Horses are not a new love to me. I spend my entire life in wellington boots on a ranch. No wonder that I prefer H.O.R.S.E games at the poker table.
You think that doesn't add up?
If you want to train a horse. it´s all about knowing your opponent. You have to be quick in responding new situations. You need to be flexible and able to change gears. And last but not least: you must stay cool, no matter what comes. This is very similar to the action at the poker table.
In WCOOP Event # 18, more than 2000 horses saddled up. Mixed games have become extremely popular. It was not really a surprise that the field became that big. This year at the WSOP the non-hold'em games were particularly popular. It looks a little bit like a lot of players are tired of getting of holding only two cards in their hands.
Not unlike real horse sports, the WCOOP stable was filled with some really experienced racing horses who know how the wind blows on turf, and also by some wild and frenetic broncos with an eye on the win. Some of these youngsters with courage and a heart of a winner are sometimes able to beat an old hand.
But not on this Sunday.
The start signal was given and I picked up very nice and chatty tables. After a few hours of play, we all got hungry and were trying to figure out to get some food via e-mail. After 11 hours on the turf my race was over and I had to go back to stable, finishing 48th.
Because a horse could not fall asleep promptly after running that long I watched the final table and found a familiar name: Sensor.
I played with him a long time at the same table. All night long I was really impressed by his style: patience paired with a very good feeling for the right spots. Never on tilt - no goofy plays – very cool, no matter what came. Chapeau and congratulations again to you, Sensor. You are the real horse whisperer!
A horse is a horse, of course of course. That is, of course, unless that horse is a $215 poker tournament in which five separate variants of poker are rotated every twelve minutes.
Mixed games have become extremely popular over the course of the last year as interest in no-limit hold'em has waned. Some credit the creation of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament during the 2006 World Series of Poker for that resurgence. That tournament was created because a mixed game format was viewed as more of a true test of poker skill than the $10,000 no-limit hold'em main event, largely because the fields had swelled to such a size that luck had taken on a larger role in predicting main event success. Many players have subscribed to that line of reasoning, and as a result mixed games are on the rise.
It's small surprise, then, that 2,091 players signed up to play WCOOP Event #18 - $215 H.O.R.S.E., a mixed variant of limit poker in which Hold'em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Seven-Card Stud and Seven-Card Stud Eight or Better or rotated in order. They created a pretty hefty $418,200 prize pool for a game format that, just a few years ago, would have been looked upon in disdain by most players.
Once again, the Team PokerStars Pros were out in force. It may be that many of the professional poker players really do look upon H.O.R.S.E. as a great all-around test, or maybe they just thought that they had an edge in all the non-hold'em games over their less-experienced competitors. Whatever the reason, Chad Brown, Dario Minieri, Katja Thater, Barry Greenstein, Gavin Griffin, Lee Nelson, Greg Raymer, Isabelle Mercier, Bill Chen, Victor Ramdin, Luca Pagano, Vanessa Rousso, Tom McEvoy, Marcin Horecki, Bertrand Grospellier, Hevad Khan, Steve Paul-Ambrose and Raymond Rahme all took to the field. What a line-up!
Three of those Team PokerStars Pros would be included in the 304 players that got paid in this event. Humberto Brenes finished in 257th place ($355.47) when his two pair during the Seven-Card Stud round were topped by Pliny, Elder's bigger two pair. Katja Thater fared better, surviving with a few key double-ups all the way to 48th place ($1,212.78), finally going out in the Omaha Hi/Lo round when one of the three opponents to call her preflop all-in bet flopped a Broadway straight.
And then there was Barry Greenstein. "The Bear", as Greenstein is affectionately known, played a very strong game for long stretches of the tournament. During the eighth hour of play, he caught a rush during the Seven-Card Stud round and rocketed to the top of the chip counts. He seemed loose and in a good mood, joking repeatedly with the railbirds that he attracts whenever he plays.
Greenstein remained in the top ten in chips for over four hours, all the way until only nine player remained, one off of the final table. At that point, he was dealt rolled up fours during the Seven-Card Stud round, apparently his first rolled-up hand of the tournament. One of his opponents started with split queens and spiked a third queen on fifth street. That hand crippled Greenstein; he went out a few hands later during the Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo round when he missed his low and his pair of queens was overtaken on the river by Rabscuttle, who rivered trip sixes. Greenstein earned $3,972.90 in prize money. More importantly for the remaining players, his elimination paved the way to the final table.
The final eight players brought a total of 6,273,000 chips to the final table, dispersed as follows:
Seat 1: Obender (751949 in chips)
Seat 2: Rabscuttle (445390 in chips)
Seat 3: Sensor (1610208 in chips)
Seat 4: troyomac (1028960 in chips)
Seat 5: BabyJeebus99 (1184721 in chips)
Seat 6: BackdoorNutz (426980 in chips)
Seat 7: tennisklause (434720 in chips)
Seat 8: LittleRedElf (390072 in chips)
Click image for full version
When the final table was set at 7:15am, there was one curiosity -- BabyJeebus99, the player in second chip position, had been disconnected for half an hour. He had been disconnected just as 1hugeidiot was eliminated in 11th place, and had the chip lead at the time of his disconnection. Everyone wondered the same thing: would BabyJeebus99 come again?
BabyJeebus99's disconnection also presented another aggravation for the final table players. As per standard PokerStars disconnect rules, BabyJeebus99 was given twenty-five seconds for every decision he had to make. That meant play at the final table moved very, very slowly. It was twenty-five minutes before we had our first elimination. BackdoorNutz was all in preflop during Omaha Hi/Lo with As-2h-Ts-Th. He was called by tennisklause, who showed Kh-Kd-9d-6c. When the flop came 3h-Ks-5d, BackdoorNutz was left praying for a low draw for a chop. Instead he got running deuces to make trips. Those same deuces made a full house for tennisklause, sending BackdoorNutz out of the tournament in ninth place with $4,809.30.
