Gioi Luong Poker Tournament Updates

Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Low Ball - Final Table Set

Jun 23, '08

Action has played down to the final table of 6 players. Play will resume Tuesday at 2 p.m. with John Phan, Gioi Luong, Robert Mizrachi, Shunjiro Uchida, Ben Ponzio and David Sklansky still playing for the bracelet.

Final Table Starting Stacks:
John Phan: 294,000
Gioi Luong: 291,000
Robert Mizrachi: 215,000
Shunjiro Uchida: 200,000
Ben Ponzio: 113,000
David Sklansky: 78,000

Eliminations:
7th Place - Billy Baxter (15,054)
8th Place - Steve Sung ($15,054)
9th Place - Mike Wattel ($12,317)

Here are highlights from today's last round of play:

Baxter Bubbles Final Table, out in 7th Place ($15,054)

A short-stacked Billy Baxter  got all in against David Sklansky and Gioi Luong. After Sklansky folded after the second draw Baxter was heads up with Luong and in better shape. Both drew 1 card on the final draw and Luong showed Q-7-6-5-2. Baxter showed 8-5-4-2, but unfortunately for him he drew a queen and was eliminated one spot from tomorrow's final table, making $15,054- a remarkable feat considering he came into today's play 30th in chips out of 30 players.

Wattel Doubles, But Later Eliminated in 9th Place ($12,317)

Mike Wattel got all in against Ben Ponzio right off the bat. Wattel drew 1 on the first draw, 1 on the second and stood pat on the 3rd. Ponzio drew 3, 2, then 1. Wattel showed 8-7-5-4-2 and more than doubled up to stay alive.
A couple hands later Wattel got all in again against Gioi Luong and Ben Ponzio. In the end Ponzio showed a monster, 7-6-4-3-2 and Wattel was gone in ninth place, earning $12,317.

Sklansky Takes Early Pot From Ponzio

After both players took 1 card in the first draw, David Sklansky and Ben Ponzio checked and both took 1 card again on the second draw. Ponzio bet 10,000 and Sklansky called. Sklansky took 1 more on the third draw while Ponzio stood pat. But when Sklansky bet out 10,000 on the end Ponzio quickly folded and Sklansky took a nice early pot.

Wrong Game For Quads

When mucking his hand, David Sklansky brought laughter to the table when he showed quad 9s.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Michael Wattel,   David Sklansky,   Ben Ponzio,   Billy Baxter

Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Low Ball - Luong, Phan To The Forefront

Jun 23, '08

Players are now on a 20 minute break. Action will resume around 9:55 p.m.

Blinds: 2,000-4,000

Players Left: 9 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Gioi Luong: 250,000
John Phan: 224,000
Robert Mizrachi: 195,000
Billy Baxter: 140,000
Shunjiro Uchida: 123,000
Steve Sung: 115,000
Ben Ponzio: 100,000
David Sklansky: 36,000
Michael Wattel: 20,000

Average Stack: 132,222

Eliminations:
10th - Richard Chase ($12,316)
11th - Greg Raymer ($9,580)
12th - Dario Alioto ($9,580)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Action will play down to the final 6 players. Now that they're getting close, David Sklansky has predicted that action will tighten up considerably.

Phan Busts Alioto in 12th Place - ($9,580)

John Phan got a short-stacked Dario Alioto all in and drew 2 on the first draw. Alioto drew 3. Phan drew 1 on the second draw and Alioto drew 2, then laughed when he saw his cards. When it was all said and done Phan showed 9-8-5-3-2 and Alioto showed a face card and was eliminated in 12th place.

Phan Outdraws Mizrachi For Monstrous Pot

Robert Mizrachi raised preflop and was called by John Phan. Phan couldn't have liked to hear Mizrachi say, "I'm good," when the dealer asked how many cards he wanted to draw. Phan on the other hand drew 2. Mizrachi bet 4,000 and Phan called and drew 2 more. Mizrachi bet 8,000, Phan called and drew a single card on his final draw. After receiving his final card Phan led out for 8,000 and Mizrachi called. Phan showed 8-5-4-3-2 and Mizrachi mucked. Phan took nice a huge pot and sits near the top with around 224,000 in chips.

Raymer Pairs a Deuce, Gone in 11th Place - ($9,580)

Greg Raymer got all in heads up before the first draw and both he and Richard Chase took two cards on the first draw. On the second draw Raymer took two again, but Chase stood pat. Raymer kept drawing, take two more on the final draw while Chase flipped over 8-5-4-3-2. Raymer showed 7-6-5-2-2 and paired his deuce on the end to be eliminated in 11th place.

Chase Eliminated in 10th Place - ($12,316)

Not long after eliminating Greg Raymer, Richard Chase got all in against Gioi Luong. After the first draw both players stood pat and Luong showed 8-7-6-4-3. Chase mucked and was eliminated in 10th place, while Luong jumped to the forefront with around 250,000 in chips.

So Close, Ponzio Loses Pot

When both Gioi Luong and Ben Ponzio stayed pat after their second draw it was safe to assume they had hands.Luong turned over 8-7-5-4-2 and Ponzio was disapointed when he turned over 8-7-6-4-2 to narrowly lose the hand.

Ponzio Cripples Wattel

Michael Wattel bet after every draw and Ben Ponzio came along for the ride each time. After the third draw was over Ponzio showed 10-7-5-4-2 and Wattel looked like he had been punched in the gut when he mucked. Wattel less than 20,000 in chips after the loss.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Michael Wattel,   Greg Raymer,   Ben Ponzio,   Richard Chase,   Dario Alioto,   European Report

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 23, '08

The players are now on an hour-long dinner break

Blinds: 1,300-2,500

Players Left: 18 of 238

Chip Leaders:
John Phan - 156,000
Billy Baxter - 128,500
Shunjiro Uchida - 114,500
David Sklansky - 106,000
Robert Mizrachi - 100,000
Michael Wattel - 96,000
Gioi Luong - 92,500
Greg Raymer - 89,000
Richard Chase - 55,000
Dario Alioto - 54,500

Average Stack: 66,100

Eliminations:
15^th – Raymond Davis
16^th – Juan Luis Velador
17^th – Chau Giang
18^th – Claude Cohen

Big Hands and Storylines:

Billy Baxter’s Tremendous Turnaround

Billy Baxter started today with only 6,000 in chips, slightly more than a single big bet. 30^th of 30 in chips, it didn’t seem like he would make any sort of run today. Astoundingly, Baxter has turned it around completely and now stands at 2^nd in chips with 128,000. Baxter’s rapid rise in the deuce-to-seven event has caused a bit of a conflict however. While his stack grows and grows in the lowball event, his stack is being blinded off in the seniors’ event. Baxter had pre-registered for the seniors’ event assuming that he would bust early in the deuce-to-seven triple draw event. Mr. Baxter seems unperturbed by this development.

Billy Baxter Eliminates Chau Giang

“Cold deck,” Giang repeated as he was eliminated by Billy Baxter in a serious cooler of a hand. Action pre-draw saw four bets by each player and Baxter stood bat from the get-go. Giang drew one on each of the first two draws and then stood pat on the final draw. Giang check-raised Baxter on the final round of betting to get all of his chips in with no. 3: 7-6-5-3-2. Baxter’s good day kept getting better though, as he unveiled a perfect 7-5-4-3-2 to bust Giang. It’s good to be the king.

John Phan eliminates Raymond Davis

John Phan eliminated Ray Davis, moving into the chip lead in the process. It was an unfortunate end to the day for Davis, who had been talking boldly about his final-table aspirations all afternoon long. Davis, standing pat on the final two draws, ran into the 7-5-4-3-2 of Phan. The nut-low propelled Phan to 155,000 in chips, tops on the day.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Michael Wattel,   Chau Giang,   David Sklansky,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Claude Cohen,   Greg Raymer,   Richard Chase,   Billy Baxter,   Dario Alioto,   Luis Velador

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 13 Recap

Jun 23, '08

Blinds: 1,000-2,000

Players Left: 18 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Billy Baxter - 148,000
Ray Davis - 117,000
Robert Mizrachi - 116,000
Shun Uchida - 108,000
Steve Sung - 96,000
Gioi Luong - 95,000
John Phan - 84,000
Ben Ponzio - 72,000
James Copeland - 70,000
David Sklansky - 69,000

Average Stack: 66,100

Eliminations:
Chris Vitch
Ralph Perry

Big Hands and Storylines:

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... Greg Raymer

Greg Raymer raised to 2,000 from the button and was 3-bet by Ralph Perry in the small blind. Raymer called and drew 1 card while Perry stood pat. Perry bet and Raymer called. Action was the same on the 2^nd go-around. Then when both players stood pat on the third draw, Perry checked, Raymer bet, and Perry called. Raymer took down the pot with 8-6-5-3-2.

