Shunjiro Uchida Poker Tournament Updates

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 23, '08

The players are now on an hour-long dinner break

Blinds: 1,300-2,500

Players Left: 18 of 238

Chip Leaders:
John Phan - 156,000
Billy Baxter - 128,500
Shunjiro Uchida - 114,500
David Sklansky - 106,000
Robert Mizrachi - 100,000
Michael Wattel - 96,000
Gioi Luong - 92,500
Greg Raymer - 89,000
Richard Chase - 55,000
Dario Alioto - 54,500

Average Stack: 66,100

Eliminations:
15^th – Raymond Davis
16^th – Juan Luis Velador
17^th – Chau Giang
18^th – Claude Cohen

Big Hands and Storylines:

Billy Baxter’s Tremendous Turnaround

Billy Baxter started today with only 6,000 in chips, slightly more than a single big bet. 30^th of 30 in chips, it didn’t seem like he would make any sort of run today. Astoundingly, Baxter has turned it around completely and now stands at 2^nd in chips with 128,000. Baxter’s rapid rise in the deuce-to-seven event has caused a bit of a conflict however. While his stack grows and grows in the lowball event, his stack is being blinded off in the seniors’ event. Baxter had pre-registered for the seniors’ event assuming that he would bust early in the deuce-to-seven triple draw event. Mr. Baxter seems unperturbed by this development.

Billy Baxter Eliminates Chau Giang

“Cold deck,” Giang repeated as he was eliminated by Billy Baxter in a serious cooler of a hand. Action pre-draw saw four bets by each player and Baxter stood bat from the get-go. Giang drew one on each of the first two draws and then stood pat on the final draw. Giang check-raised Baxter on the final round of betting to get all of his chips in with no. 3: 7-6-5-3-2. Baxter’s good day kept getting better though, as he unveiled a perfect 7-5-4-3-2 to bust Giang. It’s good to be the king.

John Phan eliminates Raymond Davis

John Phan eliminated Ray Davis, moving into the chip lead in the process. It was an unfortunate end to the day for Davis, who had been talking boldly about his final-table aspirations all afternoon long. Davis, standing pat on the final two draws, ran into the 7-5-4-3-2 of Phan. The nut-low propelled Phan to 155,000 in chips, tops on the day.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Michael Wattel,   Chau Giang,   David Sklansky,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Claude Cohen,   Greg Raymer,   Richard Chase,   Billy Baxter,   Dario Alioto,   Luis Velador

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 13 Recap

Jun 23, '08

Blinds: 1,000-2,000

Players Left: 18 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Billy Baxter - 148,000
Ray Davis - 117,000
Robert Mizrachi - 116,000
Shun Uchida - 108,000
Steve Sung - 96,000
Gioi Luong - 95,000
John Phan - 84,000
Ben Ponzio - 72,000
James Copeland - 70,000
David Sklansky - 69,000

Average Stack: 66,100

Eliminations:
Chris Vitch
Ralph Perry

Big Hands and Storylines:

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... Greg Raymer

Greg Raymer raised to 2,000 from the button and was 3-bet by Ralph Perry in the small blind. Raymer called and drew 1 card while Perry stood pat. Perry bet and Raymer called. Action was the same on the 2^nd go-around. Then when both players stood pat on the third draw, Perry checked, Raymer bet, and Perry called. Raymer took down the pot with 8-6-5-3-2.

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... John Phan (and Busts)

First to act, Ralph Perry raised to 2,000. John Phan made it 3,000 from the button, and Perry called. After Perry drew 2 and Phan drew 1, Perry check-called Phan’s bet. On the 2^nd draw, Perry took 2 again and, again, Phan took 1. And, yet again, Perry check-called. Both players took 1 on the final draw and Perry led into Phan. Phan called. Perry tabled 8-7-5-4-2 but he was undercut by Phan’s 8-6-5-4-3. This hand dropped Perry to under 30,000 and he would be knocked out by Phan later in the level.

