Minh Ly Poker Tournament Updates

Level 22 Update: Mike Wattel Out 7th, Minh Ly Out 6th, George Danzer Out 5th

Jul 04, '13

Level: 22

Players Remaining: 4 out of 132

Average Chip Count: 4,950,000

Chip Counts:

Seat 1: Matthew Ashton – 4,650,000
Seat 3: Don Nguyen – 7,550,000
Seat 7: John Hennigan – 3,015,000
Seat 8: David Benyamine – 4,880,000

Players Eliminated:

7th: Mike Wattel – $251,602
6th: Minh Ly – $309,830
5th: George Danzer – $388,523

Live Updates:

Mike Wattel Eliminated in Seventh Place ($251,602)

No-Limit Hold’em

Don Nguyen raised to 80,000 and Mike Wattel reraised all in for 550,000. Nguyen called and the two players tabled their hands.

Nguyen: AQ
Wattel: AJ

Board: Q10629

Nguyen won the pot to grow his stack close to 6 million with a pair of queens and Wattel was eliminated in seventh place.

Minh Ly Eliminated in Sixth Place ($309,830)

Seven-Card Stud

George Danzer posted the bring-in and Minh Ly completed. David Benyamine called and Danzer called as well. Minh bet on fourth street and both opponents called. On fifth street it was Ly who led out again. Benyamine raised and Danzer reraised. Minh called all in and Benyamine four-bet.

Danzer called and then action in the side pot saw Benyamine bet on sixth street and seventh street and Danzer calling both times. All the cards were tabled and Benyamine won the side pot with (86) Q810A (10) for an ace-high flush. That was also good enough to top Minh’s (AK) K102A (9) and win the main pot.

Minh was eliminated in sixth place and Benyamine grew his stack to a chip-leading 5.15 million. Danzer was below 2 million after the hand.

George Danzer Eliminated in Fifth Place ($388,523)

Pot-Limit Omaha

David Benyamine raised to 80,000 on the cutoff and Don Nguyen called on the small blind. George Danzer also called on the big blind and the flop was dealt 883. Nguyen bet 150,000 and Danzer bumped it up to 425,000. Benyamine folded and Nguyen reraised to 800,000. Danzer then made it 1.2 million to go and Nguyen kicked it up to 1.6 million. Danzer then reraised all in for 2.25 million and Nguyen called. The two players then revealed their hands.

Nguyen: KJ108
Danzer: AK98

Turn and River: 4J

Nguyen won the pot with a full house on the river to take the chip lead with 7.55 million and Danzer was eliminated in fifth place.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Michael Wattel,   George Danzer

Level 27: Hellmuth Leads Rast Heads-Up, Ly Eliminated 3rd ($665,763)

Jul 07, '11

NOTE: Although this tournament began as a mixed-game event, the official eight-handed final table will only be playing No-Limit Hold’em from here on out.

NOTE: One-hundred minute levels with a fifteen minute break at the end of each level.

Blinds: 60,000-120,000 with a 30,000 ante

Players Remaining: 2 out of 128

Average Chip Count: 9,600,000

Chip Counts:

1. Phil Hellmuth – 10,015,000
2. Brian Rast – 9,185,000

Eliminations:

3rd. Minh Ly – $665,763

Minh Ly Eliminated in 3rd Place ($665,763)

Phil Hellmuth button-raised to 280,000 before the flop, Minh Ly moved all in for about 1,900,000 from the small blind and Hellmuth called.

Hellmuth lead with A 6 against Ly’s K 5.

The board came 9 7 6 5 3, giving Hellmuth a pair of sixes on the flop to win the pot. Minh Ly was eliminated in 3rd place ($665,763) while Hellmuth took the chip lead going into heads-up play.

NOTE: With the elimination of Minh Ly in 3rd place, Phil Hellmuth took the chip lead going into heads-up play with 10,015,000 to Brian Rast’s 9,185,000.

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Phil Hellmuth,   Brian Rast

Level 26: Rast Takes Chip Lead, Ahmed Eliminated 4th ($482,085)

Jul 06, '11

NOTE: The final four players took a one hour dinner break at the conclusion of Level 25 and returned at approximately 10:45pm to resume play.

NOTE: Although this tournament began as a mixed-game event, the official eight-handed final table will only be playing No-Limit Hold’em from here on out.

NOTE: One-hundred minute levels with a fifteen minute break at the end of each level.

Blinds: 50,000-100,000 with a 30,000 ante

Players Remaining: 3 out of 128

Average Chip Count: 6,400,000

Chip Counts:

1. Brian Rast – 8,925,000
2. Phil Hellmuth – 8,120,000
3. Minh Ly – 2,155,000

Eliminations:

4th. Owais Ahmed – $482,085

Hellmuth Loses Chip Lead, Takes it Back

Hellmuth lost the chip lead back to Minh Ly at the beginning of Level 26 and then continued to give even more away. Hellmuth lost a 2 million chip pot to Brian Rast that didn’t make it to a showdown about a half-hour in, and that hand knocked Hellmuth down to third in chips behind both Minh Ly and Brian Rast.

Hellmuth answered back however and managed to take a pot off of Brian Rast worth over 3 million with a pair of sixes, once again taking the chip lead with just under 7 million.

Rast Doubles Through Ly, Takes Chip Lead

Brian Rast who had since been knocked down to third in chips with about 4.2 million found a well-timed double up through Minh Ly that put Rast on top with 8.6 million and knocked Ly down to the short stack with 1.9 million in chips.

Minh Ly opened the pot for a raise to 200,000 from under the gun, Brian Rast reraised to 500,000 from the button and Ly called.

The flop came 7 6 2, Ly bet 1,000,000, Rast moved all in for about 3,700,000 and Ly called.

Rast lead with 10 10 against Ly’s J 7.

The turn and river were the K and the 3, no help for Minh Ly as Brian Rast doubled up to take the chip lead with about 8.6 million.

Owais Ahmed Eliminated in 4th Place ($482,085)

Phil Hellmuth completed the small blind, Owais Ahmend moved all in from the big blind for about 1,750,000 and Hellmuth called.

Hellmuth lead with A J against Ahmed’s K 10.

The board came K 9 7 5 A, giving Ahmed top pair on the flop for the lead, but Hellmuth rivered an ace to win the pot. Owais Ahmed was eliminated in 4th place ($482,085).

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Phil Hellmuth,   Brian Rast,   Owais Ahmed

Level 25: Hellmuth Leads Final Four At The Dinner Break

Jul 06, '11

NOTE: The final four players took a one hour dinner break at the conclusion of Level 25 and will return at approximately 10:45pm to resume play.

NOTE: Although this tournament began as a mixed-game event, the official eight-handed final table will only be playing No-Limit Hold’em from here on out.

NOTE: One-hundred minute levels with a fifteen minute break at the end of each level.

