Paul Oresteen Blog

Ludovic Lacay came within one pot at the end of the night of being the chip leader heading into Day 5. He'll start the day second in chips.

One of the shortest days in recent World Series of Poker Main Event history was action-packed despite players battling through only three levels of play, including the painfully slow hand-for-hand segment, and after play wrapped up for the night it was little known Matt Affleck sitting pretty atop the leaderboard.

Affleck wrapped up the night with 1,819,000 and he finds himself 211,000 ahead of Frenchman Ludovic Lacay who bagged up 1,608,000. Lacay actually held the chip lead before dropping nearly 280,000 in one of the final hands of the night.

The only other American in the top ten is Blair Hinkle. The 2008 WSOP bracelet winer spent the last half of the day playing at the same table as Lacay and managed to avoid tangling too much with the then chipleader. Hinkle also lost a six figure pot as the night was drawing to a close making a river call only to see his opponent turn over the nuts.

“It was hard for me to put him on the ace. I thought he had a missed flush draw or something. Mistake by me, no big deal. I still have plenty of chips,” said Hinkle, who despite the mistake believes his strong day gives him more than enough chips to be aggressive as play continues . ”Basically, in the second level I went on this huge heater and pretty won nearly every pot. I have plenty of chips.”

But long before the chipleaders took over the spotlight the news of the day was built around the bubble and the inevitable bursting to put 648 players into the money. After the first level of play there were only 659 players remaining and it took nearly a full two hours 11 players to hit the rail. Kia Hamadani was the final player eliminated before everybody else was in the money. As the bubble boy Hamadani was awarded with a free buy-in to the 2010 WSOP Main Event courtesy of sponsor Jack Link’s Beef Jerky.

The pace of eliminations following the bubble was staggering. The night ended with 407 players remaining meaning 241 players were ousted from the tournament in a span of 150 minutes. Not long after the bubble burst Phil Hellmuth was eliminated in 436th place, walking away with yet another WSOP cash but short of his ultimate goal, another Main Event bracelet. The Poker Brat earned $25,027 for his performance.

And while one Phil was walking out the door the other, Phil Ivey, was slowly climbing the leaderboard. When all was said and done Ivey was bagging up 1,276,000 - good enough for 15th place and only one spot ahead of Day 3 chipleader Bertrand Grospellier who finished with 1,253,000.

Other notable players eliminated on Saturday were Mike Sexton, Erik Seidel, Greg Mueller and Kelly Kim. The elimination of Kim means only two members of the 2008 November Nine are still in contention for another final table appearance. Dennis Phillips (414,000) and defending World Champion Peter Eastgate (397,000) are both below the average chip stack of 473,000.

Tournament officials have yet to decide how many levels or eliminations Day 5 (Sunday) will see. Action resumes at 12 pm PT and live updates and chip counts are available at BluffMagazine.com.

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Scott Ian used a break in Anthrax's international tour to play the Main Event.

Most celebrities that play the Main Event of the World Series of Poker show up for one day, joke it up for the cameras, gladhand the media and then dump off their chips with questionable play. Not often do celebrities play sound poker and make a multitude of personal sacrifices all in the name of a deep run in the event. Except Scott Ian of Anthrax.

He literally has a world tour scheduled around playing in the Main Event.

He played a festival in Hockenheim, Germany on July 4th, after the show he flew back to the states to play in Day 1d on July 6th. He had a day of rest before playing Day 2b on July 8th, then left again to play the “Rocklahoma” festival in Oklahoma on July 9th. Finally, he traveled overnight to play in Day 3 on July 10th.

Do you have a heavy metal home game?

We have an online metal home game. It’s me, Jerry Cantrell, Kirk Hammett, Slash, Greg from Mudvayne and Vinnie Paul.

Do you get chances to play poker when you’re on the road with the band?

I do all the time. We live in such a technological world that our tour bus now has Wifi, it makes it that much easier for me to play online all the time. I’ve got tons of time to kill in hotels and dressing rooms. Since I’ve started playing online it’s definitely helped me pass the time while on tour.

Anthrax is on tour right now, how in the world are you able to play the Main Event?

I didn’t get to play the Main Event last year. I played a couple of smaller events and Ante Up for Africa but then had to leave and play shows. Which crushed me, because I was dying to play the Main Event. So I’ve been waiting for this for a year. Summer is peak time for touring rock and metal bands. Somehow it worked out where the first leg of our run was in Europe and I got here on Sunday, played Day 1d and survived. I played 2b and was at the airport at 4:30 in the morning heading to Tulsa. We headlined a festival called “Rocklahoma” last night to like 12,000 people. I was back at the airport in Tulsa at 4:30, had to go through Denver to get here and finally got back to my hotel at 9:30 a.m. I ate breakfast and came here. And let’s say I make the final nine - that’s November 15th and I would have to fly to Sweden on the 16th and play for two and a half weeks. It’s insane how it worked out down to the day that I could be here and play this. That never happens in my life.

Would you consider yourself a right-brained or left-brained poker player?

I’ve got both sides. My natural instinct is a right-brained guy, but I’ve been taking lessons from Annie (Duke) for a little while and it’s all math. I’ve kind of got both going for me. If I’m stuck with a decision and I don’t have a read or a gut feeling I’ll let the math decide for me. I’m playing Day 3 of the Main Event so I’m pretty excited about things.

Does playing poker offer you a different type of release than playing guitar?

Yeah, because I don’t have any stress at all when it comes to playing shows or making records. There’s no question like, “Is it gonna happen?” or “If I do this one way will is the song going to get done” When I’m on stage with the band I know exactly what I’m doing. I have all the information in the world. I know everything that’s going on. Whereas poker is the same amount of rush with a giant mountain of stress on it.

