Day Two - Hour Four
Jun 09, '07
The Bubble Approaches
While there won’t be a dime paid until the 40th place finisher hits the rail, the effects of the money bubble could be felt throughout the tournament field during the fourth hour of action. Players strained their necks to peek at the tournament statistic screen, and some players got up from their seats to survey the field. One player anxiously stared at the board with a pained expression on his face. There were 45 players remaining at six tables by the time the fourth hour had ticked away its final seconds. Fred Goldberg is one player who won’t finish in the money, seeing that he busted in the last hour.
“I’ll bite”
Greg Raymer had $50,000 when he entered a pot with a colorful character that was sporting a Dwayne Wade jersey. The player in seat three said, “I’ll bite,” as he tossed in his chips in to call Raymer’s raise on fourth street. With 2
2
exposed Raymer received the A on fifth street, while his opponent received the 2
, with the Q5 already exposed. “Wanna switch?” asked seat three. “How can I say no to that,” replied Raymer, who picked up his ace with just a shade of sarcasm. Sixth street brought the 4 for seat three and the J for Raymer. It was then on seventh street where the real fireworks took place. Raymer bet $2,000 and seat three raised to $4,000 after looking like he might have folded. Raymer called and turned over A-Q-2 for aces up. His opponent mucked his cards after admitting he had a smaller two pair. “Nice hand sir,” said the player. “Thank you,” replied Raymer.
The Fossilman Evolves
Raymer now had $64,000 and the chip lead. Things only got better for the 2005 World Champion a few hands later. He picked up a large pot off of the next largest stack in the field, Chris Barnes. Raymer flipped over a strong trio of hole cards, AAK, and this took Barnes down to $60,000. Raymer had shot up to $76,000 and he was now poised to make a solid run at the final table.
A Solid Field Remains at the Dinner Bell
Looking around the field just before dinner, Paul Darden ($45,000) and Mimi Tran ($24,000) were spotted at the same table, and Ted Forrest was seated at the table next to them. On the opposite side of the field, two members of team PokerStars were nestled into a corner. Barry Greenstein and William Chen chatted about poker strategy between hands like two children trading notes in the back of a classroom. Greenstein had a nice stack of $34,400 in front of him, while Chen had some work to do with only $12,000 remaining.
We’ll see how these remaining players fair when they return from the dinner break at 10 p.m.
Player Tags: Barry Greenstein, Greg Raymer, Christopher Barnes, Bill Chen
Day Two - Hour Two
Jun 09, '07
Bust out Bustle
The Mizrachi brothers (Michael and Robert), and John Juanda made early exits during hour two of the second day. The number of tables remaining dwindled down to 13, and 99 players remained. Phil Ivey was another player who busted during the hour, albeit towards the end.
Forrest Grabs a Pot
With 89
Q6 exposed Ted Forrest bet $1,200 and his opponent called with 432Q exposed. Forrest received his last down card and fired out another bet. His opponent mucked. Forrest took down a $6,000 pot, but has yet to make a major move during day two of this tournament.
Only a Game
“It’s only a poker tournament,” said seat nine to Paul Darden and Dale Phillips. The two were verbally sparring over a slight misunderstanding on the preceding hand. They quieted down and play continued. Phillips had grown his stack during the hour to a robust $30,000. Fred Goldberg was another player who had built his stack up to the $30,000 benchmark during the level.
Mimi Takes a Hit
Mimi Tran bet $600 with Q exposed and seat one calls with the 6 face up on the table. Fourth street was dealt the 2 for Tran and the 4 for her opponent. She fires out another $600 and her opponent once again called. Fifth street brought the 8 for Mimi and the 3 for her opponent. Tran bet $1,200, but this time her opponent repopped it to $2,400. Tran went into the tank for a minute; she sipped her drink, counted out the $1,200 in chips, and shuffled them in her hand. She did not place them into the middle of the table though, and mucked her cards.
Raising Prices
The level jump was then announced and the ante remained at $100. The low card bet was now $200 and the limits were raised to $600-$1,200.
The Say Hey Kid
Chris Barnes had two all-in bets covered and held nines and eights. Neither opponent could beat nines up so they were both sent to the rail. Barnes collected the chips and added them to his monolithic chip stack. He now led the field with $49,000. Seat six at the table then made comparisons of Barnes to baseball great Willie Mays. He spoke of how when the New York Giants first brought him up to the major leagues, he didn’t play especially well (as compared to the hall-of-fame standards he set during his career), but the Giants kept winning so they kept him in the lineup. “Ever since this guy got to this table, he’s done nothing but win, can I move,” said the player.
The players were then sent on a fifteen minute break.
Player Tags: Ted Forrest, Christopher Barnes