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... John Phan (and Busts)

First to act, Ralph Perry raised to 2,000. John Phan made it 3,000 from the button, and Perry called. After Perry drew 2 and Phan drew 1, Perry check-called Phan’s bet. On the 2^nd draw, Perry took 2 again and, again, Phan took 1. And, yet again, Perry check-called. Both players took 1 on the final draw and Perry led into Phan. Phan called. Perry tabled 8-7-5-4-2 but he was undercut by Phan’s 8-6-5-4-3. This hand dropped Perry to under 30,000 and he would be knocked out by Phan later in the level.

Baxter Swaps Seats To Table’s Delight

The floorperson told the dealer at table no. 4 that she needed the big blind to move over to table no. 2. The person in the big blind of table 4 happened to be none other than Billy Baxter, and his departure was met by jubilation by those players he would be leaving. Chau Giang greeted the decision with a round of applause. Apparently 5 deuce-to-seven bracelets earns you a lot of respect.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   David Sklansky,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Ben Ponzio,   Steve Sung,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Ralph Perry,   European Report

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 12

Jun 23, '08

Note: The players are now on a 20-minute break

Blinds: 800-1,500

Players Left: 22 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Shun Uchida - 101,000
Jose Luis Velador - 78,000
Gioi Luong - 74,100
David Baker - 70,500
Ray Davis - 67,700
Michael Wattel - 67,000
James Copeland - 62,700
Billy Baxter - 58,000
Chris Vitch - 54,500
Robert Mizrachi - 52,400

Average Stack: 44,100

Eliminations:
Bill Chen
Trung Ly

Big Hands and Storylines:

Trung Is The Bubble Boy... Juuuuust Bare-Ly

Trung Ly was so low on chips that there was no trying to sneak into the money for him. Left with only 1,000 chips, Ly found himself all-in on the 1^st draw. The drama didn’t come until after the 3^rd draw however. Ly declared a jack-low... and so did Claude Cohen. Ly clarified, “Jack-seven,” and again, Cohen had the same. The third card was the deciding one, and Ly’s J-7-6 low was bested by his Cohen’s J-7-5. Ly was eliminated in 25th place.

Ray Ray Ruins Chen Check-Raise Connivance

Ray Davis raised to 3,000 on the button and was called by Bill Chen in the big blind. Chen drew 2 and Davis took 1. Chen then check-called Davis’s bet. On the next draw each player asked for 1 card and, again, Chen check-called a Davis bet. On the final draw Chen drew a single card and Davis stood pat. Chen checked and Davis fired again. Chen sprung into action for the first time in the hand with a raise which was quickly called by Davis. Chen’s check-raise was a bluff however, and his pair of deuces was soundly defeated by Davis’s 8-7-5-4-3.

This would signal the beginning of the end for Chen’s day, as he would be eliminated in 24^th place, just squeaking into the money.

Sklansky Bucks Elimination, Triples Up

David Sklansky raised from early position with a short stack and eventually got his money all-in after the final draw. Both Steve Sung and Greg Raymer folded to Sklansky’s last bet of 2,500, but John Phan made the call. Sklansky showed 9-8-5-4-3 and Phan could only claim a 10-low before folding. That hand boosted him to 24,000 and allowed him to make the money.

Raymer Celebrates a Cash

Greg Raymer has just informed his table that this is his first cash in his past 24 World Series attempts. Congratulations are in order for Greg, but don’t feel too bad for him. After all, not many players have cashed for $5 million in a single World Series event.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Raymond Davis,   Michael Wattel,   Trung Ly,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Claude Cohen,   Greg Raymer,   Bill Chen,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Luis Velador

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 11 Recap

Jun 23, '08

Blinds: 600-1,200

Players Left: 27 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Shun Uchida - 79,200
Gioi Luong - 74,100
Ray Davis - 67,700
Robert Mizrachi – 65,000
Greg Raymer - 64,600
James Copeland - 62,700
Richard Chase - 59,200
Michael Wattel - 57,200
Chris Vitch - 54,500
Jose Luis Velador - 49,400

Average Stack: 44,100

Eliminations:
Antony Lellouche
John Roveto

Big Hands and Storylines:

“Advertise Now, Steal Later”

Those words uttered by Chris Vitch after raising from the small blind and forcing Bill Chen to lay down his hand. Vitch showed a made 8-6. Of course, one wonders if Vitch’s cunning gambit will pay off after letting Chen in on it.

The Table of Death

It appears that one table stands out above all others as one to watch during today’s early preceding. Greg Raymer is seated at a table along with Steve Sung, John Phan, Ralph Perry, David Sklansky, and Jose Luis Velador. Action started off fast as Raymer took a big pot off of Phan early in the first level of the day:

Raymer raised from the hijack and was called by Phan in the big blind. Both players drew 2 cards and Phan checked. Raymer bet and “The Razor” called. Phan drew one card and Raymer stood pat. Phan check-raised Raymer on the next betting round and Raymer called. Both players stood pat on the final draw and Phan check-called Raymer’s bet. Raymer’s no. 3 – 7-6-5-3-2 – was better than Phan’s eight low, and “Fossilman” raked in a sizeable pot. He’s now up to 65,000.

Billy Baxter Doubles Up

Lowball specialist Billy Baxter just doubled through Ray Henson to get back to more respectable 20,000 in chips. This is bad news for the rest of the players at the table. Baxter owns 5 deuce-to-seven bracelets and will be looking to add a 6^th to his collection.

Robert Mizrachi Racing To The Top

Gioi Luong, first to act, raised to 1,200, Mizrachi called in the small blind, James Copeland 3-bet from the big blind, and the other two players called. Mizrachi drew two and the others drew one card. Copeland bet and Mizarachi and Luong called. On the 2^nd draw each player took one card. On this round of betting Mizrachi and Copeland checked to Luong who bet and both players called. On the final draw Mizrachi drew one and the other players stood pat. Mizrachi led out into the two pat players, who both folded. Mizrachi claimed he had a 7-6 and raked in a large pot, taking him to 65,000.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Raymond Davis,   Michael Wattel,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Greg Raymer,   Richard Chase,   James Copeland,   John Roveto,   Billy Baxter,   Luis Velador

$2,500 Triple Draw - Heads Up

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 10,000-20,000

Players Left: 2 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 612,000
Shun Uchida - 607,000

Eliminations:  Gioi Luong (3rd Place)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Phan Climbs Up

In just two hands after coming back from dinner break, John Phan climbed to nearly 500,000 by making an 8-6 low against Shun Uchida. With the big bet at 40,000, the chips are flying back and forth.

Gioi Luong Eliminated in Third Place ($61,583)

Gioi Luong raised in the small blind and John Phan reraised in the big blind. Luong called and drew two and Phan stood pat. Phan put Luong all in and Luong called. Then, Luong stood pat, forcing Phan to break his hand. He drew two on the second draw and drew two on the third draw needing a miracle to catch Luong's 8-7-6-5-2. Stunned, Phan stood up and turned over 7-6-5-4-2 to take the pot and eliminate Luong in third place.

Heads Up Play Begins

John Phan - 612,000
Shun Uchida - 607,000

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw - Action Boils Over

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 245,000
Gioi Luong - 200,000
Shun Uchida - 760,000

Eliminations: 

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan and Gioi Luong Explode

It has become increasingly clear that John Phan and Gioi Luong do not like each other. It goes back to an earlier hand where John Phan mistakingly posted his big blind under the gun. Luong lobbied the floor to make his bet stand, despite the fact that the cards had yet to be dealt. The floor ruled in Phan's favor, and Phan accused Luong of angle shooting.

Fast forward to a few hands ago, when it all boiled over. Luong and Uchida were involved in a pot and on the draw, when Luong stopped the dealer after he had discarded, because he had discarded the wrong card. Phan immediately began to shout, "That is not allowed!" over and over until the floor came over. Meanwhile, Luong angrily got into Phan's face, telling him to stay out of it. As it looked like the players were about to get physical, the floor ruled that Luong's discard must remain discarded and Phan got his wish.

The next hand, Luong stayed pat the whole way as he bet and Phan called. After the third draw, Luong announced his hand. Phan refused to believe what Luong was saying and Luong revealed his 7-6-6-4-2 for a pair of sixes. Phan then showed his 9-low to take the pot, telling the rail that Luong was lying about his cards. "He called the wrong hand," said Phan.

