Jason Strasser Poker Tournament Updates

Jason Strasser Eliminated

Apr 21, '18

Shortly after doubling up, Jason Strasser was all-in from under-the-gun for his last 23,100. Justin Hutton then re-shoved for 25,400 from middle position.

The blinds folded and Hutton turned over AK. Strasser was happy to be live with Q10, but he could not connect on a board of 74249.

Strasser was eliminated, and Hutton chipped up to about 51,000.

Player Tags: Jason Strasser,   Justin Hutton

Jason Strasser Doubles His Short Stack

Apr 21, '18

A short-stacked player moved in from under-the-gun for his last 14,800 and Jason Strasser called all-in on the button for 14,100. Strasser showed pocket tens, and they were up against his opponent’s KQ.

The dealer rolled out a board of 55243 and Strasser doubled to just over 30,000.

Player Tags: Jason Strasser

Jason Strasser A Late Addition

Apr 21, '18

In January Jason Strasser topped a field of 1,249 total entries to win the 2018 WSOP Circuit Choctaw main event for $332,539. The 33-year-old former poker pro turned financial investor has recently joined the field looking to capture another huge title here in Durant, Oklahoma.

Player Tags: Jason Strasser

Short Handed Underway

Jun 28, '07

Hachem Forgets Deodorant?

Joe Hachem, who finished runner up to Dutch Boyd in the $2,500 short-handed event last year, got off to a slow start today.  It was not that he wasn't getting hands, or that his hands weren't holding up. He just didn't have anyone to play with.  Hachem sat alone at table 13 for a number of minutes before any opponents showed up. 

Madsen Off To A Slow Start

After a flop of Q 9 8 a player at Jeff Madsen's table led out $275 and Madsen called.  The K came on the turn and both players checked.  The Q on the river once again prompted Madsen's opponent to bet $275, which Madsen quickly raised to $625.  His opponent called and revealed QJ.  Madsen flashed Q-10 before mucking his hand.

Smith Busts

With a board of 10 5 2 K Gavin Smith bet $1,100.  Smith's opponent raised to $12,000.  This was enough to put Smith all-in, and he went into the tank for a few minutes to think over the big call. He did eventually call with K 10, only to see his opponent's 2 2.  The river brought the Q and Smith was sent to the rail. 

Pros Galore

Littered amongst this field are several dozen pros, some with the misfortune of sitting next to each other. Sharing the felt at table 23 are Terrence Chan, Antonio Esfandiari, Greg "FBT" Mueller, and Gabe Thaler. Across the room Jennifer Harmon, Phil Laak and Hoyt Corkins are battling for chips at table 37.

Strasser Picks Up Chips

Following a flop of 7 3 2 the player in seat two at Strasser's table throws out $400. Strasser raises to $1,500 and the player in seat five made the call. The player in seat two got out of the way and the turn was the 7. Strasser checked and the player in seat five made it $2,500 to go. Strasser came back over the top all in for $6,250. Seat five made the call and the players turned over their hands. Seat five showed 9 9 and Strasser exposed A 6 with one card to come. The river brought the J for Strasser and he now has around $17,000. Strasser's opponent couldn't believe the heart came on the river and jumped out of his seat to leave. The dealer had to call him back so he could play the $350 in chips that he had left.

Euro challengers
There are dozens of Euro hopefuls populating the game including Roland De Wolfe, 'Mad' Marty Wilson, Marcus Golser, Neil Channing, Chris Bjorin, Barny Boatman, Noah Boeken, William Thorson, Andy Black, Alan Smurfit, Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliott, Kevin O'Connell, Vicky Coren, Ross Boatman, David Benyamine and Marco Traniello.

Player Tags: Gavin Smith,   Joe Hachem,   Jason Strasser,   Dutch Boyd,   Jeff Madsen

Hour 2 Update

Jun 22, '07

It is surprisingly quiet in the Amazon Room today as we’ve already lost over ten percent of field. The unofficial numbers show 599 total entrants which is pretty close to accurate considering that only a quarter of the room was dedicated to today’s $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em event.

