June 2006 Archives

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(Other event coverage can be found in updates as well)

Because of TV production necessities, play got started about an hour late. Now things are up and running and ready to go. Here's how they stack up as they start play.

Eric "Rizen" Lynch--455,000
Rocky Enciso--247,000
Rafe Furst--222,000
John Juanda--147,000
Burt Boutin--140,000
Can Kim Hua--122,000
Richard Chase--95,000
Alan Gilbert--88,000
George Bronstein--15,700

3:21pm--We've had the first bust-out already. Once short-stacked, Alan Gilbert has no stack and is gone in 9th place.

3:22pm--While we're waiting for the hot action to get rolling, I thought I'd share this with you. Rizen has already established himself as a hella good poker player. Now, he's making no secret of his status as a family man. People are already talking about the clean-cut father who considers poker his job, but always puts his family first. Witness: Rizen with family in tow, just before his ESPN interview.

3:24pm--John Juanda has been eliminated in 8th place.

3:31pm--In case you're checking other sites and freaked out when you saw Rizen had lost half his stack, don't worry. It must have been a typo. Rizen has barely played a pot yet and his stack is intact.

3:52pm--Well, we almost lost Burt Boutin. he got his A2 in against AQ, but spiked his deuce.

3:55pm--While we're on a break, how about an update on other events?

Funniest public address announcment of the day: "Norm McDonald, you still have chips. Norm McDonald, you still have chips. Table 28!"



In other news, Michael Goodman just stopped me to tell me about getting all his chips in with a straight versus a set in Event #5. By the time the river hit, Goodman held a straight flush to his opponent's...QUADS. Nice hand, sir.

In Event #5, Team PokerStars' Vanessa Rousso is looking good (and so is her chip stack).




4:04pm--At the first break, Rizen is still in command:

Eric Lynch--$455,000
Can Kim Hua--$412,000
Rafe Furst--$200,000
Rocky Enciso--$167,000
Burt Boutin--$145,000
George Bronstein--$130,000
Richard Chase--$85,000

4:19pm--Well, here's the bad news. Just back from break and Rizen has doubled up George Bronstein with A9 vs AK. It was a stumble, but Rizen still has well enough chips to play the game that got him where he is today. Rizen wasn't being all that reckless. He'd come in for a standard raise and Bronstein jammed. It wasn't much more for Rizen to call, so he did.

4:55pm--The lack of Rizen updates is indicative of the lack of Rizen action. With the exception of call-folding to a raise from Burt Boutin, Rizen hasn't been in action much. The only action beyond that was Rizen's wife getting booted from the tournament area. Nothing scandalous. Rizen's 17-month-old son is here to see his daddy compete, but the casino frowns on toddlers. Me, I think the kid is adorable. But, I'm not running the show here.

5:01pm--We're about to lose Rick Chase. He's down to so little he won't be able to post the blinds.

5:30pm--Just so you're aware, new media rules preclude me from typing at table-side, so I'm running back and forth from the tournament to the computer. Rizen is still playing pretty tight. He's got some sweaters in the stands. Since I last came back, Rick Chase busted and Rafe Furst scored an insane double-up against Can Kim Hua. Dang it if Rafe didn't have aces against Hua's HAMMER (72o). The hand played out about as odd as you could ever want. Two sevens on the flop put Rafe tragically behind until an ace spiked on the river.

Rizen doesn't hold the chip lead anymore, but he's getting respect at the table. Now, it's just up to him to exploit the respect he's getting.

5:46pm--A 15 minute break in Rizen's event allowed me to walk through today's short-handed event. There's some insanely good poker going on in there. I ran into Joe Hachem, who has about three times the average stack right now. The most fun table right now hosts Isabelle Mercier, Terrence Chan, and Daniel Negreanu. Negreanu has spent the day busting people and building a wall of chips big enough to stretch the Canadian border.

6:04pm--How about some pictures of our guy and what he's playing for?



6:09pm--Rizen is currently second in chips, behind Rafe Furst who has been on a bit of a rush. Still, the way the chips are stacked, it is anyone's game.

6:22pm--Can Kim Hua is gone in fifth place. Rocky Enciso just doubled through Burt Boutin. And on the Rizen front...well, you know in movies when they say, "It's quiet...too quiet" and then the monster comes in? Well, it's quiet.

Too quiet.

6:30pm--And in walks the monster. HUGE hand for Rizen.

6:31pm--Okay, let me preface this by saying Rizen sucked out...but it wasn't a donley suck out. Boutin moved in from the button. Rockey and Rizen called from the blinds. When the flop came down K74...the fireworks started. Every bit of the money went in. Rizen had 74 for bottom two. Rocky had K7 for top two. Then...holy canoli...

A four spiked on the river.

6:34pm--Wow. Poker. See, with the blinds the way they are right now, everybody (except maybe Rocky) knows Rizen had to get his money in there. No question. Yeah, he got unlucky and then very lucky. But, as they say, that's poker.

6:36pm--Oh, yeah. And in case you didn't figure it out, Burt Boutin is gone in firth place and Rizen has the chip lead again.

6:39pm--Well, the suckouts are coming. Bronstein just turned a set of sixes against Rizen's nines.

6:56pm--Well, that was tense. In a battle of the blinds, RIzen came in for a raise, Rafe came back over the top, and Rizen pushed all in. Rafe took five minutes to fold. In that time, I sweated off about two pounds and gew three more gray hairs in my beard. I would think that hand moved Rizen into the chip lead again.

7:18pm--BOOM.

Rizen's AK vs George's TT, all in pre-flop. The door card is an ace and that's all she wrote.

7:20pm--Well, this is shaping up to be quite a little match. As predicted, Rizen opened up when it got four handed. Prior to this big double-up, Rizen had doubled up Rafe. Now, it's pretty clear, RIzen is the chip leader. Heads up with Rafe? Well, I guess we'll see.

7:37pm--As we head into the dinner break, George Bronstein has been eliminated in fourth place. When we return at 9pm, Rizen will take on Rafe and Rocky...

How about that...Rizen vs. Rafe vs. Rocky.

RRRRRRR!

7:50pm--So, what does it feel like to hit a two-outer on the river to keep fighting for a bracelet?

How about this?

The face of a man who just hit a two outer

9:26pm--The worst split pot in the history of man. Rafe all-in against Rizen. Rizen holds AK to Rafe's A8. Board comes JT6...6...J. Railbirds coule be heard to say the tournament was already over. Instead, we're still three handed.

9:43pm--It was the hand of the tournament so far, I think, although we never saw the opponents' cards. Rizen potted it from the button, Rafe re-potted it from the small blind, and Rizen called. The flop was little-little-little and Rafe moved all-in. Rizen mucked.

9:45pm--(relating to above) Okay, maybe not the hand tournament, but it was certainly a hand that Rizen may wish he had played differently. Or not. He's the genius, I'm not. Still, he's not dominating this thing anymore.

9:47pm--Rafe now has 2/3 of the chips in play.

9:51pm--Rizen is out. After facing a raise from Rocky, Lynch moved all in with A7. He mighta been good, but Rafe woke up with AK and Rocky called with KQ. Rocky ended up making two pair and Rizen is out, cashing for $104,544.

Poker is a rough game. You look back at it and Rizen was lucky to have survived when he his his two-outer earlier. However, Rafe got lucky to chop the pot with Rizen in the AK vs A8 hand. If Rizenn wins that pot, chances are he would've quickly dispatched Rocky. Now, it's not to be.

Still, Rizen deserves a worldwide round of applause for this accomplishment. I know he has to be exhausted.

Thanks for making it fun, Rizen.

This is going to be one of those days that is hard to keep track of. So, just so you're along for the ride with me, here's what I'll be covering:

Event #3 Final Table

PokerStars phenom Eric "Rizen" Lynch is the chip leader of Event #3, $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em. He will be playing on the ESPN TV table in the following line-up:

Eric Lynch--455,000
Rocky Enciso--247,000
Rafe Furst--222,000
John Juanda--147,000
Burt Boutin--140,000
Can Kim Hua--122,000
Richard Chase--95,000
Alan Gilbert--88,000
George Bronstein--15,700

I just saw Eric walk into his ESPN interview. He looked fresh, happy, and content to have his family in tow.

Event #4-- $1,500 Limit Hold'em

Team PokerStars Vanessa Rousso has made Day 2 of this event. We'll be keeping an eye on her as well.