Blinds: 40,000-80,000 with a 20,000 ante

Players Remaining: 4 out of 128

Average Chip Count: 4,800,000

Chip Counts:

1. Phil Hellmuth – 6,875,000
2. Minh Ly – 5,410,000
3. Brian Rast – 4,730,000
4. Owais Ahmed – 2,185,000

Hellmuth Gives Back, Still Leads at Dinner

Hellmuth first lost about 700,000 chips to Minh Ly in a big pot that dropped Hellmuth down to about 9 million in chips and kicked Ly up to 6.1 million. Ly flopped top pair on an all spade board and although Hellmuth saved bets on the turn and the river, he mucked the A that hand after failing to hit his draw.

Despite shipping chips the other way, Hellmuth has continued to be quite active heading towards the dinner break. Rast won a three-way, million-chip pot with an
A – Q high as well a s a few smaller pots against Hellmuth this past hour, slowly closing the gap between the chip leader and the rest of the pack.

Although Hellmuth had nearly double second place an hour into this round with over 10 million chips, he aggressively managed to give back more than 3 million in the last forty minutes of the level. Hellmuth still holds a sizable chip lead heading into the dinner break four-handed with just under 7 million in chips.

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Phil Hellmuth,   Brian Rast,   Owais Ahmed

Level 25: Hellmuth Dominates Table, Extends Lead to Over 10 Million

Jul 06, '11

NOTE: Although this tournament began as a mixed-game event, the official eight-handed final table will only be playing No-Limit Hold’em from here on out.

NOTE: One-hundred minute levels with a fifteen minute break at the end of each level.

Blinds: 40,000-80,000 with a 20,000 ante

Players Remaining: 4 out of 128

Average Chip Count: 4,800,000

Chip Counts:

1. Phil Hellmuth – 10,100,000
2. Minh Ly – 5,220,000
3. Brian Rast – 2,700,000
4. owais Ahmed – 1,180,000

Hellmuth Dominates Table, Extends Lead

Phil Hellmuth has been extremely active over the last hour and as a result he has managed to extend his lead to over 10 million in chips. He first broke 7 million after flopping a set of kings with no action against Minh Ly and Brian Rast, who at the time were second and third in chips with 4.8 million and 4.5 million.

Hellmuth picked up a lot of small pots this past level as well as a 1.2 million chip pot against Owais Ahmed with a big bet on the river that forced a fold. Hellmuth managed to collect another few million chips this past hour without having many forced showdowns, but occasionally offered his opponents a peek of his current run-good.

Hellmuth showed pocket jacks after three-bet, check-shoving from the small blind against Owais Ahmed’s big blind. That hand left Ahmed on the short stack and put Hellmuth close to 8 million in chips.

Hellmuth continued to dominate the table this past hour and managed to take a big chunk out Brian Rast’s stack about halfway through Level 25. In two consecutive hands, Hellmuth was able to take nearly 1.1 million from Rast, Putting himself over 10 million in chips and leaving Rast with about 2.7 million. Hellmuth first rivered two pair to win a 1.4 million showdown and then another 740,000 pot with a rivered set of nines.

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Phil Hellmuth,   Brian Rast,   Owais Ahmed

Level 24: Matt Glantz Eliminated in 5th Place ($376,750)

Jul 06, '11

NOTE: Although this tournament began as a mixed-game event, the official eight-handed final table will only be playing No-Limit Hold’em from here on out.

NOTE: One-hundred minute levels with a fifteen minute break at the end of each level.

Blinds: 30,000-60,000 with a 15,000 ante

Players Remaining: 4 out of 128

Average Chip Count: 4,800,000

Chip Counts:

1. Phil Hellmuth – 6,110,000
2. Minh Ly – 5,690,000
3. Brian Rast – 5,340,000
4. Owais Ahmed – 2,060,000

Eliminations:

5th. Matt Glantz – $376,750

Matt Glantz Doubles Through Owais Ahmed

Matt Glantz was left on the short stack after the elimination of George Lind in 6th place, but he managed to double up through Minh Ly during the last level to climb to up the middle of the pack with 2.7 million in chips.

Minh Ly opened the pot for 125,000 from under the gun, Matt Glantz moved all in for about 1,250,000, Ly folded his cards out of turn before Owais Ahmed could act from the big blind. With Ly out of the way and no one to act behind him, Ahmed called.

Glantz lead with Q Q against Ahmed’s A Q.

The board came K 6 6 9 K, no help to Ahmed as Glantz doubled up to around 2.7 million that hand, putting him right in the middle of the pack.

Matt Glantz Eliminated in 5th Place ($376,750)

Minh Ly opened the pot for 130,000 from under the gun, Matt Glantz called from middle position, Phil Hellmuth called from the small blind and Owais Ahmed called from the big blind.

The flop came A Q 7, Hellmuth bet 250,000, Ahmed folded, Ly called, Glantz moved all in for 2,415,000, hellmuth tank-folded and Ly called.

Ly showed A K for top pair on the flop and Glantz showed J 10 for a flush draw and an inside straight draw.

The turn and river were the 10 and the 3, not enough help for Matt Glantz who was eliminated in 5th place ($376,750).

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Phil Hellmuth,   Matthew Glantz

Level 24: Hellmuth Leads Final Five; Lind 6th, Seiver 7th

Jul 06, '11

NOTE: Although this tournament began as a mixed-game event, the official eight-handed final table will only be playing No-Limit Hold’em from here on out.

NOTE: One-hundred minute levels with a fifteen minute break at the end of each level.

Blinds: 30,000-60,000 with a 15,000 ante

Players Remaining: 5 out of 128

Average Chip Count: 3,840,000

Chip Counts:

1. Phil Hellmuth – 7,385,000
2. Brian Rast – 4,145,000
3. Owais Ahmed – 2,990,000
4. Minh Ly – 2,885,000
5. Matt Glantz – 2,040,000

Eliminations:

6th. George Lind – $300,441
7th. Scott Seiver – $243,978

George Lind Eliminated in 6th Place ($300,441)

George Lind opened the pot for 125,000 from under the gun and Minh Ly called from the button.

The flop came A Q 6, Lind checked, Ly bet 150,000 and Lind called.

The turn was the 10, Lind checked, Ly bet 380,000, Lind check-raised all in and Ly called.

Lind turned over Q 10 for two pair but Ly was ahead with 8 7 for a flush.

The river was the 3, no help to George Lind who was eliminated in 6th place ($300,441).

Scott Seiver Eliminated in 7th Place ($243,978)

Scott Seiver moved all in before the flop and Brian Rast called from the big blind.

Rast lead with A A against Seiver’s 8 8.

The board came 7 6 3 2 9, no help for Scott Seiver who was eliminated in 7th place ($243,978).

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Brian Rast,   Scott Seiver,   George Lind

Level 23: Lester Eliminated 9th, Official Final Table Now Underway

Jul 06, '11

NOTE: The day began with the final nine players consolidated down to one table. With the elimination of Jason Lester in 9th place ($168,520), the official eight-handed final table is now underway.

NOTE: Although this tournament began as a mixed-game event, the official eight-handed final table will only be playing No-Limit Hold’em from here on out.

NOTE: One-hundred minute levels with a fifteen minute break at the end of each level.

