Edler Wins Event #45- Short Handed No-limit ($904,672)
Posted: Sat, Jun 30, 07, 12:55 PM
Former Champ Sweats Final Three
2006 $5,000 short handed no-limit bracelet winner Jeff Madsen has been watching the broadcast of the final three in the halls of the Rio.
Blinds Forcing Action
Blinds this level are $60,000-$120,000 with a $15,000 ante. With around $7,200,000 chips in play, being able to pick up $210,000 in blinds in antes is huge. This forced the action early on. Erik Friberg was forced to push from the button and got called by Alex Bolotin and ended up being dominated. Friberg failed to improve and was eliminated in third place for $345,582. (Check out the elimination update for more details.)
Early Heads Up
Bill Edler and Alex Bolotin started heads up play with only a $200,000 difference in their stacks. On the third hand Edler raised from the button with 4 2 and Bolotin flat called with A 9. The flop brought the 7 4 2 and Bolotin checked. Edler bet $350,000 with his two pair. Bolotin called and the 2 hit the turn, filling Edler's boat. Both players checked and the 5 fell on the river. After Bolotin checked Edler bet $450,000 and Bolotin called with ace-high, only to find that Edler had made a full house. Edler raked in the $1,200,000 pot and took the lead. Edler literally won the first six pots and most of the next five through aggression or by getting a walk. On hand twelve Edler raised to $360,000 from the button with A 10 and Bolotin instantly raised all-in with A Q. Edler seemed to realize that Bolotin was very strong, but with a roughly 6-to-1 chip lead and strong hand Edler opted to call. He was is rough shape preflop with a dominated ace, but when the flop brought the 10 3 3 he took a commanding lead. The 5 on the turn kept Edler in the lead and meant that he only had to dodge the three remaining queens to win the pot, the bracelet and the $904,672. The 8 came on the river and Edler won his first bracelet and his $904,672. Alex Bolotin took home $504,686 for his second place finish.
With huge blinds and the shortest stack three handed, Erik Friberg decided to push from the small blind with A 3. Alex Bolotin picked up the A 10 and called. The board came down 6 4 2 10 7 and Bolotin's flush sent Friberg to the rail in third place with $345,582. Bolotin will now be heads up with Bill Edler for the bracelet and the $904,672 first prize.
As three handed play began the stacks looked as follows:
Alex Bolotin - $2,700,000
Erik Friberg - $2,500,000
Bill Edler - $1,950,000
Edler On The Rise
Early on Edler picked up a good sized pot off of Friberg with A J on a board of J 5 4 3. On the turn Friberg bet $350,000 and Edler raised to $1,000,000 and Friberg dumped his hand. Edler then picked up $150,000 in a walk. Edler raised preflop with 7 6 and Erik Friberg smooth called with 8 8. After a flop of Q 5 5 and Edler led out $450,000 and after tanking for a few minutes, Friberg folded his eights. Edler moved up to second in chips by the middle of the level.
Passing Chips Around
The middle of this hour was spent passing chips around the table, with small to medium sized pots commonly being taken down on the flop. Tough these pots are small and each player won a few of them, it seems that Edler is picking up more than his fair share.
Edler's Semi-Bluff
With a board of 8 7 6 both Edler and Alex Bolotin checked. The turn brought the A and Bolotin bet out $150,000 with A 3. Edler thought for a moment and raised with 7 4 , which made third pair and a straight draw. Bolotin folded his pair of aces after a moments tought and Edler's agression won him the pot with the second best hand. With twenty minutes left in the level Edler's stack was up to around $3,100,000.
Friberg Caught
Erik Friberg raised to $250,000 with 7 4 and Alex Bolotin called with the K 10. The flop brought the A 6 2 and Friberg led out $400,000. Bolotin thought for a minute before raining all-in. Friberg folded and Bolotin picked up almost $700,000. Friberg ended the hand with around $1,000,000.
At the end of the level, Edler has around $3,000,000, while Bolotin has around $2,000,000 and Friberg just over $1,000,000. Make sure to check back for more updates here at Cardplayer.com.
With A J Alex Bolotin raised to $160,000 and got a call from Erik Friberg with Q 10 and Greg Pohler with 4 3. The flop brought a nine and two blanks. The turn brought the J, giving Bolotin top pair and Friberg an open ended straight draw. Bolotin bet out, and Friberg went all-in. Bolotin called and was in great shape to eliminate Friberg. The K on the river gave Friberg a straight to the king, however, and he doubled up at Bolotin's expense.
Bolotin Back In It
Alex Bolotin raised $275,000 with K 6 and Greg Pohler called with Q J. The flop brought the K 10 5 and Bolotin bet his top pair. Pohler called and the turn brought the J. Bolotin checked and Pohler moved all-in with his second pair and open ended straight draw. Bolotin went into the tank for a few minutes before calling with his top pair. The river brought the 3 and Bolotin avoided getting drawn out on in another big pot. He took down the pot and left Pohler crippled.