Event #5-- $2,500 Six-Handed NL Hold'em

PokerStars has more than 40 players playing in this event today, including none other than comedian Norm McDonald. I'm looking forward to watching this event play out. The competition is as tough as it can be. Here is a list of players playing in today's event:

777toome
Astrolux85
Beatiful Man
BeL0WaB0Ve
Blessed
Brandon78
Buckohfive
copi
-db-
faithless
FossilMan
gank
jimbo322
JoeHachem
JohnSmiley1
kenny05
LucaPagano
LuckyLady519
mrrain
NoMercy
PHAT EDDIE
PickyTooth
pologuy64
quietman
Rizen
Rook
SamENole
Sdouble
shaniac
skeemer1
stevejpa
stevesbets
strassa2
suckoutqueen
The Shrike
ThreeBet
TorontoToro
Unassigned
USDLAW
Vandiesel
vogman42
wchen
WhenPigsFly

Good luck to all of them.

WSOP Event #3 Final Table Results

1. Rafe Furst--$345,984
2. Rocky Enciso--$180,508
3. Eric "Rizen" Lynch--$104,544
4. George Bronstein--$75,252
5. Burt Boutin--$60,169
6. Can Kim Hua--$52,648
7. Richard Chase--$45,127
8. John Juanda--$37,606
9. Alan Gilbert--$33,854

PokerStars Blog Coverage

Event #3: An Event with Teeth

Event #3: Pot Limit Hold On!

Event #3: Rizen to the Occasion

Event #3: In the Money

Event #3: Day 2 Updates

Event #3: Rizen enters final table with chip lead

Event #3: Final Table play-by-play

Event #3: Rizen takes third place

There was a man with an adult son nearly in tears after realizing he'd just made his first final table. There was another man so set on making the final table, he laid down pocket queens pre-flop. It was the kind of anxiety and tension you'd expect on the TV bubble of a World Series of Poker event.

Eric "Rizen" Lynch barely cracked a smile.

"There's a long way to go," he said, with a matter-of-fact tone that was almost unsettling.

There are people in the game I would describe as "robotic." Ivey, Juanda, to be sure. But, Rizen is no robot. There is humanity in his eyes that lets you know he has an appreciation for what he has just accomplished.

As I wrote just yesterday, Lynch is a guy who just six months ago was a working stiff like the rest of us. Sure, he played online poker, but he had a family to support. Still, there was something that told him he had what can only be described as "it."

Lest you think I'm simply and unfairly touting the accomplishments of a PokerStars player, just consider his accomplishments in the past month. He took first place outright in the PokerStars Sunday Million. Then, just a few weeks later, he traveled to the World Series of Poker for his first events--first events EVER. Just three days into playing the WSOP, he's headed to international television as the chip leader in the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em event.

Of course, Rizen refused to accept accolades as he filled out his biography form for ESPN and bagged nearly 1/3 of the chips in play. Even when asked the most stupid question ever, "How does it feel?" he only offers the slightest hint of a shrug. "Long way to go," he says.
I know Rizen has a lot of fans out there who are supporting him on his blog. After watching him play for the last two days, you can count me among the people rooting for Rizen to take it down on Friday afternoon.

Play begins at 2pm. The PokerStars Blog will be on the story from beginning to end.

Good luck tomorrow, Eric.

WSOP Event #2 Final Table Results:

1. Brandon Cantu-$757,839
2. Phong Ly- $416,816
3. Drew Rubin-$226,597
4. Lee Padilla-$176,579
5. Brent "Astrolux85" Roberts-$151,570
6. Don Zewin $126,940
7. Ron Stanley-$107,614
8. Mark Swartz-$88,668
9. Carlos Mortensen-$71,617

PokerStars Coverage

PokerStars Blog hits the WSOP
World Series of Poker Event #2 begins
Underestimations on the number of WSOP Event #2 entrants
Event #2 Mini Update
Event #2 Dinner break
In the groove (a look at some oddities)
Day 1 Late night updates
Day 2 Updates

(Click refresh for periodic updates)

The second day of Event #3 ($1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em) is beginning. There's tons of action in the room today, but for now, I'm going to focus on the PokerStars players still battling in Event #3:

-db-
Rizen
Victor Ramdin
Bryan Micon
vogman42

I'll be posting updates here throughout the day.

2:10pm--Something was very wrong. When it is time to wake up, my cell phone is supposed to scream with a shrill siren. There was noise coming from the phone, but it was no siren It was a half-ring. I shook the cobwebs from my head and looked at the clock. It read 9:30am. My poker-addled brain started doing math and decided to believe I needed to add three hours to the clock.

12:30! I slept until 12:30?!

No, no I didn't. It was 9:30am and I was getting the modern version of a telegram. Someone from Austin (and I think I know who you are...) had scored my personal cell phone number and was informing me that Eric "vogman42" Vogelstein was playing under the radar.

So, now we'll be watching vogman42 as well. Good luck, sir.

2:20pm--A cursory look at the new seating assignments has Rizen and vogman42 sitting right next to each other. A big hand developed and ended badly for -db- (opponent was Rafe Furst). No fear though, as -db- still has chips. Ramdin started the day by knocking a player out.

3:25pm--I've been out collecting photos of our remaining players in Event #3. Pictures coming soon.

3:33pm--How about some photos? Rob Gracie, crack photographer, has been hard at work for us. Thanks, Rob.

3:50pm--Well, we must bid goodbye to Bryan Micon. I'll let Micon fill everybody in on his own about the details of his departure. Last thing I need is his crew getting on my back about messing up the hands. Suffice it to say...he lost a pot early on with a superior pre-flop hand and a ton of outs on the flop. Then, after stealing blinds as often as he could to stay alive, he finally got blinded down to the point where he had to put his remaining cash in blind. Turned out he had J7 against -db-'s 44 and the big blind's AJ. No seven on board and Micon bounced in 40th place. Not a bad day of work, I'd say. See you next time (tomorrow?), Micon.

3:56pm--I'm also pleased to report that -db- found his PokerStars shirt. It's hidden under a St. Louis Cardinals hoodie, but he's on the right page. He's also down to the final four tables of Event #3, which is a pretty laudable accomplishment as well.

4:20pm--The players have taken a short break. A glance at the chip stacks make it appear as though the following is true.

-db- : Slightly below average stack
Victor Ramdin: Above average stack
Rizen: Average stack
Eric Vogelstein: Average stack

5:05pm--This event has, quite frankly, moved faster than I thought it would. We're nearing the time when the players will consolidate to three tables. However, as we start moving toward the bigger money, play is tightening up a bit. All four of our competitors are still fighting hard.

5:30pm--Down to three tables.

5:55pm--The battles are starting to begin. Victor Ramdin is sitting on a huge stack and is trying to take control of his table. Some people are backing down. Others, like John Juanda are not. This should be a fun evening.

6:00pm--Eric Vogelstein is a little peeved. Or maybe more than a little. I missed the exact genesis of the fight, but it looks like Vogman42 thought he was the big bling and posted. Problem is, Dewey Tomko and the big blind both acted on the action. Vogman42 ended up losing the chips he posted in a decision that was a little more than heated.

6:03pm--Well, here's some bad luck. -db- was in the big blind when one player came in for a raise and another jammed for enough to cover -db-. Our man called with AK, as did the original raiser. The jammer had A7. A seven on the flop and turn sent -db- out in 24th place.

6:09pm--Bah. That's all I have to say. No good luck for Victor Ramdin who has just doubled up one player with JJ vs KQ Then doubled up another player with AK vs 99. Ramdin is still alive, but his once monster chip stack is shrinking.

6:22pm--Eviscerated. That was the word one fellow blogger used to describe what's happening to Victor Ramdin. At one point, Ramdin had control of the event with a monster $210,000 chip stack. Now, he is near the felt after having just doubled up another opponent with AQ vs 99.

In other news, Vogman42 and Rizen are holding on tight.

6:28pm--And by tight (see above), I mean "Well, not so tight anymore."

Vogman42, shortstacked, made what appeared to be a blind steal attempt with a suited face card. He ended up losing his stack against a pair of threes. Nice run, though, bud.

6:44pm--Here in just a bit, all the players are going to be heading to a dinner break. When they return, they are going to fight down to the final nine players. Still in the hunt as of this moment...Victor Ramdin and Rizen. We'll be back with you in a bit.

6:45pm--Um...check that. Once a dominant force in this event, a series of un-won races and shortstacked moves, Victor Ramdin has departed the field. Now, we PokerStars fans pin our hopes on the man from Kanas...Rizen.

Can we eat before Rizen makes his next move?

8:54pm--We, in fact, got to eat (me for the first time in 30 hours). And Rizen is still in action. Down to two tables, Rizen is surrounded by ESPN cameras and fighting to make the final table. Let's do it, man.


9:26pm--One word: Weeeeeee! (Sorry about that). With 17 player remaining and the blinds looking a bit punitive, Rizen's face gave nothing away. He was in the big blind against Matthew Hilger and another player. On a flop of A96, Rizen fired out after the small blind checked. Hilger folded, but the other opponent came over the top. Rizen put in the rest of his chips. It was brutal. Rizen held pocket nines to his opponent's...pocket sixes. Rizen now has an impressive stack. I'm not counting any chickens here, but the final table isn't far away.