Baxter Swaps Seats To Table’s Delight

The floorperson told the dealer at table no. 4 that she needed the big blind to move over to table no. 2. The person in the big blind of table 4 happened to be none other than Billy Baxter, and his departure was met by jubilation by those players he would be leaving. Chau Giang greeted the decision with a round of applause. Apparently 5 deuce-to-seven bracelets earns you a lot of respect.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   David Sklansky,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Ben Ponzio,   Steve Sung,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Ralph Perry,   European Report

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 12

Jun 23, '08

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

Blinds: 800-1,500

Players Left: 22 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Shun Uchida - 101,000
Jose Luis Velador - 78,000
Gioi Luong - 74,100
David Baker - 70,500
Ray Davis - 67,700
Michael Wattel - 67,000
James Copeland - 62,700
Billy Baxter - 58,000
Chris Vitch - 54,500
Robert Mizrachi - 52,400

Average Stack: 44,100

Eliminations:
Bill Chen
Trung Ly

Big Hands and Storylines:

Trung Is The Bubble Boy... Juuuuust Bare-Ly

Trung Ly was so low on chips that there was no trying to sneak into the money for him. Left with only 1,000 chips, Ly found himself all-in on the 1^st draw. The drama didn’t come until after the 3^rd draw however. Ly declared a jack-low... and so did Claude Cohen. Ly clarified, “Jack-seven,” and again, Cohen had the same. The third card was the deciding one, and Ly’s J-7-6 low was bested by his Cohen’s J-7-5. Ly was eliminated in 25th place.

Ray Ray Ruins Chen Check-Raise Connivance

Ray Davis raised to 3,000 on the button and was called by Bill Chen in the big blind. Chen drew 2 and Davis took 1. Chen then check-called Davis’s bet. On the next draw each player asked for 1 card and, again, Chen check-called a Davis bet. On the final draw Chen drew a single card and Davis stood pat. Chen checked and Davis fired again. Chen sprung into action for the first time in the hand with a raise which was quickly called by Davis. Chen’s check-raise was a bluff however, and his pair of deuces was soundly defeated by Davis’s 8-7-5-4-3.

This would signal the beginning of the end for Chen’s day, as he would be eliminated in 24^th place, just squeaking into the money.

Sklansky Bucks Elimination, Triples Up

David Sklansky raised from early position with a short stack and eventually got his money all-in after the final draw. Both Steve Sung and Greg Raymer folded to Sklansky’s last bet of 2,500, but John Phan made the call. Sklansky showed 9-8-5-4-3 and Phan could only claim a 10-low before folding. That hand boosted him to 24,000 and allowed him to make the money.

Raymer Celebrates a Cash

Greg Raymer has just informed his table that this is his first cash in his past 24 World Series attempts. Congratulations are in order for Greg, but don’t feel too bad for him. After all, not many players have cashed for $5 million in a single World Series event.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Raymond Davis,   Michael Wattel,   Trung Ly,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Claude Cohen,   Greg Raymer,   Bill Chen,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Luis Velador

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 11 Recap

Jun 23, '08

Blinds: 600-1,200

Players Left: 27 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Shun Uchida - 79,200
Gioi Luong - 74,100
Ray Davis - 67,700
Robert Mizrachi – 65,000
Greg Raymer - 64,600
James Copeland - 62,700
Richard Chase - 59,200
Michael Wattel - 57,200
Chris Vitch - 54,500
Jose Luis Velador - 49,400

Average Stack: 44,100

Eliminations:
Antony Lellouche
John Roveto

Big Hands and Storylines:

“Advertise Now, Steal Later”

Those words uttered by Chris Vitch after raising from the small blind and forcing Bill Chen to lay down his hand. Vitch showed a made 8-6. Of course, one wonders if Vitch’s cunning gambit will pay off after letting Chen in on it.

The Table of Death

It appears that one table stands out above all others as one to watch during today’s early preceding. Greg Raymer is seated at a table along with Steve Sung, John Phan, Ralph Perry, David Sklansky, and Jose Luis Velador. Action started off fast as Raymer took a big pot off of Phan early in the first level of the day:

Raymer raised from the hijack and was called by Phan in the big blind. Both players drew 2 cards and Phan checked. Raymer bet and “The Razor” called. Phan drew one card and Raymer stood pat. Phan check-raised Raymer on the next betting round and Raymer called. Both players stood pat on the final draw and Phan check-called Raymer’s bet. Raymer’s no. 3 – 7-6-5-3-2 – was better than Phan’s eight low, and “Fossilman” raked in a sizeable pot. He’s now up to 65,000.

