Ben Ponzio Poker Tournament Updates

Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Low Ball - Final Table Set

Jun 23, '08

Action has played down to the final table of 6 players. Play will resume Tuesday at 2 p.m. with John Phan, Gioi Luong, Robert Mizrachi, Shunjiro Uchida, Ben Ponzio and David Sklansky still playing for the bracelet.

Final Table Starting Stacks:
John Phan: 294,000
Gioi Luong: 291,000
Robert Mizrachi: 215,000
Shunjiro Uchida: 200,000
Ben Ponzio: 113,000
David Sklansky: 78,000

Eliminations:
7th Place - Billy Baxter (15,054)
8th Place - Steve Sung ($15,054)
9th Place - Mike Wattel ($12,317)

Here are highlights from today's last round of play:

Baxter Bubbles Final Table, out in 7th Place ($15,054)

A short-stacked Billy Baxter  got all in against David Sklansky and Gioi Luong. After Sklansky folded after the second draw Baxter was heads up with Luong and in better shape. Both drew 1 card on the final draw and Luong showed Q-7-6-5-2. Baxter showed 8-5-4-2, but unfortunately for him he drew a queen and was eliminated one spot from tomorrow's final table, making $15,054- a remarkable feat considering he came into today's play 30th in chips out of 30 players.

Wattel Doubles, But Later Eliminated in 9th Place ($12,317)

Mike Wattel got all in against Ben Ponzio right off the bat. Wattel drew 1 on the first draw, 1 on the second and stood pat on the 3rd. Ponzio drew 3, 2, then 1. Wattel showed 8-7-5-4-2 and more than doubled up to stay alive.
A couple hands later Wattel got all in again against Gioi Luong and Ben Ponzio. In the end Ponzio showed a monster, 7-6-4-3-2 and Wattel was gone in ninth place, earning $12,317.

Sklansky Takes Early Pot From Ponzio

After both players took 1 card in the first draw, David Sklansky and Ben Ponzio checked and both took 1 card again on the second draw. Ponzio bet 10,000 and Sklansky called. Sklansky took 1 more on the third draw while Ponzio stood pat. But when Sklansky bet out 10,000 on the end Ponzio quickly folded and Sklansky took a nice early pot.

Wrong Game For Quads

When mucking his hand, David Sklansky brought laughter to the table when he showed quad 9s.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Michael Wattel,   David Sklansky,   Ben Ponzio,   Billy Baxter

Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Low Ball - Luong, Phan To The Forefront

Jun 23, '08

Players are now on a 20 minute break. Action will resume around 9:55 p.m.

Blinds: 2,000-4,000

Players Left: 9 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Gioi Luong: 250,000
John Phan: 224,000
Robert Mizrachi: 195,000
Billy Baxter: 140,000
Shunjiro Uchida: 123,000
Steve Sung: 115,000
Ben Ponzio: 100,000
David Sklansky: 36,000
Michael Wattel: 20,000

Average Stack: 132,222

Eliminations:
10th - Richard Chase ($12,316)
11th - Greg Raymer ($9,580)
12th - Dario Alioto ($9,580)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Action will play down to the final 6 players. Now that they're getting close, David Sklansky has predicted that action will tighten up considerably.

Phan Busts Alioto in 12th Place - ($9,580)

John Phan got a short-stacked Dario Alioto all in and drew 2 on the first draw. Alioto drew 3. Phan drew 1 on the second draw and Alioto drew 2, then laughed when he saw his cards. When it was all said and done Phan showed 9-8-5-3-2 and Alioto showed a face card and was eliminated in 12th place.

Phan Outdraws Mizrachi For Monstrous Pot

Robert Mizrachi raised preflop and was called by John Phan. Phan couldn't have liked to hear Mizrachi say, "I'm good," when the dealer asked how many cards he wanted to draw. Phan on the other hand drew 2. Mizrachi bet 4,000 and Phan called and drew 2 more. Mizrachi bet 8,000, Phan called and drew a single card on his final draw. After receiving his final card Phan led out for 8,000 and Mizrachi called. Phan showed 8-5-4-3-2 and Mizrachi mucked. Phan took nice a huge pot and sits near the top with around 224,000 in chips.