What’s more important for you to win - a Grammy or a WSOP Bracelet?

Holy crap. Umm… I’ll tell you that a bracelet pays a lot more. It would worth a lot more to me for my bankroll. A Grammy would be amazing, but I play in a heavy metal band and that’s nothing we’ve ever given a shit about. The Grammy’s added a heavy metal award years ago and that first year Jethro Tull beat Metallica. So that kind of shows you what the Grammy’s mean to me as a guy in a heavy metal band. So, I would much more excited to win a bracelet.

You were in VH1’s Supergroup. If you could build your own dream lineup, who would play with you?

Wow, that’s insane. Bon Scott from AC/DC on vocals, “Dimebag” Darrel on lead guitar, Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy on bass and I guess I’ll go with Keith Moon on drums.

What was your first job?

I had a paper route, but when I was 15 I worked in a print shop. I literally glued pads of paper together all day.

What’s the more decadent lifestyle - poker player or rock star?

If it was the 80s I would say rock star. But with my experience now, poker players are way more over the top than most rock stars these days. That crazy rock star lifestyle is seen few and far between these days. The old guys just don’t do it anymore and a lot of the younger bands aren’t like that. We don’t have any new rock stars. In the last three years I’ve hung out with pro poker players, the shit that goes on and the retarded amount of money that gets thrown around on stupid shit is more than I’ve ever seen rock stars ever do.

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Sam Simon chewing on a stogie during Day 2b.

What do you do when you have the most talked about home game in Hollywood, have 12 Emmys collecting dust on your mantle and earn close to $10 million a year from a show you don’t really work on anymore? You take your chance at the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Sam Simon, co-creator of the the Simpsons, has found success as a producer, writer and a poker player. Simon has five career WSOP cashes, including a deep run in the 2007 Main Event where he finished 329th of 6,358. He also has a brand new show to his credit called Sam’s Game where viewers are treated to an uncensored look into the funniest game in Hollywood.

You’ve got a new show on PlayboyTV called Sam’s Game, can you tell me a little about it?

The Playboy channel called and they asked if they could film my home game. We shot it at the Palms Hotel in the Playboy Suite. The game is pretty well known around Hollywood as really fun, there’s a lot of comedians and comedy writers in it. The only change that Playboy wanted was we had to have a Playmate playing, a bunny dealing and bunnies waiting on us hand and foot. I had to agree to that, which was a tough bullet to bite. We had Norm McDonald, Artie Lange, Dave Attell, Jennifer Tilly, Phil Laak and Brande Roderick from Celebrity Apprentice. A lot of people have come up to me and said they’re getting a kick out of it. That’s always nice. I was wondering if people would criticize the play on the forums, because there’s a lot to criticize. They’re just average players, but it’s fun to see their whole cards.

Who’s the best poker player in Hollywood?

Well I think Jennifer Tilly is the best tournament player in Hollywood. She does well and has a bracelet. Overall, I’d have to say that Tobey Maguire is a great poker player. He’s really, really good. Obviously, he doesn’t want to come to things like this, he’s just too big a star and people would just bug him too much. He’s excellent. I don’t think Gabe Kaplan is Hollywood anymore. That was a long time ago and things have changed a lot.

Ok, word association time. I’m giving you a name and want the first thing in your head. Norm McDonald.

I think he’s one of the funniest people.

Dave Attell.

Dave is very funny, I think of jokes when I think of him. His act is very funny but he writes a lot for other people. For some reason, as great of a performer he is, I associate him with writing those one liner jokes.

Artie Lange.

Character. Lately he’s become kind of a victim of it. He was great on my show. The first night we shot I kind of felt like Joe Buck. I love Artie and have known him for a long time. He was being very wild and I don’t think he knows how to play that well. I’m torn between thinking he was playing a character that didn’t how to play or if he just doesn’t know how to play. He is a gambler, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt - but his play was the most interesting. There’s clips on YouTube of it. He was just out here. The thing about Artie is that he’s so entertaining and brings people so much happiness you just wish he was a little happier himself. But I think he’s on that path.

Which Simpsons character would have the best chance to win the Main Event?

Lisa is a genius, she’s analytical, she does math and she figured out how to beat pro football. But then Bart is a reckless personality. I think they would meet heads-up at the final table and both be great. Homer obviously would be horrible.

The field is slightly larger than it was in 2007. What odds do you give yourself going deeper than 329th?

I don’t know, I started today with a pretty short stack. I had a really tough table on Day 1. I’m going to be patient. It’s really hard. I think they won’t get to the money until Day 4. The most fun I’ve ever had playing poker is when they go hand for hand in the Main Event. You get a 15 minute break after every hand and I was all in twice though. The atmosphere was great.

How many Emmys are worth a WSOP bracelet?

I don’t know, is there someone willing to trade? I think I lost the first 11 times I was nominated, but since then I’ve won - I think a dozen. My name isn’t even on those things anymore. Having lost so many times before I started winning I convinced myself that they don’t mean anything. They are a popularity contest and if you’re a new show you get rewarded. But winning a bracelet is a real accomplishment unto itself. If it ever happened I’d be thrilled.

Can you tell me about the Sam Simon Foundation?

Our mission is to save the lives of dogs and improve the lives of people. We are the largest provider of spay/neuter in the county of Los Angeles. Our flagship program is rescuing dogs from city shelters where they have four days to live. We train them to be certified assistants to the deaf. We also do pet visitations in retirement homes and Alzheimer’s wards. We just started a new program that Senator Al Franken called me about, his interest is in training dogs to help veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We are in the process of picking out our first batch of dogs to help our vets. We’ll see how that goes. I’m very proud of it. It’s an idea I had and I’ve had good ideas and bad ideas, but this is a good one. But playing that King-Queen suited (before the interview) was a bad idea.

