Tony Ma Poker Tournament Updates

Tony Ma Eliminated By Michael Wasserman

Oct 20, '18

Tony Ma was all in preflop holding A-K against the pocket fives of Michael Wasserman.

The flop brought a king, giving Ma a great chance to double up, but the river was a five, giving Wasserman a set and the pot. Ma was sent to the payout desk, while Wasserman is up to 400,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Tony Ma,   Michael Wasserman

Tony Ma Doubles Through Robert Mather

Oct 20, '18

We caught up with the action on a board of J52Q with Tony Ma all-in for his last 90,900.

Robert Mather made the call with AA, but Ma had him beat with QJ for two pair. The river was the K and Ma raked in the massive pot to double up to 270,000. Mather was still left with about 100,000 in chips.

Player Tags: Tony Ma,   Robert Mather

1999 Player of the Year Tony Ma Doing Well

Oct 13, '14

Tony Ma has just $4.5 million in live tournament earnings and won the 1999 Card Player Player of the Year Award.

He is in the field today and doing well with 55,000 in chips. He will be looking to win his 18th live tournament title here in the 2014 CPPT Bike main event.

Player Tags: Tony Ma

Level 27 Update: Stephen Chidwick Out in 6th, Tony Ma Out in 5th

Jun 12, '13

Level: 27

Blinds: 15,000-30,000

Players Remaining: 4 out of 1,014

Average Chip Count: 1,901,250

Chip Counts:

Seat 1: Can Kim Hua – 1,400,000
Seat 3: Calen McNeil – 1,800,000
Seat 4: Joe Ford – 675,000
Seat 5: Todd Brunson – 250,000

Players Eliminated:

6th: Stephen Chidwick – $43,120
5th: Tony Ma – $57,521

Live Updates:

Stephen Chidwick Eliminated in Sixth Place ($43,120)

Calen McNeil raised preflop and Todd Brunson called on the small blind. Stephen Chidwick reraised on the big blind and McNeil four-bet. Brunson called and then Chidwick five-bet all in. Both Brunson and McNeil called and the flop was dealt 1083.

Brunson checked, McNeil bet, and Brunson called. The turn fell 6 and Brunson checked once more. McNeil bet and Brunson folded his cards. McNeil then turned over AA74 and he was ahead of Chidwick. The river changed nothing and McNeil scooped the pot to grow his stack to 1.8 million. Chidwick was eliminated in sixth place on the hand.

Joe Ford Doubles Up Through Calen McNeil

Tony Ma raised on the button and Calen McNeil called on the small blind. Joe Ford reraised and Ma called. McNeil reraised again and Ford then capped the betting with one final raise. Ma folded his hand and McNeil called. The flop was dealt 1052 and Ford got all in. McNeil had him covered and they turned over their cards.

Ford: AA92
McNeil: AQJJ

Turn and River: 7K

Ford won the hand to double up and survive with 625,000 and McNeil was still cruising with 1.45 million.

Tony Ma Eliminated in Fifth Place ($57,521)

Tony Ma was all in on a short stack preflop against both Todd Brunson and Joe Ford. The two live players then checked down a board reading 8649A. Ford had made a flush to take the high and Brunson secured the low so that left nothing for Ma, who was eliminated in fifth place on the hand.

Player Tags: Tony Ma,   Todd Brunson,   Calen McNeil,   Stephen Chidwick,   Joe Ford

Level 26 Update: John Monnette Eliminated in 7th Place

Jun 12, '13

Level: 26

Blinds: 15,000-30,000

Players Remaining: 6 out of 1,014

Average Chip Count: 1,267,500

Chip Counts:

Seat 1: Can Kim Hua – 1,150,000
Seat 3: Calen McNeil – 1,100,000
Seat 4: Joe Ford – 475,000
Seat 5: Todd Brunson – 500,000
Seat 6: Stephen Chidwick – 465,000
Seat 9: Tony Ma – 480,000

Players Eliminated:

7th: John Monnette – $32,798

Live Updates:

Stephen Chidwick Doubles Up Through Todd Brunson

Todd Brunson and Stephen Chidwick capped the preflop betting before the flop hit K66. Chidwick then got the last of his chips into the middle against Brunson and they flipped over their cards.

