James Van Alstyne Poker Tournament Updates

James Van Alstyne Eliminated

Oct 29, '08

James Van Alstyne has been eliminated fromm the tournament by Tony Ma.

The details are scarce, but Van Alstyne held A-J and Ma held pocket tens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: Tony Ma,   James Van Alstyne

Jon Van Fleet Goes Ape

Jul 12, '08

In a battle of the Van's, Jon "apestyles" Van Fleet reported that he got all of his chips by rivering a straight against James Van Alstyne.

Van Fleet was obviously in a good mood with his nearly 75,000 in chips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Player Tags: James Van Alstyne,   Jonathan Van Fleet

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - End of Day 2

Jun 20, '08

The final two-tables are set! Level 17 saw 7 eliminations and the staff at the Rio decided to call it a night with 18 players remaining. Foremost among the players returning tomorrow will be Mike Matusow. With a big stack of chips and an even bigger mouth, Matusow will be happy with nothing less than his 2nd bracelet of this year's series. To do so, he will have to fend off a number of big names. Hendon Mobber Ram Vaswani will enter the final day with the chip lead and he too will have a multiple-bracelet motivation: a win in this event will give him bracelets in consecutive years. Also in the hunt are high stakes cash specialists Chau Giang and David Benyamine. Benyamine, who was bounced on the final table bubble of the $5,000 stud high/low event only a few days ago, will have extra incentive to make a final table run here.

The players will reconvene at the Rio tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST.
 

---

Here is a recap of the final level of the day:

Blinds: 5,000-10,000

Players Left: 18 of 235

Chip Leaders:
Ram Vaswani - 450,000
Mike Matusow - 390,000
Chau Giang - 370,000
Greg Jamison - 315,000
Eugene Katchalov - 290,000
Toto Leonidas - 265,000
David Benyamine - 260,000
David Chiu - 260,000
Berry Johnston - 260,000
Hieu Ma - 230,000

Average Stack: 261,000

Eliminations:
19^th – Patrick Rao
20^th – James Grove
21^st – James Van Alstyne
22^nd – Danny Smith
23^rd – Brad Booth
24^th – Bruno Fitoussi
25^th – Dustin Sitar

Big Hands and Storylines:

Dustin Donates And Goes Home

The two short stacks at the table Dustin Sitar and Stuart “thedonator” Patterson got all-in pre-flop and showed the following hands:

Patterson: A1072
Sitar: AKJ6

When the board – 109429 – had been dealt, Patterson’s nines and tens were enough to take down the pot. Sitar, slightly covered by Patterson, was eliminated in 25^th place. Patterson is now up to 80,000.

“You Gotta Get Lucky”

Brad Booth raised from late position. Mike Matusow called from the button saying, “I’ll give you some action,” and William McMahon called in the big blind. The flop came JJ8. McMahon checked, Booth bet, Matusow raised, and his two rivals called. The turn was the 9 and McMahon and Booth both checked to Matusow who bet. This time McMahon cagily raised and Booth, with only 3,000 chips left, was forced to fold. Matusow called and the pair saw the river: 10. McMahon bet, Matusow raised, the call was made and they showed their hands:

Matusow: KKJ10
McMahon: KJ95

Matusow had re-drawn out on the river after McMahon had spiked a 6-outer on the turn. After the conclusion of the hand there was much discussion about whether the hand had played itself or if there was any other way it could have been played. Matusow put his inimitable stamp on the conversation when he opined, “You don’t think Phil Hellmuth has 11 bracelets because he plays good, do you? You gotta get lucky!” Matusow, whether through luck, skill, or a bit of both, is now up to 390,000.

