Dan Harmetz Poker Tournament Updates

End of Day 2: 10 Remain; Final Table Still NOT Set

Jun 12, '09

Play has ended for the night as Day 2 of the $10,000 World Championship of No-Limit 2-7 Draw has come to an end. The seven-handed final table has yet to be reached, and the remaining 10 players will come back tomorrow at 2:00 pm PDT to play down to a winner. Vince Musso leads the way with 765,500 in chips as he guns for his first gold bracelet, falling just shy in 1979 when he finished third to Bobby Baldwin in this event.

Be sure to check back with CardPlayer.com for all of the action, live as it unfolds from this marquee event.

Blinds: 5,000-10,000 with a 3,000 ante

Players Remaining: 10 out of 96

Chip Counts:

1. Vince Musso — 765,500
2. Ville Wahlbeck — 487,000
3. John Juanda — 387,000
4. Nick Schulman — 300,000
5. Archie Karas — 264,500
6. Steve Sung — 212,500
7. David Benyamine — 139,000
8. Justin Smith — 122,500
9. Michael Binger — 108,000
10. Roland de Wolfe — 102,000

Average Chip Count: 288,000

Notable Eliminations:

13. Dan Harmetz — $17,885
12. Max Pescatori — $17,885
11. Hertzel Zalewski — $19,871

Big Hands:

Dan Harmetz Eliminated in 13th Place ($17,885)

Michael Binger raises to 18,000 from under the gun, Dan Harmetz moves all in for 47,000 and Binger calls.

Harmetz draws one card while Binger stands pat.

Harmetz draws to a 10-8-5-4-2 while Binger shows a 10-6-5-4-3. Binger rakes the pot and Dan Harmetz is eliminated in 13th place ($17,885).

Michael Binger Doubles Through Archie Karas

With the blinds and antes rapidly rising, so too is the standard opening bet as illustrated by Michael Binger who moves all in before the draw for just under 100,000 in chips. Archie Karas calls and has him covered.

Both players draw one card each.

Binger draws to a ten-low as Karas pairs deuces. Binger rakes the pot, doubling up to just over 200,000 in chips.

Max Pescatori Eliminated in 12th Place ($17,885)

Max Pescatori moves all in for 42,000 from under the gun and Hertzel Zalewski calls from the big blind.

Pescatori draws one card as Zalewski stands pat.

Pescatori draws to a 9-7-6-4-3 low, but Zalewski turns over the winner with an 8-6 low (8-6-5-3-2). Zalewski rakes the pot as Max Pescatori is eliminated in 12th place ($17,885).

Hertzel Zalewski Eliminated in 11th Place ($19,871)

John Juanda raises to 30,000 before the draw, Hertzel Zalewski moves all in from the button for 86,500 and Juanda calls.

Zalewski draws one card as Juanda stands pat.

Juanda shows 10-8-7-6-4 while Zalewski pairs sevens on the draw. Juanda rakes the pot and Hertzel Zalewski is eliminated in 11th place ($19,871), just moments before the closing bell.

Left in the Deck

As the final minutes of Level 18 were winding down, there was much discussion amongst the players and the tournament staff as to how the night should end. It was ultimately decided that the players would take a short five-minute break at the completion of Level 18 and then come back and play until 3:00 am PDT, regardless of how many players would remain and/or how much time was left in Level 19.

Player Tags: Herezel Zalewski,   Max Pescatori,   Michael Binger,   Dan Harmetz

Level 17 Update: Jason Gray Eliminated in 14th Place ($17,885)

Jun 12, '09

Blinds: 3,000-6,000 with a 1,500 ante

Players Remaining: 13 out of 96

Chip Counts:

1. Vince Musso — 480,000
2. Ville Wahlbeck — 360,000
3. Nick Schulman — 310,000
4. Roland de Wolfe — 300,000
5. John Juanda — 247,000
6. Steve Sung — 240,000
7. Michael Binger — 180,000
8. Justin Smith — 160,000
9. Max Pescatori — 150,000
10. David Benyamine — 140,000

Average Chip Count: 221,538

Notable Eliminations:

14. Jason Gray — $17,885

Big Hands:

Jason Gray Eliminated in 14th Place ($17,885)

Steve Sung raises to 16,000 before the draw, Nick Schulman calls and Jason Gray calls all in for 12,000.

Sung and Schulman both draw one card each as Gray draws two.

