Terrence Chan Poker Tournament Updates

Action Begins, Final Table Now Underway

Jun 23, '12

The final table of Event no. 40 ($2,500 Limit Hold’em Six-Handed) is now underway, and Card Player will be posting level-by-level updates with all of the action, current chip counts, and prize distributions.

Day 3 began with 10 players spread out over 2 tables, and with the elimination of Terrence Chan in 7th Place ($17,107), the final table is now set. Play will begin in Level 22 with blinds of 6,000-12,000 and betting limits of 12,000-24,000, and will continue until a winner is determined.

With cards now back in the air, here is a look at the final table and how these players match up:

Seat no. 1 — Hans Minocha — 137,000
Seat no. 2 — Sorel Mizzi — 290,000
Seat no. 3 — Brent Wheeler — 383,000
Seat no. 4 — Vincent Gironda — 775,000
Seat no. 5 — Marco Johnson — 214,000
Seat no. 6 — Ronnie Bardah — 412,000

While only 6 remain, this event gathered 302 players, creating a total prize pool of $687,050. Here is a look at the final payouts:

1st Place — $182,088
2nd Place — $112,525
3rd Place — $73,040
4th Place — $48,828
5th Place — $33,541
6th Place — $23,648

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

Player Tags: Ronnie Bardah,   Terrence Chan,   Brent Wheeler,   Sorel Mizzi,   Marco Johnson,   Hans Minocha,   Vincent Gironda

Terrance Chan Eliminated in Eighth Place

Jul 02, '10

Limits: 10,000-20,000

Players Remaining: 7 out of 548

Average Chip Count: 514,285

Tournament Leaderboard:

1. Jonathan Little – 800,000
2. Michael Schneider – 760,000
3. Ben Yu – 452,000
4. Brian Tate – 446,000
5. Joseph McGowan – 411,000
6. Brendan Taylor – 405,000
7. Sijbrand Maal – 382,000

Notable Eliminations:

8. Terrance Chan – $12,961

Big Hands:

Terrence Chan Eliminated in Eighth Place ($12,961)

Jonathan Little and a very short stacked Terrence Chan got four bets in the middle preflop and saw a flop of J83.

Chan checked, Little bet, Chan check-raised, Little three-bet, and Chan called off the last of his money. Chan showed 77 and was way behind Little’s AA.

The Q on the turn and the A on the river gave Little three aces and the pot.

Chan picked up his bag and headed off to the payouts cage to collect his $12,961 that he will receive for his eighth place finish.

Player Tags: Terrence Chan,   Jonathan Little

Wrapping Up Event No. 12

Jun 06, '10

Kapalas Loses Flip, Out in 4th Place ($59,838)

Very short on chips, Georgios Kapalas got all in with 1010 and was in a race situation against Terrence Chan’s AJ.

The first card on the board was bad for Kapalas, and it didn’t get any better. It ran:
J3Q25

Chan paired his jack and held on to knock Kapalas out in 4th place.

Chan Out in 3rd ($83,185)

Terrence Chan nearly got all in after a series of back and forth raises heads up against Ahmad Abghari on a flop of A810.

On the 7 turn Chan got the rest of it in and was called.

Chan showed Q6 for a flush draw and inside straight draw, while Abghari held A7 for two pair.

The river K helped nobody and Chan was eliminated in 3rd place, finalizing the heads up matchup between Matt Matros and Ahmad Abghari.

With that, the heads up duel has begun.

Player Tags: Terrence Chan,   Ahmad Abghari,   Georgios Kapalas

Terrance Chan Loses Race and Busts

Jan 07, '10

Terrence Chan was all in with pocket queens against his opponent’s AK. Unfortunately for the SCOOP champion, the board ran out KK9A6 and he was eliminated.

Player Tags: Terrence Chan

$1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout - Level 11

Jul 01, '08

Players are now on a 20-minute break.

Blinds: 300/600
Limits: 600/1200

Big Hands

James Running Low

Kenna James is falling behind in chips at his table, getting rivered in style in one recent hand. The flop came 763, and the 5 fell on the turn. James bet 1200 and was called. The 6 came on the river and James bet out another 1200. Stefan Rapp then raised to 2400 and James called, holding 44 for the straight. But Rapp was well out in front, holding 66 for quads.

Chan Forced to Chop

Zvi Stern raised under the gun to 1200 and Terrence Chan immediately put in a reraise to 1800. The flop came 1098, and Chan was check-called again. The 7 was the turn and Chen was check-called for 1200 more. The J was the river and both players checked. A frustrated Chan showed 99 for a flopped set, while Stern appeared on the verge of folding before realizing there was now a straight on board.

