Paul Wolfe Poker Tournament Updates

$10,000 Main Event - Day 1D - Level One, Hour One

Jul 06, '08

Blinds/Antes: 50/100

Big Hands and Storylines:

Yang Active, Loses Pot

A year off hasn’t dampened the aggressiveness of defending champion Jerry Yang. He won a small pot with A2, pairing his deuce on the flop, but then got embroiled in a costly battle. Yang was in the big blind and saw a flop come Q63. He made a bet and was called by the player in the cut-off position. The A came on the turn and Yang stepped out for 1200. Again the cut-off called. The K on the river made a dangerous board even more treacherous. Yang led out for 3000, and the player in the cut-off then raised to 8500. Yang tanked, then reluctantly folded, though issued the warning “I’m going to lay down one time.” Yang lost a quarter of his stack and was just under 15,000.

A few hands later Yang took another beat, though did well not to lose more than he did. After a flopping a set of 10s, Yang was up against pocket aces, but lost when the board four-flushed. Yang is now down to just over 12,000 in chips.

Tilly Stymied Early

Jennifer Tilly tried to create something on consecutive hands, but came away empty. From middle position she raised to 300 and was called by the player in the cut-off. The flop came A43. Tilly checked, faced a 300 bet, and folded her hand. The next deal, Tilly raised this time to 200 and was called by the player on the button. The small blind then reraised to 750, and Tilly folded along with the big blind and button.

Norman Chad, Will You Marry Me?

World Series of Poker commentator Norman Chad, who often comically references his ex-wives during final table broadcasts, has inadvertently wooed the heart of at least one female viewer.  Seated in the blue section of the Amazon Room, Kay Sweeney reported to her table wearing a t-shirt bearing the words, “NORM’S NEXT WIFE.”  Chad eventually made his way to her table while reporting on today’s action, and Sweeney insisted on having a picture taken of the two potential lovebirds as soon as she was out of a hand.  “Play every hand,” Chad advised.  After getting on one knee, Sweeney formally proposed to Chad.  “Will you marry me?” Sweeney asked while holding Chad’s hand.  “I’ll get back to you,” Chad replied to a burst of laughter from the rail.

Wolfe lays down top pair

Five players limped in preflop and saw a 10-3-2 flop. Paul Wolfe bet out from the small blind for 500. He got one caller and the others folded. The turn was a four and Wolfe bet 1,000. This time his opponent raised another 1,300. Wolfe quickly folded A-10 face up and his opponent took down the pot.

Federer-Nadal distracting many

Many players are paying as much attention to the Wimbledon final as they are to their table. Gus Hansen is an exception. He has set up a chair next to the television and is spending more time there than at his seat at his table. Apparently being 15 feet away was too far and he needed to see the exciting match up-close.

Meandering through the Brasilia Room, we noticed these players taking their shot at the main event:

Hevad Khan
Ray Davis
Brett Jungblut
Mark Newhouse
Tom Schneider
Eugene Todd
Layne Flack
Antonio Esfandiari
Allen Kessler
Phil Gordon
Shane Schleger
Gregory Dyer
Jose Canseco
Todd Brunson
Ryan Daut
David Williams (already down to 12,000)

and players found within the confines of the much cozier Tropicana Room:

Alexander Kostritsyn
Thayer Rasmussen
Ray Coburn
Can Kim Hua
Ari Engel

Player Tags: Gus Hansen,   Paul Wolfe,   Jennifer Tilly,   Jerry Yang,   Norman Chad

Omaha High-Low Level 7

Jun 03, '08

Blinds: 200-400

Players left: of 833

Average chips: 8,925

Chip Leaders:

Carl Restifo - 23,000
Richard Ashby - 20,000
Scott Clements - 19,000
Paul Wolfe - 14,000
Bryan Devonshire - 13,000
Joe Tehan - 11,000
Linda Johnson - 11,000
Jimmy Fricke - 10,000
Robert Mizrachi - 9,000
Perry Friedman - 7,000

Eliminations:

Amir Vahedi
Stuart Patterson
Amarillo Slim

Hands:

Men the Master triples up to stay alive

Down to under 2,000 chips, Men Nguyen puts 1,200 chips into the pot preflop and sees a 633 flop. He happily puts the rest of his chips in and shows 6-3. Stuart Patterson is also all in on the hand with A-A and two low cards. The turn and river do not help Patterson or the third player in the hand and Nguyen triples up to over 5,000. Patterson was eliminated shortly thereafter.

