Day Four at the WPT Legends of Poker

Eighteen players were vying for six spots at day four of the 2007 World Poker Tour Legends of Poker. The theme of the day was survival, and whoever had the correct combination of skill and well-timed luck would persevere. Aggression was in the air as the short stacks tried to double up and the large stacks continued to press their advantage. Wayne Chang fell in the first 15 minutes of the day when his pocket nines ran into the pocket kings of Dan Harrington.

Mike Jung fell in 17th place and Franco Brunetti exited in 16th place. Joe Sebok was riding high at the start of the day with over $1 million. He further increased his chip lead to as high as $1.7 million before falling back to earth. He was doubled through twice during the second level of the day, first by Thu Nguyen to take him down to $1 million, and then by Shi Jia Liu, to take him down to $530,000. What had looked like a surefire WPT final table appearance for the young star was now going to be a fight to the finish.

Robert Goldfarb and Don Zewin were sent to the rail in 15th place and 14th place, respectively. That was when, for the second time of the day, a solid professional won a huge pot against Feldman to jump to the top of the leader board. This time the results were fatal for Feldman, who was eliminated in 13th place.

After disposing of Feldman, Schneider was up to $1,950,000 and had claimed the chip lead. Sean McCabe was the next to fall, in 12th place. He was fighting on a short stack all day and was surprised he even made it to the fourth day of the tournament. "I'm obviously disappointed I didn't go deeper, but I have to be happy with my performance. I never really had any monster hands or situations where I could really play my game, so to last this long is quite the accomplishment," said McCabe. His elimination was followed in quick succession by the departures of Brian Powell in 11th place and Raymond Davis in 10th place. Davis had not only been the life of the party on day four of the event, but the whole time, with his witty comments and the prop-bet-palooza he had ongoing with many competitors. With the comedic relief of the event gone, the final nine players grabbed their chips and united at the final table to focus on the task at hand.

Seat No. 1: William Pilossoph: $885,000
Seat No. 2: Shi Jia Liu: $476,000
Seat No. 3: Dan Harrington: $863,000
Seat No. 4: Tom Schneider: $1,920,000
Seat No. 5: Lee Markholt: $673,000
Seat No. 6: Thu Nguyen: $1,780,000
Seat No. 7: David Pham: $1,394,000
Seat No. 8: Mike McClain: $1,195,000
Seat No. 9: Joe Sebok: $520,000

This is the point of the day at which the action hit the wall. Chips were obtained and lost through preflop positioning for the blinds. Action was rare as play tightened up with the final prize so close to realization. Almost three hours after the elimination of Davis, another professional's tournament ended:

Markholt raised to $70,000 from middle position and Mike McClain reraised to $250,000. Markholt moved all in, and McClain insta-called. Markholt said, "This is the best hand I've seen all day," and turned over pocket queens. McClain quietly showed down pocket aces and had Markholt dominated. Any suspense was eliminated on the flop when it came A 3 3, giving McClain aces full. Markholt turned the Q, giving him a one-outer draw to the Q, but the river brought the 4, sending Markholt to the rail in ninth place.

Action chugged along for another large block of time, with many players doubling up along the way, and the chips made the rounds from one stack to another around the table. Then the action kicked into high gear, and the Dragon was the master of ceremonies. He got knocked down to $335,000, but Pham doubled up to climb back to respectability. He then let the fireworks fly on a hand in which he took down a $1.2 million pot, despite not one player moving all in. On the very next hand after that, Pham found himself in the mix with Schneider:

Nguyen bet $120,000 (UTG+1). Pham raised to $300,000 total (UTG+2) and Schneider moved all in for exactly $1 million under the gun. Nguyen folded after a few minutes of pondering and action was now on Pham, who was still stacking his chips from the massive pot he won on the prior hand. He had more than enough chips to call, and even pulled out an additional $10 bill to cover the $7 Schneider had out on the table. "I'll lay you odds," said Pham. The two players then went back and forth in a running dialogue:

Pham: "Two aces?"
Schneider: "Do I need two aces?"
Pham: "Yes."
Schneider: "Then I better have a beer then."

Pham eventually folded his hand and left two red jacks face up on the table. He then offered Schneider the $10 from their side bet to see his cards.

While all of this madness was going on, Dan Harrington doubled up and quietly built his stack to take the chip lead. The calculating, methodical, unnoticed way that he accomplished this feat was an ample reflection of his personal demeanor. After scoring the large pot off Pham, Schneider joined Harrington atop the leader board in the $2 million club. That was when Billy Pilossoph's day ended when he was eliminated in eighth place by Nguyen. His A-6 was dominated by the A-K of Nguyen, and the board provided no assistance. A few more hands ensued and then the final hand of the night brought an abrupt end to the evening.

Sebok raised to $120,000 from middle position and was reraised by Schneider out of the small blind. Sebok moved all in, and Schneider called. Sebok tabled pocket queens, and Schneider showed A J. Sebok retained the lead on the flop when it came 6 5 2. However the turn brought a crushing A, and Sebok was drawing to two outs. The river was a brick when it came 10, and Sebok was sent to the rail in seventh place. A sick silence spread throughout the room and disappointment was written across Sebok's face as he left the room. Many may remember that Sebok was also the television bubble boy at the 2006 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star and the sting of this repeat effect hung heavy in the room. After this development on the bubble, the final six were set and play ended for the night. They will return tomorrow at 5 p.m. to play for the $1,634,865 and the title of Legends of Poker champion.

Here is how things will look tomorrow evening:

Seat No. 1 - Shi Jia Liu: $1,305,000
Seat No. 2 - Dan Harrington: $2,230,000
Seat No. 3 - Tom Schneider: $3,495,000
Seat No. 4 - Thu Nguyen: $1,475,000
Seat No. 5 - David "The Dragon" Pham: $470,000
Seat No. 6 - Mike McClain: $725,000

Tune in to catch all the action from the final table at CardPlayer.com and WorldPokerTour.com tomorrow at 5 p.m.

Most Viewed Articles