Raymer Pairs a Deuce, Gone in 11th Place - ($9,580)

Greg Raymer got all in heads up before the first draw and both he and Richard Chase took two cards on the first draw. On the second draw Raymer took two again, but Chase stood pat. Raymer kept drawing, take two more on the final draw while Chase flipped over 8-5-4-3-2. Raymer showed 7-6-5-2-2 and paired his deuce on the end to be eliminated in 11th place.

Chase Eliminated in 10th Place - ($12,316)

Not long after eliminating Greg Raymer, Richard Chase got all in against Gioi Luong. After the first draw both players stood pat and Luong showed 8-7-6-4-3. Chase mucked and was eliminated in 10th place, while Luong jumped to the forefront with around 250,000 in chips.

So Close, Ponzio Loses Pot

When both Gioi Luong and Ben Ponzio stayed pat after their second draw it was safe to assume they had hands.Luong turned over 8-7-5-4-2 and Ponzio was disapointed when he turned over 8-7-6-4-2 to narrowly lose the hand.

Ponzio Cripples Wattel

Michael Wattel bet after every draw and Ben Ponzio came along for the ride each time. After the third draw was over Ponzio showed 10-7-5-4-2 and Wattel looked like he had been punched in the gut when he mucked. Wattel less than 20,000 in chips after the loss.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Michael Wattel,   Greg Raymer,   Ben Ponzio,   Richard Chase,   Dario Alioto,   European Report

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 13 Recap

Jun 23, '08

Blinds: 1,000-2,000

Players Left: 18 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Billy Baxter - 148,000
Ray Davis - 117,000
Robert Mizrachi - 116,000
Shun Uchida - 108,000
Steve Sung - 96,000
Gioi Luong - 95,000
John Phan - 84,000
Ben Ponzio - 72,000
James Copeland - 70,000
David Sklansky - 69,000

Average Stack: 66,100

Eliminations:
Chris Vitch
Ralph Perry

Big Hands and Storylines:

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... Greg Raymer

Greg Raymer raised to 2,000 from the button and was 3-bet by Ralph Perry in the small blind. Raymer called and drew 1 card while Perry stood pat. Perry bet and Raymer called. Action was the same on the 2^nd go-around. Then when both players stood pat on the third draw, Perry checked, Raymer bet, and Perry called. Raymer took down the pot with 8-6-5-3-2.

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... John Phan (and Busts)

First to act, Ralph Perry raised to 2,000. John Phan made it 3,000 from the button, and Perry called. After Perry drew 2 and Phan drew 1, Perry check-called Phan’s bet. On the 2^nd draw, Perry took 2 again and, again, Phan took 1. And, yet again, Perry check-called. Both players took 1 on the final draw and Perry led into Phan. Phan called. Perry tabled 8-7-5-4-2 but he was undercut by Phan’s 8-6-5-4-3. This hand dropped Perry to under 30,000 and he would be knocked out by Phan later in the level.

Baxter Swaps Seats To Table’s Delight

The floorperson told the dealer at table no. 4 that she needed the big blind to move over to table no. 2. The person in the big blind of table 4 happened to be none other than Billy Baxter, and his departure was met by jubilation by those players he would be leaving. Chau Giang greeted the decision with a round of applause. Apparently 5 deuce-to-seven bracelets earns you a lot of respect.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   David Sklansky,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Ben Ponzio,   Steve Sung,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Ralph Perry,   European Report

$2,500 Triple Draw - Ponzi-Out

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 3,000-6,000

Players Left: 4 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 545,000
Gioi Luong - 411,000
Shun Uchida - 181,000
Robert Mizrachi - 69,000

Eliminations:  Ben Ponzio (5th Place)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Ben Ponzio Eliminated in Fifth Place ($28,739)

John Phan raised and Ben Ponzio reraised from the button. Phan made the call and drew two and Ponzio drew one. Ponzio then got it all in and Phan called. Both players drew one again. On the third draw, both players showed their down cards and drew one more. Ponzio had the better draw with 7-5-4-2 against Phan's 8-7-4-3, but Phan drew a deuce to put the pressure on Ponzio. Ponzio needed a trey or a six to stay alive, but all he could manage was a ten to bust in fifth place.