Rodman folds on river

Blair Rodman, clearly frustrated, struggled with the decision after his opponent bets on a board of 42A73. After a minute, he calls and sees his opponent flip over 5-4 for a five-high straight and the nut low. After the hand Rodman is down to under 4,000 chips.

Wolfe takes half of monster pot

On a board of 84T4, Wolfe bets out and then reraises after a player raises. There was also a third player in the pot. The river is the A and Wolfe bets. Both players called and Wolfe flipped over A-4 for a full house and another player showed 3-2 for the nut low hand. The third player in the hand angrily mucked, upset that the ace on the river ruined his hand. With the pot Wolfe now has 8,000 chips.

Fricke doing well

Jimmy Fricke folded to a bet on a K2K, but is still doing well and has roughly 10,000 chips.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Paul Wolfe,   Blair Rodman,   Stuart Paterson,   Jimmy Fricke

Omaha High-Low Level 6

Jun 03, '08

Players are currently on a 20-minute break while the tournament staff takes away the $25 chips. When play resumes the blinds will be 200-400. There are two one-hour levels left today.

Blinds: 150-300

Players left: 440 of 833

Average chips: 5,680

Chip Leaders:

Carl Restifo - 23,000
Richard Ashby - 23,000
Joseph Ganim - 17,000
Scott Clements - 14,000
Robert Mizrachi - 12,000
Shannon Elizabeth - 11,000
Linda Johnson - 10,500
Jimmy Fricke - 9,000
Paul Wolfe - 8.500
Ben Johnson - 8,200

Eliminations:

Phi Ivey
Chris Reslock

Hands:

Wolfe chops pot to gain ground on leaders

Paul Wolfe and two players see the flop come 435. Wolfe bets and the player in seat one calls. The same thing happens after the 6 on the turn and 3 on the river. Wolfe flips over A-2 for the wheel and nut low hand, and his opponent shows 3-2 for a six-high straight and the better high-hand.

Ivey shows up and is knocked out

Phil Ivey had been blinded down to under 1,000 chips while playing another tournament. Low on chips, Ivey was all in and on a board of 373KQ lost to an opponents ace-high flush.

Vahedi down but coming back

With the board showing 5925, Amir Vahedi checks and two others in the pot also check. The A comes on the river and Vahedi bets. One players folds and the next player raises. Vahedi think it over for a minute before making the call. His opponent shows 4-3 for the straight and nut low and takes down the pot. Vahedi was down to under 3,000 chips after the hand, but has since doubled up and is now at around 6,000. 

Player Tags: Amir Vahedi,   Paul Wolfe,   Phil Ivey

Omaha High-Low Level 14

Jun 04, '08

Blinds: 1,000-2,000

Players Remaining: 63 of 833

Average chip stack: 41,000

Chip Leaders:

Ben Johnson - 96,000
George Guzman - 90,000
Thang Luu - 87,000
Johh Shirk - 72,000
John Lukas 70,000
Spencer Lawrence - 65,000
Ethan Werner - 61,000
Gregory Giannokostas - 60,000
Jose Razo Cabrera 55,000
Wing Wong - 55,000

Eliminations:

Paul Wolfe
Rolf Slotboom

Hands:

Friedman survives, but still in danger

Perry Friedman called a raise on the button and then called a bet after the flop came 6A8. The turn was the T and he bet after it was checked to him. A player in the pot raised and he called to go all in. He showed A-3-4-T while his opponent held J-7-6-4. The turn was 9 giving each of the players half the pot. After the hand Friedman had under 10,000 chips.

Wolfe folds on turn to stay alive, but later goes out

With the board reading 5KT7, Paul Wolfe folded and was left with just 8,000 chips. A short time later Wolfe was eliminated, going out in 65th place for $3,070.

Shulman survives early in level

In the first few minutes of level 14, Allyn Shulman found herself all in a board of 8T32A. She showed AKQ4, while her opponent held AQJ4. Her A-K gave her the high pot while she split the low pot with A-4. With three quarters of the pot she was up to 15,000 chips, and since then has doubled her stack to 30,000 chips.

Clements struggling to gain ground

After raising preflop and getting calls from both blinds, Scott Clements bets after a 75T flop and takes down the pot. Earlier today he was among the chip leaders, but currently has under 40,000 chips.

