After things went quietly in the first stages of seven-card stud, two eliminations happened within minutes of each other. First, Mark Gregorich sent Rob Hollinik packing when he flipped up A Q (Q 8 10 8) 9. Almost immediately, at the table next door, Freddy Deeb had Toto Leonidas covered when he was dealt the K as his final down card. Leonidas peeked at his, mucked his hand, and then got up from the table a defeated individual.
Black Jack
We are down to 21 players and play will end for the night. Amnon Filippi ends the day as the chip leader with over $2 million. The players will now bag up their chips and return tomorrow at 2 p.m. for day four action. They will play down to the final table tomorrow.
Check back at CardPlayer.com tomorrow for all the HORSE day four action!
Notable Chip Counts
Ten minutes after play started back up after dinner, Mike Wattel busted in 25th place, and the tournament clocks were paused. The players then redrew for new seats at the final three tables.
Three Tough Tables
Stage Featured Table
Seat No.1: Bruno Fitoussi
Seat No. 2: Daniel Negreanu
Seat No. 3: Justin Bonomo
Seat No. 4: Greg Raymer
Seat No. 5: Amnon Filippi
Seat No. 6: Mike Matusow
Seat No. 7: Dewey Tomko
Seat No. 8: Max Pescatori
On-Deck Circle
Seat No. 1: Mark Gregorich
Seat No. 2: Pat Pezzin
Seat No. 3: Steve Wolff
Seat No. 4: Kenny Tran
Seat No. 5: Chris Reslock
Seat No. 6: Phil Hellmuth
Seat No. 7: David Singer
Seat No. 8: Rob Hollinik
The Boondocks:
Seat No. 1: Tim Phan
Seat No. 2: Noah Jefferson
Seat No. 3: Toto Leonidas
Seat No. 4: Gabe Kaplan
Seat No. 5: Barry Greenstein
Seat No. 6: Freddy Deeb
Seat No. 7: Thor Hansen
Seat No. 8: John Hanson
Chop-Chop
Those two words can sum up the entire level of Omaha eight-or-better. The two highlights were Dewey Tomko tripling up to survive, and both Mark Gregorich and Noah Jefferson doubling up to accomplish the same survival feat.
Razzed
The game then switched to razz, and the limits were steep at $20,000-$40,000.
Hellmuth Busted in 24th Place
Phil Hellmuth made a strong showing in the HORSE event, but his run came to an end when he ran into Kenny Tran early in the razz level. Tran had 6 3 (3 8 A 5) J turned up and Hellmuth peeked at his last hole card before mucking. He then walked away from the table and mused with himself about his demise.
Survival of the Fittest
The rest of razz was an exercise in stubbornness. Gregorich doubled up again. Toto Leonidas doubled up through Thor Hansen with 7 2 (6 4 10 3) 10. The only sure thing during the last part of razz was that the short stacks prevailed. The game was then switched to seven-card stud, with the limits remaining the same.
Levels 41 and 42 - Stud Eight-or-Better and Hold'em
Chopped Pots and Busted Dreams
The seven-card stud eight-or-better level was one that featured a lot of chopped pots, and a couple of big names making their exit.
Musical Tables
The tables rotated around for the start of level 41. The table featuring Freddy Deeb, Gabe Kaplan, Toto Leonidas, Greg Raymer, Mark Gregorich, Isabelle Mercier, Andy Bloch and Max Pescatori was now on the final table set. The table featuring Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth, Steve Sung, Bruno Fitussi, Huck Seed, and Eli Elezra was at the on-deck circle. Level 41 also saw the speed of play reduced to just four tables as the eliminations continued to come quickly.
Bloch Busts
The second-place finisher from last year’s HORSE event, And Bloch, was all in with pocket fives early in the level. 2004 World Champion, Greg Raymer, held three aces. This was good enough to scoop the entire pot and send Bloch to the rail.
Bust Out Bonanza
Isabelle Mercier, John Juanda, Steve Sung, and David Oppenheim were all lost over the next couple of minutes as the game switched from the chopped pots of a split-pot game, to the crippling blows of straight hold’em.
Singer Doubled Up
On a board of J 4 3 7 Daniel Negreanu bet $32,000 from the button and David Singer was in the tank. He was low on chips and a call here would pot commit him to moving all in on the river. The 6 fell on the river and Negreanu looked at Singer. “You got the straight eyes,” said Negreanu as Singer moved all in. Kid Poker called and Singer confirmed his suspicions when he turned over A 5. Negreanu mucked and Singer doulbled up. Although he didn’t outwardly show it, Negreanu inwardly steamed behind his stack of $650,000. The stack was a far cry from where it had been a half hour ago.