Billy Baxter Doubles Up

Lowball specialist Billy Baxter just doubled through Ray Henson to get back to more respectable 20,000 in chips. This is bad news for the rest of the players at the table. Baxter owns 5 deuce-to-seven bracelets and will be looking to add a 6^th to his collection.

Robert Mizrachi Racing To The Top

Gioi Luong, first to act, raised to 1,200, Mizrachi called in the small blind, James Copeland 3-bet from the big blind, and the other two players called. Mizrachi drew two and the others drew one card. Copeland bet and Mizarachi and Luong called. On the 2^nd draw each player took one card. On this round of betting Mizrachi and Copeland checked to Luong who bet and both players called. On the final draw Mizrachi drew one and the other players stood pat. Mizrachi led out into the two pat players, who both folded. Mizrachi claimed he had a 7-6 and raked in a large pot, taking him to 65,000.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Raymond Davis,   Michael Wattel,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Greg Raymer,   Richard Chase,   James Copeland,   John Roveto,   Billy Baxter,   Luis Velador

John Phan Wins Event No. 40 ($151,896)

Jun 24, '08

John Phan Wins Event No. 40 ($151,896)

After a series of relentless raises and reraises, John Phan made two hands, an 8-low and a 10-low to cripple Shun Uchida to his final five big bets or so. On the final hand, Uchida was in good shape drawing an 8-7, but Phan had drawn the second nuts, 7-6-4-3-2 to take the title.

After years of coming just short, 2008 has been kind to Phan as he took his second bracelet of the series.

Shun Uchida finished in second place, earning $95,795.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw - Heads Up

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 10,000-20,000

Players Left: 2 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 612,000
Shun Uchida - 607,000

Eliminations:  Gioi Luong (3rd Place)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Phan Climbs Up

In just two hands after coming back from dinner break, John Phan climbed to nearly 500,000 by making an 8-6 low against Shun Uchida. With the big bet at 40,000, the chips are flying back and forth.

Gioi Luong Eliminated in Third Place ($61,583)

Gioi Luong raised in the small blind and John Phan reraised in the big blind. Luong called and drew two and Phan stood pat. Phan put Luong all in and Luong called. Then, Luong stood pat, forcing Phan to break his hand. He drew two on the second draw and drew two on the third draw needing a miracle to catch Luong's 8-7-6-5-2. Stunned, Phan stood up and turned over 7-6-5-4-2 to take the pot and eliminate Luong in third place.

Heads Up Play Begins

John Phan - 612,000
Shun Uchida - 607,000

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw - Action Boils Over

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 245,000
Gioi Luong - 200,000
Shun Uchida - 760,000

Eliminations: 

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan and Gioi Luong Explode

It has become increasingly clear that John Phan and Gioi Luong do not like each other. It goes back to an earlier hand where John Phan mistakingly posted his big blind under the gun. Luong lobbied the floor to make his bet stand, despite the fact that the cards had yet to be dealt. The floor ruled in Phan's favor, and Phan accused Luong of angle shooting.

Fast forward to a few hands ago, when it all boiled over. Luong and Uchida were involved in a pot and on the draw, when Luong stopped the dealer after he had discarded, because he had discarded the wrong card. Phan immediately began to shout, "That is not allowed!" over and over until the floor came over. Meanwhile, Luong angrily got into Phan's face, telling him to stay out of it. As it looked like the players were about to get physical, the floor ruled that Luong's discard must remain discarded and Phan got his wish.

The next hand, Luong stayed pat the whole way as he bet and Phan called. After the third draw, Luong announced his hand. Phan refused to believe what Luong was saying and Luong revealed his 7-6-6-4-2 for a pair of sixes. Phan then showed his 9-low to take the pot, telling the rail that Luong was lying about his cards. "He called the wrong hand," said Phan.