While many players like Jason Strasser, Jeff Shulman and John Phan were on their way out, others like T.J. Cloutier and John Gale were off to a good start. John Phan was eliminated when his pocket pair of kings got steamrolled by an opponent’s A-Q. Phan got all of his money in the pot before the flop and his opponent in seat 2 made the call. The board comes A K J 10 2 giving Seat-2 a straight on the turn to crack Phan’s set of kings on the flop.

T.J. Cloutier was the one doing the eliminating on his table as he knocked two players in the same hand. On a flop of 9 7 5, the player in seat 4 bets $2,400, followed T.J. Cloutier who raises $3,600 more and all-in. The player in seat 6 calls all-in for less than the full amount and the player in seat 4 all calls all-in for less than the full amount. Cloutier flips over A 10 for the nut flush draw while Seat-4 shows 9 9 for top set and Seat-6 shows 7 7 for middle set. The turn and river bring the 3 and the 2, giving Cloutier the flush and eliminating both of his opponents.  

John Gale took a nice pot off of Michael Gracz when he made a straight on the river against Gracz’s failed bluff attempt. On a board of K Q 2 9 10, Gracz fires out $1,500 on the river. Gale quickly calls and turns over K J for the straight while Gracz just raps on the table throws his hand into the muck.

Gracz wasn’t the only one caught bluffing this morning as Michael Mizrachi lost a big pot on the river when his opponent put his tournament life on the line with two pair on a very dangerous board. On a flop of J J 2, Mizrachi bets $600 and is called by the player in seat 7. The turn brings the A and Mizrachi bets $1,200. Seat-7 calls and the river brings the Q. Mizrachi bets $4,000 into the pot, that would leave Seat-7 with only $25 if he were to make the call. Seat-7 does make the call and raises Mizrachi his last $25 and turns over A Q. Mizrachi laughs to himself as he throws his hand into the muck.

Keep your browsers locked on CardPlayer.com for more updates and your favorite Pro Blogs.

Notable Chip Counts

John Gale	17,000
T.J. Cloutier	16,500
Joe Hachem	16,500
Michael Mizrachi	9,500
Joe Pelton	7,300
Mark Seif	6,700
Thomas Wahlroos	6,400
Phil Laak	5,400
Shannon Elizabeth	5,300
Vanessa Rousso	4,000
Mimi Tran	4,000
Michael Gracz	4,000
Jennifer Tilly	4,000
Jeff Lisandro	4,000
Humberto Brenes	4,000
Darrell Dicken	4,000
Barry Greenstein	4,000
Amnon Filippi	4,000
Sorel Mizzi	3,800
Allen Cunningham	2,900
Joe Awada	2,300
Michael Binger	1,600
Chris Ferguson	1,100

Player Tags: John Phan,   T.J. Cloutier,   Jeff Shulman,   Michael Mizrachi,   John Gale,   Jason Strasser

More Big Names Fall

Jun 19, '07

Round two of today's $5,000 World Championship Heads Up No Limit Hold 'Em tournament continues through the hour with roughly 25 tables still playing. The winners are free to do whatever they want until round three starts at 10 p.m.

Current Eliminations

Shannon Elizabeth defeated
Daniel Alaei defeated Annie Duke
Tony G defeated Sam Farha
Chip Jett advanced.
Lee Watkinson defeated John Phan.
Sean McCabe defeated Steve Zolotow.


Patrick Antonius defeated Frederick Hallling
Antonius and Halling were all in after the flop. Antonius had pocket two's with a two on the flop and Halling had J 9 and was on a flush draw. The spade never came for Halling and Antonius' set held up.

Taylor "GreenPlastic" Caby defeated Jason Strasser
All in before the flop, Caby was holding A 8 and Strasser showed K J. The board came 10 6 4 8 2 and Strasser was eliminated.