Shun Uchida Takes Advantage

With both Luong and Phan on edge, Shun Uchida has quietly amassed a huge chip lead with a series of pots taken down on either after the first or second draw. He now holds more than half of the chips in play.

 

NOTE: The players then took a 90-minute dinner break.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 150,000
Gioi Luong - 480,000
Shun Uchida - 570,000

Eliminations:  None

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan Rides the Short Stack

After spreading chips around the table, John Phan lost another huge pot to Shun Uchida when both stood pat after the third draw. Uchida opened up a 9-8-5-4-2 to send Phan further down the leader board. After the hand, Uchida and Luong were neck and neck for the chip lead.

Gioi Luong Takes Some More

After Shun Uchida opened up his chip lead, Gioi Luong closed the gap after taking a decent pot from John Phan. Phan made a 9-8 low, but Luong turned over his 9-6 to send the pot his way. After the hand, Phan was left with just over 6 big bets in his stack.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw - Down to Triple

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

Phan - 625,000
Luong - 390,000
Uchida - 215,000

Eliminations:  Robert Mizrachi (4th Place)

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan Takes a Monster Lead

After betting the whole way and standing pat on the third draw, John Phan got another bet out of Shun Uchida and took the pot when he showed his 7-6 low. With Phan's relentless aggression, catching cards will make this a speedy final table. After taking a pot off of Robert Mizrachi, Phan is up over 630,000 and both Mizrachi and Uchida are below 100,000.

Gioi Luong Puts Himself Into Second

After making the wheel (7-5-4-3-2) against Robert Mizrachi, Gioi Luong put himself over 400,000 and squarely in second position on the leader board.

Robert Mizrachi Eliminated in Fourth Place ($41,055)

Robert Mizrachi was down to his last 30,000 and got it all in against Gioi Luong. Luong could only manage a 10-6-5-4-2 and it held when Mizrachi drew a jack to go along with his 8-6-4-2. Mizrachi was eliminated in fourth place, finishing just short of his second WSOP bracelet.

 

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Shunjiro Uchida

Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Low Ball - Final Table Set

Jun 23, '08

Action has played down to the final table of 6 players. Play will resume Tuesday at 2 p.m. with John Phan, Gioi Luong, Robert Mizrachi, Shunjiro Uchida, Ben Ponzio and David Sklansky still playing for the bracelet.

Final Table Starting Stacks:
John Phan: 294,000
Gioi Luong: 291,000
Robert Mizrachi: 215,000
Shunjiro Uchida: 200,000
Ben Ponzio: 113,000
David Sklansky: 78,000

Eliminations:
7th Place - Billy Baxter (15,054)
8th Place - Steve Sung ($15,054)
9th Place - Mike Wattel ($12,317)

Here are highlights from today's last round of play:

Baxter Bubbles Final Table, out in 7th Place ($15,054)

A short-stacked Billy Baxter  got all in against David Sklansky and Gioi Luong. After Sklansky folded after the second draw Baxter was heads up with Luong and in better shape. Both drew 1 card on the final draw and Luong showed Q-7-6-5-2. Baxter showed 8-5-4-2, but unfortunately for him he drew a queen and was eliminated one spot from tomorrow's final table, making $15,054- a remarkable feat considering he came into today's play 30th in chips out of 30 players.

Wattel Doubles, But Later Eliminated in 9th Place ($12,317)

Mike Wattel got all in against Ben Ponzio right off the bat. Wattel drew 1 on the first draw, 1 on the second and stood pat on the 3rd. Ponzio drew 3, 2, then 1. Wattel showed 8-7-5-4-2 and more than doubled up to stay alive.
A couple hands later Wattel got all in again against Gioi Luong and Ben Ponzio. In the end Ponzio showed a monster, 7-6-4-3-2 and Wattel was gone in ninth place, earning $12,317.

Sklansky Takes Early Pot From Ponzio

After both players took 1 card in the first draw, David Sklansky and Ben Ponzio checked and both took 1 card again on the second draw. Ponzio bet 10,000 and Sklansky called. Sklansky took 1 more on the third draw while Ponzio stood pat. But when Sklansky bet out 10,000 on the end Ponzio quickly folded and Sklansky took a nice early pot.

Wrong Game For Quads

When mucking his hand, David Sklansky brought laughter to the table when he showed quad 9s.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Michael Wattel,   David Sklansky,   Ben Ponzio,   Billy Baxter

Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Low Ball - Luong, Phan To The Forefront

Jun 23, '08

Players are now on a 20 minute break. Action will resume around 9:55 p.m.

Blinds: 2,000-4,000

Players Left: 9 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Gioi Luong: 250,000
John Phan: 224,000
Robert Mizrachi: 195,000
Billy Baxter: 140,000
Shunjiro Uchida: 123,000
Steve Sung: 115,000
Ben Ponzio: 100,000
David Sklansky: 36,000
Michael Wattel: 20,000

Average Stack: 132,222

Eliminations:
10th - Richard Chase ($12,316)
11th - Greg Raymer ($9,580)
12th - Dario Alioto ($9,580)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Action will play down to the final 6 players. Now that they're getting close, David Sklansky has predicted that action will tighten up considerably.

Phan Busts Alioto in 12th Place - ($9,580)

John Phan got a short-stacked Dario Alioto all in and drew 2 on the first draw. Alioto drew 3. Phan drew 1 on the second draw and Alioto drew 2, then laughed when he saw his cards. When it was all said and done Phan showed 9-8-5-3-2 and Alioto showed a face card and was eliminated in 12th place.

Phan Outdraws Mizrachi For Monstrous Pot

Robert Mizrachi raised preflop and was called by John Phan. Phan couldn't have liked to hear Mizrachi say, "I'm good," when the dealer asked how many cards he wanted to draw. Phan on the other hand drew 2. Mizrachi bet 4,000 and Phan called and drew 2 more. Mizrachi bet 8,000, Phan called and drew a single card on his final draw. After receiving his final card Phan led out for 8,000 and Mizrachi called. Phan showed 8-5-4-3-2 and Mizrachi mucked. Phan took nice a huge pot and sits near the top with around 224,000 in chips.

Raymer Pairs a Deuce, Gone in 11th Place - ($9,580)

Greg Raymer got all in heads up before the first draw and both he and Richard Chase took two cards on the first draw. On the second draw Raymer took two again, but Chase stood pat. Raymer kept drawing, take two more on the final draw while Chase flipped over 8-5-4-3-2. Raymer showed 7-6-5-2-2 and paired his deuce on the end to be eliminated in 11th place.

Chase Eliminated in 10th Place - ($12,316)

Not long after eliminating Greg Raymer, Richard Chase got all in against Gioi Luong. After the first draw both players stood pat and Luong showed 8-7-6-4-3. Chase mucked and was eliminated in 10th place, while Luong jumped to the forefront with around 250,000 in chips.

So Close, Ponzio Loses Pot

When both Gioi Luong and Ben Ponzio stayed pat after their second draw it was safe to assume they had hands.Luong turned over 8-7-5-4-2 and Ponzio was disapointed when he turned over 8-7-6-4-2 to narrowly lose the hand.

Ponzio Cripples Wattel

Michael Wattel bet after every draw and Ben Ponzio came along for the ride each time. After the third draw was over Ponzio showed 10-7-5-4-2 and Wattel looked like he had been punched in the gut when he mucked. Wattel less than 20,000 in chips after the loss.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Michael Wattel,   Greg Raymer,   Ben Ponzio,   Richard Chase,   Dario Alioto,   European Report

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 23, '08

The players are now on an hour-long dinner break

Blinds: 1,300-2,500

Players Left: 18 of 238

Chip Leaders:
John Phan - 156,000
Billy Baxter - 128,500
Shunjiro Uchida - 114,500
David Sklansky - 106,000
Robert Mizrachi - 100,000
Michael Wattel - 96,000
Gioi Luong - 92,500
Greg Raymer - 89,000
Richard Chase - 55,000
Dario Alioto - 54,500

Average Stack: 66,100

Eliminations:
15^th – Raymond Davis
16^th – Juan Luis Velador
17^th – Chau Giang
18^th – Claude Cohen

Big Hands and Storylines:

Billy Baxter’s Tremendous Turnaround

Billy Baxter started today with only 6,000 in chips, slightly more than a single big bet. 30^th of 30 in chips, it didn’t seem like he would make any sort of run today. Astoundingly, Baxter has turned it around completely and now stands at 2^nd in chips with 128,000. Baxter’s rapid rise in the deuce-to-seven event has caused a bit of a conflict however. While his stack grows and grows in the lowball event, his stack is being blinded off in the seniors’ event. Baxter had pre-registered for the seniors’ event assuming that he would bust early in the deuce-to-seven triple draw event. Mr. Baxter seems unperturbed by this development.

