WSOP -- Day 7 of the Main Event

The first two levels of play during day 7 at the 2009 World Series of Poker $10,000 no-limit hold’em main event saw the 64 players who began the day shrink down to 43. Play was consistent, yet not quick, as a steady stream of players hit the rail. Then, the third level of the day was an entirely different matter, as the pace of eliminations sped up considerably, and 14 players hit the rail during one wild level of play. The final 27 were reached just before 11 p.m., and those players will return tomorrow to make their final argument for a spot in the second group of November Nine finalists in WSOP history.

Big-name professionals who could be in that group of nine include Phil Ivey, Jeff Shulman, Antonio Esfandiari, Ludovic Lacay, James Akenhead, and Andrew Lichtenberger. Of those professionals remaining, Ivey and Shulman have gone the deepest in the main event during their careers. Ivey finished in 10th place in 2003, while Shulman finished a few spots better in his deep run at the world championship, busting out in seventh place in the 2000 main event.

Here is a look at the top 10 chip counts at the end of the night; both Ivey and Shulman have a lot of ammo at their disposal:

1. Darvin Moon — 20,160,000
2. Billy Kopp — 15,970,000
3. Steve Begleiter — 11,885,000
4. Phil Ivey — 11,350,000
5. Kevin Schaffel — 11,245,000
6. Antoine Saout — 11,135,000
7. Jeff Shulman — 10,170,000
8. Eric Buchman — 10,005,000
9. Jamie Robbins — 9,795,000
10. Ben Lamb — 9,410,000

The eighth and final day of play for the main event this summer will begin at noon PDT tomorrow. Be sure to follow all of the action live from Las Vegas. Here is a look at all of the eliminations during day 7. Notable players in bold:

64. Prahlad Friedman — $90,344
63. George Saca — $108,047
62. Michael Jansen — $108,047
61. Mark Ader — $108,047
60. Benjamin Jansen — $108,047
59. Miika Puumalainen — $108,047
58. Scott Bohlman — $108,047
57. John Martin — $108,047
56. Joe Sebok — $108,047
55. Craig Boyd — $108,047
54. Steve Sanders — $138,568
53. Charlie Elias — $138,568
52. Tom Schneider — $138,568
51. Thai Tran — $138,568
50. Bradley Craig — $138,568
49. Fabrice Soulier — $138,568
48. Hieu Luu — $138,568
47. Adam Bilzerian — $138,568
46. Hung Pham — $138,568
45. Dennis Phillips — $178,857
44. Manuel Labandeira — $178,857
43. Montagna Corrado — $178,857
42. Jeff Duvall — $178,857
41. Adam York — $178,857
40. Scott Cook — $178,857
39. Eugene Katchalov — $178,857
38. Gabriel Mezina — $178,857
37. Martin Lapostolle — $178,857
36. Christopher Bach — $253,941
35. Grayson Ramage — $253,941
34. Blair Rodman — $253,941
33. Jason Brice — $253,941
32. Scott Sitron — $253,941
31. Ryan Fair — $253,941
30. Marc McLaughlin — $253,941
29. Luis Nargentino — $253,941
28. Joe Ward — $253,941

Here are the highlights from day 7, as featured in CardPlayer.com’s live updates:

Prahlad Friedman Eliminated in 64th Place ($90,344)

Prahlad Friedman moved all in from the cutoff for 840,000, and Bradley Craig called from the big blind. Friedman showed K Q, and Craig tabled A K.

Friedman was unable to catch a queen, as the board ran out 9 7 2 8 9, and he was eliminated right before a money jump. He is the last player to earn $90,344. Each player eliminated from here on out is guaranteed at least $108,000.

Joe Sebok Eliminated

Action folded around to Joe Sebok on the button, and he moved all in for about 500,000. Ben Lamb was in the big blind and made the call. Here were their hands:

Sebok: A 9
Lamb: A Q

Sebok was dominated and needed a lot of help. The flop came down J 4 3, and Sebok was down to his last two streets. The turn was the 6, and Sebok could only double up with a nine. The river brought the Q instead, pairing Lamb, and Sebok was eliminated from the main event.

Tom Schneider Eliminated in 52nd Place($138,568)

Tom Schneider moved all in for 1.2 million, and Marc Etienne McLaughlin made the call from the small blind. Schneider turned over A 7 and was trailing McLaughlin’s 9 9.

The flop came down K 6 5, and Schneider had one foot out the door. The turn was the 7, giving Schneider some life, but the river was the K, and Schneider’s run at the 2009 main event was over.

Dennis Phillips’ Second Trip to the November Nine Stopped by Francoios Balmigere

Antoine Saout raised to 165,000, and Francois Balmigere called. Dennis Phillips made it 450,000, and then Balmigere decided he would move all in after Saout got out of the way. Phillips called, and his tournament life was at risk.

Balmigere showed A K and Phillips had A K. Usually this ends up as a split pot, but Dennis Phillips didn’t like it when the flop came K 6 4. The turn was safe for Phillips when the 10 fell, but the river did him in, like so many others, as it put out the 5, ending Phillips’ main-event run.

The Chip Leaders Gets Caught In The Ivey

Billy Kopp raised to 150,000 from the hijack position, and Phil Ivey made the call from the cutoff. They both saw a flop of 7 7 2 and checked. The turn was the 4, and both players checked again. The river brought the A, and Kopp took a shot with 225,000.

Ivey raised it up to 700,000, and Kopp got out of the way. Ivey raked in the pot and was up to 8.6 million in chips.

A few hands later, Ivey made a button raise to 150,000 and was three-bet by Luis Nargentino to 460,000. Ivey didn’t back down and made it 1,160,000, which Nargentino called.

The flop was K 10 4, and Ivey bet 1,200,000 after Nargentino checked. Nargentino folded, and Ivey surpassed the 10-million mark in chips.

Jeff Shulman Eliminates Jeff Duvall in 42nd Place ($178,857)

Jeff Duvall and Jeff Shulman were locked up on a flop of A 10 2. All of the money went into the pot, and Shulman exposed bottom set with the 2 2, while Duvall was drawing very slim with the A J. The 5 on the turn had Duvall drawing dead, and the meaningless 8 ended Duvall’s tournament. Shulman is at 7,600,000.

Ryan Fair Eliminated in 31st Place by Jeff Shulman ($253,941)

Ryan Fair raised to 200,000 from middle position, and then action folded over to Jeff Shulman. From the big blind, Shulman made it 1 million total, and Fair contemplated briefly for shoving all in for 3 million. Shulman called and tabled pocket kings with the K K and was ahead of the A K of Fair. The flop came Q Q 5, and Shulman was in the lead. However, the K on the turn gave him a lock in the hand. A meaningless 6 fell on the river, and Fair was eliminated. Shulman was at 8,500,000 after the hand and took down more pots to end the level with 9,360,000.

Phil Ivey Climbing

Joe Ward raised to 260,000 from early position, and Phil Ivey called from the big blind. The flop came 10 9 6, and both checked. The 9 on the turn prompted Ivey to check again. Ward bet 200,000, and Ivey check-raised to 600,000. Ward contemplated for a while before making the call. The 8 on the river prompted Ivey to bet out 1 million. Ward called, and Ivey exposed the J 9 for trips. Ivey was at 14,890,000 after the hand. Ward was at 2,100,000 after the hand.

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