Bradley Berman Poker Tournament Updates

Level 1 Hour 2 Update: Tran And Ivey Get It Going

Jul 06, '09

Blinds: 50-100

Chip Counts:

1. Dennis Peyton – 64,000
2. Josh Arieh – 56,000
3. David Benefield – 42,400
4. Dutch Boyd – 42,250
5. Phil Ivey – 42,000
6. John Kellman – 41,000
7. Paul Snead – 41,000
8. Cecilia Nordstrom – 40,500
9. Cliff Josephy – 40,000
10. Daniel Alaei – 40,000

Card Player Chip Counts:

Jeff Shulman – 30,000
Shawn Patrick Green – 12,300

Spade Club Chip Counts:

Harry Robertson – 30,000
Patrick Snipper – 31,700
Raymond Webb – 30,000
Jeff Miller – 25,000
George Ali – 32,400

Notable Eliminations:

Dario Minieri

Big Hands:

Ivey Makes Trips, Gets Paid

On the river, the first player checked and another player bet 1,250 with the final board reading A6946. He was met with a raise from Phil Ivey, who made it 4,000.

The first player got out of the way and after a minute or so of contemplation, the original bettor made the call. Ivey rolled over the K6, making trips on the river and increasing his stack early.

Salley Stumbles a Bit Early

John Salley called a raise preflop as did several other players. The flop was K710 and the small blind led out for 500. Salley called and so did the player on the button. The turn was the 8 and all three players checked.

The river was the K and the small blind bet 1,650. Salley called pretty quickly and the player on the button got out of the way. The small blind turned over K3 and Salley double checked his cards a couple time before releasing his hand into the muck.

Tran Gives The Table a Sneak Peek

J.C. Tran bet 525 on a flop of A109 when all the players checked to him. The player in the big blind called and the 10 fell on the turn.

The big blind checked and Tran bet 1,300. The big blind eventually folded and Tran allowed the big blind to pick which card he wanted to see. The big blind picked the right card as Tran showed him a 10.

Brad Berman Tripped Up

Five players limped preflop and the flop came down AJQ. Action was checked to seat 4 who fired 500 and only Brad Berman made the call from the small blind. The turn was the 6 and both players checked. The river was the Q and seat 4 bet 1,000 after Berman checked. Berman called and seat 4 showed KQ for trips and the pot. Berman was at 27,750.

You’re Still A Young Man

On a flop of KQ8, the player seat 2 bet 500 and Ryan Young raised to 1,500. Seat 2 called and the turn was the 2. Seat 2 checked to Young who fired 5,000. Seat 2 called and the river was the 9.

Both players checked and seat 2 tabled QQ for a flopped set. Young mucked and was down to 43,000.

Elky Gets Turned Out

The player in seat 4 raised to 350 and seat 6 made the call. Bertrand Grospellier made the call as well from late position and the three players saw a flop of K93. Everyone checked and the A came on the turn. Seat 4 led out with 700 and seat 6 mucked. Grospellier made the call and the Q fell on the river. Both players checked again and seat 4 tabled AJ for top pair and Grospellier mucked. He was at 28,000 after losing the hand.

Game Over For Super Dario

Dario Minieri was all in after a flop of 1074. Here were their cards.

Minieri: Q10
Opponent: 96

Minieri had top pair but needed to dodge his opponent’s flush draw. The turn smacked Minieri as it was the J, making his opponent’s flush. Minieri still had outs as another diamond that wasn’t the 8 would make him a superior flush. But the river was the J and Minieri made an early exit from the 2009 main event.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Phil Ivey,   Bradley Berman,   Ryan Young,   Dario Minieri,   Bertrand Grospellier

Joe Sebok Eliminated by Bradley Berman

Nov 05, '08

Joe Sebok's trips just ran into Brad Berman's full house. Sebok was eliminated just before the day ended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Bradley Berman,   Joe Sebok

No Limit Hold 'Em Day 1 b - Level 4 Hellmuth Out

Jun 01, '08

 

Blinds: 100-200 ante 25

Day B Players Remaining: 820

Chip Leaders:

Robert Kadlec: 23,500
Carlos Mortensen: 19,800
Vivek Rajkumar: 19,500
Daniel Alaei: 19,000
Kenny Tran: 17,000
Bryan Micon: 15,500
Kevin Hart: 14,000
Barry Greenstein: 13,500
Mark Vos: 14,000
Erica Schoenberg: 13,000

Eliminations: Mekhi Phifer, Phil Hellmuth

Big Hands:

Berman Predicts Future

On a board of K95, Berman bet 250, seat 1 raised 500 more, and Berman repopped all in for 3250. Seat 1 tanked for a couple of minutes before calling with KQ. Berman was far behind with 98, but the turn brought immediate relief with the 9, and the 8 on the river secured his survival. The double up brought his stack up to almost 7,000.