Player Tags: Allyn Shulman,   Paul Wolfe,   Perry Friedman,   Scott Clements

Omaha High-Low Level 13

Jun 04, '08

Players are currently on a 60-minute dinner break.

Blinds: 800-1,500

Players Remaining: 81 of 833

Average chip stack: 30,800

Chip Leaders:

George Guzman - 90,000
Thang Luu - 90,000
Ben Johnson - 83,000
John Shirk - 72,000
Spencer Lawrence - 65,000
Gregory Giannokostas - 57,000
Bob Mangino - 55,000
Jose Razo Cabrera - 55,000
Wing Wong - 54,000
Allen Kesler -50 ,000

Hands:

For nearly the entire level action was hand-to-hand. Numerous times players were all in and caught the cards to give them half the pot if not all of it. Finishing in 82nd place and receiving no money was Nick Polydoros. The top 81 finishers are guaranteed at least $2,728.

Wolfe drops down to 12,000

With the board reading K-K-3-A-2, Paul Wolfe bets and after two long minutes his opponent on the button makes the call. Wolfe shows A-2-3-x while his opponent shows K-Q. Neither player has a low hand, and Wolfe's opponent takes down the pot with three kings. After the hand he is down to just 12,000 chips.

Kessler chips up with set on flop

After a player in early position raises, Allen Kessler calls in the big blind and checks in the dark. With the boad reading 786 the preflop raiser also checks. The river is the 3 and Kessler bets. His opponent folds and Kessler increases his stack to 65,000 chips. Before mucking, he shows two sixes.

 

Player Tags: Paul Wolfe,   Allen Kessler

Omaha High-Low Level 7

Jun 03, '08

Blinds: 200-400

Players left: of 833

Average chips: 8,925

Chip Leaders:

Carl Restifo - 23,000
Richard Ashby - 20,000
Scott Clements - 19,000
Paul Wolfe - 14,000
Bryan Devonshire - 13,000
Joe Tehan - 11,000
Linda Johnson - 11,000
Jimmy Fricke - 10,000
Robert Mizrachi - 9,000
Perry Friedman - 7,000

Eliminations:

Amir Vahedi
Stuart Patterson
Amarillo Slim

Hands:

Men the Master triples up to stay alive

Down to under 2,000 chips, Men Nguyen puts 1,200 chips into the pot preflop and sees a 633 flop. He happily puts the rest of his chips in and shows 6-3. Stuart Patterson is also all in on the hand with A-A and two low cards. The turn and river do not help Patterson or the third player in the hand and Nguyen triples up to over 5,000. Patterson was eliminated shortly thereafter.

Rodman folds on river

Blair Rodman, clearly frustrated, struggled with the decision after his opponent bets on a board of 42A73. After a minute, he calls and sees his opponent flip over 5-4 for a five-high straight and the nut low. After the hand Rodman is down to under 4,000 chips.

Wolfe takes half of monster pot

On a board of 84T4, Wolfe bets out and then reraises after a player raises. There was also a third player in the pot. The river is the A and Wolfe bets. Both players called and Wolfe flipped over A-4 for a full house and another player showed 3-2 for the nut low hand. The third player in the hand angrily mucked, upset that the ace on the river ruined his hand. With the pot Wolfe now has 8,000 chips.

Fricke doing well

Jimmy Fricke folded to a bet on a K2K, but is still doing well and has roughly 10,000 chips.

Player Tags: Men Nguyen,   Paul Wolfe,   Blair Rodman,   Stuart Paterson,   Jimmy Fricke

Omaha High-Low Level 6

Jun 03, '08

Players are currently on a 20-minute break while the tournament staff takes away the $25 chips. When play resumes the blinds will be 200-400. There are two one-hour levels left today.

Blinds: 150-300

Players left: 440 of 833

Average chips: 5,680

Chip Leaders:

Carl Restifo - 23,000
Richard Ashby - 23,000
Joseph Ganim - 17,000
Scott Clements - 14,000
Robert Mizrachi - 12,000
Shannon Elizabeth - 11,000
Linda Johnson - 10,500
Jimmy Fricke - 9,000
Paul Wolfe - 8.500
Ben Johnson - 8,200

Eliminations:

Phi Ivey
Chris Reslock

Hands:

Wolfe chops pot to gain ground on leaders

Paul Wolfe and two players see the flop come 435. Wolfe bets and the player in seat one calls. The same thing happens after the 6 on the turn and 3 on the river. Wolfe flips over A-2 for the wheel and nut low hand, and his opponent shows 3-2 for a six-high straight and the better high-hand.