You Gotta Get Lucky: Part II

The very next hand, William McMahon got most of his chips into the pot against David Chiu by the flop. McMahon bet his last 20,000 on the turn with the board reading KK510 and Chiu, after a great deal of thought, made a frustrated call. Chiu’s frustration grew when he saw McMahon’s holding: A10103. Chiu was drawing to only 3 outs with AA92 but the river was an unhelpful 9. The hand elevated McMahon to 120,000. Hey, you gotta get lucky.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Tony Ma,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Greg Jamison,   David Chiu,   Ram Vaswani,   Chau Giang,   Bruno Fitoussi,   Berry Johnston,   James Van Alstyne,   Dustin Sitar,   Eugene Katchalov,   William McMahon,   Brad Booth,   Stuart Paterson

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - Day 2 - Level 14 Recap

Jun 20, '08

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

Blinds: 2,500-5,000

Players Left:  40 of 235

Chip Leaders:
Doyle Brunson - 250,000
Ram Vaswani - 210,000
Greg Jamison - 207,000
David Benyamine - 202,000
Mike Matusow - 190,000
Pat Rao - 189,000
Toto Leonidas - 180,000
Chau Giang - 160,000
James Van Alstyne - 148,000
Tony Ma – 145,000
David Chiu – 135,000

Average Stack: 117,500

Eliminations:
Alex Kravchenko
Chris Ferguson
Jen Harman
Nikolay Evdakov

Big Hands and Storylines:

Nikolay Evdakov Eliminated

Three hands at two tables, over the course of only 25 minutes, and Nikolay Evdakov would go from 110,000 chips to zero. Card Player was there to see the decline and fall of Evdakov...

Three Parts Giang, One Part Slezak

With a board reading J632 and three players in the hand, Bob Slezak checked to Evdakov who put in a bet of 10,000, Chau Giang raised and both Slezak and Evdakov called. The river was the 3 and action checked around to Giang who bet again. Slezak and Evdakov both called and Giang showed down an impressive holding: A432 for the nut low and a baby full house. Slezak could only muster AJ84 for half of the low pot. Evdakov mucked. Strike one for Evdakov.

Just Right for Ma

After being moved to a new table featuring the likes of Doyle Brunson, David Chiu, and Alexander Kostritsyn, Evdakov mixed it up with Tony Ma in what turned out to be a small but important pot.

Evdakov check-called a bet from Ma on a 332 flop. On the turn and river both players checked. With the final board reading 3329K, Evdakov showed K1092 for two-pair, kings and nines, but Ma took down the pot with AAQJ for a better two pair. Strike two.

You Don’t Mess with The Brunson

In his final act, Nikolay Evdakov tried to wrest some chips from the grasp of Doyle Brunson. Predictably, that one didn’t work out so well. Doyle raised pre-flop from middle position and Evdakov and Kostritsyn called from the blinds. On a flop of 965, Evdakov checked, Kostritsyn checked, Brunson fired a continuation bet, Evdakov raised, Kostritsyn folded, and Brunson called. The turn 5 paired the board and slowed down Evdakov, who check-called a bet from Brunson. The river was the K, with only an additional 10,000 behind, the Russian checked it over to Brunson, who put him all-in. Evdakov called and could only rap the table after seeing Brunson’s A872. Strike three. Evdakov is out.

Life Goes On

The rest of the players at Evdakov’s table seem to be in stable condition though. Kostritsyn has 100,000, David Chiu has 135,000, and Tony Ma has 145,000. Oh, yeah, there’s also the case of Doyle Brunson. After winning a number of pots in the past two levels, Brunson is the new chip leader with 250,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Chris Ferguson,   Tony Ma,   Pat Rao,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Greg Jamison,   David Chiu,   Ram Vaswani,   Jennifer Harman,   Chau Giang,   Alexander Kravchenko,   James Van Alstyne,   Nikolay Evdakov,   Alexander Kostritsyn,   European Report

$3,000 H.O.R.S.E.- Day 2 - Level 9 Recap

Jun 12, '08

Limits:
Hold’em/Omaha8b:  800-1600, 400-800 blinds
Razz/Stud/Stud8b:  800-1600, 200 ante, 200 bring-in,