Corkins Says Enough

Two hands previous while in the big blind, Hoyt Corkins watched as play folded to Eric Wellman in the small blind, and Wellman raised things to 1200. Corkins folded. Now as the button, play again was folded to Wellman in the cut-off, and a raise ensued. Corkins then reraised to 1800 and Wellman called. The flop came 1065, and after Wellman checked Corkins bet and took down the pot.

That was Quick

Hansu Chu wanted to raise preflop, but his 800 in chips was considered a call as blinds had been raised to 300/600. That led to calls from two more players before Simen Sagstuen raised from the big blind. Chu, Jean Robert Bellande from the button, and the small blind all called. The flop came A74, and despite all the preflop action, Sagstuen's bet of 600 drew folds from all others and he took down the pot.
 

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   Kenna James,   Terrence Chan

$2,000 No Limit Hold'em - Level Five

Jun 27, '08

Blinds/Antes: 150/300/25

Players Remaining: 970 of 2,317

Average Stack:  9,550

Chip Counts:
Benjamin Fineman - 27,000
David Pham - 26,000
Raul Lozano - 25,000
Jullian Herold - 24,400
Marco Johnson - 24,000
Chau Giang - 17,500
Ryan Young - 17,000
Johnny Neckar - 17,000
Sarah Bilney - 16,900

Recent Eliminations:
Richard Stanley
Terrance Chan

Big Hands/Storylines:

Terrence Chan Eliminated

Terrence Chan raised pre-flop to a total of 800 and received a call from his opponent in the cut-off.  All other players folded, and the pair saw a flop of A64.  Chan bet 1,000 and was raised an additional 2,500 by his opponent.  Chan paused for a moment before calling the bet.  The 5 was dealt on the turn, bringing a check from Chan and an all in bet from his opponent.  Chan called quickly and turned over A7 for top pair with an open ended straight draw.  His opponent turned over AQ.  The K on the river didn’t improve Chan, and he headed for the rail.

Richard Stanley’s Four Hand Rampage with Michael Binger

Michael Binger doubled through Richard Stanley when the two got it all in pre-flop and Binger’s AK help up against Stanley’s AQ.  After the board was dealt, Stanley got up from his seat and headed for the rail.  “Wait!  You still have some left,” Binger called out to Stanley.  After the dealer counted Binger’s stack and matched it with Stanley’s, it was discovered that Stanley still had 325 in chips remaining.

On the next immediate hand, the action folded to Michael Binger who raised to 800 from the hijack seat.  Richard Stanley pushed all in for his 325, and all other players folded.  Binger turned over Q10, an underdog against Stanley’s K5.  The board came down K8876, and Stanley’s stack increased to 1,325.

The action didn’t slow down.  On the next immediate hand, the action again folded to Binger who again made it 800 to go.  Stanley moved all in for 1,325, and all the other players folded.  Binger made the call and turned over A7, this time the favorite against Stanley’s A4.  The flop came K99, and the players anticipated a split pot.  The 4 on the turn brought an exasperated sigh from Binger, but the K on the river meant that the two players would split the blinds and antes.  “It’ll be 1650 this time,” Stanley warned the other players as the dealer dealt the next hand.

On that hand, Mark Dickstein beat Binger to the punch by making it 800 before Binger could act.  The action folded to Stanley who for the fourth consecutive time moved all in pre-flop.  Dickstein made the call and turned over A10, an underdog to Stanley’s AQ.  Unfortunately for Stanley, the final board read A101073, and he packed up his things and headed for the exit.

Player Tags: David Pham,   Mark Dickstein,   Terrence Chan,   Benjamin Fineman,   Michael Binger,   European Report,   Richard Stanley

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - End of Day 1

Jun 15, '08

Play has concluded here on day 1 of the event 30, the $10,000 world championship limit hold'em tournament. The players will collect their bearings and get some rest tonight before reconvening in the Brasilia Room tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST. 98 players remain from the original 218 but only one will take home the first-prize of $496,931.

Here is a rundown of some of the action that took place on the final level of the day:

Blinds: 600-1,200

Players Left:  98 of 218

Chip Leaders:
Patrick Bueno - 88,000
Michael Mizrachi - 82,000
Kenneth Shei - 76,000
Matthew "mattster24" Sterling - 71,000
J.C. Tran - 68,000
Justin Bonomo - 67,000
Marco Traniello - 67,000
Alexander Kravchenko - 65,000
Brock "t soprano" Parker - 60,000
Terrence Chan - 58,000
Greg Mueller – 57,000

Average Stack: 45,000

Eliminations:
Bill Chen
Brandon Adams
Jennifer Harman

Big Hands and Storylines:

“Weak” Wahlroos Pips Parker

Thomas Wahlroos raised from early position and was called by Brock “t soprano” Parker in the big blind. Parker check-raised Wahlroos on a flop of 1085 and Wahlroos elected to call. Parker continued his aggression on the turn and river, betting both streets, and Wahlroos called him both times. Parker showed A10 for second pair, and when the Finn saw this he admitted, “I am so weak at this game,” before turning up his AA. The rockets blasted Wahlroos to 36,000. Parker still has a very healthy 60,000.

