Aaron Kanter Poker Tournament Updates

$1,500 No-Limit Hold'em - Final Table Set

Jun 20, '08

Blinds: 10000/20000/3000

Average Stack: 800,000

Final Table:
Cody Slaubaugh - 1,590,000
Jesper Hougaard - 1,350,000
Danny Wong - 1,100,000
Owen Crowe - 675,000
Rick Solis - 640,000
Justin Wald - 640,000
Doug Middleton - 340,000
John Shipley - 280,000
Aaron Kanter - 200,000

Note: Play has ended for the day.  The remaining final tablists will reconvene tomorrow to crown a winner.

Jesper Hougaard Eliminates Jeremy Schofer in Tenth Place, Final Table Set

After being crippled when his KK was outdrawn by Rick Solis’ 1010 when he caught the 10 on the flop, Jeremy Schofer pushed all in for less than 100,000 and was called by Jesper Hougaard.  Schofer turned over Q9, dominated by Hougaard’s A9.  The final board came 96522, giving them both the same pair.  Hougaard’s kicker played, and the remaining players erupted with joy as they were guaranteed a spot at tomorrow’s final table.

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   John Shipley,   Owen Crowe,   Danny Wong,   Cody Slaubaugh,   Jesper Hougaard,   Justin Wald,   Rick Solis,   Doug Middleton

Haxton Gone

Jun 20, '08

Blinds/Antes: 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante

Players Left: 55 of 2,447

Chip Leaders:

Lasse Peterson: 440,000
Danny Wong: 410,000
Anthony Sapio: 310,000
Bryan Micon: 228,000
John Dephillips: 215,000
Owen Crowe: 200,000
Kirby Brewer: 180,000
Jeremy Schofer: 170,000
Jesper Hougaard: 155,000
Howard Millian: 145,000

Average Stack: 118,403

Notable Eliminations:

66th: Isaac Haxton: $7,014

Big Hands:

Goodbye Ike

Isaac Haxton raised to 10,000 before the flop and Edward Sabat made the call from seat 2. The flop came K107 and Sabat led out with 6,000. Haxton then put his tournament life on the line with those magic words: "All in."

Sabat was happy to call as he showed down KK for top set. Haxton turned over AQ for hopes and dreams of a gutshot straight draw, or perhaps of spiking an ace. The turn was the 8, leaving Haxton one card away from the exit. The 5 on the river sent Haxton off toward the old dusty trail in 66th place.

Kanter Knocks One Out

Aaron Kanter raised preflop from late position. The player in the small blind moved all in from seat 1 and Kanter made the call. Seat 1 turned over 44 while Kanter was racing with A9. Kanter moved ahead on the flop of K9J. The turn and river were the 2 and 7 respectively. Kanter eliminated his opponent and improved his stack to around 140,000.

A Bullet in the Head for Each of You

Before the flop, Mustafa Ali raised to 20,000 from under the gun. Jose Lopez in seat 9 folded out of turn. After he was told, he retrieved his hand. When the action folded around to him, Lopez moved all in and outraged the entire table. Ali wanted the hand declared dead, but the action was allowed by the floor. Action folded to Danny Wong in the big blind and he moved all in. Ali was next to act. He went into the tank for ages until someone finally called the clock on him. He had one minute to make a decision. He used up most of it as the floor person began counting down from 10. With just seven seconds left to make a decision, Ali made the call and everyone showed their hands.

Wong: AA
Ali: 99
Lopez: J5

The board ran out Q84107 and Wong capped off two more eliminations. After the hand, Wong had 15 "ginormous" stacks, nine of which were blue "500" chips and six which were yellow "1,000" chips. Add those together and he was at 410,000.