Billy Baxter Eliminates Chau Giang

“Cold deck,” Giang repeated as he was eliminated by Billy Baxter in a serious cooler of a hand. Action pre-draw saw four bets by each player and Baxter stood bat from the get-go. Giang drew one on each of the first two draws and then stood pat on the final draw. Giang check-raised Baxter on the final round of betting to get all of his chips in with no. 3: 7-6-5-3-2. Baxter’s good day kept getting better though, as he unveiled a perfect 7-5-4-3-2 to bust Giang. It’s good to be the king.

John Phan eliminates Raymond Davis

John Phan eliminated Ray Davis, moving into the chip lead in the process. It was an unfortunate end to the day for Davis, who had been talking boldly about his final-table aspirations all afternoon long. Davis, standing pat on the final two draws, ran into the 7-5-4-3-2 of Phan. The nut-low propelled Phan to 155,000 in chips, tops on the day.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Michael Wattel,   Chau Giang,   David Sklansky,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Claude Cohen,   Greg Raymer,   Richard Chase,   Billy Baxter,   Dario Alioto,   Luis Velador

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 13 Recap

Jun 23, '08

Blinds: 1,000-2,000

Players Left: 18 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Billy Baxter - 148,000
Ray Davis - 117,000
Robert Mizrachi - 116,000
Shun Uchida - 108,000
Steve Sung - 96,000
Gioi Luong - 95,000
John Phan - 84,000
Ben Ponzio - 72,000
James Copeland - 70,000
David Sklansky - 69,000

Average Stack: 66,100

Eliminations:
Chris Vitch
Ralph Perry

Big Hands and Storylines:

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... Greg Raymer

Greg Raymer raised to 2,000 from the button and was 3-bet by Ralph Perry in the small blind. Raymer called and drew 1 card while Perry stood pat. Perry bet and Raymer called. Action was the same on the 2^nd go-around. Then when both players stood pat on the third draw, Perry checked, Raymer bet, and Perry called. Raymer took down the pot with 8-6-5-3-2.

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... John Phan (and Busts)

First to act, Ralph Perry raised to 2,000. John Phan made it 3,000 from the button, and Perry called. After Perry drew 2 and Phan drew 1, Perry check-called Phan’s bet. On the 2^nd draw, Perry took 2 again and, again, Phan took 1. And, yet again, Perry check-called. Both players took 1 on the final draw and Perry led into Phan. Phan called. Perry tabled 8-7-5-4-2 but he was undercut by Phan’s 8-6-5-4-3. This hand dropped Perry to under 30,000 and he would be knocked out by Phan later in the level.

Baxter Swaps Seats To Table’s Delight

The floorperson told the dealer at table no. 4 that she needed the big blind to move over to table no. 2. The person in the big blind of table 4 happened to be none other than Billy Baxter, and his departure was met by jubilation by those players he would be leaving. Chau Giang greeted the decision with a round of applause. Apparently 5 deuce-to-seven bracelets earns you a lot of respect.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   David Sklansky,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Ben Ponzio,   Steve Sung,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Ralph Perry,   European Report

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 12

Jun 23, '08

Note: The players are now on a 20-minute break

Blinds: 800-1,500

Players Left: 22 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Shun Uchida - 101,000
Jose Luis Velador - 78,000
Gioi Luong - 74,100
David Baker - 70,500
Ray Davis - 67,700
Michael Wattel - 67,000
James Copeland - 62,700
Billy Baxter - 58,000
Chris Vitch - 54,500
Robert Mizrachi - 52,400

Average Stack: 44,100

Eliminations:
Bill Chen
Trung Ly

Big Hands and Storylines:

Trung Is The Bubble Boy... Juuuuust Bare-Ly

Trung Ly was so low on chips that there was no trying to sneak into the money for him. Left with only 1,000 chips, Ly found himself all-in on the 1^st draw. The drama didn’t come until after the 3^rd draw however. Ly declared a jack-low... and so did Claude Cohen. Ly clarified, “Jack-seven,” and again, Cohen had the same. The third card was the deciding one, and Ly’s J-7-6 low was bested by his Cohen’s J-7-5. Ly was eliminated in 25th place.

Ray Ray Ruins Chen Check-Raise Connivance

Ray Davis raised to 3,000 on the button and was called by Bill Chen in the big blind. Chen drew 2 and Davis took 1. Chen then check-called Davis’s bet. On the next draw each player asked for 1 card and, again, Chen check-called a Davis bet. On the final draw Chen drew a single card and Davis stood pat. Chen checked and Davis fired again. Chen sprung into action for the first time in the hand with a raise which was quickly called by Davis. Chen’s check-raise was a bluff however, and his pair of deuces was soundly defeated by Davis’s 8-7-5-4-3.

This would signal the beginning of the end for Chen’s day, as he would be eliminated in 24^th place, just squeaking into the money.

Sklansky Bucks Elimination, Triples Up

David Sklansky raised from early position with a short stack and eventually got his money all-in after the final draw. Both Steve Sung and Greg Raymer folded to Sklansky’s last bet of 2,500, but John Phan made the call. Sklansky showed 9-8-5-4-3 and Phan could only claim a 10-low before folding. That hand boosted him to 24,000 and allowed him to make the money.

Raymer Celebrates a Cash

Greg Raymer has just informed his table that this is his first cash in his past 24 World Series attempts. Congratulations are in order for Greg, but don’t feel too bad for him. After all, not many players have cashed for $5 million in a single World Series event.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Raymond Davis,   Michael Wattel,   Trung Ly,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Claude Cohen,   Greg Raymer,   Bill Chen,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Luis Velador

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 11 Recap

Jun 23, '08

Blinds: 600-1,200

Players Left: 27 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Shun Uchida - 79,200
Gioi Luong - 74,100
Ray Davis - 67,700
Robert Mizrachi – 65,000
Greg Raymer - 64,600
James Copeland - 62,700
Richard Chase - 59,200
Michael Wattel - 57,200
Chris Vitch - 54,500
Jose Luis Velador - 49,400

Average Stack: 44,100

Eliminations:
Antony Lellouche
John Roveto

Big Hands and Storylines:

“Advertise Now, Steal Later”

Those words uttered by Chris Vitch after raising from the small blind and forcing Bill Chen to lay down his hand. Vitch showed a made 8-6. Of course, one wonders if Vitch’s cunning gambit will pay off after letting Chen in on it.

The Table of Death

It appears that one table stands out above all others as one to watch during today’s early preceding. Greg Raymer is seated at a table along with Steve Sung, John Phan, Ralph Perry, David Sklansky, and Jose Luis Velador. Action started off fast as Raymer took a big pot off of Phan early in the first level of the day:

Raymer raised from the hijack and was called by Phan in the big blind. Both players drew 2 cards and Phan checked. Raymer bet and “The Razor” called. Phan drew one card and Raymer stood pat. Phan check-raised Raymer on the next betting round and Raymer called. Both players stood pat on the final draw and Phan check-called Raymer’s bet. Raymer’s no. 3 – 7-6-5-3-2 – was better than Phan’s eight low, and “Fossilman” raked in a sizeable pot. He’s now up to 65,000.

Billy Baxter Doubles Up

Lowball specialist Billy Baxter just doubled through Ray Henson to get back to more respectable 20,000 in chips. This is bad news for the rest of the players at the table. Baxter owns 5 deuce-to-seven bracelets and will be looking to add a 6^th to his collection.

Robert Mizrachi Racing To The Top

Gioi Luong, first to act, raised to 1,200, Mizrachi called in the small blind, James Copeland 3-bet from the big blind, and the other two players called. Mizrachi drew two and the others drew one card. Copeland bet and Mizarachi and Luong called. On the 2^nd draw each player took one card. On this round of betting Mizrachi and Copeland checked to Luong who bet and both players called. On the final draw Mizrachi drew one and the other players stood pat. Mizrachi led out into the two pat players, who both folded. Mizrachi claimed he had a 7-6 and raked in a large pot, taking him to 65,000.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Raymond Davis,   Michael Wattel,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Greg Raymer,   Richard Chase,   James Copeland,   John Roveto,   Billy Baxter,   Luis Velador

$2,500 Triple Draw - Heads Up

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 10,000-20,000

Players Left: 2 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 612,000
Shun Uchida - 607,000

Eliminations:  Gioi Luong (3rd Place)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Phan Climbs Up

In just two hands after coming back from dinner break, John Phan climbed to nearly 500,000 by making an 8-6 low against Shun Uchida. With the big bet at 40,000, the chips are flying back and forth.