Brunson: A852
Chidwick: AKQ7

Turn and River: 106

Chidwick doubled up to 465,000 after the hand and Todd Brunson fell to 320,000.

Tony Ma Doubles Up Through Calen McNeil

Calen McNeil raised under the gun and both Stephen Chidwick on the button and Tony Ma on the big blind called. The flop was dealt Q107 and Ma bet. Both opponents called and the turn fell Q. Ma went all in for 45,000 and McNeil called. Chidwick folded and Ma flipped over AQ108. McNeil was behind and received no help on the river. Ma doubled up to 325,000 after the hand.

John Monnette Eliminated in Seventh Place ($32,798)

John Monnette raised and Calen McNeil reraised preflop. Monnette called and the flop was dealt J82. Monnette got all in and McNeil called before the two players tabled their hands.

McNeil: A766
Monnette: 5332

Turn and River: 1010

Monnette was eliminated in seventh place and McNeil grew his stack to 960,000 on the hand.

Player Tags: Tony Ma,   Todd Brunson,   John Monnette,   Calen McNeil,   Stephen Chidwick

Level 25 Update: Dao Bac Out in 9th, Won Goag Out in 8th

Jun 12, '13

Level: 25

Blinds: 13,000-25,000

Players Remaining: 7 out of 1,014

Average Chip Count: 1,086,429

Chip Counts:

Seat 1: Can Kim Hua – 1,150,000
Seat 3: Calen McNeil – 1,100,000
Seat 4: Joe Ford – 475,000
Seat 5: Todd Brunson – 500,000
Seat 6: Stephen Chidwick – 465,000
Seat 8: John Monnette – 290,000
Seat 9: Tony Ma – 480,000

Players Eliminated:

9th: Dao Buc – $19,753
8th: Won Goag – $25,283

Live Updates:

Dao Bac Crippled by Calen McNeil

Calen McNeil raised under the gun and Dao Bac called on the big blind. The flop was dealt J107 and Bac and McNeil capped the betting on the round. The turn fell Q and Bac check-called a bet from McNeil. The river brought the 5 and Bac check-called another bet from McNeil. McNeil turned over AKJ10 and it was enough to win the hand when Bac mucked.

Dao Bac Eliminated in Ninth Place ($19,753)

Dao Bac was all in for 9,000 after John Monnette raised. Calen McNeil also called and the flop was dealt J63. McNeil checked and Monnette bet. McNeil called and the turn brought the 6. Monnette bet again and McNeil folded.

Monnette held AA34 and Bac held A842. The Q fell on the river and that ensured that Monnette would scoop the pot to grow his stack to 625,000. Bac was eliminated in ninth place on the hand.

Won Goag Eliminated in Eighth Place ($25,283)

Won Goag raised preflop and Tony Ma reraised. Goag then moved all in and Ma called. The two players then revealed their hands.

Ma: AAKQ
Goag: AK102

Board: AQ262

Tony Ma won the hand to grow his stack to 480,000 and Won Goag was eliminated on the hand in eighth place in a full house over full house elimination.

Player Tags: Tony Ma,   John Monnette,   Dao Bac,   Calen McNeil,   Won Goag

Official Final Table Begins for Event No. 20 ($1,500 Omaha Eight-or-Better)

Jun 12, '13

The final table of Event No. 20 ($1,500 Omaha Eight-or-Better) has begun, and Card Player will be posting level-by-level updates with all major hands, current chip counts, and prize payouts.

With the elimination of Dale Beaudoin in tenth place ($15,623), the nine-handed final table is now set. Play will begins in Level 24 with blinds of 10,000-20,000, and action will continue until a winner is determined. Play may be extended an additional day if it takes more than 10 levels to reach a winner as noted on the official structure sheet. With cards now back in the air, here is a look at the final table and how these players stack up:

Seat 1: Can Kim Hua -908,000
Seat 2: Dao Buc – 291,000
Seat 3: Calen McNeil – 850,000
Seat 4: Joe Ford – 590,000
Seat 5: Todd Brunson – 500,000
Seat 6: Stephen Chidwick – 115,000
Seat 7: Won Goag – 164,000
Seat 8: John Monnette – 575,000
Seat 9: Tony Ma – 520,000

While only 9 remain, this event attracted a field of 1,014 players, creating a total prize pool of $1,368,900, and the top 117 players made the money. Here is a look at the final table payouts:

1st Place: $277,274
2nd Place: $171,577
3rd Place: $107,349
4th Place: $77,917
5th Place: $57,521
6th Place: $43,120
7th Place: $32,798
8th Place: $25,283
9th Place: $19,753

Be sure to check back with Card Player at the conclusion of each level for regular updates with all major hands, current chip counts, and prize payouts.