Shun Uchida Takes Advantage

With both Luong and Phan on edge, Shun Uchida has quietly amassed a huge chip lead with a series of pots taken down on either after the first or second draw. He now holds more than half of the chips in play.

NOTE: The players then took a 90-minute dinner break.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 150,000
Gioi Luong - 480,000
Shun Uchida - 570,000

Eliminations:  None

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan Rides the Short Stack

After spreading chips around the table, John Phan lost another huge pot to Shun Uchida when both stood pat after the third draw. Uchida opened up a 9-8-5-4-2 to send Phan further down the leader board. After the hand, Uchida and Luong were neck and neck for the chip lead.

Gioi Luong Takes Some More

After Shun Uchida opened up his chip lead, Gioi Luong closed the gap after taking a decent pot from John Phan. Phan made a 9-8 low, but Luong turned over his 9-6 to send the pot his way. After the hand, Phan was left with just over 6 big bets in his stack.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw - Down to Triple

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

Phan - 625,000
Luong - 390,000
Uchida - 215,000

Eliminations:  Robert Mizrachi (4th Place)

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan Takes a Monster Lead

After betting the whole way and standing pat on the third draw, John Phan got another bet out of Shun Uchida and took the pot when he showed his 7-6 low. With Phan's relentless aggression, catching cards will make this a speedy final table. After taking a pot off of Robert Mizrachi, Phan is up over 630,000 and both Mizrachi and Uchida are below 100,000.

Gioi Luong Puts Himself Into Second

After making the wheel (7-5-4-3-2) against Robert Mizrachi, Gioi Luong put himself over 400,000 and squarely in second position on the leader board.

Robert Mizrachi Eliminated in Fourth Place ($41,055)

Robert Mizrachi was down to his last 30,000 and got it all in against Gioi Luong. Luong could only manage a 10-6-5-4-2 and it held when Mizrachi drew a jack to go along with his 8-6-4-2. Mizrachi was eliminated in fourth place, finishing just short of his second WSOP bracelet.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 23, '08

The players are now on an hour-long dinner break

Blinds: 1,300-2,500

Players Left: 18 of 238

Chip Leaders:
John Phan - 156,000
Billy Baxter - 128,500
Shunjiro Uchida - 114,500
David Sklansky - 106,000
Robert Mizrachi - 100,000
Michael Wattel - 96,000
Gioi Luong - 92,500
Greg Raymer - 89,000
Richard Chase - 55,000
Dario Alioto - 54,500

Average Stack: 66,100

Eliminations:
15^th – Raymond Davis
16^th – Juan Luis Velador
17^th – Chau Giang
18^th – Claude Cohen

Big Hands and Storylines:

Billy Baxter’s Tremendous Turnaround

Billy Baxter started today with only 6,000 in chips, slightly more than a single big bet. 30^th of 30 in chips, it didn’t seem like he would make any sort of run today. Astoundingly, Baxter has turned it around completely and now stands at 2^nd in chips with 128,000. Baxter’s rapid rise in the deuce-to-seven event has caused a bit of a conflict however. While his stack grows and grows in the lowball event, his stack is being blinded off in the seniors’ event. Baxter had pre-registered for the seniors’ event assuming that he would bust early in the deuce-to-seven triple draw event. Mr. Baxter seems unperturbed by this development.

Billy Baxter Eliminates Chau Giang

“Cold deck,” Giang repeated as he was eliminated by Billy Baxter in a serious cooler of a hand. Action pre-draw saw four bets by each player and Baxter stood bat from the get-go. Giang drew one on each of the first two draws and then stood pat on the final draw. Giang check-raised Baxter on the final round of betting to get all of his chips in with no. 3: 7-6-5-3-2. Baxter’s good day kept getting better though, as he unveiled a perfect 7-5-4-3-2 to bust Giang. It’s good to be the king.