Gioi Luong Eliminated in Third Place ($61,583)

Gioi Luong raised in the small blind and John Phan reraised in the big blind. Luong called and drew two and Phan stood pat. Phan put Luong all in and Luong called. Then, Luong stood pat, forcing Phan to break his hand. He drew two on the second draw and drew two on the third draw needing a miracle to catch Luong's 8-7-6-5-2. Stunned, Phan stood up and turned over 7-6-5-4-2 to take the pot and eliminate Luong in third place.

Heads Up Play Begins

John Phan - 612,000
Shun Uchida - 607,000

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw - Action Boils Over

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 245,000
Gioi Luong - 200,000
Shun Uchida - 760,000

Eliminations: 

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan and Gioi Luong Explode

It has become increasingly clear that John Phan and Gioi Luong do not like each other. It goes back to an earlier hand where John Phan mistakingly posted his big blind under the gun. Luong lobbied the floor to make his bet stand, despite the fact that the cards had yet to be dealt. The floor ruled in Phan's favor, and Phan accused Luong of angle shooting.

Fast forward to a few hands ago, when it all boiled over. Luong and Uchida were involved in a pot and on the draw, when Luong stopped the dealer after he had discarded, because he had discarded the wrong card. Phan immediately began to shout, "That is not allowed!" over and over until the floor came over. Meanwhile, Luong angrily got into Phan's face, telling him to stay out of it. As it looked like the players were about to get physical, the floor ruled that Luong's discard must remain discarded and Phan got his wish.

The next hand, Luong stayed pat the whole way as he bet and Phan called. After the third draw, Luong announced his hand. Phan refused to believe what Luong was saying and Luong revealed his 7-6-6-4-2 for a pair of sixes. Phan then showed his 9-low to take the pot, telling the rail that Luong was lying about his cards. "He called the wrong hand," said Phan.

Shun Uchida Takes Advantage

With both Luong and Phan on edge, Shun Uchida has quietly amassed a huge chip lead with a series of pots taken down on either after the first or second draw. He now holds more than half of the chips in play.

 

NOTE: The players then took a 90-minute dinner break.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 150,000
Gioi Luong - 480,000
Shun Uchida - 570,000

Eliminations:  None

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan Rides the Short Stack

After spreading chips around the table, John Phan lost another huge pot to Shun Uchida when both stood pat after the third draw. Uchida opened up a 9-8-5-4-2 to send Phan further down the leader board. After the hand, Uchida and Luong were neck and neck for the chip lead.

Gioi Luong Takes Some More

After Shun Uchida opened up his chip lead, Gioi Luong closed the gap after taking a decent pot from John Phan. Phan made a 9-8 low, but Luong turned over his 9-6 to send the pot his way. After the hand, Phan was left with just over 6 big bets in his stack.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw - Down to Triple

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

Phan - 625,000
Luong - 390,000
Uchida - 215,000

Eliminations:  Robert Mizrachi (4th Place)

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan Takes a Monster Lead

After betting the whole way and standing pat on the third draw, John Phan got another bet out of Shun Uchida and took the pot when he showed his 7-6 low. With Phan's relentless aggression, catching cards will make this a speedy final table. After taking a pot off of Robert Mizrachi, Phan is up over 630,000 and both Mizrachi and Uchida are below 100,000.

Gioi Luong Puts Himself Into Second

After making the wheel (7-5-4-3-2) against Robert Mizrachi, Gioi Luong put himself over 400,000 and squarely in second position on the leader board.

Robert Mizrachi Eliminated in Fourth Place ($41,055)

Robert Mizrachi was down to his last 30,000 and got it all in against Gioi Luong. Luong could only manage a 10-6-5-4-2 and it held when Mizrachi drew a jack to go along with his 8-6-4-2. Mizrachi was eliminated in fourth place, finishing just short of his second WSOP bracelet.

 

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Shunjiro Uchida

Gioi Luong Eliminated

Mar 25, '08

Gioi Luong has busted out of the tournament during level 7.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Gioi Luong

Table 22: Gioi Luong Eliminated in 27th Place

Mar 18, '08

Two of the last remaining professional players in the field today got all of their chips into the middle preflop. The pros were Mike Matusow and Gioi Luong, and in this case Luong made the all-in call of Matusow's all-in shove preflop. Here are the cards:

Board: 85468

Matusow won the hand and Luong is the first player to be eliminated on day 3. Matusow now has 272,000.

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Mike Matusow

Two Tables

Jun 29, '07

Alex Bolotin has continued his winning ways pushing his chipstack over $1.7 million.  He eliminated Phil Galfond calling his all in re-raise with A-K.  Bolotin flopped trip Aces and that was all she wrote for Galfond.  Bolotin also swung the executioner’s axe on Ram Vaswani, who was forced to make an all in push with an As 4s only to have Bolotin wake up with J J.  The board couldn’t produce an Ace and Vaswani bowed out in 14^th place earning $27,031.

 

Earlier in the round Dustin “Neverwin” Woolf had been eliminated in 16^th place by Vaswani, but Vaswani couldn’t put those chips to good enough use.

 

Going into the final two tables Bolotin has over $2.1 million in chips, the only other player over a million is Dutch Boyd.  Other notables still alive include Tony G, Gioi Luong, and Erik Friberg. 

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Antanas Guoga,   Ram Vaswani,   Dustin Woolf,   Phil Galfond,   Erik Friberg,   Dutch Boyd,   Alex Bolotin

Hour Six Recap

Jun 29, '07

Luong Full Of Heart

With a flop of K Q 6, Phil Galfond led out and Gioi Luong pushed all-in.  Galfond quickly called with the K Q for top two, and Luong showed the A 8 for the nut flush draw. The turn brought the 10, completing Luong's flush and leaving Galfond looking for a king or queen on the river.  The 10 on the river improved neither hand, and Luong doubled up.

Tony G Staying Alive

With a board of A 10 2 4, Tony G moved all-in.  After a while Dutch Boyd called with 10 8 and had Tony G drawing slim with his 10 6.  The 4 on the river brought a chop, and Tony G was able to live to play another pot.

Only 23 players remain at the final four tables, meaning that there are only 17 eliminations until the final table.

Notable Chip Counts

Dutch Boyd	745,000
Bill Edler	600,000
Ram Vaswani	400,000
Dustin Woolf	300,000
Tony G	200,000
Bill Gazes	180,000

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Antanas Guoga,   Phil Galfond

Event #45 Final Table - Hour One

Jun 30, '07

Gioi Luong was late to the final table, leading to a 30 minute delay.  When play finally got underway, the dynamic created by the stacks had a great effect on the action.  Both Erik Friberg and Alex Bolotin started the final day above two million in chips, while the rest of the players were all below a million and within $200,000 of each other. That meant that the final table started with polarized stack sizes, with players either deep or short stacked. This dynamic, combined with the nature of shorthanded play, led to fast action.

Bill Edler moved in and took down the blinds on two of the first three hands realizing the value of chipping up and trying to make the top three spots, which pay dramatically higher.  Greg Pohler was also applying pressure this way, but with a more selective range of hands.  Gioi Luong also tried to double up early, but his K Q ran into the A K of Alex Bolotin and he was eliminated in 6th.  (See Luong's elimination post for more details.) 

Edler's preflop pressure won him the blinds and antes and when he finally got called by Dutch Boyd, he had him out-chipped.  Boyd held the J J against A 7, and after a flop of 8 5 3, Boyd was in good shape.  The A paired Edler's ace and after the 8 fell on the river Boyd was sent to the rail in fifth place ($169,269), while Edler moved above $1,000,000.  Greg Pohler was left as the short stack, with Edler in third, Bolotin in second and Friberg in first.

Make sure to check back for more hourly updates here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Greg Pohler,   Bill Edler,   Erik Friberg,   Dutch Boyd,   Alex Bolotin

Luong Eliminated 6th ($110,860)

Jun 30, '07

Gioi Luong showed up late to the $5,000 shorthanded no-limit final table.  As one of the four short stacks, he was forced to try to double up early if he wanted to get into the highly paid top three spots. He pushed with K Q when it had folded to him.  Unfortunately for him, Alex Bolotin had A K and called his all-in.  When the flop came down 8 7 6, Luong was really in bad shape.  The A on the turn secured the win for Bolotin and Luong was eliminated in 6th place ($110,860).