Player Tags: Can Kim Hua,   Tony Ma,   Todd Brunson,   John Monnette,   Stephen Chidwick

Tony Ma Eliminated

Mar 18, '13

Tony Ma got the last of his stack all in with a set of kings on a A-K-J-5 board against an opponent’s pair and flush draw.

The river brought the flush and Ma was eliminated.

Player Tags: Tony Ma

Level Seven Hour One Update: Varkonyi Bullies Rousso

Jul 10, '10

Blinds: 300-600 with a 75 ante

Players Remaining: 2,097 out of 7,319

Chip Counts:

1. Gabriel Walls – 300,000
2. Robert Miller – 212,000
3. Dave Sands – 210,000
4. Steve Billirakis – 200,000
5. Khamsy Nuanmanee – 186,500
6. Dan Santoro – 180,000
7. Jason DeWitt – 177,000
8. Matt Keikoan – 170,000
9. Bryn Kenney – 170,000
10. Robert Varkonyi – 160,000

Card Player Chip Counts:

Josh Brikis — 97,500
Mike Matusow — 12,700
Roy Winston — 20,000
Jennifer Harman — 34,000
Jeff Shulman – 43,500

Notable Eliminations:

Kirk Morrison

Big Hands:

Varkonyi Takes Some From Rousso

Former main event champ Robert Varkonyi called Vanessa Rousso’s raise of 1,500 and the two saw a flop of 548. Varkonyi checked and Rousso’s bet 2,000. Varkonyi then check-raised to 6,000. Vanessa called.

The J hit on the turn and Varkonyi led out for 12,000. Rousso tanked and asked Varkonyi how many chips he had. “Well over 100k,” he told her. After some time, Rousso just called.

The 3 finished the board and Varkonyi checked. Rousso followed suit and announced that she had missed all sorts of draws, flipping up 56. Varkonyi showed 88 for a flopped set and took down the pot.

Varkonyi had around 140,000 in chips after the hand. Rousso was still going strong with around 175,000.

Morrison On Life Support

Kirk Morrison limped into the pot in middle position and three others came along for the ride.

The flop ran 4AA and Morrison bet 500. Everyone folded except the player in seat 7, who called. Both players checked the 2 turn and again on the Q river.

Seat 7 turned up Q3 for a busted flush draw that hit a pair on the river. Morrison looked like he wanted to tear up his cards as he mucked. He was down to just 4,350.

Nguyen Makes Great Fold

We caught up wit the action with a short stacked player already all-in and there was over 48,000 in the middle. Nguyen thought about the decision to call off all his chips for three minutes before making the fold.

He showed KK face up and was happy to see that the other player had turned up AA. Nguyen saved himself some chips and has 75,000.

Kirk Morrison Bounced

Kirk Morrison moved all-in after the player under-the-gun raised. The player on the button called Morrison’s all-in and the player under-the-gun made it 12,275. The player on the button opted to move all-in for 16,600 total and there was a three-way showdown.

The player under-the-gun showed 66, Morrison showed AK, and the player on the button showed AA.

Aces held up in the three-way all-in all Morrison’s WSOP has come to an end.

Cantu Scores a Knockout

Brandon Cantu had an opponent all-in with AK and had his opponent dominated when he showed AQ.

The board ran out 9J476, keeping Cantu’s big slick in the lead and he chips up to 90,000.

Pavilion Room Coverage

Tony Ma Wins a Pot

On a board reading A109Q Tony Ma checked. His opponent bet 2,400 and Ma raised to 6,400. His opponent called. The river brought the 9 and Ma checked. His opponent quickly checked behind. Ma announced straight and turned over the J8. His opponent mucked. Ma was at over 100,000 after the hand.