10:45pm--We are now eleven-handed and Rizen has risen to the top. The set over set hand was, as Rizen described it, "probably the biggest hand of the tournament." When we lose two more players, it is TV table time.

11:50pm--With ten players left in the event, the table is as tight as Dan Rather's rusty bolts. Rizen has been relatively inactive, save one mistep against Rafe Furst that ended in Furst doubling up. Still, Rizen has a ton a chips and save some very bad luck, it seems sure he'll make it to tomorrow.

12:10pm--Eric "Rizen" Lynch has just made the final TV table of the WSOP Event #3 with the chip lead (not to mention nearly 1/3 of the chips in play). More to follow.

Well, once again, I've been remiss. But dang it, I'm not going to take full blame for this one. Apparently, -db- has been playing in Event #3 all day long and has a nice-sized stack going into the second day. Why didn't I spot him? Well, the guy wasn't wearing his PokerStars shirt. That makes some folks hard to spot. So, my apologies to -db-. I guess, to be fair, I should've recognized the guy.

Now, put on a shirt tomorrow, bud.

It's been a good day for PokerStars players overall. Going into tomorrow, the following players will be playing under the PokerStars banner (chip counts are approximate).

Remaining players: 70
Average stack: $23,600

-db- : 48,000
Victor Ramdin: 41,000
Eric "Rizen" Lynch: 28,000
Micon: 21,000

Play resumes at 2pm on Thursday.

If you missed any of the Event #3 coverage from today, feel free to check out these previous posts:

Event #3: An Event with Teeth

Event #3: Pot Limit Hold On!

Event #3: Rizen to the Occasion

Event #3: In the Money

At the 11pm hour passes, the players in the World Series of Poker Event #3 are in the money. Three players competing under the PokerStars banner will be cashing tonight. Victor Ramdin, Eric "Rizen" Lynch, and Micon are among the 90+ players who will be playing for another hour or so.

For more on Rizen, check out the post just below this one. When I first started writing it, Rizen was getting a tad short. Now, he's doubled up (and then some) and has more than 30,000 in chips. Ramdin has more chips than I can count at the moment. His stacks are 40 chips tall and built into columns too deep for me to get an accurate count. Suffice it to say, he's above average. Micon's stack could be a little bigger, but he still has some room to move.

Also, although he's not playing for PokerStars today, special congratulations are in order for Brandon Schaefer. I met Brandon about a year and a half ago when he won the European Poker Tour French Open as a PokerStars FPP qualifier. Tonight, he's cashing in first WSOP event. Nice work, Brandon.

As a guy who spent ten years with a professional mission to not care about one person more than another, I find my sensibilities in a state of flux. For those who aren't aware, I worked as a news reporter for a decade before jumping headlong into poker coverage. In my old job, favoritism was more than a no-no. It was verboten. These days, I have the privilege, if you will, to root for PokerStars players. As Event #3 inches toward the money (99 get paid), I feel good that I can root for one of the good up-and-coming players in the game.

Maybe you don't know him. I mean, before the dinner break, there were names I'd mentioned here before. Jason Strasser was still in. So was ElkY. It appears they are now gone. Victor Ramdin, thankfully, is still battling his table. For the moment, however, I feel like I want to tell you a little more about Eric 'Rizen' Lynch.

Because Rizen has chosen to chronicle his exploits on his blog, I've been following his progress from regular dude to poker phenom for a little while. I've long been a big poker blog reader. Many of the blogs (a lot like the one I write for) are regular working stiffs like me who like to play poker. Rizen, however, has found a way to pull me into world that is far beyond what my ability allows.

After reading his blog for the past several months, I can't say I was at all surprised when Rizen took down the PokerStars Sunday Million a few weeks ago. Even better, Rizen provided a play-by-play commentary of the final table replay. I found it beyond entertaining.

So, I knew Rizen was on his way out to Vegas to play and I'd been looking forward to meeting him. Finally, I got the chance today. It was brief, but for a good reason. Rizen is on his way (given no bust-out has happened since I sat down to write this) to cashing in Event #3 of the WSOP.

I don't know what it is exactly. I mean, I'm fans of some of the big-name poker pros. But there's something about this guy who just six months ago wrote, "I'm a 27-year-old software engineer from Kansas City, Kansas who also happens to spend a lot of time playing online poker."

Now, he's routinely winning thousands of dollars in online tournaments and he's out here in Vegas fighting against the toughest pros in the business.

When I left Rizen a little while ago, his stack wasn't huge, but he was still in. Here's to hoping that he's still around when I walk back in the room.

Day 2 of the World Series of Poker Event #2 has been underway for about an hour and a half now. PokerStars players Greg "Fossilman" Raymer and Vaughan "sickboy6" Machado are making their way through the field. Machado started the day with about half the average stack but has managed to stay alive by picking off raises with all-in moves. He's rarely had to show down a hand, but when he did, he did it with style. Pocket aces turned into quad aces and kept sickboy6 in the hunt.

As of this moment (3:35pm), there are 81 players remaining in the field. Every remaining player is guaranteed $7,578. I'll keep this thread open for updates throughout the day on our two remaining runners.

4:00pm--Welcome to the world of bittersweet updates. Greg "Fossilman" Raymer has cashed in his first 2006 WSOP event. That is, of course, a good thing. The bad thing is, he's cashing his winner's slip now. Read: Raymer is out.

4:13pm--Well, I've always had faith in Greg Raymer's ability to put a great read on his opponent. He did it this time, pulling a decent stop-and-go from the big blind. Raymer was actually ahead with his A5 on a 446 board against his opponent's K3. Then the board ran out runner-runner diamonds to give his opponent the flush and knock Raymer out in 63rd place.

4:20pm--Vaughan "sickboy6" Machado just confused me. Actually, he just varied his style a bit and left me wondering. With what appeared to be about 30K in his stack, Marchado raised in late position for around 1/3 of his stack. Another late position opponent came over the top--enough to put Marchado all in. After some thought, Marchado mucked...either giving up a steal attempt or reading his opponent for a bigger hand. Ace-jack? Baby pair? We will never know. Regardless, Marchado is still alive and shooting for the bigger money.

4:29pm--You ever have those moments as a parent (or, if you will, a pet owner) where you look up and the baby/dog is missing. Well, sickboy6 is no dog (or baby, for that matter), but he did, as they say in South Carolina, go missing on me for a few minutes. After getting shortstacked, Marchado apparently doubled up wit A3 vs QQ and was promptly moved in an ill-timed table consolidation. That is to say, Marchado is back alive and into a new pay grade.




5:39pm--You just gotta like a guy that calls himself sickboy. Ever-smiling and apparently having a grand old time, Marchado is down to the final five tables in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Event. Play has slowed down a bit and the money gets bigger. Marchado just said, "I was up to 60,000 but got caught stealing the blinds." From a distance, you wouldn't take Marchado as a thief. To show how much I know, I'd be giving the guy respect if I were playing against him. Not to say he doesn't deserve respect (recall his quad aces from earlier this afternoon), but it's obvious Marchado isn't just hanging around and waiting to get blinded off. He now sits at about 40,000 in chips...and is still smiling.


6:11pm--Would you believe Marchado even smiled when he busted out. Yeah, the sickboy is gone, through no fault of his own. Short-stacked, he picked up pocket queens and jammed in the rest of his chips. Thing is, a player behind him had pocket aces. And that, as they say, was all she wrote.

For 37th place, Marchado earns $9,094.

Congratulations to both Raymer and Marchado for making it deep in this first open event of the World Series of Poker.

There was a day when a 1,200 player field would be considered flush with dead money. The solid pros would look at it and think, "If only every tournament could be so juicy."

So, today, there are more than 120 tables and, in another age, this might be considered a juicy field. However, when you compare Event #3 with Event #2, today's event looks like a shark tank. Whether it is the nature of Pot-Limit versus No-Limit or the fact that today's field is just stacked with top players, there is no way I would want to spend even $1,500 to play in this event.

And yet, there are more than 40 PokerStars players (W$ buy-ins and the like) battling with all the pot-limit goodness they can. I suspect today's field of players won't thin nearly as fast as yesterday's. Nonetheless, we're just getting started and about to enter the first break. Until the action starts getting hot, here are some pictures from the first couple hours of play.

Well, it's Wednesday (right?), so it must be Pot-Limit Hold'em! At this moment, Event #3 of the World Series of Poker is kicking off. Today will play host to a $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em event. We will also be following the second day of Event #2 (starting at 2pm Vegas time).

