Darrell Dicken Poker Tournament Updates

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 3 Recap

Jun 15, '08

Blinds: 200-400

Players Left: 218

Chip Leaders:
David Oppenheim - 50,000
Terrence Chan - 39,000
Todd Witteles - 36,000
Michael Mizrachi - 31,000
Erik Cajelais - 30,000
Robert Mizrachi - 28,000
Liz Lieu - 28,000
Huck Seed - 25,000
Greg Mueller - 24,000
John Hennigan - 24,000
Michael Binger – 24,000

Eliminations:
Phil Ivey

Big Hands and Storylines:

Michael Binger: Serious Business

Darrell “Gigabet” Dicken raised from early position and was called by Michael Binger two seats to his left. Dicken bet the Q75 flop and Binger called. The turn was the 4 and Dicken bet again. Binger tossed in a raise and Dicken, smiling, asked, “Whaddya got?” Binger slowly and seriously counted down the chips in front of him and gave Dicken an answer. Of course, this information wasn’t quite what “Gigabet” was looking for: “I meant the cards in your hands,” Dicken quipped, before folding his hand. We don’t know what cards Binger had, but we do know that he currently has about 24,000 in chips, a couple thousand more than Dicken’s 22,000.

Harman Hanging On

Erik Cajelais raised preflop from middle position and Harman called from the small blind. Harman checked raised him on the Q107 flop and Cajelais called. The turn was the 2 and Harman bet, Cajelais raised, Harman 3-bet, and Cajelais made another raise, putting Harman all in. Harman called and the two both showed down A-Q, splitting the pot and allowing Harman to live for another hand. Harman has only about 5,000 chips left, but Cajelais is sitting pretty with 30,000.

“Waco” Standoffish

Upon losing another pot, Jared “TheWacoKidd” Hamby tossed down his hand in frustration and started shuffling his chips -- all four of them. The quartet of remaining 1,000-denomination chips leaves him with a mere 4,000 from his starting stack of 20,000. Hamby will need a bit of luck to dig himself out of this hole.

Boeken Re-building

Noah Boeken raised from the hijack and Bill Edler called from the cutoff. The two saw a flop of A72 and both players checked. On the A turn, Boeken bet out and Edler called him. Boeken bet the river 9, and Edler quickly folded. This hand brought Boeken back up to 10,000 in chips while Edler slipped to 19,500.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Huck Seed,   David Oppenheim,   Greg Mueller,   Michael Mizrachi,   John Hennigan,   Jennifer Harman,   Phil Ivey,   Bill Edler,   Noah Boeken,   Terrence Chan,   Darrell Dicken,   Liz Lieu,   Todd Witteles,   Erik Cajelais,   Michael Binger,   Jared Hamby,   European Report

Dinner Break

Jul 08, '07

The remaining players have just gone on dinner break and will return at 8:30 to Level 4 and a blind in crease to $200-$400 with a $50 ante.

Level 3 Eliminations

Andy Bloch

Andy Bloch made a pre-flop raise of $2,800 and the player in seat no. 7 made the call. The flop came K 9 3, and both players checked around. The turn brought the Jd and Bloch bet out $5,000. Seat no. 7 re-raised and moved all-in, Bloch called (Seat no. 7 had Bloch covered). Seat no. 7 turns over A 10 for the ace-high flush and Bloch showed K K for top set. The river brought the 4 and Andy Bloch was eliminated halfway through Level 3.

Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly was also eliminated in level 3 when she moved all-in on the flop with Q-J for an open-ended straight draw and her opponent called her down with pocket aces. Tilly did not improve on the board and that was the end of her run at this year’s main Event.

John “Tex” Barch

In a three—handed pot and on a flop of A 8 8, all players checked around to the turn. The turn brought the 2 and Tex Barch moved all-in for $5,500. One player dropped out while seat no. 8 called instantly. Barch turned over A J for aces-up while seat no. 8 showed 9 8 for trips. The river brought the 8 and seat no. 8 catches the case eight to make quads and send Barch to the rail.    

No Soup for Phil!

www.PokerStars.com team member, Jason Alexander limped into a pot and Phil Gordon checked his option in the big blind. The flop came 10-3-2, and Gordon bet out. Alexander raised and Gordon called. The turn brought another 10 and this time Phil bet out and Alexander just called. The river brought a 5 and Alexander gets the rest of his money in the pot. Gordon pays him off with trip tens, but it wouldn’t come without a little trash talk from the pro when he saw Alexander turn over pocket fives for a full house in the river. Needless to say, Gordon was pissed and Alexander was delighted, but everyone was laughing again soon enough. 

Dicken Gets Rivered

Darrell Dicken was the next pro to catch a horrible beat on the river. On a flop of Q 10 8, Dicken led out with $1,700 and te player in seat no. 9 moves all-in for $16,300 more. Dicken made the call and turned over Q 10 while his opponent showed Q 9. The turn brought the 6 giving seat no. 9 a flush draw along with the gutshot straight draw to the river. The river brought the J, giving seat no. 9 his straight and allowing him to double through Dicken. Dicken wasn’t too happy after this hand either, but he just shook it off and got right back to business.

J.C. Tran Doubles Up

J.C. Tran was finding a little more luck in the deck and doubled up from the short-stack during Level 3. Tran got it all in pre-flop with A-Q against an opponent’s pair of sixes. Tran hit an ace on the turn and managed to double the size of his stack heading into dinner.