That elimination seemed to open the floodgates. Rabscuttle was next out, in eighth place, again in the Omaha Hi/Lo round. He was in slightly better shape than BackDoorNutz had been, all in on a flop of 5d-6c-Ks holding a pair and the nut low draw against tennisklause's pair of aces. Just like BackdoorNutz, however, Rabscuttle missed everything. $6,063.90 was his mollification.
BabyJeebus99 continued to be blinded and anted off. When Rabscuttle was eliminated, BabyJeebus99 had been disconnected for over an hour.
It was during the razz round that the chip leader, Sensor, made a strong move to separate himself from the rest of the pack. By the time the razz round was over, Sensor had over three million in chips, about half of the chips in play. None of his six opponents even had one million.
Throughout the tournament, the stud rounds were where the tournament and the action slowed down considerably. That wasn't the case at the final table, with the stud rounds producing just as much action as the flop-game rounds. Another two players went out in quick succession during Seven-Card Stud. tennisklause couldn't make three starting spades turn into anything useful, and was instead eliminated by the Sensor's single pair of aces. A few hands later, Sensor struck again, starting with three hearts and taking out Obender with just a pair of sevens after Obender missed everything and finished with high-card king. tennisklause earned $7,318.50 in prize money for his sixth place finish; Obender took down $8,573.10 for fifth.
Those eliminations left Sensor as the clear chip leader with only four players remaining. More importantly, one of those players, BabyJeebus99, was still disconnected, an hour-and-a-half after he first dropped his link to the tournament. It seemed clear he wasn't coming back, and as the limits relentlessly increased, his stack rapidly diminished.
The other two remaining players, LittleRedElf and troyomac, took turns with Sensor in picking on BabyJeebus99's blinds and bring-ins. Each had enough chips at that point to comfortably wait things out. It helped that during the Seven-Card Stud Eight or Better round, all three got involved in a pot that was ultimately worth 1.3 million in chips. troyomac took the whole thing down with three aces when chip-leader Sensor could only make a pair of fives and missed his low draw. That spread the chips around in a more equitable fashion.
BabyJeebus99 finally bowed out in the hold'em round, almost two full hours after he lost his connection. He wound up all in for about 16,000 chips with jack-three and was taken out by Sensor's king-ten when a king hit the board. It was certainly a strange end to the tournament for a player that seemed poised to possibly win it all. Fourth place money was $16,728, which BabyJeebus99 should be delighted to see if and when he ever gets his connection back.
That elimination left just three players: troyomac, LittleRedElf and Sensor. troyomac had the misfortune to run into Sensor's pocket queens during the hold'em round, a hand that cost him most of his stack after Sensor slow-played his hand to perfection. Left with 186,920 chips by the time Omaha Hi/Lo came around, all the chips went in with 3h-As-9s-5h. Once again, the elimination task fell to Sensor, who called with 7h-2h-2s-7s. When the board ran out Qh Ks Jh 3s Jc, Sensor had eliminated another opponent. troyomac collected $25,928.40 for third place.
It took a few hands after that for LittleRedElf and Sensor to open deal negotiations. They looked at chopping the tournament based on chip equity, setting aside $6,000 and the WCOOP bracelet to play for. Once a PokerStars host ran the numbers and reported that the chop would pay $51,421.66 to Sensor and $47,797.46 to LittleRedElf, both players quickly agreed. It seemed to make more sense to lock in those paydays then risk walking away with "only" second-place prize money ($37,888.92) given the large limits and relatively short stacks at that point in the tournament.
With the deal in place, both player opened up their playing styles and became more freewheeling. Still, the chip counts seemed to be moving in a band between 2,000,000 and 4,000,000 for both players. Neither could deliver the knock-out punch. Then, in a heartbeat, it was over.
Sensor had re-opened a 2-to-1 chip lead as we entered the Seven-Card Stud round. Both players started with an ace door-card. Betting was capped on third street, on fourth street and on fifth street. By sixth street, LittleRedElf was all in. He opened Ad-6h-Ac-8c-Td-4d, having started with split aces. Improbably enough, Sensor also had split aces! He showed As-Qd-Ah-Th-9c-3c and was in the lead. Sensor caught the Ts on the river to make two pair and cinch the hand. LittleRedElf was eliminated in second place. His post-deal prize money totalled $47797.46.
Sensor was the last player standing after a grueling seventeen hours of poker. He played a strong final table and deservedly is the champion of Event #18, earning $57,421.66 and a WCOOP bracelet. Congratulations, Sensor!
Live blog coverage of WCOOP Event #18 $215 HORSE is brought to you by bloggers Jason Kirk, C.J Hoyt, Dave Behr, and David Aydt. Have a story for us? E-mail to blog@pokerstars.com. Click refresh to see the latest information.
Deal in place, bracelet to be won, and it took two big hands for the heads-up match to be decided as both players during the Stud Hi round with blinds at 100000/200000 ante 20000 started out with split aces.
Sensor: As-Qd / Ah
LittleRedElf Ad-6h / Ac
They capped before 4th, then managed to cap again again on fourth after a Th for Sensor and 8c for LittleRedElf. No difference on fifth when yet again these two traded raises after a 9c for Sensor and Td for LittleRedElf. Sixth street saw LittleRedElf get his remaining 361,572 in and Sensor calling leaving about 2.2 million in chips behind.
