Ram Vaswani Poker Tournament Updates

Tournament Update -- Level 21

Sep 30, '09

Blinds: 8,000-16,000 with a 2,000 ante

Players Remaining: 12 out of 334

Chip Counts:

Jason Mercier — 2,691,000
James Akenhead — 1,205,000
Barry Shulman — 1,148,000
Praz Bansi — 869,000
Antoine Saout — 726,000
Markus Ristola — 631,000
Daniel Negreanu — 606,000
Matt Hawrilenko — 584,000
Chris Bjorin — 572,000
Eric Liu — 407,000

Average Chip Count: 835,000

Notable Eliminations:

17: Doyle Brunson — £31,198
16: Saar Wilf — £31,198
15: Ram Vaswani — £40,481
14: Teddy Sheringham — £40,481
13: Tony Cousineau — £40,481

Big Hands:

Doyle Brunson Eliminated in 17th Place (£31,198)

Daniel Negreanu raised to open the action and Doyle Brunson moved all in from the button. James Akenhead reraised all in and Negreanu got out of the way. Akenhand and Brunon then flipped over their cards:

Brunson: Q9
Akenhead: AK

Board: Q54KJ

Brunson was eliminated in 17th place on the hand and Akenhead grew his stack to more than 1.2 million.

Ram Vaswani Eliminated in 15th Place (£40,481)

Vaswani moved all in preflop on a short stack and Barry Shulman made the call. Their cards:

Vaswani: 109
Shulman: 8-8

Board: A73J4

Shulman grew his stack to more than 1 million after the hand.

Tony Cousineau Eliminated in 13th Place (£40,481)

James Akenhead called a late-position raise from the button and Tony Cousineau moved all in from the small blind. Akenhead made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Akenhead: K9
Cousineau: AK

Board: 54263

James Akendhead grew his stack to more than 1.3 million after the hand and Cousineau was eliminated by the flush in 13th place.

Player Tags: Tony Cousineau,   Doyle Brunson,   Barry Shulman,   Ram Vaswani,   James Akenhead

$10,000 Main Event - Zolotow Gets Some Chips

Jul 04, '08

Note: Due to the staggered start and the timing of the breaks, the coverage for the first hour of level two was cut short. Our coverage will return to its normal depth and detail at 4 p.m.

Blinds/Antes: 100-200

Chip Leaders:

John Robbins: 51,100
Stephen Ladowsky: 47,000
Aliaksandr Yalouskikh: 47,000
Giles Smadia: 47,000
Tom McEvoy: 43,000
Johnny Caruso: 43,000
Michael Guzzardi: 42,000
Helge Stjernvang: 41,000
Pat Pezzin: 40,000
Michael Pedley: 39,000

Cardplayer Counts:

Donnacha O'Dea 38,500
Sverre Sundbo 25,600
Bruno Fitoussi 23,100
Steve Zolotow: 17,700
Ross Boatman 17,125
Patrik Antonius 17,000
Vicky Coren 16,800
Ram Vaswani 15,225
Lee Watkinson: 8,000

Big Hands and Storylines:

Zolotow Wins Battle of the Blinds

Steve Zolotow and his awesome mustache limped in from the small blind and the big blind checked his option. The flop came KQ2 and Zolotow led out for 350. The big blind made the call and the J fell on the turn. Zolotow checked and the big blind fired 600. Zolotow called and both players checked the river, which came with the 2. Zolotow turned over K6 for top pair and the big blind mucked his hand. Zolotow was at 17,000 after the hand.

James Shows Some Aggression

On a flop of 1087, the player in seat 4, who called preflop from the small blind, fired 1,100 into the pot. Kenna James looked at his very big stack and grabbed 3,500. He tossed it into the pot and seat 4 thought about his options. He looked at his cards, took the chip off as if he was gonna muck, then put the chip back on top. He then looked at his stack and uncapped his cards again, this time for good as he threw his hand in the muck. James took a nice little pot and was around 40,000 after the win.

Lying Is Only Bad When You Get Caught, Just Ask Theo Tran

On a flop of K87, Tran checked and the player in the cutoff bet 1,200. The player on the button made the call and Tran followed right behind. The turn was the 5 and everyone checked. The river brought the 5 and Tran showed some initiative, firing 3,500 into the pot. The cutoff cut loose his hand, but the player on the button made the call and showed 98 for two pair, good enough to beat Tran's bluff. He was down to around 27,000 after his failed attempt.

Bjorin Again

Swede Chris Bjorin lost a chunk of change, getitng knocked back to his starting stack, in a set over set situation. Bjorin had 99 and his opponent KK. Bjorin looked relieved not to have lost more and joked with the table after shipping the pot.

Ram Raided

Hendon Mobster Ram Vaswani called a bet of 700 from a player in mid-position. Vaswani had the button and the SB and BB folded. The flop came AK6 and both players checked. The turn card was the K and the original bettor threw 600 chips into the pot and Vaswani quickly folded. He's down to 15,225 in chips.

Player Tags: Chris Bjorin,   Kenna James,   Steve Zolotow,   Ram Vaswani,   Theo Tran

$10,000 Main Event - Day 1b - Hour Two

Jul 04, '08

Note: Players are on their first twenty-minute break of the day and will return at approx. 2:30 pm to begin Level 2 with increased blinds of 100-200.

Blinds: 50-100

Chip Counts:
John Robbins: 48,000
Stephen Ladowsky: 4,000
Giles Smadia: 47,000
Dustin Sitar: 39,900
Dustin Dorrance-Bowman: 39,000
Kristy Gazes: 39,000
Michael Pedley: 39,000
Michael Guzzardi: 37,000
Michael Watson: 37,000
Mike Stovall: 36,000

CP Chip Counts:

Steve Zolotow: 14,700
Lee Watkinson: 7,900

 

Eliminations: Ted Forrest, Andy Black, Daniel Negreanu

Big Hands:

Set Over set, Negreanu Leaves Early

Daniel Negreanu drew a seat at the ESPN secondary feature table today, but his stay would not even last one round after Negreanu made an early exit when his set of sixes walked into a better set of nines. There was a lot of dissapointment on the rail as many spectators had lined up to watch Negreanu play...there is always next year.

Mrs. Varkonyi Catches a Bluff

Olaf Thorson raised to 250 before the flop and next to act, Olga Varkonyi reraised to 750. Thorson made the call and said, "I don't know why you have to be so aggressive," giving the whole table a good laugh. The flop came 1097, and Varkonyi bet 1,500 after it was checked to her. Thorson made the call both players checked the turn (10). The river was the 9 and Thorson took a stab at the pot, firing 1,800 into the middle. Varkonyi called and Thorson said, "I play the board," showing 76. Varkonyi turned over AA and raked the pot. She started the hand with 21,000, chipping up to 28,000 by the end of the hand.

Kravchenko Chipping Up

On a flop of AA10, the player in seat 7 bet 300 and Alex Kravchenko made the call, as did seat 1. The turn was the 6, and both seats 1 and 7 checked to Kravchenko who bet 775. Seat 1 called and seat 7 folded. The river was the 9 and Kravchenko bet 1,100. Seat 1 tanked for a moment before mucking his cards. Kravcheno raked the pot, bringing his chip count 34,000 after the hand.

Don't Mess With A Mizrachi

The player on the button raised to 300 before the flop, and was called by both the blinds, including Robert Mizrachi in the big blind. Mizrachi led out on the flop of J74, betting 850 after the small blind checked. The button raised for an additional 1,500. Mizrachi thought only briefly before making the wager a total of 4,200. The button squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, rechecking his cards for some time before folding reluctantly. After the hand, Mizrachi is back up to 19,000 in chips.

Fischman Folds To Check Raise

Scott Fischman popped it up 300 before the flop from middle position, and was called only by the big blind, and they went heads up to the flop, which came out 742. The player in the blind checked over to Fischman, who made a continuation bet of 525, only to have his opponent raise to a total of 1,300. Fischman considered the situation only briefly before getting away from his hand, standing from the table to leave for the break a few minutes early.

