Darren Nelson Poker Tournament Updates

The Eliminations Continue

Sep 16, '08

Darren Nelson aka DABADESTCHIC, was just eliminated from the tournament via Chi Yoon. Nelson held A-7 but ran into Yoon's pocket aces.

Yoon is the wife of Scott Yoon, who finished in second place in this tournament last year, losing a heads up match with Roy Winston.

Player Tags: Darren Nelson,   Chi Yoon

$2,000 NLH - Tension Is High As Final Table Nears

Jun 28, '08

Players are on a 20 minute break.

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

Players Remaining: 15 of 2,317

Average Stack: 579,250

Chip Counts:
Marco Johnson: 1,500,000
Sverre Sundbo: 775,000
Alexandre Gomes: 750,000
Sergey Rybachenko: 700,000
Ryan D'Angelo: 695,000
Gabe Costner: 670,000
Robert Brewer: 580,000
Alan Cutler: 450,000
Denys Drobyna: 400,000
Arne Mews: 360,000

Eliminations:
16h Place - Dan Martin ($25,301)
17th Place - Darren Nelson ($25,301)
18th Place - Sunny Chattha ($25,301)

Big Hands:

In One Crazy Hand Johnson Busts Chattha in 18th Place ($25,301)

Marco Johnson raised to 51,000 and Sunny Chattha re-raised to 105,000. Johnson thought briefly then moved all in and was called by Chattha. Chattha turned over AK and Johnson sheepishly showed QJ. The flop couldn't have been more exciting- running AKJ, giving Chattha top two pair and Johnson the royal flush draw. The turn kept the tension high, bringing the Q to give Johnson more outs. The river sent the rail into an uproar, coming J to give a visibly shocked Johnson a full house and the biggest pot of the tournament thus far. Chattha had been one of the chipleaders, yet Johnson had him covered and his stack exploded to 1,100,000 after the win, making him the new chip leader. While raking in his new chips Johnson took several deep breaths to calm down.

Tempers Are Flaring, Martin Eliminated in 16th Place ($25,301)

There's so much drama when there's thousands of dollars on the line. Daniel Rome put in a raise only to have Dan Martin move all in. Kenneth Shelton was next to act and he tanked, counting his chips, slapping himself while trying to figure out what to do. Eventually somebody called for a clock and Shelton was given one minute to decide. He vocalized that he didn't like the fact that Rome was in the pot. As his minute was expiring he said "fold" and angrily launched his cards across the table at Rome. His exposed hand was 1010. Rome still hadn't acted after Martin's all in, so the floorman gave Shelton a warning for his actions. Rome didn't seem fazed and announced he called Martin's all in, tabling AK. Shelton could be heard angrily saying, "I knew that's what he had." Martin showed J9.
The flop came 852. To rub salt in Shelton's wound, the turn was the 10, which would've given him top set had he called. The river was the 6 and Rome took a nice pot while Martin quietly exited in 16th place.

Nelson Gone in 17th Place ($25,301)

Facing a 50,000 raise from Gabe Costner, Darren Nelson moved all in for 120,000 and was called. Costner had AQ and Nelson showed Q9. The board ran 876, giving a straight draw to Nelson, but finished with the 4 and 2 and Nelson was gone in 17th place.

Rome Doubles

Facing a raise from Ryan D'Angelo, Daniel Rome moved all in and Angelo made the call. Rome showed 1010 and D'Angelo showed A4. The board ran J765K and Rome's 10s held, doubling him to around 300,000.

Player Tags: Darren Nelson,   Ryan D'Angelo,   Marco Johnson,   Dan Martin,   Sunny Chattha,   Kenneth Shelton

$2,000 NLH - Level 16

Jun 28, '08

Note: Players are now on a 20 minute break. Play will resume at around 9:35 p.m.

Blinds: 4,000-8,000 with a 1,000 ante

Players Remaining: 44 of 2,317

Average Stack: 210,636

Chip Counts:
Sergey Rybachenko: 600,000
Sverre Sundbo: 590,000
Eric Crain: 540,000
Dan Rome: 480,000
Feming Chan: 470,000
Sunny Chattha: 414,000
Adam Katz: 380,000
Gabe Costner: 320,000
Alexandre Gomes: 300,000
Blake Cahail: 277,000

Big Hands:

Nelson Doubles With Jacks

After Van Dung Nguyen put in a raise in middle position Darren Nelson moved all in from the small blind. Nguyen thought for a few minutes and finally uttered the word, "call." He flipped up AK and was up against Nelson's JJ. The board ran 733Q and Leson doubled up to around 380,000.
A few hands later the player in seat 7 put in a raise to 21,000 and Nelson re-raised to 96,000 total. Action folded to seat 7 who looked sick. He took his time thinking it over, staring at Nelson occasionally, which made Nelson laugh quietly to himself a few times. Seat 7 eventually mucked and Nelson added more than 40,000 to his stack uncontested.