Sterling’s Straight Axes Adams

Brandon Adams got the majority of his chips in against Matt “mattster24” Sterling on a AQ8 flop. After Sterling put Adams all-in on the K turn the two revealed their hands:

Sterling: JT
Adams: AK

The river was the Q and Adams was sent packing. Sterling now has an impressive 71,000 chips to work with.

Odds, Schmodds

A very strange situation occurred in the last level involving Mike Wattel and the player to his left. Wattel and the player did a great deal of betting on the flop and turn. Then, on the river, with a board of Q953J, Wattel’s opponent tossed in his last 400 in chips.... into a pot of 21,000. Remarkably, after much consideration, Wattel folded. His opponent showed Q-Q, so we’ll give Wattel the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn’t have a straight.

The Mathematics of Value Bets

Bill Chen raised on the button and was three-bet by Justin Bonomo in the small blind. Bonomo bet into Chen on a flop of J55 and Chen called. Both players checked the 7 on the turn, and Bonomo bet again on the 2 river. Chen called, and Bonomo tabled AK. “Good value bet,” chimed Chen, who showed A-9. The pot helps Bonomo up to about 65,000 at the end of the day. Chen was eliminated only moments before the conclusion of day 1.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Michael Wattel,   Greg Mueller,   Michael Mizrachi,   Marco Traniello,   Jennifer Harman,   Brock Parker,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Terrence Chan,   Justin Bonomo,   Patrick Bueno,   Brandon Adams,   Thomas Wahlroos,   Kenneth Shei,   Matthew Sterling

$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 6 Recap

Jun 15, '08

Note: Players are now on a 20-minute break

Blinds: 400-800

Players Left: 143 of 218

Chip Leaders:
Michael Binger - 60,000
Mickey Appleman - 58,000
Greg Mueller - 53,000
Bill Chen - 52,000
Terrence Chan - 50,000
John Hennigan - 48,000
J.C. Tran - 47,000
David Oppenheim - 44,000
Eric Froehlich - 42,000

Average Stack: 30,500

Eliminations:
Bill Edler

Big Hands and Storylines:

Breaks are for the Weak

Barry Greenstein, currently heads-up with Chris Klodnicki in the $1,500 razz event, has decided to use his break in that tournament to play some limit hold’em. Despite having 750,000 in razz, Greenstein has a paltry 15,000 chips here in the $10,000 limit event. Though that tends to happen when you sit out of a tournament for hours at a time.

Edler Out

Bill Edler raised pre-flop to 1,600 and got one caller in the small blind. Both players checked the AJ6 flop. And on the K turn, Edler tossed in his last 1,300 chips. The small blind instantly called and turned over QT for a turned straight and Edler’s A2 was drawing dead.

Full- Blown Tomko

Dewey Tomko just took a big pot down against Greg Mueller and Hoyt Corkins: Corkins raised pre-flop from middle position and Tomko called one to his left. Mueller called from the small blind and the flop was seen by those three. Mueller bet into his opponents on the K76 flop, and Corkins quickly raised him. Tomko, without much thought, made the call, and Mueller called as well. The turn was the Q and Mueller and Corkins both checked. Tomko bet and took down the pot right there. Tomko now stands at 29,000, a bit above Corkins’ 22,000 but still well behind Mueller’s 53,000.

Schulman’s Set Superior

Nick Schulman bet into his opponent on the river with the board showing A9677. His opponent called and Schulman tabled 99 for the full house, growing his stack to 26,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   J.C. Tran,   Barry Greenstein,   Mickey Appleman,   Dewey Tomko,   David Oppenheim,   Greg Mueller,   John Hennigan,   Terrence Chan,   Eric Froehlich,   Michael Binger,   Nick Schulman

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 3 Recap

Jun 15, '08

Blinds: 200-400

Players Left: 218

Chip Leaders:
David Oppenheim - 50,000
Terrence Chan - 39,000
Todd Witteles - 36,000
Michael Mizrachi - 31,000
Erik Cajelais - 30,000
Robert Mizrachi - 28,000
Liz Lieu - 28,000
Huck Seed - 25,000
Greg Mueller - 24,000
John Hennigan - 24,000
Michael Binger – 24,000

Eliminations:
Phil Ivey

Big Hands and Storylines:

Michael Binger: Serious Business

Darrell “Gigabet” Dicken raised from early position and was called by Michael Binger two seats to his left. Dicken bet the Q75 flop and Binger called. The turn was the 4 and Dicken bet again. Binger tossed in a raise and Dicken, smiling, asked, “Whaddya got?” Binger slowly and seriously counted down the chips in front of him and gave Dicken an answer. Of course, this information wasn’t quite what “Gigabet” was looking for: “I meant the cards in your hands,” Dicken quipped, before folding his hand. We don’t know what cards Binger had, but we do know that he currently has about 24,000 in chips, a couple thousand more than Dicken’s 22,000.

