A favorite pastime for many players at the World Series of Poker are the different varieties of games that one can play like Seven-card Stud. Viewed by many as one of the only true classic poker games still left at the WSOP, 97 players entered Day 2 looking for a shot at making the final table of Event #16($1,500 Seven Card Stud) where Jeffrey Lisandro, a 2007 Seven-card Stud bracelet winner, accumulated plenty of chips at a steady pace and came out ahead to lead the remaining 8 players into the final table with 334,000 in chips.

Despite being a Limit game, the action surprisingly went quick as 25 players were lost within the first 90 minutes of play.

What made things go even quicker were players like Jason Mercier who wasted no time going after the short stacks. Recent winner of Event #5 ($1,500 Pot Limit Omaha), Mercier got the day started by winning a huge pot when his board of Q  9 J A matched up with his A J K in the hole good for two pair.

While the action may have picked up from yesterday’s Day 1, it might have gone a little too fast for some. About an hour into the event, Sam Grizzle got into a feud  over a hand involving John Juanda who held 4 4 2 in the hole for a set of fours matched on the board while Grizzle held Q Q T for Queens and Ten’s on his matched board.

According to Grizzle, Juanda called him an “idiot”, while Grizzle defiantly stated that he responded by calling him a “moron”. The dealer called over the tournament director who gave Grizzle a five hand penalty for calling Juanda a “moron”. This sent Grizzle into an uproar that he got a penalty and Juanda didn’t. What made things worse was about 10 minutes later the dealer forgot to keep track of how many hands were played while Grizzle cooled down on the rail. This added another layer of frustration for Grizzle who was still visibly upset over the incident as he took his seat again.

While name calling was going on over on Table 189, Dutch Boyd was quickly building his stack hand by hand at another table. After Boyd made a quick jump in his chip count when his Aces and threes beat his opponent’s flush and straight draws, Boyd found himself quickly in another pot a few hands later when his K J T found a 9 on the river to make a King-high straight.

As players got closer to the bubble, play tightened up considerably as the dinner break was near. The bubble soon bursted right before break when Craig Kauffman busted in 41st place which drew applause from the rest of the field as after a long day and a half of Stud, the remaining 40 players were now in-the-money.

One of the bigger threats going late into the night was Juanda. The 4-time bracelet winner got tangled up in a monster pot involving Boyd.  On Boyd’s board of T 8 A, he bet out and was raised by Juanda and his board of 3 9 2 . Boyd quickly tossed a three bet out there and Juanda raised with Boyd calling behind him. With a 6 on sixth street, Boyd check-called Juanda’s 8. The showdown revealed Juanda’s 9 9 8 for a full house, nines full of eights. The hand turned out to be a huge momentum swing for Juanda who chipped up to 138,000 which put him among the chip leaders the rest of the night.

A name that the WSOP Stud games have seen around for a long time is Lisandro, who got into it with one pot involving Boyd. Lisandro’s board read J 8 8 4 while Boyd’s read A 7 5 8. Lisandro fired out bets on sixth and seventh street with Boyd calling each time. In a defiant reveal of his cards, Lisandro slammed down his A 6 6 much to the surprise of everyone at the table. Boyd took one look and mucked his cards.

Dipping past midnight, the Stud action grew lighter and lighter as players traded stacks back and forth just wanting to make the final table of 8 going into Day 3. With recent eliminations of Mercier, John Cernuto and 2008 Seven-card Stud bracelet winner Mike Rocco, the folds and check-downs to seventh street grew at a more frequent pace.

When the final eight was reached at 3 am, it was Lisandro and his experience that stole the show on this Day 2. He quietly made his plays and stayed close to the chip lead for most of the night until a late morning run that put him on top of the rest.

If Lisandro wants to capture another bracelet the road might be a bit tougher this year as Juanda, and two-time Seven-card Stud bracelet winner Rodney Pardy, whose nephew Eric Pardy is also at the final table, try to keep it in the family and go for more WSOP gold.

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