Here is a tenative list of the PokerStars players in today's field.

Allways Look
Astrolux85
Beatiful Man
Blessed
Brandon78
Buckohfive
check_kills
czarjem
-db-
dirkdigler
gaamblor
gank
jimbo322
JoeHachem
kjust
LucaPagano
LuckyLady519
LURPED
micon
Money800
NoMercy
normiesdad
nycpokerguy9
pearljam1012
Pet Monster
pokerfriend
Reddog133
Rizen
Rook
SamENole
Sdouble
shaniac
sirio11
SiVTEC
skeemer1
stevesbets
strassa2
The Shrike
TorontoToro
twin-caracas
Unassigned
Vandiesel
Vanessa4l
WhenPigsFly

Click here for WSOP EVENT #2 Day 2 Updates
----
After fourteen hours of poker, it's time to call a cease-fire until Wednesday afternoon. With fewer than 125 players remaining in Event #2, PokerStars still has some chip-slingers in the hunt. Most notably, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer sits on a $40,400 stack. Also note, Vaughan "sickboy6" Machado (a PokerStars W$ entry) is still playing with $15,300. The average stack going into tomorrow is aound $34,000. Play resumes in this event at 2pm Wednesday. Also, don't forget, more than 40 PokerStars players will be playing in Event #3 ($1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em) on Wednesday, as well.

If you missed any of the coverage from today, feel free to look back on these entries.

PokerStars Blog hits the WSOP
World Series of Poker Event #2 begins
Underestimations on the number of WSOP Event #2 entrants
Event #2 Mini Update
Event #2 Dinner break
In the groove (a look at some oddities)
Late night updates

With a cheer that echoed over the Nevada mountains, 270 players from the 2776-player event became the first people to cash in an open event of the 2006 WSOP.

It came with no small amount of trepidation. Fellow blogger Craig Cunningham just told me he met two people who made it into the money with no more than three chips in their hand. Even better, one of those players mucked aces pre-flop in his bid to make it into the money.

The team from PokerStars has a number of people who survived to make it into the cash. Isabelle Mercier, Greg Raymer, Vaughan "sickboy6" Machado, Jason "strassa2" Strasser, and several other people flying the PokerStars flag are now playing to make it to the big cash.

(UPDATE)

We're about to play two more levels before breaking for the night (and by we, I mean the people playing cards--not me). Here are some chip counts from PokerStars players I've been watching tonight:

Jason "strassa2" Strasser: 26,000
Greg "Fossilman" Raymer: 35,000
Vaughan "sickboy6" Machado: 7,000
Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier 12,000
Bruce Yamron (a PokerStars friend): 10,000 (down from a high of 20,000 after getting cracked set under set)

When the next level begins, players will be playing at 600/1200 with a 200 ante.

12:00am: Well, as tends to happen in the poker world, things have taken a turn for the worse. Isabelle Mercier, who had narrowly survived a bubble bust-out, has now exited the tournament. Greg Raymer, who was cruising with one of the larger stacks, has apparently doubled up someone. Raymer's stack now sits a little above 10,000. However, with the morning hours comes faith. Jason "strass2" Strasser is no slough to be sure. The Duke University student has played online and in Europe for some time. However, this is the first year he's been old enough to play in the WSOP. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out, then, that this is Strasser's first WSOP event EVER. So, it's gotta be nice to have a nice stack and a good potential to make Day 2 of this event, eh?

12:44am--With one level left to play this morning, I'm pleased to report that Greg Raymer is feeling much better. Tuan Le came in for a raise from late position and Raymer (in the blinds with about 16K in his stack) pushed all in. Le thought for a while before calling.

Funny thing: Raymer had just said a few minutes earlier, he didn't want to go into tomorrow short-stacked. He said he'd rather play tomorrow's event than go into Day 2 of Event #2 with a short stack. Maybe that made Le's decision to call with A3 event easier. What's more, Le was ahead of Raymer's QJ.

However, as Raymer said, "If it took you that long to call, I know I'm not that far behind."

A jack on the turn doubled Raymer up and gave him the chips to keep playing his game.

1:11am--The reporting of good news, I've decided, is akin to talking about a rush. Or talking about Fight Club. Just as surely as Raymer doubled up, he got cut in half and is basically back where he started before the Le double-up. In other bad news, it appears Jason Strasser has headed to the tournament payout line. Still, for his first WSOP event ever, it's quite an accomplishment to make the top 170 out of 2776. Nice work, Jason.

1:23am--Okay. Let me begin by saying that this is in no way good news (see previous update). That said, Greg Raymer just flopped a set against Eric Froelich's AK and doubled up. Now, Raymer is better off than he was AFTER the Le double-up. That is all.

If you've never been to the World Series of Poker, or if you've only experienced the pre-Rio years, the madness that surrounds an event of this size (the only bigger one was last year's main event), would likely surprise you. Nearly-naked women are around every corner and make every effort to shove their respective products in your hands. Wads of cash are tossed about like hot potatoes. Miracle four-outers seem to hit at a freqency that makes them seem less like miracles and more like the mass-produced efforts of sweatshop workers.

And yet, for anyone who was here last year, it all seems--if I can say this without losing my Reality Club membership--normal. After about ten minutes, the circus that surrounds this huge event is like wallpaper in your parents' house. It may be loud and sometimes obnoxious, but, after a while, you stop noticing it. After all, this is not about the circus. This is not about the lion-tamers and the recently-tamed. This is about the cards, the chips, and the millions that will be won and lost over the next six weeks.

Still, you can't help but notice the little eccentricities in the room. There's the goth guy with spikes sticking from his wrists. There is a Milwaukee's Best tent set up to look like a combination of a man's play room and a garage. There is a girl hawking credit cards with Chris Moneymaker's picture on them.

It's almost enough to draw one's attention away from the fact that Event #2 of the WSOP drew more than 500 alternates. That's right. This event drew 2776 people--more than any other WSOP event except the 2005 main event. That is, in a word, incredible. The winner of this event is going to take home more than $700,000 for a $1,500 buy-in. There have been greater returns on an investment, but rarely do investments involve so much fun.

***

As the hour grows late (at least late for a guy who usually wakes up on the east coast), I find myself fascinated with the solution to last year's bathroom woes. The lines for the men's room last year were insane. This year, Harrah's has brought in what some people are calling porta-johns. In fact, they are more like...I dunno. Charter buses? Trailer homes? Neither is correct. I can only attest that they are nicer than most rest rooms a man will find in a time of need.

***

It's now time to head back into the tournament room and see how much closer we are to the money. With such big sums at stake for the final table players, I think even a 270th place finish might be disappointing for some folks. However, with six weeks and more than 40 events to go, any win is a good win.

Until a little later, here are some snaps of people proudly flying the PokerStars flag.

Indeed, it's 8pm on the west coast and 11pm on the east coast. That's not to mention the sun is about to come up in western Europe. Here at the World Series of Poker, however, we're in the middle of the day. Players are returning from their dinner break to start battling to stay alive until the money.

If you're just logging on, however, here's where we have been so far today:

PokerStars Blog hits the WSOP
World Series of Poker Event #2 begins
Underestimations
Mini Update
Dinner break

I have been remiss as a blogger can be. All of this talk today of the thousands of people playing in the first open event, and not one--not one!--mention of Team PokerStars' Isabelle Mercier.

As it turns out, the lovely poker pro has been in a bit of a disguise today. She's been heard to lament, "Nobody recognizes me."

Consider my oversight rectified.

In other news, the official numbers are in and they are big. The total number of runners in Event #2 of the WSOP: 2776. The top 270 players will get paid.

Confirmed to still be alive in today's event: Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, Micon, Jason "strassa2" Strasser, and a few others who have yet to give up their true identities.

A little more than 450 players remain. Players are currently on a dinner break and will resume play shortly after 8pm.

We'll be back then, too.

Finally, we have reached what seems to be something resembling normalcy. Event #2 of the World Series of Poker has thinned out enough to allow some cash games, satellites, and side tournaments to run. Make no mistake, though. The field is still huge and finding your friendly neighborhood poker players is no easy task.

While it is a duty I do not relish, I do need to report some exits. Chris Moneymaker and Alex Jacob have departed. This quote does not come from Jacob, but someone who knows him:

"Some donkey made a terrible call. Alex had 15 outs twice, but didn't get there."

Scottjf8, apparently a popular guy (if my referral logs are any indication), also is readying himself for a trip home to see his baby. With a stack of around 800, the blinds forced him to jam in early position with a pair of red kings. A late position opponent called with AQ. The board ran out four clubs to give his opponent a flush. No worries, though,as scottjf8 will be back for the main event.

In good news, Jason "strassa2" Strasser has been riding his normal rollercoaster and at the last break had around 11,500 in chips at the 100/200 level. Greg Raymer has also been busting players and staying in the game.