If you could pick one player to play heads-up for a bracelet and win, who would it be?

I would play my six year old stepdaughter Cooper. If they wanted to add it as a bracelet event I’d be thrilled.

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Norman Chad "working" media row at the WSOP.

Norman Chad has been one of the voices of the World Series of Poker on ESPN since 2003. His voice and humor are just as much of the Moneymaker effect as Chris Moneymaker. Whether he’s describing the prettiest card in the deck or spotting another kid with a dream, Chad takes hours of boring footage and gives it personality. BluffMagazine.com caught up with Chad while he was surveying the field of the Main Event.

Is this World Series different for you in any way than the year’s past?

Other than me getting smart and wearing tennis shoes instead of hard shoes it’s been pretty much the same.

Does finally getting your first cash at the WSOP give you more cred?

I don’t think i have any cred as far as poker and strategy is concerned, but it felt good. I do love to player poker and it was my 12th World Series tournament. So 1 for 12 sounds a lot better than 0 of 11.

What’s the best thing about working with Lon McEachern?

When we’re done. I really get on his nerves we’re in the studio a long time when we’re taping. It’s pretty tough for him to be next to me all the time. It’s not tough to be next to him, but it’s tough for him to be next to me.

Do you think you have the world’s easiest job?

No, there’s a guy at Six Flags that determines whether you’re tall enough to go on the rides. I mean they have the line right there. So I have the world’s second easiest job.

Do you have any new catch phrases in the works for this year’s series?

Yeah you know they come without me ever knowing they’re going to come. Certain expressions like “Squadoshed” I used in college and “Whamboozled” I used for the first time one day and didn’t know I was going to use it. I liked it so I kept on using it. I loved “Ooshka Ooshka” which I haven’t used in a while. But I have nothing in the works for now.

Which number is higher? The number of cars you’ve owned or ex-wives you have.

It’s pretty close, which is sad. It’d be nice if it was 1-1, like if I had a 1959 Studebaker and only been married once, but I’ve actually owned four or five cars so that’s twice as many cars as ex-wives.

If you could play any one player heads up for a bracelet and win, who would it be?

I’ve never thought of that before. Even though my favorite player is Phil Ivey, because of my history with Phil Hellmuth it would have to be him. Who wouldn’t want to play Hellmuth heads up for a bracelet? Especially if he really wanted it, and why would he want it? Does he want to use his toes now because he’s ran out of fingers to count bracelets?

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Mike Sexton addressing the crowd of shut out players.

Approximately 500 players arrived at the the Rio today with $10,000 in their pocket and the dream of winning untold millions and fame as 2009’s World Champion. But their dreams were shattered at the cashier’s cage when they were told the World Series of Poker Main Event had sold out.

Day 1d of the Main Event had reached capacity with every available table being used in the Amazon, Brasilia and Miranda rooms. There were even 13 tables set up all the way back towards the casino in the area by Buzio’s Seafood restaurant.

At the beginning of Level 1 a semi-angry mob assembled outside of the 7 Star & Diamond registration office. A line of nearly 100 people snaked around a hallway at the general registration office. Notable pros, amateurs and every type of player in between started to gather. It seemed that Mickey Appleman, Minh Ly and Capt. Tom Franklin would be shut out of the biggest tournament of the year.

Tension in the hallway grew as one player said, “I have $10,000 that I won in satellite chips that are now completely useless. Is the WSOP going to give me a refund?”

Josh Sorenson, an amateur, said, “I don’t understand why there is no communication between the players and the WSOP staff. We’re not being told anything, besides the tournament is closed.” He continued, “Sometimes we need a gray area in life. Nothing is ever simply black and white.”

As players gathered and griped, somehow Mike Sexton found his way into the middle of the group. Several members of the shutout group asked Sexton if he would talk to WSOP Comissioner Jeffrey Pollack or WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel. Having already played on Day 1a, Sexton was a reluctant spokesperson, but he held true to his “Ambassador of Poker” title and agreed to speak for the crowd.

At issue was players believed that 3,000 entrants had been advertised for Day 1d to play.  Sexton invited Franklin to accompany him to meet with Effel. The three found a quiet spot near the feature table to discuss the matter. With a large crowd of disgruntled players building by the rail, the three moved into a back hallway for privacy.

After about 30 minutes Sexton and Franklin emerged and told the growing group that Pollack had agreed to meet with them. All concerned players that were shutout were to go to the Pavillion in the Rio and Pollack had a prepared statement.

About 100, mostly angry, players gathered to see if their Main Event dreams would come true. Pollack and the senior staff of the WSOP all gathered for the explanation.

Pollack opened his statement, “We are sorry, I am sorry. The last thing we wanted to do is deny entry to any player for the Main Event. But we are unable to accommodate anymore people.” He continued, “We pledge this won’t happen again and will be the first topic we discuss for next year. This is the biggest challenge we have faced in four years.”

The crowd was clearly displeased with Pollack’s statements. One requested if they could start at midnight and play all night to join Day 2a. Another asked why they couldn’t be accomdated and play ten-handed at some tables or allow alternates.

Pollack said, “We have not had alternates for the 56 previous events and the first three days of the Main Event and we’re not going to start now. We’ve had sellouts already this series.”

The hostile crowd grew louder as each player wanted Pollack to hear their complaints. Melissa Hayden grew impatient with crowd and urged them to quiet down and speak civilly to Pollack.

Pollack dismissed the rumor that two very high profile players were allowed entry after registration had been closed. He furthered his point by saying,”The decision has been made. Operationally, we cannot accommodate anymore players.”