Ivey shows up and is knocked out

Phil Ivey had been blinded down to under 1,000 chips while playing another tournament. Low on chips, Ivey was all in and on a board of 373KQ lost to an opponents ace-high flush.

Vahedi down but coming back

With the board showing 5925, Amir Vahedi checks and two others in the pot also check. The A comes on the river and Vahedi bets. One players folds and the next player raises. Vahedi think it over for a minute before making the call. His opponent shows 4-3 for the straight and nut low and takes down the pot. Vahedi was down to under 3,000 chips after the hand, but has since doubled up and is now at around 6,000. 

Player Tags: Amir Vahedi,   Paul Wolfe,   Phil Ivey

Omaha High-Low Level 14

Jun 04, '08

Blinds: 1,000-2,000

Players Remaining: 63 of 833

Average chip stack: 41,000

Chip Leaders:

Ben Johnson - 96,000
George Guzman - 90,000
Thang Luu - 87,000
Johh Shirk - 72,000
John Lukas 70,000
Spencer Lawrence - 65,000
Ethan Werner - 61,000
Gregory Giannokostas - 60,000
Jose Razo Cabrera 55,000
Wing Wong - 55,000

Eliminations:

Paul Wolfe
Rolf Slotboom

Hands:

Friedman survives, but still in danger

Perry Friedman called a raise on the button and then called a bet after the flop came 6A8. The turn was the T and he bet after it was checked to him. A player in the pot raised and he called to go all in. He showed A-3-4-T while his opponent held J-7-6-4. The turn was 9 giving each of the players half the pot. After the hand Friedman had under 10,000 chips.

Wolfe folds on turn to stay alive, but later goes out

With the board reading 5KT7, Paul Wolfe folded and was left with just 8,000 chips. A short time later Wolfe was eliminated, going out in 65th place for $3,070.

Shulman survives early in level

In the first few minutes of level 14, Allyn Shulman found herself all in a board of 8T32A. She showed AKQ4, while her opponent held AQJ4. Her A-K gave her the high pot while she split the low pot with A-4. With three quarters of the pot she was up to 15,000 chips, and since then has doubled her stack to 30,000 chips.

Clements struggling to gain ground

After raising preflop and getting calls from both blinds, Scott Clements bets after a 75T flop and takes down the pot. Earlier today he was among the chip leaders, but currently has under 40,000 chips.

Player Tags: Allyn Shulman,   Paul Wolfe,   Perry Friedman,   Scott Clements

Omaha High-Low Level 13

Jun 04, '08

Players are currently on a 60-minute dinner break.

Blinds: 800-1,500

Players Remaining: 81 of 833

Average chip stack: 30,800

Chip Leaders:

George Guzman - 90,000
Thang Luu - 90,000
Ben Johnson - 83,000
John Shirk - 72,000
Spencer Lawrence - 65,000
Gregory Giannokostas - 57,000
Bob Mangino - 55,000
Jose Razo Cabrera - 55,000
Wing Wong - 54,000
Allen Kesler -50 ,000

Hands:

For nearly the entire level action was hand-to-hand. Numerous times players were all in and caught the cards to give them half the pot if not all of it. Finishing in 82nd place and receiving no money was Nick Polydoros. The top 81 finishers are guaranteed at least $2,728.

Wolfe drops down to 12,000

With the board reading K-K-3-A-2, Paul Wolfe bets and after two long minutes his opponent on the button makes the call. Wolfe shows A-2-3-x while his opponent shows K-Q. Neither player has a low hand, and Wolfe's opponent takes down the pot with three kings. After the hand he is down to just 12,000 chips.

Kessler chips up with set on flop

After a player in early position raises, Allen Kessler calls in the big blind and checks in the dark. With the boad reading 786 the preflop raiser also checks. The river is the 3 and Kessler bets. His opponent folds and Kessler increases his stack to 65,000 chips. Before mucking, he shows two sixes.