John "Tex" Barch defeated Joe Cassidy
Cassidy and Barch were almost even in chips after a see saw battle that appeared to be never ending. Barch raised to $4,000 preflop and Cassidy went into the tank. Cassidy pushed all in after thinking for several moments and Barch instantly made the call. Cassidy turned over A 10 and Barch flipped over A J. The board came J 9 6 10 7 and Cassidy stood up to leave the table. Barch called him back because after the chips were counted, Cassidy had Barch covered by $1,700. Cassidy immediately pushed all in on the next hand with 6 3 and Barch called with A 9. The dealer laid out Q Q 3 2 A and Joe Cassidy was eliminated.

De Wolfe out foxes Jacob
Roland De Wolfe finally vanquished Alex Jacob in his match which lasted just over two hours. Towards the end De Wolfe forced Jacob all-in twice in quick succession from his position as dominant stack.

Both times Jacob doubled up – once with AJ Vs K3 and again with A3 Vs A2

However, the third time he was an overwhelming underdog, his K-6 offsuit against De Wolfe’s A-K offsuit and a dry board brought no help for a dejected looking Jacob and De Wolfe advances to round three.

 John Kabbaj, Rob Hollink, Jani Sointula, and Noah Boeken all won their games while Ram Vaswani was beaten.

Player Tags: Lee Watkinson,   John Phan,   Annie Duke,   Barry Greenstein,   Chip Jett,   Steve Zolotow,   Joe Cassidy,   Daniel Alaei,   John Barch,   Sam Farha,   Taylor Caby,   Patrik Antonius,   Sean McCabe,   Jason Strasser,   Fredrik Halling,   Shannon Elizabeth

Official Numbers

Jun 16, '07

The numbers are in and today's field consists of a whopping 2,315 players competing for a prize pool of $3,159,975. There will be 198 players taking home at least $3,476 and first place finisher will walk away with $603,069 and a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. The official payout structure has been posted.

Level four has ended and the players are taking a short 15 minute break. When they return level five will begin and the blinds will go up to $150-$300 with a $25 ante. There are still over 1,000 people remaining in this event.

Notable eliminations this round include Chad Brown, Andy Black, Mark Vos, Jason Strasser, Max Pescatori and Michael Binger.

Making headway are Frenchman Pascal Perrault, and Scandinavians Chris Bjorn and William Thorson.

Player Tags: Max Pescatori,   Andy Black,   Michael Binger,   Jason Strasser,   Mark Vos

More Eliminations

Jun 09, '07

With the third level containing antes beginning, many of the short stacks have begun to fall.  In the last hour, Erick Lindgren, Lee Watkinson, Chris Bell, Jason Strasser, Jon Friedberg, Erik Seidel have all been eliminated.

Daniel Alaei avoided elimination in a very big hand at his table.  The player in seat 6 raised preflop to $1,975 from the cutoff, Seat 7 re-raised to $5,000, and Alaei pushed all in over the top from the small blind for about $5,000 more.  Seat 6 called for less, and Seat 7 went into the tank.  Eventually the clock was called, and he mucked his cards.  Alaei flipped up AQ and Seat 6 showed KJ.  The flop came 976, with the turn A and 8 following.  Seat 7 said that he had pocket fives and would have made a straight.  Alaei's stack is now up to a healthy $15,000.  Other pros floating around that mark include Phil Hellmuth, Jon "PearlJammer" Turner, and Mark Gregorich.

Play will continue to the dinner break at 7:30.  There are at less than 800 players remaining.

Player Tags: Lee Watkinson,   Erik Seidel,   Erick Lindgren,   Phil Hellmuth,   Mark Gregorich,   Jon Friedberg,   Daniel Alaei,   Chris Bell,   Jon Turner,   Jason Strasser

Railbirds Galore

Jun 08, '07

If the crowds on the rails get any bigger, Harrah's should really start to consider selling tickets to these events. The rail on the $5,000 Pot Limit Hold 'Em event started out big and is only getting bigger. Clogging the aisles of the Amazon Room are fans all eager to catch a glimpse of some of poker's elite.