Both exposed their split pair of aces, LittleRedElf got the 7d which unfortunately did not improve his hand meaning Sensor’s queen kicker would be the winner regardless, but Sensor got the Ts making aces up and winning Event #18 for a total of $57,421.66 plus the WCOOP bracelet. For a hard, a long, fought battle, second place finisher LittleRedElf earned more then pixie dust in collecting $47,797.46 as the runner-up.
Good night, morning, afternoon to all and see you at Event #19!!
9:13am-- Event #17 is in the books: Poker101 takes down $80,400 and the WCOOP bracelet
The write up of the final table for Poker101’s victory Event #17’s PLHE $530 6-max tourney is set in stone and can be found following this helpful link.
9:07am--Early rounds of heads-up to LittleRedElf
With a deal firmly in place, the two remaining players seem to have loosened up their playing styles a bit, since "only" $6,000 and a WCOOP bracelet are on the line, instead of $30,000. LittleRedElf has gotten the best of it so far; what had been a 3-to-2 chip lead in favor of Sensor is now a 3-to-2 chip lead for LittleRedElf. There haven't been any big pots to speak of, just a relentless progression of small hands.
9:00am-- Thanks to the pleasant host we have a deal!
Sensor $51,421.66
LittleRedElf $47,797.46
Since the money is sliced up, time to hunt for the glory. $6,000 and the 2008 WCOOP Event #18 bracelet is on the line for the winner.
8:54am-- Chop talks, tourney is paused heads-up
Right now we are awaiting the chop numbers that will possibly chop up the remaining prize pool while leaving $6,000 and WCOOP bracelet for the winner.
8:46am--And then there were two; troyomac eliminated
846,000 chips don't last long at limits of 80,000 and 160,000. After another small hit, troyomac found himself with just 186,920 remaining. They all went in, and he was called by Sensor. By the time the river came down, neither player had connected with the Qh Ks Jh 3s Jc board, Sensor took it all down with a pair of sevens, 7h-2h-2s-7s when troyomac showed 3h-As-9s-5h.
Still not a bad finish for troyomac. Third place was worth $25,928.40. That leaves Sensor and LittleRedElf heads-up for the title.
8:43am--Sensor loves the ladies
Three-handed was a great time to pick up pocket queens for Sensor during the Limit Hold Em' round with blinds at 80000/160000. First to act, he raised to 160,000. troyomac, sitting in the small blind, obligingly three-bet the pot, driving out LittleRedElf. Sensor smooth-called, and smooth-called again on a harmless 6s-4d-Tc flop. When the 2c hit the turn and troyomac bet again, Sensor sprung his trap, raising from 160,000 to 320,000. troyomac tanked briefly before calling, then check-called the river. He couldn't beat Qh-Qs, dropping to third in the chip counts with 846,920 remaining. Sensor is once again the chip leader, with 3,494,508.
8:38am-- He did not rise again, BabyJeebus99 out in fourth place
After a grueling hour and a half battle with blinds and antes, the once huge chip leader was reduced to unfortunately watching his tournament chip fortune slip away with every high doorcard in Razz, or low card in Stud. Hopefully in the next few days an email will come through from our lost hero to tell a story of connection woes, and not something serious. Much like Vinnie Vinh’s chair at the WSOP, BabyJeebus99 will receive fourth place money, $16,728.00 without being there and we hope he’s ok.
8:31am-- Four remain, three have internet connections
Level 71
Blinds: 80000/160000 (Limit Hold Em’ coming up)
Average Chip Stack: 1,568,250
Players Remaining: 4
Players Not Disconnected for the past hour and a half: 3
1. Sensor 3,117,787
2. troyomac 1,726,920
3. LittleRedElf 1,091,572
4. BabyJeebus99 (yes, he still has chips) 336,721
8:25am--Three-way pot to troyomac right before break
There are four players remaining in the tournament. One is disconnected; the other three got involved in a hand of Stud Hi/Lo that was worth 1.3 million chips, almost a quarter of the chips in play. LittleRedElf, Sensor and troyomac all played for two bets on third street. On fourth street, the boards were:
LittleRedElf bet 60,000, a bet that Sensor called before troyomac called. Everyone stayed in to fifth street, and everyone called after troyomac took the betting lead there. LittleRedElf finally folded to troyomac's bet on sixth street, but going into the river, the boards were:
Both players quickly checked. troyomac showed As-9s-Jh in the hole, having caught the case ace on sixth street to make trips. Sensor came up with 2h-5c-Qc in the hole for a pair of fives and no low. The whole pot went to troyomac, balancing the chip counts slightly as the hold'em round looms.
8:14am--Obender rendered obsolete
Obender found three cards he liked in Seven-Card Stud and put his last 100,949 chip in the middle. Chip leader Sensor called and tried to take him out.
Obender: Qs-6d / 4c
Sensor: 7h-9h / 5h
Obender's board finished 7d-2d-9c-Kc for high-card king. Sensor beat that on fourth street with 7s-4d-Qc-Jd for a pair of sevens. Fifth place was worth $8,573.10 to Obender.
8:12am-- BabyJeebus99 outlasts another as tennisklause serves one into the net
Crippled three hands ago after getting to 6th street against the chip leader Sensor, tennisklause has bowed out in 6th place. With just 75,590 in chips and blinds at 60000/120000 he started with three spades and decided go for broke with it
tennisklause: Js-2s / Ts
Sensor: 8h-7d /9h
tennisklause would get running 6s on fourth and fifth street including the 6s giving him a flush draw, but the momentum swung back in Sensor’s favor as he caught running aces on fifth and sixth. tennisklause missed a basket of outs on the river with the Qd as Sensor’s aces were good enough for the 217,180 chip pot and tennisklause finished in 6th place earning $7,318.50
8:06am-- Stud rounds hits, we still weep for BabyJeebus99’s absence
With the definite slow down in play, BabyJeebus99’s departure from realm of the billions of people connected the internet at this moment is still baffling. Sensor continues to dominate with nearly 3 million in chips during this Stud Hi level with 60000/120000 blinds, and 12000 antes. BabyJeebus99 has already been assured 6th place money and still has over 600,000 in chip compared to the short stacks of tennisklaus (87,590) and Obender (262,949).