Blinds: 25,000-50,000 with a 15,000 ante

Players Remaining: 8 out of 128

Average Chip Count: 2,400,000

Chip Counts:

1. Minh Ly – 4,490,000
2. Brian Rast – 3,860,000
3. George Lind – 2,8405,000
4. Matt Glantz – 2,685,000
5. Phil Hellmuth – 2,345,000
6. Owais Ahmed – 1,225,000
7. Scott Seiver – 1,100,000
8. Ben Lamb – 655,000

Payouts:

1st. $1,720,328
2nd. $1,063,034
3rd. $665,763
4th. $482,058
5th. $376,750
6th. $300,441
7th. $243,978
8th. $201,338

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Phil Hellmuth,   Brian Rast,   Ben Lamb,   Scott Seiver,   Owais Ahmed,   George Lind

Level 23: Unofficial Final Table Begins Now

Jul 06, '11

NOTE: Play ended last night at just after 5:00am and resumed this afternoon at approximately 3:30pm. The final nine players combined at one table, and with the elimination of just one more player, the official eight-handed final table will be set.

Triple Draw 2-7 – Hold’em – Omaha 8:
Blinds: 50,000-100,000
Limits:100,000-200,000

Razz – Stud – Stud 8:
Ante: 20,000
Bring-In: 30,000
Completion: 100,000
Limits:100,000-200,000

No-Limit Hold’em – PLO (No Ante):
Blinds: 25,000-50,000 with a 15,000 ante

Players Remaining: 9 out of 128

Average Chip Count: 2,133,333

Chip Counts:

1. Minh Ly – 5,215,000
2. Brian Rast – 2,660,000
3. Matt Glantz – 2,535,000
4. George Lind – 2,315,000
5. Phil Hellmuth – 2,245,000
6. Owais Ahmed – 1,425,000
7. Ben Lamb – 1,180,000
8. Jason Lester – 920,000
9. Scott Seiver – 725,000

Payouts:

1st. $1,720,328
2nd. $1,063,034
3rd. $665,763
4th. $482,058
5th. $376,750
6th. $300,441
7th. $243,978
8th. $201,338
9th. $168,529

Be sure to check back hourly for level-by-level updates of this final table.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Phil Hellmuth,   Jason Lester,   Brian Rast,   Ben Lamb,   Scott Seiver,   Owais Ahmed,   George Lind

Level One Hour One Update: Minh Ly Doubles Up

Jul 06, '10

Blinds: 50-100

Average Chip Counts 30,000

Notable Chip Counts:

Minh Ly – 60,000

Card Player Chip Counts:

Jon Friedberg – 30,000

Notable Eliminations:

Big Hands:

Ly Doubles With Set Over Set

Entering Minh Ly’s table at the conclusion of a hand, the dealer was counting out all of Ly’s chips for the player in seat 1 to match. Apparently Ly and seat 1 got all in on a board of 69J85. Their hands:

Ly: JJ
Seat 1: 66

Both players had flopped a set and got all in. Ly’s was best and very early in the day he doubled up and was holding around 60,000 in chips. Seat 1 was crippled and looked sick.

Sebok Takes One Early

Entering the action after the turn on a board of 3Q84, Joe Sebok bet 750 and was called by the player in seat 1. The 3 fell on the river and seat 1 checked to Sebok who bet 1,575. Seat 1 thought for a moment and folded. Sebock was up to around 32,000 after the hand.

Bellande Starts Off Going in Wrong Direction

Jean Robert was in the small blind and checked to his opponent on the turn with the board reading 4562.

His opponent fired 2,000. “You made the straight huh? I don’t have the flush, I’m going to call you,” said Bellande as he tossed in a call.

The 4 came on the river, bringing a fourth diamond and pairing the board. Bellande checked, his opponent bet 7,000 and Bellande folded.

Wattel Loses a Small Pot

There was a raise from the cutoff to 250 and Mike Wattel made the call from the big blind.

The flop came 953 and Wattel led out for 250. His opponent made the call and the dealer turned over the A on the turn. Wattel checked and his opponent bet 550, which he called.

The river was the A and both players checked. Wattel showed J10 and was no good against the cutoff player’s J3.

Left in the Deck:

Yesterday saw 18 tables playing in the Pavilion Room and were all broken within the first hour. Today, there are 40 tables playing in the Pavilion Room and will break at some point today.

Tournament officials are expecting approximately 200 more players than yesterday. Registration is still open and we will get you a field size after it has been officially announced.

A Walk Through The Masses

A quick stroll through the field revealed the following familiar faces playing in day 1b:

Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier
James Mackey
Liv Boeree
Captain Tom Franklin
Justin Bonomo
Kevin Saul
Jamie Gold
Annette Obrestad
Gavin Smith
Daniel Kelly
Gavin Griffin
Mike Swick
Joe Sebock
Jennifer Tilly
Mike Wattel
Dan Shak
Dan Harrington
Jay Rosenkrantz
Tom Schneider
Perry Friedman
Jon Friedberg
Amit Makhija
Jared Hamby
Jon Turner

Twitter Accounts:

Annette Obrestad
Phil Collins
Tristan Wade
Alex Kamberis
Rafe Furst
Joe Sebok
Justin Bonomo
Dan Kelly
David Plastik
Eugene Todd
Kevin Saul

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Michael Wattel,   Jean-Robert Bellande,   Joe Sebok

Level 10 Update

Dec 15, '08

Scoreboard

Level: 10
Blinds/Antes: 1,000-2,000 with a 300 ante

Players Left: 148 of 497
Average: 151,000

Notable Chip Counts

Chuck Kelley - 418,000
Kido Pham - 400,000
Antonio Esfandiari - 389,000
Clonie Gowen - 387,000
Phil Hellmuth - 335,000

Notable Eliminations

Michael Gracz
Jennifer Harman
Bertrand Grospellier

Nenad Medic Makes a Big Call

Nenad Medic raised to 5,500 and was called by both Tuan Le and Allen Cunningham on the button. The flop came Q83 and Medic continued with a 10,500 bet. Le folded and Cunningham raised to 28,000. After about a minute of thought, Medic made the call. The turn was the K and both players checked. The river was the 4 and Cunningham gave up. Medic showed A3 for a pair of threes and Cunningham mucked.

Kristy Gazes Doubles Up on the Short Stack

Kristy Gazes was all in holding pocket jacks against her opponent's A-K. The flop brought both a king and a jack and Gazes was able to double up to 38,000 in chips.

Marco Traniello Gets Hurt With the Ladies

The Traniello-Harman family had a bad level. Jennifer was eliminated and Marco's pocket queens ran into Minh Ly's pocket kings. The board failed to help Traniello and he was crippled down to just under 8 big blinds.