Recent eliminations include Cyndy Violette, Doyle Brunson, Phil Laak, Jason Strasser, Clonie Gowen, Kristy Gazes and Daniel Negreanu. With under 90 players remaining, play hasn't slowed down a bit. Gavin Griffin and Daniel Negreanu bumped heads early and found themselves heads up in a very large pot. Griffin made it $3,400 before the flop and Negreanu raised to $9,400. Griffin made the call and the flop was A94. Both players check the flop and the turn is the 2. Negreanu checked and Griffin bet out $12,600. Negreanu raised to $25,200 and Griffin quickly pushed all in for $11,000 more. Negreanu began to analyze the hand out loud while pondering his decision. "Thats so not like you," said Negreanu. Griffin just chuckled and said smiling, "I know." Negreanu folded his hand and was left with less than $10,000. Shortly after the hand Negreanu was eliminated.

Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy built his stack to over $15,000 when he doubled up this level. All in before the flop, Josephy was called by Mickey Appleman who had A-7. Josephy showed JJ and the board came 932Q6. Josephy turned his head away as the dealer put out the cards and was relieved to see that his jacks held up at the end of the hand.

Player Tags: Kristy Gazes,   Mickey Appleman,   Daniel Negreanu,   Phil Laak,   Doyle Brunson,   Clonie Gowen,   Cyndy Violette,   Gavin Griffin,   Cliff Josephy,   Jason Strasser

130 Players Remain

Jun 08, '07

With just 130 players left and the field littered with big name players, stacked tables are bound to arise. On table 60 Cliff "JohnnyBax" Josephy is in the one seat, and seated to his left are Eric "Rizen" Lynch, Clonie Gowen, Sorel "Imperium" Mizzi, Mickey Appleman and Mike Wattel. Table 55 is home to the likes of Kristy Gazes, Humberto Brenes, Minh Ly, David Grey, and Allen Cunningham.

Lee Watkinson was eliminated in the last level. Watkinson was all in on the river with a board showing QQ785. Watkinson had AQ and his opponent in the ten seat had Q8. At the table next door Mike Gracz found himself involved in a large pot. The flop was 875 and Gracz bet out $10,000. The player in seat 6 pushed out $32,2000 more. Gracz pushed all in his opponent had him covered. The player in seat six called and showed JJ. Gracz had J9. The turn was the Q and the river was the 2. Mike Gracz was eliminated and left behind Jason Strasser, Robert Willaimson III and Thomas Wahlroos at his table.

Erick Lindgren doubled up to over $14,000 shortly before the players went on break. His opponent in seat eight pushed all in following a board of Q9382 with A9. Lindgren made the call with 99 and doubled up.

After a day filled with patient play Joe Sebok has finally had the chance to collect some chips. Sebok bet $2,200 before the flop and was called by the player in seat four. The flop came 9-7-4 with two diamonds. Sebok bet out $2,500 and the player in seat four raised to $9,500. Sebok called and the turn was the 3. Sebok checked and his opponent pushed all in. Sebok called and showed 99. The player in seat showed AQ and realized he had been drawing dead since the flop. Sebok doubled up to roughly $50,000.

Player Tags: Lee Watkinson,   Humberto Brenes,   Michael Gracz,   Erick Lindgren,   Kristy Gazes,   Mickey Appleman,   Minh Ly,   Allen Cunningham,   Clonie Gowen,   David Grey,   Joe Sebok,   Jason Strasser,   Robert Williamson III,   Eric Lynch,   Thomas Wahlroos,   Sorel Mizzi

Cha-Ching!

Jun 05, '07

Play has ended for day one of the $1,000 No Limit Hold 'Em with rebuys tournament. Today's event started with 844 players and there are now just 81 left. The bubble burst and tournament officials announced that play would end for the day as a result of everyone being in the money. Every returning player will earn at least $5,826. Play will resume tomorrow at 2 p.m. and will continue until the final table is reached.

