WSOP: Vanessa Selbst Wins Event No. 19

Vanessa Selbst came into the final table of the $1,500 pot-limit Omaha event today at the World Series of Poker with a lot of momentum behind her. She was the overwhelming chip leader, and she put those chips to good use, knocking out four opponents en route to three-handed action. Selbst suffered a small setback when action was down to her and both Stanley Statkiewicz and Jamie Pickering. Both of them managed to double up through Selbst, but she regained control by eliminating Statkiewicz to bring things down to a final match between her and Pickering. A loud and raucous crowd began to gather as Pickering adopted an insane habit of playing his hands blind at times for the bracelet. He took the chip lead once, but his wild ways led to his ultimiated demise. In the end Selbst captured her first gold bracelet and she also became the first woman of the 2008 WSOP to win a bracelet in an open buy-in event.

Here were the chip stacks when things got started:

Seat 1: Jamie Pickering -- 329,000
Seat 2: Eugene Todd -- 127,000
Seat 3: Mel Randolph -- 117,000
Seat 4: Jamie Robbins -- 70,000
Seat 5: Vanessa Selbst -- 1,047,000
Seat 6: Stanley Statkiewicz -- 318,000
Seat 7: Ken Lairson -- 16,900
Seat 8: Craig Natte -- 108,000
Seat 9: Thom Schultz -- 144,000

Here are highlights from all of the action, as featured in CardPlayer.com’s live coverage of the final table:

Ken Lairson Eliminated in Ninth Place ($20,720)

Ken Lairson was on the big blind when Vanessa Selbst raised to 22,000. Lairson made the all-in call and they turned up their hands:

Selbst: A Q Q 7
Lairson: 8 5 2 7

Board: 10 5 3 10 6

Lairson was eliminated on the hand in ninth place, and he took home $20,720 in prize money.

Jamie Robbins Eliminated in Eighth Place ($28,490)

Jamie Robbins moved all in preflop for 48,000 and Jamie Pickering went into the tank for a moment before deciding to call. Their cards:

Robbins: A K Q 10
Pickering: K Q J 7

Board: 8 5 4 6 Q

Robbins was eliminated in eighth place, and took home $28,490 in prize money.

Mel Randolph Eliminated in Seventh Place ($36,261)

Mel Randolph moved all in on a flop of A 6 2 and Eugene Todd made the call. Their cards:

Todd: Q 7 2 2
Randolph: A 6 4 2

The turn and river bricked out and Randolph was eliminated in seventh place. He took home $36,621 in prize money.

Craig Natte Eliminated in Sixth Place ($46,621)

Selbst raised to 29,000 and Craig Natte reraised all in preflop. Selbst made the call and the players turned up their cards:

Selbst: A A 8 5
Natte: K Q J 7

Board: K 4 3 6 5

Selbst won the hand and took her stack above 1.5 million to really take control of the final table. Natte was sent home in sixth place, and he took home $46,621 in prize money.

Eugene Todd Eliminated in Fifth Place ($59,053)

Vanessa Selbst made it 35,000 to go preflop and both Thom Schultz and Jamie Pickering made the call. Eugene Todd then reraised all in to 175,000 and only Selbst made the call. The two players then turned up their hands:

Selbst: K J J 9
Todd: A A Q 6

Board: J 8 2 4 2

Todd was eliminated in fifth place, and he took home $59,053 in prize money.

Thom Schultz Eliminated in Fourth Place ($72,004)

On a flop of 10 4 4 Vanessa Selbst moved all in to put Thom Schultz on a decision for his tournament life. He decided to call and the two players flipped up their hands:

Schultz: A-K-Q-6
Selbst: A-Q-10-6

Turn and River: 6-9

Schultz was eliminated on the hand in fourth place, and he took home $72,004 in prize money. Selbst claimed her fourth victim of the day and continued to build her chip lead.

Stanley Statkiewicz Doubles Up

Stanley Statkiewicz raised to 46,000 preflop and Jamie Pickering got out of the way. The flop rolled out 8 7 3 and Selbst checked her option. Statkiewicz bet the pot and Selbst reraised to put him all in. He made the call and they turned up their hands:

Selbst: 8 7 6 5
Statkiewicz: A A 10 8

Turn and River: 9 10

Statkiewicz doubled up on the hand to survive, while Selbst was knocked down to about a million in chips.

Jamie Pickering Doubles Up

Jamie Pickering and Vanessa Selbst saw a flop of A 2 2 and Pickering checked. Selbst made a 50,000 raise and Pickering made the call. The turn brought the 3 and the same sequence repeated itself. The river rolled out the 6 and Pickering checked again. Selbst bet 95,000, and this time Pickering check-raised all in for 193,000. Selbest made the call, but quickly mucked when Pickering revealed A A Q Q.

Both players had now doubled up through the once unstoppable Selbest and the chip counts had all pulled about even.

Stanley Statkiewicz Eliminated in Third Place ($88,062)

Vanessa Selbst raised to 60,000 preflop and Stanley Statkiewicz made the call. The flop was dealt J 10 8 and Selbst bet 90,000. Statkiewicz raised all in and Selbst made the call. Their cards:

Selbst: A 6 5 4
Statkiewicz: A Q 10 8

Turn and River: K 2

Statkiewicz was eliminated in third place, and he took home $88,062 in prize money.

The Madness Begins

Early in the heads-up match Jamie Pickering raised the pot blind and Vanessa Selbst made the call. The flop hit the table A Q 3 and Selbst checked. Pickering bet the pot blind again and Selbst made the call. The turn card fell J and Pickering checked. Selbst bet the pot and Pickeing went into the tank for 10 minutes. He finally looked at his cards and said, "Oh sh^t, I'm dead." Selbst turned up Q-9-7-7 as she collected the pot.

Pickering Grabs the Lead

On a flop of 10 8 5 Pickering bet 120,000, and Selbst raised the pot to put Pickering all in, and he made the call. Their cards:

Pickering: A 5 5 3
Selbst: Q J 9 4

Turn and River: 8 4

Pickering doubled up on the hand and he now held 1.3 million to Selbst's 760,000.

Insanity

Pickering raised the pot blind preflop and Selbst made the call. The flop came K 10 8 and Selbst checked. Pickering bet the pot blind, and Selbt raised the pot. Pickering finally decided to look at his cards and he made the call. He then reraised the pot again and Selbst made the call. Their cards:

Selbst: 10-9-6-4
Pickering: A-A-6-4

Turn and River: 6 2

Selbst took back the chip lead on the crazy hand and the two players took a 20-minute break.

Vanessa Selbst Wins Event No. 19 ($227,965)

Vanessa Selbst knocked out another one of Jamie Pickering's legs one hand prior by relieving him of 200,000 and leaving him short stacked before the final hand came down. The two players limped to a flop of 10 8 7 and Pickering checked. Selbst bet 90,000 and Pickering raised all in. Selbst made the call and they turned up their cards:

Selbst: J J 9 2
Pickering: A Q 10 9

Turn and River: 5 A

Selbst won the hand and the tournament, and the crowd surrounding the final table went wild in approval. Selbst is the first woman to win an open buy-in bracelet this summer, and she took home $227,965 for the win. This is her first gold bracelet. Pickering was eliminated in second place, and took home $145,459 for a note-worthy runner-up performance.

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