2, Ariel Schneller was hit with a devastating blow immediately before the dinner break, leaving him with less than 30,000 in chips. Shortly after play resumed from the dinner break, Schneller got himself all in during the limit round on a flop of A53. His opponent and the current chip leader, David Rheem, called quickly with the A9 for top pair and the nut flush draw. Schneller was way behind with the KT and would need running non-heart cards to overtake Rheem’s hand. When this failed to occur, Schneller was sent to the rail.

Another Former Chip Leader Eliminated

Never having settled his previous dispute with a split pot, Michael McKenna was ultimately eliminated by Anh van Nguyen.

The major cause of McKenna’s downfall was a previous hand with David Williams. On a board of 8664 during the limit round, Williams got all of his chips into the middle with the help of raises from McKenna. When the cards were flipped, McKenna held the KK and Williams had spiked a set with the 44. The meaningless A on the river meant that Williams had successfully doubled up and currently sits with about 140,000 in chips.

Within the next three hands, McKenna got his remaining 12,000 chips all in with K7 against van Nguyen with AQ. The Q87 flop put van Nguyen in the lead, which he maintained throughout the rest of the community cards. McKenna earned $12,483 for his 22^nd place finish.

Dewitt vs. De Best

Jason Dewitt eliminated Pete de Best in 20^th place after getting it all in preflop with a dominated hand. Initially, Dewitt raised from under-the-gun to 8,500 and de Best moved all in for a total of 34,500. Dewitt made a comment about being committed to call, and flipped over QT. Pete was in the lead with AQ, but the AKJ flop gave Dewitt the nut straight and de Best failed to catch up. Pete de Best earned $12,483 for his 20^th place finish.

Olson on a Roll

Jason Dewitt continued to accumulate chips, this time by way of Isaac Haxton. On a board of A922, Dewitt fired 20,000 into the pot. After deliberating, Haxton put Dewitt all in. Dewitt made a comment about not being able to get away from his hand and called with AK. Haxton turned over J8 for a stone bluff and was drawing dead.

Player Tags: Erick Lindgren,   Andy Bloch,   Howard Lederer,   Chino Rheem,   Ron Haeri,   Isaac Haxton,   Joseph Bonomo,   Johnny Neckar,   European Report