7:53am--A turning point?
We're in the razz round now, with limits of 50,000 and 100,000 and an ante of 10,000. One hand can really make or break the tournament given the relative size of the stacks. Chip leader and Supernova player Sensor may have just taken a stranglehold on the final table. He raised LittleRedElf to 100,000 on third street, showing the 5d as his door card, after LittleRedElf completed the bring-in with the 3h. LittleRedElf reraised to 150,000 and Sensor just called.
Both players bricked on fourth, Sensor with the Jd and LittleRedElf with the Kh. Sensor checked, but LittleRedElf chose to bet, a bet Sensor called. Both caught good on fifth, the 3c to Sensor and the 7d to LittleRedElf. Again Sensor checked, but this time he raised when LittleRedElf bet. LittleRedElf called there, called a bet on sixth street when he drew the 8h to Sensor's 6h, and called at the river. Sensor showed As-2h / 5d-Jd-3c-6h / Jh for a 6-5, which was a winning hand. He now has over 3 million in chips; no other player has over 800,000
7:42am--Rabscuttle follows BackdoorNutz out the door
After a quiet first twenty-five minutes of final table play, we had two eliminations back-to-back. No sooner was BackdoorNutz's chair eliminated from the table, then Rabscuttle got mixed up in a hand with tennisklause. All of the chips were in on the flop of 5d-6c-Ks. Rabscuttle had As-Jd-5s-2s for a nut low draw, a backdoor flush draw and a pair of fives. His nemesis, tennisklause, showed Ac-Ad-Tc-7d for an overpair. The 6h on the turn helped neither player and for the second time in a row, Rabscuttle completely missed the low when the river bricked out Qd. He goes out in 7th place with $6,063.90 in prize money.
7:40am--BackdoorNutz can't hit front-door low
You know that moment. You're all in and screaming for your draw to hit. If it doesn't hit, you're out. That was what faced BackdoorNutz during the Omaha Hi/Lo round. He was all in on the flop of 3h-Ks-5d and needed a low to come in to survive the hand. Why is that? Because his opponent, tennisklause, flopped top set with Kd-6c-9d-Kh but had no low draw of his own. BackdoorNutz held Ts-Th-As-2h. He must have been beside himself when the turn and river came running deuces to completely miss his low hand and make a full house for tennisklause. With that river card, BackdoorNutz was our first casualty of the final table. He received $4,809.30 for his efforts in this event.
7:33am--No return in sight for BabyJeebus99
The prodigal son has not returned. BabyJeebus99, who was disconnected right after the bust-out of 1hugeidiot in 11th place at 6:45am, remains disconnected from the tournament. Because he gets the normal 25 seconds to act before his hand is folded on every hand that he is dealt, the pace of play at the final table has slowed to a crawl. Barring any change in BabyJeebus99's status, we're going to be here a long time into the morning, as he still has well over 1 million in chips.
Where have you gone, BabyJeebus99? The poker nation turns it's lonely eyes to you.
7:25am-- Starting gate for the H.O.R.S.E. final table
(click for larger image)
Seat 1: Obender (751949 in chips)
Seat 2: Rabscuttle (445390 in chips)
Seat 3: Sensor (1610208 in chips)
Seat 4: troyomac (1028960 in chips)
Seat 5: BabyJeebus99 (1184721 in chips)
Seat 6: BackdoorNutz (426980 in chips)
Seat 7: tennisklause (434720 in chips)
Seat 8: LittleRedElf (390072 in chips)
After Rabscuttle’s up and down Stud Hi/Lo hand with Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein on the bubble, the final table has been set for Event #18 with Sensor carrying the big stack with 1.6 million in chips. The real story is the huge chip leader turned missing in action poster boy, BabyJeebus99, has been blinding off for the past 30-40 minutes but still sits in the 2nd chip position.
First prize is $67,330.20 while the first bust out will receive only fraction of that as eighth is slated for $4,809.30
7:15am--Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein eliminated
In the end, fortune was pretty cruel to Barry "barryg1" Greenstein during this tournament. He was crippled during hand-for-hand play after starting with rolled up fours, and found himself in a battle with the other short stack, Rabscuttle, to see who would go to the final table. The two players started the hand separated by just 6,000 chips. When they locked horns, it was almost guaranteed that one would miss out on the party.
All of the money was in by fifth street during the Stud Hi/Lo round. Greenstein showed 5h-3d / 7h-8d-Qs. He was four to a qualifying low but had no high. Rabscuttle showed 6c-4c / 5d-6d-Jc for a pair of sixes and three to a low. Greenstein caught another queen on sixth against the 8s to Rabscuttle. Both were four to a low, but Greenstein had the lead with a pair of queens against a pair of sixes. The river came Js for Greenstein, no help, and 6h for Rabscuttle to make trip sixes. He scooped the pot and eliminated Greenstein in 10th place. Greenstein earned $3,972.90 for a well-played tournament.
7:09am--Where's BabyJeebus99?