Harman Hanging Tough

On a board of K103, Harman bet 1,000 into a 1,900 pot and received no callers. Her stack increased to 5,500.

Tran, Black, Sebok Double Up

Kenny Tran, who had limped in first position, fired a pot-sized bet of 900 after a flop of J109, drawing a call from the small blind. A black king on the turn brought a potential one-card straight, momentarily halting the action. After a river of 10, the small blind checked, Tran bet 3,000, and the small blind raised all in. Tran snap called with the 910 for a tens full house, while his opponent gingerly turned over the A2 for the ace high flush. With that hand Tran doubled up to more than 15,000 in chips.

Andy Black moved all in preflop with AQ and was called by a player with A8. A flop of JJ3 increased the likelihood of a split pot , but the 7 on the turn and the K on the river gave Black the win and a much-needed double up. He now stands at 5,200 in chips.

Sebok's pocket queens survived against his oppenent's pocket fours, giving him more than 4,000 in chips.

Revenge of the Pros

Hellmuth, inquiring about the Pot Limit Hold 'Em Event he declined to participate in, was surprised to learn that so many pros had made the final table. "I guess it's revenge of the pros," he said, explaining that he hated missing such a high-profile event but that "some things are more important": he had been attending a wedding. Hellmuth would bust from the tournament just a few hands later.

Tran Pulls Off Gutsy Bluff

On a flop of 632, Tran bet 700, drawing a call by Jared Banks behind him in seat 10. The turn came off the Q and Tran continued with 1,600. Banks considered, then raised to 4,000. Tran put in a third raise and Banks mucked instantly. Tran then turned over 84 for nothing more than a gut-shot straight draw. Banks stormed off. Kenny grinned.

Binger Takes Chips From Watkinson

Michael Binger raised to 550 preflop and was called by Lee Watkinson. Binger led out for 675 on a board of 7 4 3, Watkinson raised to 2,500, and Binger instantly moved in, causing Watkinson to fold and leaving him under 3,000. Binger's stack ballooned to more than 12k.

 

 

Player Tags: Lee Watkinson,   Phil Hellmuth,   Jennifer Harman,   Kenny Tran,   Bradley Berman,   Michael Binger

Pot-Limit Hold'em - Only Two More Levels To Go

May 30, '08

Note: The players are now on a 15-minute break

Blinds/Antes: 600-1,200

Players left: 114 of 352

Average Stack: 62,000

Chip Leaders:

Anthony Licastro - 240,000
Vivek Rajkumar - 180,000
Keith Lehr Jr - 160,000
Marco Johnson - 148,000
Emad Tahtouh - 134,000
Alexander Kostritsyn - 132,000
Shawn Keller - 120,000
Raphael Zimmerman - 110,000
Grant Lang - 110,000
Phil Laak - 106,000

Eliminations:

Alan “The Usher” Sass
Brad Berman
David Chiu
Gavin Griffin

Big Hands:

Sigh Duck: Set No Good

On a board of KJ5Q9, Eli Elezra checked to Vivek “psyduck” Rajkumar.  Rajkumar thought for a minute before inquiring, “Is a set any good?” and betting 8,000 into the pot of about 12,000.  Elezra thought only momentarily before calling and turning over JT.  Vivek, true to his word, showed QQ for a set of queens and mucked.  Elezra was boosted to 90,000.  Rajkumar's setback proved to be only temporary, as he fought back to regain a big stack (180,000).

Grundy wins blind vs. blind battle

With a board of QK5J5, Ben Grundy reluctantly called a bet of 15,000. As soon as his chips hit the felt the small blind mucked his hand. Grundy scooped up the pot and increased his chip stack to roughly 135,000.

Ryan Young fails to entice bet

From the big blind Ryan Young check-called a bet of 5,700 on a flop of 633 After the 9 came on the turn, Young checked and then called a 15,000 bet. The river was the 4 and Young again bet. This time is opponent checked and Young sheepishly flipped over pocket 3s.

Sprengers springs a trap

Ben Sprengers of Florida made a major leap forward in a span of three hands. Playing from late position, Sprengers raised to 4,000 and was called by the button. On a dangerous flop of AK9 Sprengers fired out a bet of $17,000. He was called, which resulted in Sprengers checking the turn when the 8 struck. The button also checked. The river brought the 10, and Sprengers fired out a bet of 32,000. The button called. Sprengers rolled over the T8 for running two pair, while the button revealed the KQ.
Two hands later, Sprengers increased his stack to 125,000 when his pocket kings busted a short-stacked opponent.