Player Tags: Kristy Gazes,   Minh Ly,   Allen Cunningham,   Marco Traniello,   Nenad Medic

Level 14 Update

Dec 16, '08

Scoreboard

Level: 14
Blinds/Antes: 3,000-6,000 with a 500 ante

Players Left: 67 of 497
Average: 334,000

Notable Chip Counts

Chino Rheem - 920,000
Evan McNiff - 850,000
Justin Young - 705,000
Scott Bohlman - 685,000
Jack Wu - 640,000

In the Money Eliminations

Steve "MrSmokey1" Billirakis ($21,620)
Annie Duke ($21,620)
Jon "PearlJammed" Turner ($21,620)
Minh Ly ($21,620)
Roy Winston ($21,620)
Amit "amak316" Makhija ($21,620)
Humberto Brenes ($21,620)
Haralabos Voulgaris ($21,620)
Andy "BKice" Seth ($21,620)

Kristy Gazes ($22,520)

Shane "Anbessa" Pacheco - ($23,420)
Rene Angelil - ($23,420)
 

Big Hands:

Humberto Brenes Is Fish Food

Humberto Brenes moved all in with pocket nines on a Q-J-10 flop only to get snap called by Steve Sung with A-K for a Broadway straight. The turn and river failed to help THE CHARK! and Brenes was eliminated from the tournament.

Annie Duke Gets Runner-Runnered

Annie Duke was all in and called by Mike Matusow on a flop of K96. Duke showed AK and Matusow turned over.... Q10. The turn and river ran out A4 and Matusow's flush took down Duke's two pair, eliminating her from the tournament.

Barry G Takes Out Two

Barry Greenstein has Jon Turner and Minh Ly all in and covered with the best hand. Greenstein showed pocket aces, Ly showed pocket kings and Turner was way behind with A-K. The board ran out 7534J and Turner and Ly were eliminated. Greenstein now has 430,000.

Antonio Esfandiari Takes a Massive Hit

Robert Mizrachi raised to 15,000 from the hijack and Antonio Esfandiari reraised to 48,000 from the cutoff. Jack Wu then moved all in from the button for 297,000. Mizrachi folded and Esfandiari made the call with A-K. Wu knocked the table and produced A-Q. His bad decision yielded a good result, however, as the flop came queen high to give him the large pot and double up. Esfandiari was left with 250,000 and a very noticeable scowl.
 

Player Tags: Humberto Brenes,   Annie Duke,   Barry Greenstein,   Minh Ly,   Antonio Esfandiari,   Mike Matusow,   Jon Turner,   Jack Wu

Level 10 Update

Dec 15, '08

Scoreboard

Level: 10
Blinds/Antes: 1,000-2,000 with a 300 ante

Players Left: 148 of 497
Average: 151,000

Notable Chip Counts

Chuck Kelley - 418,000
Kido Pham - 400,000
Antonio Esfandiari - 389,000
Clonie Gowen - 387,000
Phil Hellmuth - 335,000

Notable Eliminations

Michael Gracz
Jennifer Harman
Bertrand Grospellier

Nenad Medic Makes a Big Call

Nenad Medic raised to 5,500 and was called by both Tuan Le and Allen Cunningham on the button. The flop came Q83 and Medic continued with a 10,500 bet. Le folded and Cunningham raised to 28,000. After about a minute of thought, Medic made the call. The turn was the K and both players checked. The river was the 4 and Cunningham gave up. Medic showed A3 for a pair of threes and Cunningham mucked.

Kristy Gazes Doubles Up on the Short Stack

Kristy Gazes was all in holding pocket jacks against her opponent's A-K. The flop brought both a king and a jack and Gazes was able to double up to 38,000 in chips.

Marco Traniello Gets Hurt With the Ladies

The Traniello-Harman family had a bad level. Jennifer was eliminated and Marco's pocket queens ran into Minh Ly's pocket kings. The board failed to help Traniello and he was crippled down to just under 8 big blinds.

Player Tags: Kristy Gazes,   Minh Ly,   Allen Cunningham,   Marco Traniello,   Nenad Medic

Level 14 Update

Dec 16, '08

Scoreboard

Level: 14
Blinds/Antes: 3,000-6,000 with a 500 ante

Players Left: 67 of 497
Average: 334,000

Notable Chip Counts

Chino Rheem - 920,000
Evan McNiff - 850,000
Justin Young - 705,000
Scott Bohlman - 685,000
Jack Wu - 640,000

In the Money Eliminations

Steve "MrSmokey1" Billirakis ($21,620)
Annie Duke ($21,620)
Jon "PearlJammed" Turner ($21,620)
Minh Ly ($21,620)
Roy Winston ($21,620)
Amit "amak316" Makhija ($21,620)
Humberto Brenes ($21,620)
Haralabos Voulgaris ($21,620)
Andy "BKice" Seth ($21,620)

Kristy Gazes ($22,520)

Shane "Anbessa" Pacheco - ($23,420)
Rene Angelil - ($23,420)
 

Big Hands:

Humberto Brenes Is Fish Food

Humberto Brenes moved all in with pocket nines on a Q-J-10 flop only to get snap called by Steve Sung with A-K for a Broadway straight. The turn and river failed to help THE CHARK! and Brenes was eliminated from the tournament.

Annie Duke Gets Runner-Runnered

Annie Duke was all in and called by Mike Matusow on a flop of K96. Duke showed AK and Matusow turned over.... Q10. The turn and river ran out A4 and Matusow's flush took down Duke's two pair, eliminating her from the tournament.

Barry G Takes Out Two

Barry Greenstein has Jon Turner and Minh Ly all in and covered with the best hand. Greenstein showed pocket aces, Ly showed pocket kings and Turner was way behind with A-K. The board ran out 7534J and Turner and Ly were eliminated. Greenstein now has 430,000.

Antonio Esfandiari Takes a Massive Hit

Robert Mizrachi raised to 15,000 from the hijack and Antonio Esfandiari reraised to 48,000 from the cutoff. Jack Wu then moved all in from the button for 297,000. Mizrachi folded and Esfandiari made the call with A-K. Wu knocked the table and produced A-Q. His bad decision yielded a good result, however, as the flop came queen high to give him the large pot and double up. Esfandiari was left with 250,000 and a very noticeable scowl.
 

Player Tags: Humberto Brenes,   Annie Duke,   Barry Greenstein,   Minh Ly,   Antonio Esfandiari,   Mike Matusow,   Jon Turner,   Jack Wu

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 - Level 7 Recap

Jun 26, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  1,000-2,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  500 ante, 500 bring in, 2,000-4,000 stakes

Players Left: 122 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Steve Wolff - 285,000
Tom Dwan - 280,000
Isabelle Mercier - 280,000
Abraham "Abe" Mosseri - 260,000
Joe Cassidy - 257,000
Ray Dehkharghani - 245,000
Doug Ganger - 230,000
William Chen - 225,000
Minh Ly - 200,000
Pat Pezzin - 196,500

Average Stack: 121,300

Eliminations:
Andrew Black
David Grey
Antanas “Tony G” Guoga

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Ivey Climbing

Robert Mizrachi raised from early position and was met by a re-raise from Phil Ivey on the button. Mizrachi called and the two saw a AK7 flop. Mizrachi check-raised Ivey’s continuation bet and Ivey made the call. Mizrachi bet 4,000 on the 7 turn and Ivey made a quick call. The river was the 6. Mizrachi checked and Ivey bet. Mizrachi mulled it over his decision for a minute or so before announcing a call. Ivey turned over AJ. His pair of aces was good enough to take down the pot and grow his stack to 130,000. Mizrachi now has about 12 big bets left with 50,000.