Joe Sebok didn't survive long enough to make the money after making a move from the small blind. The player in seat eight bet out and Sebok asked him how much he had left. The player in seat eight only had around $26,000 left. Upon learning this, Sebok pushed all in. The player in the big blind, who had both Sebok and the player in seat eight covered, came over the top and pushed all in. Sebok had A-J and the player in the big blind woke up with aces. An ace hit on the flop and Sebok never improved.

Tournament officials announced that hand for hand play would begin at 83 players. Shortly after this announcement, Sorel Mizzi took it upon himself to help speed up the process. Following a flop of Q42, Mizzi bet out $10,000. His opponent in seat four raised him to $24,000. Mizzi pushed all in and had his opponent covered. Deciding whether or not to call appeared to be a painful process for the player in seat four and he took a very long time to make that decision. He eventually called and before he could flip over his cards Mizzi showed him his AA. The player in seat four had KQ. The board bricked out when the turn and the river came 3 and J, respectively. Mizzi doubled up to over $240,000 and sits alone as the current chip leader.

In the field returning tomorrow are Amir Vahedi, Kristy Gazes, Jeff Shulman, Brett Jungblut, Antonio Esfandiari, Mike Gracz, Shane Schleger, Sorel Mizzi, Jason Strasser, Gavin Griffin, Shannon Shorr, Michael Binger and Alex Prendes Jr. For day two action check back with CardPlayer.com.

Player Tags: Amir Vahedi,   Michael Gracz,   Brett Jungblut,   Kristy Gazes,   Jeff Shulman,   Antonio Esfandiari,   Gavin Griffin,   Alex Prendes Jr.,   Shane Schleger,   Joe Sebok,   Michael Binger,   Jason Strasser,   Shannon Shorr,   Sorel Mizzi

Down to One

Jun 06, '07

The players are taking a short break while tournament officials color off the yellow $1,000 chips. We are down to ten players and when the players return play will resume at one table

Micheal Binger was eliminated in 14th place when his J-8 ran into Dolph Arnold's Q-9 and never improved. Binger walked away today $21,278 richer. Jason Strasser busted out in 12th place when he went heads up against Amir Vahedi. Vahedi had QQ and Strasser had one live overcard with AQ. Strasser was eliminated and Vahedi moved up to over $1,000,000 in chips.


Marcello del Grosso was the player eliminated in 11th place and causing the redraw.  Del Grosso  had A-7  and Tommy Vu woke up with  aces. Del Grosso couldn't catch and was eliminated. Del Gross will take home $23,811.

Player Tags: Dolph Arnold,   Marcello Del Grosso,   Michael Binger,   Jason Strasser,   Tommy Vu

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

Strasser Takes Lead

Jun 06, '07

Play began after the color up, 10 minutes earlier than the remaining players were told.  Most returned to their seats in good time as several announcements were made about the early restart.  Michael Binger, however, did not hear the annonuncements, and was livid when he returned to find he had missed 10 minutes of action.

 

This level of play saw the exit of many top pros.  Jeff Shulman and Antonio Esfandiari could no longer survive on their short stacks and were knocked out.  Amir Vahedi, took one back for the old guard when he was able to make his pocket Aces hold up against Eric “Sheets” Haber’s pocket Queens.  Kristy Gazes rode quite a roller coaster.  She was crippled down to her last $11,000 after her opponent cracked her pocket Queens with a A-4.  She was all in on the next hand with J-10 suited against two callers holding A-6 and 7-7.  She flopped a flush draw and managed to hit a Jack on the river to stay alive.  A few hands later her luck ran out as she lost a race with 10-10 to Jason Strasser’s A-K.  Brett Jungblut  and Steve Paul Ambrose were also eliminated.