Harman Hanging On

Erik Cajelais raised preflop from middle position and Harman called from the small blind. Harman checked raised him on the Q107 flop and Cajelais called. The turn was the 2 and Harman bet, Cajelais raised, Harman 3-bet, and Cajelais made another raise, putting Harman all in. Harman called and the two both showed down A-Q, splitting the pot and allowing Harman to live for another hand. Harman has only about 5,000 chips left, but Cajelais is sitting pretty with 30,000.

“Waco” Standoffish

Upon losing another pot, Jared “TheWacoKidd” Hamby tossed down his hand in frustration and started shuffling his chips -- all four of them. The quartet of remaining 1,000-denomination chips leaves him with a mere 4,000 from his starting stack of 20,000. Hamby will need a bit of luck to dig himself out of this hole.

Boeken Re-building

Noah Boeken raised from the hijack and Bill Edler called from the cutoff. The two saw a flop of A72 and both players checked. On the A turn, Boeken bet out and Edler called him. Boeken bet the river 9, and Edler quickly folded. This hand brought Boeken back up to 10,000 in chips while Edler slipped to 19,500.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Huck Seed,   David Oppenheim,   Greg Mueller,   Michael Mizrachi,   John Hennigan,   Jennifer Harman,   Phil Ivey,   Bill Edler,   Noah Boeken,   Terrence Chan,   Darrell Dicken,   Liz Lieu,   Todd Witteles,   Erik Cajelais,   Michael Binger,   Jared Hamby,   European Report

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 2 - Level 15 Recap

Jun 16, '08

Blinds: 3,000-6,000

Players Left:  22 of 218

Chip Leaders:
Andy Bloch - 350,000
Michael Mizrachi - 340,000
Brock "t soprano" Parker - 325,000
Aaron Katz - 322,000
Matt Woodward - 295,000
Shunjiro Uchida - 288,000
Jerrod Ankenman - 250,000
Eric Froehlich - 245,000
Tommy Hang – 180,000
J.C. Tran - 175,000
Hoyt Corkins - 170,000
Rob Hollink – 165,000

Average Stack: 198,200

Eliminations:
23^rd – Dewey Tomko
24^th – Greg Debora
25^th – Terrence Chan
26^th – Patrick Bueno

Big Hands and Storylines:

Katz True To His Word

Aaron Katz has been talking constantly about how he has yet to show down a bad hand, and, in a pot against Jerrod Ankenman, he backed up his banter. Ankenman raised from middle position and Katz re-raised on his left to 1,800. Action folded back around to Ankenman who made the call. Ankenman check-raised the AJ3 flop and Katz called. Ankenman bet the J turn and Katz cagily raised, drawing a call from Ankenman. The dealer put out the 3 on the river and Ankenman check-called. Katz tabled AK and took down the pot. Maybe next time someone at the table will respect Katz’s raise. Until then, Katz will be sitting behind a stack of 320,000 chips. Ankenman still has 250,000.

Hanging Around

Andy Bloch raised from the small blind and Tommy Hang in the big blind called. Hang raised Bloch’s bet on the Q52 flop and Bloch called. Action on the turn and river – K and 3 – went check-bet-call, and Hang won the pot with two pair, showing KQ. Hang has now climbed to 180,000 while Bloch, still the chip leader, is down to 350,000

River Dagger Cripples Lawrence

Rob Hollink raised from late position and the only caller was Spencer Lawrence in the big blind. The flop came Q95 and Lawrence bet out. Hollink raised, Lawrence 3-bet, and Hollink just called. The A on the turn was followed by a bet by Lawrence and another call by Hollink. Lawrence bet the river  and the Dutchman raised him. After a minute of thought, Lawrence made the call. Hollink tabled the nuts: JT. After the hand Lawrence was left with only 20,000 while Hollink grew his stack to 165,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   J.C. Tran,   Andy Bloch,   Tommy Hang,   Dewey Tomko,   Michael Mizrachi,   Aaron Katz,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Brock Parker,   Rob Hollink,   Terrence Chan,   Greg DeBora,   Matt Woodward,   Spencer Lawrence,   Eric Froehlich,   Patrick Bueno,   Jerrod Ankenman,   European Report

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - End of Day 1

Jun 15, '08

Play has concluded here on day 1 of the event 30, the $10,000 world championship limit hold'em tournament. The players will collect their bearings and get some rest tonight before reconvening in the Brasilia Room tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST. 98 players remain from the original 218 but only one will take home the first-prize of $496,931.