Chris Ferguson Knocks One Out

On a flop of A 10 4, Chris Ferguson bet out $3,000 and the player in seat no. 6 moves all-in for $1,750 more. Ferguson calls with A Q while his opponent shoed A J. The turn and river brought the 5 and the 7, no help to his opponent as Ferguson gets another confirmed kill under his belt and cushions his stack before dinner.

Players will return from dinner at 8:30 p.m., so be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com for more updates and your favorite Pro Blogs.

Notable Chip Counts

Gavin Griffin	86,300
Allen Cunningham	58,000
Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson	45,000
Phil Gordon	43,400
Steve Dannenmann	38,000
Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken	31,500
Chris Moneymaker	30,000
Toto Leonidas	27,800
JC Tran	26,000
Robert Varkonyi	24,000
Humberto Brenes	19,000
Kenna James	18,500
Katja Thater	18,500
David Sklansky	18,000
Amir Vahedi	16,500
Todd Brunson	9,000
T.J. Cloutier	8,000
Chau Giang	8,000

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Chris Ferguson,   Phil Gordon,   John Barch,   Jennifer Tilly,   Darrell Dicken,   Jason Alexander

Day 2B - Level Two - Hour Two

Jul 11, '07

No Hustle Gussle up to $280,000

Seat four moved all in and Gus Hansen made the call with a huge sprawling stack in front of him. He flipped over A 8 and his opponent showed down 5 3. The board rolled out 8 6 2 5 2. Hansen grew his stack to $280,000 after the hand.

The $400,000 Benchmark

Jeff “J.P.” Parker now holds $430,000. He is seated at a table with Amnon Filippi and two other stacks that hold over $200,000. Bill Edler had also built a large stack at a table within the vicinity.

Gigabet Busted Opponent

Darrell “Gigabet” Dicken raised and his opponent moved all in on a flop of Q 6 10 K. Dicken made the call and flipped over A J. His opponent showed K Q and river rolled out the 2. Dicken took down the pot with Broadway and his opponent was sent to the rail.

Thor Takes a Hit

Seat five moved all in for $23,600 and Thor Hansen made the call. Hansen turned over A K and seat five showed pocket threes. The board was rolled out 10 3 2 J 2 and seat five doubled up.

Irish Troubles

Padraig Parkinson has been eliminated - his full house, kings over sevens, deemed not good enough. Scott Gray took a $100,000 hit when 'some rockstar' hit running cards on the turn and river to fill a straight and trump Scott;s flopped trip Jacks. Mick McCloskey is gone and Ken 'KPNuts' Powell hit running threes to keep his dream alive for a while at least - he has $17,200 in chips.

Field Update

As the players went to break, 85 tables remained with 765 players in the field. 

Notable Chip Counts

Gus Hansen	275,000
Chip Jett	242,000
Ted Forrest	217,900
J.C. Tran	216,000
Daniel Alaei	205,000
Carlos Mortensen	190,000
Chad Brown	187,000
Chris Ferguson	180,000
Bill Edler	170,000
Daniel Negreanu	160,000
Gavin Smith	158,000
Thor Hansen	150,000
Lee Watkinson	150,000
Warren Karp	135,000
Sorel Mizzi	135,000
Maria Ho	120,000
Dario Minieri	113,000
Darrell Dicken	105,000
Ralph Perry	95,000
Isaac Haxton	90,000
Leif Force	82,000
Nick Binger	80,000
Todd Brunson	70,000
Chris Moneymaker	70,000
Hasan Habib	65,000
Michael Binger	64,000
Jon "Pearljammer" Turner	62,000
Humberto Brenes	56,800
Prahlad Friedman	47,000
Mimi Tran	45,000
Bernard Lee	44,000
Melissa Hayden	40,000
Chris Grigorian	35,000
Amnon Filippi	34,000
Tony Hachem	29,100

 

Player Tags: Thor Hansen,   Gus Hansen,   Darrell Dicken

Dinner Break

Jul 08, '07

The remaining players have just gone on dinner break and will return at 8:30 to Level 4 and a blind in crease to $200-$400 with a $50 ante.

Level 3 Eliminations

Andy Bloch

Andy Bloch made a pre-flop raise of $2,800 and the player in seat no. 7 made the call. The flop came K 9 3, and both players checked around. The turn brought the Jd and Bloch bet out $5,000. Seat no. 7 re-raised and moved all-in, Bloch called (Seat no. 7 had Bloch covered). Seat no. 7 turns over A 10 for the ace-high flush and Bloch showed K K for top set. The river brought the 4 and Andy Bloch was eliminated halfway through Level 3.

Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly was also eliminated in level 3 when she moved all-in on the flop with Q-J for an open-ended straight draw and her opponent called her down with pocket aces. Tilly did not improve on the board and that was the end of her run at this year’s main Event.

John “Tex” Barch

In a three—handed pot and on a flop of A 8 8, all players checked around to the turn. The turn brought the 2 and Tex Barch moved all-in for $5,500. One player dropped out while seat no. 8 called instantly. Barch turned over A J for aces-up while seat no. 8 showed 9 8 for trips. The river brought the 8 and seat no. 8 catches the case eight to make quads and send Barch to the rail.    

