Pot-Limit Hold'em - Level 9
Jun 02, '08
Blinds: 500-1000
Players Left: 86
Average Stack: 24,872
Chip Leaders:
Philip Yeh - 106,000
David Singer - 71,000
Ryan Fair - 61,100
Scott Seiver - 59,000
Bobby Law - 54,100
Bobby Wisiak - 51,800
Michael Melkerson - 51,300
Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri - 48,000
Glen Bean - 42,500
Dennis Walmsley - 36,700
Eliminations:
Big Hands:
Fair Tags Another
Ryan "toetagu" Fair opened level 9 in style by scooping a 26,000 pot and vaulting among the leaders. Facing a 3,500 raise from seat 7, Fair called and saw a flop of J
82. The bettor led out again for 3,500, drawing another Fair call, and the 6
on the turn yielded a 6,000 bet, and another Fair call. After the 4
on the river, and play checked to him, Fair bet 11,000 and produced a fold. Fair now has 61,000 in chips to sit among the leaders.
Miller, Alston Butt Heads Twice
A late position raise to 2,800 was followed by Brian Miller committing 10,000 of his 14,100 in chips with a raise. Greg Alston in the small blind then fisted in a stack of yellow 1,000 chips to put both players all in. The original bettor folded while Miller called and showed JJ
. Alston revealed ace-king off-suit. The flop came 975, followed by the 10 on the turn and 10 on the river. Miller remained alive.
The following hand, Miler raised to 2,800 and Alston again called along with the big blind. The flop came 652, and Alston fired out for 7,000. Both Miller and the big blind folded.
Chip And A Chair No More
The small blind committed 3,200 of his remaining chips to the 4,000 pot after a flop of 965. Eric Shanks called and believed his opponent was all-in, but was warned not to reveal his cards because his opponent actually had a single 500-chip remaining. The opponent then checked the turn when the Q was presented, which led Shanks to make it official and put the player all in. The opponent had A9 while Shanks had AA to win the pot.
Storylines:
-- Joe Tehan continues his climb back from the brink, now with 20,000 in chips after hitting a two-outter to remain alive in the last level.
-- Al "Sugar Bear" Barbieri remains among the leaders with 69,600 in chips. Was it a certain hand that did it for him? "Not really," said Barbieri. "I should actually have more, to be honest."
Player Tags: Gregory Alston, Joe Tehan, Brian Miller, Ryan Fair
Pot-Limit Hold'em - Heads-Up Play Begins
Jun 04, '08
Blinds: 10,000 - 20,000
Players Left: 2
Chip Leaders:
Jacobo Fernandez - 1,500,000
David Singer - 700,000
Eliminations: Greg Alston (3rd Place)
Storylines:
After knocking out Greg Alston in third, Jacobo Fernandez went on a tear to take a big lead in his heads up battle with David Singer.
Big Hands:
Greg Alston Eliminated in Third Place ($82,725)
Greg Alston raised to 34,000 and Jacobo Fernandez put him all in for his last 100,000 or so . Alston made the call and showed down pocket jacks, which was well ahead of Fernandez and his pocket eights. Unfortunately for Alston, the board came K7689 and he was eliminated in third place, earning $82,725.
Jacobo Fernandez Dominates Early Heads Up Play
In a span of just a few hands, Jacobo Fernandez came over the top of five David Singer bets, each time succesfully getting Singer to lay his hand down. These hands cost Singer nearly 75 percent of his stack, and on the next hand, he got it all in.
David Singer Doubles Up - Fades 14 Outs
On a flop of Q72, Singer once again led for 25,000, and once again, Fernandez came over the top, this time to 100,000. After a brief deliberation, Singer moved all in and Fernandez quickly called with 83 for a flush draw. Singer showed down K2 and was a bit surprised to be in the lead. The turn and river came 99 and Singer dodged a few bullets to double up to just over 600,000.
Player Tags: David Singer, Gregory Alston, Jacobo Fernandez
Pot-Limit Hold'em - Action Packed Level As We Lose Four
Jun 04, '08
Blinds: 8,000 - 16,000
Players Left: 3
Chip Leaders:
David Singer - 905,000
Jacobo Fernandez - 885,000
Greg Alston - 360,000
Eliminations: Zachary King (7th Place), Joe Tehan (6th Place), Russ Harriman (5th Place), Robert Lipkin (4th Place)
Storylines:
The short stacks finally succumbed in level 18 as Zach King, Russ Harriman, Robert Lipkin and Joe Tehan hit the rail.