Pollack answered questions for several minutes and the crowd seemed unwilling to accept anything he had to say. Pollack stepped away from the podium and exited the room. One very angry Australian player shouted “Shameful!” as Pollack left.

The players that were just officially told they would not be able to play lingered and remained very upset. None of them appeared to be happy with the explanation. The previously mentioned Aussie even suggested that they could sue the WSOP.

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Winky Wright under the spotlight at the feature table for his first poker tournament.

The World Series of Poker Main Event attracts every poker player with a dream, along with celebrities that want to dip their toes in the proverbial poker waters. Saturday BluffMagazine.com caught up with former middleweight champion of the world Winky Wright just before he busted out of Day 1b.

How long have you been playing poker?

Well, I’ve known how to play for a while, I just don’t play in tournaments. I’m friends with Phil Ivey and I’ve been watching him play, so I though I’d get in here and try my luck.

Is this you first WSOP tournament?

This is my first poker tournament. But I like it, there’s a lot of game going on.

Did you win a qualifier for this event?

No. I bought straight in.

What similarities do you see between boxing and poker?

No similarities. There’s no bluffing in boxing, either you got it or you don’t. In poker you can bluff, check-raise, there’s things you can’t do in boxing. Poker’s a lot easier on your body than boxing.

Can you tell me a little bit about your charity work?

I’m involved with the Winky Wright Foundation. We try to help educate our youth and community to learn how to live a healthier lifestyle. The urban community has a lot of people suffering from diabetes so we’re trying to educate our kids how to eat right to stop a lot of it from happening.

What other boxers do you think would make good poker players?

My man Antonio Carver is playing Day 1c, he’s a good poker player. It’s just that you can’t be scared. Phil (Ivey) told me one day when I first started watching him play “You can’t count the money, you just have to play your hand. The chips are what they are.” So I think anyone without fear would be a good poker player.

Should you opponents be scared of your jab if they beat you in a big pot?

They better be scared of my jab. (Laughing) No, I’m playing with some great poker players, I’m sitting right beside Doyle Brunson. It’s ridiculous.

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Abe Mosseri has nearly 450,000 reasons to smile.

The World Series of Poker saw 73 players return to start Day 2 of $2,500 2-7 Limit Triple Draw (Event 55). After a long day of play in the Miranda room, only 9 players will return for Day 3 and play down to a winner. Noted cash game player Abe Mosseri has almost 100,000 chip lead on the leaderboard.

Mosseri made a strong final table showing in the $10,000 World Championship Seven Card Stud HiLo 8-or-Better (Event 37) finishing 6th . That final table included Doyle Brunson, Justin “BoostedJ” Smith and was the 2nd of Jeffrey Lisandro’s 3 bracelets this year.

Mosseri will have a difficult time bullying the table with WSOP bracelet winners John Juanda and Blair Rodman in the field. Also in the field is Nam Le and Julie Schneider,wife of 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider.

Mosseri should be most concerned with Juanda. Having already strung together three final tables, Juanda is having an excellent series. He finished 4th in the World Championship No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball event, 5th in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event, and 9th in the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha event. He will enter the final day 4th in chips.

Rodman is no stranger to Lowball games. He has a 10th and a 15th place finish in WSOP Razz events and a 10th and 21st place finishes in HORSE events. He did win his bracelet in a No Limit Hold’em event, but most recently made a deep run in $2,500 Mixed Event (Event 42) finishing 14th.

Not surviving Day 2 were Daniel Negreanu, Hasan Habib , Justin “Boosted J” Smith and John “The Razor” Phan.

Remaining Chip Counts for $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Event 55)

1. Abe Mosseri - 447,000
2. Blair Rodman - 358,000
3. Masayoshi Tanaka - 345,000
4. John Juanda - 182,000
5. Julie Schneider - 163,000
6. Brad Libson - 146,000
7. Hertzel Zalewski - 111,000
8. Nam Le - 95,000
9. Kris Lord - 87,000

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Jorg Peisert clinches his first WSOP bracelet and cash.

The World Series of Poker chose not to have rebuy tournaments this year, instead they have  introduced the Triple Chance format. Players receive their initial starting stack plus two other special chips that they can redeem at anytime through the first three levels for another starting stack of chips. As a result, the final table was loaded in chips - 7,685,000. After three long days of play Jorg Peisert emerged victorious to claim his first WSOP bracelet and cash.

The first elimination came when Jason DeWitt opened for 38,000 and Wes Watson came over the top with an all-in raise. DeWitt called with K J and Watson held 7 7. They saw the board run Q 4 3 J T and with DeWitt pairing his Jack, Watson was the first elimination of the final table.

Cautious play dominated the table until William Erickson open-shoved for 228,000 and Peisert called without hesitation holding Q Q. Erickson tabled A T and saw the board run dry for him 6 8 3 K 6. Peisert’s Queens held and Erickson made an 8th place exit.

Michael Katz opened UTG for 76,000 and Karga Holt moved all-in from the small blind. Facing a 503,000 bet, Katz tanked for several solid minutes. While thinking about calling he said, “This is so close. I think I’m going to need to flip a coin on this one.” From across the table Benjamin Gilbert took out a coin and flipped it across the table. Katz smiled, and then eventually called and showed K Q and Holt tabled A K. The flop was a soul crushing Q K K for Holt. Needing an Ace, Holt watched a J on the turn and 2 on the river. He couldn’t catch an Ace and was out of the tournament in 7th place.

Katz had the table on the defensive after he had moved all-in three of four hands in a row. On the fifth hand Peisert called Katz’s all in raise after already committing 150,000 prior to Katz shoving again. Peisert showed two black 3s and Katz held pocket 4s. The board ran 2 5 3 8 7 and Katz couldn’t connect. He was done for the day with a 6th place finish.

