Michael Chow Poker Tournament Updates

Level 22 Update: Chow 7th ($22,945), Misteff 8th ($17,693)

Jun 10, '12

Level: 22

Ante: 3,000
Bring In: 3,000
Completion: 12,000
Limits: 12,000-24,000

Players Remaining: 6 out of 309

Average Chip Count: 386,250

Chip Counts:

Seat no. 2 — Scott Fischman — 330,000

Seat no. 4 — Barry Greenstein — 225,000
Seat no. 5 — Phil Hellmuth — 500,000
Seat no. 6 — Brandon Cantu — 400,000
Seat no. 7 — Brendan Taylor — 451,000
Seat no. 8 — Don Zewin — 510,000

Players Eliminated:

Michael Chow — 7th Place ($22,945)
Jeff Misteff — 8th Place ($17,693)

Live Updates:

Jeff Misteff Eliminated in 8th Place ($17,693)

Brendan Taylor completed the bet to 12,000 with a 6, Jeff Misteff raised to 24,000 with a 5 and Taylor called.

Misteff bet 12,000 on fourth street, Taylor called and then bet out 24,000 on fifth street and Misteff called. Misteff was all in for his last 10,000 on sixth street with a pair of fives on board against Taylor’s jack-high.

Taylor: 6 – 9 – J – 4 — A – 2 – 4
Misteff: 5 – 3 – 5 – 10 — A

Misteff was behind when the money when the money went in on sixth street against Taylor’s made nine-low. Jeff Misteff was eliminated in 8th place ($17,693).

Michael Chow Eliminated in 7th Place ($22,945)

Michael Chow bet 24,000 on fourth street with a 3-2 low and Phil Hellmuth called with a pair of aces on board. Chow bet his four-high on fifth street and Hellmuth raised to 48,000 after picking up a 3, Chow moved all in for another 10,000 and Hellmuth called.

Hellmuth: A – A – 3 – 9 — 2 – 5 – 10
Chow: 3 – 2 – 4 – J — 3 – 4 – 8

Hellmuth hit a nine on sixth street to give him a made nine-low and Chow failed to improve by the river. Michael Chow was eliminated in 7th place ($22,945) while Hellmuth moved up to about 500,000 after the hand.

Be sure to check back with Card Player for all of your final table action, current chip counts, and prize distributions for each gold bracelet event.

Player Tags: Phil Hellmuth,   Brendan Taylor,   Michael Chow,   Jeff Misteff

Action Begins, Official Final Table Now Underway

Jun 10, '12

The final table of Event no. 18 ($2,500 Seven Card Razz) is now underway, and Card Player will be posting level-by-level updates with all of the action, current chip counts, and prize distributions.

Day 3 began with 18 players, and with the elimination of David Rosenau in 9th Place ($13,827), the official 8-handed final table is now set. Play will begin in Level 21 with limits of 10,000-20,000 with a 2,000 ante, and will continue until a winner is determined.

With cards now back in the air, here is a look at the final table and how these players match up:

Seat no. 1 — Michael Chow — 145,000
Seat no. 2 — Scott Fischman — 270,000
Seat no. 3 — Jeff Misteff — 187,000
Seat no. 4 — Barry Greenstein — 115,000
Seat no. 5 — Phil Hellmuth — 446,000
Seat no. 6 — Brandon Cantu — 187,000
Seat no. 7 — Brendan Taylor — 451,000
Seat no. 8 — Don Zewin — 359,000

While only 8 remain, this event gathered 309 players, creating a total prize pool of $702,975. Here is a look at the final payouts:

1st Place — $182,793
2nd Place — $113,024
3rd Place — $74,269
4th Place — $54,248
5th Place — $40,167
6th Place — $30,150
7th Place — $22,945
8th Place — $17,693

Be sure to check back with Card Player at the conclusion of each level for regular updates with all of the action, current chip counts, and prize distributions.