 

At the internet the table the attitude seems very upbeat, despite each of the players trying to ‘stack’ each other.  Pokerstars superstar Dario Minieri, the first to win a Porsche Carrera by accumulating 3 million Frequent Player points, was involved in two big hands with online pros.  First Dario lost a race to Josh Vanduyn with A-K versus 7-7.  Then Dario moved all in after a Todd Witteles raise.  Witteles made the call and both players flipped over A-K, and each ended up making two pair, and they chopped the pot. 

 

Jason Strasser has quietly crept into the chip lead, continuing his fantastic showing so far at this year’s World Series

 

There are currently 29 players remaining.

Player Tags: Amir Vahedi,   Brett Jungblut,   Kristy Gazes,   Jeff Shulman,   Eric Haber,   Antonio Esfandiari,   Todd Witteles,   Michael Binger,   Jason Strasser,   Joshua VanDuyn,   Steve Paul Ambrose,   Dario Minieri

Cha-Ching!

Jun 05, '07

Play has ended for day one of the $1,000 No Limit Hold 'Em with rebuys tournament. Today's event started with 844 players and there are now just 81 left. The bubble burst and tournament officials announced that play would end for the day as a result of everyone being in the money. Every returning player will earn at least $5,826. Play will resume tomorrow at 2 p.m. and will continue until the final table is reached.

Joe Sebok didn't survive long enough to make the money after making a move from the small blind. The player in seat eight bet out and Sebok asked him how much he had left. The player in seat eight only had around $26,000 left. Upon learning this, Sebok pushed all in. The player in the big blind, who had both Sebok and the player in seat eight covered, came over the top and pushed all in. Sebok had A-J and the player in the big blind woke up with aces. An ace hit on the flop and Sebok never improved.

Tournament officials announced that hand for hand play would begin at 83 players. Shortly after this announcement, Sorel Mizzi took it upon himself to help speed up the process. Following a flop of Q42, Mizzi bet out $10,000. His opponent in seat four raised him to $24,000. Mizzi pushed all in and had his opponent covered. Deciding whether or not to call appeared to be a painful process for the player in seat four and he took a very long time to make that decision. He eventually called and before he could flip over his cards Mizzi showed him his AA. The player in seat four had KQ. The board bricked out when the turn and the river came 3 and J, respectively. Mizzi doubled up to over $240,000 and sits alone as the current chip leader.

In the field returning tomorrow are Amir Vahedi, Kristy Gazes, Jeff Shulman, Brett Jungblut, Antonio Esfandiari, Mike Gracz, Shane Schleger, Sorel Mizzi, Jason Strasser, Gavin Griffin, Shannon Shorr, Michael Binger and Alex Prendes Jr. For day two action check back with CardPlayer.com.

Player Tags: Amir Vahedi,   Michael Gracz,   Brett Jungblut,   Kristy Gazes,   Jeff Shulman,   Antonio Esfandiari,   Gavin Griffin,   Alex Prendes Jr.,   Shane Schleger,   Joe Sebok,   Michael Binger,   Jason Strasser,   Shannon Shorr,   Sorel Mizzi

Down to One

Jun 06, '07

The players are taking a short break while tournament officials color off the yellow $1,000 chips. We are down to ten players and when the players return play will resume at one table

Micheal Binger was eliminated in 14th place when his J-8 ran into Dolph Arnold's Q-9 and never improved. Binger walked away today $21,278 richer. Jason Strasser busted out in 12th place when he went heads up against Amir Vahedi. Vahedi had QQ and Strasser had one live overcard with AQ. Strasser was eliminated and Vahedi moved up to over $1,000,000 in chips.


Marcello del Grosso was the player eliminated in 11th place and causing the redraw.  Del Grosso  had A-7  and Tommy Vu woke up with  aces. Del Grosso couldn't catch and was eliminated. Del Gross will take home $23,811.