Prahlad Friedman Free-rolling

There was massive confusion and lots of debating around a table in the Pavilion Room. The story goes that Prahlad Friedman was in the big blind and was squared off in a hand versus the small blind. The flop came jack-high and Friedman’s opponent bet into him. Friedman called and there was heavy betting on the turn. On the river, the small blind bet 80,000, which was more than enough to put Friedman all in. Friedman went into the tank for minutes before his opponent finally called the clock on him. The floor came over and started giving the countdown. With three seconds left, Friedman announced call and everyone at the table heard him. However, apparently the floor didn’t hear the call, continued the countdown to zero and announced that Friedman’s hand was dead. Friedman’s opponent tabled top two and Friedman didn’t turn over his dead hand. Friedman said that his opponent had the best hand. Allegedly, Friedman should have been eliminated but from the ruling was still alive and free-rolling the rest of the way.

Player Tags: Tony Ma,   Prahlad Friedman,   Anh Van Nguyen,   Robert Varkonyi,   Vanessa Rousso,   Kirk Morrison

Jacobo vs. Ma

Feb 16, '09

Limit Hold'em
On a board of 9729 Tony Ma raised to 1,100 and Jacobo Fernandez made the call.

The river brought a jack and Fernandez led out for 500. Ma raised to 1,100 and Fernandez made the call. Ma turned up two deuces and took down the hand with a full house.













 

Player Tags: Tony Ma,   Jacobo Fernandez

Tony Ma Eliminated

Nov 05, '08

After seeing a ten-high flop, Tony Ma got the rest of his chips in holding pocket jacks, only to see his opponent turn over pocket kings.

The turn and river offered no help and Ma was busted from the tournament.

Player Tags: Tony Ma

Tony Ma Eliminated in 22nd Place ($17,738)

Oct 29, '08

Hevad Khan raised to 150,000 preflop and Tony Ma moved all in on the button. Michael Kamran then came over the top of Ma and moved all in for close to 900,000 more. Khan mucked and the two players that shoved turned up their hands:

Kamran: KK
Ma: QQ

Board: 106493

Ma was eliminated in 22nd place and he will take home $17,738 in prize money.







 

Player Tags: Tony Ma,   Hevad Khan,   Michael Kamran

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

Jonathan Little Eliminated by Tony Ma

Oct 29, '08

After losing half of his stack with two pair against a set, Jonathan Little moved all in with less than 10 big blinds holding A-Q. Tony Ma woke up with A-K and the board failed to help Little out.

Despite his elimination, Little had a good October, making three final tables at Festa al Lago and finishing second twice to Alec Torelli in back-to-back tournaments.

Player Tags: Tony Ma,   Jonathan Little

Hours Away From Stud Hi-Low

Jun 25, '08

The $1,500 buy-in seven-card stud high-low event is hours away. The buy increased from $1,000 a year ago to $1,500 this year.

Last year, a total of 668 players filled the Rio's Amazon Room for some seven-card mayhem. The prize pool totaled $607,880. Tom Schneider took home the bracelet on his way to the 2007 World Series of Poker Player of the Year title. He also netted himself a nice payday of $147,713. He topped a final table that included Scotty Nguyen and Tony Ma.

Players will begin with 3,000 in chips. There will be a 20-minute break after every two levels and players will get a 30-minute break after level 4. Play will stop at the conclusion of level 8. The remaining players will return at 3 p.m. Friday for Day 2.






 

Player Tags: Scotty Nguyen,   Tony Ma,   Tom Schneider

$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 16 Recap

Jun 20, '08

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

Blinds: 4,000-8,000

Players Left: 26 of 235

Chip Leaders:
Ram Vaswani - 385,000
Chau Giang - 360,000
David Benyamine - 320,000
David Chiu - 285,000
Berry Johnston – 250,000
Mike Matusow - 235,000
Greg Jamison - 215,000
Eugene Katchalov - 185,000
Toto Leonidas - 180,000
Jason Gray - 160,000
James Grove - 160,000

Average Stack:

Eliminations:
26^th – Tony Ma
27^th – Alexander Kostritsyn
Doyle Brunson
Erick Lindgren
Max Pescatori

Big Hands and Storylines:

They’re In The Money

The bubble has just burst and the players remaining are all now guaranteed to walk away from this tournament a bit richer than when they started (prop bets and cross-booking aside). Those who finish in places 19-27 will take home $22,090.