I'm going back out to look for my many needles still in the haystack.

As I elbowed my way through the crowds, poker hostesses, schwag vendors, and looky-loos, I ran into a friend. As he munched on a plate of french fries, he said, "I think I'm almost in."

Two blind levels had passed and my friend was alternate #378 (or somewhere in that neighborhood). And, yes, he was "almost in."

The early word (no relation to the early bird) was that the event was capped at 2,200, including alternates. The field has obviously grown much, much larger. It now appears, three hours into the event, we have finally reached the cap. Exactly what that cap is still remains to be reported.

The degree of "needle in the haystack" searching is more than I can properly express. It took me three trips through the room to find the ever-recognizable Terrence Chan. As it turned out, he was sitting near the rail, but not yet on it. Knowing Terrence, he won't be on the rail any time soon. For those who don't know him, Terrence went deep in several events last year and looks to do even better this year.

In the early going, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer cracked an opponent's ace's with trip-nines. As reported earlier, Steve Paul-Ambrose made an early exit. Scottjf8 was quick to report he was short-stacked, but happy to have his picture taken earlier. Other PokerStars players and W$ entries sat among the throngs, raking as many pots as they could find.

Below the din, you can hear the whispers.

"Greg Raymer is at my table. Seriously."
They are words hastily spoken into cell phones or spoken softly as players have one last smoke before the cards go in the air.

"There's Moneymaker."
Above the din, the announcement comes. This event, the 2006 WSOP Event #2, a $1,500 no-limit hold'em affair, is the biggest non-main event ever. The official numbers are still to come, but every table is full and the alternates are pacing the hallways like lions at the tail end of a two-month hunger strike.

To be sure, the room is stacked. Pick a poker pro and it is likely he or she is here. It seems nothing can keep people away. The threat of being the 199th alternate and entering the tournament at the 100/200 level with 1,500 in chips is not stopping people. And nothing is stopping the chips from moving. Before I had time to take the first picture I saw quad queens crack pocket aces.

And, I'm sad to report, the first Team PokerStars departure was none other than Steve Paul-Ambrose. Through a smile he said something about his opponent holding 4-5 suited in clubs.

This figures to be a very long day. Although it is a three day event, weeding through this 2,200 player field (enough to make room for tomorrow's event) means we'll be here late tonight.

To get things started, here are a few pictures of Team PokerStars players from around the room. I'll be back with more later.

Dear readers,

I won't say it slipped my mind, because it didn't. The subject was on the tip of my tongue (now planted firmly in my cheek) so many times, but I never felt like the time was the right to bring it up. There were other things going on. The World Cup of Poker was basking in the limelight. Plus, I never caught the look in your eye--the one that says you're ready to listen. Now, at this late hour, perhaps it's a little late to tell you that I have moved into a hotel and will be spending the forseeable future with a few thousand other people who are a lot like me.

Don't forget to feed the dog,
Otis

Okay, okay. It's early and I'm feeling a little loopy. It's 9:30am in Las Vegas and there is a man growling in the hotel room next to mine. I have little doubt he is one of the 2200 people registered in Event #2 of the World Series of Poker. I have little doubt he is going through some primal morning ritual that will prepare him for the long day ahead.

In all seriousness, new rules and regulations about press coverage of the World Series of Poker made me unsure whether the PokerStars Blog would be able to provide coverage of the WSOP this year. However, after a walkthrough of the WSOP tournament area last night, it appears all is well.

And well it should be. All night last night, I heard players grousing because they showed up late and were too late to register for the Event #2 ($1500 No-Limit Hold'em). If the numbers I've heard are correct, Harrah's capped the buy-ins at 2,200 people (including alternates).

I played in this very event last year. I remember the crowd's excitement as the first open event of the year kicked off. By the dinner break, the more than 2,200 players had dwindled to less than five hundred. To be sure, the carnage was quick and relatively painless.

As you may be aware, PokerStars has allowed it players to buy into selected WSOP events with their W$. These players, along with the other members of Team PokerStars, will be my focus for the forseeable future. That is, if a PokerStars player is playing in an event, it will be my mission to make sure you know how they are doing.

Today, the following PokerStars players will be fighting it out against a couple thousand other hopefuls:

ACESEDAI
ahh_snap
Allways Look
Astrolux85
Axinar
Beatiful Man
bebopalula
BeL0WaB0Ve
Blessed
BodogAri
Brandon78
Brett Favre
BTSMOOTH
Buckohfive
Bxf6
croth8
-db-
dirkdigler
DirtyTowel
eddy81
ElkY
Enecoman
Floyd1479
FossilMan
gaamblor
gank
gromalomus
gyndok
Hovanky
isuck123
jethro
jimbo322
JoeHachem
Johnster
KarlSpakler
KFKYF
LucaPagano
LuckyLady519
matt20
mattg1983
meggo7
micon
mm-nh
Money800
muck3
NoMercy
nycpokerguy9
oldcoyote1
OzGary
paulstl
Pet Monster
PickyTooth
pokerfriend
pokertrip
pologuy64
Quagmire79
Rich_Fish
Richfngr
Rizen
RomeRose
SamENole
Sandrine
scgolfer
scottjf8
shaniac
Sickboy6
sirio11
SiVTEC
skeemer1
solid808
Soonline
soundgarden4
stevejpa
stevesbets
strassa2
t soprano
TigerScream
TorontoToro
twin-caracas
Unassigned
USDLAW
Vandiesel
Vanessa4l
vogman42
WhenPigsFly
xmrstyle

The action kicks off at noon Vegas time. I'll be back with pictures and hopefully a story or two shortly after we get started.

Oh, and, seriously, don't forget to feed the dog.

Four times a year, PokerStars likes to offer a bigger buy-in to its players in the Sunday Million. This weekend was the second time for the $1,050 buy-in event, and it did not disappoint. The players didn't cut a deal and the winner walked away with more than $260,000! Here are this week's final table results.

PokerStars Sunday Million Final Table Results

1. FlopSpanker (London, United Kingdom) $262,151.50
2. chaos183 (Vienna, Austria) $161,974.50
3. Bry23 (Marlborough, MA) $98,355.60
4. ulk3g (Roma, Italy) $76,108.50
5. 10Gunman (Norway) $63,098.50
6. TORPEDOS (San Jose, Costa Rica) $50,218.60
7. mullett (Houston, TX) $38,379.50
8. Erland (Denmark) $28,622.00
9. ROXY24 (Brantford, ON, Canada) $18,214.00

2006 WSOP Coverage and Results and Coverage

Main Event Coverage


PokerStars Main Event Winners

WSOP PokerStars Photo Gallery

Player Profiles

Day 1A Coverage

Day 1B Coverage

Day 1C Coverage

Day 1D Coverage

Day 2A Coverage

Day 2B Coverage

Day 3 Coverage

Day 4 Coverage

Day 5 Coverage

Day 6 Wrap-up

Day 7 Wrap-up

Final Table Wrap-up

2006 WSOP Team Blog

2006 WSOP Payout Structure

Preliminary Event Coverage

Event #2 ($1,500 NL Hold'em)

Event #3 ($1,500 PL Hold'em)

Event #4 ($1,500 Hold'em)

Event #5 ($2,500 Short-Handed NL Hold'em)

Event #6 ($2,000 NL Hold'em)


Event #7 ($1,500 Limit Hold'em

Event #8 ($2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo)

Event #9 ($5,000 NL Hold'em)

Event #10 ($1,500 Seven-Card Stud)

Event #11 ($5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo)

Event #12 ($1,500 Limit Hold'em)

Event #13 ($2,500 No-Limit Holdem)

Event #14 ($1,000 rebuy)

Event #15 ($1,000 Ladies event)

Event #16 ($10,000 PL Omaha)

Event #17 ($1,000 NL Hold'em)

Event #18 ($2,000 PL Hold'em)

Event #19 ($1,000 Seniors event)

Event #20 ($50,000 HORSE)

Event #21 ($2,500 short-handed)

Event #22 ($2,000 no-limit hold'em)

Event #23 ($3,000 Limit Hold'em)

Event #24 ($3,000 Omaha 8/b)

Event #25 ($2,000 NL Hold'em Shootout)

Event #26 ($1,500 PL Omaha)

Event #27 ($1,500 NL Hold'em)

Event #28 ($5000 7-card Stud)

Event #29 ($2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em)

Event #30 ($5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shorthanded)

Event #31 ($2,000 NL Hold'em)

Event #32 ($5,000 PL Hold'em)

Event #33 ($1,500 Razz)

Event #34 ($1,000 NL Hold'em rebuy)

Event #35 ($1,000 7-stud hi-lo)

Event #36 ($1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout)