European Action

On a board of K654 Swede William Thorsson called a bet of 1,200. The turn fell the 5 and Thorsson slowly shook his head as his opponent bet 2,000. “Aces” he said to his opponent – less a question and more a statement of fact.

“How did you know?,” was the reply. Thorsson counted his chips out twice and finally made the call but as he threw his chips in the middle he held his cards over the muck with his other hand. His opponent flashed the aces. “How did you know,” he asked again while raking in the chips.

Elsewhere Englishman Mickey Wernick snatched a nice pot from Greg Raymer and has around 25,000 in chips.

Hendon Mobster Ram Vaswani is the button to recent Irish Open winner Neil Channing’s big blind and both have just over their starting stacks.

EPT boss John Duthie has 22,900 in chips and relaxing with a massage, Barny Boatman was pushed off two pots in a row just before the end of level one but still has around his starting stack while former Swedish international soccer star Tomas Brolin is on a comfortable 37,000.

Patrik Antonius limped into the pot from under the gun. One player in middle position, the button, and both blinds also went to the flop. On the flop of J98, the blinds checked to Antonius, who fired a bet of 375. The middle position player folded action to the button, who then raised to a total of 1,000, pushing out the blinds. Antonius made the call, and fired out for another 1,600 on the turn, which brought the 10. The button called, and then called his bet of 3,200 on the river after the dealer put down the 3. Antonius showed down QQ for a turned straight, but had to chop the pot with his opponent, who held QJ. After the hand, Antonius had only a whisker more than his starting stack, sitting behind around 20,500.

Player Tags: Donnacha O'Dea,   Robert Mizrachi,   Chris Bjorin,   Scott Fischman,   Daniel Negreanu,   Ram Vaswani,   Barny Boatman,   John Duthie,   Greg Raymer,   Kevin O'Connell,   Neil Channing,   Olaf Thorson,   Markus Golser,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Thomas Fougeron,   William Thorson,   Patrik Antonius,   Conor Tate,   Sverre Sundbo,   Victoria Coren,   Michael Wernick,   Tomas Brolin,   Des Wilson

$1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout - Level 8

Jul 01, '08

Players are now on a 20-minute break. Three tables remain, and play is beginning to threaten the scheduled start for the second round of the shootout, slated to commence at 10 p.m. Chips stacks at one table appear to be virtually even. Also, the big blind only increased from 500 to 600 in the last level.

Blinds: 300/600

Table Winners: Jesse Martin, Duane Graff, John Pires, Imari Love, Coralee Grebe.

Eliminations: Scott Seiver, Justin Bonomo, Michael Binger.

Storylines/Big Hands

Big Hands

Vaswani Hangs Tough for Awhile

Ram Vaswani, the defending champion of this event, has been all-in on a few occasions but continues to stave off elimination. Vaswani was down to his final 2400 in chips, including his big blind, and all went in preflop, Vaswani with 22 and his opponent with K10. The flop came Q75, with the 8 on the turn and 6 on the river to double Vaswani's meager holdings.

The next hand Vaswani and his opponent capped the betting preflop at 2400. After the flop came A85, a Vaswani bet took it down.

Later in the level, Vaswani was down to 4000 in chips. Both players went to 1800 preflop and saw the board come 432. Vaswani bet 600 and was called. The turn was the 7 and Vaswani bet 1200, again getting called. After the 7 on the river Vaswani bet his final 350 and was called. Vaswani showed A6 for an ace-high, and that was enough against his opponent king-nine offsuit.

The luck finally ran out when Vaswani had his king-high cracked by a jack on the river hit by his opponent.

Seiver Eliminated

Scott Seiver, a bracelet winner earlier in the WSOP, was getting whittled down. After committing 1200 preflop, an opponent's bet on a board of K74 was enough to take it down. That left Seiver with just 1450, and it all went in preflop with Seiver holding 93. His opponent held K7. The board finished J6442 and Seiver was busted.

Tables Turn on Tran

Theo Tran had the upperhand on Allen Le, with Le down to just 5,000 after Tran held five-four offsuit and flopped a straight on a 7-6-3 board. But that momentum changed abruptly, after a flop of Q97. Tran bet 600 and was raised. He called, and the 6 came on the turn. Tran bet, was raised, then put in a reraise of his own to put Le all-in. Tran held QJ for top pair, but Le had 108 for a straight. Le took that momentum and eventually went on to eliminate Tran.

Kovar Advances

Robert Kovar pick a fine time to pick up cowboys. His KK was enough to crack his opponent and advance to the second round.

Player Tags: Ram Vaswani,   Robert Kovar,   Theo Tran,   Scott Seiver

$10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha - Level Seven - Grinder's Gamble Works

Jun 29, '08

Blinds: 400-800

Players Remaining: 153 of 381

Average Chip Stack: 49,800

Hands and Storylines:

Grinder doesn't disappoint, quadruples up instead

With three players already all in, action went back around to Michael Mizrachi. He seemed to want to fold, but then Eric Liu said "I'll be disappointed if you fold." So he called and the four players turned up the following hands.

Small Blind: AAQ6
Big Blind: AAK2
Early Position: QQKJ
Mizrachi: KQT8

Board: 75549

The player with aces and the diamond flush draw thought he was freerolling, but instead Mizrachi caught running spades for a flush and ended up with 46,000 chips.

Vaswani doubles up with bigger boat on river

With the board K-K-2-J, Ram Vaswani moved all in with K-Q-J-J and was called by A-K-J-T. A chop was highly likely, but then a queen came on the river and Vaswani took the pot with the better full house. After the hand he had roughly 35,000 chips.

Amit doubles with flush on river

In a blind vs. blind battle, Rafi Amit called a raise from the big blind and the two players saw a QT2 flop. Amit quickly moved all in and the big blind called instantly with TTA8. "Nice hand, but I have outs," Amit said as he flipped over T2J8 and needed a nine or diamond to win. The river was the A, but the 3 came on the river. After the hand, Amit let his opponent have it, calling his preflop raise a hold'em play.

Dwan's tricky play gets him extra chips

After a flop of 974, Tom Dwan bet 1,100, a small bet in relation to the size of the pot. One player folded and then John Duthie raised to 5,000. Dwan quickly moved all in for another 10,000 or so and Duthie folded even more quickly. As he collected his chips, which were now at 28,000, Kido Pham said the word "tricky" a few times. Dwan shrugged and replied, "I try."

 

Player Tags: Michael Mizrachi,   Ram Vaswani,   Tom Dwan,   Rafi Amit

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - End of Day 2

Jun 20, '08

The final two-tables are set! Level 17 saw 7 eliminations and the staff at the Rio decided to call it a night with 18 players remaining. Foremost among the players returning tomorrow will be Mike Matusow. With a big stack of chips and an even bigger mouth, Matusow will be happy with nothing less than his 2nd bracelet of this year's series. To do so, he will have to fend off a number of big names. Hendon Mobber Ram Vaswani will enter the final day with the chip lead and he too will have a multiple-bracelet motivation: a win in this event will give him bracelets in consecutive years. Also in the hunt are high stakes cash specialists Chau Giang and David Benyamine. Benyamine, who was bounced on the final table bubble of the $5,000 stud high/low event only a few days ago, will have extra incentive to make a final table run here.

The players will reconvene at the Rio tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST.
 

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Here is a recap of the final level of the day:

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 18 of 235

Chip Leaders:
Ram Vaswani - 450,000
Mike Matusow - 390,000
Chau Giang - 370,000
Greg Jamison - 315,000
Eugene Katchalov - 290,000
Toto Leonidas - 265,000
David Benyamine - 260,000
David Chiu - 260,000
Berry Johnston - 260,000
Hieu Ma - 230,000

Average Stack: 261,000

Eliminations:
19^th – Patrick Rao
20^th – James Grove
21^st – James Van Alstyne
22^nd – Danny Smith
23^rd – Brad Booth
24^th – Bruno Fitoussi
25^th – Dustin Sitar

Big Hands and Storylines:

Dustin Donates And Goes Home

The two short stacks at the table Dustin Sitar and Stuart “thedonator” Patterson got all-in pre-flop and showed the following hands:

Patterson: A1072
Sitar: AKJ6

When the board – 109429 – had been dealt, Patterson’s nines and tens were enough to take down the pot. Sitar, slightly covered by Patterson, was eliminated in 25^th place. Patterson is now up to 80,000.