Whichever Comes First

According to the higher-ups here at the Rio, tonight’s event will play until the end of level 18 or until we reach the final table, whichever comes first. The former is looking far more likely with 26 players still remaining. If all goes according to plan, we should be out of here by about 3:30 tonight.

Katch Him If You Can

Eugene Katchalov just won a nice pot off of Toto Leonidas when Leonidas, after raising pre-flop from under-the-gun, check-called on every street against the Ukraine-born New Yorker. The final board was Q87Q4 and Katchalov showed A842 His two-pair, queens and eights, and nut low scooped him the pot, taking him up to 185,000. Leonidas is right on his tail with 180,000.

Dehkharghani Doubles

Ray Dehkharghani bet into two players on a flop of Q62, Danny Smith folded and Mike Matusow called. With only 26,000 left going into the turn, Dehkharghani committed himself by firing at Matusow when an 8 landed. Matusow set his opponent all-in and they revealed their hands:

Matusow: AJ62
Dehkharghani: KQJ10

The river was the Q and Dehkharghani scooped the pot, more than doubling him up to 80,000. The hand only took a sliver out of Matusow’s stack, which now sits at 220,000.

Berry Bests Brunson, Brad Booth

 Brad Booth raised from middle position and got calls from Berry Johnston in middle position and Doyle Brunson in the small blind. The flop came K106 and Brunson led out, Booth raised, and Johnston raised him. Both Brunson and Booth called the bet and the turn was the 10. Brunson and Booth checked to Berry who, predictably, bet. This time Brunson and Booth bowed out of the hand and allowed Johnston to take down the pot. Berry Johnston now has 250,000 in chips. Booth is sitting with 100,000. Brunson was eliminated not too long after this hand, right on the bubble.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Erick Lindgren,   Tony Ma,   Max Pescatori,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Greg Jamison,   David Chiu,   Jason Gray,   Ram Vaswani,   Chau Giang,   Berry Johnston,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Eugene Katchalov,   Brad Booth,   Alexander Kostritsyn

$10,000 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better - Day 2 - Level 15 Recap

Jun 20, '08

Blinds: 3,000-6,000

Players Left:  35 of 235

Chip Leaders:
David Benyamine - 325,000
Greg Jamison - 305,000
Chau Giang - 300,000
Mike Matusow - 230,000
Toto Leonidas - 220,000
Ram Vaswani - 195,000
Danny Dang - 190,000
Bob Slezak - 190,000
Hieu Ma - 180,000
Pat Rao - 170,000

Average Stack: 134,300

Eliminations:
Robert Williamson III
Soheil Shamseddin

Big Hands and Storylines:

Crunch Time

We’re down to 35 players here in the Brasilia Room and with 27 places playing, play should start to tighten up not too long from now. Though the field is still littered with seasoned professionals who are looking for more than a 27^th place finish, short stacks who are unlikely to mount a deep run might start to play a bit more conservatively.

All Bets Are Off

Mike Matusow asked David Benyamine, seated directly behind him, how many chips he had. After Benyamine informed him that he had 325,000 in front of him, Matusow remarked, “You’ve got 100,000 more than me. I’ll take +130 for $10,000.” Benyamine’s response: “I don’t bet with broken men.”

Ouch.

And There’s Poker Too!

Robert Williamson III was eliminated in a three-way pot involving Mike Matusow and James Van Alstyne. Matusow and Van Alstyne split the pot and Williamson was left shaking his head in disappointment.

At the table across the aisle, Soheil Shamseddin was eliminated by Max Pescatori. On a board of QJ96A, Shamseddin showed QQ108 for a straight along with a set of queens, but he was outdone by the Italian’s A1082. Pescatori, conversing about Italy’s chances against Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2008 quarterfinals, is now up to 165,000.

Brunson on the Move

Not only has Doyle Brunson taken a new seat at the table of Max Pescatori, Brad Booth, and Berry Johnston, but his chips have been on the move as well. Brunson dropped almost half of his chips during the last level, falling from 250,000 all the way to 130,000.