Sung bets 20,000 at the side pot and Schulman folds. Sung shows a 9-8 low, besting Gray’s 10-8. Sung rakes the pot as Jason Gray is eliminated in 14th place ($17,885).

Pescatori vs. Harmetz

Pescatori Doubles Through Harmetz

Max Pescatori raises to 17,500 from the cutoff and Dan Harmetz moves all in from the big blind. Pescatori calls all in for a total of 87,000, Harmetz has him covered.

Harmetz draws one card while Pescatori stands pat.

Pescatori turns over 109832 while Harmetz shows 8762 with one card to go. Harmetz turns over the K and Pescatori rakes the pot. Pescatori doubles up to 200,000 this hand while Harmetz is left with just 25,000 in chips.

Harmetz Doubles Through Pescatori

A few hands later and Harmetz gets some of those chips back by taking his turn to double through Pescatori.

Pescatori raises to 13,000 from under the gun, Harmetz moves all in from the cutoff and Pescatori calls.

Both players stand pat as Harmetz turns over 9-8-5-3-2 and rakes the pot. Harmetz doubles up to 70,000 this hand while Pescatori takes a slight hit down to 155,000.

Player Tags: Max Pescatori,   Jason Gray,   Steve Sung,   Nick Schulman,   Dan Harmetz

$1,500 No-Limit Hold'em - Day 2 - Level 18 Recap

Jul 01, '08

Blinds: 6,000-12,000

Players Left:   20 of 2,693

Chip Leaders:
Dan Heimiller – 1,100,000
Andrey Zaichenko - 750,000
Matthew Matros - 712,000
Farzad Rouhani - 600,000
Scott Sitron - 570,000
Richard Kirsch - 490,000
Cody Slaubaugh - 475,000
Elliot Smith - 380,000
Voitto Rintala - 310,000
Corwin Cole - 282,000

Average Stack: 403,950

Eliminations:
21^st – Martin Cardno
22^nd – Paulo Nunes
23^rd – Joe Neiman
24^th – Dan Harmetz
25^th – Mimi Tran
26^th – Anders Fraulund
27^th – Andrew Garvin

Big Hands and Storylines:

Heimiller Time

Dan Heimiller raised to 40,000 in late position and action folded around to Andrew Garvin in the blinds. Garvin moved all-in for about 180,000. Heimiller insta-called and flipped up AA. Garvin showed 99. The board came 10758K and Garvin was eliminated. Heimiller grew his stack to an even more impressive 1,100,000.

Biggar is Better; Mimi Tran Eliminated

Gary Biggar and Mimi Tran, both short-stacked, got all-in pre-flop. Biggar had Tran dominated with his AQ going against her KQ. The flop came 1044 and the turn was the 6. Going to the river, Tran had only 3 outs, and when the 4 peeled off, her tournament was over. After winning the hand Biggar was up to 175,000.

Set Over Set Propels Rouhani

Farzad Rouhani raised to 36,000 from early position and Andriy Zaichenko made the call from the cutoff. The two saw a flop of 985. Rouhani led out for 32,000 and Zaichenko raised to 100,000. Undeterred by this show of strength, Rouhani moved all-in and was snap-called by Zaichenko. The two turned over their hands:

Rouhani: 99
Zaichenko: 55

Zaichenko did not make quads and he took a big hit, now at 750,000. Rouhani’s double up gives him 600,000.

Player Tags: Farzad Rouhani,   Mimi Tran,   Richard Kirsch,   Andrew Garvin,   Dan Harmetz,   Cody Slaubaugh,   Voitto Rintala,   Scott Sitron,   Martin Cardno,   Andrey Zaichenko,   Elliot Smith,   Corwin Cole,   Anders Fraulund

Level 23 and 24 - Razz and Stud

Jun 25, '07

RAZZ

Table 41

In addition to housing to last year's champion, Chip Reese, and the chip leader , Eli Elezra, table 41 has seen a veritable whose who of big-name pros come and go.  When Carlos Mortonsen busted, Darrell Dicken replaced him.  David Grey took the former seat of Chad Brown.  This table seems unstoppable, but with tables breaking at an increasingly quick pace, this table is next in line.  When it goes it will unleash some of the toughest in the game onto the other tables.