No Soup for Phil!

www.PokerStars.com team member, Jason Alexander limped into a pot and Phil Gordon checked his option in the big blind. The flop came 10-3-2, and Gordon bet out. Alexander raised and Gordon called. The turn brought another 10 and this time Phil bet out and Alexander just called. The river brought a 5 and Alexander gets the rest of his money in the pot. Gordon pays him off with trip tens, but it wouldn’t come without a little trash talk from the pro when he saw Alexander turn over pocket fives for a full house in the river. Needless to say, Gordon was pissed and Alexander was delighted, but everyone was laughing again soon enough. 

Dicken Gets Rivered

Darrell Dicken was the next pro to catch a horrible beat on the river. On a flop of Q 10 8, Dicken led out with $1,700 and te player in seat no. 9 moves all-in for $16,300 more. Dicken made the call and turned over Q 10 while his opponent showed Q 9. The turn brought the 6 giving seat no. 9 a flush draw along with the gutshot straight draw to the river. The river brought the J, giving seat no. 9 his straight and allowing him to double through Dicken. Dicken wasn’t too happy after this hand either, but he just shook it off and got right back to business.

J.C. Tran Doubles Up

J.C. Tran was finding a little more luck in the deck and doubled up from the short-stack during Level 3. Tran got it all in pre-flop with A-Q against an opponent’s pair of sixes. Tran hit an ace on the turn and managed to double the size of his stack heading into dinner.

Chris Ferguson Knocks One Out

On a flop of A 10 4, Chris Ferguson bet out $3,000 and the player in seat no. 6 moves all-in for $1,750 more. Ferguson calls with A Q while his opponent shoed A J. The turn and river brought the 5 and the 7, no help to his opponent as Ferguson gets another confirmed kill under his belt and cushions his stack before dinner.

Players will return from dinner at 8:30 p.m., so be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com for more updates and your favorite Pro Blogs.

Notable Chip Counts

Gavin Griffin	86,300
Allen Cunningham	58,000
Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson	45,000
Phil Gordon	43,400
Steve Dannenmann	38,000
Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken	31,500
Chris Moneymaker	30,000
Toto Leonidas	27,800
JC Tran	26,000
Robert Varkonyi	24,000
Humberto Brenes	19,000
Kenna James	18,500
Katja Thater	18,500
David Sklansky	18,000
Amir Vahedi	16,500
Todd Brunson	9,000
T.J. Cloutier	8,000
Chau Giang	8,000

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Chris Ferguson,   Phil Gordon,   John Barch,   Jennifer Tilly,   Darrell Dicken,   Jason Alexander

Day 2B - Level Two - Hour Two

Jul 11, '07

No Hustle Gussle up to $280,000

Seat four moved all in and Gus Hansen made the call with a huge sprawling stack in front of him. He flipped over A 8 and his opponent showed down 5 3. The board rolled out 8 6 2 5 2. Hansen grew his stack to $280,000 after the hand.

The $400,000 Benchmark

Jeff “J.P.” Parker now holds $430,000. He is seated at a table with Amnon Filippi and two other stacks that hold over $200,000. Bill Edler had also built a large stack at a table within the vicinity.

Gigabet Busted Opponent

Darrell “Gigabet” Dicken raised and his opponent moved all in on a flop of Q 6 10 K. Dicken made the call and flipped over A J. His opponent showed K Q and river rolled out the 2. Dicken took down the pot with Broadway and his opponent was sent to the rail.

Thor Takes a Hit

Seat five moved all in for $23,600 and Thor Hansen made the call. Hansen turned over A K and seat five showed pocket threes. The board was rolled out 10 3 2 J 2 and seat five doubled up.

Irish Troubles

Padraig Parkinson has been eliminated - his full house, kings over sevens, deemed not good enough. Scott Gray took a $100,000 hit when 'some rockstar' hit running cards on the turn and river to fill a straight and trump Scott;s flopped trip Jacks. Mick McCloskey is gone and Ken 'KPNuts' Powell hit running threes to keep his dream alive for a while at least - he has $17,200 in chips.

Field Update

As the players went to break, 85 tables remained with 765 players in the field. 

Notable Chip Counts

Gus Hansen	275,000
Chip Jett	242,000
Ted Forrest	217,900
J.C. Tran	216,000
Daniel Alaei	205,000
Carlos Mortensen	190,000
Chad Brown	187,000
Chris Ferguson	180,000
Bill Edler	170,000
Daniel Negreanu	160,000
Gavin Smith	158,000
Thor Hansen	150,000
Lee Watkinson	150,000
Warren Karp	135,000
Sorel Mizzi	135,000
Maria Ho	120,000
Dario Minieri	113,000
Darrell Dicken	105,000
Ralph Perry	95,000
Isaac Haxton	90,000
Leif Force	82,000
Nick Binger	80,000
Todd Brunson	70,000
Chris Moneymaker	70,000
Hasan Habib	65,000
Michael Binger	64,000
Jon "Pearljammer" Turner	62,000
Humberto Brenes	56,800
Prahlad Friedman	47,000
Mimi Tran	45,000
Bernard Lee	44,000
Melissa Hayden	40,000
Chris Grigorian	35,000
Amnon Filippi	34,000
Tony Hachem	29,100

 

Player Tags: Thor Hansen,   Gus Hansen,   Darrell Dicken

Hour 2 Recap

Jun 24, '07

There’s a lot of action in Amazon Room right now as the second hour of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event has come to an end. Mike “The Mouth” Matusow is seeing a lot of action on his table as he gets out in front with the early chip lead. But the action doesn’t just stop at the table for Matusow as he has a $10,000 last-longer side bet going with Barry Greenstein. Despite having less chips than “The Mouth”, Greenstein is so confident in his ability to outlast the field that he laid Matusow 7:5 odds from the shorter stack. 