Players Left: 112 of 414

Chip Leaders:
Kevin Saul - 57,000
Alexander Jung - 54,300
Christopher Gentile - 50,300
Shannon Elizabeth - 44,200
James Mackey - 42,900
Marc Goodwin - 41,500
Todd Brunson - 38,000
David Levi - 38,000
James Van Alstyne - 36,000
Linda Drucker - 36,000

Average Stack: 22,175

Eliminations:
Mark Vos
Todd Lundwell
Shinchi Chien
J.W. Smith

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Oh the Zhu-manity

Mark Vos got the majority of his 9,000 chips in pre-flop against Yueqi Zhu and the rest went in on a K53 flop. “That’s a good flop for me,” said Vos. It was indeed, as Vos turned over AK. Zhu’s 77 was drawing to two outs. The J on the turn was unimportant, but the river was a stunning 7, eliciting an emphatic “Yes!” from Zhu and causing Vos to spring from his chair and leave the area in incredibly swift fashion. Zhu is now up to quite a hale 35,500.

Omaha/8b

Saul’s Solid Stack Skyrockets

Seated right next to one another, Todd Brunson and Kevin “bel0wab0ve” Saul tangled in a pot. Brunson raised from the small blind and Saul called from the big blind. The flop came AQ4 and Brunson bet into Saul. Saul called and the duo saw a 3 turn. Brunson checked this time, but called after Saul’s bet of 1,600. Brunson wasn’t so keen about the 6 on the river apparently, as he check-folded, dropping his stack down to 39,000. Kevin Saul’s stack of 57,000 is now top among the chip leaders.

Mark Roland Doubles Up

After a great deal of betting pre-flop and on the flop, Mark Roland found himself all in against Max Pescatori on a 1043 flop. Pescatori declared that he had nut-nut and flopped over A633, a decidedly non-nut hand but still good for a set of threes. Mark Roland showed the goods however (as good as a series of draws can be anyway), revealing AA72 for the nut flush draw, a gutshot straight draw and the nut low draw. The river was the 9, which didn’t help Roland at all. But the J on the river was Roland’s saving grace, giving him the entire pot and doubling him up to 14,000. Pescatori’s loss drops him to 18,000.

Player Tags: David Levi,   Max Pescatori,   Todd Brunson,   James Van Alstyne,   J.W. Smith,   James Mackey,   Mark Roland,   Christopher Gentile,   Kevin Saul,   Marc Goodwin,   Mark Vos,   Shannon Elizabeth,   Alexander Jung,   Linda Drucker,   Shinchi Chien

Back From Dinner; 100 To Go

Jul 10, '07

350 or Bust

The official announcement is that we will play five levels today or down to 350 players.  There are currently 450 at 50 tables, and the cries of "All in and called" are ringing through the air regularly.

Here Goes...Eliminations

Jeff Madsen, "Miami John" Cernuto, Tom McEvoy, James Van Alstyne, and David Einhorn have all been eliminated in the last level.  Madsen pushed his last $27,000 in with A 9, but he couldn't outrace his opponent's pocket fives and headed for the door. 

Cernuto's elimination was witnessed on the feature table, Cernuto was all in preflop with 10 10 against his opponent's Q 9.  Cernuto was safe through the turn as the board read 7 5 3 5, but the river was a cruel Q, and Cernuto received a nice hand from the spectator's as he left. 

Van Alstyne lost a huge pot to one of the chip leaders Avi Cohen, when his flopped two pair was out run by Cohen's nut flush on the turn.  With only a few chips Van Alstyne was eliminated a few hands later. 

David Einhorn, who last year donated all of his 18th place prize money to Parkinson's research, was the darling of the ESPN crews all day.  He was invovled in a three-way all-in hand that went to Steven O'Dwyer, who flopped a full house to bust Einhorn, and double through another player. 

McEvoy butted heads with Old School visionary Todd Phillips, and had the worst of it the whole way.  McEvoy's K-Q couldn't catch up to Phllips's A-K and the field is now light one more Main Event Champion.

