Richard Murnick Poker Tournament Updates

$5,000 NL Hold'em Six-Handed - Level 13

Jun 27, '08

Blinds: 1200/2400 with 300 ante

Players Left: 54 of 805

Chip Leaders:

Steve Ware - 371,000
Bryn Kenney - 360,000
Paul Foltyn - 329,000
Bertrand Grospellier - 309,000
Nikolay Evdakov - 289,000
David Farber - 278,000
Edward Ochana - 255,000
Ferit Gabreillson - 219,000
Jesper Petersen - 210,000
Joe Commisso - 207,000

Big Hands

A Step in the Wong Direction

Jimmy Wong was in the big blind and watched the action unfold. The player in the cutoff moved all-in for 32,000, then the player on the button elected to call. Action came to Wong, who found himself staring at JJ. He made the reraise all-in for 41,100 more, putting the pressure squarely back on the button. The player elected to call, and flipped over AJ. The original raiser was all-in with 107. The flop came 922, and the 7 on the turn gave the shortstack some hope. But the 5 on the river sent the massive pot to Wong.

Hawkins Sweeps in Monster

Keith Hawkins and the player in seat 1 raised and reraised preflop, then saw the board come J73. Then all the chips went into the middle, Hawkins for 85,600, while his rival had him covered by just 5600 in chips. Hawkins showed KK for the over pair while seat 1 had AQ. The J hit the turn and 10 fell on the river and Hawkins made the massive double up.

Murnick Takes a Hit

The cutoff raised to 6500, the button called,  then Rich Murnick in the small blind elected to call as well. Tony Hachem, in the big blind, reluctantly folded. The flop came KK3, and Murnick stabbed at the pot with a 10,000 bet. The cutoff called and the button folded. The 7 was the turn and Murnick checked. The cutoff bet out 25,000 to put the pressure on Murnick, who had 42,000 remaining. He elected to lay his hand down.

Liu Wins Minor Battle

J.J. Liu raised to 6000 from the cutoff and Shannon Shorr made the call. The flop came K64, Liu bet 12,000 and Shorr surrendered.

 

Player Tags: Keith Hawkins,   Richard Murnick,   Shannon Shorr,   Jimmy Wong

Robert Cheung Wins Event No. 38 ($673,628)

Jun 25, '07

The two remaining players then went on a ten minute break. Cheung would enter the heads-up match with a 7-to-1 chip advantage.

Robert Cheung: $7,125,000
Richard Murnick: $1,180,000

Robert Cheung Wins Event No. 38 ($673,628)

On the first hand of heads up play Robert Cheung and Richard Murnick got it all in preflop. Cheung flipped over A K and Murnick showed down 8 7. The board was dealt J 5 4 A 4 and Cheung won the gold bracelet, as well as $673,628 in prize money. Murnick took home $417,117 in prize money for his second-place finish.

Player Tags: Richard Murnick,   Robert Cheung

Hour Four

Jun 25, '07

Andy Lee Eliminated in Fifth Place ($119,447)

Andy Lee moved all in and John Kranyak made the call preflop. Kranyak turned up K 8 and Lee turned over 10 5. The board was dealt K 9 6 9 6 and he was eliminated in fifth place. Lee took home $119,447 in prize money.

The Doldrums

Tournament play then continued for the next 20 hands with little major action. The players were testing each other with small raises, and small pots changing hands.

Murnick Doubled up through Schoenberg

Richard Murnick moved all in and Erica Schoenberg called. She flipped over A Q and Murnick showed down J 6. The board rolled out 10 9 8 7 8 and Murnick turned a jack-high straight to double up.

John Kranyak Eliminated in Fourth Place ($170,639)

John Kranyak moved all in and Robert Cheung made the call. Kranyak flipped over pocket queens, but Cheung flipped over pocket kings. The board was dealt 8 7 2 7 3 and Kranyak was eliminated in fourth place. He walked away with $170,639 in prize money.

Leader Board

The players then went on a fifteen minute break and here is how the chip stacks of the three remaining players looked:

Seat No. 1: Robert Cheung - $5,650,000
Seat No. 4: Richard Murnick - $1,180,000
Seat No. 8: Erica Schoenberg - $1,505,000

Player Tags: Richard Murnick,   Andy Lee,   Erica Schoenberg,   Robert Cheung,   John Kranyak

Hour Three

Jun 25, '07

Kranyak Doubled up through Lee

John Kranyak moved all in and Andy Lee called with A Q. Kranyak turned over 9 5. 
The board was dealt J 9 7 4 3 and Kranyak flopped three nines to win the pot and survive.

Chris Bjorin Eliminated in Sixth Place ($87,215)

Richard Murnick moved all in and Chris Bjorin made the call. He flipped over K Q and Murnick showed down A 10. The board rolled out 10 8 2 9 8 and Bjorin was eliminated in sixth place. He earned $87,215 for his efforts.

Lee the Double Up Machine

Robert Cheung raised preflop and Andy Lee moved all in. Cheung quickly called and flipped over A 10. Lee turned up A 8. The board came Q 6 3 5 7 and yert another opponent had used Lee as a stepping stone to double up.

Break Time

The players then went on a 15 minute break. Here is how things looked at that point:

Seat No. 1: Robert Cheung - $2,090,000
Seat No. 4:  Richard Murnick - $1,280,000
Seat No. 5: John Kranyak - $1,905,000
Seat No. 7: Andy Lee - $735,000
Seat No. 8: Erica Schoenberg - $2,325,000

Player Tags: Chris Bjorin,   Richard Murnick,   Andy Lee,   Robert Cheung,   John Kranyak

Hour Two

Jun 25, '07

Short-Stack Poker

John Kranyak moved all in on consecutive hands. No one called and he survived to play some more short-stack poker. He took a hand off and then pushed all in once again.

Break

The players then went on a ten minute break.

Suey Wong Eliminated in Seventh Place ($68,255)

Suey Wong moved all in with A Q preflop and Richard Murnick instantly called with A K. The board was dealt 8 7 5 2 8 and Wong was eliminated in seventh place. He will take home $68,255 in prize money.

Player Tags: Richard Murnick,   John Kranyak,   Suey Wong