Although the Amazon Room is filled with familiar faces and the tables are shared by friends, the competition is immense and everyone has their eyes on the prize. While most people are trying to take as many chip as possible off of their table mates, others are making table changes to avoid a head-on collision with each other. Todd Brunson took his seat across the table from his father Doyle, but after requesting a table change by the floor staff, both father and son can now focus their aggression on the rest of field and not each other.

During Level 2; Omaha eight-or-better, Darrell Dicken was one of Matusow’s early contributors, donating a decent amount of chips to Matusow’s cause. Both Matusow,  and Dicken limp into a four-handed pot followed by John Phan out of the small blind and the big blind who checked his option. The flop came 7 6 4, and Matusow bets out, Dicken calls, and both the blinds fold behind them. The turn brought the 3 and this time Matusow checks to Dicken who fires out. Matusow called and the river brought the 2. Both players check the river and Matusow turns over 6 4 for two pair and A 3 for the nut low. Dicken who had been playing for the low turns over A 2 for the nut low, and he gets quartered. Matusow takes ¾ of the pot.

The Omaha eight-or-better round also brought a smile to Mike Sexton’s face when he flipped over K K on a K 5 2 K 7 board for quad kings. T.J. Cloutier wasn’t smiling after this hand as he too was playing for the high hand while Mike Sexton scooped the pot.    

Halfway through the second hour, the game switched to Razz and Thor Hansen managed to take a really nice pot off of John Phan. Phan comes in for a raise and Hansen calls behind him. Phan had been betting the whole time with a board of 3 6 J 7 while Hansen had been calling him down to the river with a board of 2 5 J 10. Phan bets the river and Hansen raises him. Phan calls and turns over A 2 8 for the seven-low while Hansen shows 6 4 3for the six-low.

Fifteen Europeans have entered the event and most are household names in the poker community :
Max Pescatori, Jeff Lisandro, Marco Traniello, Rob Hollink, Andy Black, Thor Hansen, Patrick Bueno, Jani Sointula, Patrik Antonius, John Kabbaj, Alex Kravchenko, Gus Hansen, David Benyamine, John Duthie, and Bruno Fitoussi.

That's about 10% of the field. Last year Patrik Antonius was the only European to cash, finishing in 9th place.

This is just a small preview of the action to come over the next five days, so be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com

for more updates and the Pro Blogs of last year’s champion, David “Chip” Reese, and runner-up, Andy Bloch.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Thor Hansen,   T.J. Cloutier,   David Reese,   Barry Greenstein,   Andy Bloch,   Todd Brunson,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Darrell Dicken

Level 23 and 24 - Razz and Stud

Jun 25, '07

RAZZ

Table 41

In addition to housing to last year's champion, Chip Reese, and the chip leader , Eli Elezra, table 41 has seen a veritable whose who of big-name pros come and go.  When Carlos Mortonsen busted, Darrell Dicken replaced him.  David Grey took the former seat of Chad Brown.  This table seems unstoppable, but with tables breaking at an increasingly quick pace, this table is next in line.  When it goes it will unleash some of the toughest in the game onto the other tables.

Farnood Busted By Trips

Doyle Brunson eliminated Sherkhan Farnood during the razz level.  Amazingly, Doyle held trip aces in his hand, but also had a jack-high low that was good enough to win the pot and send Farnood to the rail.

Dan Harmetz  and T.J. Cloutier were also eliminated during the razz level.

STUD

Zolotow's Favorite: Position

Steve Zolotow was on a shorter than average stack when he announced that he was merely trying to survive through the seven card stud games, so that he could use the button and the positional advantage it offers.

Fade To Grey

A short stacked David Grey was battling for his tournament life at the treacherous table 41.  He got the last of his chips is after three cards against Chip Reese, who was showing a 10 with (J 8 )J. Unfortunately for Grey, Reese held (Q Q) in the hole and called his all-in.  Grey did not improve and Reese sent him to the rail.

Only 96 players remain in the event. With payouts beginning at 16th place, the money is still a ways off. But with such an incredible field, the mix of games and the amazing amount of money on the line, this is already one of the most  entertaining  and interesting events of the year. Make sure to catch all the action every hour here at Cardplayer.com.

Daniel Negreanu	180,000
Max Pescatori	158,000
Greg Raymer	158,000
Chris Ferguson	148,000
John Hennigan	145,000
Isabelle Mercier	120,000
Todd Brunson	85,000
Howard Lederer	55,000

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   David Reese,   Steve Zolotow,   Doyle Brunson,   Eli Elezra,   David Grey,   Sherkhan Farnood,   Darrell Dicken,   Dan Harmetz

Hour 2 Recap

Jun 24, '07

There’s a lot of action in Amazon Room right now as the second hour of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event has come to an end. Mike “The Mouth” Matusow is seeing a lot of action on his table as he gets out in front with the early chip lead. But the action doesn’t just stop at the table for Matusow as he has a $10,000 last-longer side bet going with Barry Greenstein. Despite having less chips than “The Mouth”, Greenstein is so confident in his ability to outlast the field that he laid Matusow 7:5 odds from the shorter stack. 