Event #37 ($1,500 No-Limit Hold'em)

Event #38 ($5,000 NL 2-7 Lowball re-buy)

Other Coverage

2006 WORLD SERIES OF POKER PRIMER

PokerStars 2006 WSOP Goody Bags
PokerStars has a sweet pad

Bluffed by a pro

Faces of the World Series: djslash

Faces of the World Series: Assani Fisher and dananddan

Barry Tanenbaum gives advice for free

Everything you need to know about Joe (Hachem)

Scenes from a hospitality suite (Barry Greenstein and Wil Wheaton on HORSE)

Thoughts from a hospitality suite (in search of the Internets)

Inside the PokerStars Hospitality Suite with Wil Wheaton

Oh, Mercy Mercy Me (language lessons with Isabelle Mercier)

What a Long Strange Trip It's Been (a conversation with Jon "pokertrip" Friedberg)

Being Barry Greenstein

Caught Beneath the Landslide in a Champagne Supernova

El juego insano (inside the WSOP cash games with Fossilman)

Under Pressure: The Main Event Looms

Inviting John Duthie to Play Pai Gow

Barry Greenstein: Poker player, father, golfer

Please see the links below for an index of live final coverage of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker III

PokerStars World Cup of Poker III Heat 1
PokerStars World Cup of Poker III Heat 2
PokerStars World Cup of Poker III Heat 3
PokerStars World Cup of Poker III Heat 4
PokerStars World Cup of Poker III Heat 5
PokerStars World Cup of Poker III Final Updates
PokerStars World Cup of Poker III Champions

PokerStars World Cup of Poker III Photo Gallery
PokerStars World Cup of Poker III Bios

Poland were the favourite team of many neutrals following this event, a group of friends from small town Poland, who knew each other by being active in their country's small poker community. They had a smile on their faces, a drink in their hands, as they keenly followed each and every hand of this poker tournament. Nice lads, yes, but excellent poker players too. Their team never won a heat to reach the final, yet played consistently well, earned their points through five top four finishes, and then put in a great performance at the final table. Many neutrals might also claim the best team won.

Team Poland's supporters, always ready to cheer their team from the stands.
Team USA will be disappointed to be runners up, they too played well, and their captain's exciting, aggressive, poker style won them many chips. And perhaps his team mates would not be surprised when the cards were turned over in that final hand, and he showed 6 3 offsuit? Perhaps another player would fold A6 to an all-in re-raise, but Team Poland's player judged it right.

Poland's Philip Hilm said, "None of these guys have played a big tournament before but they were very consistent and performed well. Everyone made a contribution but it took a great final call by Jacek to clinch victory. The USA were playing very aggressively and he read the situation perfectly."

It's been a great tournament here in Barcelona. I never did get to go to the beach, so sorry, still no picture of me in my bikini. I can go to a beach any day of the week, but I'm never again going to get my photo taken by the team who claimed the World Cup of Poker 2006. Congratulations Team Poland!


Team Poland the winners of the World Cup of Poker 2006

The PokerStars World Cup of Poker has been televised by BAFTA award winning TV production company Sunset&Vine for future broadcast. I hope you'll be able to view this exciting poker tournament on TV soon. This blogger's signing off now. Just a few quick 'thank yous' before I go. Thanks to Neal Stoddart for the photos, Steve C for spreadsheet adding up stuff, Drew for desperate airport IT support, Brad and Howard for great blogging advice, and Mark/Matt/PokerStars for letting me come to Barcelona and take over the blog for a few days. It was brilliant.

6.31pm The WCP final is about to begin, about 30 minutes later than scheduled, but have you ever known a poker tournament that starts on time? Team Captains have selected who will start for their countries. Taking their seats at the final table now are:

USA - Dave Smith
Canada - Isabelle Mercier
Israel - Aliza Broude
Poland - Philip Hilm

Isabelle Mercier plays for Team Canada

6.37pm The WCP Final begins. The players have 25,000 starting chips and blinds are 50 100 so there'll be a lot of play.

7.10pm The blinds go up to 100/200. Not much movement of the chips as yet, current chip counts:

USA - 27,900
Poland - 25,000
Israel - 24,300
Canada - 22,600

7.26pm Biggest pot of the tournament so far goes to Isabelle Mercier. I missed the early stages of the hand, but she re-raised all-in on a 10 high flop. Dave from Team USA folded. The Team Canada player took the 9,500 pot.

7.31pm A big pot goes to Poland. Philip bets 300 on a flop of K J 6. Isabelle calls. The turn is a 7, the Polish player checks. Isabelle bets 1200. The Team Poland player immediately re-raises another 2500. Isabelle calls. The river is a 4. Philip bets 1500. Isabelle calls, and mucks when Philip shows J 7 for two pair.


Dave Smith starts the game for Team USA

7.52pm At the end of level 2 three teams decide to make changes. Team Poland bring on Andrzej Skawinski, Israel bring to the table Teddy Tuil, and Canada replace Isabelle Mercier with Captain Aaron Haw. Doctor Dave of Team USA is the only player remaining of those who started the final.


Aliza Broude of Team Israel, replaced at the end of Level 2

7.55pm Current chip counts:

Poland - 39,200
Canada - 25,650
Israel - 21,800
USA - 13,350

Blinds are now 150 300.

7.59pm Team USA's Dave and Poland's Andrzej see a flop, it's 8 7 4, two clubs. The Polish player checks, Dave bets 1200 the Pole calls. The turn is a King, both players check. The river is an 8, Dave bets 3000, Andrzej raises 8000. Dave makes a great call, he shows Q 7. The Polish player was bluffing with 9 5. Dave takes the 9,500 pot.

8.02pm Team USA win another big pots. A raise of 800 from Poland was called by Israel and the USA. On a 4 2 9 flop Dave bets and wins a pot of around 6000. Team USA coming back into the game.

8.07pm Dave Smith of the USA takes down a 19,500 pot from Team Poland. Andrzej of Poland tried to bluff the pot, but was called by Dave who held 8s and 7s for two pair.

8.13pm Teddy Tuil of Israel raises to 800, Aaron from Canada calls. On the flop of 8 10 J the Canadian bets 900, Teddy re-raises 2400. Aaron quickly folds. As the 5000 pot is pushed to the Israeli player he shows an 8.

8.17pm On the river, with a board of low cards Teddy Tuil and Andrzej from Poland raise and reraise. The young Pole makes a good call. Teddy had 5 8 and had hit a 5. Team Poland's player held 9s and took the 8,300 pot.


Andrzej Skawinski of Team Poland

8.23pm Israel's Teddy Tuil raises to 600, he's called by the Polish player. The flop was 5 9 2, two clubs. Andrzej checks, Teddy bets 2000. The Pole re-raises to 6,000. He's called by Teddy Tuil. The turn is a 7. Andrzej bets 8000, setting the Israel player all-in. Teddy Tuil considers for a minute, then calls. He turns over A 5, just a pair of fives. Andrzej shows 5 7 for two pair. The river doesn't help Teddy and Team Israel are out of the tournament. Andrzej comment on the hand, "I think he thinks I was bluffing, as I bluffed him in the hand earlier."


Teddy Tuil for Team Israel, smiling before Israel's 4th place exit in the WCP final

8.35pm Players are now on a dinner break. When they return Team USA will be forced to replace their player Dave Smith who has played the maximum 90 minutes for his team.

9.36pm Play is about to resume, I'll have chip counts for you in a moment. I just had a chat with Teddy Tuil, Israel's player who went out in the last hand before the break. "Was it a bad call?" He asked me. I respect Teddy greatly, and his play in Heat 2 was outstanding, it is hard for me to comment. Teddy pointed out, "If he hadn't hit he would have made the same play." It is true that when Teddy comitted most of his chips on the flop he was ahead... "Anyway, we did our best" Teddy said.

9.45pm Blinds are 200 400 after the dinner break. Chip counts are:

Poland - 44,300
USA - 30,100
Canada - 25,600
4th Israel

Tom McEvoy in shades is Team USA's new player.


Tom McEvoy takes charge of Team USA's chips

10.01pm Aaron of Canada raise to 1,200. Tom McEvoy calls. On the flop of J 6 3 Aaron checks. Tom bets 1,500. The Canadian player calls. The turn is a 5, which doesn't look like a meaningful card. Aaron bets 2500, Tom-reraises to 7,500. Aaron folds quickly. The USA wins a 15,400 pot.

10.11pm A big pot involving Canada and Poland. Andrzej of Team Poland raises to 1200, the Canadian player calls. The flop is 7 8 5. Poland checks, Aaron the Canadian player bets 1200. The Pole calls. The turn is a 5. Andrzej checks, Aaaron bets 3,100, he's quickly re-raised 8,000 by the Polish player. The Canadian calls. The river is a 9. A check by Poland. A 5000 bet by Canada. Andrzej calls. Aaron shows 6 8 for a straight. Andrzej has three 5s. A pot of over 20,000 for Team Canada.