Here is a rundown of some of the action that took place on the final level of the day:

Blinds: 600-1,200

Players Left:  98 of 218

Chip Leaders:
Patrick Bueno - 88,000
Michael Mizrachi - 82,000
Kenneth Shei - 76,000
Matthew "mattster24" Sterling - 71,000
J.C. Tran - 68,000
Justin Bonomo - 67,000
Marco Traniello - 67,000
Alexander Kravchenko - 65,000
Brock "t soprano" Parker - 60,000
Terrence Chan - 58,000
Greg Mueller – 57,000

Average Stack: 45,000

Eliminations:
Bill Chen
Brandon Adams
Jennifer Harman

Big Hands and Storylines:

“Weak” Wahlroos Pips Parker

Thomas Wahlroos raised from early position and was called by Brock “t soprano” Parker in the big blind. Parker check-raised Wahlroos on a flop of 1085 and Wahlroos elected to call. Parker continued his aggression on the turn and river, betting both streets, and Wahlroos called him both times. Parker showed A10 for second pair, and when the Finn saw this he admitted, “I am so weak at this game,” before turning up his AA. The rockets blasted Wahlroos to 36,000. Parker still has a very healthy 60,000.

Sterling’s Straight Axes Adams

Brandon Adams got the majority of his chips in against Matt “mattster24” Sterling on a AQ8 flop. After Sterling put Adams all-in on the K turn the two revealed their hands:

Sterling: JT
Adams: AK

The river was the Q and Adams was sent packing. Sterling now has an impressive 71,000 chips to work with.

Odds, Schmodds

A very strange situation occurred in the last level involving Mike Wattel and the player to his left. Wattel and the player did a great deal of betting on the flop and turn. Then, on the river, with a board of Q953J, Wattel’s opponent tossed in his last 400 in chips.... into a pot of 21,000. Remarkably, after much consideration, Wattel folded. His opponent showed Q-Q, so we’ll give Wattel the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn’t have a straight.

The Mathematics of Value Bets

Bill Chen raised on the button and was three-bet by Justin Bonomo in the small blind. Bonomo bet into Chen on a flop of J55 and Chen called. Both players checked the 7 on the turn, and Bonomo bet again on the 2 river. Chen called, and Bonomo tabled AK. “Good value bet,” chimed Chen, who showed A-9. The pot helps Bonomo up to about 65,000 at the end of the day. Chen was eliminated only moments before the conclusion of day 1.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Michael Wattel,   Greg Mueller,   Michael Mizrachi,   Marco Traniello,   Jennifer Harman,   Brock Parker,   Alexander Kravchenko,   Terrence Chan,   Justin Bonomo,   Patrick Bueno,   Brandon Adams,   Thomas Wahlroos,   Kenneth Shei,   Matthew Sterling

$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 6 Recap

Jun 15, '08

Note: Players are now on a 20-minute break

Blinds: 400-800

Players Left: 143 of 218

Chip Leaders:
Michael Binger - 60,000
Mickey Appleman - 58,000
Greg Mueller - 53,000
Bill Chen - 52,000
Terrence Chan - 50,000
John Hennigan - 48,000
J.C. Tran - 47,000
David Oppenheim - 44,000
Eric Froehlich - 42,000

Average Stack: 30,500

Eliminations:
Bill Edler

Big Hands and Storylines:

Breaks are for the Weak

Barry Greenstein, currently heads-up with Chris Klodnicki in the $1,500 razz event, has decided to use his break in that tournament to play some limit hold’em. Despite having 750,000 in razz, Greenstein has a paltry 15,000 chips here in the $10,000 limit event. Though that tends to happen when you sit out of a tournament for hours at a time.

Edler Out

Bill Edler raised pre-flop to 1,600 and got one caller in the small blind. Both players checked the AJ6 flop. And on the K turn, Edler tossed in his last 1,300 chips. The small blind instantly called and turned over QT for a turned straight and Edler’s A2 was drawing dead.

Full- Blown Tomko

Dewey Tomko just took a big pot down against Greg Mueller and Hoyt Corkins: Corkins raised pre-flop from middle position and Tomko called one to his left. Mueller called from the small blind and the flop was seen by those three. Mueller bet into his opponents on the K76 flop, and Corkins quickly raised him. Tomko, without much thought, made the call, and Mueller called as well. The turn was the Q and Mueller and Corkins both checked. Tomko bet and took down the pot right there. Tomko now stands at 29,000, a bit above Corkins’ 22,000 but still well behind Mueller’s 53,000.