Player Tags: Barry Greenstein,   Scott Fischman,   Don Zewin,   Phil Hellmuth,   David Rosenau,   Brendan Taylor,   Brandon Cantu,   Michael Chow

Aaron Steury Wins Event #17 ($289,283)

Jun 13, '11

Michael Chow Eliminated in 2nd Place ($178,691)
Stud 8

Aaron Steury started Level 29 with a dominating chip lead once again, continuing to put the pressure on his opponents. Adam Friedman was the next to go in 3rd place ($121,437) about halfway through the level, and although it was runner-up Michael Chow that busted Friedman and took his chips into heads-up play, it was too little too late as Steury already had the stranglehold at that point with a chip lead of 3.5 million to Chow’s 835,000. With help from the suffocating blind structure and an average stack of only 18 big bets, Chow’s 7 hardly stood a chance.

Chow finally got it all in with a wired pair of jacks but was behind Steury’s split aces on third street.

Chow: J J 3 5 8 10 2
Steury: A 8 A 6 K 3 5

Both players failed to improve and Michael Chow was eliminated in 2nd place ($178,691). Aaron Steury earned his amazing fifth knockout of this final table, capturing the gold bracelet and the $289,283 grand prize for winning Event #17.

NOTE: With the elimination of Adam Friedman in 3rd place ($121,437), Aaron Steury took a massive chip lead into heads-up play with 3.5 million to Michael Chow’s 835,000.

Adam Friedman Eliminated in 3rd Place ($121,437)
Hold’em

Adam Friedman came into the new level as the short stack and was eliminated soon after it began. During the hold’em round, Friedman got it all in before the flop with 7 3 against Michael Chow’s J J.

The board came 9 9 4 5 2, no help to either player as Adam Friedman was eliminated in 3rd place ($121,437). Chow managed to gather a few chips here heading into the final match, but started with a significant chip disadvantage of about 835,000 to Steury’s 3,500,000.

Player Tags: Adam Friedman,   Aaron Steury,   Michael Chow

Level 28: Steury Continues To Dominate

Jun 13, '11

NOTE: Sixty minute levels with games changing every eight hands.

Limits: 50,000-100,000

Hold’em – Omaha 8:
Blinds: 25,000-50,000

Razz – Stud – Stud 8:
Ante: 10,000
Bring In: 20,000
Completion: 50,000

Players Remaining: 3 out of 963

Average Chip Count: 1,44,500

1. Aaron Steury – 2,400,000
2. Michael Chow – 1,400,000
3. Adam Friedman – 500,000

Aaron Steury Continues to Dominate With Aggressive Style

Aaron Steury has been running good ever since he busted David Baker with quads in 7th place during Level 25. The next level he busted Denis Ethier in 6th and Ron Ware in 5th. The stakes went up again one more time in Level 27 and that’s where Steury busted Jonathan Tamayo in 4th place.

Steury started Level 28 with a slight chip edge over his opponents, but with an average stack of only fourteen big bets, each and every hand became that much more important.

Michael Chow made a run at the big stack after scooping a big pot from Steury with a flush-high and a six-low. This hand brought the two very close in chips while Friedman started chip to away with the choking blinds. Steury made a big call with queen-high when Friedman bet down the board with a missed draw, putting even further distance between himself and his opponents.

Steury ended the level with a chip lead, and his aggressive style combined with the strangling blinds is sure to force the action very soon.

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Player Tags: Adam Friedman,   Aaron Steury,   Michael Chow

Level 24: Ramdin Eliminated in 9th, Final Table Now Underway

Jun 12, '11

NOTE: Play ended last night with 17 players in accordance with the ten-level rule and resumed at 2:30pm. With the elimination of Victor Ramdin in 9th place ($18,577), the official eight-handed final table was set. The final eight players then took a one hour dinner break and returned at approximately 8:00pm to begin the final table. Play began with twenty-eight minutes remaining in Level 24.

NOTE: Sixty minute levels with games changing every eight hands.