Benyamine cashes in

David Benyamine increased his stack to 128,000 when his pocket aces crippled an opponent with pocket kings. The double-paired board of J85J8 didn’t scare either player.

Newhouse rakes a pot

John Juanda raised to 3,800 from middle position. A player in late position called and Mark “Newhizzle” Newhouse came along from the big blind.  On a flop of K93, Newhouse checked to Juanda, who bet 7,200, the late position player folded and Newhouse called. After a 5 came on the turn, Newhouse check-called a 14,600 bet.  Both players checked the river and Newhouse took down the pot with KQ.

Haxton gets the better of Saul

On a board of KQ274, Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul checked to Isaac “Ike” Haxton who bet the remainder of his stack – 17,000 – into a pot of 30,000.  Saul thought for a few moments before calling, only to muck quickly after Haxton flipped KT for top pair. The hand strengthened Haxton to 65,000 and dropped Saul to 84,000.

Player Tags: John Juanda,   Phil Laak,   David Benyamine,   Eli Elezra,   David Chiu,   Gavin Griffin,   Bradley Berman,   Shawn Keller,   Grant Lang,   Anthony Licastro,   Ben Sprengers,   Raphael Zimmerman,   Ryan Young,   Kevin Saul,   Ben Grundy,   Keith Lehr,   Mark Newhouse,   Alan Sass,   V R,   Marco Johnson,   Emad Tahtouh,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   European Report

Hour Three Update

Jul 02, '07

More Notables
Mike Gracz, Bradly Berman, Ali Eslami and Alex Kravchenko

Berman Busted
Limit Omaha.  Blinds are $400-$800, Ray Davis raises, Berman 3-bets, it is folded back to Davis and he caps, putting Berman all in.  Berman makes the call and shows down A752, while Davis tables AA9J.  The board comes 99710J, giving Davis the high and the pot.  There are currently 12 tables remaining.

Another Three Day Event
Another example of very poor planning by the WSOP this is a scheduled two day event that will surely go three days.  This has consistently happened this year, and maybe just maybe we can lean something from the pattern.

Player Tags: Raymond Davis,   Bradley Berman

Level 13 Recap

Jul 01, '07

Play continued at a furious pace in the 13th level and the field is down to 100. Notable eliminations in the last round include Chad Brown, Mike Gracz and 2006 Senior Event Champion Paul McKinney.

Gracz was eliminated shortly after losing a race for half his stack. Gracz raised to $12,000 preflop and the player in the seven seat reraises all in for $23,000. Gracz called and turned over A 10. The player in seat seven was ahead with Q Q. The flop came Q J 7 and Gracz was even further behind but picked up a gut shot straight draw. The turn brought the K and Gracz looked relieved. The player in seat seven pleaded for the dealer to pair the board and the river did just that, bringing the J. Gracz lost to his opponent's full house and was down to under $30,000 after the hand. Gracz was eliminated a few hands later.

Chad Brown was sent to the rail in the last level as well. Brown was all in with A K up against his opponent's A Q. A queen hit on the flop and Brown couldn't catch on the turn or the river.

Getting your aces cracked seems to be a common theme in this event and it happened to both Brad Berman and Shaun Deeb in seperate hands. Deeb bet out and was reraised all in by Jesse Martin who had about $40,000 behind him. Deeb had Martin well covered and instantly made the call showing A A. Martin realized he chose a bad time to push and showed 8 8. The flop came Q 8 5 and Martin was silent with two cards to come. Deeb simply shook his head and started counting out the right amount of chips to pay off Martin. The turn was the 3 and the river brought the 10. Martin doubled up to $86,000. On an adjacent table, Brad Berman was all in preflop against his opponent's pocket queens. The board came J 6 3 6 Q and the river gave Berman's opponent the pot. Berman tried to mask his frustration as he shipped $54,000 to his opponent.

Greg Mueller continued his roller coaster like journey in the last level and now sits with $115,000 in chips. The player in seat five raised all in from the small blind for $48,000 and Mueller had a decision for most of his chips. The two had tangled earlier in the day and you could sense Mueller wanted to snap him off. Mueller eventually called and turned up K 9. The player in seat five showed 5 5. The board came K 6 6 J J and Mueller was rewarded by eliminating a headache and picking up a large amount of chips. "I'm the wrong person to do that to" said Mueller. "I dont' get pushed around!"