It's been twenty-five minutes since BabyJeebus99 was disconnected from the tournament. He still has not returned. At the time, he had the chip lead with over 1.2 million in chips. He has been overtaken by Supernova player Sensor, who currently has 1.6 million chips.
BabyJeebus99's disconnection is slowing the pace of hand-for-hand play as we are on the final table bubble. Team PokerStars Pro Barry "barryg1" Greenstein is in danger of being the final table bubble boy, as he has under 100,000 chips left in his stack after a confrontation with Sensor during the Stud round. Greenstein started with rolled up fours, but was overtaken by Sensor's split queens when Sensor caught a third queen on fifth street.
7:03am-- Bubble looms
We're now on the final table bubble and Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein is sitting on the small stack after tangling with Sensor's trip queens and mucking rolled up fours after the river during the Stud Hi round with 30000/60000 blinds, ante 6000 he currently has 156,454.
6:56am--102976 eliminated in 10th place
102976 decided to make a stand in razz after starting with 3s-4c / Ah and catching the 6s on fourth street. All of the chips were in the middle by fifth street, having been called by tennisklause. 102976 finished 8s-7d-Kh for a 7-6 low, but tennisklause went 7h-6c-As-2c-Jd-3c-5h to make a 6-5 and eliminate 102976 in 10th place. 102976 gets $3,972.90 for his effort in today's event.
6:54am--Stuck on razz
BabyJeebus99 continues to be disconnected from the tournament. His disconnect clock started at four minutes for the first hand and has been steadily decreasing with each passing hand. He will soon not have any extra time for being disconnected. Unfortunately for the remaining players (especially the players on the other table), the blind clock is turned off during his disconnect time. They've been stuck on razz much longer than originally allotted.
6:52am-- 1hugeidiot outsmarted by Rabscuttle, out in 11th
The blinds have ballooned for our final players as the Razz round started with 30000/60000 blinds with 6000 antes and two players found themselves taking their cards to the mat. After Sensor brought in for 9000, Rabscuttle opened for 30000 followed by 1hugeidiot raising again to 60000. Fourth street had Rabscuttle drawing a 2s while 1hugeidiot hit a 6h and lead out again, while Rabscuttle called. After bricking fifth with the Qc for 1hugeidiot, Rabscuttle saw the opportunity and lead out with 1hugeidiot going nowhere and called.
With boards showing, 1 hugeidiot sent in the rest of his 39,760 while Rabscuttle would leave only 50,176 behind:
Rabscuttle turned over a smooth seven, good enough to defeat 1hugeidiot’s 7-6 low and 1hugeidiot was out in 11th place earning $3,972.90
6:45am--An odd sequence of events
At the same time that tennisklause was eliminated in 10th place on Table 86, BabyJeebus99 lost his connection on Table 256. Play was paused there for a maximum of 240 seconds (4 minutes) with six players on hte table, while play continued on Table 86 four-handed. Finally, after BabyJeebus99 timed out completely, the hand on Table 256 was completed and a player was broken to balance the tables.
6:35am--Calling out for aces
The final two tables of this tournament have suddenly turned into a real dogfight. It's as if the fifteen-minute break allowed these players to regroup, recharge and refocus, and now none of them is willing to go out. Huge swings are possible with limits at 25,000 and 50,000 in the flop games. Losing one or two pots in quick succession can be deadly. At this point, nobody is safe.
6:31am-- Barry gets a timely boat, and take down a huge pot:
Thanks to this hand in Omaha Hi/Lo with blinds at 25000/50000, he takes this 462,000 chip pot down against Supernova player status Sensor. Greenstein called a raise from the big blind, then check-called the flop of As-Js-Jd. When the Ac hit the turn, Greenstein went for a check-raise, which Sensor called. His bet on the river 5d was also called, at which point he tabled 9d-Qd-Ah-Jc for a flopped full house that got even better on the turn.
6:21am-- Short Stack Survival
Several short stack all-ins have occurred in Limit Hold Em’ with blinds at 25000/50000 and definitely showing some bruising abilities even for the million dollar stacks. But, the short stacks have no intention of going away quietly as 102976, LittleRedElf, and tennisklause have all survived all-ins to remaining viable for the final table.
6:14am--One step closer after Sensor dishes out a nasty beat
dave118 is the 12th place finished in Event #18. He called out of the big blind for 50,000 chips total after Sensor had raised from under the gun. The flop was Tc-2s-3h, and brought a check and then a raise out of dave118 once Sensor bet it. Sensor made the call, then called again once dave118 moved all in for 34,853 on the 8s turn. That turn card turned out to be the worst card possible for dave118; his Qd-Ts had been overtaken by Sensor's 8c-8h. The Qs on the river was just salt in the wound. At least finishing in 12th place was worth $3,972.90.
6:04am-- Another H.O.R.S.E. final table for Greenstein?
You may remember Barry Greenstein’s run to the $50,000 WSOP H.O.R.S.E. final table this summer, now he’s primed to duplicate the feat here.
Here’s Barry’s thoughts prior to hitting that WSOP final table courtesy of PokerStars.TV
What's the name of the game in split-pot games? Say it with me -- scoop! That's what chip leader troyomac did against tennisklause in a stud hi/lo hand. At showdown, troyomac showed 2s-7h / 4s-9s-6h-5d / 3s, hitting a perfect river card to fill his straight and gave him an almost unbeatable low. tennisklause couldn't beat a seven-high straight, nor could he beat a 6-5 low. The whole pot went to troyomac, increasing his tournament-leading chip stack to 1,289,012.