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   Danny Wong,   Isaac Haxton

NLHE - Final Table - Down to Heads Up

Jun 21, '08

Blinds/Antes: 25,000-50,000 with a 5,000 ante

Players Remaining: 2 of 2,447

Chip Counts:

Cody Slaubaugh: 4,800,000
Jesper Hougaard: 2,500,000

Eliminations:

Danny Wong: 4th Place ($217,110)
Aaron Kanter: 3rd Place ($258,862)

Big Hands/Storylines:

Danny Wong Eliminated in Fourth Place ($217,110)

Aaron Kanter raised to 130,000 preflop and Danny Wong reraised all in for 380,000. Jesper Hougaard reraised all in over the top of both of them and Kanter got out of the way. The two players then turned up their hands:

Hougaard: A5
Wong: KK

Board: Q1068J

Wong was eliminated on the hand in sixth place, and he took home $217,110 in prize money.

Jesper Hougaard Eliminated in Third Place ($258,862)

Hougaard raised to 150,000 preflop and Kanter reraised all in for 750,000. Hougaard made the call and they flipped up their hands:

Hougaard: KJ
Kanter: QQ

Board: A437K

Kanter was eliminated by the K on the river in third place, and he took home $258,862 in prize money.

Heads-Up: All Slaubaugh All the Time

Cody Slaubaugh came into the heads-up match with a major disadvantage in chips. He was all in for his tournamen life soon in the match, but he doubled up when his A-10 dominated Hougaard's Q-10. Then came the hand that defined the turning point in their match. Slaubaugh raised to 125,000 preflop and Hougaard reraised to 320,000. Slaughbaugh made the call and the flop was dealt K103. Hougaard bet 375,000 and Slaubaugh raised all in. Hougaard quickly mucked and as he collected the large pot, Slaubaugh flipped over Q-9 for a bluff. Slaubaugh's side ot the crowd went wild as Slaubaugh grinned from ear-to-ear. Hougaards' body language immediately switched from invincible chip leader to dejected loser. Slaubaugh continued his rush by winning huge pots with a straight and a pair of aces to knock Hougaard down even further. The two players then went on dinner break at a good time for Hougaard. He needs some time to collect his thoughts.

Note: Players back at 9:40 p.m

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   Danny Wong,   Cody Slaubaugh,   Jesper Hougaard,   European Report

NLHE - Final Table - Tight Play

Jun 21, '08

Blinds/Antes: 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante

Players Remaining: 4 of 2,447

Chip Counts:

Jesper Hougaard: 4,100,000
Cody Slaughbaugh: 1,800,000
Aaron Kanter: 675,000
Danny Wong: 440,000

Average Stack: 1,835,250

Eliminations:

none

Big Hands/Storylines:

Tight Play Dominates

The final four players at this final table are all playing not to lose right now. Flops are far and few between, and river cards are almost unheard of on the felt. During a 30-minute stretch only three hands went to a flop during the last level.

Aaron Kanter Doubles Up Again

Jesper Hougaard moved all in preflop for 395,000 and Kanter made the all-in call. Their cards:

Kanter: K10
Hougaard: K5

Board: K83104

Kanter doubled up and things continued on four handed.

Danny Wong Doubles Up

Danny Wong moved all in for 375,000 and Hougaard made the call. Their cards:

Wong: AK
Hougaard: AJ

Board: 99468

Wong doubled up to survive and action continued four handed again.

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   Danny Wong,   Jesper Hougaard,   European Report

NLHE - Final Table - Two Out Before First Break

Jun 21, '08

Blinds/Antes: 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante

Players Remaining: 7 of 2,447

Chip Counts:

Jesper Hougaard: 2,040,000
Danny Wong: 1,700,000
Cody Slaughbaugh: 1,500,000
Rick Solis: 860,000
Doug Middleton: 600,000
Aaron Kanter: 440,000
Justin Wald: 370,000

Average Stack: 1,048,714

Eliminations:

John Shipley: 9th Place ($56,783)
Owen Crowe: 8th Place ($81,833)
 

Big Hands/Storylines:

Aaron Kanter Doubles Up on the First Hand

Aaorn Kanter wasted no time moving all in preflop for 163,000 on the first hand at the final table and Cody Slaughbaugh called him down. Their cards:

Kanter: A7
Slaughbaugh: AJ

Board: 982Q7

Despite being dominated preflop, Kanter spiked a 7 on the river to survive the hand.