“You Gotta Get Lucky”

Brad Booth raised from late position. Mike Matusow called from the button saying, “I’ll give you some action,” and William McMahon called in the big blind. The flop came JJ8. McMahon checked, Booth bet, Matusow raised, and his two rivals called. The turn was the 9 and McMahon and Booth both checked to Matusow who bet. This time McMahon cagily raised and Booth, with only 3,000 chips left, was forced to fold. Matusow called and the pair saw the river: 10. McMahon bet, Matusow raised, the call was made and they showed their hands:

Matusow: KKJ10
McMahon: KJ95

Matusow had re-drawn out on the river after McMahon had spiked a 6-outer on the turn. After the conclusion of the hand there was much discussion about whether the hand had played itself or if there was any other way it could have been played. Matusow put his inimitable stamp on the conversation when he opined, “You don’t think Phil Hellmuth has 11 bracelets because he plays good, do you? You gotta get lucky!” Matusow, whether through luck, skill, or a bit of both, is now up to 390,000.

You Gotta Get Lucky: Part II

The very next hand, William McMahon got most of his chips into the pot against David Chiu by the flop. McMahon bet his last 20,000 on the turn with the board reading KK510 and Chiu, after a great deal of thought, made a frustrated call. Chiu’s frustration grew when he saw McMahon’s holding: A10103. Chiu was drawing to only 3 outs with AA92 but the river was an unhelpful 9. The hand elevated McMahon to 120,000. Hey, you gotta get lucky.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Tony Ma,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Greg Jamison,   David Chiu,   Ram Vaswani,   Chau Giang,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Berry Johnston,   James Van Alstyne,   Dustin Sitar,   Eugene Katchalov,   William McMahon,   Brad Booth,   Stuart Paterson

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - Day 2 - Level 16 Recap

Jun 20, '08

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

Blinds: 4,000-8,000

Players Left: 26 of 235

Chip Leaders:
Ram Vaswani - 385,000
Chau Giang - 360,000
David Benyamine - 320,000
David Chiu - 285,000
Berry Johnston – 250,000
Mike Matusow - 235,000
Greg Jamison - 215,000
Eugene Katchalov - 185,000
Toto Leonidas - 180,000
Jason Gray - 160,000
James Grove - 160,000

Average Stack:

Eliminations:
26^th – Tony Ma
27^th – Alexander Kostritsyn
Doyle Brunson
Erick Lindgren
Max Pescatori

Big Hands and Storylines:

They’re In The Money

The bubble has just burst and the players remaining are all now guaranteed to walk away from this tournament a bit richer than when they started (prop bets and cross-booking aside). Those who finish in places 19-27 will take home $22,090.

Whichever Comes First

According to the higher-ups here at the Rio, tonight’s event will play until the end of level 18 or until we reach the final table, whichever comes first. The former is looking far more likely with 26 players still remaining. If all goes according to plan, we should be out of here by about 3:30 tonight.

Katch Him If You Can

Eugene Katchalov just won a nice pot off of Toto Leonidas when Leonidas, after raising pre-flop from under-the-gun, check-called on every street against the Ukraine-born New Yorker. The final board was Q87Q4 and Katchalov showed A842 His two-pair, queens and eights, and nut low scooped him the pot, taking him up to 185,000. Leonidas is right on his tail with 180,000.

Dehkharghani Doubles

Ray Dehkharghani bet into two players on a flop of Q62, Danny Smith folded and Mike Matusow called. With only 26,000 left going into the turn, Dehkharghani committed himself by firing at Matusow when an 8 landed. Matusow set his opponent all-in and they revealed their hands:

Matusow: AJ62
Dehkharghani: KQJ10

The river was the Q and Dehkharghani scooped the pot, more than doubling him up to 80,000. The hand only took a sliver out of Matusow’s stack, which now sits at 220,000.

Berry Bests Brunson, Brad Booth

 Brad Booth raised from middle position and got calls from Berry Johnston in middle position and Doyle Brunson in the small blind. The flop came K106 and Brunson led out, Booth raised, and Johnston raised him. Both Brunson and Booth called the bet and the turn was the 10. Brunson and Booth checked to Berry who, predictably, bet. This time Brunson and Booth bowed out of the hand and allowed Johnston to take down the pot. Berry Johnston now has 250,000 in chips. Booth is sitting with 100,000. Brunson was eliminated not too long after this hand, right on the bubble.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Erick Lindgren,   Tony Ma,   Max Pescatori,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Greg Jamison,   David Chiu,   Jason Gray,   Ram Vaswani,   Chau Giang,   Berry Johnston,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Eugene Katchalov,   Brad Booth,   Alexander Kostritsyn

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - Day 2 - Level 15 Recap

Jun 20, '08

Blinds: 3,000-6,000

Players Left:  35 of 235

Chip Leaders:
David Benyamine - 325,000
Greg Jamison - 305,000
Chau Giang - 300,000
Mike Matusow - 230,000
Toto Leonidas - 220,000
Ram Vaswani - 195,000
Danny Dang - 190,000
Bob Slezak - 190,000
Hieu Ma - 180,000
Pat Rao - 170,000

Average Stack: 134,300

Eliminations:
Robert Williamson III
Soheil Shamseddin

Big Hands and Storylines:

Crunch Time

We’re down to 35 players here in the Brasilia Room and with 27 places playing, play should start to tighten up not too long from now. Though the field is still littered with seasoned professionals who are looking for more than a 27^th place finish, short stacks who are unlikely to mount a deep run might start to play a bit more conservatively.

All Bets Are Off

Mike Matusow asked David Benyamine, seated directly behind him, how many chips he had. After Benyamine informed him that he had 325,000 in front of him, Matusow remarked, “You’ve got 100,000 more than me. I’ll take +130 for $10,000.” Benyamine’s response: “I don’t bet with broken men.”

Ouch.

And There’s Poker Too!

Robert Williamson III was eliminated in a three-way pot involving Mike Matusow and James Van Alstyne. Matusow and Van Alstyne split the pot and Williamson was left shaking his head in disappointment.

At the table across the aisle, Soheil Shamseddin was eliminated by Max Pescatori. On a board of QJ96A, Shamseddin showed QQ108 for a straight along with a set of queens, but he was outdone by the Italian’s A1082. Pescatori, conversing about Italy’s chances against Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2008 quarterfinals, is now up to 165,000.

Brunson on the Move

Not only has Doyle Brunson taken a new seat at the table of Max Pescatori, Brad Booth, and Berry Johnston, but his chips have been on the move as well. Brunson dropped almost half of his chips during the last level, falling from 250,000 all the way to 130,000.

Player Tags: Trai "Danny" Dang,   Toto Leonidas,   Bob Slezak,   Tony Ma,   Pat Rao,   Max Pescatori,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Greg Jamison,   Ram Vaswani,   Chau Giang,   Robert Williamson III,   Soheil Shamseddin

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - Day 2 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 20, '08

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

Blinds: 2,500-5,000

Players Left:  40 of 235

Chip Leaders:
Doyle Brunson - 250,000
Ram Vaswani - 210,000
Greg Jamison - 207,000
David Benyamine - 202,000
Mike Matusow - 190,000
Pat Rao - 189,000
Toto Leonidas - 180,000
Chau Giang - 160,000
James Van Alstyne - 148,000
Tony Ma – 145,000
David Chiu – 135,000

Average Stack: 117,500

Eliminations:
Alex Kravchenko
Chris Ferguson
Jen Harman
Nikolay Evdakov

Big Hands and Storylines:

Nikolay Evdakov Eliminated

Three hands at two tables, over the course of only 25 minutes, and Nikolay Evdakov would go from 110,000 chips to zero. Card Player was there to see the decline and fall of Evdakov...

Three Parts Giang, One Part Slezak

With a board reading J632 and three players in the hand, Bob Slezak checked to Evdakov who put in a bet of 10,000, Chau Giang raised and both Slezak and Evdakov called. The river was the 3 and action checked around to Giang who bet again. Slezak and Evdakov both called and Giang showed down an impressive holding: A432 for the nut low and a baby full house. Slezak could only muster AJ84 for half of the low pot. Evdakov mucked. Strike one for Evdakov.