Notable Chip Counts

Greg "FBT" Mueller	180,000
Shaun Deeb	130,000
Brad Berman	125,000
Shannon Shorr	75,000
Arnold Spee	38,000
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi	36,000

Player Tags: Michael Gracz,   Greg Mueller,   Bradley Berman,   Jesse Martin,   Shaun Deeb

Hour One Recap

Jul 01, '07

Add-On Chip

All players were given a red add-on chip worth ten thousand more chips in the first three hours. If not used in the first three hours, the ten thousand will be added on automatically.

Huge Three Way Pot

With a board of K J 5 4, Sammy Farha, Jorge Arias and Phil Laak got all their money in on  the turn.  The hands were as follows:

Phil Laak: J J 9 7 (Set of jacks)
Arias: K 10 9 8 (diamond, spade and Inside straight draw)
Sam Farha: Q 8 7 6 (better spade draw and wrap straight draw)

The river brought the 2, miraculously missing the monster draws of Farha and Arias.  Laak was soo surprised to have dodged all the outs that he jokingly said, "Somebody get the security tapes to make sure that was a blank."  Farha had to use his rebuy chip, while Arias was left with a crippled stack.


Berman and Son

Lyle Berman and his son Brad Berman are both seated at table 1.  The elder Berman wrote the pot-limit omaha chapter in Super System 2, so look for some interesting action from that table.

Stacked Tables
Here is a list of the notable players in a random row of tables to illustrate just how stacked this field is.

Table 12

2. David Williams
3. Toto Leonidas
5. Sam Grizzle
6. John Phan
7. Paul Magriel
8. Daniel Alaei

Table 13

1. Gavin Griffin
3. Tony Cousineau
4. Young Pham
5. Sam Farha
6. Bruno Fitoussi
7. Phil Laak
8. Tony G

Table 14

1. Scotty Nguyen
2. Bill Edler
3. Noah Boeken
6. "Miami" John Cernuto
7. Roy Brindley

Table 15

1. J.C. Tran
3. Amir Vahedi
7. Marco Traniello
8. Barry Greenstein
9. John Gale

Table 16

1. Ted Forrest
2. Greg Raymer
3. David Chiu
4. Josh Arieh
6. Kirk Morrison

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

Notable Chip Counts

Phil Laak	37,000
Todd Brunson	30,000
Tony G	27,000
Lyle Berman	23,500
Chris Reslock	23,500
Bill Gazes	23,000
Sam Grizzle	21,500
David Williams	21,500
Scotty Nguyen	21,100
Allen Kessler	21,000
Dewey Tomko	20,875
Tony Cousineau	20,000
Tom Franklin	20,000
Thomas Wahlroos	20,000
Phil Ivey	20,000
Patrick Antonius	20,000
Noah Boeken	20,000
Mike Sexton	20,000
Mel Judah	20,000
Max Pescatori	20,000
Kristy Gazes	20,000
Johnny Chan	20,000
John Phan	20,000
John Juanda	20,000
John D'Agostino	20,000
Joe Hachem	20,000
Hoyt Corkins	20,000
Greg Raymer	20,000
Erick Lindgren	20,000
Doyle Brunson	20,000
David Grey	20,000
David Chiu	20,000
David Benyamine	20,000
David "Devilfish" Ulliott	20,000
Bill Chen	20,000
Barry Greenstein	20,000
Annie Duke	20,000
Allen Cunningham	19,650
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson	19,500
Bruno Fitoussi	19,500
Humberto Brenes	19,150
Howard Lederer	18,650
Andy Bloch	18,000
Gavin Smith	16,600
Paul Magriel	16,200
"Miami" John Cernuto	15,650
Marcel Luske	15,400
Amnon Filipi	15,300
Toto Leonidas	12,200
Juha Helppi	2,700

Player Tags: Phil Laak,   Lyle Berman,   Bradley Berman,   Sam Farha

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

Bradly Berman Doubles up

May 30, '07

Seat four raises to $2,400 and Eric Froechlich calls.  Seat ten raises to $7,000 and Bradly Berman goes all in for his last $8,600 total.  Ted Lawson goes into the tank then folds, seat four folds and Eric Froechlich moves all in.  Seat 10 mucks his cards J-J face up, Berman tables AA and Froechlich QQ.  The flop comes J6295, and Berman doubles up.  

Player Tags: Bradley Berman,   Eric Froehlich

Timing is Everything

May 19, '07

Bradley Berman moved all in with 4-5 but was eliminated when both the blinds woke up with monster hands. After he pushed preflop the two blinds raised and reraised each other with pocket queens and pocket aces. The board was no help to Berman, who has busted out of the tournament.

Player Tags: Bradley Berman