Schulman’s Set Superior

Nick Schulman bet into his opponent on the river with the board showing A9677. His opponent called and Schulman tabled 99 for the full house, growing his stack to 26,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   J.C. Tran,   Barry Greenstein,   Mickey Appleman,   Dewey Tomko,   David Oppenheim,   Greg Mueller,   John Hennigan,   Terrence Chan,   Eric Froehlich,   Michael Binger,   Nick Schulman

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 1 - Level 3 Recap

Jun 15, '08

Blinds: 200-400

Players Left: 218

Chip Leaders:
David Oppenheim - 50,000
Terrence Chan - 39,000
Todd Witteles - 36,000
Michael Mizrachi - 31,000
Erik Cajelais - 30,000
Robert Mizrachi - 28,000
Liz Lieu - 28,000
Huck Seed - 25,000
Greg Mueller - 24,000
John Hennigan - 24,000
Michael Binger – 24,000

Eliminations:
Phil Ivey

Big Hands and Storylines:

Michael Binger: Serious Business

Darrell “Gigabet” Dicken raised from early position and was called by Michael Binger two seats to his left. Dicken bet the Q75 flop and Binger called. The turn was the 4 and Dicken bet again. Binger tossed in a raise and Dicken, smiling, asked, “Whaddya got?” Binger slowly and seriously counted down the chips in front of him and gave Dicken an answer. Of course, this information wasn’t quite what “Gigabet” was looking for: “I meant the cards in your hands,” Dicken quipped, before folding his hand. We don’t know what cards Binger had, but we do know that he currently has about 24,000 in chips, a couple thousand more than Dicken’s 22,000.

Harman Hanging On

Erik Cajelais raised preflop from middle position and Harman called from the small blind. Harman checked raised him on the Q107 flop and Cajelais called. The turn was the 2 and Harman bet, Cajelais raised, Harman 3-bet, and Cajelais made another raise, putting Harman all in. Harman called and the two both showed down A-Q, splitting the pot and allowing Harman to live for another hand. Harman has only about 5,000 chips left, but Cajelais is sitting pretty with 30,000.

“Waco” Standoffish

Upon losing another pot, Jared “TheWacoKidd” Hamby tossed down his hand in frustration and started shuffling his chips -- all four of them. The quartet of remaining 1,000-denomination chips leaves him with a mere 4,000 from his starting stack of 20,000. Hamby will need a bit of luck to dig himself out of this hole.

Boeken Re-building

Noah Boeken raised from the hijack and Bill Edler called from the cutoff. The two saw a flop of A72 and both players checked. On the A turn, Boeken bet out and Edler called him. Boeken bet the river 9, and Edler quickly folded. This hand brought Boeken back up to 10,000 in chips while Edler slipped to 19,500.

Player Tags: Robert Mizrachi,   Huck Seed,   David Oppenheim,   Greg Mueller,   Michael Mizrachi,   John Hennigan,   Jennifer Harman,   Phil Ivey,   Bill Edler,   Noah Boeken,   Terrence Chan,   Darrell Dicken,   Liz Lieu,   Todd Witteles,   Erik Cajelais,   Michael Binger,   Jared Hamby,   European Report

$10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em - Day 2 - Level 15 Recap

Jun 16, '08

Blinds: 3,000-6,000

Players Left:  22 of 218

Chip Leaders:
Andy Bloch - 350,000
Michael Mizrachi - 340,000
Brock "t soprano" Parker - 325,000
Aaron Katz - 322,000
Matt Woodward - 295,000
Shunjiro Uchida - 288,000
Jerrod Ankenman - 250,000
Eric Froehlich - 245,000
Tommy Hang – 180,000
J.C. Tran - 175,000
Hoyt Corkins - 170,000
Rob Hollink – 165,000

Average Stack: 198,200

Eliminations:
23^rd – Dewey Tomko
24^th – Greg Debora
25^th – Terrence Chan
26^th – Patrick Bueno

Big Hands and Storylines:

Katz True To His Word

Aaron Katz has been talking constantly about how he has yet to show down a bad hand, and, in a pot against Jerrod Ankenman, he backed up his banter. Ankenman raised from middle position and Katz re-raised on his left to 1,800. Action folded back around to Ankenman who made the call. Ankenman check-raised the AJ3 flop and Katz called. Ankenman bet the J turn and Katz cagily raised, drawing a call from Ankenman. The dealer put out the 3 on the river and Ankenman check-called. Katz tabled AK and took down the pot. Maybe next time someone at the table will respect Katz’s raise. Until then, Katz will be sitting behind a stack of 320,000 chips. Ankenman still has 250,000.