Robert Mizrachi Getting Low

After getting frequently raised or reraised out of pots by the second draw, Robert Mizrachi is now treading water with just under 70,000.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Robert Mizrachi,   Ben Ponzio

Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Low Ball - Final Table Set

Jun 23, '08

Action has played down to the final table of 6 players. Play will resume Tuesday at 2 p.m. with John Phan, Gioi Luong, Robert Mizrachi, Shunjiro Uchida, Ben Ponzio and David Sklansky still playing for the bracelet.

Final Table Starting Stacks:
John Phan: 294,000
Gioi Luong: 291,000
Robert Mizrachi: 215,000
Shunjiro Uchida: 200,000
Ben Ponzio: 113,000
David Sklansky: 78,000

Eliminations:
7th Place - Billy Baxter (15,054)
8th Place - Steve Sung ($15,054)
9th Place - Mike Wattel ($12,317)

Here are highlights from today's last round of play:

Baxter Bubbles Final Table, out in 7th Place ($15,054)

A short-stacked Billy Baxter  got all in against David Sklansky and Gioi Luong. After Sklansky folded after the second draw Baxter was heads up with Luong and in better shape. Both drew 1 card on the final draw and Luong showed Q-7-6-5-2. Baxter showed 8-5-4-2, but unfortunately for him he drew a queen and was eliminated one spot from tomorrow's final table, making $15,054- a remarkable feat considering he came into today's play 30th in chips out of 30 players.

Wattel Doubles, But Later Eliminated in 9th Place ($12,317)

Mike Wattel got all in against Ben Ponzio right off the bat. Wattel drew 1 on the first draw, 1 on the second and stood pat on the 3rd. Ponzio drew 3, 2, then 1. Wattel showed 8-7-5-4-2 and more than doubled up to stay alive.
A couple hands later Wattel got all in again against Gioi Luong and Ben Ponzio. In the end Ponzio showed a monster, 7-6-4-3-2 and Wattel was gone in ninth place, earning $12,317.

Sklansky Takes Early Pot From Ponzio

After both players took 1 card in the first draw, David Sklansky and Ben Ponzio checked and both took 1 card again on the second draw. Ponzio bet 10,000 and Sklansky called. Sklansky took 1 more on the third draw while Ponzio stood pat. But when Sklansky bet out 10,000 on the end Ponzio quickly folded and Sklansky took a nice early pot.

Wrong Game For Quads

When mucking his hand, David Sklansky brought laughter to the table when he showed quad 9s.

Player Tags: Gioi Luong,   Michael Wattel,   David Sklansky,   Ben Ponzio,   Billy Baxter

Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Low Ball - Luong, Phan To The Forefront

Jun 23, '08

Players are now on a 20 minute break. Action will resume around 9:55 p.m.

Blinds: 2,000-4,000

Players Left: 9 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Gioi Luong: 250,000
John Phan: 224,000
Robert Mizrachi: 195,000
Billy Baxter: 140,000
Shunjiro Uchida: 123,000
Steve Sung: 115,000
Ben Ponzio: 100,000
David Sklansky: 36,000
Michael Wattel: 20,000

Average Stack: 132,222

Eliminations:
10th - Richard Chase ($12,316)
11th - Greg Raymer ($9,580)
12th - Dario Alioto ($9,580)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Action will play down to the final 6 players. Now that they're getting close, David Sklansky has predicted that action will tighten up considerably.

