Harry Demetriou Poker Tournament Updates

$10,000 Main Event - Day 2A - Level 6 (Hour 2)

Jul 08, '08

Blinds: 250-500, 50 ante

Chip Leaders:
Hunter Fry - 210,000
Kellen Hunter - 194,000
Jeremiah Smith - 190,000
Mark Garner - 182,000
Robert Mizrachi - 175,000
Brandon Adams - 170,000
Stefan Mattsson - 169,500
David Rheem - 167,000
Brian Schaedlich - 157,000
Bryan Colin - 151,000

Other Notables:
Hasan Habib – 100,000
Erick Lindgren – 86,000
Alexander Kravchenko – 83,000
Jon Turner – 82,000
Hoyt Corkins – 82,000
Darrel Dicken – 79,000
Nick Schulman – 79,000
Julian Gardner – 78,000
Toto Leonidas – 77,000
Victoria Coren – 72,000
Barny Boatman – 66,000
John Hennigan – 65,000
Thor Hansen – 62,000
John Duthie – 58,000
Jason Marquis – 55,000
Voitto Rintala – 53,000
Vince Van Patten – 53,000
Dario Alioto – 52,000
Erik Seidel – 51,000
David Grey – 46,000
Shaun Deeb – 40,000
Mickey Appleman – 38,000
Michael Guzzardi – 36,000
Robert Varkonyi – 27,000
Bill Gazes – 26,000
Patrik Antonius – 10,000
Barry Greenstein – 5,000
Scotty Nguyen – 5,000

Eliminations:

Stuart Paterson
Harry Demetriou
Perry Friedman
John Myung

Big Hands and Storylines:

Nick’s Tricks Net Nix Chips

Nick Schulman raised to 1,200 from the cut-off in an open pot.  The action folded to the player in the big blind who made the call.  The flop came J85, and both players checked.  The 6 generated a bet of 3,000 from the player in the big blind, and Schulman instantly jettisoned his hand into the muck.  Schulman finished the hand with 80,000 in chips.

Wasicka Watches Worries Wash Away with Aces

Paul Wasicka successfully doubled up and survived elimination yet again, this time courtesy of pocket aces.  The action folded to Wasicka, who pushed all in pre-flop for his remaining 4,500 from the cut-off.  The button and small blind folded, and the big blind instantly called and turned over AJ.  Wasicka revealed his AA, and the board ran 88762.  Wasicka finished the hand with slightly less than 20,000 in chips.

Pat’s Jacks Axe Stacks

Patrick Antonius raised to 1,600 from middle position, and the next player to act reraised to a total of 4,500.  The action folded back to Antonius who moved all in for his remaining additional 9,000.  His opponent made the call and turned over 88, the underdog to Antonius’ JJ.  The board ran K6664, and Antonius finished the hand with 25,000.

Demetriou runs into aces and is out

Harry Demetriou raised to 2,100 from early position and was reraised to 6,200 total. He made the call and the two players saw a 8-6-4 flop with two spades. After Demetriou checked his opponent bet 12,000. After a minute Demetriou raised all in for 24,225 more. His opponent took a couple minutes before calling with pocket aces. Demetriou had pocket tens and the turn and river didn't help him.

Shulman Forced to Fold

Barry Shulman was in the big blind and called a preflop raise to 1600 from a player in middle position. The flop came QQ8, and both players checked. The 2 followed on the turn, and after Shulman checked, he called a bet of 5000. A third queen hit the river with the Q appearing, and after Shulman checked his opponent bet 10,000. Shulman, with about 50,000 in chips, laid his hand down.

Vos Adds to Stack

Mark Vos raised from early position to 1300 and drew two calls including one from the player in the cut-off. The Q109 flop brought two checks, and the cut-off bet 3000, which Vos called. The two were heads-up to see the 5 come on the turn, and both players checked. The A was the scare card on the river and now Vos led out for 7000. His opponent folded. Vos is at the same table as television/movie actor Ray Romano, though playing in the red section of the Amazon room means the table will be among the next to be broken.

Myung Survives All-in

John Myung was in the small blind for 250, and saw a player in late position raise to 2000. Myung, with only 8500 in chips remaining, used this opportunity to move all-in. Play folded to the raiser, who needed to call 6500 to force a showdown. But with just over 21,000 in chips, he elected to lay his hand down.

Bill Continues to Drill

On a board of 10942, Bill Gazes fired a bet of 6,500, causing his two opponents to fold their cards. Gazes finished the hand with 25,000 in chips.

Paul Pushes

Paul Wasicka successfully doubled up, but still remains at fewer than 25,000 in chips. After the player on the button limped into the pot, Wasicka raised and the big blind folded. The button made the call, and the flop came queen high with two clubs. Wasicka pushed in his remaining 6,000 and the button made the call. Wasicka held K-Q, while his opponent held K8. The K on the turn was effectively a blank for Wasicka, reducing his opponent’s outs by one (the Q). The river was a heart, and Wasicka won the pot.