Limits: 20,000-40,000

Hold’em – Omaha 8:
Blinds: 10,000-20,000

Razz – Stud – Stud 8:
Ante: 5,000
Bring In: 5,000
Completion: 20,000

Players Remaining: 8 out of 963

Average Chip Count: 541,688

Chip Counts:

1. Adam Friedman – 1,006,000
2. Michael Chow – 907,000
3. Aaron Steury – 757,000
4. Ron Ware – 507,000
5. David Baker – 455,000
6. Jonathan Tamayo – 450,000
7. Denis Ethier – 139,000
8. Paolo Compagno – 123,000

Payouts:

1st. $289,283
2nd. $178,691
3rd. $121,437
4th. $84,516
5th. $60,036
6th. $43,512
7th. $32,150
8th. $24,219

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Player Tags: David Baker,   Denis Ethier,   Victor Ramdin,   Ron Ware,   Adam Friedman,   Jonathan Tamayo,   Paolo Compagno,   Aaron Steury,   Michael Chow

Level 21 Update: Bustouts Galore

Jun 25, '10

Blinds:

Flop Games: 20,000-40,000 limits
Stud Games: 5,000 ante, 5,000 bring-in, 20,000-40,000 limits

Players Remaining: 9 out of 241

Average Chip Count: 803,333

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Marco Johnson – 1,680,000
2. Matt Glantz – 1,400,000
3. Eugene Katchalov – 870,000
4. Carlos Mortensen – 780,000
5. Ian Gordon – 690,000
6. Scott Fischman – 515,000
7. Nick Schulman – 385,000
8. Marco Traniello – 325,000
9. Richard Ashby – 300,000

Notable Eliminations:

16. Brandon Adams – $26,459
15. Roman Yitzhaki – $26,459
14. John Hennigan – $31,851
13. Michael Chow – $31,851
12. Cuong Do – $39,078
11. Steve Billirakis – $39,078
10. Brian Townsend – $48,638

Big Hands:

Brandon Adams Eliminated

Omaha 8

Brandon Adams got the last of his chips in the middle against Marco Johnson on a flop of 7-5-3.

Adams had the A-A-K-J, giving him just dry aces with no low draw, and Johnson flopped two pair and a low with his A-8-5-3. The turn was a 2 and the river was a 10 to eliminated Adams and vault Johnson to the top of the chip counts.

Roman Yitzhaki Eliminated

Omaha 8

Matt Glantz raised preflop on the button and Roman Yitzhaki three-bet from the big blind. Glantz called and the two saw a flop of Q74. There were a ton of raises that led to Yitzhaki being all-in.

Glantz showed the AA55 and Yitzhaki held the AQ92. Glantz had an over pair and a bad low draw and Yitzhaki had top pair and the nut low draw.

The turn was the J and the river was the K, meaning no low was possible and Yitzhaki was eliminated.

Johnson Rolling

Razz

Marco Johnson completed and then bet fourth and fifth street against Eugene Katchalov. Katchalov led out on sixth and was raised by Johnson with their boards looking like this.

Johnson: (X-X)-4-7-5-10-(X)
Katchalov: (X-X)-2-9-7-4-(X)

Johnson fired another bullet on the river and Katchalov folded. Katchalov fell to 880,000 and Johnson is up to 1,200,000.

Hennigan Eliminated

Stud

We missed the exact details of the hand, but a very short stacked John Hennigan was all-in against Michael Chow. At the end of the hand, Chow was stacking chips and Hennigan was walking away from the table.

Michael Chow Eliminated

Stud

Michael Chow completed and was raised by Marco Johnson. Chow made the call and got all of his chips in the middle by fifth street against Johnson.

Chow: (A-7)-A-8-6-Q-(2)
Johnson: (J-J)-2-J-6-3-(7)

Chow’s aces never improved and Johnson continued to cruise as he made trip jacks to eliminated Chow.
Cuong Do Eliminated

Stud 8

Cuong Do was down to his last 11,000 after calling bets the whole way down from Scott Fischman in a stud hand and having to fold the river. He got his last 11,000 in the middle on third against Brian Townsened. The boards ran out like this.

Do: (K-10)-A-8-5-6-(X)
Townsend: (6-5)-7-10-9-9-(8)

Townsend made a straight and left Do drawing dead on his river card to eliminated Do in 12th place.

Steve Billirakis Eliminated

Stud 8

Steve Billirakis got the last of his chips in the middle on sixth street against Ian Gordon.