Pohler was eliminated shortly after this hand by Erik Friberg, (see elimination post for details.) With Pohler's elimination it wasdown to three handed play just in time for a short break. With relatively close stacks, it is still anyone's game. Make sure to check back for all of the action here at Cardplayer.com.
Greg Pohler was short stacked after losing a big hand against Alex Bolotin. He went all-in with his last $75,000. After a few calls, Erik Friberg raised to isolate with A K and all other players folded. Pohler turned over the Q 7 and the flop came down A 3 6. After the 5 on the turn Pohler was drawing only to a four for a tie. The river brought a J and Pohler was eliminated in fourth place, taking home $232,669.
After moving up to third in chips, Edler was in more of a middle-sized stack position. He no longer had to push preflop, but he also wasn't deep stacked enough to feel comfortable limping or flat calling raises. Greg Pohler was even shorter, and though he limped and called a number of hands and took them down, he still needed to win a big hand to take some of the pressure of his stack.
Larger Stack Dynamic
Big stacks Erik Friberg and Alex Bolotin applied a surprisingly light amount of pressure early in the final table. The biggest hand either of them got involved in early in the hour was against each other. Bolotin raised to $125,000 from the button. Friberg called with the A 7 and after a flop of Q 5 3 checked. Bolotin bet $200,000 and Friberg mucked his ace high. Friberg loosened up in the later part of the second level, making plays such as stealing the big blind with hands like 7 5.
Pohler Doubles
Greg Pohler doubled up with 10 10 after he raised $240,000 preflop. Friberg called with A 4. After a flop of 7 4 3, Pohler bet $500,000 and Friberg raised all-in. Pohler called and after the turn and river bricked off, Pohler doubled and took over the chip lead from Friberg.
Edler Usurps Pohler
Pohler made a large raise of $270,000 preflop with A J. Bill Edler reraised all-in with A Q. After the board came down Q 3 2 K 4, Edler doubled up and overtook the chip lead with more than $2,000,000, knocking Pohler back down to a smaller stack.
Make sure to check back next hour for another update here at Cardplayer.com.
Gioi Luong was late to the final table, leading to a 30 minute delay. When play finally got underway, the dynamic created by the stacks had a great effect on the action. Both Erik Friberg and Alex Bolotin started the final day above two million in chips, while the rest of the players were all below a million and within $200,000 of each other. That meant that the final table started with polarized stack sizes, with players either deep or short stacked. This dynamic, combined with the nature of shorthanded play, led to fast action.
Bill Edler moved in and took down the blinds on two of the first three hands realizing the value of chipping up and trying to make the top three spots, which pay dramatically higher. Greg Pohler was also applying pressure this way, but with a more selective range of hands. Gioi Luong also tried to double up early, but his K Q ran into the A K of Alex Bolotin and he was eliminated in 6th. (See Luong's elimination post for more details.)
Edler's preflop pressure won him the blinds and antes and when he finally got called by Dutch Boyd, he had him out-chipped. Boyd held the J J against A 7, and after a flop of 8 5 3, Boyd was in good shape. The A paired Edler's ace and after the 8 fell on the river Boyd was sent to the rail in fifth place ($169,269), while Edler moved above $1,000,000. Greg Pohler was left as the short stack, with Edler in third, Bolotin in second and Friberg in first.
Make sure to check back for more hourly updates here at Cardplayer.com.
Dutch Boyd had to fold a lot of hands early in the final table. He finally picked up J J and had Bill Edler move all-in on him with A 7. Boyd called, and the flop brought 8 5 3, putting Boyd in good shape to double up. The A changed all that, however, giving Edler top pair. After the 8 fell on the river, Boyd was sent to the rail in 5th place ($169,269), while Edler moved above $1,000,000 in chips.
Gioi Luong showed up late to the $5,000 shorthanded no-limit final table. As one of the four short stacks, he was forced to try to double up early if he wanted to get into the highly paid top three spots. He pushed with K Q when it had folded to him. Unfortunately for him, Alex Bolotin had A K and called his all-in. When the flop came down 8 7 6, Luong was really in bad shape. The A on the turn secured the win for Bolotin and Luong was eliminated in 6th place ($110,860).
The final table of the $5,000 short handed no-limit hold'em event is set to get underway. Erik Friberg, who placed 8th in last years main event, is coming in as the chip leader of this star studded final table. Alex Bolotin is hot on his tail. Dutch Boyd won last year's $2,500 shorthanded event. With third place chips starting the day, Boyd is definately in the running for the bracelet this year. Greg Pohler is in fourth. Though he has only one cash to his name, he is gauranteed to increase his recorded tournament earnings by more than 16 times just by making the final table. Fifth ranked Gioi Luong cashed in the $2,500 short handed event earlier this year. Bill Edler is the shortest stack, but with five major final tables in the past year he is definately deep stacked in experience.
With such a great final table competing for a WSOP bracelet and the $904,672 first place prize, this event is one to watch. Make sure to catch all the action in the hourly updates here at Cardplayer.com.
2
and Bolotin flat called with A
. The flop brought the 7
hit the turn, filling Edler's boat. Both players checked and the 5