Player Tags: Dolph Arnold,   Marcello Del Grosso,   Michael Binger,   Jason Strasser,   Tommy Vu

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

Strasser Takes Lead

Jun 06, '07

Play began after the color up, 10 minutes earlier than the remaining players were told.  Most returned to their seats in good time as several announcements were made about the early restart.  Michael Binger, however, did not hear the annonuncements, and was livid when he returned to find he had missed 10 minutes of action.

 

This level of play saw the exit of many top pros.  Jeff Shulman and Antonio Esfandiari could no longer survive on their short stacks and were knocked out.  Amir Vahedi, took one back for the old guard when he was able to make his pocket Aces hold up against Eric “Sheets” Haber’s pocket Queens.  Kristy Gazes rode quite a roller coaster.  She was crippled down to her last $11,000 after her opponent cracked her pocket Queens with a A-4.  She was all in on the next hand with J-10 suited against two callers holding A-6 and 7-7.  She flopped a flush draw and managed to hit a Jack on the river to stay alive.  A few hands later her luck ran out as she lost a race with 10-10 to Jason Strasser’s A-K.  Brett Jungblut  and Steve Paul Ambrose were also eliminated.

 

At the internet the table the attitude seems very upbeat, despite each of the players trying to ‘stack’ each other.  Pokerstars superstar Dario Minieri, the first to win a Porsche Carrera by accumulating 3 million Frequent Player points, was involved in two big hands with online pros.  First Dario lost a race to Josh Vanduyn with A-K versus 7-7.  Then Dario moved all in after a Todd Witteles raise.  Witteles made the call and both players flipped over A-K, and each ended up making two pair, and they chopped the pot. 

 

Jason Strasser has quietly crept into the chip lead, continuing his fantastic showing so far at this year’s World Series

 

There are currently 29 players remaining.

Player Tags: Amir Vahedi,   Brett Jungblut,   Kristy Gazes,   Jeff Shulman,   Eric Haber,   Antonio Esfandiari,   Todd Witteles,   Michael Binger,   Jason Strasser,   Joshua VanDuyn,   Steve Paul Ambrose,   Dario Minieri

Color Up Time

Jun 03, '07

The players are now on break as the $25 green chips are being collected off the table.

The last level saw plenty of hearty talk between players.  Mike Matusow, seeming unsatisfied to verbally spar only with Ted Forrest, has been needling Michael Mizrachi at the table next to his.  Matusow and he had raised the stakes on their last-longer breaks during the dinner break when Mizrachi was among the chip leaders.  Mizrachi has recently hit a rough patch and has dwindled well below the average chip stack.  Matusow, whose cruising with a healthy stack, asked Mizrachi, "Why do you think I offered you good odds when you had chips?", just twisting the knife a little bit. 

In a different vein Scotty Nguyen is also having a good time.  He's been up and down from his seat constantly during the tournament chatting with many players.  In one hand against Jason Strasser, Nguyen missed a bet after Strasser said "nice hand Scotty" on the turn, and the checking behind him.  Nguyen then coaxed Strasser to call on the river, and triumphantly said, "You know baby, nut, nut"  while he scooped the pot.

The players on table 54 might have wanted to pay attention to their surroundings.  For a good twenty minutes into level 10, they continued to play Stud while the rest of the field had switched to Omaha, adding one more bullet point to the lackluster dealing the players have seen to this point.

There are close to 160 players left, with plenty of poker left to be played tonight.

Recent bustouts include Brett Jungblutt and CK Hua.

Player Tags: Can Kim Hua,   Scotty Nguyen,   Brett Jungblut,   Ted Forrest,   Mike Matusow,   Michael Mizrachi,   Jason Strasser

Matusow To Put His Money Where His Weight Is

Jun 03, '07

After an uneventful Omaha level the players switched back to Stud to rave reviews.