With the blinds rising and the short stacks getting shorter, Jason Somerville moved in from the small blind with K 7 and DeWitt called with A 6. The board ran with all low cards and Somerville couldn’t connect and finished in 5th place.

On the next elimination Peisert opened on the button for 170,000 and Michael Noda popped it to 430,000. Peisert raised about another half million and Noda moved all-in. Peisert showed J T and Noda held A Q and the watched the board run K 4 2 T 9. Noda’s body deflated when he saw the Ten on the turn and Peisert celebrated with his cheering section. Noda left the Green section to collect his 4th place payout.

Gilbert moved all-in preflop for 560,000 and Peisert tanked preflop. He called after a couple minutes and tabled A 8 and Gilbert showed 9 5 slamming them down jokingly. The board ran A 7 7 T 9 and Peisert again celebrated with his cheering section on the rail while Gilbert finished the tournament in 3rd place.

During heads-up play Peisert chipped away at DeWitt until he only had 600,000. DeWitt was running low and out of options and after Peisert opened to 180,000 DeWitt decided to make a stand. He moved all in holding K 4 and Peisert called quickly with 9 9. DeWitt needed a King or running cards to take the hand, but the board missed him completely with 7 A 7 6 T. Peisert jumped up in victory and then had a moment with his wife when she jumped into his arms, celebrating the biggest win in his career. DeWitt looked dejected as he took the back exit to the cashier’s cage avoiding the German’s celebration with his cheering section.

Final Table Payouts for $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold’em (Event 52)

1. Jorg Peisert - $506,800
2. Jason DeWitt - $313,227
3. Benjamin Gilbert - $205,180
4. Michael Noda - $142,035
5. Jason Somerville - $103,591
6. Michael Katz - $79,385
7. Karga Holt - $63,781
8. William Erickson - $53,622
9. Jack Watson - $47,070

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Thibaut Durand surged ahead of the field late in Day 2.

The World Series of Poker $1,500 No Limit Hold’em (Event 51) saw one of the biggest fields for a $1,500 event with 2,781 original entrants. Only 349 players survived Day 1 and only 30 would see the end of Day 2. Thibaut Durand will enter Day 3 as the chip leader with nearly a half million chip lead on 2nd place following a series big hands late in the day.

Day 2 started with a lot of all-ins with around 30 players hovering around only ten big blinds. The top 297 players made the money. Approaching the money bubble, three players were eliminated on one hand and the tournament did not have to play hand for hand.

Amnon Filippi had trouble gaining momentum to start the day; he started with 80,000. Sitting in the small blind, the big blind raised to 6,000 and Filippi shoved for his last 11,000. The player on the button called and the big blind folded. Filippi tabled A 5 and his opponent tabled 8 8 to see the board run Q 7 3 Q 2. Filippi’s tournament was done with just above a min cash.

Joe Reitman, Annie Duke’s boyfriend, reraised a player that raised from middle position for all of his chips. His opponent called and tabled 5 5 and Reitman needed help holding A J. The board ran 8 K 2 4 T and Reitman’s tournament was over.

In a crazy pot three players all moved all-in preflop. A late position player opened for 7,500, the cutoff raised all-in for 27,000 and Matt Brady moved in as well for 54,600. The initial raiser called and had both players covered and tabled T T. The cutoff had A K and Brady held J J. The board ran K 4 9 7 A giving the main pot to the cutoff and the side pot to Brady. He ultimately lost 2,000 in the whole ordeal and as the cutoff tripled up.

Josh Schlein jumped up the leaderboard during the final seven hands of play. He raised to 32,000 in early position and Georgios Kapalas called from the big blind. The flop came 8 8 6 and they both checked to see the Q on the turn. Schlein check-called a 45,000 bet from Kapalas to see the river 3. After a Schlein check, Kapalas bet 110,000 and Schlein went into the tank. He found the courage to call with only A J and Kapalas mucked his hand.

The remaining 30 players will return tomorrow at 1 p.m. PST to play down to a winner. The final table will be broadcast live on BluffMagazine.com

Top Ten Chip Counts for Day 3 $1,500 No Limit Hold’em (Event 51)

1. Thibaut Durand - 1,650,000
2. Owen Crowe - 1,003,000
3. Josh Schlein - 875,000
4. Georgios Kapalas- 782,000
5. Steven Levy - 657,000
6. Jason Helder - 589,000
7. Eric Lupovich - 548,000
8. Diego Vilela - 425,000
9. Rafael Belloso - 410,000
10. Andrew Chen - 390,000

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Brandon Cantu with his 2nd WSOP bracelet.

The World Series of Poker final table for $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha HiLo 8-or-Better (Event 48) saw lots of action in a volitile variation of Omaha. Seasoned pros Lee Watkinson and Brandon Cantu arrived at the table as heavy favorites and ended up in an epic heads-up battle for the bracelet. But it would be Cantu that would won his 2nd WSOP bracelet.

The first elimination came when Tommy Vedes open-raised and William McMahan reraised to 84,000. Vedes then raised enough to set McMahan all in and got a call. McMahan tabled A A K Q and looked good against Vedes’ A T T 4, but the flop hit Vedes with 8 4 4. The turn and river came 5 J and McMahan was sent home in 9th place.

Ronnie Hofman found himself all-in against Watkinson after a flop of 7 4 2 and held A K Q J. Watkinson had a high and low hand with A K 4 2 and had two pair with the only low draw. The 7 turn and 3 river did not help Hofman and he was free to collect his 8th place payout.

Aaron Sias opened from UTG for 56,000 and Ted Weinstock put him all-in from the big blind. Sias called with A 3 7 8 and would need help against Weinstock’s A A K 6. The board ran A 2 T K 9 and Sias’ day was done with a 7th place finish.