Although the Amazon Room is filled with familiar faces and the tables are shared by friends, the competition is immense and everyone has their eyes on the prize. While most people are trying to take as many chip as possible off of their table mates, others are making table changes to avoid a head-on collision with each other. Todd Brunson took his seat across the table from his father Doyle, but after requesting a table change by the floor staff, both father and son can now focus their aggression on the rest of field and not each other.

During Level 2; Omaha eight-or-better, Darrell Dicken was one of Matusow’s early contributors, donating a decent amount of chips to Matusow’s cause. Both Matusow,  and Dicken limp into a four-handed pot followed by John Phan out of the small blind and the big blind who checked his option. The flop came 7 6 4, and Matusow bets out, Dicken calls, and both the blinds fold behind them. The turn brought the 3 and this time Matusow checks to Dicken who fires out. Matusow called and the river brought the 2. Both players check the river and Matusow turns over 6 4 for two pair and A 3 for the nut low. Dicken who had been playing for the low turns over A 2 for the nut low, and he gets quartered. Matusow takes ¾ of the pot.

The Omaha eight-or-better round also brought a smile to Mike Sexton’s face when he flipped over K K on a K 5 2 K 7 board for quad kings. T.J. Cloutier wasn’t smiling after this hand as he too was playing for the high hand while Mike Sexton scooped the pot.    

Halfway through the second hour, the game switched to Razz and Thor Hansen managed to take a really nice pot off of John Phan. Phan comes in for a raise and Hansen calls behind him. Phan had been betting the whole time with a board of 3 6 J 7 while Hansen had been calling him down to the river with a board of 2 5 J 10. Phan bets the river and Hansen raises him. Phan calls and turns over A 2 8 for the seven-low while Hansen shows 6 4 3for the six-low.

Fifteen Europeans have entered the event and most are household names in the poker community :
Max Pescatori, Jeff Lisandro, Marco Traniello, Rob Hollink, Andy Black, Thor Hansen, Patrick Bueno, Jani Sointula, Patrik Antonius, John Kabbaj, Alex Kravchenko, Gus Hansen, David Benyamine, John Duthie, and Bruno Fitoussi.

That's about 10% of the field. Last year Patrik Antonius was the only European to cash, finishing in 9th place.

This is just a small preview of the action to come over the next five days, so be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com

for more updates and the Pro Blogs of last year’s champion, David “Chip” Reese, and runner-up, Andy Bloch.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Thor Hansen,   T.J. Cloutier,   David Reese,   Barry Greenstein,   Andy Bloch,   Todd Brunson,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Darrell Dicken

Level 23 and 24 - Razz and Stud

Jun 25, '07

RAZZ

Table 41

In addition to housing to last year's champion, Chip Reese, and the chip leader , Eli Elezra, table 41 has seen a veritable whose who of big-name pros come and go.  When Carlos Mortonsen busted, Darrell Dicken replaced him.  David Grey took the former seat of Chad Brown.  This table seems unstoppable, but with tables breaking at an increasingly quick pace, this table is next in line.  When it goes it will unleash some of the toughest in the game onto the other tables.

Farnood Busted By Trips

Doyle Brunson eliminated Sherkhan Farnood during the razz level.  Amazingly, Doyle held trip aces in his hand, but also had a jack-high low that was good enough to win the pot and send Farnood to the rail.

Dan Harmetz  and T.J. Cloutier were also eliminated during the razz level.

STUD

Zolotow's Favorite: Position

Steve Zolotow was on a shorter than average stack when he announced that he was merely trying to survive through the seven card stud games, so that he could use the button and the positional advantage it offers.

Fade To Grey

A short stacked David Grey was battling for his tournament life at the treacherous table 41.  He got the last of his chips is after three cards against Chip Reese, who was showing a 10 with (J 8 )J. Unfortunately for Grey, Reese held (Q Q) in the hole and called his all-in.  Grey did not improve and Reese sent him to the rail.

Only 96 players remain in the event. With payouts beginning at 16th place, the money is still a ways off. But with such an incredible field, the mix of games and the amazing amount of money on the line, this is already one of the most  entertaining  and interesting events of the year. Make sure to catch all the action every hour here at Cardplayer.com.

Daniel Negreanu	180,000
Max Pescatori	158,000
Greg Raymer	158,000
Chris Ferguson	148,000
John Hennigan	145,000
Isabelle Mercier	120,000
Todd Brunson	85,000
Howard Lederer	55,000

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   David Reese,   Steve Zolotow,   Doyle Brunson,   Eli Elezra,   David Grey,   Sherkhan Farnood,   Darrell Dicken,   Dan Harmetz

Hour One

Jun 20, '07

Playing Down

An hour into play there were nine tables with 72 players remaining. Allen Kessler busted during the first hour of play, but Jim Pechac still remained at the table he departed. Darrell Dicken, “Miami” John Cernuto, and Jeff Lisandro were seated together at table 76. David Chiu, Chip Reese, Cyndy Violette, Paul Darden, and Daniel Negreanu were all solo acts at their tables, while Bradley Berman and Marcel Luske were seated together at table 71.

The Professor, the Hairdresser, and Jesus

Table 72 resembled a Full Tilt lounge as Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and Howard Lederer sat together. Mel Judah was thrown into the mix for good measure. Unfortunately, this table was broken during the hour and Ferguson joined Cernuto, Dicken, and Lisandro to make the toughest table of the tournament.

Color Up

The players took a short break to race off the green chips.