Billirakis: (5-5)-8-5-4-8-(9)
Gordon: (A-7)-7-7-2-A-(K)

Both players made full houses, but Gordon’s sevens full of aces trumped Billirakis’ fives full of eights and Billirakis was eliminated in 11th as we inch closer to the final table.

Brian Townsend Eliminated

Scott Fischman raised from the cutoff and Brian Townsend three-bet from the button. Carlos Mortensen then made it four bets from the big blind. Fischman folded and Townsend made the call.

The flop was Q32 and Mortensen bet out 20,000. Townsend raised his remaining chips and it was only a little more to Mortensen who made the call.

Townsend showed A3 and was up against the JJ of Mortensen.

The Q came on the turn and the 5 on the river kept Mortensen in the lead and Townsend was eliminated in tenth place, leaving the final nine players to re-draw to the unofficial final table of nine.

Player Tags: John Hennigan,   Eugene Katchalov,   Brandon Adams,   Roman Yitzhaki,   Brian Townsend,   Cuong Do,   Marco Johnson,   Michael Chow

Level 19 Update: Scotty Nguyen and Todd Brunson Bust

Jun 25, '10

Blinds:

Flop Games: 15,000-30,000 limits
Stud Games: 3,000 ante, 5,000 bring-in, 15,000-30,000 limits

Players Remaining: 16 out of 241

Average Chip Count: 451,875

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Eugene Katchalov – 830,000
2. Marco Johnson – 810,000
3. Brian Townsend – 730,000
4. Ian Gordon - 700,000
5. Nick Schulman – 610,000
6. Michael Chow – 530,000
7. Richard Ashby – 450,000
8. Cuong Do – 350,000
9. Matt Glantz – 315,000
10. Scott Fischman – 310,000

Notable Eliminations:

19. Scotty Nguyen – $21,997
18. Todd Brunson – $21,997
17. Robert Mizrachi – $21,997

Big Hands:

Scotty Nguyen Eliminated

Razz

This hand took place at the very end of the last level. Scotty Nguyen got the last of his chips in on third street against Carlos Mortensen. Their boards ran out like this.

Nguyen: (5-7)-4-K-8-8-(10)
Mortensen: (6-2)-7-A-8-J-(4)

Nguyen bricked off after starting good on third and Mortensen ended up making a 7-6 low, which was plenty good enough for the pot.

Todd Brunson Eliminated

Stud

We caught up with the action with Todd Brunson already with the last of his chips in the middle against Brandon Adams and the hole cards were already face up.

Brunson: (K-Q)-7-3-J-5-(2)
Adams: (5-8)-J-3-10-K-(K)

Adams paired up on the river to eliminated Brunson now his chip stack is up to 240,000.

Chow Scoops

Stud 8

On sixth street all the boards looked like this.

Michael Chow: (X-X)-6-Q-7-7
Carlos Mortensen: (X-X)-9-10-J-2
Brandon Adams: (X-X)-9-6-5-6

There was already 200,000 in the middle when Carlos Mortensen bet out and was raised by Brandon Adams. After tanking for a little bit, Michael Chow put in a third raise. Both his opponents, although visibly shocked, called to see the river. Everybody checked around on seventh street and Chow turned over A-A-2, giving him aces-up.

Mortensen and Adams both mucked and Chow scooped the pot, moving him up to 530,000. Adams fell to 200,000 and Mortensen fell to 270,000.

Robert Mizrachi Eliminated

Omaha 8

Robert Mizrachi and Nick Schulman saw a flop of 1085 and they got three bets in. The turn came the 3, which made a low possible and they got another three bets in which resulted in Mizrachi being all-in.

Mizrachi showed the AK94, giving him a good low and a flush, but Schulman showed the AAQ2, giving him the nut flush and the nut low. Mizrachi was drawing dead and was eliminated and Schulman grew his stack to 610,000.

Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen,   Carlos Mortensen,   Todd Brunson,   Brandon Adams,   Michael Chow

Level 24: Eugene Katchalov and Michael Chow Eliminated

Jun 14, '10

Blinds: 20,000-40,000
Stakes: 40,000-80,000

Players Remaining: 5 out of 212

Average Chip Count: 1,272,000

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Sammy Farha — 2,860,000
2. Tony Merksick — 1,150,000
3. Sergey Altbregin — 1,000,000
4. Yueqi Zhu — 900,000
5. James Dempsey — 490,000

Eliminations:

7. Eugene Katchalov — $74,670
6. Michael Chow — $97,508

Big Hands:

Eugene Katchalov Eliminated in 7th Place ($74,670)

Eugene Katchalov had all his chips in the middle preflop versus Sammy Farha and Sergey Altbregin. The flop came K88 and Farha bet. Altbregin called. The 4 fell on the turn and action went check-check. The K landed on the felt and Farha checked. Altbregin bet and Farha called. Altbregin exposed the AK72, winning the side pot and the main pot versus the the AAQ5 of Katchalov.

Michael Chow Eliminated in 6th Place ($97,508)

Michael Chow got all his chips in the middle preflop versus James Dempsey. Demspey exposed the AK52 and Chow tabled the A764. The board ran out Q933J and Chow was eliminated.

Player Tags: Eugene Katchalov,   Michael Chow

Final Table Update: Dan Heimiller Eliminated In 2nd Place, Michael Chow Wins Event No. 4

Jun 02, '10

Blinds: 50,000-100,000; 100,000-200,000 limits

Players Remaining: 1 out of 818

Tournament Leaderboard:

Notable Eliminations:

2. Dan Heimiller — $146,684

Big Hands:

Dan Heimiller Eliminated In 2nd Place ($146,684); Michael Chow Wins Event No. 4

Dan Heimiller was all in with his small blind. Heimiller turned over 10872 while Chow turned over Q932.

The board ran out A105JK and Chow made a king-high straight to take down the pot and win his first bracelet.

Player Tags: Michael Chow,   Dan Heimiller

Final Table Update: Joe Leibman Eliminated In 8th Place, Sasha Rosewood 7th, Cipolla 6th, Epstein 5th

Jun 02, '10

Blinds: 20,000-40,000; 40,000-80,000 limits

Players Remaining: 4 out of 818

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Michael Chow – 2,400,000
2. Dan Heimiller – 550,000
3. Fred Koubi – 400,000
4. Ylon Schwartz – 250,000

Notable Eliminations:

8. Joe Leimbman — $22,825
7. Sasha Rosewood — $29,584
6. Michael Cipolla — $38,794
5. Scott Epstein — $51,493

Big Hands:

Joe Leibman Eliminated In 8th Place ($22,825)

One hand after losing the majority of his stack, Joe Leibman was all in from the big blind. Michael Chow and Sasha Rosewood jumped into the pot to try to take out Leibman.

The board ran out K53Q2 and Chow turned over A-4 for a wheel. Rosewood mucked and Leibman could only turn over A-2 and was eliminated from the tournament.

Sasha Rosewood Eliminated In 7th Place ($29,584)

Dan Heimiller raised to 80,000 preflop and Sasha Rosewood made the call. The flop was KJ8 and Rosewood led out with 40,000. Heimiller raised to 80,000 and Rosewood moved in for 10,000 more. Heimiller called and tabled AAAJ for aces while Rosewood tabled A1093 for an open-ended straight draw.

The turn was the 2, giving Rosewood hope to chop with a low hand. But the J gave Heimiller trip jacks for the win and Rosewood was out.

Michael Cipolla Eliminated In 6th Place ($38,794)

Michael Cipolla got the last of his stack into the middle on a board reading AKK2.

Michael Chow put Cipolla at risk, tabling AJJ7 for two pair. The river gave Cipolla no help and he was eliminated.

Scott Epstein Eliminated In 5th Place

Scott Epstein raised to 80,000 preflop and Michael Chow made the call. The flop was 864 and Epstein fired 40,000. Chow raised to 80,000 and Epstein made the call.

The turn was the K and Epstein checked. Chow fired 80,000 and Epstein made the call. The river was the 10 and Epstein check-called the remainder of his stack into the pot.

Chow then showed AQQ3 for the nut flush and a A-3 low. Epstein could not beat that and he was out of the tournament.

Player Tags: Scott Epstein,   Joe Leibman,   Michael Cipolla,   Michael Chow