Vedes raised from the button and Steve Jelinek raised it to 222,000 from the big blind. Vedes called and they saw a flop of K 6 6. Jelinek moved the rest of his stack into the middle and Vedes called with A 2 T 6. Jelinek tabled A 2 K Q and saw a A turn and 2 river. Vedes’ full house bounced Jelinek from the final table in 6th place.

Mathieu Jacqmin made a 90,000 raise preflop and Vedes called. The flop came 8 7 8 and Jacqmin check-raised all-in and Vedes called with K Q 9 T and Jacqmin tabled A 5 8 J. The turn came 9 and river came 2 and Jacqmin’s set was good to send Vedes to the cashier’s cage in 5th place.

The biggest pot of the tournament came during four-handed play. Cantu opened with a raise and Jacqmin reraised to 100,000, which Weinstock called. The flop hit 6 7 Q and Cantu potted for 300,000. Weinstock moved in for 500,000 total and then Jacqmin reshoved to isolate Weinstock. Cantu obliged and got out of the way and Jacqmin tabled A A 2 4 while Weinstock held A 2 K 6. The turn 9 sealed the high for Jacqmin with a flush and the 6 on the river couldn’t make a low for Weinstock. He left the feature table with a 4th place showing.

From the chip leader to 3rd place finisher is how Jacqmin ended the last ten minutes of his tournament. He raised from the small blind and Watkinson called from the big blind. The flop came 9 5 Q and Jacqmin check-raised all in after Watkinson potted. Watkinson called immediately and tabled Q Q 6 2 and Mathieu tabled A 7 7 2. The turn came 8 and the river came K and Jacqmin’s day was done in 3rd place.

Heads-up play started with Watkinson at 2,485,000 and Cantu at 945,000. Watkinson started heating up and had Cantu down to 570,000. The players opted to not take a dinner break because of Watkinson’s huge chip lead. But Cantu’s hungry stomach worked well for him because he doubled up and then a won a series of smallish pots that swung the chip count in his favor.

Cantu opened to 150,000 on the button and Watkinson called to see a flop of 6 4 Q. Watkinson moved in with 2 3 5 7 hoping to fill his low, flush and straight draws. Cantu called holding A T 7 4. The turn came 9 and the river was the 4 giving Cantu a set and failed to give Watkinson a low. Cantu won his second bracelet at the first final table of the 2009 WSOP that saw two bracelet winners battling heads-up for a bracelet.

Final Table Payouts for $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha HiLo 8 or Better (Event 48)

1. Brandon Cantu - $228,867
2. Lee Watkinson - $141,873
3. Mathieu Jacqmin - $92,946
4. Ted Weinstock - $74,727
5. Tommy Vedes - $47,617
6. Steve Jelinek - $36,893
7. Aaron Sias - $30,028
8. Ronnie Hofman - $25,618
9. William McMahan - $22,862

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Brandon Cantu controlled the action for most of the day.

The World Series of Poker finds new ways to offer interesting formats for tournaments priced for value. The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha HiLo Split-8 or Better (Event 48) attracted players ranging from an amateur playing his first WSOP event to the all-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. Day 2 saw 87 players return to play down to the final table and Brandon Cantu will enter the final table as chip leader.

Day 2 play started slowly needing only 14 eliminations until the money bubble. Carlos Citrone had the unfortunate, but necessary task of being the last player to bust without getting paid. His A Q 4 2 fell short against A K 9 9 on a board of  T J 9 T 2.

A short-stacked Hellmuth seemed frustrated for most of the night, crediting himself with many good folds. On his final hand he moved all-in and was called by Jacqmin Mathieu on the button and Lee Watkinson from the big blind. The flop came 5 4 Q and both live players checked, then the A hit on the turn and Mathieu bet Watkinson out of the pot. Hellmuth tabled A T 6 2 and Mathie showed T 4 3 2. The J came on the turn and Hellmuth said, “He called a raise with deuce, three fucking four.” As Hellmuth made his exit he muttered, “Nice hand buddy.”

Cantu’s huge rush on Day 2 gave him a comfortable cushion to work with. At one point, he had more chips than the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place players on the leaderboard combined. He flirted with the 1,000,000 mark for most of the later part of the night and finally broke it in the last twenty minutes of play.

Watkinson made a slow steady rise up the leaderboard throughout the day. He surged from a beginning stack on Day 2 just under 20,000 to 3rd in chips with 400,000.

During the last two hours the players sat ten-handed until one more player busted out so the final table would be set for a 2 p.m start. The final table bubble boy was Sean Getzwiller when he was scooped by Tommy Vedes.

Play resumes tomorrow at 2 p.m. PST at the Feature Table area.

Final Table Chip Counts for $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha HiLo Split-8 or Better (Event 48)

1. Brandon Cantu - 1,020,000
2. Jacqmin Mathieu - 520,000
3. Lee Watkinson - 410,000
4. Aaron Sias - 360,000
5. Steve Jelinek - 280,000
6. William McMahan - 268,000
7. Tommy Vedes - 202,000
8. Ted Weinstock - 130,000
9. Ronnie Hofman - 102,000

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Matt Woodward made a late surge to capture the chip lead.

The World Series of Poker $2,500 Mixed Hold’em Event Limit/No Limit (Event 47) entered Day 2 with 67 players that survived 527 original entrants. After a long day and a flurry of eliminations early, 9 players survived reaching the final table. Matt Woodward will enter the final day with as chip leader after winning a series of big pots late in the evening.

Many of poker’s most familiar names were not able to survive Day 2: Daniel Nereanu, Gavin Griffin and Eli Elezra would all have an early night. Jean-Robert Bellande continues to find frustration at this WSOP and was out just before the money bubble again.