Survival of the Fittest

David Chiu was low on chips when turned up 5 2 (K 8 10 Q 10 against the exposed A 4 3 7 of his opponent. He was nearly all in on the hand and the pot effectively double him up.

Chip Loses Chips

Seat three led out with a bet on every street and Chip Reese called. On the final card both players checked though. Seat three turned up J J (8 2 A 6) 3 and Chip mucked with K 6 J 4 exposed.

“Kings Beat Queens”

Daniel Negreanu mucked his hand when his opponent bet with two kings exposed on fifth street. “As soon as he caught that king I knew he was going to catch another one,” said Daniel Negreanu. He flipped over a queen to go with the one he had exposed on the board, and then remarked, “Kings beat queens.”

Gigabet Storms Miami

Darrel “Gigabet” Dicken is involved in a pot with “Miami” John Cernuto and wins the confrontation when he flipped over Q 10 (A 5 10 2) 5. Cernuto mucked his down cards with 6 9 A 4 exposed.

Break Time

The players went on a 15 minute break and then returned to find out that dinner will be at 9 p.m. They will play until then and return at 10 p.m. to play into the night.

Daniel Negreanu	41,000
Tam Nguyen	27,000
Marcel Luske	26,000
Cyndy Violette	26,000
Mel Judah	24,000
Howard Lederer	24,000
Chris Reslock	20,000
Jeffrey Lisandro	18,000
Darrell Dicken	18,000

Player Tags: John Cernuto,   Chris Ferguson,   Mel Judah,   Daniel Negreanu,   Howard Lederer,   David Chiu,   Darrell Dicken

Hour Three Recap

Jun 17, '07

Eliminations

After taking out Doug Lee last level, Brandi Hawbaker was eliminated.  Rolf Slotbloom has moved to the seat formally occupied by Humberto Brenes, who has busted.  Mark Vos and Andrew Black have were also eliminated at that table, but Josh Arieh and Evelyn Ng remain.  Darrell Dicken was eliminated when his pocket fives ran into pocket aces, and after the board bricked he was sent to the rail.

Event Info Released

Tournament officials released the event information during the past hour.  The 827 entrants created a $2,282,520 prize pool, which will be split among 81 players, with $527,829 and the bracelet going to the first place finisher.

Better Late Than Never

Both Joe Hachem and Phil Hellmuth arrived in the third level. While this is Hellmuth's modus operandi, Hachem is usually more punctual.  In addition to being late today, Hachem is showing up rather late in the series, with this being his first WSOP event this year.

Euro interest
As well as Slotboom and Black other Euro entrants in today's game include Dav e 'Devilfish' Ulliott (seated at a table with Phil Helmuth), Dave Colclough who is at a table with Slotboom, Ben Roberts who is sitting next to Jeff Shulman, Frenchman Paul Testud and John Shipley.

See exiting the building shortly after Andy Black was Surindar Sunar.

Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth,   Doug Lee,   Darrell Dicken,   Brandi Hawbaker,   Rolf Slotboom

HORSE Race

Jun 10, '07

Down to Six Tables

The H.O.R.S.E. event got down to six tables with 40 players remaining. Bill Edler, Micket Appleman, Daniel Negreanu were all lost along the way.

Different Strategies

Between hands Ali Eslami and David Grey conversed about the different approaches and finer points one needs to consider when playing in a World Series of Poker event, as opposed to a World Poker Tour event. Grey advocated a very aggressive push around the money bubble of the WPT.

Chip Counts Of Note

Some familiar faces had chip stacks in the top ten:

Darrell Dicken: $113,000
John Gale: $96,000
Jason Sagle: $75,000

Quad Kings Take the High

Jason Newell is all in on third street and seat one had made the call. The cards were then dealt:

JDN: 2 4 (5 2 4 A) 6
Seat one: 10 K (K 10KK) A

The fact that the game was seven card stud  8/OB  is the saving grace for Jason, who took the low half of the pot.

Gale Scoops

With the J 8 A 8 exposed Gale raised to $6,000 after his opponent bet $3,000. Seat one called with 9 2 J K exposed. Gale bet $3,000 on the last down card and seat one called. Gale flipped over 6 5 3 and seat one got scooped when all he could muster was the 8. Seat one was eliminated on the next hand and Gale now had $96,000. 

Player Tags: Jason Sagle,   John Gale,   Darrell Dicken

The Studs

Jun 10, '07

We apologize for the extended coverage delays.  There were mass wireless internet problems throughout the Rio, but the problem looks like it has been fixed. 

While we were away, the players in the H.O.R.S.E. events started to drop like flies.  Despite the aggressive play and numerous bustouts, the player's moods are lighthearted and friendly.  David Grey has taken this opportunity to tell his table more than one story, frequently jumping to the next topic of conversation.  David Williams and John D'Agostino don't really seem to mind. 

There was another controversy brewing on table 37 where Darrell Dicken is seated.  The action was headsup after third street and when the dealer went to pitch the next two cards, he instead tried to flop them.  So he picked them up, laughing at his own mistake, and then pitched them to the two players.  It was then that both players noticed the possiblity that their cards were switched.  Some players at the table said it was accurate, while some were sure he mixed them up.  Either way, after some complaining and questioning, they played the cards as is, and the player in seat 6 won with Aces up. 

After turning his cards over, another problem arose.  Apparently there are some angle shooters at the WSOP, because yet another Ace was marked.  The card was removed and replaced. 

The next level they will play is Hold'em followed by Omaha Hi/Lo. 