Razz

Chipping Up Off The Old Bloch

Hawrilenko: 85JA
Bloch: 42109

Matt “Hoss_TBF” Hawrilenko completed with the 8 and was raised by Andy Bloch on his left. Johnny Chan and Mike Wattel both called, as did Hawrilenko, and the 4 each drew a fourth card. Hawrilenko caught a 5, Bloch a 2, Chan a J, and Wattel the K. Bloch led out with his 4-low, Chan and Wattel called, but Hawrilenko put in a raise and then Bloch 3-bet, squeezing Chan and Wattel out of the pot, much to their consternation. On 5^th street, Bloch bet and Hawrilenko called. The tables turned on 6^th street and Bloch check-called a bet from Hawrilenko. Both players checked the river and Hawrilenko’s (A-6-4) gave him an 8-low. Bloch briefly showed (9-7-3) and mucked his 9-low. With the pot Hawrilenko moved up to 90,000.

Stud

David Grey Eliminated

Andy Bloch completed with the T and was raised by David Grey with the Q up. Grey admitted that, with about 13,000 chips to start the hand, he was almost certainly going to end up all-in on the hand. That is indeed what ended up happening, with he and Bloch all-in on 6^th street:

Grey: (Q)(6)Q478
Bloch: (K)(J)1025A

Grey’s pair of queens was ahead of Bloch going to the final card, but Bloch had a slew of outs: any diamond, ace, king, or queen would give him the lead in the hand. Bloch flipped over his final card like it was hot: Q. Grey could only laugh as Bloch made a straight with the card that he so desperately needed.

Bloch now has an impressive 180,000 chips.

Stud/8b

Gus’ Flush Trips Up Kravchenko

With boards of:

Hansen: 8355
Kravchenko: 76KK

Hansen was the aggressor on all streets, betting when checked to and leading out when acting first. On 7^th street, Kravchenko timidly check-called Hansen’s river bet and was not happy to see Gus table (Q)(J)(7) for a flush. Kravchenko could not produce a low and the pot was shipped to the Dane. Hansen now has  60,000.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Antanas Guoga,   Andy Bloch,   Minh Ly,   Gus Hansen,   Joe Cassidy,   David Grey,   Phil Ivey,   Abe Mosseri,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Isabelle Mercier,   Steve Wolff,   Andy Black,   Matt Hawrilenko,   Bill Chen,   Tom Dwan,   Doug Ganger

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 - Level 13 Recap

Jun 27, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  4,000-8,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  2,000 ante, 2,000 bring in, 8,000-16,000 stakes

Players Left: 46 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Joseph Michael - 730,000
Edwin Ting - 690,000
Barry Greenstein - 655,000
Lyle Berman - 603,000
Michael DeMichele - 590,000
Chad Brown - 550,000
Huck Seed - 525,000
James Mackey - 510,000
Farzad "Fred" Bonyadi - 480,000
David Oppenheim - 475,000

Average Stack: 321,750

Eliminations:
Dario Minieri
Greg Mueller
Isabelle Mercier

Big Hands and Storylines:

Omaha/8b

Minh Ly Doubles Up

Minh Ly raised from early position and was called by Barry Greenstein in middle position, Phil Ivey in the small blind, and Layne Flack in the big blind. The flop was Q97 and Ivey bet out and Flack folded. Ly raised, Greenstein folded, and Ivey called.  On the 3 turn Ivey check-called a bet from Ly. The river was the A and Ivey checked again. Ly bet, leaving himself only 20,000 behind, and Ivey folded rather quickly. The pot brought Ly up to 150,000 and knocked Ivey down to a perilously low 100,000.

Razz

Greg Mueller Eliminated

After a raise and a re-raise, Greg Mueller was all-in on third street against Chris Reslock:

Mueller: (2)(9)4JJ109
Reslock: (3)(6)45J107

After all of the cards had been dealt, Reslock’s 7-low was good to take down the smallish pot. Mueller, unlike most players who dart from the tournament floor at light speed, lingered around his table for a few minutes before taking a leisurely walk out of the Amazon Room.

Dario Minieri Eliminated

Having gotten all-in as a short-stack a number of times in the Omaha/8b portion of the event only to repeatedly claim a chopped pot, Dario Minieri got himself all-in on third street against Andy Bloch in razz. There would be no split pot this time; it was either double up or go home for Minieri. Unfortunately for the diminutive Italian, he would be sent packing.  Despite starting with 5-2-A, he could only make a 9-8 low. Bloch’s 5-3-2 turned into an 8-5 on seventh street and the pot was his. Bloch now has about 210,000.

Stud

Isabelle Mercier Eliminated

Ralph Perry: AA93
Justin Bonomo: J974
Isabelle Mercier: 7322

On seventh street, with Isabelle Mercier all-in, Ralph Perry bet into Justin Bonomo. Bonomo mulled over a decision and opted to simply call. Perry insta-mucked, not even giving Bonomo a chance to show his cards. When Bonomo did reveal his downcards – (Q)(6)(5) – it was apparent to Mercier that he had made a flush, and that her day was over. Bonomo is now up to 170,000.

Player Tags: Barry Greenstein,   Minh Ly,   Huck Seed,   David Oppenheim,   Greg Mueller,   Lyle Berman,   Phil Ivey,   James Mackey,   Isabelle Mercier,   Justin Bonomo,   Dario Minieri,   Michael DeMichele,   Joseph Michael,   Edwin Ting,   European Report

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 - Level 7 Recap

Jun 26, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  1,000-2,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  500 ante, 500 bring in, 2,000-4,000 stakes

Players Left: 122 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Steve Wolff - 285,000
Tom Dwan - 280,000
Isabelle Mercier - 280,000
Abraham "Abe" Mosseri - 260,000
Joe Cassidy - 257,000
Ray Dehkharghani - 245,000
Doug Ganger - 230,000
William Chen - 225,000
Minh Ly - 200,000
Pat Pezzin - 196,500

Average Stack: 121,300

Eliminations:
Andrew Black
David Grey
Antanas “Tony G” Guoga

Big Hands and Storylines:

Hold’em

Ivey Climbing

Robert Mizrachi raised from early position and was met by a re-raise from Phil Ivey on the button. Mizrachi called and the two saw a AK7 flop. Mizrachi check-raised Ivey’s continuation bet and Ivey made the call. Mizrachi bet 4,000 on the 7 turn and Ivey made a quick call. The river was the 6. Mizrachi checked and Ivey bet. Mizrachi mulled it over his decision for a minute or so before announcing a call. Ivey turned over AJ. His pair of aces was good enough to take down the pot and grow his stack to 130,000. Mizrachi now has about 12 big bets left with 50,000.

Razz

Chipping Up Off The Old Bloch

Hawrilenko: 85JA
Bloch: 42109

Matt “Hoss_TBF” Hawrilenko completed with the 8 and was raised by Andy Bloch on his left. Johnny Chan and Mike Wattel both called, as did Hawrilenko, and the 4 each drew a fourth card. Hawrilenko caught a 5, Bloch a 2, Chan a J, and Wattel the K. Bloch led out with his 4-low, Chan and Wattel called, but Hawrilenko put in a raise and then Bloch 3-bet, squeezing Chan and Wattel out of the pot, much to their consternation. On 5^th street, Bloch bet and Hawrilenko called. The tables turned on 6^th street and Bloch check-called a bet from Hawrilenko. Both players checked the river and Hawrilenko’s (A-6-4) gave him an 8-low. Bloch briefly showed (9-7-3) and mucked his 9-low. With the pot Hawrilenko moved up to 90,000.