John Phan eliminates Raymond Davis

John Phan eliminated Ray Davis, moving into the chip lead in the process. It was an unfortunate end to the day for Davis, who had been talking boldly about his final-table aspirations all afternoon long. Davis, standing pat on the final two draws, ran into the 7-5-4-3-2 of Phan. The nut-low propelled Phan to 155,000 in chips, tops on the day.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Michael Wattel,   Chau Giang,   David Sklansky,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Claude Cohen,   Greg Raymer,   Richard Chase,   Billy Baxter,   Dario Alioto,   Luis Velador

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 13 Recap

Jun 23, '08

Blinds: 1,000-2,000

Players Left: 18 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Billy Baxter - 148,000
Ray Davis - 117,000
Robert Mizrachi - 116,000
Shun Uchida - 108,000
Steve Sung - 96,000
Gioi Luong - 95,000
John Phan - 84,000
Ben Ponzio - 72,000
James Copeland - 70,000
David Sklansky - 69,000

Average Stack: 66,100

Eliminations:
Chris Vitch
Ralph Perry

Big Hands and Storylines:

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... Greg Raymer

Greg Raymer raised to 2,000 from the button and was 3-bet by Ralph Perry in the small blind. Raymer called and drew 1 card while Perry stood pat. Perry bet and Raymer called. Action was the same on the 2^nd go-around. Then when both players stood pat on the third draw, Perry checked, Raymer bet, and Perry called. Raymer took down the pot with 8-6-5-3-2.

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... John Phan (and Busts)

First to act, Ralph Perry raised to 2,000. John Phan made it 3,000 from the button, and Perry called. After Perry drew 2 and Phan drew 1, Perry check-called Phan’s bet. On the 2^nd draw, Perry took 2 again and, again, Phan took 1. And, yet again, Perry check-called. Both players took 1 on the final draw and Perry led into Phan. Phan called. Perry tabled 8-7-5-4-2 but he was undercut by Phan’s 8-6-5-4-3. This hand dropped Perry to under 30,000 and he would be knocked out by Phan later in the level.

Baxter Swaps Seats To Table’s Delight

The floorperson told the dealer at table no. 4 that she needed the big blind to move over to table no. 2. The person in the big blind of table 4 happened to be none other than Billy Baxter, and his departure was met by jubilation by those players he would be leaving. Chau Giang greeted the decision with a round of applause. Apparently 5 deuce-to-seven bracelets earns you a lot of respect.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   David Sklansky,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Ben Ponzio,   Steve Sung,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Ralph Perry,   European Report

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 12

Jun 23, '08

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

Blinds: 800-1,500

Players Left: 22 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Shun Uchida - 101,000
Jose Luis Velador - 78,000
Gioi Luong - 74,100
David Baker - 70,500
Ray Davis - 67,700
Michael Wattel - 67,000
James Copeland - 62,700
Billy Baxter - 58,000
Chris Vitch - 54,500
Robert Mizrachi - 52,400

Average Stack: 44,100

Eliminations:
Bill Chen
Trung Ly

Big Hands and Storylines:

Trung Is The Bubble Boy... Juuuuust Bare-Ly

Trung Ly was so low on chips that there was no trying to sneak into the money for him. Left with only 1,000 chips, Ly found himself all-in on the 1^st draw. The drama didn’t come until after the 3^rd draw however. Ly declared a jack-low... and so did Claude Cohen. Ly clarified, “Jack-seven,” and again, Cohen had the same. The third card was the deciding one, and Ly’s J-7-6 low was bested by his Cohen’s J-7-5. Ly was eliminated in 25th place.

Ray Ray Ruins Chen Check-Raise Connivance

Ray Davis raised to 3,000 on the button and was called by Bill Chen in the big blind. Chen drew 2 and Davis took 1. Chen then check-called Davis’s bet. On the next draw each player asked for 1 card and, again, Chen check-called a Davis bet. On the final draw Chen drew a single card and Davis stood pat. Chen checked and Davis fired again. Chen sprung into action for the first time in the hand with a raise which was quickly called by Davis. Chen’s check-raise was a bluff however, and his pair of deuces was soundly defeated by Davis’s 8-7-5-4-3.

This would signal the beginning of the end for Chen’s day, as he would be eliminated in 24^th place, just squeaking into the money.