Player Tags: John D'Agostino,   David Grey,   David Williams,   Darrell Dicken

Hour Two Update

Jun 11, '07

Down to Ten
The final table is just two eliminations away.

Not Making Any Friends
On seventh street facing a bet, Harry Kazazinan places his chips in front of his cards, cuts them then shuffles them.  After he had cut them the player who made the bet, Ali Eslami tabled his hand.  Kazazinan claimed he hadn't made the call and was stll thinking and stated he should not have to make the bet.  The floorman was called over and he ruled that because Kazazinan cut the chips in front of this cards it looked too much like a call and he had to put the chips in.  Kazazinan strongly disagreed and continued to argue for an extended period of time.  Eventually the floorman got fed up. told Kazazinan his decision was final and ended the discussion.  Kazazinan then tabled his hand, and ended up splitting part of the pot.  A couple of the players pointed out that the discussion ended up being pointless, but Kazazinan maintained that the floorman made the wrong decision.

Gigabet vs Mizrachi
Both Darrell Dicken and Robert Mizrachi have large stacks at their table, and it looks like they are going to play against each other quite a bit.  In one stud hand, Dicken completed showing the K and Mizrachi made the call with the 6.  Fourth street came 8 for Dicken and he bet and Mizrachi called with he hit the 8.  Fifth street was Dicken 10, Mizrachi 5 and both players checked.  Sixth street gave Dicken a pair with the 10, he bet and Mizrachi called with the Q.  Dicken checked seventh street, and Mizrachi bet.  Dicken thought for a second, then folded. 
Later on, Mizrachi complemented Dicken on his mixed game play.  Mizrachi pointed out that it was their first time playing mixed against each other, and for a hold'em specialist Dicken was surprisingly skilled.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Darrell Dicken,   Harry Kazazian

Hour One Update

Jun 11, '07

Early Busts
Four players busted early in the H.O.R.S.E. event:
20. Jason Sagle
19. David Botton
18. John Gale
17. Michael DeMichele

Mizrachi and Rasmussen Battle
In Omaha Eight or better Rob Mizrachi raises to $4,000 and Thayer Rasmussen reraises to $8,000.  Mizrachi makes the call and the flop comes 883.  Rasmussen bets and Mizrachi calls.  The turn comes J and both players check.  The river is the Q, Mizrachi bets and Rasmussen makes the call.  Mizrachi tables QJ109 for the straight, and Rasmussen disgustedly chucks his cards into the muck.

Darrell Dicken Chips Up
Dicken raises to $8,000, Steve Graboski calls from the small blind and Rob Mizrachi calls from the big.  The flop comes JJ4, Graboski bets, Mizrachi folds and Dicken raises.  Graboski makes the call, the turn is the 10 and both players check.  The river comes K, Graboski checks and Dicken bets.  Graboski hesitantly makes the call then mucks when he sees Dicken table A443. 

Thayer Rasmussen Eliminated 16th
Rob Mizrachi has finished the job and eliminated a disappointed Rasmussen in 16th place. 

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Darrell Dicken,   Thayer Rasmussen

HORSE Race

Jun 10, '07

Down to Six Tables

The H.O.R.S.E. event got down to six tables with 40 players remaining. Bill Edler, Micket Appleman, Daniel Negreanu were all lost along the way.

Different Strategies

Between hands Ali Eslami and David Grey conversed about the different approaches and finer points one needs to consider when playing in a World Series of Poker event, as opposed to a World Poker Tour event. Grey advocated a very aggressive push around the money bubble of the WPT.

Chip Counts Of Note

Some familiar faces had chip stacks in the top ten:

Darrell Dicken: $113,000
John Gale: $96,000
Jason Sagle: $75,000

Quad Kings Take the High

Jason Newell is all in on third street and seat one had made the call. The cards were then dealt:

JDN: 2 4 (5 2 4 A) 6
Seat one: 10 K (K 10KK) A

The fact that the game was seven card stud  8/OB  is the saving grace for Jason, who took the low half of the pot.

Gale Scoops

With the J 8 A 8 exposed Gale raised to $6,000 after his opponent bet $3,000. Seat one called with 9 2 J K exposed. Gale bet $3,000 on the last down card and seat one called. Gale flipped over 6 5 3 and seat one got scooped when all he could muster was the 8. Seat one was eliminated on the next hand and Gale now had $96,000. 

Player Tags: Jason Sagle,   John Gale,   Darrell Dicken

The Studs

Jun 10, '07

We apologize for the extended coverage delays.  There were mass wireless internet problems throughout the Rio, but the problem looks like it has been fixed. 

While we were away, the players in the H.O.R.S.E. events started to drop like flies.  Despite the aggressive play and numerous bustouts, the player's moods are lighthearted and friendly.  David Grey has taken this opportunity to tell his table more than one story, frequently jumping to the next topic of conversation.  David Williams and John D'Agostino don't really seem to mind. 

There was another controversy brewing on table 37 where Darrell Dicken is seated.  The action was headsup after third street and when the dealer went to pitch the next two cards, he instead tried to flop them.  So he picked them up, laughing at his own mistake, and then pitched them to the two players.  It was then that both players noticed the possiblity that their cards were switched.  Some players at the table said it was accurate, while some were sure he mixed them up.  Either way, after some complaining and questioning, they played the cards as is, and the player in seat 6 won with Aces up. 

After turning his cards over, another problem arose.  Apparently there are some angle shooters at the WSOP, because yet another Ace was marked.  The card was removed and replaced. 