Action!
Thor Hansen raised to $36,000 and Eli Elezra reraised to $54,000. The flop was dealt 10 8 7 and Elezra bet $18,000. Hansen called and the turn brought the 3. Elezra moved all in for his last $30,000 and Hansen made the call. Elezra turned up pocket tens and Hansen revealed pocket sixes. “I’ve got four outs,” said Hansen, almost under his breath. The river peeled one of those four off the deck when the 9 rolled out on the river. “Oh! Nice hand,” said Elezra. He was very congenial after the bad beat and he went right up to Hansen to shake his hand.
Dinner Break
Tuan Le was another victim of the intense action of the hold’em level and 25 players remained at 7:30 p.m. The players then went on dinner break and they will return at 9:00 p.m.
Amnon Filippi continued to play well and became the first player to reach $1 million during the early stages of the Razz level.
Huck Doubles Up
On sixth street Huckleberry Seed bet $30,000 and Justin Bonomo called him down. After the final hole card rolled out, Bonomo bet $9,000, which was all that Seed had left. He made the call and flipped over an 8-6 low. Bonomo had a 9-8 low and Seed doubled up to survive.
The Mid-Thirties
Sam Grizzle had been eliminated and there were now 35 players remaining. The remaining field showed a keen interest in the number by this point of the day, and play slowed a little bit when the game moved back to seven-card stud.
Tuan Doubles Up
Tuan Le was dangerously low on chips when he got involved in a hand with Robert Mizrachi. After raising the action on every street he moved all in for $25,000 on seventh street. Mizrachi made the call. Tuan flipped up Kh 6h (10h 5c Kc 2h) Ks and Mizrachi mucked his hand.
Nergeanu Rising
Daniel Negreanu was seated at a tough table with Dewey Tomko, David Singer, John Juanda, and David Oppenheim, He mused as much on a quick break between hands. He also added that he was running well. That showed in his robust chip stack. Negreanu had jumped into the chip lead with $1,200,000. He tangled in a hand right near the end of the seven-card stud level with Juanda and Oppenheim. Negreanu led out on every street except for third and both opponents had called him down. They all checked on seventh street and Negreanu turned up Qh Qs (2h 7s 8h 8d) Kh. Both players mucked and Negreanu picked up another pot in what had become a routine for him.
Lindgren Busted
As the final minutes of stud clicked off the clock, Erick Lindgren was all in against Tim Phan. Phan exposed a full house, fours full of queens, and Lindgren’s day was over.
Break Time
The players then went on an unscheduled 15 minute break before the next level begins.
Levels 37 and 38 - Hold'em and Omaha Eignt-or-Better
Hold Up for Hold’em
The game was back to hold’em and Joe Tehan was getting close to go time at the featured table. He pushed all in with pocket nines and he was up against pocket threes. The board was dealt A 6 5 6 10 and he doubled up. A few hands later he pushed all in again, this time with J 7. Unfortunately he was dominated when Tim Phan flipped over Q J. The board was rolled out 10 9 5 J 4 and Tehan was rolled out of the tourhament.
Leader Board
At this point of the day some players had made amazing comebacks, while others held strong at the top. Here is the top five:
The game of choice then switched to Omaha eight-or-better and the blinds were $6,000-$12,000 with $12,000-$24,000 limits.