Big Hands:
Zachary King Eliminated in Seventh Place ($34,063)
With just over 80,000 in his stack, Zachary King was forced to make his move against Greg Alston. Unfortunately for the young online pro, his A8 ran into the AA of Alston. King failed to catch any miracles as the board came down K1099J to eliminate him in seventh place.
Russ Harriman Sucks Out on Joe Tehan
Joe Tehan has been taking abuse all day, and it continued even further when Russ Harriman shoved from the button. Tehan snap called from the small blind showing AJ and was pleased to see Harriman's 98. But the board came J106Q4 and Harriman hit a straight to double up to around 105,000.
Joe Tehan Eliminated in Sixth Place ($43,796)
Joe Tehan got the rest of his short stack in with J10 against the pocket nines of David Singer. The flop of AQ2 gave him some extra outs, but the turn and river came 87 to brick out, sending Tehan to the rail in a disappointed sixth place. Tehan earns $43,796 for his efforts.
Russ Harriman Eliminated in Fifth Place ($55,474)
Harriman had been hovering around the 100,000 chip mark for quite some time before picking up pocket queens. The small all-in amount made it too easy for Greg Alston and he made the call with AJ. The board rolled out A3255 and Harriman made his exit $55,474 richer.
Not too bad for his second career cash.
Robert Lipkin Eliminated in Fourth Place ($67,640)
After being relatively quiet the entire day, Robert Lipkin decided to make a move at the wrong time and his 75 ran into the pocket jacks of David Singer. The board didn't even come close to Lipkin's hand and he was eliminated in fourth place, leaving the remaining three players to battle for the bracelet.
Player Tags: Gregory Alston, Joe Tehan, Robby Lipkin, Russell Harriman
Pot-Limit Hold'em - Jacobo Fernandez Tops 1 Million
Jun 04, '08
Blinds: 6,000-12,000
Players Left: 7
Chip Leaders:
Jacobo Fernandez - 1,100,000
David Singer - 350,000
Gregory Alston - 270,000
Robby Lipkin - 237,000
Joe Tehan - 200,000
Zachary King - 70,000
Russell Harriman - 65,000
Eliminations: Al Barbieri (8th Place)
Storylines:
Al Barbieri took a bad beat against Greg Alston and was forced to get the rest of his chips in on the short stack. Singer busted him and Barbieri was eliminated in eighth place.
Jacobo Fernandez has continued to defend his blinds at will and pick up big pot uncontested. With constant pressure, he has put a great deal of distance between himself and second place.
Big Hands:
Greg Alston Sucks Out To Double Up
Al Barbieri raised in late position and Greg Alston reraised out of the blinds. Barbieri put his opponent all in and Alston reluctantly made the call, showing pocket jacks. Barbieri confirmed his suspicions by turning over pocket queens. Things were looking good on a eight-high flop for Barbieri, but a jack on the turn gave new life to a very happy Alston. Barbieri wasn't exactly feeling the same way and after the hand, sat at just under 50,000.
Al Barbieri Can't Catch Up, Eliminated in Eighth Place ($26,764)
Al Barbieri got the rest of his stack in with K
6
against David Singer's A
Q
. The board rolled out A
9
2
4
10
and Sugar Bear was busted in eighth place, earning $26,764.
Tehan Takes Some From King
Zach King raised to 29,000 under the gun and got a call from Joe Tehan in the blinds. The flop came J
6
5
and King continued with a bet of 37,000. Tehan called and the turn was the 10
. This time around, Tehan bet 45,000 and King thought for a bit before calling. The river was the K
and Tehan bet almost enough to put King all in. King thought for a long while, then decided to fold and save his remaining 84,000.
Jacobo Fernandez Tops 1 Million in Chips
Tehan didn't hold on to his chips for long, after giving roughly roughly 200,000 over to Jacobo Fernandez and his turned full house. This was one of the first hands that Fernandez had shown down, even though he is already up to 1.1 million in chips.