Stud

David Grey Eliminated

Andy Bloch completed with the T and was raised by David Grey with the Q up. Grey admitted that, with about 13,000 chips to start the hand, he was almost certainly going to end up all-in on the hand. That is indeed what ended up happening, with he and Bloch all-in on 6^th street:

Grey: (Q)(6)Q478
Bloch: (K)(J)1025A

Grey’s pair of queens was ahead of Bloch going to the final card, but Bloch had a slew of outs: any diamond, ace, king, or queen would give him the lead in the hand. Bloch flipped over his final card like it was hot: Q. Grey could only laugh as Bloch made a straight with the card that he so desperately needed.

Bloch now has an impressive 180,000 chips.

Stud/8b

Gus’ Flush Trips Up Kravchenko

With boards of:

Hansen: 8355
Kravchenko: 76KK

Hansen was the aggressor on all streets, betting when checked to and leading out when acting first. On 7^th street, Kravchenko timidly check-called Hansen’s river bet and was not happy to see Gus table (Q)(J)(7) for a flush. Kravchenko could not produce a low and the pot was shipped to the Dane. Hansen now has  60,000.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Antanas Guoga,   Andy Bloch,   Minh Ly,   Gus Hansen,   Joe Cassidy,   David Grey,   Phil Ivey,   Abe Mosseri,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Ray Dehkharghani,   Isabelle Mercier,   Steve Wolff,   Andy Black,   Matt Hawrilenko,   Bill Chen,   Tom Dwan,   Doug Ganger

$50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E - Day 2 - Level 13 Recap

Jun 27, '08

Stakes:
Hold’em/Omaha:  4,000-8,000 blinds
Stud/Razz/Stud8:  2,000 ante, 2,000 bring in, 8,000-16,000 stakes

Players Left: 46 of 148

Chip Leaders:
Joseph Michael - 730,000
Edwin Ting - 690,000
Barry Greenstein - 655,000
Lyle Berman - 603,000
Michael DeMichele - 590,000
Chad Brown - 550,000
Huck Seed - 525,000
James Mackey - 510,000
Farzad "Fred" Bonyadi - 480,000
David Oppenheim - 475,000

Average Stack: 321,750

Eliminations:
Dario Minieri
Greg Mueller
Isabelle Mercier

Big Hands and Storylines:

Omaha/8b

Minh Ly Doubles Up

Minh Ly raised from early position and was called by Barry Greenstein in middle position, Phil Ivey in the small blind, and Layne Flack in the big blind. The flop was Q97 and Ivey bet out and Flack folded. Ly raised, Greenstein folded, and Ivey called.  On the 3 turn Ivey check-called a bet from Ly. The river was the A and Ivey checked again. Ly bet, leaving himself only 20,000 behind, and Ivey folded rather quickly. The pot brought Ly up to 150,000 and knocked Ivey down to a perilously low 100,000.

Razz

Greg Mueller Eliminated

After a raise and a re-raise, Greg Mueller was all-in on third street against Chris Reslock:

Mueller: (2)(9)4JJ109
Reslock: (3)(6)45J107

After all of the cards had been dealt, Reslock’s 7-low was good to take down the smallish pot. Mueller, unlike most players who dart from the tournament floor at light speed, lingered around his table for a few minutes before taking a leisurely walk out of the Amazon Room.

Dario Minieri Eliminated

Having gotten all-in as a short-stack a number of times in the Omaha/8b portion of the event only to repeatedly claim a chopped pot, Dario Minieri got himself all-in on third street against Andy Bloch in razz. There would be no split pot this time; it was either double up or go home for Minieri. Unfortunately for the diminutive Italian, he would be sent packing.  Despite starting with 5-2-A, he could only make a 9-8 low. Bloch’s 5-3-2 turned into an 8-5 on seventh street and the pot was his. Bloch now has about 210,000.

Stud

Isabelle Mercier Eliminated

Ralph Perry: AA93
Justin Bonomo: J974
Isabelle Mercier: 7322

On seventh street, with Isabelle Mercier all-in, Ralph Perry bet into Justin Bonomo. Bonomo mulled over a decision and opted to simply call. Perry insta-mucked, not even giving Bonomo a chance to show his cards. When Bonomo did reveal his downcards – (Q)(6)(5) – it was apparent to Mercier that he had made a flush, and that her day was over. Bonomo is now up to 170,000.

Player Tags: Barry Greenstein,   Minh Ly,   Huck Seed,   David Oppenheim,   Greg Mueller,   Lyle Berman,   Phil Ivey,   James Mackey,   Isabelle Mercier,   Justin Bonomo,   Dario Minieri,   Michael DeMichele,   Joseph Michael,   Edwin Ting,   European Report

$1,500 PLO w/ Rebuys - Level 4

Jun 18, '08

Blinds/Antes: 150-300

Entrants: Approx. 320

Chip Counts:
Layne Flack: 134,000
J.C. Tran: 60,000
Daniel Alaei: 55,000
Sherkhan Farnood: 48,000
Phil Ivey: 47,000
David Grey: 46,000
Michael Gracz: 45,000
Jacobo Fernandez: 42,000
David Ulliot: 40,000
Peter Gould: 40,000

Big Hands and Storylines:

As expected, now that the rebuy period is overplay has tightened up considerably. But that's not stopping players from meeting their ends at the table.

Ly Plays With the Shulmans

Jeff Shulman is seated at the same table as his father, Barry Shulman. Early in the level, Jeff and Minh Ly called seat 4's all in bet on a board of 522A8. Jeff showed down AJ86 for two pair, aces and deuces, and a busted nut flush draw. Ly showed 7643 for the wheel and the player in seat 4 was eliminated.

Forrest Survives

Ted Forrest was all in preflop and called by by Noah Boeken. Forrest showed AA32 and Boeken showed A-K-Q-J. The board came out Q9X-7X-K6, giving Boeken two pair on the turn but Forrest hit the flush on the river to double up.

Haxton Lets It Go

Isaac Haxton bet 1,600 on a board of AKQ6 and the player in seat 9 made the call. The river was the 6 and Haxton led out 4,500. Seat nine reraised over the top all in and Haxton laid his hand down. Seat 9 showed A-A-Q-7 for a flopped set of aces.