During hand for hand play it seemed if the bubble might never burst. Then in rare fashion three players were eliminated during the same hand: Bryan “Devo” Devonshire, Klein Bach and Charles Teplitz. The each received 2/3 of 54th and 55th place prize money - $3,159 apiece.

Allen Cunningham was in the mix until the end when he was busted in 15th place. He was short-stacked and desperate and moved in with 6 5 but could not improve on a board of J T 3 J 4 and Bahador Ahmadi’s A Q was good enough to win the pot.

Also falling just short of the final table was Mimi Tran. She moved the last of her chips with A J and Zachary Humphrey isolated her with A K. The board ran K Q 3 4 Q and Tran was sent to the rail in 13th place.

November Nine finalist Ylon Schwartz found some bad luck with pocket Kings and Aces after the dinner break. He first bet every street holding K K against a board of Q 9 5 T 3 and then mucked face up when Humphrey tabled A 9. Then holding A A he lost to a board of 5 Q 2 J 4 when David Baker held 5 5.

The field assembled at one table for ten-handed play and they played very cautiously; averaging about one showdown every fifteen minutes. With the 3 a.m. cutoff approaching the final table bubble finally burst. Lee Vlastaris opened with a raise, Barry Greenstein called, Hasan Habib raised and Karlo Lopez reraised. The blinds folded and Vlastaris called; Greenstein and Habib folded. The flop came K T 7 and Vlastaris check called to see the J on the turn and check-raised all-in. Lopez had him drawing dead with K K. Vlastaris’ tournament ended just short of the final table in 10th place holding A J.

Final Table Chip Counts for $2,500 Mixed Hold’em Limit/No Limit (Event 47)

1. Matt Woodward - 6670,000
2. Randy Haddox - 615,000
3. Bahador Ahmadi - 564,000
4. John McGuiness - 520,000
5. Karlo Lopez - 510,000
6. Ylon Schwartz - 295,000
7. Barry Greenstein - 230,000
8. Zachary Humphrey - 140,000
9. Hasan Habib - 135,000

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Jeffrey Lisandro completes his 7 Card Trifecta.

The World Series of Poker $2,500 Razz Event (Event 44) returned for the 3rd and final day with eight players looking to add a WSOP bracelet to their resume. All eyes were on Jeffrey Lisandro as he  already won bracelets in Seven-card Stud and Seven-card Stud Eight or better this series. Lisandro dominated the final table and completed his trifecta of Seven-card events when he won the $2,500 Razz event.

The first elimination came when Allen Bari could not beat Ryan Fisler door cards. Fisler led the betting and his 9-6-5-4-3 low beat Bari’s Q-8-6-4-A low. Bari’s day was done and collected a 8th place finish.

Steve Diano called the completion from Warwick Mirzikinian and followed his betting until 4th street when all of Diano’s chips were in the pot. Mirzikinian made a 8-7-5-4-A which eliminated Diano in 7th place holding J-7-6-5-4.

After doubling up off of Lisandro, Kenna James had all his chips in the middle on 4th street against Michael Craig. Craig tabled a 7-6-5-3-2 and James showed 8-7-6-4-A which ended James’ day and bumped Craig’s stack to the 400,000 mark.

Lisandro’s rush at the final table continued and at five-handed play he had nearly half the chips in play. Eric Rodawig chose a rather bad time to commit all his chips to the pot on 3rd street. Lisandro made a T-9-7-6-5 and Rodawig didn’t even look at his 7th card when he was showing (K 5) 5 8 Q J. He was drawing dead and was sent to the rail in 5th place.

Lisandro continued to accumulate chips and the rail wondered why anyone would play a game involving seven cards and Lisandro. Mirzikinian raised Lisandro on 4th street and raised all-in on 5th street and Lisandro called. Lisandro tabled 7-6-5-4-2 and Mirzikinian showed T-8-4-3-A was eliminated in 4th place.

 Ryan Fisler was the next victim of Lisandro when Fisler bet every street with Lisandro calling. On 7th street Fisler bet again and Lisandro raised enough to set him all in. Fisler reluctantly folded and saved his last 35,000 for another hand. While Lisandro didn’t knock him out, he certainly ended Fisler’s day. A couple hands later Craig made a 6-5-4-3-2 to beat Fisler’s K-9-8-5-4.

Lisandro and Craig played several hands of heads up play with Lisandro dominating the match. The final hand came when Craig put the rest of his chips in the pot on 5th street. Craig made a K-J-8-6-A and Lisandro ended the tournament with a T-9-8-7-4. Lisandro is the first person to win three variations of one game in a single year.

Final Table Payouts for $2,500 Razz Event (Event 44)

1. Jeffrey Lisandro - $188, 390
2. Michael Craig - $116,405
3. Ryan Fisler - $76,260
4. Warwick Mirzikinian - $52,772
5. Eric Rodawig - $38,470
6. Kenna James - $29,472
7. Steven Diano - $23,669
8. Allen Bari - $19,880

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Jerrod Ankenman + 8 games + 7 players = 1st bracelet.

The World Series of Poker $2,500 Mixed Game Event (Event 42) had 14 players return for the final day of play. During the final heads-up session, it was during No Limit Hold’em that Jerrod Ankenman, co-writer of The Mathematics of Poker, was able to emerge victorious and earned his 1st career WSOP bracelet. 

The first elimination from the official final table of eight came shortly after the dinner break. In Seven-card Stud Dario Alioto had bet every street through sixth until Jon “PearlJammer” Turner check-raised him for the rest of his stack. Alioto held (7 7) 6 5 5 2 and Turner had (9 9) 6 9 J Q and was ahead with his set over Alioto’s two pair. Alioto got a J on seventh street that didn’t help and his day was done.