Player Tags: David Singer, Gregory Alston, Al Barbieri, Joe Tehan, Jacobo Fernandez
Pot-Limit Hold'em - David Singer Doubles Up
Jun 04, '08
Blinds: 5,000 - 10,000
Players Left: 8
Chip Leaders:
Jacobo Fernandez - 428,000
Joe Tehan – 302,000
Al Barbieri - 300,000
David Singer - 280,000
Robby Lipkin - 245,000
Gregory Alston - 180,000
Zachary King - 175,000
Russell Harriman - 90,000
Eliminations: Glen Bean (9th Place)
Storylines:
David Singer doubled up twice to end the first level of the day, then got involved in a big pot with Greg Alston.
Zachary Clark doubled up through Russ Harriman to stay alive.
Big Hands:
David Singer Doubles Up.... Twice
On a flop of Q
5
3
Greg Alston put David Singer all in for just under 70,000 and Singer made the call, showing A
Q
. Alston turned over J
J
and failed to catch his two-outer when the turn and river came 10
3
. That pot brought Singer up to 162,000, which he used for his next double up a few hands later.
Singer raised it up to 22,000 under the gun and got a call from Al Barbieri on the button. The flop came down Q32 and Singer bet 40,000. Barbieri called and the 8 hit the turn. This time Singer moved all in for about 100,000 and Barbieri called, turning over KQ, which was behind to Singer's pocket aces. The A on the river didn't change anything and Singer doubled up once again to about 325,000.
Singer Gives Some Back
Singer vaulted into second place with his two double ups, but gave some of it back on a hand with Greg Alston. Alston raised to 27,000 preflop and Singer made the call in the big blind. The flop came A94 and both players checked. The turn was the J and Singer led for another 27,000. Alston moved all in for another 113,000 and Singer took a few moments before letting his hand go.
Zachary "CKingUSC" CKing Doubles Up
With a rail that included online notables Vivek "psyduck" Rajkumar, Shaun Deeb and Chris "cdbr3799" Dombrowksi, Zachary Clark had been getting anxious to get his chips in the middle. A situation finally presented itself after a series of preflop raises with Russ Harriman and King's pocket jacks held up against Harriman's pocket nines to keep him in contention with 170,000.
Glen "Miss Pretty" Bean Eliminated in Ninth Place ($19,646)
Glen Bean hung around on the short stack for quite some time before being forced to get it in with J-8 against Zachary Kings's A-Q. Bean caught an eight on the flop to give him some hope, but an ace on the river sent him packing. Bean earned $19,646 for his efforts.
Player Tags: Glen Bean, David Singer, Gregory Alston, Al Barbieri, Russell Harriman
Pot-Limit Hold'em - Joe Tehan Falters
Jun 04, '08
Blinds: 4,000 - 8,000
Players Left: 9
Chip Leaders:
Jacobo Fernandez - 428,000
Al Barbieri - 380,000
Robby Lipkin - 305,000
Joe Tehan - 260,000
Russell Harriman - 242,000
Gregory Alston - 179,000
Zachary King - 139,000
David Singer - 83,000
Glen Bean - 75,000
Eliminations: None
Storylines:
Joe Tehan has fallen from the chip leader position after losing several early confrontations, most notably with Al "SugarBear" Barbieri.
Big Hands:
Joe Tehan Falters Early
Play has been relatively cautious, but on hand no. 5, Joe Tehan raised to 20,000 and Greg Alston made the call on the button. The flop came J97 and Tehan checked. Alston bet 26,000 and Tehan made the call. The turn was the 6 and Tehan checked once again. This time, Alston fired out 41,000 and Tehan was forced to muck his hand.
Jacobo Fernandez Defends His Blinds
It seems like blinds will be tough to steal from new chip leader Jacobo Fernandez. Each time someone has raised him, he has come over the top to shut it down.
Al Barbieri Wins a Monster Pot
In the first real showdown of the day, Al Barbieri limped in early position and Joe Tehan reraised to 28,000 from the small blind. Barbieri decided to call and both players saw a flop of KQ6. Tehan checked, and Barbieri bet 40,000. Tehan then check raised to 102,000 and Barbieri just called. The turn put three diamonds on the board when it came the 4 and Tehan decided to check. Barbieri instantly went all in for 153,000, and Tehan frustratedly mucked his cards. Barbieri showed pocket aces with the A as he took the pot.
After the hand, Barbieri was up to around 425,000 and Tehan was down to 265,000.
Player Tags: Gregory Alston, Al Barbieri, Joe Tehan, Jacobo Fernandez
Good News...