Aaron Haw Team Canada's captain.

10.18pm At the end of level 4 there are two team changes. Jacek Ladny now plays for Poland, Christopher Comely replaces Canada's Captain.

Chip Counts are:

Canada - 44,400
USA - 31,900
Poland - 21,700
4th Israel

Blinds are up to 300 600.

10.23pm I missed the earlier betting details, but Tom McEvoy sets Poland's Jacek Ladny all in with the cards showing K 6 Q 7. Jacek calls. Tom has a queen, just second pair. The Polish player has K 7. He hits another King on the river for a full house. Team Poland double up, they're on around 40,000 chips now.

10.29pm A raise of 1,600 by Tom McEvoy, Canada's player calls. K 3 A the flop. Ryan checks for Canada. Team USA's player bets 2500. It's called by Ryan. The turn a Queen of hearts. Canada bets 4,000. Tom goes all-in for 9,800. Canada folds, the pot goes to the USA.

10.33pm On a flop of Q 3 3 there's a bet by Poland, a re-raise by Canada. Canada are all-in. Poland calls. Christopher Canada's player holds K Q. Poland's Jacek turns over A A. No improvement for Team Canada. They're out of the WCP final in 3rd place.

Approximate chip counts, we're now heads up:

Poland - 75,000
USA - 25,000
3rd Canada
4th Israel

10.46pm On a flop of 9 Q K, Jacek's bet of 1000 is called by Tom. The turn an Ace. Both players check. The river an 8. Tom McEvoy bets 2000, Poland calls. Tom shows 10 Jack, he flopped the straight. Jacek mucks.

10.49pm Blinds about to go up to 400 800. Here's current chip positions:

Poland - 67,100
USA - 32,900

10.50pm Team USA replace Tom McEvoy with Joe Harwell their captain.

10.56pm Joe calls on the small blind, Jacek raises 2,200. Joe calls. The flop is 7 4 3. Jacek bets 3,000, Joe re-raises to 7,000. Jacek folds. USA takes the pot.

11.01pm. We have a winner. Joe of Team USA calls on the small blind, Jacek of Poland raises 2,000. Joe re-raises all-in. The Pole has the USA player covered, Jacek takes only a moment to call. The Polish player turns over Ace 6 of spades. Joe of Team USA shows 6 3. The 6 in Jacek's hand not good for him. The flop of 5 Q 4, with two spades, gives both players something. A straight draw for Joe, a flush draw for Jacek. The turn a 9, the river a 4, no flush or straight hits, Jacek wins it with his Ace.

Team Poland celebrate their victory in the World Cup of Poker 2006.

Team Captains have considered their teams, and from their 5 available players selected the 3 players that will represent their countries in the World Cup of Poker Final today.

Team Canada

Canada's captain has picked himself. Trevor Diks who won Heat 4 has, a little surprisingly, been dropped. Team Canada's players in the final are :

Aaron Haw
Christopher Ryan Comely
Isabelle Mercier

Team Canada. Top row, from left: Michael Croft, Trevor Diks, Aaron Haw Bottom row: Isabelle Mercier, Christopher Comely
Team USA

No surprises in Team USA's selections. To play today:

Tom McEvoy
Joe Harwell
Dave Smith


Team USA. Top row: Phil Myers, Tom McEvoy, Michael Elbert Bottom row: Dave Smith, Joe Harwell

Team Poland

Team Poland's captain is 'on the bench' and he's picked:

Jacek Ladny
Philip Hilm
Andrzej Skawinski


Team Poland. Top row: Jacek Ladny, Andrzej Skawinski, Philip Hilm Bottom Row: Marcin Meinardi, Marcin Doliwa
Team Israel

Perhaps a surprising choice for Team Israel is Aliza Broude, she never had chips in Heat 4, but they trust in her today. Captain Martin Segal selects:

Teddy Tuil
Aliza Broude
Boaz Lavie


Team Israel. Top row: Klemi Hagag, Teddy Tuil, Boaz Lavie Bottom row: Aliza Broude, Martin Segal

The Teams of Canada, USA, Israel and Poland will all have one thing on their mind today; will the casino buffet have that nice lobster again..? Sorry. I was trying to joke about this, but the truth is all the teams in Barcelona are serious about this event, about wanting to win. They're probably not that bothered about the buffet truth be told, although the lobster was very good. I spoke to a few of the eliminated teams yesterday, and none of them will be playing a Sit and Go as the final table plays. The World Cup of Poker means the world to everyone here, even though the rest of the poker community might be more interested in some silly soccer cup.

Each team has five players who have each done their best to play outstanding poker and win points for their country. Now only three of their number will take a seat at the final table. Each country's captain must select his three best players, and decide how and when to use them in an intriguing tag team tournament. The tactics involved in this game will add an interesting dimension to this event.

If you're not familiar with the tag team format I'll do my best to explain it. The captains must select three players, and substitute the starting player before the end of level 3. The new player will sit down and take over their team's chips, and can be substituted again any time before the end of level 6. Each player can be used for a maximum of 1 hour 30 minutes; so a captain could play someone for the first hour of the game, then bring them back for half an hour later in the game. Three players from each team must be used. These tactical decisions will not be easy for the captains, but it should make it an interesting game for spectators.

My only experience of Tag Team tournaments is when my boyfriend partnered PokerStars blogger Howard Swains in a game. Howard lost all the pairs chips in the very first hand he played, Howard must understand the pressures of playing for a team more than most. I'm sure he shouldn't worry, these things happen, and there's never any shame in going out playing good poker, and with the best hand. Howard had Jack Ten, I'm not sure he'd hit the flop...

I hope no one today make a mistake that costs their team, and there are some great players starting in todays final. If they play Jack Ten at all I'm sure they'll play it right.

Here's a reminder of what the teams can win today. All this prize money is provided by PokerStars. Hope they know they're paying my mini-bar bill too...

1st prize - $100,000 ($20,000 per player)
2nd - $50,000 ($10,000 per player)
3rd - $30,000 ($6,000 per player)
4th - $20,000 ($4,000 per player)

What these players are all hoping to win is the first place trophy. On admiring this Israel's captain, Martin, pointed out that he hopes they get the stand too, as this light's up the cut glass trophy. I hope so too.

This might make a nice table lamp for someone...

Here's a recap of the teams playing. I'll bring you further team news as soon as I get it.

Team Canada

With 3 wins in the heats for Canada player selection could be easy for Team Canada, expect winners Isabelle Mercier, Trevor Diks, and Christopher Comely to play for Canada. I don't think Canada's captain Aaron Haw will pick himself to play.

Team USA

The USA had a 1st and 2nd in Heats 1 and 2, with players Joe Harwell and Dave Smith doing well for their teams. I'd expect these two to be picked for the USA. Joe Harwell possibly wins the 'most agressive player of the week' award, he's an exciting player to watch. Dave, the winner in Heat 2 is a more solid player, he won't make any mistakes. I'd be surprised if Team USA didn't pick Tom McEvoy as their third choice, it's hard to turn down the chance to field a former World Champion.

Team Poland

Team Poland didn't win any heats but had top 4 finishes in all games. With all players putting in impressive performances it's hard to pick who Team Poland will field today. I'd expect Philip Hilm to play, the experienced pro played well in Heat 5 yesterday, without actually needing to win the heat. It's likely Marcin Meinardi the captain will also pick himself. Jacek Ladny showed a lot of class in his heat, and was unlucky to play with Isabelle Mercier on his left and Tom McEvoy on his right, this perhaps stifled his play.

Team Israel

Team Israel have Teddy Tuil's experience to call upon, he dominated his heat and was unlucky to finish second. The wily Israeli must be one of the best players of this tournament. Youngster Klemi Hagag may be a surprise choice for Israel, the teenager played well and beat every player in the competition - in the freeroll tournament on the first day. I'm still not sure how he's going to get his poker table prize back to Israel. Boaz Lavie is a top online player, but we've seen little of his poker skills in this event as he was out first in Heat 3. Team Israel may hope Boaz shows us more of his skills today, but Captain Martin Segal may pick himself instead.

Team Canada won Heat 5 of the WCP making a remarkable 3 wins in the 5 heats for the Canadian Team, they must be confident of their chances in tomorrow's Tag Team final.

Christopher Comely, the winner of Heat 5 of the WCP

Here's the final points table after 5 heats of poker. Congratulations to the top 4 teams who will progress to the final - Canada, Poland, USA and Israel.