During Layne Flack’s entire tournament his chip stack fluctuated from among the leaders to short stack. During Seven-card Stud Eric Crain found himself locked up with Flack. On fourth street Flack check-called and then committed the rest of his chips on fifth street. Flack held (8 7) 8 K 5 and Crain was already ahead holding (T 9) 9 3 4. Flack caught a second pair with 7 Q, but Crain caught 4 Q - giving him a higher two pair. Flack and his entourage left with a 7th place finish.

During a round of No Limit Hold’em Crain pushed all-in preflop against Ankenman. Crain held K Q and was up against Ankenman’s 8 8. The board ran A T 8 K 9 and Crain was finished in 6th place.

After a few orbits of other games, the rotation was on Limit Hold’em when a crippled Turner was all-in with only two big blinds. He found himself hoping to win a pot against three other players: Ankenman, Sergey Altbregin and Chris Klodnicki. The flop hit 9 8 7 and action checked around. The turn brought the 8 and Klondicki bet, Ankenman called and Altbregin folded. The 6 came on the river and both live players checked. Turner held A J, Ankenman held K 9 and Klondicki held 7 6. Ankenman won both pots with two pair and Turner was gone in 5th place with Ace high.

During a round of No Limit Hold’em Klodnicki three-bet from the button and Jeff Tims moved in from the big blind for 75,000 and Klodnicki called. Tims tabled A 5 and Klodnicki showed A 6. The board ran K Q 7 4 9 filling Klodnicki’s flush. Tims finished in 4th place for his first WSOP final table and cash.

During an orbit of Pot Limit Omaha Klodnicki raised 30,000 from the button and Ankenman called. The flop came 9 4 3 and Klodnicki potted for 72,000 and Ankenman repotted to 288,000. Klodnicki paused for a moment then moved in for 375,000 and Ankenman called. He tabled A K K 2 and Klodnicki held A 9 6 3 with two pair. The T turn filled Ankenman’s flush and the river 5 did not help Klodnicki and his day was done with a 3rd place finish.

The tournament came to a conclusion during an orbit of No Limit Hold’em when Altbregin limped and Ankenman checked his option. The flop came 3 6 4 and Ankenman led out with 50,000 and Altbregin moved all-in. Ankenman called and tabled 6 5 and was ahead of Altbregin’s J [4d ]. The turn came 7 and gave Ankenman the straight and ending Altbregin’s dream of a bracelet. The river 9 was of no matter and Ankenman could finally call a bracelet his.

Final Table Payouts for $2,500 Mixed Game Event (Event 42)

1. Jerrod Ankenman - $241,654
2. Sergey Altbregin - $149,341
3. Chris Klondicki - $97,896
4. Jeff Tims - $67,848
5. Jon Turner - $49,568
6. Eric Crain - 38,074
7. Layne Flack - $30,675
8. Dario Alioto - $25,860

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Jon "PearlJammer" Turner carefully measured opponents all day.

The World Series of Poker $2,500 Mixed Event (Event 42) began Day 2 with 153 players that survived Day 1 from an original 412. The field played until just shy of 3 a.m. ending with 14 players. Leading the field into the final day of play is Jon “PearlJammer” Turner with a narrow lead of 57,000 over 2nd place.

The mixed game events have been drawing a large number of pros, many feel that this format caters to them. A deep understanding of all the games and experience is what they believe gives them an edge over amateurs. Noted pros David Sklansky, John Juanda, Daniel Negreanu and Michael Binger could not survive the day.

Thang Luu was the last player busted before the remaining player bagged and tagged their chips. During a round of No Limit Hold’em Luu moved in from late position and Layne Flack called from the big blind. Luu tabled K J and Flack showed [Ad[ 4d] and the board ran A 7 3 Q 5. Luu’s chips added to Flack’s stack as he made a late charge up the leaderboard.

On the opposite end of luck was Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke. During a round of Pot Limit Omaha he found himself in a pot heads up with Rami Boukai. With a flop of K 8 6 Boukai check-called a bet of 15,000. A 3 came on the turn and Boukai made pot bet and Fricke came over the top with an all-in raise. Boukai called and showed K J T 2 and was in bad shape against Fricke’s top two pair with K Q T 8. The brutal J came on the river and Fricke threw his hands up in disgust and paid Boukai off and became the shortest stack in the tournament.

Receiving the worst beat of the day award undoubtedly went to Michael Binger. With all the money in the middle and a board of Q 5 J Binger held Q Q A 6 for top set and Adam Friedman held J J Q 8 with second set. The turn came 8 and Binger had 43 cards to win the pot, but the case J spiked on the river giving the pot to Friedman. Binger was crippled had to to take a walk to shake it off.

Turner’s approach to the tournament was very measured. During an interview on the first break of the first day Turner spoke of mixed game tournaments and said, “It’s my bread and butter…That’s what I would like to have success with in the near future.” We’ll have to wait and see if the near future will be the final table of this tournament.

Player will return at 2 p.m. PST in the Green section to play down to a winner.

Remaining Chip Counts for $2,500 Mixed Event (Event 42)

1. Jon “PearlJammer” Turner - 469,200
2. Jerrod Ankenman - 412,400
3. Adam Friedman - 325,800
4. Layne Flack - 283,400
5. Sergey Altbregin - 239,500
6. Dario Alioto - 224,600
7. Trai Dang - 220,000
8. Eric Crain - 210, 600
9. Chris Klodnicki - 153,400
10. Blair Rodman - 139,800
11. Jeff Tims - 138,500
12. Rami Boukai - 137,700
13. Andrew Radel - 92,700
14. Jimmy “Gobboboy” Fricke - 47,400

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