Player Tags: Trai "Danny" Dang,   Toto Leonidas,   Bob Slezak,   Tony Ma,   Pat Rao,   Max Pescatori,   David Benyamine,   Mike Matusow,   Doyle Brunson,   Greg Jamison,   Ram Vaswani,   Chau Giang,   Robert Williamson III,   Soheil Shamseddin

$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

$10,000 Omaha 8/b World Championship - Tony Ma Eliminated in 9th place ($55,225)

Jun 21, '08

Note: The remaining seven players have just begun a sixty-minute dinner break and will return at roughly 9:00 pm local time to resume play in Level 22 with increased blinds of 15,000-30,000 and stakes of 30,000-60,000.

Blinds: 15,0000-30,000
Stakes: 30,000-60,000

Players Left: 8

Eliminations:
Tony Ma Eliminated in 9th Place ($55,225)

Big Hands:

Tony Ma Eliminated in 9th Place ($55,225)

A severley short stacked Tony Ma got it all in on the turn on a board of 10743. Toto Leonidas looked him up.

Ma: 8543
Leonidas: A982

Ma flopped a flush and Leonidas flopped a better flush. The river was the A and Ma became very excited, thinking that Leonidas' low hand was counterfeited, but it wasn't. Leonidas scooped the pot with a better  high and a better low hand than Tony Ma, who was eliminated in 9th place ($555,225).

Ram Vaswani Triples Up

On a board of Q1053, David benyamine bet out, Ram Vaswani raised, and David Chiu reraised. Banyamine called, Vaswani reraised all in, and both Chiu and Benyamine called to see the river (9). Benyamine and Chiu checked the side pot, and Vaswani turned over K1052 for two pair. Vaswani scooped the pot with the high hand, tripling up to over 500,000 chips after the hand.

Mike Matusow Chips Up

After nearly quadroupling up earlier in the level against David Benyamine, David Chiu and Eugene Katchalov, Matusow then took a bog pot off of Toto Leonidas to bring hom from the short stack all the way up to 350,000. In one of the last few hands before the dinner break, Matusow scooped a big pot off of Benyamine, chipping up to nearly 600,000 and finding some much needed momentum. Matusow kept telling the table not to let him duoble up even once or they'd be sorry. It looks as if Matusow was right.

Player Tags: Toto Leonidas,   Tony Ma,   David Benyamine,   David Chiu,   Ram Vaswani

$10,000 Omaha 8/b World Championship - Hour One

Jun 21, '08

Blinds: 6,000-12,000
Stakes: 12,000-24,000

Players Left: 16

Chip Leaders:
Chau Giang: 480,000
Ram Vaswani: 452,000
Mike Matusow: 442,000
Jason Gray: 400,000
Toto Leonidas: 400,000
Tony Ma: 398,000
David Chiu: 380,000
David Benyamine: 300,000
Gerg Jamison: 254,000
Berry Johnston: 218,000

Eliminations:
Ray Dehkharghani Eliminated in 18th Place ($27,612)
William McMahan Eliminated in  17th Place ($27,612)

Big Hands:

Ray Dehkharghani Eliminated in 18th Place ($27,612)

Tony Ma raised from early position and Ray Dehkhargani reraised from middle position. Ma called and the flop came 1065. Ma checked to Dehkhargani who bet, Ma raised (check-raise), and Dehkhargani called all in. 

Tony Ma: AK84
Dehkhargani: AA75

Ma flopped an inside straight draw and an 8-4 low draw while Dehkhargani flopped the best hand with pocket aces for the overpair and a 7-A low. The turn was the Q, no help to either player, but the river was the 7, giving Ma the straight (high) and counterfeiting Dehkhargani's low hand. Ma scooped the pot while Dehkhargani was eliminated in 18th place ($27,612).

William McMahan Eliminated in  17th Place ($27,612)

Tony Ma raised from the small blind and William McMahan called from the big blind. The flop came 987, and Ma bet out, McMahan called. The turn was the K, and once again Ma bet out and McMahan called. The river was the 2, and Ma bet out (the bet being enough to put McMahan all in), McMahan called. McMahan turned over AJ82 for two pair (high) no low, while Ma showed 10653 for the flopped straight (high) and an 8-7-6-5-3 low. Ma scooped another pot and eliminated another player, this time it was William McMahan in 17th place ($27,612).
 

Player Tags: Tony Ma,   Ray Dehkharghani,   William McMahan