 

Player Tags: Paul Wolfe,   Allen Kessler

End Of The Day

Jun 22, '07

The past level saw a flurry of eliminations after the bubble burst in first half of the hour, after very quick hand-for-hand play.   Per usual, players were much more willing to take races after they made the money, and it seemed that every table had someone all in with 9-9 against A-J.   Paul Wolfe found himself in a better situation than that, with J-J against the A 10 of Devin Porter.  The situation changed drastically after the flop brought A Q 8.  The turn and river did not improve Wolfe and he was sent to the rail in 50th ($4,797).  David Colclough was also eliminated in the race-fest.   Thorsson A Q ran into an opponents A-K on an A-A-K-x-x board and got his stack severely crippled. Only 46 players remain going into day two.  With only 37 players to lose until the final table, day two should be short compared to the second days of many other events at the WSOP.   Make sure to check in as play resumes tomorrow at 3 p.m. here at Cardplayer.com.

Notable Chip Counts

Thayer Rasmussen	52,000
T.J. Cloutier	51,000
Daniel Alaei	39,000
William Thorsson	33,000

Player Tags: Paul Wolfe,   Dave Colclough,   William Thorson,   Devin Porter

Matusow Climbs the Leaderboard

Jun 11, '07

The players are on a 15 minute following the completion of the last level. There are less than 330 players left and the money starts at 98. Official numbers and payouts have been posted in the payouts section.

Mike Matusow doubled up early in the round to around $20,000 and looked up from his stack saying, "this is torture man. Torture." Matusow continued to climb up the ranks of this tournament and now has $48,000, the result of a good call for a big pot. With the board showing J10410, Matusow's opponent pushed all in for $10,000. Matusow went into the tank for a long time and eventually called. Matusow turned over A-J for top two and his opponent showed the bluff and turned over A-9. The river was the 6 and Matusow took down the large pot, esentially doubling him up. After the hand Matusow said, "something just wasn't right. I figured hey, I've made wrong calls before, I'll make this one." Matusow's instincts were right and he now sits amongst the chip leaders.

Joe Sebok wasn't as fortunate as Matusow, having busted out in the last level. Sebok was card dead for much of the afternoon and found himself all in with pocket eights. His opponent held pocket jacks and when the board came 9-5-3-K-Q, Sebok never improved. Also eliminated this round were J.C. Tran, Young Phan, Michael Binger and Paul Wolfe.

Before his elimination, Paul Wolfe sat at a table that had been gathering a lot of attention. The never quiet Davood Mehrmand had gotten in the habit of berating the players at his table, especially the woman in the five seat. The floorman seemed to be posted at this table just to make sure nothing got out of hand. Tony Cousineau got into the act from the neighboring table, yelling at Paul Wolfe. "You got everything under control over there Paul?" asked Cousineau. Wolfe replied, "I'm just watchin him berate everyone at the table. It's ridiculous." During all this, John Esposito sat down at the table and immediately became concerned with the situation he was walking in to. "Honey, don't worry about that guy. (Mehrmand) He does this everywhere he goes. I'm not gonna stand for it. (To Mehrmand) You just be quiet!" Esposito commanded respect as he sat down. "I can't believe nobody stood up for her. You guys ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Don't worry honey, Uncle Johnny is here." The nonsense present at the table earlier seems to be calmed now that Esposito has arrived.

Play will resume following the break and continue for approximately one half of a level and the players will go on dinner break.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Davood Mehrmand,   John Esposito Jr.,   Young Phan,   Paul Wolfe,   Mike Matusow,   Joe Sebok,   Michael Binger

250 Players Remain

Jun 06, '07

Players must have been anxious to get back to the felt following dinner because in no time at all the field has slimmed down to under 250. Notable eliminations include T.J. Cloutier, Paul Wolfe and David "Chino" Reem. Reem was all in before the flop with 7-4 against his opponents A-9. An ace came on the flop and took most of the mystery out of it for Reem who left before seeing the turn or the river.

Court Harrington, reporter for PocketFives.com, doubled up to approximately $24,000 before being eliminated. Three players saw a flop of J95, including Harrington. One player bet $2,000 and Harrington called. The third player folded and the turn was the 6. Harrington bet out $4,000 and got a call from his opponent. The river was the 8 and Harrington pushed his remaining chips into the middle. His opponent called and turned over J10 for top pair. Harrington showed, and I'm not making this up, pocket fives (55) for the flopped set and took down the pot. Harrington was later eliminated when his two pair ran into another player's set.

Amnon Filippi, Justin Bonomo, John Gale, Eric Froelich, Phil Hellmuth and many others are all still battling for World Series of Poker gold in this event.

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   Paul Wolfe,   Phil Hellmuth,   Amnon Filippi,   Justin Bonomo,   John Gale,   Eric Froehlich