Player Tags: Gioi Luong

Six-Handed Final Table Set To Begin

Jun 30, '07

The final table of the $5,000 short handed no-limit hold'em event is set to get underway. Erik Friberg, who placed 8th in last years main event, is coming in as the chip leader of this star studded final table. Alex Bolotin is hot on his tail. Dutch Boyd won last year's $2,500 shorthanded event.   With third place chips starting the day, Boyd is definately in the running for the bracelet this year.  Greg Pohler is in fourth. Though he has only one cash to his name, he is gauranteed to increase his recorded tournament earnings by more than 16 times just by making the final table. Fifth ranked Gioi Luong cashed in the $2,500 short handed event earlier this year. Bill Edler is the shortest stack, but with five major final tables in the past year he is definately deep stacked in experience. 

Seat Assignments

Seat 1: Greg Pohler - $655,000
Seat 2: Alex Bolotin - $2,010,000
Seat 3: Gioi Luong - $570,00
Seat 4: Bill Edler - $535,000
Seat 5: Dutch Boyd - $705,000
Seat 6: Erik Friberg - $2,795,000

With such a great final table competing for a WSOP bracelet and the $904,672 first place prize, this event is one to watch.  Make sure to catch all the action in the hourly updates here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Greg Pohler,   Bill Edler,   Erik Friberg,   Dutch Boyd,   Alex Bolotin

Two Tables

Jun 29, '07

Alex Bolotin has continued his winning ways pushing his chipstack over $1.7 million.  He eliminated Phil Galfond calling his all in re-raise with A-K.  Bolotin flopped trip Aces and that was all she wrote for Galfond.  Bolotin also swung the executioner’s axe on Ram Vaswani, who was forced to make an all in push with an As 4s only to have Bolotin wake up with J J.  The board couldn’t produce an Ace and Vaswani bowed out in 14^th place earning $27,031.

 

Earlier in the round Dustin “Neverwin” Woolf had been eliminated in 16^th place by Vaswani, but Vaswani couldn’t put those chips to good enough use.

 

Going into the final two tables Bolotin has over $2.1 million in chips, the only other player over a million is Dutch Boyd.  Other notables still alive include Tony G, Gioi Luong, and Erik Friberg. 

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Antanas Guoga,   Ram Vaswani,   Dustin Woolf,   Phil Galfond,   Erik Friberg,   Dutch Boyd,   Alex Bolotin

Hour Six Recap

Jun 29, '07

Luong Full Of Heart

With a flop of K Q 6, Phil Galfond led out and Gioi Luong pushed all-in.  Galfond quickly called with the K Q for top two, and Luong showed the A 8 for the nut flush draw. The turn brought the 10, completing Luong's flush and leaving Galfond looking for a king or queen on the river.  The 10 on the river improved neither hand, and Luong doubled up.

Tony G Staying Alive

With a board of A 10 2 4, Tony G moved all-in.  After a while Dutch Boyd called with 10 8 and had Tony G drawing slim with his 10 6.  The 4 on the river brought a chop, and Tony G was able to live to play another pot.

Only 23 players remain at the final four tables, meaning that there are only 17 eliminations until the final table.

Notable Chip Counts

Dutch Boyd	745,000
Bill Edler	600,000
Ram Vaswani	400,000
Dustin Woolf	300,000
Tony G	200,000
Bill Gazes	180,000

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Antanas Guoga,   Phil Galfond

Event #45 Final Table - Hour One

Jun 30, '07

Gioi Luong was late to the final table, leading to a 30 minute delay.  When play finally got underway, the dynamic created by the stacks had a great effect on the action.  Both Erik Friberg and Alex Bolotin started the final day above two million in chips, while the rest of the players were all below a million and within $200,000 of each other. That meant that the final table started with polarized stack sizes, with players either deep or short stacked. This dynamic, combined with the nature of shorthanded play, led to fast action.

Bill Edler moved in and took down the blinds on two of the first three hands realizing the value of chipping up and trying to make the top three spots, which pay dramatically higher.  Greg Pohler was also applying pressure this way, but with a more selective range of hands.  Gioi Luong also tried to double up early, but his K Q ran into the A K of Alex Bolotin and he was eliminated in 6th.  (See Luong's elimination post for more details.) 

Edler's preflop pressure won him the blinds and antes and when he finally got called by Dutch Boyd, he had him out-chipped.  Boyd held the J J against A 7, and after a flop of 8 5 3, Boyd was in good shape.  The A paired Edler's ace and after the 8 fell on the river Boyd was sent to the rail in fifth place ($169,269), while Edler moved above $1,000,000.  Greg Pohler was left as the short stack, with Edler in third, Bolotin in second and Friberg in first.

Make sure to check back for more hourly updates here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Greg Pohler,   Bill Edler,   Erik Friberg,   Dutch Boyd,   Alex Bolotin

Luong Eliminated 6th ($110,860)

Jun 30, '07

Gioi Luong showed up late to the $5,000 shorthanded no-limit final table.  As one of the four short stacks, he was forced to try to double up early if he wanted to get into the highly paid top three spots. He pushed with K Q when it had folded to him.  Unfortunately for him, Alex Bolotin had A K and called his all-in.  When the flop came down 8 7 6, Luong was really in bad shape.  The A on the turn secured the win for Bolotin and Luong was eliminated in 6th place ($110,860).

Player Tags: Gioi Luong

Six-Handed Final Table Set To Begin

Jun 30, '07

The final table of the $5,000 short handed no-limit hold'em event is set to get underway. Erik Friberg, who placed 8th in last years main event, is coming in as the chip leader of this star studded final table. Alex Bolotin is hot on his tail. Dutch Boyd won last year's $2,500 shorthanded event.   With third place chips starting the day, Boyd is definately in the running for the bracelet this year.  Greg Pohler is in fourth. Though he has only one cash to his name, he is gauranteed to increase his recorded tournament earnings by more than 16 times just by making the final table. Fifth ranked Gioi Luong cashed in the $2,500 short handed event earlier this year. Bill Edler is the shortest stack, but with five major final tables in the past year he is definately deep stacked in experience. 

Seat Assignments

Seat 1: Greg Pohler - $655,000
Seat 2: Alex Bolotin - $2,010,000
Seat 3: Gioi Luong - $570,00
Seat 4: Bill Edler - $535,000
Seat 5: Dutch Boyd - $705,000
Seat 6: Erik Friberg - $2,795,000

With such a great final table competing for a WSOP bracelet and the $904,672 first place prize, this event is one to watch.  Make sure to catch all the action in the hourly updates here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Greg Pohler,   Bill Edler,   Erik Friberg,   Dutch Boyd,   Alex Bolotin

Level 8 Update

Jun 22, '07

Chips: Coming And Going

Kenna James hit the rail early in level nine and Terrence Chan was not far behind him.  On the other hand Devon Porter, Gioi Luong and Daniel Alaei are all deep-stacked.

The Brothers Hachem

Joe Hachem held an early chip lead in this event, but later began to dwindle until busting.  Joe is back to rail his brother Tony Hachem, who is still in the event.

Tournament Info

91 players, sat at 11 tables, are still playing in the pot-limit hold'em event. Payouts begin at 54th place, and that won't be too far in the future if the current rate of eliminations continues. make sure to check back for more hourly updates here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Kenna James,   Terrence Chan,   Joe Hachem,   Tony Hachem

Hour Six/Seven Update

Jun 22, '07

The field has been whittled down to 180 players, and if players are butting heads like in these next two hands, the money bubble will come sooner rather than later.

 

One-time chip leader Joe Hachem saw his stock vanish in a hurry.  On a 9 4 3 flop, Hachem led out, only to have two players move all in over the top. The second was Gioi Luong, who moved in for $11,700, which represented more than three quarters of Hachem’s remaining stack.  Hachem went into the tank, announced to his table he was about to fold a set, and then called tabling 4 4. Luong showed J 10 for the made flush, and Hachem grimaced as the other all-in player showed 9 3, leaving him with only two clean outs for the entire pot.  The turn and river were the 8 and the 6, and Hachem was cripplesd.  A few hands later Hachem called a river bet with A-K with a K 9 9 5 10 only to have his opponent turn over K 9.  A few hands later Hachem made a stand with 6-6, but couldn’t make it hold up and he was eliminated.

 

Jean Gaspard moved all in against Jon Friedberg on a 7 5 2 flop, and Friedberg called for most of his remaining chips.  Gaspard was afraid he had let Friedberg catch up to his A A, but Friedberg showed J J.  The turn and river were the K and the Q, Gaspard doubled, and Friedberg was eliminated soon after.