Hanging Around

Andy Bloch raised from the small blind and Tommy Hang in the big blind called. Hang raised Bloch’s bet on the Q52 flop and Bloch called. Action on the turn and river – K and 3 – went check-bet-call, and Hang won the pot with two pair, showing KQ. Hang has now climbed to 180,000 while Bloch, still the chip leader, is down to 350,000

River Dagger Cripples Lawrence

Rob Hollink raised from late position and the only caller was Spencer Lawrence in the big blind. The flop came Q95 and Lawrence bet out. Hollink raised, Lawrence 3-bet, and Hollink just called. The A on the turn was followed by a bet by Lawrence and another call by Hollink. Lawrence bet the river  and the Dutchman raised him. After a minute of thought, Lawrence made the call. Hollink tabled the nuts: JT. After the hand Lawrence was left with only 20,000 while Hollink grew his stack to 165,000.

Player Tags: Hoyt Corkins,   J.C. Tran,   Andy Bloch,   Tommy Hang,   Dewey Tomko,   Michael Mizrachi,   Aaron Katz,   Shunjiro Uchida,   Brock Parker,   Rob Hollink,   Terrence Chan,   Greg DeBora,   Matt Woodward,   Spencer Lawrence,   Eric Froehlich,   Patrick Bueno,   Jerrod Ankenman,   European Report

1,500 Limit Hold'em - Level 8

Jun 06, '08

Blinds: 300/500

Players Left: 220 of 880

Average Stack: 12,000

Eliminations: Daniel Negreanu, Hansu Chu, Michael Craig

Big Hands:

Lindgren Likes the Ladies

Erick Lindgren pushed to just above average stack when he smooth-called from under the gun, and saw the flop with both the small and big blind. The flop came A87. Action was checked to Lindgren who bet and earned two calls. All three players checked the turn when the 6 appeared, and the K on the river was also checked. Lindgren had his QQ hold up against the dangerous board, and he improved his chip stack to 13,700.

Two Pair Not Enough for Luske

Marcel Luske raised from the cut-off and drew a call from the small blind. The flop came AJ8 and action was checked to Luske, who bet. The small blind then raised and Luske called, to see the 7 come on the turn. Small blind bet 1000 and Luske called. The river was the Q and the small blind bet, to which Luske answered with a raise. The small blind called and showed AQ for top two pair. Luske released queen-jack for two smaller pair.

Chan Makes Broadway

Terrance Chan was in the big blind when the player under-the-gun raised. There was another call, then the button went to 1200 before Chan went to 1600. The small blind was all-in for 1200 and three players saw the flop come KQ8. Chan bet and the button folded. The small blind showed K10 while Chan held AK. The J came on the turn and the 10 hit the river, giving the small blind two pair but making the straight for Chan.

Craig Busts Out

Once among the chip leaders, Michael Craig began the level with just 2300 in chips. He folded his big blind in the face of a raise to be at 1900, then in the small blind found himself all-in against the big blind. Craig showed K9 while his opponent held two key cards, the 99. The board played out J10764 and Craig was eliminated.

Schneider Stuck in Neutral

After surging to near the front of the chip count, Tom Schneider hit a dry spell. He was at the average count of 12,000 when he called a raise in the small blind by the player in seat 5 under the gun. The flop came 1052, Schneider checked, and seat 5 bet. Schneider check-raised, then was reraised in return. The J hit the turn and both players committed another 1000. The 2 was the river and drew two more bets. Seat 5 showed KK to scoop the pot.
 

Player Tags: Erick Lindgren,   Tom Schneider,   Marcel Luske,   Terrence Chan,   Michael Craig

$1,500 Limit Hold'em - Level 7

Jun 06, '08

Blinds: 200/400

Players Left: 250 of 880

Chip Leaders:
Jason Maeroff - 28,000
David Vassalli - 18,000
Michael Craig - 15,300
Marcel Luske - 14,800
Benjamin Fineman - 11,300
Terrence Chan - 10,000
Tom Schneider - 10,000
Anthony Licastro - 9,800
Erick Lindgren - 9,800
Van Marcus - 9,600

Average Stack: 10,564

Eliminations: Chris Ferguson, Humberto Brenes, J.C. Tran, Shannon Elizabeth, J.R. Bellande

Big Hands:

The Flying Dutchman

It was a wild ride for Marcel Luske as level 7 got underway. Moved to a new table, and to the right of another large chip stack in Terrance Chan, it didn't take long for the fireworks. The initial damage came when the players raised and reraised each other on a board of A97T5. Luske bet the river for 800, and was raised to 1,600 before showing the AK. Chan rolled over the 1010 for a set he hit on the turn.

Luske then took up the battle on the next hand, when three players saw the flop of 875 for 1,600 each. The small blind bet 200 all-in, one player called, Luske raised to 600, was check-raised to 1,000, added his own check-raise, and then betting was capped for the 3 on the turn. The turn produced a pair of 800 bets, as did the river when the 10 hit. Luske showed QQ, beaten by the KK.

Now down to 2,500, Luske raised the next hand and drew a call from the cutoff. The board came 886, both players committed another 400, the 5 produced two 800 bets, and the 6 produced another 1,600 in chips. Luske climbed back into play with the 96 to scoop the pot.