Lester Bounces Back

Jason Lester started the level in ominous fashion, losing a race with A-Q against pocket Jacks after his opponent ended up with quads.  Then Lester got a repreive.  Lester raised to $7,000 from middle position, the player in Seat 4 reraised to $17,000 from the button, and Lester called.  The flop was Q 7 2, Lester pushed all in for his last $19,400, and Seat 4 called.  Seat 4 had J J and Lester held A 9.  The turn  5 was no help, but the river 3 completed Lester's flush, and he breathed a sigh of relief.  A few hands later Lester continued his punishment of seat 4 when he got him to pay off a $15,000 value bet on the river when Lester flopped a set of nines.

Duthie Breaks One

PokerStars representative John Duthie raised preflop to $6,000 from the cutoff and the player in Seat 8 called from the small blind.  On the A 10 8 flop Duthie made  a large bet that sent Seat 8 into the tank.  After a clock was called Seat 8 made the call.  The turn was the Q, and Seat 8 moved all in quickly, and Duthie called just as swiftly.  Duthie showed A K while Seat 8 was way behind with A 3.  The river was an innocuous 5, and Duthie collected the chips.

Euro Roundup
There is probably an average of one European per table, the majority English, as play moves towards conclusion for the day.

Hendon Mobster Joe Beevers took a hit from $113,000 to $52,000 in chips, Donnacha O'Dea has edged up slightly to $42,600, former Main Event finalist George McKeever is struggling but sitting patiently on $23,400 in chips sharing a table with Adam Noone and Bo Sehlstedt, Wille Tann jumped from $282,000 to $320,000 in chips, Conor Tate has $130,000 in chips and Julian Gardner has $87,000.

The ever colourful Jac Arama is enjoying plenty of laughs with his table and is sitting on $228,000 in chips.

Maguire Doubles Up

Tobey Maguire managed to double up in one of those dream situations.  With the board reading K 9 3 2, Maguire checked, his opponent in Seat 8 bet $13,000 and after a few minutes Maguire called.  The A fell on the river, and Maguire checked again.  Seat 8 moved all in and Maguire called for less.  Seat 8 held 9 9 for a set, but Maguire had a better set with K K, and he took the pot.
Notable Chip Counts

Kenny Tran	495,000
Minh Ly	212,000
Berry Johnston	191,000
Robert Mizrachi	159,000
Scotty Nguyen	74,000
Joe Tehan	74,000
Nam Le	57,100
David "The Dragon" Pham	49,000
John Hennigan	36,100

Player Tags: John Cernuto,   Tom McEvoy,   David Einhorn,   Jason Lester,   John Duthie,   James Van Alstyne,   Tobey Maguire,   Todd Phillips,   Jeff Madsen,   Avi Cohen

Down to 21...Tables

Jun 25, '07

There are currently 182 players remaining.

James Van Alstyne pushed all in over the top of his opponent's flop bet with the board reading A J 8 and received a quick call.  Van Alstyne showed a bare top two pair, but his opponent had plenty of outs with A Q 6 2, with top pair, a flush draw, and a low draw.  The turn was the 2, and the river was the Q, giving Van Alsyne's opponent a better Aces up.

Joe Hachem has accumulated some chips as of late, and has well over the average stack at the moment.

There is a lot of talk among the players about the differences between Omaha-Eight-Or-Better and the widely-more popular Holdem.  Apparantly many players, who regularly play holdem have been overvaluing hands like two pair, and such a strategy is a recipe for disaster at  an Omaha table.

Much more play ahead for the night. Stay tuned

Player Tags: James Van Alstyne,   Joe Hachem

Short Break For Medical Emergency

Jun 18, '07

Play was halted for about 15 minutes in the Razz event while medics attended to a player with an emergency.  Play has resumed and the eliminations are occuring at a very regular clip.

Among the notables who have been eliminated so far today are Mike Wattel and James Van Alstyne.

German Katja Thater has around $22,000 in chips while Marcel Luske and Donnacha O'Dea are clinging on with $3,700 and $2,000 respectively.

There are approximately 100 players left in the tournament.