John Shipley Eliminated in Ninth Place ($56,783)

Slaughbaugh raised to 55,000 preflop and Shipley reraised all in. Slaughbaugh made the call and they flipped up their hands:

Slaughbaugh: JJ
Shipley: KQ

Board: 954610

Shipley was eliminated in ninth place, and he took home $56,783 in prize money.

Owen Crowe Eliminated in Eighth Place ($81,833)

Owen Crowe raised to 55,000 preflop and Danny Wong made the call. The flop was dealt A98 and Crowe bet 70,000. Wong made the call and the turn fell A. Wong checked, Crowe bet 225,000, and Wong raised all in to more than cover Crowe. Crowe made the all-in call and flipped over A7. Wong showed down K6 and he made a flush when the 5 fell on the river. Crowe was eliminated in eighth place, and he took home $81,833 in prize money.

Note: The players then went on a 20-minute break. 

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   John Shipley,   Owen Crowe,   Danny Wong,   European Report

$1,500 No-Limit Hold'em - Final Table Set

Jun 20, '08

Blinds: 10000/20000/3000

Average Stack: 800,000

Final Table:
Cody Slaubaugh - 1,590,000
Jesper Hougaard - 1,350,000
Danny Wong - 1,100,000
Owen Crowe - 675,000
Rick Solis - 640,000
Justin Wald - 640,000
Doug Middleton - 340,000
John Shipley - 280,000
Aaron Kanter - 200,000

Note: Play has ended for the day.  The remaining final tablists will reconvene tomorrow to crown a winner.

Jesper Hougaard Eliminates Jeremy Schofer in Tenth Place, Final Table Set

After being crippled when his KK was outdrawn by Rick Solis’ 1010 when he caught the 10 on the flop, Jeremy Schofer pushed all in for less than 100,000 and was called by Jesper Hougaard.  Schofer turned over Q9, dominated by Hougaard’s A9.  The final board came 96522, giving them both the same pair.  Hougaard’s kicker played, and the remaining players erupted with joy as they were guaranteed a spot at tomorrow’s final table.

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   John Shipley,   Owen Crowe,   Danny Wong,   Cody Slaubaugh,   Jesper Hougaard,   Justin Wald,   Rick Solis,   Doug Middleton

Haxton Gone

Jun 20, '08

Blinds/Antes: 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante

Players Left: 55 of 2,447

Chip Leaders:

Lasse Peterson: 440,000
Danny Wong: 410,000
Anthony Sapio: 310,000
Bryan Micon: 228,000
John Dephillips: 215,000
Owen Crowe: 200,000
Kirby Brewer: 180,000
Jeremy Schofer: 170,000
Jesper Hougaard: 155,000
Howard Millian: 145,000

Average Stack: 118,403

Notable Eliminations:

66th: Isaac Haxton: $7,014

Big Hands:

Goodbye Ike

Isaac Haxton raised to 10,000 before the flop and Edward Sabat made the call from seat 2. The flop came K107 and Sabat led out with 6,000. Haxton then put his tournament life on the line with those magic words: "All in."

Sabat was happy to call as he showed down KK for top set. Haxton turned over AQ for hopes and dreams of a gutshot straight draw, or perhaps of spiking an ace. The turn was the 8, leaving Haxton one card away from the exit. The 5 on the river sent Haxton off toward the old dusty trail in 66th place.

Kanter Knocks One Out

Aaron Kanter raised preflop from late position. The player in the small blind moved all in from seat 1 and Kanter made the call. Seat 1 turned over 44 while Kanter was racing with A9. Kanter moved ahead on the flop of K9J. The turn and river were the 2 and 7 respectively. Kanter eliminated his opponent and improved his stack to around 140,000.