Phan Busts Alioto in 12th Place - ($9,580)

John Phan got a short-stacked Dario Alioto all in and drew 2 on the first draw. Alioto drew 3. Phan drew 1 on the second draw and Alioto drew 2, then laughed when he saw his cards. When it was all said and done Phan showed 9-8-5-3-2 and Alioto showed a face card and was eliminated in 12th place.

Phan Outdraws Mizrachi For Monstrous Pot

Robert Mizrachi raised preflop and was called by John Phan. Phan couldn't have liked to hear Mizrachi say, "I'm good," when the dealer asked how many cards he wanted to draw. Phan on the other hand drew 2. Mizrachi bet 4,000 and Phan called and drew 2 more. Mizrachi bet 8,000, Phan called and drew a single card on his final draw. After receiving his final card Phan led out for 8,000 and Mizrachi called. Phan showed 8-5-4-3-2 and Mizrachi mucked. Phan took nice a huge pot and sits near the top with around 224,000 in chips.

Raymer Pairs a Deuce, Gone in 11th Place - ($9,580)

Greg Raymer got all in heads up before the first draw and both he and Richard Chase took two cards on the first draw. On the second draw Raymer took two again, but Chase stood pat. Raymer kept drawing, take two more on the final draw while Chase flipped over 8-5-4-3-2. Raymer showed 7-6-5-2-2 and paired his deuce on the end to be eliminated in 11th place.

Chase Eliminated in 10th Place - ($12,316)

Not long after eliminating Greg Raymer, Richard Chase got all in against Gioi Luong. After the first draw both players stood pat and Luong showed 8-7-6-4-3. Chase mucked and was eliminated in 10th place, while Luong jumped to the forefront with around 250,000 in chips.

So Close, Ponzio Loses Pot

When both Gioi Luong and Ben Ponzio stayed pat after their second draw it was safe to assume they had hands.Luong turned over 8-7-5-4-2 and Ponzio was disapointed when he turned over 8-7-6-4-2 to narrowly lose the hand.

Ponzio Cripples Wattel

Michael Wattel bet after every draw and Ben Ponzio came along for the ride each time. After the third draw was over Ponzio showed 10-7-5-4-2 and Wattel looked like he had been punched in the gut when he mucked. Wattel less than 20,000 in chips after the loss.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Michael Wattel,   Greg Raymer,   Ben Ponzio,   Richard Chase,   Dario Alioto,   European Report

$2,500 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball - Day 2 - Level 13 Recap

Jun 23, '08

Blinds: 1,000-2,000

Players Left: 18 of 238

Chip Leaders:
Billy Baxter - 148,000
Ray Davis - 117,000
Robert Mizrachi - 116,000
Shun Uchida - 108,000
Steve Sung - 96,000
Gioi Luong - 95,000
John Phan - 84,000
Ben Ponzio - 72,000
James Copeland - 70,000
David Sklansky - 69,000

Average Stack: 66,100

Eliminations:
Chris Vitch
Ralph Perry

Big Hands and Storylines:

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... Greg Raymer

Greg Raymer raised to 2,000 from the button and was 3-bet by Ralph Perry in the small blind. Raymer called and drew 1 card while Perry stood pat. Perry bet and Raymer called. Action was the same on the 2^nd go-around. Then when both players stood pat on the third draw, Perry checked, Raymer bet, and Perry called. Raymer took down the pot with 8-6-5-3-2.

Ralph Perry Loses a Pot To... John Phan (and Busts)

First to act, Ralph Perry raised to 2,000. John Phan made it 3,000 from the button, and Perry called. After Perry drew 2 and Phan drew 1, Perry check-called Phan’s bet. On the 2^nd draw, Perry took 2 again and, again, Phan took 1. And, yet again, Perry check-called. Both players took 1 on the final draw and Perry led into Phan. Phan called. Perry tabled 8-7-5-4-2 but he was undercut by Phan’s 8-6-5-4-3. This hand dropped Perry to under 30,000 and he would be knocked out by Phan later in the level.