Just Right for Ma

After being moved to a new table featuring the likes of Doyle Brunson, David Chiu, and Alexander Kostritsyn, Evdakov mixed it up with Tony Ma in what turned out to be a small but important pot.

Evdakov check-called a bet from Ma on a 332 flop. On the turn and river both players checked. With the final board reading 3329K, Evdakov showed K1092 for two-pair, kings and nines, but Ma took down the pot with AAQJ for a better two pair. Strike two.

You Don’t Mess with The Brunson

In his final act, Nikolay Evdakov tried to wrest some chips from the grasp of Doyle Brunson. Predictably, that one didn’t work out so well. Doyle raised pre-flop from middle position and Evdakov and Kostritsyn called from the blinds. On a flop of 965, Evdakov checked, Kostritsyn checked, Brunson fired a continuation bet, Evdakov raised, Kostritsyn folded, and Brunson called. The turn 5 paired the board and slowed down Evdakov, who check-called a bet from Brunson. The river was the K, with only an additional 10,000 behind, the Russian checked it over to Brunson, who put him all-in. Evdakov called and could only rap the table after seeing Brunson’s A872. Strike three. Evdakov is out.

Life Goes On

The rest of the players at Evdakov’s table seem to be in stable condition though. Kostritsyn has 100,000, David Chiu has 135,000, and Tony Ma has 145,000. Oh, yeah, there’s also the case of Doyle Brunson. After winning a number of pots in the past two levels, Brunson is the new chip leader with 250,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Chris Ferguson,   Tony Ma,   Pat Rao,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Greg Jamison,   David Chiu,   Ram Vaswani,   Jennifer Harman,   Chau Giang,   Alexander Kravchenko,   James Van Alstyne,   Nikolay Evdakov,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   European Report

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - Day 2 - Level 13 Recap

Jun 20, '08

Blinds: 2,000-4,000

Players Left:  50 of 235

Chip Leaders:
David Benyamine - 216,000
Ram Vaswani - 180,000
Bruno Fitoussi - 155,000
Soheil Shamseddin - 155,000
Doyle Brunson - 150,000
Toto Leonidas - 150,000
Erick Lindgren - 150,000
Greg Jamison - 145,000
Danny Dang - 133,000
Chau Giang - 130,000

Average Stack: 94,000

Eliminations:
Annie Duke
Huck Seed

Big Hands and Storylines:

Huck Seed Eliminated

Huck Seed, on a precariously short stack, raised from the button and the big blind called. Seed bet the A64 flop and his opponent called. Seed got the last of his money in on the Q turn and the two showed their cards:

Seed: AAK4
Opponent: K752

Seed had a set of aces but his opponent was freerolling for a scoop with a made low and an open-ended straight draw. The river was the 3, giving Seed’s opponent the nut low and a 7-high straight. Seed slowly slid out of his chair and exited the room, but not before tossing in a thought, “That was a good flop for you.”

“Don’t Let Matusow Win Another Pot”

That quote comes from none other than 2008 World Series bracelet winner... Mike Matusow? Clearly concerned about the tournament chances of his tablemates, Matusow was kind enough to give his peers a word of advice, but could they successfully follow it? We found out only seconds after Matusow’s  word of caution:

Danny Smith raised from early position and Mr. Matusow himself 3-bet from the button. Smith called and the two of them saw a flop. A97 rolled out and Smith check-called Matusow’s bet. The action was the same on the Q turn, then both players checked the 4 on the river. “Three aces,” said Matusow. His opponent mucked his hand and Matusow’s AA92 scooped the pot.

After the pot Matusow had another tip, this one perhaps more relevant to the dealer: “Don’t let Matusow pick up the ace-ace-deuce every hand.”

“The Mouth”, once down to only 20,000, is now up to 110,000.

Evdakov Eliminates Annie Duke

Ram Vaswani raised under-the-gun to 8,000, Nikolay Evdakov called from middle position, and Annie Duke called from the button. Both blinds folded, and the flop came down J109. Vaswani checked, Evdakov bet, Duke raised, leaving herself only 1,000 behind, and both Vaswani and Evdakov called. On the A turn, Vaswani checked again, Evdakov bet, Duke called all-in for her final thousand, and Vaswani called. The river was the J and Vaswani folded to a bet from Evdakov. The Russian showed AQQJ for a full house, enough to win the pot and dismiss Duke. Evdakov is now up to 110,000, though still far short of Vaswani’s 180,000.

Player Tags: Trai "Danny" Dang,   Toto Leonidas,   Annie Duke,   Erick Lindgren,   Huck Seed,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Greg Jamison,   Ram Vaswani,   Chau Giang,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Danny Smith,   Soheil Shamseddin,   Nikolay Evdakov,   European Report

$10,000 Omaha 8/b World Championship - David Chiu 8th, Ram Vaswani 7th, Eugene Katchalov 6th

Jun 21, '08

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

Players Left: 5

Chip Counts:
Jason Gray: 1,750,000
Greg Jamison: 1,040,000
David Benyamine: 880,000
Toto Leonidas: 630,000
Mike Matusow: 400,000

Eliminations:
David Chiu Eliminated in 8th Place ($71,792)
Ram Vaswani Eliminated in 7th Place ($88,360)
Eugene Katchalov Eliminated in 6th place ($110,450)

Big Hands:

David Chiu Eliminated in 8th Place ($71,792)

Greg Jamison raised before the flop and a short stacked David Chiu called all in.

Jamison: AKK10
Chiu: 5543
Board: J1078Q

David Chiu really never had a decent shot at winning this pot after the flop. Jamison had the over pair (kings) and on the turn both players picked up a flush draw, Jamison's better. Without a five or a six on the river, Chiu couldn't win the high pot, and a queen meant that he couldn't win the low pot either. David Chiu was eliminated in 8th place, earning $71,792.

Ram Vaswani Eliminated in 7th Place ($88,360)

Fresh off of eliminating David Chiu just moments before, Greg Jamison came in for a raise when his soon to be next victim, Ram Vaswani reraised. Jamison threw one more raise in there, enough to put Vaswani all in. Vaswani called and both players turned over their cards.

Jamison: A872
Vaswani: QQ66
Board: A8274

If nothing else, Vaswani techincally had the best hand when the money went in, but an ace on the flop meant that he would be drawing very slim to the river. With no low hand possible, Vaswani needed a queen to hit the board or he would be eliminated. No queen on the turn or river and Ram Vaswani was our 7th place finsisher, earning $88,360 for his efforts.

Eugene Katchalov Eliminated in 6th place ($110,450)

Euegene Katchalov got it all in against Greg Jamison on a flop of 872.

Katchalov: AK92
Jamison: AK52

The turn and river brought bricks, Katchalov and Jamison split the high pot and Jamison locked up the low with A-5. Katchalov got quartered this hand.

The very next hand and Eugene Katchalov got it all in against Jason Gray.

Katchalov: 9876
Gray: AJ32
Board: 643QJ

Katchalov flopped top pair with a gut-shot and an 8-7 low, but the jack on the river gave Gray two pair (high) and a 6-4 low. Gray scooped the pot while Eugene Katchalov was eliminated in 6th place ($110,450).

Player Tags: Greg Jamison,   David Chiu,   Jason Gray,   Ram Vaswani,   Eugene Katchalov

$10,000 Omaha 8/b World Championship - Tony Ma Eliminated in 9th place ($55,225)

Jun 21, '08

Note: The remaining seven players have just begun a sixty-minute dinner break and will return at roughly 9:00 pm local time to resume play in Level 22 with increased blinds of 15,000-30,000 and stakes of 30,000-60,000.

Blinds: 15,0000-30,000
Stakes: 30,000-60,000

Players Left: 8

Eliminations:
Tony Ma Eliminated in 9th Place ($55,225)

Big Hands:

Tony Ma Eliminated in 9th Place ($55,225)

A severley short stacked Tony Ma got it all in on the turn on a board of 10743. Toto Leonidas looked him up.