A Bullet in the Head for Each of You

Before the flop, Mustafa Ali raised to 20,000 from under the gun. Jose Lopez in seat 9 folded out of turn. After he was told, he retrieved his hand. When the action folded around to him, Lopez moved all in and outraged the entire table. Ali wanted the hand declared dead, but the action was allowed by the floor. Action folded to Danny Wong in the big blind and he moved all in. Ali was next to act. He went into the tank for ages until someone finally called the clock on him. He had one minute to make a decision. He used up most of it as the floor person began counting down from 10. With just seven seconds left to make a decision, Ali made the call and everyone showed their hands.

Wong: AA
Ali: 99
Lopez: J5

The board ran out Q84107 and Wong capped off two more eliminations. After the hand, Wong had 15 "ginormous" stacks, nine of which were blue "500" chips and six which were yellow "1,000" chips. Add those together and he was at 410,000.

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   Danny Wong,   Isaac Haxton

NLHE - Final Table - Down to Heads Up

Jun 21, '08

Blinds/Antes: 25,000-50,000 with a 5,000 ante

Players Remaining: 2 of 2,447

Chip Counts:

Cody Slaubaugh: 4,800,000
Jesper Hougaard: 2,500,000

Eliminations:

Danny Wong: 4th Place ($217,110)
Aaron Kanter: 3rd Place ($258,862)

Big Hands/Storylines:

Danny Wong Eliminated in Fourth Place ($217,110)

Aaron Kanter raised to 130,000 preflop and Danny Wong reraised all in for 380,000. Jesper Hougaard reraised all in over the top of both of them and Kanter got out of the way. The two players then turned up their hands:

Hougaard: A5
Wong: KK

Board: Q1068J

Wong was eliminated on the hand in sixth place, and he took home $217,110 in prize money.

Jesper Hougaard Eliminated in Third Place ($258,862)

Hougaard raised to 150,000 preflop and Kanter reraised all in for 750,000. Hougaard made the call and they flipped up their hands:

Hougaard: KJ
Kanter: QQ

Board: A437K

Kanter was eliminated by the K on the river in third place, and he took home $258,862 in prize money.

Heads-Up: All Slaubaugh All the Time

Cody Slaubaugh came into the heads-up match with a major disadvantage in chips. He was all in for his tournamen life soon in the match, but he doubled up when his A-10 dominated Hougaard's Q-10. Then came the hand that defined the turning point in their match. Slaubaugh raised to 125,000 preflop and Hougaard reraised to 320,000. Slaughbaugh made the call and the flop was dealt K103. Hougaard bet 375,000 and Slaubaugh raised all in. Hougaard quickly mucked and as he collected the large pot, Slaubaugh flipped over Q-9 for a bluff. Slaubaugh's side ot the crowd went wild as Slaubaugh grinned from ear-to-ear. Hougaards' body language immediately switched from invincible chip leader to dejected loser. Slaubaugh continued his rush by winning huge pots with a straight and a pair of aces to knock Hougaard down even further. The two players then went on dinner break at a good time for Hougaard. He needs some time to collect his thoughts.

Note: Players back at 9:40 p.m

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   Danny Wong,   Cody Slaubaugh,   Jesper Hougaard,   European Report

NLHE - Final Table - Tight Play

Jun 21, '08

Blinds/Antes: 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante

Players Remaining: 4 of 2,447

Chip Counts:

Jesper Hougaard: 4,100,000
Cody Slaughbaugh: 1,800,000
Aaron Kanter: 675,000
Danny Wong: 440,000

Average Stack: 1,835,250

Eliminations:

none

Big Hands/Storylines:

Tight Play Dominates

The final four players at this final table are all playing not to lose right now. Flops are far and few between, and river cards are almost unheard of on the felt. During a 30-minute stretch only three hands went to a flop during the last level.

Aaron Kanter Doubles Up Again

Jesper Hougaard moved all in preflop for 395,000 and Kanter made the all-in call. Their cards:

Kanter: K10
Hougaard: K5

Board: K83104

Kanter doubled up and things continued on four handed.