Sklansky Bucks Elimination, Triples Up

David Sklansky raised from early position with a short stack and eventually got his money all-in after the final draw. Both Steve Sung and Greg Raymer folded to Sklansky’s last bet of 2,500, but John Phan made the call. Sklansky showed 9-8-5-4-3 and Phan could only claim a 10-low before folding. That hand boosted him to 24,000 and allowed him to make the money.

Raymer Celebrates a Cash

Greg Raymer has just informed his table that this is his first cash in his past 24 World Series attempts. Congratulations are in order for Greg, but don’t feel too bad for him. After all, not many players have cashed for $5 million in a single World Series event.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Raymond Davis,   Michael Wattel,   Trung Ly,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Claude Cohen,   Greg Raymer,   Bill Chen,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Luis Velador

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 11 Recap

Jun 23, '08

Blinds: 600-1,200

Players Left: 27 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Shun Uchida - 79,200
Gioi Luong - 74,100
Ray Davis - 67,700
Robert Mizrachi – 65,000
Greg Raymer - 64,600
James Copeland - 62,700
Richard Chase - 59,200
Michael Wattel - 57,200
Chris Vitch - 54,500
Jose Luis Velador - 49,400

Average Stack: 44,100

Eliminations:
Antony Lellouche
John Roveto

Big Hands and Storylines:

“Advertise Now, Steal Later”

Those words uttered by Chris Vitch after raising from the small blind and forcing Bill Chen to lay down his hand. Vitch showed a made 8-6. Of course, one wonders if Vitch’s cunning gambit will pay off after letting Chen in on it.

The Table of Death

It appears that one table stands out above all others as one to watch during today’s early preceding. Greg Raymer is seated at a table along with Steve Sung, John Phan, Ralph Perry, David Sklansky, and Jose Luis Velador. Action started off fast as Raymer took a big pot off of Phan early in the first level of the day:

Raymer raised from the hijack and was called by Phan in the big blind. Both players drew 2 cards and Phan checked. Raymer bet and “The Razor” called. Phan drew one card and Raymer stood pat. Phan check-raised Raymer on the next betting round and Raymer called. Both players stood pat on the final draw and Phan check-called Raymer’s bet. Raymer’s no. 3 – 7-6-5-3-2 – was better than Phan’s eight low, and “Fossilman” raked in a sizeable pot. He’s now up to 65,000.

Billy Baxter Doubles Up

Lowball specialist Billy Baxter just doubled through Ray Henson to get back to more respectable 20,000 in chips. This is bad news for the rest of the players at the table. Baxter owns 5 deuce-to-seven bracelets and will be looking to add a 6^th to his collection.

Robert Mizrachi Racing To The Top

Gioi Luong, first to act, raised to 1,200, Mizrachi called in the small blind, James Copeland 3-bet from the big blind, and the other two players called. Mizrachi drew two and the others drew one card. Copeland bet and Mizarachi and Luong called. On the 2^nd draw each player took one card. On this round of betting Mizrachi and Copeland checked to Luong who bet and both players called. On the final draw Mizrachi drew one and the other players stood pat. Mizrachi led out into the two pat players, who both folded. Mizrachi claimed he had a 7-6 and raked in a large pot, taking him to 65,000.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Raymond Davis,   Michael Wattel,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Greg Raymer,   Richard Chase,   James Copeland,   John Roveto,   Billy Baxter,   Luis Velador

John Phan Wins Event No. 40 ($151,896)

Jun 24, '08

John Phan Wins Event No. 40 ($151,896)

After a series of relentless raises and reraises, John Phan made two hands, an 8-low and a 10-low to cripple Shun Uchida to his final five big bets or so. On the final hand, Uchida was in good shape drawing an 8-7, but Phan had drawn the second nuts, 7-6-4-3-2 to take the title.

After years of coming just short, 2008 has been kind to Phan as he took his second bracelet of the series.

Shun Uchida finished in second place, earning $95,795.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw - Heads Up

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 10,000-20,000

Players Left: 2 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 612,000
Shun Uchida - 607,000

Eliminations:  Gioi Luong (3rd Place)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Phan Climbs Up

In just two hands after coming back from dinner break, John Phan climbed to nearly 500,000 by making an 8-6 low against Shun Uchida. With the big bet at 40,000, the chips are flying back and forth.