Baxter Swaps Seats To Table’s Delight

The floorperson told the dealer at table no. 4 that she needed the big blind to move over to table no. 2. The person in the big blind of table 4 happened to be none other than Billy Baxter, and his departure was met by jubilation by those players he would be leaving. Chau Giang greeted the decision with a round of applause. Apparently 5 deuce-to-seven bracelets earns you a lot of respect.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Gioi Luong,   Robert Mizrachi,   David Sklansky,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Ben Ponzio,   Steve Sung,   James Copeland,   Billy Baxter,   Ralph Perry,   European Report

$2,500 Triple Draw - Ponzi-Out

Jun 24, '08

Blinds: 3,000-6,000

Players Left: 4 of 238

Chip Leaders:

John Phan - 545,000
Gioi Luong - 411,000
Shun Uchida - 181,000
Robert Mizrachi - 69,000

Eliminations:  Ben Ponzio (5th Place)

Big Hands and Storylines:

Ben Ponzio Eliminated in Fifth Place ($28,739)

John Phan raised and Ben Ponzio reraised from the button. Phan made the call and drew two and Ponzio drew one. Ponzio then got it all in and Phan called. Both players drew one again. On the third draw, both players showed their down cards and drew one more. Ponzio had the better draw with 7-5-4-2 against Phan's 8-7-4-3, but Phan drew a deuce to put the pressure on Ponzio. Ponzio needed a trey or a six to stay alive, but all he could manage was a ten to bust in fifth place.

Robert Mizrachi Getting Low

After getting frequently raised or reraised out of pots by the second draw, Robert Mizrachi is now treading water with just under 70,000.

Player Tags: John Phan,   Robert Mizrachi,   Ben Ponzio

Hour Four - Ben Ponzio Wins Event #25 ($599,467)

Jun 17, '07

Evan Schwartz Eliminated in Fourth Place ($165,008)

It was a battle of the blinds when Evan Schwartz moved all in from the small blind and Justin Rollo made the call from the big blind. Schwartz flipped over Q 3 while Rollo revealed pocket sixes. The board was dealt A J 9 8 5 and Schwartz was eliminated in fourth place. He took home $165,008 in prize money.

Break!

The players then went on a ten minute break.

The Twilight Zone

After the break, the chip counts were extremely even for three handed play. Less than one big blind separated the final three players and it created a twilight zone atmosphere.

Seat two: Justin Rollo - $2,125,000
Seat five: Ben Ponzio - $2,190,000
Seat seven: David Hewitt - $2,160,000

Rollo Gets Rolled

Ben Ponzio quickly made an all-in call with pocket queens after Justin Rollo moved all in. Rollo rolled over A 3. The board brought J J 2 4 K and shipped Ponzio the chip lead. Rollo was crippled after the hand and he will be all in on the next hand when he is in the big blind. Ponzio was now the massive chip leader with over two-thirds of the chips left in play.

Justin Rollo Eliminated in Third Place ($244,566)

Justin Rollo moved all and Hewitt made the call. Rollo flipped over Q 5, while Hewitt showed K 10. The board came A 7 4 2 6. Rollo was eliminated in third place and he took home $244,566.

Heads-Up!

The unlikely heads-up match brought together two players who were on the brink of elimination earlier in the day. It also brought out the vocal chords of Hewitt, who now held a massive chip lead when things started.

The match began slowly despite the large chip lead of Ponzio. He had $5.3 million to the $1.2 million of Hewitt after 15 minutes of heads-up play. The blinds were kicked up to $60,000-$120,000 with a $15,000 ante. Hewitt held strong and the heads-up match continued over 30 hands before it got interesting.

Ben Ponzio Wins Event #25 ($599,467)

Player Tags: Ben Ponzio,   Evan Schwartz,   David Hewitt,   Justin Rollo

Hour Three

Jun 17, '07

Break Time

The next couple minutes of action passed idly by, like a calm stretch on a river. The players then went on a 20 minute break. The blinds went up when they returned to $40,000-$80,000 with a $10,000 ante.