Climbing Back, Nguyen Doubles

A few hands later a freshly short-stacked Nguyen pushed his remaining 65,000 all in and was called by the player in seat 2. Nguyen showed J10 but was trailing his opponent's KQ. However, the board ran A326A to give Nguyen the pot, doubling him up to around 145,000.

Three Outs, No Problem

Marco Johnson raised to 26,000 from the small blind and Ibuki Fukui moved all in for 70,000 total. Johnson called and saw that his K10 was way ahead of Fukui's K3. The board ran A62J and Fukui had just three 3s in the deck he could catch to win the pot. Well, the 3 hit on the river and Fukui doubled up to around 160,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Darren Nelson,   Marco Johnson

No Limit Hold'em - Level 10

Jun 04, '08

Blinds: 600/1200 with 100 ante

Players Left: 154 of 1592

Average Stack: 41,351

Big Hands:

Darren Applies Full-Nelson Squeeze

Darren Nelson chipped up after a monster flop. In a battle of the blinds Nelson limped with Q8 from the small blind, before his opponent raised to 5,000. Nelson made the call and the flop came down J109. Both players checked the flop, then on the turn the A fell. The chips all moved to the center and the big blind revealed AJ for top two pair. The 5 on the river allowed Nelson to rake in an 88,000 pot.

Georato Trims the Field

Play tightened up considerably as players became aware that a money finish was only a couple eliminations away. But when you're dealt a hand, you play it. With an all-in raise from middle position for 9,500, Rob Georato looked down in the small blind to find AA. His call was up against JJ, and the board of 97433 changed nothing.

Calzadillas Rakes in Pot

Pocket Jacks were responsible for both of the final two eliminations. Mark Calzadillas faced a raise to 4,200 while in the cut-off and made the call with AQ. The flop came Q44, and when his opponenet checked, Calzadillas feigned weakness by checking as well. The 7 on the turn brought a 9,000 bet from his opponent, at which point Calzadillas moved all-in. His opponent hesitated, but pushed in his remaining 23,000 in chips and revealed JJ. Down to two outs, he missed when the 8 came on the river and Calzadillas scooped the pot.

Phan, Tran Trade Chips

John Phan and J.C. Tran have been battling at the same table and were almost involved in a big three-way pot when the big blind bet 12,500 all-in. Phan deliberated knowing Tran was yet to act behind him, before he reraised to 22,500. Tran folded, then Phan showed AA. The all-in laid out AQ, and the board came down KJ1085, giving Phan the nut flush.

 

Player Tags: John Phan,   J.C. Tran,   Tran Lua,   Darren Nelson,   Mark Calzadillas

2,000 NLHE - Day 2 - Level 17

Jun 05, '08

Blinds: 5000/10000 with a 1000 ante

Players left: 17 of 1592

Average Stack: 374,5888

Eliminations: Kai Danilo Paulsen, John Phan, Phil Seigel, Shawn Hattem, Richard Monroe, Keith Carter.

Storylines: The tournament is down to two tables, 17 players, and will continue until just nine remain. Theo Tran, Shannon Shorr and Manny Minaya are the current chip leaders with about 700,000 each.

Big Hands:

Shorr Wins Mental Showdown

Shortly after being condensed to two tables, a showdown developed between chip leaders Theo Tran, who began the hand with over 1,000,000 in chips, and Shorr who had 800,000. Tran raised preflop to 28,000 and drew a call from Shorr. The flop came K65, and after Tran checked, Shorr bet 39,000. The 2 on the turn brought another Tran check, and Shorr stepped out for 77,000. Again Tran elected to make the call. The 9 on the river brought a third Tran check, and Shorr pushed out 181,000 in chips. Tran tanked, twice he reached for chips and seemed on the verge of calling, but in the end he made a reluctant laydown.

Tran Busts Carter

Theo Tran had earlier added to his chip stack when he made a 164,000 call of Keith Carter's all-in from the button. Tran showed AQ while Carter held A10. Both players hit the flop of AJ3, but Carter didn't get the help he needed from the 7 on the turn or the J on the river. Carter finished in 18th place.

Minaya Hits Lucky 7s

Manny Minaya made a 23,000 call from the button, after Carter Gill raised. Richard Monroe called from the small blind, and the flop came down KK7. It was checked to Minaya who bet 50,000, before Monroe check-raised to 150,000. Gill folded, and Minaya declared "all-in", and Monroe called his remaining 270,000. Minaya triumphantly showed 77 for the flopped full house, while Monroe held KQ. He failed to get any held from the 3 on the turn or the 6 on the river.