Gioi Luong Eliminated in Third Place ($61,583)

Gioi Luong raised in the small blind and John Phan reraised in the big blind. Luong called and drew two and Phan stood pat. Phan put Luong all in and Luong called. Then, Luong stood pat, forcing Phan to break his hand. He drew two on the second draw and drew two on the third draw needing a miracle to catch Luong's 8-7-6-5-2. Stunned, Phan stood up and turned over 7-6-5-4-2 to take the pot and eliminate Luong in third place.

Heads Up Play Begins

John Phan - 612,000
Shun Uchida - 607,000

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw - Action Boils Over

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 245,000
Gioi Luong - 200,000
Shun Uchida - 760,000

Eliminations: 

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan and Gioi Luong Explode

It has become increasingly clear that John Phan and Gioi Luong do not like each other. It goes back to an earlier hand where John Phan mistakingly posted his big blind under the gun. Luong lobbied the floor to make his bet stand, despite the fact that the cards had yet to be dealt. The floor ruled in Phan's favor, and Phan accused Luong of angle shooting.

Fast forward to a few hands ago, when it all boiled over. Luong and Uchida were involved in a pot and on the draw, when Luong stopped the dealer after he had discarded, because he had discarded the wrong card. Phan immediately began to shout, "That is not allowed!" over and over until the floor came over. Meanwhile, Luong angrily got into Phan's face, telling him to stay out of it. As it looked like the players were about to get physical, the floor ruled that Luong's discard must remain discarded and Phan got his wish.

The next hand, Luong stayed pat the whole way as he bet and Phan called. After the third draw, Luong announced his hand. Phan refused to believe what Luong was saying and Luong revealed his 7-6-6-4-2 for a pair of sixes. Phan then showed his 9-low to take the pot, telling the rail that Luong was lying about his cards. "He called the wrong hand," said Phan.

Shun Uchida Takes Advantage

With both Luong and Phan on edge, Shun Uchida has quietly amassed a huge chip lead with a series of pots taken down on either after the first or second draw. He now holds more than half of the chips in play.

NOTE: The players then took a 90-minute dinner break.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 150,000
Gioi Luong - 480,000
Shun Uchida - 570,000

Eliminations:  None

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan Rides the Short Stack

After spreading chips around the table, John Phan lost another huge pot to Shun Uchida when both stood pat after the third draw. Uchida opened up a 9-8-5-4-2 to send Phan further down the leader board. After the hand, Uchida and Luong were neck and neck for the chip lead.

Gioi Luong Takes Some More

After Shun Uchida opened up his chip lead, Gioi Luong closed the gap after taking a decent pot from John Phan. Phan made a 9-8 low, but Luong turned over his 9-6 to send the pot his way. After the hand, Phan was left with just over 6 big bets in his stack.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Shunjiro Uchida

$2,500 Triple Draw - Down to Triple

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 3 of 238

Chip Leaders:

Phan - 625,000
Luong - 390,000
Uchida - 215,000

Eliminations:  Robert Mizrachi (4th Place)

Big Hands and Storylines:

John Phan Takes a Monster Lead

After betting the whole way and standing pat on the third draw, John Phan got another bet out of Shun Uchida and took the pot when he showed his 7-6 low. With Phan's relentless aggression, catching cards will make this a speedy final table. After taking a pot off of Robert Mizrachi, Phan is up over 630,000 and both Mizrachi and Uchida are below 100,000.

Gioi Luong Puts Himself Into Second

After making the wheel (7-5-4-3-2) against Robert Mizrachi, Gioi Luong put himself over 400,000 and squarely in second position on the leader board.