Ma: 8543
Leonidas: A982

Ma flopped a flush and Leonidas flopped a better flush. The river was the A and Ma became very excited, thinking that Leonidas' low hand was counterfeited, but it wasn't. Leonidas scooped the pot with a better  high and a better low hand than Tony Ma, who was eliminated in 9th place ($555,225).

Ram Vaswani Triples Up

On a board of Q1053, David benyamine bet out, Ram Vaswani raised, and David Chiu reraised. Banyamine called, Vaswani reraised all in, and both Chiu and Benyamine called to see the river (9). Benyamine and Chiu checked the side pot, and Vaswani turned over K1052 for two pair. Vaswani scooped the pot with the high hand, tripling up to over 500,000 chips after the hand.

Mike Matusow Chips Up

After nearly quadroupling up earlier in the level against David Benyamine, David Chiu and Eugene Katchalov, Matusow then took a bog pot off of Toto Leonidas to bring hom from the short stack all the way up to 350,000. In one of the last few hands before the dinner break, Matusow scooped a big pot off of Benyamine, chipping up to nearly 600,000 and finding some much needed momentum. Matusow kept telling the table not to let him duoble up even once or they'd be sorry. It looks as if Matusow was right.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Tony Ma,   David Benyamine,   David Chiu,   Ram Vaswani

$10,000 Omaha 8/b World Championship - Berry Johnston Eliminated in 10th Place ($38,657)

Jun 21, '08

Blinds: 13,000-25,000
Stakes: 25,000-50,000

Players Left: 9

Chip Counts:
David Benyamine: 1,020,000
David Chiu: 730,000
Toto Leonidas: 720,000
Jason Gray: 590,000
Greg Jamison: 470,000
Eugene Katchalov: 310,000
Tony Ma: 300,000
Mike Matusow: 195,000
Ram Vaswani: 175,000

Eliminations:
Berry Johnston Eliminated in 10th Place ($38,657)

Big Hands:

Berry Johnston Eliminated in 10th Place ($38,657)

Ram Vaswani raised in late position and Berry Johnston called all in for his last 19,000.

Johnston: AKQ8
Vaswani: 4432

Board: 665A3

Vaswani flopped an open-ended straight draw and hit the wheel on the turn. Berry Johnston was drawing slim on the river, failing to improve, and as a result he was eliminated in 10th place ($38,657).

Player Tags: Ram Vaswani,   Berry Johnston

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - End of Day 2

Jun 20, '08

The final two-tables are set! Level 17 saw 7 eliminations and the staff at the Rio decided to call it a night with 18 players remaining. Foremost among the players returning tomorrow will be Mike Matusow. With a big stack of chips and an even bigger mouth, Matusow will be happy with nothing less than his 2nd bracelet of this year's series. To do so, he will have to fend off a number of big names. Hendon Mobber Ram Vaswani will enter the final day with the chip lead and he too will have a multiple-bracelet motivation: a win in this event will give him bracelets in consecutive years. Also in the hunt are high stakes cash specialists Chau Giang and David Benyamine. Benyamine, who was bounced on the final table bubble of the $5,000 stud high/low event only a few days ago, will have extra incentive to make a final table run here.

The players will reconvene at the Rio tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST.
 

---

Here is a recap of the final level of the day:

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 18 of 235

Chip Leaders:
Ram Vaswani - 450,000
Mike Matusow - 390,000
Chau Giang - 370,000
Greg Jamison - 315,000
Eugene Katchalov - 290,000
Toto Leonidas - 265,000
David Benyamine - 260,000
David Chiu - 260,000
Berry Johnston - 260,000
Hieu Ma - 230,000

Average Stack: 261,000

Eliminations:
19^th – Patrick Rao
20^th – James Grove
21^st – James Van Alstyne
22^nd – Danny Smith
23^rd – Brad Booth
24^th – Bruno Fitoussi
25^th – Dustin Sitar

Big Hands and Storylines:

Dustin Donates And Goes Home

The two short stacks at the table Dustin Sitar and Stuart “thedonator” Patterson got all-in pre-flop and showed the following hands:

Patterson: A1072
Sitar: AKJ6

When the board – 109429 – had been dealt, Patterson’s nines and tens were enough to take down the pot. Sitar, slightly covered by Patterson, was eliminated in 25^th place. Patterson is now up to 80,000.

“You Gotta Get Lucky”

Brad Booth raised from late position. Mike Matusow called from the button saying, “I’ll give you some action,” and William McMahon called in the big blind. The flop came JJ8. McMahon checked, Booth bet, Matusow raised, and his two rivals called. The turn was the 9 and McMahon and Booth both checked to Matusow who bet. This time McMahon cagily raised and Booth, with only 3,000 chips left, was forced to fold. Matusow called and the pair saw the river: 10. McMahon bet, Matusow raised, the call was made and they showed their hands:

Matusow: KKJ10
McMahon: KJ95

Matusow had re-drawn out on the river after McMahon had spiked a 6-outer on the turn. After the conclusion of the hand there was much discussion about whether the hand had played itself or if there was any other way it could have been played. Matusow put his inimitable stamp on the conversation when he opined, “You don’t think Phil Hellmuth has 11 bracelets because he plays good, do you? You gotta get lucky!” Matusow, whether through luck, skill, or a bit of both, is now up to 390,000.

You Gotta Get Lucky: Part II

The very next hand, William McMahon got most of his chips into the pot against David Chiu by the flop. McMahon bet his last 20,000 on the turn with the board reading KK510 and Chiu, after a great deal of thought, made a frustrated call. Chiu’s frustration grew when he saw McMahon’s holding: A10103. Chiu was drawing to only 3 outs with AA92 but the river was an unhelpful 9. The hand elevated McMahon to 120,000. Hey, you gotta get lucky.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Tony Ma,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Greg Jamison,   David Chiu,   Ram Vaswani,   Chau Giang,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Berry Johnston,   James Van Alstyne,   Dustin Sitar,   Eugene Katchalov,   William McMahon,   Brad Booth,   Stuart Paterson

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - Day 2 - Level 16 Recap

Jun 20, '08

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

Blinds: 4,000-8,000

Players Left: 26 of 235

Chip Leaders:
Ram Vaswani - 385,000
Chau Giang - 360,000
David Benyamine - 320,000
David Chiu - 285,000
Berry Johnston – 250,000
Mike Matusow - 235,000
Greg Jamison - 215,000
Eugene Katchalov - 185,000
Toto Leonidas - 180,000
Jason Gray - 160,000
James Grove - 160,000

Average Stack:

Eliminations:
26^th – Tony Ma
27^th – Alexander Kostritsyn
Doyle Brunson
Erick Lindgren
Max Pescatori

Big Hands and Storylines:

They’re In The Money

The bubble has just burst and the players remaining are all now guaranteed to walk away from this tournament a bit richer than when they started (prop bets and cross-booking aside). Those who finish in places 19-27 will take home $22,090.

Whichever Comes First

According to the higher-ups here at the Rio, tonight’s event will play until the end of level 18 or until we reach the final table, whichever comes first. The former is looking far more likely with 26 players still remaining. If all goes according to plan, we should be out of here by about 3:30 tonight.

Katch Him If You Can

Eugene Katchalov just won a nice pot off of Toto Leonidas when Leonidas, after raising pre-flop from under-the-gun, check-called on every street against the Ukraine-born New Yorker. The final board was Q87Q4 and Katchalov showed A842 His two-pair, queens and eights, and nut low scooped him the pot, taking him up to 185,000. Leonidas is right on his tail with 180,000.

Dehkharghani Doubles

Ray Dehkharghani bet into two players on a flop of Q62, Danny Smith folded and Mike Matusow called. With only 26,000 left going into the turn, Dehkharghani committed himself by firing at Matusow when an 8 landed. Matusow set his opponent all-in and they revealed their hands:

Matusow: AJ62
Dehkharghani: KQJ10

The river was the Q and Dehkharghani scooped the pot, more than doubling him up to 80,000. The hand only took a sliver out of Matusow’s stack, which now sits at 220,000.