5:43am-- Last hoorah
Limit Stud Hi/Lo recently kicked in, as hoorah kicked out in its first hand when getting the last of his 84,904 in chips into the middle on 6th street versus LittleRedElf with blinds at 20000/40000 ante 4000 after LittleRedElf called every bet made by hoorah on each street.
hoorah was well ahead with nut flush possibilities as well as the pair of aces but no low possible. LittleRedElf would out draw on the river with the 8s falling given him eights over threes and hoorah did not improve bowing out in 13th place earning $3,136.50, next elimination will get a pay bump to $3,972.90
5:41am--Through the stud rounds we go
After a flurry of eliminations during the flop games, hold'em and omaha hi/lo, play has settled down. That coincides directly with the fact that we're now in the stud rounds: razz, stud, and stud hi/lo. We did lose one player during razz, but since then players are playing very cautiously, releasing most hands on the early streets before the big bets kick in.
5:25am--VietCutie kicked in the head by razz
VietCutie made her stand in the game that most poker players avoid -- razz -- and paid the price. She completed the bring-in showing the 4h and was raised by Sensor, who had the 3d as his door card. Neither player caught well on fourth street, with the Kc to Sensor and the Th to VietCutie. It was a clear bet for VietCutie, which she made and which Sensor called.
The tables were turned on fifth street, with Sensor snagging the 7s and VietCutie gnashing her teeth as she received the Jd. She checked and called Sensor's bet. Neither player drew well on sixth street, Ts to Sensor and 9s to Vietcutie. Again she checked and called, heading into the river to hope for the best with just 8,796 chips left. She put those chips in and was called. Sensor showed 8c-5d-3d-Kc-7s-Ts-4d for an 8-7 low; VietCutie improved on the river but had only 8d-9h-4h-Th-Jd-8s-5h for a 10-9 low. She was eliminated in 14th place, but received $3,136.50 as a parting gift.
5:21am--Ghamayun goin' home
Ghamayun was one of our chip leaders for long stretches of the tournament, but eventually the rest of the pack caught up to him. Mix in a few lost pots at the large limits we're now playing, and it wasn't long before Ghamayun was short. Ghamayun three-bet during Omaha Hi/Lo after 1hugeidiot opened the preflop betting with a raise. 1hugeidiot capped the action and they were two the flop. Ghamayun's remainign 21,795 chips went in there. At showdown, the board was 3s-9s-3h-Jd-Qh. 1hugeidiot, with Ac-As-Js-5h, had the winner with two pairs, aces and threes, over Ghamayun's two pair, queens and threes, Ah-Kc-Qd-5d. Ghamayun was eliminated in 15th place, an elimination worth $3,136.50.
5:19am--dobieatwar runs out of doubles
dobieatwar stayed alive once during the Omaha Hi/Lo round, going runner-runner for an emergency low. He couldn't do it a second time. He got all in preflop against Team PokerStars Pro Barry "barryg1" Greenstein. After the board ran out Kc-Kd-6h-Kh-7d, Greenstein's Ts-Tc-5d-3c made a full house and the best hand. He eliminated dobieatwar in 16th place, good for $3,136.50 in dobieatwar's PokerStars account.
5:17am-- Power outage, Power1111 out in 17th
Sitting with 78,540 chips, Power raised UTG+1 and found a customer in tennisklause in the big blind. A flop of 6c-As-Jd got a check-call out of tennisklause. the turn brought the Qc and Power1111 shot his remaining volts into the pot as tennisklause made the call once again.
Power1111: Ah-8c-4s-2c
tennisklause: 5c-9h-3c-Th
The Kd on the river hit the straight draw for tennisklause as a club would have given Power1111 the win, and he is out earning $2,509.20 in 17th place.
5:15am--whiskey_edge may want to hit the bottle
Someone call Jack Daniels - whiskey_edge has been eliminated in 18th place. He moved all 50,448 of his chips into the middle preflop during the Omaha Hi/Lo round after a series of raises with 102976. whiskey_edge had naked kings, Ks-Kh-9d-4d, against four Broadway cards for 102976 (Ad-Kc-Qd-Ts). The board ran out Js-5s-As-8c-9c to make a queen-high straight for 102976. No low was possible, so that straight scooped the whole pot and sent whiskey_edge to the rail. He won $2,509.20 in prize money.
5:13am-- BabyJeebus99 says Ace-High no good, Tomte123 out in 19th place:
Starting the hand with only 40510 chips and blinds at 12000/24000, Tomte123 tried to make something happen one off the button with Ad-3h but BabyJeebus99 wasn’t going anywhere from the big blind. The rest of the chips went in on a flop of Jc-9s-3s. Tomte had only flopped bottom pair with Ad-3h; BabyJeebus99 had middle pair with Qc-9d. Neither improved, meaning Tomte is out.
5:08am--rotonut eliminated in 20th place
There's only one Team PokerStars Pro left in today's field, and he has been making his presence known all day. Barry "barryg1" Greenstein remains among the chip leaders and has eliminated one of his opponents. rotonut started a recent hold'em hand with 56,892 chips. He three-bet to 36,00 after dave118 had put in the first raise. Greenstein was in the big blind and cappd the betting, folding dave118. rotonut called, leaving himself only 8,892 chips behind. Those chips went in the middle on a flop of Kd-4s-As after Greenstein bet. Greenstein had a stranglehold on the hand, turning over Ac-Kc for top two pair. rotonut held pocket tens and couldn't catch a miracle ten on the turn or river. He's out in 20th place, earning $2,509.20 in the process.
5:05am-- Dainiux gets double-teamed and is out in 21st place
hoorah and Obender called Dainiux’s all-in short stack push of 17,735 pre-flop with blinds at 12000/24000 during the Limit Hold Em’ round, when they both called out of the blinds. Obender tried to get hoorah out of the way with a flop bet, but that was called as well.