Five Tables
Players continued to bust at a steady pace on day three and the sixth table was broken. Here are how the last five tables in the tournament looked:
Table 72
Seat No. 3: Tuan Le
Seat No. 4: Mike Matusow
Seat No. 7: Sam Grizzle
Seat No. 8: Amnon Filippi
Table 66
Seat No. 1: Freddy Deeb
Seat No. 2: Isabelle Mercier
Seat No. 4: Toto Leonidas
Seat No. 5: Greg Raymer
Seat No. 6: Andy Bloch
Seat No. 7: Robert Mizrachi
Seat No. 8: Max Pescatori
Table 71
Seat No. 1: Phil Hellmuth
Seat No. 2: Thor Hansen
Seat No. 3: Steve Sung
Seat No. 4: Bruno Fitussi
Seat No. 6: Barry Greenstein
Seat No. 8: Allen Cunningham
Table 65
Seat No. 1: Daniel Negreanu
Seat No. 2: John Juanda
Seat No. 3: David Singer
Seat No. 4: Dewey Tomko
Seat No. 6: David Oppenheim
Table 76 (Stage Table)
Seat No. 1: Erick Lindgren
Seat No. 2: Tim Phan
Seat No. 3: Justin Bonomo
Seat No. 4: Mark Gregorich
Seat No. 5: Mike Wattel
Seat No. 6: Eli Elezra
Seat No. 8: Huck Seed
One Scoop for Hellmuth
Allen Cunningham bet $24,000 on a board of 9 8 8 10 and Phil Hellmuth made the call. Over $100,000 was already in the pot at this point and both players checked the 4 on the river. Hellmuth was dangerously low on chips when he turned over A K Q Q. Cunningham playfully turned over J 9 6 5, one at a time, and Hellmuth collected the pot to survive his near all-in move.
Elezra vs. Bonomo
On a flop of A K 5 Justin Bonomo bet $12,000 from the button and Eli Elezra raised under the gun to $24,000. Both players checked the 2 on the turn and the river brought the A. Elezra checked and Bonomo bet $24,000. Elezra called and turned over A-K-J-5 to take the high, while Bonomo revealed a 7-5-4-2-A for the low.
Thor’s Hammer
On a flop of 9 8 7 Allen Cunningham bets $12,000 and both Barry Greenstein and Thor Hansen make the call. The turn brought the K and Greenstein bet $24,000. Both opponents called and the river brought the 7. All three players check and Thor flipped up A 7 6 4. Greenstein turned over A K 5 2 and Cunningham mucked. Thor won the high hand, the low hand, and scooped the pot.
Break Time
The players then went on a 20 minute break. They will play down to 21 players tonight. Dinner will be from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Day three of the H.O.R.S.E. got underway about 20 minutes after 2 p.m. Only 52 players remained on seven tables as play began. There were two featured tables, complete with hole-cams. Seated at the tables were:
1. Daniel Negreanu
2. Joe Tehan
3. David Singer
4. Dewey Tomko
6. David Oppenheim
7. Erik Seidel
8. Thomas Woodruff
1. Erick Lindgren
2. Tim Phan
3. Greg Mascio
4. Chip Reese
5. Mike Wattell
6. Eli Elezra
Short Stacks vs. Negreanu pt. 1
During the stud level Thomas Woodruff was all in after three cards with a pair of fours against Daniel Negreanu's A K Q. By the end Negreanu had made a pair of kings, but Woodruff had hit a third four. The both squeezed out the seventh card, with Negreanu needing both a king and for Woodruff not to fill up. Negreanu's last card become irrelevant when Woodruff revealed the 4 for quads on the end. Despite the double up Woodruff is still on a very short stack
Short Stacks vs. Negreanu pt. 2
Dewey Tomko got all-in after four cards during the stud level against Daniel Negreanu. Negreanu had a pair of nines in the hole, while Tomko had made a pair of aces on fourth street. Negreanu hit a third nine on fifth street, but Tomko caught a third ace and ended up doubling off Negreanu to stay alive.
STUD EIGHT OR BETTER
Huge Pot
Eli Elezra took down a huge three way pot without a showdown on seventh street against Chip Reese and Mike Wattell. On fifth street Wattell lead out $20,000, Elezra raised to $40,000, and Reese called. The same betting went down on sixth street, meaning that $240,000 went into the pot on 5th and 6th street alone. After seventh Wattell checked, Elezra bet and Reese folded. Wattell thought for a moment before folding. Elezra smiled, and after a moment showed fives full as he rakes the pot.
Eliminations
Due to eliminations the tournament is down to its final six tables. Erick Lindgren eliminated Greg Mascio from the featured table with aces up. Cyndy Viollete busted during the stud level. David Sklansky and Michael Mizrachi were both eliminated from table 77.
The remaining 52 players are set to return at 2 p.m. With the money only 35 eliminations away the atmosphere is sure to become more tense. With copious amounts of money and respect on the line, this tournament means a lot to the players and this is sure to show in the intensity of their focus. Make sure to check in throughout the day for hourly updates and the Pro Blogs of Justin Bonomo, Andy Bloch, Chip Reese and Huck Seed here at Cardplayer.com.
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