Berry Bests Brunson, Brad Booth

 Brad Booth raised from middle position and got calls from Berry Johnston in middle position and Doyle Brunson in the small blind. The flop came K106 and Brunson led out, Booth raised, and Johnston raised him. Both Brunson and Booth called the bet and the turn was the 10. Brunson and Booth checked to Berry who, predictably, bet. This time Brunson and Booth bowed out of the hand and allowed Johnston to take down the pot. Berry Johnston now has 250,000 in chips. Booth is sitting with 100,000. Brunson was eliminated not too long after this hand, right on the bubble.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Erick Lindgren,   Tony Ma,   Max Pescatori,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Greg Jamison,   David Chiu,   Jason Gray,   Ram Vaswani,   Chau Giang,   Berry Johnston,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Eugene Katchalov,   Brad Booth,   Alexander Kostritsyn

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - Day 2 - Level 15 Recap

Jun 20, '08

Blinds: 3,000-6,000

Players Left:  35 of 235

Chip Leaders:
David Benyamine - 325,000
Greg Jamison - 305,000
Chau Giang - 300,000
Mike Matusow - 230,000
Toto Leonidas - 220,000
Ram Vaswani - 195,000
Danny Dang - 190,000
Bob Slezak - 190,000
Hieu Ma - 180,000
Pat Rao - 170,000

Average Stack: 134,300

Eliminations:
Robert Williamson III
Soheil Shamseddin

Big Hands and Storylines:

Crunch Time

We’re down to 35 players here in the Brasilia Room and with 27 places playing, play should start to tighten up not too long from now. Though the field is still littered with seasoned professionals who are looking for more than a 27^th place finish, short stacks who are unlikely to mount a deep run might start to play a bit more conservatively.

All Bets Are Off

Mike Matusow asked David Benyamine, seated directly behind him, how many chips he had. After Benyamine informed him that he had 325,000 in front of him, Matusow remarked, “You’ve got 100,000 more than me. I’ll take +130 for $10,000.” Benyamine’s response: “I don’t bet with broken men.”

Ouch.

And There’s Poker Too!

Robert Williamson III was eliminated in a three-way pot involving Mike Matusow and James Van Alstyne. Matusow and Van Alstyne split the pot and Williamson was left shaking his head in disappointment.

At the table across the aisle, Soheil Shamseddin was eliminated by Max Pescatori. On a board of QJ96A, Shamseddin showed QQ108 for a straight along with a set of queens, but he was outdone by the Italian’s A1082. Pescatori, conversing about Italy’s chances against Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2008 quarterfinals, is now up to 165,000.

Brunson on the Move

Not only has Doyle Brunson taken a new seat at the table of Max Pescatori, Brad Booth, and Berry Johnston, but his chips have been on the move as well. Brunson dropped almost half of his chips during the last level, falling from 250,000 all the way to 130,000.

Player Tags: Trai "Danny" Dang,   Toto Leonidas,   Bob Slezak,   Tony Ma,   Pat Rao,   Max Pescatori,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Greg Jamison,   Ram Vaswani,   Chau Giang,   Robert Williamson III,   Soheil Shamseddin

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - Day 2 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 20, '08

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

Blinds: 2,500-5,000

Players Left:  40 of 235

Chip Leaders:
Doyle Brunson - 250,000
Ram Vaswani - 210,000
Greg Jamison - 207,000
David Benyamine - 202,000
Mike Matusow - 190,000
Pat Rao - 189,000
Toto Leonidas - 180,000
Chau Giang - 160,000
James Van Alstyne - 148,000
Tony Ma – 145,000
David Chiu – 135,000

Average Stack: 117,500

Eliminations:
Alex Kravchenko
Chris Ferguson
Jen Harman
Nikolay Evdakov

Big Hands and Storylines:

Nikolay Evdakov Eliminated

Three hands at two tables, over the course of only 25 minutes, and Nikolay Evdakov would go from 110,000 chips to zero. Card Player was there to see the decline and fall of Evdakov...

Three Parts Giang, One Part Slezak

With a board reading J632 and three players in the hand, Bob Slezak checked to Evdakov who put in a bet of 10,000, Chau Giang raised and both Slezak and Evdakov called. The river was the 3 and action checked around to Giang who bet again. Slezak and Evdakov both called and Giang showed down an impressive holding: A432 for the nut low and a baby full house. Slezak could only muster AJ84 for half of the low pot. Evdakov mucked. Strike one for Evdakov.

Just Right for Ma

After being moved to a new table featuring the likes of Doyle Brunson, David Chiu, and Alexander Kostritsyn, Evdakov mixed it up with Tony Ma in what turned out to be a small but important pot.

Evdakov check-called a bet from Ma on a 332 flop. On the turn and river both players checked. With the final board reading 3329K, Evdakov showed K1092 for two-pair, kings and nines, but Ma took down the pot with AAQJ for a better two pair. Strike two.

You Don’t Mess with The Brunson

In his final act, Nikolay Evdakov tried to wrest some chips from the grasp of Doyle Brunson. Predictably, that one didn’t work out so well. Doyle raised pre-flop from middle position and Evdakov and Kostritsyn called from the blinds. On a flop of 965, Evdakov checked, Kostritsyn checked, Brunson fired a continuation bet, Evdakov raised, Kostritsyn folded, and Brunson called. The turn 5 paired the board and slowed down Evdakov, who check-called a bet from Brunson. The river was the K, with only an additional 10,000 behind, the Russian checked it over to Brunson, who put him all-in. Evdakov called and could only rap the table after seeing Brunson’s A872. Strike three. Evdakov is out.

Life Goes On

The rest of the players at Evdakov’s table seem to be in stable condition though. Kostritsyn has 100,000, David Chiu has 135,000, and Tony Ma has 145,000. Oh, yeah, there’s also the case of Doyle Brunson. After winning a number of pots in the past two levels, Brunson is the new chip leader with 250,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Chris Ferguson,   Tony Ma,   Pat Rao,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Greg Jamison,   David Chiu,   Ram Vaswani,   Jennifer Harman,   Chau Giang,   Alexander Kravchenko,   James Van Alstyne,   Nikolay Evdakov,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   European Report

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - Day 2 - Level 13 Recap

Jun 20, '08

Blinds: 2,000-4,000

Players Left:  50 of 235

Chip Leaders:
David Benyamine - 216,000
Ram Vaswani - 180,000
Bruno Fitoussi - 155,000
Soheil Shamseddin - 155,000
Doyle Brunson - 150,000
Toto Leonidas - 150,000
Erick Lindgren - 150,000
Greg Jamison - 145,000
Danny Dang - 133,000
Chau Giang - 130,000

Average Stack: 94,000

Eliminations:
Annie Duke
Huck Seed

Big Hands and Storylines:

Huck Seed Eliminated

Huck Seed, on a precariously short stack, raised from the button and the big blind called. Seed bet the A64 flop and his opponent called. Seed got the last of his money in on the Q turn and the two showed their cards:

Seed: AAK4
Opponent: K752

Seed had a set of aces but his opponent was freerolling for a scoop with a made low and an open-ended straight draw. The river was the 3, giving Seed’s opponent the nut low and a 7-high straight. Seed slowly slid out of his chair and exited the room, but not before tossing in a thought, “That was a good flop for you.”

“Don’t Let Matusow Win Another Pot”

That quote comes from none other than 2008 World Series bracelet winner... Mike Matusow? Clearly concerned about the tournament chances of his tablemates, Matusow was kind enough to give his peers a word of advice, but could they successfully follow it? We found out only seconds after Matusow’s  word of caution:

Danny Smith raised from early position and Mr. Matusow himself 3-bet from the button. Smith called and the two of them saw a flop. A97 rolled out and Smith check-called Matusow’s bet. The action was the same on the Q turn, then both players checked the 4 on the river. “Three aces,” said Matusow. His opponent mucked his hand and Matusow’s AA92 scooped the pot.

After the pot Matusow had another tip, this one perhaps more relevant to the dealer: “Don’t let Matusow pick up the ace-ace-deuce every hand.”

“The Mouth”, once down to only 20,000, is now up to 110,000.