Friedman loses big chunk of his stack

On a AKJ flop Perry Friedman bet 3,600 and was called by one player. The turn was the A and Friedman bet 4,500. He was again called, and then the T came on the river. This time Friedman checked, and his opponent bet 11,000. Friedman was not happy with his stuation but eventually made the call. His opponent flipped over pocket jacks for a full house to beat Friedman's A-Q for trips. After the hand Friedman had less than 30,000 chips.

Player Tags: John Myung,   Bill Gazes,   Barry Shulman,   Harry Demetriou,   Perry Friedman,   Paul Wasicka,   Mark Vos,   European Report

Hour One Recap

Jun 29, '07

Standing in the Amazon room with your eyes closed, one might think they were surrounded by thousands crickets chirping.  The omnipresent noise of riffling chips is of course not crickets, but there is a swarm in the Rio.  The Amazon room and Player's Pavilion are both filled with people. 

The field seems to be predominately made up of unknown hopefuls, but  pros are scattered around.  The distribution is such that there is usually one pro for every few tables, but there are of course some exceptions.  Table 75, for example, started out with Harry Demetriou , Andrew Black, Johnny Chan and Amnon Filippi.  In this first thirty minutes three players were eliminated, including Harry Demetriou.  Another player was brought over, and got involved with Johnny Chan in his first hand at the table.  With a flop of A 10 6 the player bet $600 and Chan called from the button.   The 2 came on the turn and the player once again bet at the pot, this time firing $1,600.  Chan pushed all-in and his opponent called with only a few hundred behind.  Chan revealed A K for top pair, and his opponent turned over K K.  Chan had his opponent drawing to one out going into the river, and when the A fell on the end Chan had him.  The player seemed happy enough to have been eliminated by such a well known player, and smiled as he left, telling his previous table, "I lost on the first hand to Johnny Chan," as he walked by.  Andrew Black then told a story about Doyle Brunson busting five opponents, each of whom came to the table excited to sit with Doyle and left just as excited after he busted them.

Jared Hamby came to his seat late, only to find it occupied by Rene Angelil.  It was a relatibely easy fix.  Hamby got the untouched stack Angelil was supposed to use at his table, and brought it to his assigned seat, while Angelil took the stack he was playing and brought it to his real seat next to Shannon Elizabeth.  

With a large field and relatively short stacks, the pace should be quick today, so make sure to check in on the action here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: Johnny Chan,   Harry Demetriou,   Amnon Filippi,   Rene Angelil,   Andy Black,   Jared Hamby

Play Ends For The Night

Jun 13, '07

A total of 85 players are still alive and kicking after Day One.  Certain players saw lots of action and did lots of talking in this last level of play.

You Owe Me A Dollar

Right before the break Nick Schulman doubled through Alex Jacob with A-10 versus A-4. He showed no signs of slowing down, busting another player with a set of tens soon after the break. All of this action didn’t stop him from having fun with his tablemate Robert Mizrachi, who proudly exclaimed, “You owe me a dollar” after winning a small prop bet. Unsure if he had a one-dollar bill, he was instructed to give him a hundred dollar bill, so Mizrachi would owe him 99. But he found a single and the bet was settled.

I Knew You Had It

David Pham sent a few chips Michael Binger’s way in the following hand. Pham raised from the cut-off to $6,500, and Binger called from the small blind.  The flop came K 10 3, and both players checked. The turn was the 9, Binger bet $10,000 and Pham called.  The river was the 8, Binger bet $20,000 and Pham called.  Binger showed 33 and Pham announced that he knew it as he flashed a King and folded.

Mighty Ducks

John “Tex” Barch ended a player’s tournament with a pocket pair of twos.  The other player went all in with a K-J on a J-8-2 flop, but Barch’s set was way ahead.  The King on the river wasn’t enough to save Barch’s opponent from the rail.

Time for a New Calculator

After an early position player raised, Davidson Matthew made the call from the cutoff, only to have Cliff “Johnny Bax” Josephy move all in over the top.  After the original raiser folded, Matthew declared he was 3:1 so he must call.  Bax showed A-J, and Matthew tabled A-7 suited.  Matthew turned an open-ended straight draw, but bricked on the river.  Bax scolded Matthew as he collected the chips, “What kind of broken calculator you got, 3:1?”

I’ll Get You Back 

Short-stacked Harry Demetriou was all in and called by Mike Gracz. Demetriou showed AK to Gracz’s A9. The board came down 8 4 3 3 Q, and Demetriou doubled up.  Demetriou graciously thanked Gracz, adding, “I’ll be more than happy to double you up if I see you at the Final Table.”  It would not be so however when Demetriou had a set of Aces cracked on the last hand of the evening.
 

Some of the chip leaders had a profitable last level and others a trying one. On a board of J 4 4, Jennifer Tilly check raised her opponent from $10,000 to $30,000.  He responded by moving all in for $40,000 more. She mucked her cards to take a large hit to her stack. Major chip boss Dustin Dirksen, who has over $300,000 was very busy.  He received a major pot when he woke up with Aces after another healthy-stacked player pushed all in with Jacks.  Only two hands later another player moved all in on him with a board of 8-4-3. Dirksen called with 8-4, but his opponent showed 3-3.  However the turn was another 4, and Dirksen sheepishly shook his fallen foe’s hand.
 