Ferguson Finally Succumbs

He held on for a while, but a short-stacked Chris Ferguson finally ran out of time. Beginning the level with 700 in chips, he went all-in on the first hand after Michael Craig had initially raised to thin the field. Ferguson showed Q10 while Craig held AJ. The flop of Q63 put Ferguson in the lead and he held on through a turn of the 5 and river of the 4.
The next hand Ferguson was on the button and raised to 800, drawing a call from the big blind. The flop came J22, and Ferguson called a 400 bet. After the 10 on the turn, Ferguson was all-in for another 200. The 10 was the river card, Ferguson showed Q3, and fell victim to the K6, king-high enough to take the pot down.

Hansu Chu Making a Move

After a strong showing in the $2,000 No Limit event earlier in the week, Chu is among the leaders tonight. Playing from the big blind, Chu responded to a raise from the button with a re-raise to 1,200. After the call, the flop came J107. Chu bet 400 and was called, and the 8 on the turn was checked by both players. With the 3 on the river Chu bet another 800 and was called. He claimed the pot with the K10 for second pair.

In Addition...

Two big stacks took tumbles, Daniel Negreau falling back to 2,500 in chips, while J.R. Bellande, who began the level with 10,900, was eliminated before the level ended.

Player Tags: J.C. Tran,   Humberto Brenes,   Chris Ferguson,   Erick Lindgren,   Daniel Negreanu,   Tom Schneider,   Marcel Luske,   Jason Maeroff,   Jean-Robert Bellande,   Terrence Chan,   Benjamin Fineman,   Michael Craig,   Hansu Chu,   Shannon Elizabeth,   David Vassalli

$1,500 No Limit Hold'em - Day 2 - Level 13

Jun 02, '08

Blinds/Antes: 1,500-3,000 – 400 ante

Players Left: 126 of 3929

Chip Leaders:
Ryan D'Angelo – 340,000
Scott Montgomery - 338,000
Joshua Engerdahl - 265,000
Sean Ferrer - 256,000
Ginikachukwu Izuogu - 230,000
Michael Ium - 215,000
Katja Svendsen - 200,200
Theo Tran - 175,000
Aaron Kanter - 165,000
Anthony Meeker - 160,000

Average Stack: 93,500

Eliminations:
Rami Boukai
Mark Vos

Big Hands and Storylines:

D’Angelo on a Rampage

Ryan “g0lfa” D’Angelo continued his dominance through this level, winning a number of notable pots. First, by making his opponent lay down a hand and later by showing down the best hand. On a flop of J92, D’Angelo led out for 11,000, garnering a call from Allen Goldstein.  D’Angelo checked the turn K, inducing a 15,000 bet from Goldstein. D’Angelo wasted no time before putting Goldstein all-in, forcing him to make a decision for all of his chips. Goldstein laid down the hand, opting to wait for a better spot.

“Ship it!”

Only an orbit later D’Angelo added another pile of chips, and bounty, to his collection. After Tony Korfman limped under-the-gun, and a middle position player followed suit, D’Angelo raised from the small blind to 13,500. Korfman called and they went to the flop heads-up. T63 was dealt and the youngster from New York led out with a bet of 18,000. Korfman called and they saw a turn of 4. D’Angelo kept up the pressure and put out a bet of 30,000, forcing Korfman all-in. Korfman made the call and turned over ace high, AQ, way behind D’Angelo’s QQ. The river was the 4, sealing another big pot for D’Angelo. After the pot things got a bit heated. In a bout of youthful ebullience, D’Angelo said “Ship it!” which did not sit well with the newly-busted Korfman. He shoved his chips toward D’Angelo and said to the table, “If anyone busts Mr. Ship It, I’ll give them $5,000.” At this point, however, that seems easier said than done. When enquired about his stack size, D’Angelo didn’t seem too confident in saying, “375,000 or so. I don’t know. I should learn to count better. Somewhere in the mid-300s.”

Ferguson Moves In

On a flop of 643, Chris Ferguson put in a bet of 22,000 which Terrence Chan called after a bit of thought. The turn came 6 and Ferguson declared himself all-in. Calling would cost Chan nearly 60,000 and it didn’t take too long before he folded. Despite never being among the chip leaders in this tournament, Ferguson is still alive and kicking with a stack of over 200,000.

Kanter Keeps Coming

Aaron Kanter found himself in a bad spot, getting his AK in against KK and TT pre-flop. But an ace on the flop was a welcome sight for Kanter and when the board ran out AJ549, Kanter found himself from on the brink to in good position. He currently has about 150,000.

Player Tags: Chris Ferguson,   Rami Boukai,   Terrence Chan,   Allen Goldstein,   Mark Vos,   Theo Tran,   Tony Korfman,   Ryan D'Angelo