 

Jon “PearlJammer” Turner and Sorel “ImperIum” Mizzi have both also eliminated.  Daniel Alaei, William Thorsson, and Kenna James are all flush with chips.  James is doing well despite channeling “The Unabomber” with his look.

Eoghan O'Dea took a hit in the last hand before the break when he called a value bet on the river for $3,000 and his opponent flipped over pocket Queens. O'Dea tapped the table in recognition of the superior hand and is now on around $24,700. Read Eoghan's Pro Blog exclusively at CardPlayer.com

Martin Green is shortstacked with on $3,800, Michael Keiner has $19,400 and William Thorson has $22,500 in chips.

 

Player will go on dinner break at 7:30

Notable Chip Counts

T.J. Cloutier	32,100
Kenna James	9,300
An "The Boss" Tran	4,000

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Kenna James,   Jon Friedberg,   Daniel Alaei,   William Thorson,   Jon Turner,   Joe Hachem,   Sorel Mizzi

Hour One Recap

Jun 22, '07

Apparently $4,000 doesn’t provide enough play for J.C. Tran.  Having been crippled in a previous hand, Tran finds himself all-in against another player’s Q 4 with a  board of A Q J 3 9.  Unable to beat the Queens, Tran mucks and exits quickly today. 

 

With only one quadrant of the Amazon Room filled today, it looks like this field will be very close to the 590 from last year.  The number of familiar faces are greater per table than in yesterday’s $1,500 no limit field.  At least two pros per table is standard.  One table of note is Table 10 which houses Joe Hachem, Erica Schoenberg, Matt Hilger, and Gioi Luong.  Schoenberg took a pot off of Hachem early on.  The two of them saw a limped flop K Q 7 with one other player.  The turn came 8, Hachem bet $150, and both Schoenberg and the other player called.  The river was the 10, Hachem bet $425, and only Schoenberg called.  Schoenberg showed 9 6, and Hachem mucked.  They’ve had a fun time at their table as well.  When a new dealer sat down, he asked them, “We’re playing Omaha right?” as he dealt out each player four cards.  They all politely corrected him and got back to business.

 

Apparently the dealers aren’t the only ones who aren’t paying attention.  One player wanted to draw attention to the fact that the player in Seat 1 had won with a walk in the big blind.  This is only interesting because Seat 1 had yet to arrive at his table.  Somebody should nudge the Player in Seat 10 and wake him up.

 

Another stacked table of note includes Michael Mizrachi, Jon Friedberg, Ralph Perry, Jean Gaspard, and Eric “Rizen” Lynch. Lynch along with John Gale, and Doug Carli will be mapping their progress today in our Pro Blogs.

Notable Chip Counts

 

John Gale	13,500
Michael Mizrachi	9,500
Joe Hachem	7,600
Thomas Wahlroos	6,400
Vanessa Rousso	5,000
T.J. Cloutier	4,000
Steve Paul-Ambrose	4,000
Sorel Mizzi	4,000
Shannon Elizabeth	4,000
Nick Binger	4,000
Mimi Tran	4,000
Michael Gracz	4,000
Jon Turner	4,000
Jeff Lisandro	4,000
Humberto Brenes	4,000
Amnon Filippi	4,000
Allen Cunningham	4,000
Jennifer Tilly	3,900
Chris Ferguson	3,500
Phil Laak	3,300

 

 

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   J.C. Tran,   Matthew Hilger,   Michael Mizrachi,   Jon Friedberg,   John Gale,   Joe Hachem,   Eric Lynch,   Erica Schoenberg,   Ralph Perry

Final Table Decided

Jun 23, '07

Gioi Luong bet out $32,000 before the flop and Jordan Smith reraised all in for about $100,000. Luong thought about it for a few moments and decided to call. Luong showed A 10 and Smith had pushed with J J. The board came 7 6 2 10 A and Luong picked up another $100,000 in chips. Smith was eliminated in 10th place and earned $10,902. Smith's elimination established the final table and the final nine players and their chip counts are as follows:

Seat 1 - David Zarrin ($238,000)
Seat 2 - Ray Coburn ($100,000)
Seat 3 - Pete Lawson ($198,000)
Seat 4 - Gioi Luong ($240,000)
Seat 5 - Yuval Bronshtein ($516,000)
Seat 6 - Bryan O'Connell ($179,000)
Seat 7 - Bob Collison ($197,000)
Seat 8 - Jason Newburger ($278,000)
Seat 9 - Greg Hopkins ($454,000)

The final table will begin tomorrow at 3 p.m. and the final nine players will battle as long as it takes to establish a winner. Come back tomorrow to CardPlayer.com to follow all the action and see who will take home the World Series of Poker bracelet.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Greg Hopkins,   Pete Lawson,   Jordan Smith,   Jason Newburger,   David Zarrin,   Raymond Coburn,   Yuval Bronshtein,   Brian O'Connell

Hour Three Update

Jun 23, '07

There are currently 25 players left on three tables.

In the redraw T.J. Cloutier was moved to table 61 with Gioi Luong, Praz Banzi, and William Thorsson.  Banzi and Luong are among the chip leaders while Cloutier and Thorsson have some work to do.

Devin Porter is having fun with his tablemates.  He jokingly said that he had never gotten this far in a tournament before, despite his final table earlier in the World Series.

The blinds are large enough that many of the short stacks can make an all-in move before the flop so these last eliminations have been much more reminiscient of no-limit holdem than pot-limit.  The eliminations are coming fast.

Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com

Notable Chip Counts

Daniel Alaei	115000
T.J. Cloutier	68000

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   T.J. Cloutier,   William Thorson,   Devin Porter,   Praz Bansi

Level 8 Update

Jun 22, '07

Chips: Coming And Going

Kenna James hit the rail early in level nine and Terrence Chan was not far behind him.  On the other hand Devon Porter, Gioi Luong and Daniel Alaei are all deep-stacked.

The Brothers Hachem

Joe Hachem held an early chip lead in this event, but later began to dwindle until busting.  Joe is back to rail his brother Tony Hachem, who is still in the event.

Tournament Info

91 players, sat at 11 tables, are still playing in the pot-limit hold'em event. Payouts begin at 54th place, and that won't be too far in the future if the current rate of eliminations continues. make sure to check back for more hourly updates here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Kenna James,   Terrence Chan,   Joe Hachem,   Tony Hachem

Hour Six/Seven Update

Jun 22, '07

The field has been whittled down to 180 players, and if players are butting heads like in these next two hands, the money bubble will come sooner rather than later.

 

One-time chip leader Joe Hachem saw his stock vanish in a hurry.  On a 9 4 3 flop, Hachem led out, only to have two players move all in over the top. The second was Gioi Luong, who moved in for $11,700, which represented more than three quarters of Hachem’s remaining stack.  Hachem went into the tank, announced to his table he was about to fold a set, and then called tabling 4 4. Luong showed J 10 for the made flush, and Hachem grimaced as the other all-in player showed 9 3, leaving him with only two clean outs for the entire pot.  The turn and river were the 8 and the 6, and Hachem was cripplesd.  A few hands later Hachem called a river bet with A-K with a K 9 9 5 10 only to have his opponent turn over K 9.  A few hands later Hachem made a stand with 6-6, but couldn’t make it hold up and he was eliminated.

 

Jean Gaspard moved all in against Jon Friedberg on a 7 5 2 flop, and Friedberg called for most of his remaining chips.  Gaspard was afraid he had let Friedberg catch up to his A A, but Friedberg showed J J.  The turn and river were the K and the Q, Gaspard doubled, and Friedberg was eliminated soon after.

 

Jon “PearlJammer” Turner and Sorel “ImperIum” Mizzi have both also eliminated.  Daniel Alaei, William Thorsson, and Kenna James are all flush with chips.  James is doing well despite channeling “The Unabomber” with his look.

Eoghan O'Dea took a hit in the last hand before the break when he called a value bet on the river for $3,000 and his opponent flipped over pocket Queens. O'Dea tapped the table in recognition of the superior hand and is now on around $24,700. Read Eoghan's Pro Blog exclusively at CardPlayer.com

Martin Green is shortstacked with on $3,800, Michael Keiner has $19,400 and William Thorson has $22,500 in chips.