Not making it out of the last level were Berry Johnston, who went all in with the nut-flush draw and a gutshot straight draw but missed.  Chris Ferguson, Scotty Ngyuen, Sam Grizzle, and Erik Seidel were also eliminated.

 
Action will pick back up with the final 10 tables tomorrow at 2pm PST, where we will continue to follow the progress of our Pro Blogger Mike Sexton.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Sam Grizzle,   Scotty Nguyen,   Michael Gracz,   David Pham,   Erik Seidel,   Chris Ferguson,   Harry Demetriou,   Mike Sexton,   Berry Johnston,   Cliff Josephy,   Jennifer Tilly,   Michael Binger,   Alex Jacob,   Nick Schulman,   Davidson Matthew

Positively, Indeed

Jun 13, '07

Possibly reinvigorated by dinner several pros have been putting their tournament life on the line quickly following the dinner break.

 Jim McManus found himself all-in with a A-J vs. A-4, unfortunately the flop had an Ace and a four. McManus was packing up his things when the river paired nines on the board negating his opponent’s second pair, and proving his best-selling novel’s title are words to live by.

David Benyamine has also been collecting a few chips himself. With the board reading 8 6 6 Q 6, Benyamine made a value bet of $11,000, and tabled Q10 after getting the call. He's sitting comfortably on around $40,000 in chips

Bracelet winner Ed Moncada was eliminated by Toto Leonidas in one hand of note. Leonidas raised to $2,500 from early position, the next player to act called, Moncada went all in for about $5,000 more, Leonidas re-pushed all in for $17,100 more, and the third player folded after a few minutes. Moncada flipped up AK, but Leonidas had him crushed with KK.  The board ran out J J 5 4 9, and Moncada was sent home.

Pros Clonie Gowen and Shannon Shorr managed to double up in the last hour. Clonie pushed all in on the river with the board showing K 5 2 8 7. After her opponent made the crying call she showed 87, and took the pot. Shannon Shorr pushed all in with a K-10 on a flop of J-7-5, and got a call from a player holding 6-4.  The turn and river bricked out, and Shorr survived.

Phil Ivey was not so lucky with his all in.  Ivey was all in preflop for his last $19,000 with A-K vs. his opponent’s J-J.  The Jack on the turn shut Ivey out, and he was eliminated.

Englisman Ian Woodley was reasonably content on $19,000 in chips after the break. 'The table's not bad. I know where i'm at,' he said.

The only remaining Hendon Mobster, Ross Boatman, had 'about $26,000 plus change,' after the break and seemed very relaxed.

Londoner Ben Roberts remains among the chip leaders with around $95,000 in chips.

Fellow Brit, Harry Demetriou stormed out of the blocks after dinner, hitting trip eights in the first few hands. He playfully goaded the other players, 'I do have hands when i raise,' he joked. A player opposite drolly asked 'You call eights a hand?'

Two hands later Demetriou re-raised a shortstack who called all-in. He flipped over jacks while his opponent could only muster A-J suited. No help from the board and Demetriou raked in the pot and his luckless opponent hit the rail.

Demetriou has nestled himself among the chip leaders and is clearly enjoying himself, hovering around $80,000 in chips.

Currently there are 210 players remaining on 21 tables, with plenty of action left in the day.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Edward Moncada,   David Benyamine,   Clonie Gowen,   Jim McManus,   Harry Demetriou,   Barny Boatman,   Phil Ivey,   Shannon Shorr,   Ian Woodley

Level Three Begins

Jun 03, '07

The game has switched back from Omaha to Stud and the limits are increasing to $150-$300. There were officially 327 players in today's field and payouts will start in 32nd place. The winner of this Stud/Omaha Hi-Low Split event will take home $214,000 and each player to enter the money will take home at least $6,017.

With the high level of professional players in today's field some tables are beginning to hold more than their fair share of talent. Cyndy Violette and Harry Demetriou are both sitting at Doyle Brunson's table and Greg Raymer had the pleasure of being moved to a table already containing last year's Seven Card Stud Hi-Low (Eight or Better) bracelet winner Pat Poels, Johnny Chan and Hassan Habib. Upon sitting down, the table folded to Raymer in the big blind, giving him a walk. Raymer was sarcastically appreciative, exclaiming "Oh sweet! I love you guys. You guys are too good to me."

During the Omaha portion of level two Barry Greenstein took the opportunity to build his stack in a hand against Berry Johnston and two other players. Johnston bet $200 and recieved calls from the players in seats two and three, and Barry Greenstein. The flop came K96 and Greenstein bet $100. Johnston and the player in seat three make the call and the turn is the 9. Greenstein bets $200, Johnston folds and the player in seat three makes the call. The river is the 5 and Greenstein again bets $200. The player in seat three makes the call and Greenstein shows 9-6 for two pair and with no qualifying low, takes down the pot.

Player Tags: Barry Greenstein,   Patrick Poels,   Doyle Brunson,   Harry Demetriou,   Cyndy Violette,   Greg Raymer