Tran Chipping Up

J.C. Tran called a bet of 3,500 on a Q102Q board and all players checked the river K. Tran showed AQJ9 for the straight and scooped the pot and climbed to 60,000.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Jeff Shulman,   Minh Ly,   Ted Forrest,   Barry Shulman,   Noah Boeken,   Isaac Haxton,   European Report

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 7 Recap

Jun 15, '08

Note: The players are about to begin the final level of the day

Blinds: 500-1,000

Players Left:  118 of 218

Chip Leaders:
J.C. Tran - 84,000
Mickey Appleman - 58,000
Terrence Chan - 57,000
John Hennigan - 56,000
Michael Binger - 55,000
Eric Froehlich - 53,000
Greg Mueller - 52,000
Minh Ly - 51,000
Erick Lindgren - 51,000
Joe Sebok - 50,000

Average Stack: 36,950

Eliminations:
Daniel Negreanu
Mark “Newhizzle” Newhouse
Scotty Nguyen

Big Hands and Storylines:

Congratulations to Barry Greenstein

An announcement was made over the public address system informing the room of Barry Greenstein’s victory in the $1,500 razz tournament. Apparently Barry did not stick around to savor his victory for very long, because as the announcement was being made he was taking his seat at table 14 in the $10,000 limit tournament while simultaneously conducting an interview. When asked by a fellow player how much the tournament win was worth, Barry seemed hesitant to answer, though he eventually said it was about $150,000. For the record, it was $158,659.

Bloch Takes One Down

Michael Binger made a raise from early position; Andy Bloch in the big blind was the only caller. On a flop of Q104, Bloch checked, Binger bet, and Bloch called. Both players checked the 5 turn. The river was the J, Bloch bet out and got a call from Binger. Bloch’s 54 made two-pair and he raked in the pot. Bloch now has 33,000, still far short of Binger’s stack of 55,000.

Sung Sunk

On a flop of KT8, Steve Sung bet from the small blind and was called by Daniel Alaei in late position. The action played out the same way, bet-call, on both the 3 turn and K river. Sung tabled A8 and Alaei showed JT for a higher two-pair. Sung, with 39,000, still has more chips than Alaei, but 21,000 is still a respectable amount at this juncture of the tournament.

Brandon Adams Hit Hard

Brandon Adams lost about 5,000 chips on a hand in which he flopped top-pair top-kicker against his opponent’s set of eights. The board was AJ8T6; Adams had AK and his opponent tabled 88. Adams is now down to 10,000 and will in all likelihood need to double up in the day’s final level to make it to day 2.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Scotty Nguyen,   Erick Lindgren,   Barry Greenstein,   Mickey Appleman,   Andy Bloch,   Minh Ly,   Daniel Negreanu,   Greg Mueller,   John Hennigan,   Daniel Alaei,   Terrence Chan,   Eric Froehlich,   Joe Sebok,   Steve Sung,   Brandon Adams,   Michael Binger,   Mark Newhouse

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 5 Recap

Jun 15, '08

Blinds: 300-600

Players Left: 184 of 218

Chip Leaders:
Michael Binger - 60,000
Liz Lieu - 55,000
David Oppenheim - 55,000
Minh Ly - 42,000
Justin Bonomo - 40,000
Todd Witteles - 40,000
Mickey Appleman - 39,000
J.C. Tran - 38,000
Andy Bloch - 38,000
Richard Brodie - 37,000

Average Stack: 23,700

Eliminations:
Anna Wroblewski
Doyle Brunson
Marcel Luske
Patrik Antonius
Thor Hansen
Vivek Rajkumar

Big Hands and Storylines:

Kicker Problems for Boeken

Noah Boeken and Bill Edler tangled again, with Edler claiming his revenge on this occasion. Boeken raised from middle position and Edler re-raised him. The table folded around and Boeken made the call. The board came Q55T8 and Boeken check-called Edler on every street. Edler tabled AQ and Boeken rapped the table, flashed a queen, and mucked his cards. With that pot Edler is up to 28,500.

Duck Tales

With only four big blinds left, Vivek “psyduck” Rajkumar got all of his chips into the middle with AJ against his opponent’s A2. When the board ran out KT3K5, Rajkumar was up to 5,000 chips. Unfortunately his day would not last much longer and he busted 15 minutes later.

So That’s Why He Wears a Suit

We here at Card Player never tire of Marcel Luske’s antics. While many players’ shenanigans can be cruel and tragic (which makes them not really shenanigans at all) Marcel’s are always good-natured and amusing. After rivering a straight against Matt Hawrilenko to stay alive in the tournament, Luske leaned close to the table, laid his necktie flat on the felt, and made a very simple request to the dealer: “Gimme da money.” The dealer – like all of the players at the table – was entertained by this turn of events and obliged the Dutchman, placing the chips on his tie. As Luske dragged the pot in a most unusual manner, Terrence Chan asked Hawrilenko, “Now wasn’t it worth it to lose that small pot?” Unfortunately for lovers of fanciful fun and dapperly-dressed Dutchman, Luske would be eliminated later in the level.

Traniello a Thorn in Arieh’s Side

Marco Traniello has just taken two pots off of Josh Arieh and increased his stack to 28,000.

In the first pot Traniello raised from the button and Arieh called in the big blind. The two checked a AJ2 flop, and Traniello took it down on the turn (4) when Arieh check-folded.

The next hand was a bit bigger: Marco raised in early position and Arieh 3-bet him in late position. Theo Tran called in the big blind, and Traniello called. The flop was 992. Tran checked, Traniello bet, Arieh called, and Tran folded. Traniello and Arieh both checked the 6c turn. The 2 seemed to be a harmless river card, so when Traniello checked, Arieh fired 1,200. Traniello called and the two showed their cards:

Arieh: 8-8
Traniello T-T

Traniello’s recent run has propelled him up into the upper-third of today’s players. Arieh is down to 18,500, and Theo Tran is lingering at 13,000.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Thor Hansen,   Josh Arieh,   Richard Brodie,   Mickey Appleman,   Andy Bloch,   Minh Ly,   David Oppenheim,   Doyle Brunson,   Marco Traniello,   Marcel Luske,   Bill Edler,   Noah Boeken,   Patrik Antonius,   Justin Bonomo,   Liz Lieu,   Todd Witteles,   Michael Binger,   Theo Tran,   V R,   Anna Wroblewski,   European Report

End of Day

Jun 12, '08

Day 1 has come to an end. Of the 457 players who started the day, only 85 remain.

Players will return for Day 2 on Friday at 2 p.m. and play down to the final table. Many notable players still remain, although many of them are nursing below average stacks. Joe Hachem, Johnny Chan and Allen Cunningham are all below average and have a lot of work to do if they want to make it to through Day 2.

Max Pescatori, on the other hand, has a healthy stack and is near the top of the leaderboard after Day 1.

Here is a recap of the last hour of play, as well as a final list of the chip leaders through Day 1.

Blinds/Antes:
PLHE: 300-600
PLO: 250-500

Players Left: 85 of 457

Chip Leaders:

Stephen Kinney: 85,000
Kyle Kloeckner: 64,000
Dave Penly: 63,000
Michael Pesek: 63,000
Jesse McEuen: 61,000
Lennart Holtkamp: 53,000
Dustin Sitar: 52,000
Mark Davis: 52,000
Max Pescatori: 51,000
Shawn Buchanan: 47,500

Average Stack: 26,570

Big Hands:

PLHE:

Hard to Kill, But Not Impossible

Andrew Black moved all in before the flop and was called. Black turned over 66. His opponent showed A8 and the board ran out J2Q7J. Black's pocket pair held up and he doubled to just around 10,000. "Hard to kill," he said. It was true in that case, but once Joe Hachem arrived at the table, Black's number was up.