Evdakov Eliminates Annie Duke

Ram Vaswani raised under-the-gun to 8,000, Nikolay Evdakov called from middle position, and Annie Duke called from the button. Both blinds folded, and the flop came down J109. Vaswani checked, Evdakov bet, Duke raised, leaving herself only 1,000 behind, and both Vaswani and Evdakov called. On the A turn, Vaswani checked again, Evdakov bet, Duke called all-in for her final thousand, and Vaswani called. The river was the J and Vaswani folded to a bet from Evdakov. The Russian showed AQQJ for a full house, enough to win the pot and dismiss Duke. Evdakov is now up to 110,000, though still far short of Vaswani’s 180,000.

Player Tags: Trai "Danny" Dang,   Toto Leonidas,   Annie Duke,   Erick Lindgren,   Huck Seed,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Greg Jamison,   Ram Vaswani,   Chau Giang,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Danny Smith,   Soheil Shamseddin,   Nikolay Evdakov,   European Report

$10,000 Omaha 8/b World Championship - David Chiu 8th, Ram Vaswani 7th, Eugene Katchalov 6th

Jun 21, '08

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

Players Left: 5

Chip Counts:
Jason Gray: 1,750,000
Greg Jamison: 1,040,000
David Benyamine: 880,000
Toto Leonidas: 630,000
Mike Matusow: 400,000

Eliminations:
David Chiu Eliminated in 8th Place ($71,792)
Ram Vaswani Eliminated in 7th Place ($88,360)
Eugene Katchalov Eliminated in 6th place ($110,450)

Big Hands:

David Chiu Eliminated in 8th Place ($71,792)

Greg Jamison raised before the flop and a short stacked David Chiu called all in.

Jamison: AKK10
Chiu: 5543
Board: J1078Q

David Chiu really never had a decent shot at winning this pot after the flop. Jamison had the over pair (kings) and on the turn both players picked up a flush draw, Jamison's better. Without a five or a six on the river, Chiu couldn't win the high pot, and a queen meant that he couldn't win the low pot either. David Chiu was eliminated in 8th place, earning $71,792.

Ram Vaswani Eliminated in 7th Place ($88,360)

Fresh off of eliminating David Chiu just moments before, Greg Jamison came in for a raise when his soon to be next victim, Ram Vaswani reraised. Jamison threw one more raise in there, enough to put Vaswani all in. Vaswani called and both players turned over their cards.

Jamison: A872
Vaswani: QQ66
Board: A8274

If nothing else, Vaswani techincally had the best hand when the money went in, but an ace on the flop meant that he would be drawing very slim to the river. With no low hand possible, Vaswani needed a queen to hit the board or he would be eliminated. No queen on the turn or river and Ram Vaswani was our 7th place finsisher, earning $88,360 for his efforts.

Eugene Katchalov Eliminated in 6th place ($110,450)

Euegene Katchalov got it all in against Greg Jamison on a flop of 872.

Katchalov: AK92
Jamison: AK52

The turn and river brought bricks, Katchalov and Jamison split the high pot and Jamison locked up the low with A-5. Katchalov got quartered this hand.

The very next hand and Eugene Katchalov got it all in against Jason Gray.

Katchalov: 9876
Gray: AJ32
Board: 643QJ

Katchalov flopped top pair with a gut-shot and an 8-7 low, but the jack on the river gave Gray two pair (high) and a 6-4 low. Gray scooped the pot while Eugene Katchalov was eliminated in 6th place ($110,450).

Player Tags: Greg Jamison,   David Chiu,   Jason Gray,   Ram Vaswani,   Eugene Katchalov

$10,000 Omaha 8/b World Championship - Tony Ma Eliminated in 9th place ($55,225)

Jun 21, '08

Note: The remaining seven players have just begun a sixty-minute dinner break and will return at roughly 9:00 pm local time to resume play in Level 22 with increased blinds of 15,000-30,000 and stakes of 30,000-60,000.

Blinds: 15,0000-30,000
Stakes: 30,000-60,000

Players Left: 8

Eliminations:
Tony Ma Eliminated in 9th Place ($55,225)

Big Hands:

Tony Ma Eliminated in 9th Place ($55,225)

A severley short stacked Tony Ma got it all in on the turn on a board of 10743. Toto Leonidas looked him up.

Ma: 8543
Leonidas: A982

Ma flopped a flush and Leonidas flopped a better flush. The river was the A and Ma became very excited, thinking that Leonidas' low hand was counterfeited, but it wasn't. Leonidas scooped the pot with a better  high and a better low hand than Tony Ma, who was eliminated in 9th place ($555,225).

Ram Vaswani Triples Up

On a board of Q1053, David benyamine bet out, Ram Vaswani raised, and David Chiu reraised. Banyamine called, Vaswani reraised all in, and both Chiu and Benyamine called to see the river (9). Benyamine and Chiu checked the side pot, and Vaswani turned over K1052 for two pair. Vaswani scooped the pot with the high hand, tripling up to over 500,000 chips after the hand.

Mike Matusow Chips Up

After nearly quadroupling up earlier in the level against David Benyamine, David Chiu and Eugene Katchalov, Matusow then took a bog pot off of Toto Leonidas to bring hom from the short stack all the way up to 350,000. In one of the last few hands before the dinner break, Matusow scooped a big pot off of Benyamine, chipping up to nearly 600,000 and finding some much needed momentum. Matusow kept telling the table not to let him duoble up even once or they'd be sorry. It looks as if Matusow was right.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Tony Ma,   David Benyamine,   David Chiu,   Ram Vaswani

$10,000 Omaha 8/b World Championship - Berry Johnston Eliminated in 10th Place ($38,657)

Jun 21, '08

Blinds: 13,000-25,000
Stakes: 25,000-50,000

Players Left: 9

Chip Counts:
David Benyamine: 1,020,000
David Chiu: 730,000
Toto Leonidas: 720,000
Jason Gray: 590,000
Greg Jamison: 470,000
Eugene Katchalov: 310,000
Tony Ma: 300,000
Mike Matusow: 195,000
Ram Vaswani: 175,000

Eliminations:
Berry Johnston Eliminated in 10th Place ($38,657)

Big Hands:

Berry Johnston Eliminated in 10th Place ($38,657)

Ram Vaswani raised in late position and Berry Johnston called all in for his last 19,000.

Johnston: AKQ8
Vaswani: 4432

Board: 665A3

Vaswani flopped an open-ended straight draw and hit the wheel on the turn. Berry Johnston was drawing slim on the river, failing to improve, and as a result he was eliminated in 10th place ($38,657).

Player Tags: Ram Vaswani,   Berry Johnston

Keiner and Vaswani Out

Apr 13, '08

Both Michael Keiner and Ram Vaswani have recently been eliminated from the tournament in the late stages of day 1B.








 

Player Tags: Ram Vaswani,   Michael Keiner

Boris Becker and the Table of Death

Apr 13, '08

On a flop of 855 former tennis star Boris Becker called a bet of 1,000. The turn came 2, Becker checked but called another bet of 1,500 and the river came J. The Team PokerStars pro from Germany checked again, but called a bet of 2,000 and his opponent tabled K5 for a flopped set and Becker mucked.

Several others at the table sneaked glances at each other, no doubt wishing they had been at the receiving end of such loose play.

Elsewhere Antonio Esfandiari has joined Gus Hansen, Dario Alioto, Max Pescatori, and Marc Goodwin at the Table of Death. Ram Vaswani has what looks like over 30,000 in chips and is at a new table and William Thorsson has moved to join Chad Brown, Daniel Negreanu and Paul Testud.

A short-stacked Gavin Griffin tried to get involved in a pot by calling a raise of 600 pre-flop but a board of AK6 saw his opponent make the first move and Grifin quickly folded and  auto-counted his remaing chips - all 10 or so of them totalling about 2,000.

Player Tags: Antonio Esfandiari,   Ram Vaswani,   Gavin Griffin,   Marc Goodwin,   Dario Alioto,   Boris Becker

Dario Minieri is Out

Apr 13, '08

Dario Minieri is out of the tournament with jacks agaist eights which hit a set .