Robert Mizrachi Eliminated in Fourth Place ($41,055)

Robert Mizrachi was down to his last 30,000 and got it all in against Gioi Luong. Luong could only manage a 10-6-5-4-2 and it held when Mizrachi drew a jack to go along with his 8-6-4-2. Mizrachi was eliminated in fourth place, finishing just short of his second WSOP bracelet.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   Shunjiro Uchida

$10,000 Omaha 8/b World Championship - Hour Two

Jun 21, '08

Blinds: 8,000-15,000
Stakes: 15,000-30,000

Players Left: 13

Chip Leaders:
David Benyamine: 556,000
Toto Leonidas: 525,000
Tony Ma: 510,000
Chau Giang: 450,000
Mike Matusow: 420,000
Jason Gray: 410,000
David Chiu: 340,000
Greg Jamison: 300,000
Ram Vaswani: 270,000
Danny Dang: 260,000

Eliminations:
Brent Carter Eliminated in 16th Place ($27,612)
Stuart Patterson Eliminated in 15th Place ($33,135)
Pat Pezzin Eliminated in 14th place ($33,135)

Big Hands:

Brent Carter Eliminated in 16th Place ($27,612)
On a flop of A93, Brent carter got it all in with AQ88 against Jason Gray's 9772. carter had the best hand when the money got in with top pair, but Gray had middle pair and a low draw. The turn was the 3 and the river was the 9. Gray made trip nines on the river and that was enough to send Brent Carter home in 16th place ($27,612).

Pat Pezzin Eliminated in 14th place ($33,135)

Short stacked and all in before the flop, Pat Pezzin held KK102 against Shun Uchida's AQ82. The board came J44JA. Pezzin had the best hand going to the flop with pocket kings, but Uchida spiked an ace on the river, trumping Pat Pezzin's kings and sending him home in 14th place 9$33,135).

Player Tags: Shunjiro Uchida,   Brent Carter,   Jason Gray,   Stuart Paterson

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 2 - Level 15 Recap

Jun 16, '08

Blinds: 3,000-6,000

Players Left:  22 of 218

Chip Leaders:
Andy Bloch - 350,000
Michael Mizrachi - 340,000
Brock "t soprano" Parker - 325,000
Aaron Katz - 322,000
Matt Woodward - 295,000
Shunjiro Uchida - 288,000
Jerrod Ankenman - 250,000
Eric Froehlich - 245,000
Tommy Hang – 180,000
J.C. Tran - 175,000
Hoyt Corkins - 170,000
Rob Hollink – 165,000

Average Stack: 198,200

Eliminations:
23^rd – Dewey Tomko
24^th – Greg Debora
25^th – Terrence Chan
26^th – Patrick Bueno

Big Hands and Storylines:

Katz True To His Word

Aaron Katz has been talking constantly about how he has yet to show down a bad hand, and, in a pot against Jerrod Ankenman, he backed up his banter. Ankenman raised from middle position and Katz re-raised on his left to 1,800. Action folded back around to Ankenman who made the call. Ankenman check-raised the AJ3 flop and Katz called. Ankenman bet the J turn and Katz cagily raised, drawing a call from Ankenman. The dealer put out the 3 on the river and Ankenman check-called. Katz tabled AK and took down the pot. Maybe next time someone at the table will respect Katz’s raise. Until then, Katz will be sitting behind a stack of 320,000 chips. Ankenman still has 250,000.

Hanging Around

Andy Bloch raised from the small blind and Tommy Hang in the big blind called. Hang raised Bloch’s bet on the Q52 flop and Bloch called. Action on the turn and river – K and 3 – went check-bet-call, and Hang won the pot with two pair, showing KQ. Hang has now climbed to 180,000 while Bloch, still the chip leader, is down to 350,000

River Dagger Cripples Lawrence

Rob Hollink raised from late position and the only caller was Spencer Lawrence in the big blind. The flop came Q95 and Lawrence bet out. Hollink raised, Lawrence 3-bet, and Hollink just called. The A on the turn was followed by a bet by Lawrence and another call by Hollink. Lawrence bet the river  and the Dutchman raised him. After a minute of thought, Lawrence made the call. Hollink tabled the nuts: JT. After the hand Lawrence was left with only 20,000 while Hollink grew his stack to 165,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   J.C. Tran,   Andy Bloch,   Tommy Hang,   Dewey Tomko,   Michael Mizrachi,   Aaron Katz,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Brock Parker,   Rob Hollink,   Terrence Chan,   Greg DeBora,   Matt Woodward,   Spencer Lawrence,   Eric Froehlich,   Patrick Bueno,   Jerrod Ankenman,   European Report