 TEAM        Heat 1     Heat 2     Heat 3     Heat 4     Heat 5  Points
1 Canada       8th         5th         1st        1st      1st       51
2 Poland       4th         3rd         3rd        4th      2nd       44 
3 USA          2nd         1st         4th        8th      4th       42  
4 Israel       3rd         2nd         7th        3rd      7th       34  
5 Brazil       1st         7th         6th        6th      3rd       32   
6 England      7th         4th         2nd        5th      6th       24      
7 Ireland      5th         6th         8th        2nd      8th       22  
8 Iceland      8th         4th         5th        7th      5th       21

There'll be more coverage of the WCP tomorrow on PokerStars blog, it begins at 6pm CET, that's 12 ET.

4.12pm The final heat of the WCP begins. I'll bring you all the news as it happens. Blinds are 50 100 for 30 minutes, players start on 5000 chips.

The players of Heat 5

4.36pm The first team secure their place in the WCP final.... Ireland's Niall McNamara goes all in with top two pair on the flop, Queens and 9s, but there are three spades there too. Brynjar from Team Iceland holds a flush and calls. The Irish player is out in 8th place. This result also guarantees that Canada are assured of a top 4 finish. Ireland finish on 22 points and won't be in the final.


Niall McNamara of Team Ireland, first out in Heat 5

4.38pm Isabelle Mercier's happily asking what time the final starts tomorrow. Her captain must have told her she's picked to play...

4.43pm Team England's Derek is all-in with AK vs Team Brazil's AT. The board is J Q 5 4 T. A straight on the river for the English player, a double up for this player who knows he has to gamble a little to finish top 2 in this game.

4.49pm Team England very shortstacked now, having lost a pot to Team Iceland. Derek looks to be on around 2000 chips.

4.58pm No significant movements of chips. The Team Canada player, with nothing now to play for, seems to be having fun. He bluffs a big pot and shows 2 3os.

5.08pm Derek from Team England goes all-in with a flush draw and overcards on a raggy flop. He holds KJ of clubs. He's called by Team Iceland's player who holds 99. Derek hits a Jack on the river to stay in the game. Looks like he has about 6000 chips now...

5.12pm This is a fun game. The Icelandic and Canadian players have nothing to play for and are bossing the table. Team England know that only a win will do. The tactics in this game are intriguing... Hope to have chip counts for you in a minute.

Here's your chip counts:

Iceland - 13,050
Poland - 7,620
England - 4,750
Brazil - 4,560
USA - 3,980
Canada - 3,060
Israel - 2,980
8th Ireland

5.33pm Derek from Team England is all-in with QK, top pair on a King high flop. He's called by Team Canada's Christopher, who has T 4, and a heart flush draw. The turn gives the Canadian the flush. Team England hand over 2,360 chips to the Canadians. Derek's still in it, but needs a double up soon.

5.37pm Ireal's Martin Segal goes all in for 2040 chips. He's called by Poland's Philip Help. Philip has AQ. Martin has AA. Nothing special on the board, but Martin's smiling at a double up.

5.44pm England are all-in again. Derek has 99 this time. The Icelandic player with a big pile of chips calls with 34os. The flop is 5 6 8 - giving the Icelandic player an open ended straight draw. Team England look concerned... But survive, and Derek gets his double up.


Derek 'Purr of Aces' Morris - Team England

6.08pm Players are back from a break. Here are their chip counts:

Iceland - 10,120
Canada - 7,120
England - 6,460
Israel - 4,480
Brazil - 4,160
Poland - 4,080
USA - 3,280
8th Ireland

6.32pm It's all gone a bit quiet here. The only loudness I can report is our tournament director's matching lime green tie and handkerchief. The watching fans content themselves with rearranging their team flags over the hoardings. As Team England's Derek raises and takes the blinds he motions for his team mates to cheer. They oblige with a, "Come on England!". Let's hope there's a few cheers of genuine excitement soon.

7.01pm USA's Christopher goes all-in for 1600. He's called by Derek of Team England, and also Philip Helm of Poland. The flop is 6 J A. Derek and Philip check. The turn another Ace. Derek and Philip check again. On the river another Jack. The player's check again. The all-in US player shows A3, a full house. Derek shows KK. The USA takes the pot.

7.11pm Iceland's Brynjar bets, Brazil raise all-in, to 5,400. It's 4,000 to the Iceland player to call. He does so - with T 7 os. Brazil holds K Q of clubs. A Queen on the turn and Team Brazil shout, "Thank you Iceland!" as they celebrate the double up.

7.16pm Martin from Israel goes all in with his last 1,500 chips. He's called by the Canada and England players. The board is K 5 2 T 6. The other players check it down. Martin shows AK. The Canadian player turns over 5 6, for two pair. Israel are out in 7th place. Teddy Tuil, wandering around looking upset says, "What a river."


Martin Segal of Team Israel out in 7th place

I believe Israel can still qualify, but they're relying on Brazil to go out soon...

7.21pm Teacher John from England stops by my table, "Write this quote. England's looking low but we're still confident in the man. he's doing the business."

7.25pm Derek goes all-in on the small blind with just a few chips left. He's called by the Polish player in the big blind. The Pole has 2 6. Derek likes the look of that, he has Q6. The flop 4 5 K. The turn a 10. The river a 3. An unlikely straight wins the pot for Poland. Team England (and this English Blogger) very disappointed.

7.34pm Iceland's Brynjar is out of the tournament. He goes all in and is called by Poland's Philip with 99. Brynjar has 65 and hits nothing, he's out. Just 4 teams left now.


Brynjar Valdimmarsson of Team Iceland

7.40pm Here's what these recent eliminations mean. Team's Canada, USA, and Poland are through to the WCP final. The last place will go to either Brazil or Israel. Brazil need to finish 1st or 2nd in this game. Israel are hoping they don't.

7.46pm Team USA's Phil goes all in with A9, he's called by Team Poland's Philip with AJ. The better hand wins and Team USA are out in 4th place. They're in the final tomorrow regardless.


Phil Myers of Team USA

7.53pm Players are on a dinner break, the only player of the 3 remaining with anything more than pride to play for is Raul Oliveira of Team Brazil. He must finish 1st or 2nd to overtake Team Israel and win a place in tomorrow's final.


Raul Oliveira of Team Brazil

8.00pm Chip counts are :

Canada - 21,000
Brazil - 9,800
Poland - 9,200


9.00pm Back after the break. Here's how the points are as it stands, 3 teams have points still to be decided in this heat. Canada and Poland are still playing, but know they have enough points to reach the final. 1st place awards 15 points, 2nd is 12 points, 3rd is 9. So Brazil need 1st or 2nd to put out Israel out of the top 4 places.

Canada 36 (still playing)
USA 42
Israel 34
Poland 32 (still playing)
Brazil 23 (still playing)
England 24
Ireland 22
Iceland 21

9.14pm Team Brazil are very nervous. Raul must not go out first of the three remaining players if they hope to reach the final, but he's gone all-in in 2 of the last 3 hands. His opponents folded both times. Canada and Poland lead in chips and Brazil's last all in was for just 6,400 chips. Team Brazil's player is determined to fight, and not be blinded away.

9.21pm Philip from Poland calls on the small blind. Brazil's Raul goes all-in - yet again. This time Philip calls. The Polish player has A 8. Raul has A T, his team mates hope for a double-up... The cards are 4 5 Q A 3. Brazil win the pot, and stay in the game. Team Israel don't look happy.



Philip Hilm of Team Poland


9.33pm On the button Canada raise to 2,200. Raul from Brazil looks at his cards and announces all-in, about 6,000 more. The Canadian calls and shows AJ. The Brazilian is trailing with A9. Team Brazil and Team Israel watch anxiously as the cards are dealt. Q 10 2 6 6. Brazil are out in 3rd place, and out of the World Cup of Poker.

The Israel team are shouting and laughing, they're in the final.

9.41pm Team Canada win Heat 5 of the World Cup of Poker, making it 3 wins out of the 5 heats. On a 10 high flop Poland bet, Canada raised, Poland went all-in. Philip of Poland had 10 8, Christopher called with 10 9. Canada's better kicker played and it won them this heat. I'll bring you the final team standings soon. Canada, USA, Poland and Israel will be the 4 teams in tomorrow's final.



Christopher Comely of Team Canada, the winner of Heat 5

Here are the players lining up to play Heat 5, the vital final heat which will decide who'll reach the cash prizes and chance of glory in tomorrow's final. A lot of teams decided to 'save the best till last' and field their strongest players in this game. It's sure to be an interesting heat.

Team Ireland - Niall McNamara

Niall is the top TLB qualifier for Ireland, although he chose not to take the team captaincy. A strong tournament competitor, who has live as well as online experience. He and his brother qualified for last years EPT Monte Carlo event through Poker