They checked the rest of the way showing a board of Ah-4c-8d-Kc-Ac with 5c-5h for Obender. But, hoorah tabled the winning 8s-Jc which was good enough for the main and side pots earning a total of 89,435 chips.
Dainiux will receive $2,509.20 for 21st.
5:00am-- Barry is still in holding the flag for the Team PokerStars Pros
Level 56
Blinds 12000/24000 (Limit Hold Em’ coming up)
Average Chip Stack: 298,714
Players Remaining: 21
First Prize: $67,330.20
The $215 HORSE tournament is over for Dbl_MeUp_Plz. Even after his last double fifteen minutes ago, Dbl_MeUp_Plz was short. He made his stand in Stud Hi/Lo with buried aces, Ah-Ac / Qs and was called by BackdoorNutz, who started with three clubs, Jc-6c-3c. By the time the boards ran out, BackdoorNuts rivered two pair, Jc-6c-3c-3d-2d-Kh-Js. Dbl_MeUp_Plz never improved and was eliminated in 22nd place, earning $2,509.20.
4:45am-- Badabang fizzles out in 23rd
After capping 3rd street with Power1111, badabang slowly tossed in his remaining 169 in chips making a 89,138 chip pot in the Stud Hi/Lo section with blinds at 12000/24000 ante 2400.
badabang: 3d-4s/2d-Th
Power1111: Js-Jd/4h-Ad
Well ahead for the hi, Power1111 only had to worry about splitting the pot, but badabang could only find a 7h on 6th to end up with a king hi board and no low to Power1111’s aces up. badaband earned $2,509.20 for 23rd place.
4:43am-- Million chip man found, TJ Cookier hits the rail in 24h
troyomac is now over one million in chips thanks to eliminating edruseli in 24th place. Showing a board of x-x/As-7d-4h troyomac lead out on 5th street, with edruseli showing x-x/Td-Ah-8d the two players capped the street.
A 9c for troyomac and Qc for edruseli was enough for edruseli to get his remaining 52,214 into the middle for a whopping 363,428 chip pot. Trip aces for troyomac versus the trip eights caught by edruseli on 5th was enough for troyomac's victory.
4:35am-- Holy BabyJeebus99! Quads are good
“only quads” BabyJeebus99 calmly stated after showing down quad deuces in a Limit Stud hand against badabang who got knocked down to 76,169 in chips after BabyJeebus99 raked in the 199,000 chip pot and chipped up to 258,987 total.
4:30am--Dbl_MeUp_Plz gets his wish
The game was stud. On sixth street, showing a board of x-x / 7d-6h-Th-4s, Dbl_MeUp_Plz raised all in and was called by his lone opponent, hoorah. After the river was dealt, hoorah had made two pair, kings and deuces. It didn't matter -- Dbl_MeUp_Plz had an eight-high straight on sixth street and doubled up to 103,542. 4:22am--The pain of razz
Razz is a frustrating game. One street can change everything -- the cards break good for your opponent and bad for you, and you have to fold. That's the situation hoorah found himself in. With a board of x-x / 9s-5d-Qc, hoorah bet but was raised by 102976, who showed x-x / 2c-Ks-7h. hoorah made the call and walked into disaster on sixth street. 102976 caught the 5h, and hoorah paired his board with the 5c. 102976 bet 20,000 and hoorah reluctantly folded (probably after throwing something through a window).
102976 now has 680,000 chips and has been on quite a rush during the last half-hour.
4:20am-- Down to four tables and Razz on everyone’s mind
Level 53 Razz round, and 28 players are awaiting the squish into three tables where the big prizes start entering player’s thoughts as we are nearing twelve total hours behind the monitors this evening/morning/afternoon (actually since we’re global it could be any time of day!). Aside from stating the obvious the blinds are currently sitting at 10000/20000 ante 2000 with the average stack at 220,000 chips and 102976 standing numerically superior with ~680,000 in chips.
4:12am--One scoop can change fortunes
The object of the game in Omaha Hi/Lo is to scoop -- to win both the high half of the pot and the low half of the pot. Doing so can allow a player to go screaming up the chip counts like 102976 just did. It was a battle of the blinds, with DealtheCards raising from the small blind and 102976 calling.
Three bets went in on a flop of Qh-6h-7d, with DealtheCards putting in the third. When the turn came Ad, 102976 raised DealtheCards again, and this time DealtheCards just called. The river was a gin card for 102976, the 4d. After DealtheCards checked, 102976 bet 16,000. DealtheCards made the call with 4c-Qc-Qs-5s, three queens for high and 7-6 for low. Both were second-best when 102976 showed 7h-5d-3s-2h, a seven-high straight for high and 6-4 for low. That was a 176,000-chip scoop.
Just five hands later, 102976 scooped again holding As-Ac-Ts-7h after flopping an ace for three aces and backing into a low. Just like that, 102976 had 486,000 in chips and was in second chip position.
4:08am-- Cutie has a nose for whiskey fueled bets
VietCutie was not fazed by the three-bet by whiskey_edge on the turn nor the bet on the river in this 196,000 chip pot. With blinds at 8000/16000 and leaving only 5,929 behind, VietCutie called the river bet by whiskey_edge on a board of 5c-Js-6h-8c-4s. whiskey_edge was on a stone bluff with Ks-3s; VietCutie's Ah-Jd made top pair, top kicker on the flop and took down the pot. VietCutie is now sitting on 200,000 in chips with the game changing to Limit Omaha Hi/Lo.