J.C. Tran Still Alive

Darren Nelson raised to 30,000 and J.C. Tran made the call from the button, leaving himself with just 56,000 in chips. The flop came 1064 and Nelson checked, which allowed Tran to push all-in. Nelson folded while Tran showed the 10 for top pair.


Payouts for the $2,000 NL hold'em event can be found at the link given below:

www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/payout/14405

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Manelic Minaya,   Theo Tran,   Darren Nelson

No Limit Hold'em - Level 10

Jun 04, '08

Blinds: 600/1200 with 100 ante

Players Left: 154 of 1592

Average Stack: 41,351

Big Hands:

Darren Applies Full-Nelson Squeeze

Darren Nelson chipped up after a monster flop. In a battle of the blinds Nelson limped with Q8 from the small blind, before his opponent raised to 5,000. Nelson made the call and the flop came down J109. Both players checked the flop, then on the turn the A fell. The chips all moved to the center and the big blind revealed AJ for top two pair. The 5 on the river allowed Nelson to rake in an 88,000 pot.

Georato Trims the Field

Play tightened up considerably as players became aware that a money finish was only a couple eliminations away. But when you're dealt a hand, you play it. With an all-in raise from middle position for 9,500, Rob Georato looked down in the small blind to find AA. His call was up against JJ, and the board of 97433 changed nothing.

Calzadillas Rakes in Pot

Pocket Jacks were responsible for both of the final two eliminations. Mark Calzadillas faced a raise to 4,200 while in the cut-off and made the call with AQ. The flop came Q44, and when his opponenet checked, Calzadillas feigned weakness by checking as well. The 7 on the turn brought a 9,000 bet from his opponent, at which point Calzadillas moved all-in. His opponent hesitated, but pushed in his remaining 23,000 in chips and revealed JJ. Down to two outs, he missed when the 8 came on the river and Calzadillas scooped the pot.

Phan, Tran Trade Chips

John Phan and J.C. Tran have been battling at the same table and were almost involved in a big three-way pot when the big blind bet 12,500 all-in. Phan deliberated knowing Tran was yet to act behind him, before he reraised to 22,500. Tran folded, then Phan showed AA. The all-in laid out AQ, and the board came down KJ1085, giving Phan the nut flush.

 

Player Tags: John Phan,   J.C. Tran,   Tran Lua,   Darren Nelson,   Mark Calzadillas

2,000 NLHE - Day 2 - Level 17

Jun 05, '08

Blinds: 5000/10000 with a 1000 ante

Players left: 17 of 1592

Average Stack: 374,5888

Eliminations: Kai Danilo Paulsen, John Phan, Phil Seigel, Shawn Hattem, Richard Monroe, Keith Carter.

Storylines: The tournament is down to two tables, 17 players, and will continue until just nine remain. Theo Tran, Shannon Shorr and Manny Minaya are the current chip leaders with about 700,000 each.

Big Hands:

Shorr Wins Mental Showdown

Shortly after being condensed to two tables, a showdown developed between chip leaders Theo Tran, who began the hand with over 1,000,000 in chips, and Shorr who had 800,000. Tran raised preflop to 28,000 and drew a call from Shorr. The flop came K65, and after Tran checked, Shorr bet 39,000. The 2 on the turn brought another Tran check, and Shorr stepped out for 77,000. Again Tran elected to make the call. The 9 on the river brought a third Tran check, and Shorr pushed out 181,000 in chips. Tran tanked, twice he reached for chips and seemed on the verge of calling, but in the end he made a reluctant laydown.

Tran Busts Carter

Theo Tran had earlier added to his chip stack when he made a 164,000 call of Keith Carter's all-in from the button. Tran showed AQ while Carter held A10. Both players hit the flop of AJ3, but Carter didn't get the help he needed from the 7 on the turn or the J on the river. Carter finished in 18th place.

Minaya Hits Lucky 7s

Manny Minaya made a 23,000 call from the button, after Carter Gill raised. Richard Monroe called from the small blind, and the flop came down KK7. It was checked to Minaya who bet 50,000, before Monroe check-raised to 150,000. Gill folded, and Minaya declared "all-in", and Monroe called his remaining 270,000. Minaya triumphantly showed 77 for the flopped full house, while Monroe held KQ. He failed to get any held from the 3 on the turn or the 6 on the river.

J.C. Tran Still Alive

Darren Nelson raised to 30,000 and J.C. Tran made the call from the button, leaving himself with just 56,000 in chips. The flop came 1064 and Nelson checked, which allowed Tran to push all-in. Nelson folded while Tran showed the 10 for top pair.


Payouts for the $2,000 NL hold'em event can be found at the link given below:

www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/payout/14405

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Manelic Minaya,   Theo Tran,   Darren Nelson