Farnood Busted By Trips

Doyle Brunson eliminated Sherkhan Farnood during the razz level.  Amazingly, Doyle held trip aces in his hand, but also had a jack-high low that was good enough to win the pot and send Farnood to the rail.

Dan Harmetz  and T.J. Cloutier were also eliminated during the razz level.

STUD

Zolotow's Favorite: Position

Steve Zolotow was on a shorter than average stack when he announced that he was merely trying to survive through the seven card stud games, so that he could use the button and the positional advantage it offers.

Fade To Grey

A short stacked David Grey was battling for his tournament life at the treacherous table 41.  He got the last of his chips is after three cards against Chip Reese, who was showing a 10 with (J 8 )J. Unfortunately for Grey, Reese held (Q Q) in the hole and called his all-in.  Grey did not improve and Reese sent him to the rail.

Only 96 players remain in the event. With payouts beginning at 16th place, the money is still a ways off. But with such an incredible field, the mix of games and the amazing amount of money on the line, this is already one of the most  entertaining  and interesting events of the year. Make sure to catch all the action every hour here at Cardplayer.com.

Daniel Negreanu	180,000
Max Pescatori	158,000
Greg Raymer	158,000
Chris Ferguson	148,000
John Hennigan	145,000
Isabelle Mercier	120,000
Todd Brunson	85,000
Howard Lederer	55,000

Player Tags: T.J. Cloutier,   David Reese,   Steve Zolotow,   Doyle Brunson,   Eli Elezra,   David Grey,   Sherkhan Farnood,   Darrell Dicken,   Dan Harmetz

Down to Ten

Jun 21, '07

There are only ten players remaining in day two of event #33, $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha w/rebuys. The players have redrawn and are down to a single table with only one elimination remaining before the day is over.

The following players have been eliminated in the following order:

16th Place - Brad Berman ($17,685)
15th Place - Michael Binger ($19,320)
14th Place - Jorge Arias ($19,320)
13th Place - Daniel Harmetz ($19,320)
12th Place - Ralph Perry ($21,054)
11th Place - Len Ashby ($21,054)

Micheal Binger was eliminated after going all in preflop against Erick Lindgren. Three hearts peeled off on the board and Binger's two pair of jacks and twos was dominated by Lindgren's king high flush.

Len Ashby was eliminated in a three way all in hand involving Erick Lindgren and Chris Bjorn. Lindgren had A A Q 9, Bjorn was holding A J 9 2 and Len Ashby pushed with Q J 10 5. The board came down Q 8 6 10 6 and Bjorn picked up the pot with a straight. Ashby was eliminated in 11th place and Lindgren took a big chunk out of his stack.

The ten remaining players are going to play until there is one more elimination and the final table is established. Check back with CardPlayer.com to see who makes it.

Player Tags: Chris Bjorin,   Erick Lindgren,   Bradley Berman,   Jorge Arias,   Michael Binger,   Len Ashby,   Dan Harmetz,   Ralph Perry

Early Eliminations and Leaders

Jun 11, '07

After only the first two levels, a number of pros have been eliminated from the $2,500 No-Limit event.  Jaime Gold was down to $200 late in the first level and doubled up to survive. Despite his efforts, he did eventually bust this level. Eric Lynch was all in with A Q against the Q Q of an opponent. Although he picked up a straight draw on the turn, Lynch did not improve and was eliminated. 

Isabelle Mercier got involved in an interesting hand.  She raised $550 preflop from late position and got one caller.  The flop brought the J 4 4. After her opponent checked, Mercier bet out $1,200.  He called, and the A fell on the turn.  Both players checked and the 8 came on the river. After her opponent checked again, Mercier pushed her last $2,775 into the middle. After a moments thought, her opponent called with the A 2.  Mercier revealed the K 8, for a bluff with king high, and she was sent to the rail. 

Dan Harmetz, Mark Seif and Mike Matusow have not busted, but rather are off to very strong starts.  Matusow rolled his chip stack up to around $12,000, while Harmetz already has more than $16,000.  Seif had an opponent all in preflop with 10 10 against K-J. When the board bricked off, Seif increased his stack to around $14,000. Though there is still a lot of action to come,  these early leaders have to feel good about their pace coming out of the gate.

Make sure to check back for more hourly updates and Pro Blogs here at Cardplayer.com.

Player Tags: Mark Seif,   Mike Matusow,   Isabelle Mercier,   Jamie Gold,   Eric Lynch,   Dan Harmetz