Chip Counts

Seat one: Evan Schwartz - $905,000
Seat two: Justin Rollo - $3,300,000
Seat five: Ben Ponzio - $1,075,000
Seat seven: David Hewitt - $1,095,000

Double Down

Rollo moved all in on a flop of 9 8 6 and Schwartz immediately calls with pocket sixes. Rollo showed 8 7 and the turn card was the 7. The river brought the 2 and Schwartz double up his chip stack.

A few hands later Ben Ponzio moved all in on a flop of 10 9 6 and Schwartz made the call. Schwartz quickly flipped over J 10 and Ponzio threw down A 9. The turn and river cards were dealt J 4. Ponzio hits his runner-runner flush to survive and double up.

Musical Chip Lead

The players were now trading the chip lead every coupled of hands. A lot of power poker is being played at this final table. Any player can go from rags to riches on any hand.

Chip Counts - Version 2.0

Seat one: Evan Schwartz - $1,230,000
Seat two: Justin Rollo - $1,640,000
Seat five: Ben Ponzio - $2,360,000
Seat seven: David Hewitt - $1,300,000

Player Tags: Ben Ponzio,   Evan Schwartz,   David Hewitt,   Justin Rollo

Hour Two

Jun 17, '07

Leader Board

Seat one: Evan Schwartz - $2,170,000
Seat two: Justin Rollo - $850,000
Seat four: Adam Ross - $270,000
Seat five: Ben Ponzio - $650,000
Seat six: Danny Noam - $830,000
Seat seven: David Hewitt - $375,000
Seat nine: Travis Rice - $1,360,000

Price of Poker Increases

Action continued along seven handed uneventfully for the next dozen or so hands. The blinds were then kicked up again to $30,000-$60,000 with a $5,000 ante.

Adam Ross Eliminated in Seventh Place ($61,878)

Adam Ross pushed all in and Travis Rice made the call. Rice flipped over K 10. Ross showed down A 7. The board was rolled out K 10 3 3 2 and Ross was eliminated in seventh place. He took home $61,878 in prize money.

The Big Three

With action down to six handed, three players held the lions share of the chips. The table had been divided into the haves, and have not's. Rice , Justin Rollo, and Evan Schwartz represented the big three and they were all seated right next to each other.

Triples Alley

David Hewitt moved all in preflop and both Danny Noam and Justin Rollo made the call. The two live payers then check down a board of 6 5 4 10 8. Hewitt flipped up A 7 to take down the pot. Neither Noam (Q J) or Rollo (A 8) showed down enough strength to beat him out of the pot.

Danny Noam Eliminated in Sixth Place ($82,504)

Danny Noam was all in preflop with pocket eights against the As 10s that Schwartz held. The board was dealt Q 10 5 4 4 and Schwartz won the pot with tens up. Noam was eliminated in sixth place, and took home $82,504 in prize money.

Revised Leader Board

Seat one: Evan Schwartz - $1,240,000
Seat two: Justin Rollo - $1,350,000
Seat five: Ben Ponzio - $1,750,000
Seat seven: David Hewitt - $600,000
Seat nine: Travis Rice - 1$,540,000

Ground Rollo Double

Justin Rollo raised from the cut off and Rice reraised from the big blind. Rollo moved all in and Rice calls with pocket jacks. Rollo rolled over K Q. The board was rolled out A 10 4 Q 7 and Rollo paired up his queen. He doubled up through Rice on the hand.

Travis Rice Eliminated in Fifth Place ($111,970)

Travis Rice was all in on the short stack with 8 7, against the A 7 of David Hewitt. The board hit the table Q 10 3 7 5, and Hewitt took down the pot with his ace kicker. Rice was eliminated in fifth place. He took home $111,970 in prize money. The chip leader at the beginning of the day has fallen.

Player Tags: Danny Noam,   Ben Ponzio,   Evan Schwartz,   Adam Ross,   David Hewitt,   Travis Rice,   Justin Rollo