Full Tilt Online Poker Series Event No. 3: $750,000-Guaranteed No-Limit Hold'em
Last night's event in the Full Tilt Online Poker Series III was the third event in a row to surpass its posted guarantee. The $750,000-guaranteed no-limit event lured 2,755 entrants, at $300 apiece, to build a prize pool of $826,500. The attendance at the first three events bodes well for the remaining seven tournaments.
Both World Series of Poker bracelet winner (and Full Tilt-sponsored pro) Huck Seed and prominent Internet pro Jon "PearlJammed" Turner made it to the final two tables. Seed eventually busted out in 15th ($6,116) and PearlJammed was eliminated in 10th ($8,265), on the final-table bubble.
When it got down to the final nine players, tsarrast was in first with $1.6 million and Don Guzzo was in second with $1.4 million. Mickry mtl was in last place with just $367,000 when the big blinds were at $24,000. Seven minutes into the final-table action, mickry mtl had almost quadrupled his stack and avoided being the first to go.
In the first elimination hand, mickry mtl raised to $72,000 preflop and ThisComesLast reraised up to $178,000. Mickry mtl called and the flop came Q
9
6. Mickry mtl bet enough to put ThisComesLast all in and ThisComesLast called and showed pocket kings for an overpair. Mickry mtl revealed A 9 for mid-pair and a flush draw. The turn was the Q and the river the J, completing mickry mtl's flush to eliminate ThisComesLast in ninth place ($11,571). Mickry mtl now had over $2 million and the chip lead.
B1317 was the next to go when he pushed all in preflop for just $147,000. DontBluffMePLZZ reraised up to $308,000, folding the remaining players. DontBluffMePLZZ showed pocket kings and was up against B1317's Q
10. The board paired, but otherwise improved neither player (although there were two spades on the board by the turn, giving B1317 some hope). B1317 took home $15,208 for eighth place.
The next elimination hand featured some stop-and-go action. MrRosen raised to $78,000 preflop, with the big blind at $28,000, and Hummer141 called. Both players then checked it down to the river, when the board was showing K 7 2 6
5. MrRosen bet $142,000 on the river and Hummer141 pushed all in over the top for $390,000. MrRosen called and showed Q J for a flopped flush while Hummer141 held just pocket nines. Hummer141 was sent to the rail in seventh with $19,340.
Mickry mtl was still in the lead with $1.9 million, but tsarrast was close behind at $1.7 million. The next elimination hand would change all of that. Tsarrast raised to $100,000 preflop, with the big blind at $34,000, and terhahn called. The flop came J 4 3 and terhahn pushed all in for $721,000. Tsarrast called and showed J 9 for top pair and was in the lead against terhahn's pocket sixes. The turn was the 9, to give tsarrast two pair, and the river brought the 4. The two pair was more than needed to eliminate terhahn in sixth ($26,200) and catapult tsarrast into the chip lead.
It was almost a half hour before the next elimination. That amount of time was enough for mickry mtl to regain his lead, plus some, with $3.2 million in chips, and for tsarrast's stack to drop down to $1.3 million. MrRosen went down to the felt when he pushed all in preflop against a raise from DontBluffMePLZZ and DontBluffMePLZZ called and showed A J. MrRosen was dominated with A 5 as the board ran out K 8 6 10 Q. MrRosen was left with ace high while DontBluffMePLZZ completed a completely unnecessary Broadway straight to finish mrRosen off. MrRosen earned $36,366 for fifth place.
Tsarrast's stack continued its downward spiral until he was left with just $611,000 when the big blind was at $60,000. He pushed all in preflop against a raise from DontBluffMePLZZ and DontBluffMePLZZ called, after some thought. Tsarrast's A 7 was dominated by DontBluffMePLZZ's A 8 until the flop came Q 7 5. The flop was mixed news for Tsarrast, as it brought him a 7 to put him in the lead, but also gave DontBluffMePLZZ the nut-flush draw. The turn sealed the deal when it brought the 10, completing DontBluffMePLZZ's flush and leaving tsarrast drawing dead. Tsarrast got a $47,937 payday for fourth place.
DontBluffMePLZZ was in the lead going into three-way play, with $4.6 million in his stack. Don Guzzo was in second place with $1.9 million while mickry mtl was close behind at $1.8 million. DontBluffMePLZZ chipped off chips from both his opponents' stacks before the next elimination hand.
Mickry mtl raised to $240,000 preflop, with the big blind at $80,000, and DontBluffMePLZZ pushed all in over the top for $5.3 million. Mickry mtl called all in and showed A Q and was in good shape against DontBluffMePLZZ's A 8. The flop came K K 8, putting DontBluffMePLZZ in the lead with two pair, kings and eights. The turn was the 10 and the river the 9, no help for mickry mtl and he was eliminated in third ($60,335).
DontBluffMePLZZ now had a very comfortable lead with $6.7 million versus Don Guzzo's $1.6 million. The heads-up match lasted almost 15 minutes and all the while both stacks remained relatively unchanged. In the final hand, Don Guzzo raised to $270,000, with the big blind at $100,000, and DontBluffMePLZZ pushed all in. Don Guzzo called and showed A K and was very slightly behind against DontBluffMePLZZ's pocket fours. The board ran out J 8 3 5 2, improving neither player and giving the hand and the tournament to DontBluffMePLZZ. Don Guzzo made $92,568 for second place while DontBluffMePLZZ cashed out for $151,250 for his first-place finish. DontBluffMePLZZ also received an exclusive, golden FTOPS jersey avatar for his win in the event (all FTOPS winners receive them).
The final standings were:
1) DontBluffMePLZZ – $151,249.50
2) Don Guzzo – $92,568
3) mickry mtl – $60,334.50
4) tsarrast – $47,937
5) mrRosen – $36,366
6) terhahn – $26,200.05
7) Hummer141 – $19,340.10
8) B1317 – $15,207.60
9) ThisComesLast – $11,571
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