The next level they will play is Hold'em followed by Omaha Hi/Lo. 

Player Tags: John D'Agostino,   David Grey,   David Williams,   Darrell Dicken

Hour Two Update

Jun 11, '07

Down to Ten
The final table is just two eliminations away.

Not Making Any Friends
On seventh street facing a bet, Harry Kazazinan places his chips in front of his cards, cuts them then shuffles them.  After he had cut them the player who made the bet, Ali Eslami tabled his hand.  Kazazinan claimed he hadn't made the call and was stll thinking and stated he should not have to make the bet.  The floorman was called over and he ruled that because Kazazinan cut the chips in front of this cards it looked too much like a call and he had to put the chips in.  Kazazinan strongly disagreed and continued to argue for an extended period of time.  Eventually the floorman got fed up. told Kazazinan his decision was final and ended the discussion.  Kazazinan then tabled his hand, and ended up splitting part of the pot.  A couple of the players pointed out that the discussion ended up being pointless, but Kazazinan maintained that the floorman made the wrong decision.

Gigabet vs Mizrachi
Both Darrell Dicken and Robert Mizrachi have large stacks at their table, and it looks like they are going to play against each other quite a bit.  In one stud hand, Dicken completed showing the K and Mizrachi made the call with the 6.  Fourth street came 8 for Dicken and he bet and Mizrachi called with he hit the 8.  Fifth street was Dicken 10, Mizrachi 5 and both players checked.  Sixth street gave Dicken a pair with the 10, he bet and Mizrachi called with the Q.  Dicken checked seventh street, and Mizrachi bet.  Dicken thought for a second, then folded. 
Later on, Mizrachi complemented Dicken on his mixed game play.  Mizrachi pointed out that it was their first time playing mixed against each other, and for a hold'em specialist Dicken was surprisingly skilled.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Darrell Dicken,   Harry Kazazian

Hour One Update

Jun 11, '07

Early Busts
Four players busted early in the H.O.R.S.E. event:
20. Jason Sagle
19. David Botton
18. John Gale
17. Michael DeMichele

Mizrachi and Rasmussen Battle
In Omaha Eight or better Rob Mizrachi raises to $4,000 and Thayer Rasmussen reraises to $8,000.  Mizrachi makes the call and the flop comes 883.  Rasmussen bets and Mizrachi calls.  The turn comes J and both players check.  The river is the Q, Mizrachi bets and Rasmussen makes the call.  Mizrachi tables QJ109 for the straight, and Rasmussen disgustedly chucks his cards into the muck.

Darrell Dicken Chips Up
Dicken raises to $8,000, Steve Graboski calls from the small blind and Rob Mizrachi calls from the big.  The flop comes JJ4, Graboski bets, Mizrachi folds and Dicken raises.  Graboski makes the call, the turn is the 10 and both players check.  The river comes K, Graboski checks and Dicken bets.  Graboski hesitantly makes the call then mucks when he sees Dicken table A443. 

Thayer Rasmussen Eliminated 16th
Rob Mizrachi has finished the job and eliminated a disappointed Rasmussen in 16th place. 

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Darrell Dicken,   Thayer Rasmussen

Drama on Table 225

Jun 06, '07

Official numbers have not been released yet, but the field is gigantic. More than half of the entire Amazon Room is dedicated to Event 10, and the spill-over has filled the entire Players Pavilion tent outside.

Inside the Pavilion tent one will find a staggering number of pros, many of whom are sharing the same table. Table 108 plays host to Darrell Dicken, Tracey “XTraCey” Nguyen, and Card Player’s own strategy columnist, Todd Arnold. Arnold seems to have a good handle on things as he is now patiently sitting in front of roughly $12,000 in chips, three times the starting amount. Some of that surplus came from one hand in particular when Nguyen limps in a pot followed by Darrell Dicken and Arnold raises $450. The button re-raises to $1,300 and the field folds back to Arnold. Todd moves all-in with kings against his opponent’s queens and his hand holds up on a 10-10-9 flop.

There was some serious drama on Table 225 when Chantel McNulty makes a pre-flop raise and one of the short-stacks moves over the top and all-in. McNulty was put to a decision and she jokingly asked the table, “Should I be good or bad?” The player in Seat 10, not involved in the hand, tells her to gamble and she does. Chantel calls and the flips over J-10 suited while her opponent shows pocket sixes. The board comes K-K-5-9-10 and McNulty spikes a 10 on the river giving her the pot. Her opponent was eliminated from the tournament, but he wasn’t quite done giving bad beats, so the scorned gambler calls the floor man over. He makes a big stink about the player in Seat 10 voicing his opinion as to whether or not Chantel should have made the call, and the floor man reprimands Seat 10 and sends him to the rail for a full round’s worth of punishment. McNulty argued that she was going to call anyway and the other player’s opinion weighed no judgment in her decision, but joking or not, rules are rules, and the player who spoke was forced to miss the next ten hands.

Level 2 also saw a lot of eliminations including Brandon Cantu, Isaac Haxton, Name Le, and the now formerly defending champion, Mark Vos.

Keep your browser locker on Cardplayer.com for more Live Updates and Pro Blogs.

Player Tags: Nam Le,   Todd Arnold,   Darrell Dicken,   Chantel McNulty,   Mark Vos,   Brandon Cantu,   Isaac Haxton,   Tracey Nguyen