 

Player will go on dinner break at 7:30

Notable Chip Counts

T.J. Cloutier	32,100
Kenna James	9,300
An "The Boss" Tran	4,000

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Kenna James,   Jon Friedberg,   Daniel Alaei,   William Thorson,   Jon Turner,   Joe Hachem,   Sorel Mizzi

Hour One Recap

Jun 22, '07

Apparently $4,000 doesn’t provide enough play for J.C. Tran.  Having been crippled in a previous hand, Tran finds himself all-in against another player’s Q 4 with a  board of A Q J 3 9.  Unable to beat the Queens, Tran mucks and exits quickly today. 

 

With only one quadrant of the Amazon Room filled today, it looks like this field will be very close to the 590 from last year.  The number of familiar faces are greater per table than in yesterday’s $1,500 no limit field.  At least two pros per table is standard.  One table of note is Table 10 which houses Joe Hachem, Erica Schoenberg, Matt Hilger, and Gioi Luong.  Schoenberg took a pot off of Hachem early on.  The two of them saw a limped flop K Q 7 with one other player.  The turn came 8, Hachem bet $150, and both Schoenberg and the other player called.  The river was the 10, Hachem bet $425, and only Schoenberg called.  Schoenberg showed 9 6, and Hachem mucked.  They’ve had a fun time at their table as well.  When a new dealer sat down, he asked them, “We’re playing Omaha right?” as he dealt out each player four cards.  They all politely corrected him and got back to business.

 

Apparently the dealers aren’t the only ones who aren’t paying attention.  One player wanted to draw attention to the fact that the player in Seat 1 had won with a walk in the big blind.  This is only interesting because Seat 1 had yet to arrive at his table.  Somebody should nudge the Player in Seat 10 and wake him up.

 

Another stacked table of note includes Michael Mizrachi, Jon Friedberg, Ralph Perry, Jean Gaspard, and Eric “Rizen” Lynch. Lynch along with John Gale, and Doug Carli will be mapping their progress today in our Pro Blogs.

Notable Chip Counts

 

John Gale	13,500
Michael Mizrachi	9,500
Joe Hachem	7,600
Thomas Wahlroos	6,400
Vanessa Rousso	5,000
T.J. Cloutier	4,000
Steve Paul-Ambrose	4,000
Sorel Mizzi	4,000
Shannon Elizabeth	4,000
Nick Binger	4,000
Mimi Tran	4,000
Michael Gracz	4,000
Jon Turner	4,000
Jeff Lisandro	4,000
Humberto Brenes	4,000
Amnon Filippi	4,000
Allen Cunningham	4,000
Jennifer Tilly	3,900
Chris Ferguson	3,500
Phil Laak	3,300

 

 

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   J.C. Tran,   Matthew Hilger,   Michael Mizrachi,   Jon Friedberg,   John Gale,   Joe Hachem,   Eric Lynch,   Erica Schoenberg,   Ralph Perry

Final Table Decided

Jun 23, '07

Gioi Luong bet out $32,000 before the flop and Jordan Smith reraised all in for about $100,000. Luong thought about it for a few moments and decided to call. Luong showed A 10 and Smith had pushed with J J. The board came 7 6 2 10 A and Luong picked up another $100,000 in chips. Smith was eliminated in 10th place and earned $10,902. Smith's elimination established the final table and the final nine players and their chip counts are as follows:

Seat 1 - David Zarrin ($238,000)
Seat 2 - Ray Coburn ($100,000)
Seat 3 - Pete Lawson ($198,000)
Seat 4 - Gioi Luong ($240,000)
Seat 5 - Yuval Bronshtein ($516,000)
Seat 6 - Bryan O'Connell ($179,000)
Seat 7 - Bob Collison ($197,000)
Seat 8 - Jason Newburger ($278,000)
Seat 9 - Greg Hopkins ($454,000)

The final table will begin tomorrow at 3 p.m. and the final nine players will battle as long as it takes to establish a winner. Come back tomorrow to CardPlayer.com to follow all the action and see who will take home the World Series of Poker bracelet.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Greg Hopkins,   Pete Lawson,   Jordan Smith,   Jason Newburger,   David Zarrin,   Raymond Coburn,   Yuval Bronshtein,   Brian O'Connell

Hour Three Update

Jun 23, '07

There are currently 25 players left on three tables.

In the redraw T.J. Cloutier was moved to table 61 with Gioi Luong, Praz Banzi, and William Thorsson.  Banzi and Luong are among the chip leaders while Cloutier and Thorsson have some work to do.

Devin Porter is having fun with his tablemates.  He jokingly said that he had never gotten this far in a tournament before, despite his final table earlier in the World Series.

The blinds are large enough that many of the short stacks can make an all-in move before the flop so these last eliminations have been much more reminiscient of no-limit holdem than pot-limit.  The eliminations are coming fast.

Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com

Notable Chip Counts

Daniel Alaei	115000
T.J. Cloutier	68000

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   T.J. Cloutier,   William Thorson,   Devin Porter,   Praz Bansi

Almost 4 Tables

Jun 21, '07

There are currently 37 players remaining.  The players are on break while the $500 chips are being colored off the tables.

David Colclough was eliminated just before the break.  He was unable to overcome Chau Giang's Aces.  Humberto Brenes, and his shark were also sent packing courtesy of Giang's Aces.  Giang took about $40,000 off of Brenes in a previous pot, with a pot sized value bet on the river.  Both players had Kings (Brenes had a flush draw that missed), but Chau had an Ace kicker to trump Brenes's Queen.  Later on a K-8-7 board, Brenes moved-in and got called by Giang.  Brenes could only muster a pair of eights, and he was eliminated.

David Williams has managed to build his stack up a bit with some savvy plays as well.  First he picked off a bluff on the river with only a pair of tens.  Then in a pot with Michael Binger, he forced Binger to make a big fold.  Binger led out with a pot-sized bet of $31,500 on a flop of 7 3 3.  Williams then raised all in for $63,000 total.  Binger would be all in himself if he called.  Binger stewes for a while then showed A J as he mucked his hand.

Padraig Parkinson was eliminated by Gioi Luong.  Parkinson moved all in for his last $14,000 and was called by three players.  Luong pushed the other callers out on the A Q 3x flop.  Parkinson held the nut flush draw, and Luong had Aces and Queens.  The turn was the Q filling up Luong, and the river was meaningless. 

Eoghan O'Dea has dropped from $130,000 in chips to $52,000 at a tough table containing Mike Sexton and Ram Vaswani.

Julian Gardiner has $110,000 and Andreas Krause has around $100,000.

More updates to come on the hour.

Chau Giang	311,000
Van Marcus	161,000
Michael Binger	160,000
Erick Lindgren	153,000
Mike Sexton	107,000
Devilfish Ulliott	74,000
David Williams	55,000
Allen Cunningham	18,000

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Humberto Brenes,   Dave Colclough,   Chau Giang,   David Williams,   Padraig Parkinson,   Michael Binger

Closer and Closer

Jun 06, '07

Tournament officials have moved the remaining 18 players down to two tables, effectively condensing the amount of talent left in the field. Seated at one table are Sorel Mizzi, Shane Schleger, Jason Strasser and Mike Gracz. The other table contains Tommy Vu, Mark Newhouse and Amir Vahedi.

Vinnie Vinh was finally blinded off and eliminated after failing to show up for day two of play. Vinh came into day two amongst the chip leaders but failed to play even a single hand all day. Vinh finished in 20th place and earned $16,232.

Barry Cales had the good fortune of doubling up through Gioi Luong and eliminating his opponent in the process. Luong pushed all in with KQ and Cales called with AK. The board came 93278 and Cales doubled up and Luong was eliminated in 19th place. Luong takes home $16,232 for his efforts in this event.

Mark Newhouse was the 18th place finisher, earning him $18,475. Newhouse pushed all in for the second hand in a row with Tommy Vu and Amir Vahedi still to act on his left. Vu reraised and Vahedi angrily folded his hand. Heads up, Newhouse had 99 and Vu showed KQ. The flop was Q106 and Newhouse stood up from his seat. The turn and river were no help (8,A) and Newhouse was sent to the rail.

After being crippled, Sorel Mizzi has been eliminated in 17th place. Mizzi had 10-5 with a 10 on the flop against his opponent who had K-10. Already behind, a king came on the river and when the dust settled, Mizzi was left with few chips. Mizzi was eliminated when his A10 ran into Joshua VanDuyn's pocket aces. Mizzi earns $18,475 for his finish.

There are 16 players remaining and play will continue today until the final table is reached.

Player Tags: Amir Vahedi,   Gioi Luong,   Michael Gracz,   Shane Schleger,   Jason Strasser,   Joshua VanDuyn,   Mark Newhouse,   Sorel Mizzi,   Tommy Vu,   Barry Cales