Danny Wong Doubles Up

Danny Wong moved all in for 375,000 and Hougaard made the call. Their cards:

Wong: AK
Hougaard: AJ

Board: 99468

Wong doubled up to survive and action continued four handed again.

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   Danny Wong,   Jesper Hougaard,   European Report

NLHE - Final Table - Two Out Before First Break

Jun 21, '08

Blinds/Antes: 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante

Players Remaining: 7 of 2,447

Chip Counts:

Jesper Hougaard: 2,040,000
Danny Wong: 1,700,000
Cody Slaughbaugh: 1,500,000
Rick Solis: 860,000
Doug Middleton: 600,000
Aaron Kanter: 440,000
Justin Wald: 370,000

Average Stack: 1,048,714

Eliminations:

John Shipley: 9th Place ($56,783)
Owen Crowe: 8th Place ($81,833)
 

Big Hands/Storylines:

Aaron Kanter Doubles Up on the First Hand

Aaorn Kanter wasted no time moving all in preflop for 163,000 on the first hand at the final table and Cody Slaughbaugh called him down. Their cards:

Kanter: A7
Slaughbaugh: AJ

Board: 982Q7

Despite being dominated preflop, Kanter spiked a 7 on the river to survive the hand.

John Shipley Eliminated in Ninth Place ($56,783)

Slaughbaugh raised to 55,000 preflop and Shipley reraised all in. Slaughbaugh made the call and they flipped up their hands:

Slaughbaugh: JJ
Shipley: KQ

Board: 954610

Shipley was eliminated in ninth place, and he took home $56,783 in prize money.

Owen Crowe Eliminated in Eighth Place ($81,833)

Owen Crowe raised to 55,000 preflop and Danny Wong made the call. The flop was dealt A98 and Crowe bet 70,000. Wong made the call and the turn fell A. Wong checked, Crowe bet 225,000, and Wong raised all in to more than cover Crowe. Crowe made the all-in call and flipped over A7. Wong showed down K6 and he made a flush when the 5 fell on the river. Crowe was eliminated in eighth place, and he took home $81,833 in prize money.

Note: The players then went on a 20-minute break. 

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   John Shipley,   Owen Crowe,   Danny Wong,   European Report

$1,500 No Limit Hold'em - Day 2 - Level 12

Jun 02, '08

Note: The players are now on a 60-minute dinner break.

Blinds/Antes: 1000-2000, 300 ante

Players Left: 152 of 3,932

Chip Leaders:
David Bach - 288,000
Ryan D'Angelo - 237,000
Johannes Strassmann – 185,000
John Carlson - 184,000
Pat White - 175,000
Evan McNiff - 175,000
Sean Ferrer - 166,000
Josh Engerdahl – 160,000
Michael Ium - 152,000
John Phan - 150,000
Allan Puzontyan - 145,000
Brian Haas – 140,000

Average Stack: 56,942

Big hands and Storylines:

Strassmann’s Queens Hold

After a barrage of raising pre-flop, Johannes Strassmann found his QQ all-in pre-flop against his opponents’ 88and AK. The board rolled out J7J39 and the young German raked in a massive 185,000 chip pot.

Kanter Granted a Reprieve

Aaron Kanter put his last 28,000 chips into the pot and found himself racing:

Kanter: AQ
JL Velador: 99

The flop of J77 put Velador at ease, as did the J on the turn. The A on the river, however, brought Velador back down to earth, and his stack down to 16,000. Kanter now has 61,000 chips at his disposal.

Engerdahl Makes Himself Known

An early position player raised to 2,600 and Todd “Dan Druff” Witteles called from the cutoff. Josh Engerdahl, sitting on a big stack, raised it up to 20,000 from the button, eliciting folds from both the initial raiser and Witteles. The young Canadian Engerdahl now sits at around 160,000 chips.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Aaron Kanter,   Todd Witteles,   Johannes Strassmann,   Joshua Engerdahl,   European Report

Omaha on Dinner Break

Jun 25, '07

The players went on dinner break until 10:30pm following the completion of the fourth level

Rolf Slotboom was not able to survive to the break as he could not catch up to John Esposito's Aces.