Mike Matusow and his tablemate Ted Forrest have kept up a healthy chatter throughout the day.  But on the topic of health, Forrest has decided that Matusow is not serious enough about his health.  Forrest, whose tendency for outlandish prop bets was well-documented in Michael Craig's "The Professor, The Banker, & The Suicide King", has lain down the gauntlet to Matusow.  Forrest has bet Matusow $100,000 that he cannot get his weight under 181 pounds in one years time.  Matusow comes in around 230 so he will need to drop around 50 pounds.  This doesn't compare to Doyle Brunson's 100 pound million dollar wager, but the stakes are significantly lower.  Excited, Matusow has also been getting his table involved in his hands.

Facing a river bet with his board showing K872 against his opponents 10988 board.  Once again creating his own song Matusow describes how he doesn't like his hand, but he'll scoop anyway, all to the tune "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" from "Song of the South."  He then announces he needs the flush tabling his original two hole cards J5 and allowing the whole table to sweat with him.  He then announces call and shows the 2.  His opponents flush turns out to only be 10-high and Matusow gets richer.

In another interesting hand Jason Strasser felts Mike Gracz and scoops a huge pot when he shows Kings and a low to beat Gracz's pair of Queens.

Layne Flack has climbed among the chip leaders, and pros Andy Bloch and John Juanda have hit the rail.

Player Tags: Michael Gracz,   John Juanda,   Andy Bloch,   Ted Forrest,   Layne Flack,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Jason Strasser

Stud Not Too Kind To Some

Jun 03, '07

As play shifts back to Omaha there were several pros glad for the change.  Pros such as Greg Raymer and Davidson Matthew didn't fair so well with the game this time around.

In particular  Matthew was involved in a pot with John Phan.  Having made his low already with 7-6-5-4-A, Phan was freerolling for half the pot.  He squeezed his river card sheepishly, exposing the 6 missing his straight draw for only a low pair.  Matthew disgustedly mucked his cards, and Phan scooped the pot happily.

The new guard is also rubbing shoulders with the old guard in this event.  Jeff Madsen is still going strong hoping to prove to his third place finish in last years Stud-Eight-or-Better event was no fluke.  Also Jason Strasser is continuing his winning ways this year.  He managed to score the high with a 10 high straight in a four-way-pot, even managing to get an extra bet in on sixth street.  Doyle and the rest of the old guard will have to watch out for these up-and-comers

Cyndi Violette, and Brunson are among the early chip leaders.  Todd Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Phil Ivey are among those already preparing for tomorrow's events. 

The play will continue until 3 tomorrow morning with a dinner break scheduled for 10pm. 

Player Tags: John Phan,   Todd Brunson,   Doyle Brunson,   Johnny Chan,   Cyndy Violette,   Phil Ivey,   Jason Strasser,   Jeff Madsen

Mouth Subdued, Field Soldiers On

Jun 04, '07

Mike Matusow has been uncharacteristically quiet to begin the day.  Its possible that Scotty Nguyen's early scoop of nearly $20,000 pot with trip 5's may have had something to do with it.  Or he may have not gotten enough sleep last night.  He's still in good position, in a field where the pros are beginning to fall.  Paul Darden, "Miami John" Cernuto, Jason Strasser, and Jennifer Harman have all fallen early in today's action, with Harman being eliminated by Greg Raymer. 

Most of the field is playing in a roped off area with the remaining tables of the Event #4 Pot Limit event, but there are two tables directly next to the Final Table stage and VIP area.  On one of those tables, Cyndy Violette has been rolling at her table, much to the chagrin of John Phan.  They have had some issues with their dealer.  After they played at the wrong level ante and bring in for a few levels, they then witnessed a player somehow receiving 8 cards.  The problems continue.

Tom Schneider, Chris Ferguson, Nguyen, Annie Duke, and Violette are among the chip leaders with about 60 players remaining.

Player Tags: John Phan,   John Cernuto,   Scotty Nguyen,   Chris Ferguson,   Annie Duke,   Mike Matusow,   Tom Schneider,   Paul Darden,   Cyndy Violette,   Greg Raymer,   Jason Strasser