Some recent chip counts include:

• Alex Kravchenko 9,200
• Ram Vaswani 10,100
• Neil Channing 18,600
• Yevgeniy Timoshenko 10,900
• Kevin O'Connell 6,975
• Vicky Coren 9,050
• Boris Becker 7,675
• Paul Leckey 8,875
• Paul Testud 20,900
• Chad Brown 9,300
• Daniel Negreanu 21,500
• Jon Friedberg 11.075
• Gavin Griffin 2,175

Player Tags: Ram Vaswani,   Neil Channing,   Markus Golser,   Dario Minieri,   Yevgeniy Timoshenko

The Corner of the Room

Apr 12, '08

While recent Irish Open winner Neil Channing chats to tournament directors, event organisers and PokerStars pro and former EPT London champ Vicky Coren in the corner of the room the table next door is beginning to see the chips start to circulate around the table.

Hardly surprising when you consider it hosts Juha Helppi, Ram Vaswani, and Dario Minieri. Vaswani seems most interested in getting some action going. He called a 250 raise in the big blind only to fold to a bet of 700 on a flop of Q104.

In the very next hand he called a raise of 400 along with three others including Helppi. A flop of 532 saw the Hendon Mobster bet out 700 while the mid-position raiser called and Helppi folded.

An A on the turn saw Vaswani check, the mod-positon player bet 2,000 and Vaswani call. The 3 on the river elicited a check and a check and vaswani shook his head as his opponent tabled A-K

He won the next pot with K-10 versus 9-8 on a board of Q32910  and if this kind of action keeps up we could be in for a roller coster ride on table 29.

Player Tags: Juha Helppi,   Ram Vaswani,   Dario Minieri,   Victoria Coren

Tournament in Focus: Day 1B Strongest Table

Apr 12, '08

Table 29 has emegred as the most intriguing of day 1B. The international stars seated there include Team PokerStars pro Dario Minieri, Hendon Mob member Ram Vaswani, and Finnish star Juha Helppi. We will bring you a series of hands from this stacked table throughout dat 1B until it breaks.

 

Player Tags: Juha Helppi,   Ram Vaswani,   Dario Minieri

Ram Vaswani Takes A Bad Beat

Jul 10, '07

On a flop of K 8 3, the player in seat No. 4 pushes all in and Ram Vaswani makes the call.  Vaswani shows A A and his opponent needs help with 9 9.  The help comes immediately in the form of the 9 10, giving Vaswani's opponent a set to double through.  After the hand, Vaswani is down to $28,700.

Player Tags: Ram Vaswani

Hour Two

Jul 06, '07

Thirty tables had already broke as hour two played down into the first 20 minute break of the day. Chips were flying and an ill advised all-in push was by no means a rare occurrence. The spectacle of poker that day one of the main event has become was in full swing. One player to join the early bustout victims was Ram Vaswani. He was at a table with Vince Van Patten, and Andrew Black, before he was spotted exiting the tournament field. Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi was already dangerously low on chips, and told another player he had only $1,400 remaining.

It wasn’t as tough as finding a needle in a haystack to see big name players in the field, but close. Doyle Brunson was seated at the featured table with a number of unfamiliar faces. One of whom, was furiously scribbling notes in a notebook after every single hand. Marcel Luske was seated at the on-deck circle, with ESPN cameras rolling, but he too was swimming in a sea of unknown players.

Somebody Hates Raymond

Celebrities were present in the field, a number of English soccer players, Tobey Maguire, and the stars of Everybody Loves Raymond were all playing on day 1A. Nolan Dalla announced Ray Romano to the crowd and that induced his co-star, Brad Garrett, to begin booing him from a few tables away.

Professional Intimidation

Professional players would often raise and not receive any calls, even in cases where they made small bets. Huck Seed bet $100 on a flop of A Q J. While team www.pokerstars.com member Steve Paul-Ambrose bet $1,000 on a flop of J 8 2 to induce his opponents to fold. He picked up a cool $1,200 on the hand.

A $10,000 Drink

One player busted out of the tournament early and lamented to his table, “That was the most expensive jack and coke ever.”

When Prop Bets Attack – Jeff Madsen Edition

The thing that stood out most prominently in the field was the interesting outfit that Jeff Madsen was wearing. He was dressed as a court jester, complete with an over-the-top hat that was sagging to one side. Madsen looked none to happy about his fate. If you’ve ever seen A Christmas Story, just think of Ralphie in the bunny suit that his aunt made him, and you begin to get the idea how forlorn his face looked. He had been on the losing end of a three-way bet with Gavin Smith, and Joe Sebok. Whoever won the most points by going deep in prospective events at this years’ World Series of Poker, would be carried in on a throne by the other two for his day one flight, while the two losers would wear jester outfits on their’s. Gavin and Madsen lost to Sebok, who will be transported via a carried throne, to his day one seat.

Player Tags: Doyle Brunson,   Michael Mizrachi,   Ram Vaswani,   Marcel Luske,   Steve Paul Ambrose,   Brad Garrett

Ram Vaswani Wins Event No. 53 ($217,438)

Jul 04, '07

Andrew Ward bet $30,000 preflop and Ram Vaswani raised to $60,000. Ward then three bet the action to $90,000 and Vaswni made the call. The flop rolled out A J 2 and Ward bet $30,000. Vaswani called and the turn brought the 8. Ward bet $60,000 and Vaswani raised to $120,000. Ward made the all-in call and tuned up A 10. Vaswani showed down K Q for the nut flush and the river brought yet another heart, the 5. Vaswani won the gold bracelet and $217,438 for his victory in the $1,500 limit hold'em shootout. Ward took home $124,816 for second place.

Player Tags: Ram Vaswani,   Andrew Ward

Ahn Van Nguyen Eliminated in Third Place ($83,538)

Jul 04, '07

On a board of A 6 5 8 Ram Vaswani bet $60,000 and Anh Van Nguyen raised all in for $110,000. Vaswani called him down and turned up K 8. Nguyen showed down A 6 and the river brought the 7. That made Vaswani the flush and eliminated Nguyen in third place. He took home $83, 538 in prize money.

Player Tags: Ram Vaswani

David Mosca Eliminated in Fourth Place ($58,968)

Jul 04, '07

After David Mosca four bet a pot preflop during heads-up action, Ram Vaswani made it five bets to play. Mosca made the all in call for $90,000 and flipped over A 2. Vaswani showed pocket tens and the board was dealt J J 9 8 6. Mosca was eliminated in fourth place and took home $58,968 in prize money.

Player Tags: Ram Vaswani,   David Mosca

Ishak Noyan Eliminated in Fifth Place ($31,450)

Jul 04, '07

On a flop of 10 5 4 Ishak Noyan bet $20,000 and Ram Vaswani raised to $40,000. Noyan reraised all in for $55,000 total and Vaswani made the call. Noyan flipped up K 9 and Vaswani flipped over 10 6. The turn and river brought the 7 and the Q. Noyan hit the rail in fifth place, and he took home $31,450 in prize money.

Player Tags: Ram Vaswani,   Ishak Noyan

Hour Two

Jul 04, '07

Stubborn Shorts Stacks

Hour two of the final table has been marked by a lead change and the resistance efforts of the two short stacks at the final table. David Baker and David Mosca where under $100,000 when they both took down nice-sized pots to keep their heads above water.

Battling Ram

Ram Vaswani was busy during the hour and he grew his stack to $480,000. He eclipsed the second-place stack of Sondre Sagenstuen and never looked back.

Baker Shoots and Scores

Baker bet $6,000 on a flop of 8 5 3 and Sagstuen made the call. Baker fired out $12,000 when the turn brought the Q and Sagstuen called again. The river brought the 10 and once again Baker bet $12,000. Once again Sagstuen made the call, but he mucked when Baker showed down A Q.

Sagstuen takes a Hit
 
Raye Puckett bet $12,000 on a board of 10 6 6 3 and Sagstuen raised to $24,000. Puckett called and both players timidly checked after the 5 hit on the river. Puckett then reluctantly tuirned over A 10. Sagstuen mucked another hand and had been brought back down to earth from his early chip lead. He was now back at $300,000.

Player Tags: David Baker,   Ram Vaswani,   Sondre Sagstuen,   Raye Puckett,   David Mosca