Chad Brown and Aaron Kanter have joined Jeff Madsen among the chip leaders, but there is plenty of poker left to play.
Notable Chip Counts

Marcel Luske	24,200
Mike Sexton	14,000
Berry Johnston	7,600
Joe Hachem	5,900
Tony G	5,400
David "Devilfish" Ulliott	5,300

Player Tags: John Esposito Jr.,   Aaron Kanter,   Jeff Madsen,   Rolf Slotboom

Day Two Set to Begin

Jun 26, '07

Day two of event #42, $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha eight-or-better is set to begin today at 3 p.m. There are less than 100 players still left in the field and play is scheduled to continue today until the final table is established. Chad Brown, Marcel Luske, Bill Chen and Aaron Kanter are all in the top ten in chips and should be ready to play cards this afternoon. Check back with CardPlayer.com to follow all the action today and see who makes it to the final table.

Notable Chip Counts

Aaron Kanter	36,500
Chad Brown	33,400
Marcel Luske	29,900
William Chen	28,700
Tony G	28,000
Devilfish Ulliott	26,500
Alan Smurfit	25,000
Chau Giang	23,300
Jeff Madsen	20,000
Brett Jungblut	16,000

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   Marcel Luske,   Bill Chen

Omaha on Dinner Break

Jun 25, '07

The players went on dinner break until 10:30pm following the completion of the fourth level

Rolf Slotboom was not able to survive to the break as he could not catch up to John Esposito's Aces.

Chad Brown and Aaron Kanter have joined Jeff Madsen among the chip leaders, but there is plenty of poker left to play.
Notable Chip Counts

Marcel Luske	24,200
Mike Sexton	14,000
Berry Johnston	7,600
Joe Hachem	5,900
Tony G	5,400
David "Devilfish" Ulliott	5,300

Player Tags: John Esposito Jr.,   Aaron Kanter,   Jeff Madsen,   Rolf Slotboom

Day Two Set to Begin

Jun 26, '07

Day two of event #42, $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha eight-or-better is set to begin today at 3 p.m. There are less than 100 players still left in the field and play is scheduled to continue today until the final table is established. Chad Brown, Marcel Luske, Bill Chen and Aaron Kanter are all in the top ten in chips and should be ready to play cards this afternoon. Check back with CardPlayer.com to follow all the action today and see who makes it to the final table.

Notable Chip Counts

Aaron Kanter	36,500
Chad Brown	33,400
Marcel Luske	29,900
William Chen	28,700
Tony G	28,000
Devilfish Ulliott	26,500
Alan Smurfit	25,000
Chau Giang	23,300
Jeff Madsen	20,000
Brett Jungblut	16,000

Player Tags: Aaron Kanter,   Marcel Luske,   Bill Chen

Final 5 Tables

Jun 22, '07

With the elimination of Fred Ruscetti the final five tables have been set.  In the last hour several big names were eliminated.  Antonio Esfandiari and John Juanda were elimintated in 62nd and 61st place repspectively winning $9,708.  Dutch Boyd earned the same payout busting in 58th place. 

Dustin Dirksen has rebuilt his depleted chipstack and is currently sitting second in chips.  Nam Le, Phil Gordon, and Aaron Kanter are still alive as well.

There are currently 40 players remaining with an hour and a half until the dinner break.

Notable Chip Counts

Dustin Dirksen	490,000
Phil Gordon	171,000
Nam Le	100,000
Aaron Kanter	98,000

Player Tags: John Juanda,   Nam Le,   Phil Gordon,   Antonio Esfandiari,   Aaron Kanter,   Dustin Dirksen,   Dutch Boyd,   Fred Ruscetti