Andrew Black raised before the flop, essentially committing himself as he was very low on chips. Joe Hachem reraised enough to put Black all in. The call was made and Black turned over A6. Hachem flipped 88. The board offered no help to Black and he was ousted by the hands of Hachem. While Hachem was done busting people in hold'em, he was far from finished.

PLO:

Hachem Strikes Again

Before the flop, Joe Hachem raised to 1,500. Justin Bonomo reraised the pot and Hachem moved Bonomo all in. The hands were then turned over.

Hachem: KK43
Bonomo: AAKQ
Board: 865102

Hachem was dominated but rivered himself a straight to knock out Bonomo and put his stack around 25,000.

Top Set is No Good

On a board reading J109, the player in seat 9 moved all in and caused Max Pescatori to have himself a session in the tank. After much thought, he made the call and his opponent announced that he had top set.

"That's no good," Pescatori announced as the hands were turned up.

Pescatori: 10987
Seat 9: JJ66

The turn was the 2 and the 7 on the river held Pescatori's straight and he was up to around 50,000 in chips.

No Ly

Minh Ly moved called his money all in after his opponent had bet the pot on a flop reading J104. The hands were then turned over.

Ly: K9A6
Opponent: KKQQ

The turn was the 4, threatening to send Ly to the rail. But the river brought the 5, making Ly his flush and doubling him up to around 33,000.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Justin Bonomo,   Andy Black,   Joe Hachem,   European Report

$2,500 PLHE/PLO - Hour Three

Jun 12, '08

Blinds/Antes:
PLHE: 75-150
PLO: 50-100

Players Left: 306 of 457

Chip Leaders:
Andy Bloch: 19,000
Sorel Mizzi: 17,900
Dario Alioto: 15,300
David Benyamine: 15,000
Tony G: 11,500
Minh Ly: 11,500
Chris Ferguson: 11,400
Gabe Costner: 11,000
Anthony Chatelain: 11,000
Allen Cunningham: 10,400
Average Stack: 7,467

Eliminations: Scott Fischman, Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, Peter Gould

Big Hands:

PLHE

Danny Fuchs Tripples Up, Knocks One Out

Vanessa Rousso raised to 425 before the flop and and Danny Fuchs smooth called. The big blind reraised the pot and both Rousso and Fuchs re-potted until all three of them were all in. Fuchs had the big blind covered and while Rousso had them both covered.

Rousso: JJ
Fuchs: KK
Big Blind: AK
Board: J1076K

Rousso flopped top set and led to the river where Fuchs sucked out with the case king, trippling up and eliminating one opponent.

Scott Fischman Eliminated by Andy Bloch

Scott Fischman got it all in with pocket queens against Andy Bloch's pocket tens. Bloch had him covered. The board came K-Q-J-9 in some combination, giving Fischman top set and Bloch the straight to the king. Bloch sucked out and sent Fischman packing early in Level 3.

PLO

Allyn Jaffrey Shulman Eliminated

Allyn Jaffrey Shulman raised to 550 before the flop and the player in seat 1 raised to 2,000. Seat 2 made the call and Shulman called all in for 1,375 more. The flop came J84, and seat 1 moved all in for (4,500 approx.). Seat 2 folded while seat 1 took the side pot. Shulman and seat 1 turned over their cards for the main pot.

Shulman: AAK9
Seat 1: AA86

Shulman and seat 1 were looking at a chopped pot, both with the overpair on the flop, but the 6 on the turn gave seat 1 two pair. The river was the 5, and Shulman was eliminated from the tournament halfway through Level 3.

Minh Ly Knocks Two Out in Same Hand, Peter Gould Hits the Rail

On a flop of 853, Minh Ly bet the pot (600) and just as seat 9 was about to fold, the floor person came over and told the dealer that the table would be breaking after the hand. Seat 9 made a rash decision to shove all in for 1,550 instead of taking his short stack to a new table. Peter Gould also followed that same logic calling all in for 1,100. Minh Ly made the call and had both players covered.

Minh Ly: Q882
Gould: AQ72
Seat 9: Q764

Minh Ly flopped a set of eights and seat 9 had made an open-ended straght draw. Gould was drawing dead. The turn was the 9 and the river was the 3, filling Ly and eliminating both Peter Gould and seat 9 in the same hand. The table broke immediately after the hand and Ly took an extra 3,000 or so with him to his new seat.

Player Tags: Allyn Shulman,   Andy Bloch,   Minh Ly,   Scott Fischman,   Vanessa Rousso,   Peter Gould,   Danny Fuchs

Event 24 - $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold 'em/Omaha - Minh Ly Making It Happen

Jun 13, '08

Blinds: 1,000-2,000 hold 'em

Players Remaining: 34

Average Chip Count: 67,206

Eliminations: Allen Kessler

Ly Lives Large

The player in seat 5 raised to 5,500 before the flop, and was called by Minh Ly from the big blind. Ly checked the flop of K108, and seat 5 continuation bet for 7,000. Ly then check-raised an additional 12,000, only to have seat 5 re-raised all in, (technically, he re-raised the pot, but the amount was enough to put Ly all-in). Ly made the call and tabled 1010 for a flopped set, standing strong against seat 5's AA. The turn and river came 82, and Ly doubled up to stay near the top of the chip counts.

Chainsaw Cut Down

Allen Kessler was all in preflop with 1010 against his opponent's K9. Unlike Minh Ly, however, Kessler's 10's were not enough to win him the hand, as the board ran out AJK69. Kessler was eliminated from the tournament, securing his third cash of the series thus far. For more information on Allen Kessler's world series experience, visit his pro analysis blog.

 

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Allen Kessler

$2,500 HA - Two Quickly Gone

Jun 14, '08

Players Remaining: 7

Chip Counts:

Kyle Kloeckner - 443,000
Allen Cunningham - 440,000
Jonathan Depa - 367,000
Max Pescatori - 367,000
Lennart Holtkamp - 238,000
Kyle Hegeman - 222,000
Greg Hurst - 115,000

Eliminations: John-Paul Kelly (9th Place), Minh Ly (8th Place)

Big Hands and Storylines:

John-Paul Kelly Eliminated in 9th Place ($22,599) - Hold'em

Kyle Kloeckner raised to 25,000 and John-Paul Kelly moved all in for 64,000 on the short stack. Kloeckner called and showed A10. Kelly needed help with his KJ, but the board ran out A658Q to eliminate Kelly in ninth place.

Minh Ly Eliminated in 8th Place ($30,482) - Hold'em

Jonathan Depa raised to 25,000 and Minh Ly raised the pot behind him. The action folded around and Depa moved all in. Ly made the call and showed pocket jacks, and he was racing against Depa's AK. The board ran out K5552 and Ly was crippled down to his last 4,000. The next hand he was all in blind and couldn't catch up to Kyle Hegeman's K-Q.

Player Tags: Minh Ly,   Jonathan Depa,   Kyle Kloeckner,   Kyle Hegeman,   European Report