Player Tags: Michael Wattel,   James Van Alstyne

Numbers Not So High

Jun 11, '07

The official numbers were announced for this tournament.  A total of 340 players entered creating a prize pool of $618,800.  The final 4 tables will finish in the money.  32nd place will receive $4,950 while 1st place will receive $176,358.  Given that some of the "Big Game"pros play for pots that exceed that amount, you can bet that the bracelet is the sole thing on most of the players minds. 

Given that its still early in the tournament the players are having fun with each other at their tables.  "Captain Tom" Franklin is taking delight in needling tablemate Jeff Madsen for his pink poker website baseball cap.  Madsen chose not to needle back.

One particular hand occurred where James Van Alstyne almost scooped a very large pot.  Van Alstyne tabled a Ace-high diamond flush, to compliment his 8-5-4-2-A low against four callers.  However, Michael Mizrachi showed a 7-6-5-3-2 for a better low, and they chopped up the pot.

Look for the table pairings to improve as this talent-laden pool slowly thins out as the limits increase.

Player Tags: Tom Franklin,   Michael Mizrachi,   James Van Alstyne,   Jeff Madsen

Hellmuth Busy Early

Jun 10, '07

Hopefully just making it to day 2 was satisfying enough, for many players today, because the bust outs are cropping up quickly so far.

Phil Hellmuth has vaulted himself among the chip leaders, despite being seated next to David Plastk and across from James Van Alstyne.  Early on Hellmuth made his 99 stand up calling his opponents bluff on a board of 76455.  He also called a short stack's all in from the button with AK, while his opponent tabled 76.  The flop came KK10, and the turn and river came 56.  Soon after that Hellmuth crippled Van Alstyne when he rivered a flush to Van Alstyne's trip tens.  Van Alstyne was all in soon after with KQ with two callers.  One player pushed the other caller out on the turn with the board showing 10987.  Now heads up the opponent showed JJ, the Q on the river was no help for Van Alstyne and he hit the rail in 122nd place. 

John Turner and Joe Bartholdi also saw their fortunes grow.  Turner put his opponent all in on a board of K963.  When his opponent called quickly Turner thought he was behind with K5, but his opponent showed A9, and Turner was able to dodge the twelve outs when the 5 hit on the river.  Bartholdi managed to win a race for his tournament life.  The player in Seat 8 raised to $6,400 from the cutoff, and Seat 9 called from the button after lots of thought.  Bartholdi then moved all in for $25,900 more from the big blind.  After the cutoff folded, Seat 9 made the call.  Bartholdi showed 66, and his opponent showed AQ.  The board came K93107, and Bartholdi more than doubled up to $74,600.

There are currently 122 players remaining on 13 tables.

Player Tags: David Plastik,   Phil Hellmuth,   John Turner,   Joe Bartholdi,   James Van Alstyne

If The Pavilion's A Rockin, Don't Come A Knockin

Jun 05, '07

The atmosphere is a little ominous in the Player's Pavilion, with heavy winds still rocking the outdoor tent where the $1,500 omaha eight or better is taking place.  Tables are breaking and officials are trying to move players inside as space becomes available. Phil Ivey, who strolled in to the Pavilion to assume his seat at around 7:45, did not seem put off.  Many other notable players are spread throughout the room, but only one table sports more than one big pro.  Table 112 is home to Todd Brunson and Greg Raymer, both intimidating in stature and larger in reputation.  Jeff Madsen, who had his first final table breakthrough at an omaha eight or better event last year, is also gunning for the bracelet.

Tournament officials have announced the event information.  Of the 690 entrants, 63 players will make the money and one lucky player will cash for more than $320, 000.   Seeing as this event is a split pot game with blinds at only 75/150 next round, with fifty five remaining tables the road to money will be long. With tough pros like James Van Alstyne and Thomas Wahlroos in the top ten, however, this event is shaping up to be interesting and entertaining.

Keep it locked here at Cardplayer.com for more updates and Pro Blogs.

Player Tags: Todd Brunson,   Phil Ivey,   Greg Raymer,   James Van Alstyne,   Thomas Wahlroos