4:03am--Greenstein makes top-top work
Once again, limit hold'em seems to be providing more action than any of the other games in the rotation. Ghamayun opened with a raise to 16,000 from the button. Barry Greenstein, next to act in the small blind, put in a three-bet to 24,000 that only Ghamayun called. On a flop of Jh-7h-5d, Greenstein bet 8,000 and was raised by Ghamayun to 16,000. He called.
The tables were turned on the... er... turn of 6h. Greenstein checked to Ghamayun, then raised after Ghamayun bet 16,000. Again Ghamayun called. Greenstein fired one last time on the river As and Ghamayun made the call. Greenstein showed Ah-Jc for top two pair and a winner. He now has over 350,000 chips.
4:01am-- Sensor sixes snaps up chips
Two sixes are a good starting hand in Hold Em’ but even better when they match a third one on the flop. That's what happened for Sensor; it resulted in a sizable 164,000 chip pot heading in his direction. He moved over the 300,000-chip plateau with the win.
3:53am--Bottom pair is good!
Now we see how chip leader, troyomac, has amassed his 537,445 chips -- he makes bottom pair stand up. Sitting in the big blind, troyomac called a raise to 16,000 from Power 1111, who was in early position. A very dry board was spread in the middle of the table, consisting of the Td, the 5h and the 3c. troyomac checked and called a bet from Power 1111. On the turn Kd, troyomac mixed things up by opening with a bet. Power 1111 tanked for ten seconds before making the call. Both players checked the Tc that hit the river. Improbably, troyomac's Ah-3h, which made two pairs, tens and threes, was the winner.
3:48am--Ten hours of play later
Level 51
Blinds 8000/16000 (Limit Hold Em’ coming up)
Average Chip Stack: 179,228
Players Remaining: 35
First Prize: $67,330.20
We're in the Stud Hi/Lo portion of the tournament again, which often results in lots of chops. edruseli (complete with "T.J. Cookier" avatar") and Barry Greenstein went heads-up for a pot that didn't chop. Greenstein brought it in with the 6d before edruseli completed his Ad to 6,000. Only Greenstein called.
edruseli led out on 4th street with x-x / Ad-Qd and Greenstein called with x-x / 6d-Jc. Greenstein paired his six on fifth street but checked to edrulsei, who checked behind after catchign the 7h. When both players caught seeming bricks on sixth street, 9c for Greenstein and 2c for edruseli, Greenstein again checked and then folded when edruseli bet.
Don't cry for Greenstein though -- he still has 270,000 in chips.
3:40am-- Five-way traffic jam ends nicely for whiskey_edge for a $100K pot
Sometimes it's not the cards you hold, it’s the ones everyone else can see. With five people seeing 6th street, whiskey_edge’s board was showing an extremely strong x-x/4h-As-3h-2h in Limit Stud Hi/Lo. Only MarMoss stuck around for seventh street after whiskey pushed out a bet on sixth, but MarMoss folded after another bet by whiskey handing over the 102,600 chip pot without a fight and whiskey_moss is now above average with 200,472 in chips.
3:29am--Greenstein wins without a fight
Barry Greenstein is continuing to chip up steadily. He won a 94,000-chip pot on the river without a showdown. Showing a board of x-x / Td-9c-6c-Ad / x, Greenstein had led the betting on every street and fired again for 12,000. His opponent was mavet, whose board showed x-x / 7d-3h-6d-8h / x. After calling all the way to the river, mavet folded rather than pay one more bet to make sure he was beat. Greenstein now has about 300,000 chips.
3:28am-- Final table over/under time of arrival
Place your fictional bets as level 49 bring Limit Stud with 6000/12000 ante 1200 and we’re currently watching 41 players battle it out down to the final eight. troyomac is making a push for almost 400,000 in chips has Barry Greenstein has slipped to 4th overall.
Our guess is around 7:15am, what’s yours?
3:22am--Rabscuttle will try again later
The game was razz, a game that most poker players love to hate. 1hugeidiot completed the bring-in with the 3h and was called by Rabscuttle with the 5d. Both players caught good on fourth street; Rabscuttle drew the 8c and 1hugeidiot drew the 4h. 1hugeidiot, with the lower board, bet 5,000. Rabscuttle called.
On fifth street, the first big-bet street, 1hugeidiot improved again with the 2s. Rabscuttle's board started to look very rough when he caught the 7s. 1hugeidiot bet 10,000, sending Rabscuttle into the tank. He may finally have decided his board was to rough to consider continuing all the way to the river. He folded.
3:21am-- New benchmark reached by Team PokerStarsPro Barry Greenstein
300,000 chip mark has now been cracked, and it’s the chip leader Barry “barryg1” Greenstein doing the deed. The Team PokerStars Pro has solidly kept his stack in the top five for the past few hours and is looking solid for a final table run this evening/morning as only hoorah with 250K in chips has an above average chip stack his his Table 188.
3:14am-- Razz it up
Razz returns for level 48 with blinds at 5000/10000 ante 1000. With 43 players left and the average stack creeping up over 14 big blinds the stacks are staying ahead of the blind so far. But, with the extra 1000 chips exiting everyone’s stacks before the cards are dealt the Stud games could push players to make some moves.
Joining Sensor at Table 143 is jejune524 who also has a WCOOP final table under his belt. And like Sensor is looking for improve on busting first at the final table, when he banked $11K for his sixth place finish in Event #17 of the 2007 WCOOP.
3:07am--Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater eliminated
Katja Thater's luck finally ran out. Down to a mere 8,800 in chips with limits of 5,000 and 10,000, Thater raised all in and was called in three spots, which probably wasn't a good sign for her. From there, it got worse and worse for Thater. There was betting on every street of a Qc-Jc-Tc-As-6h board except for the river. Thater couldn't beat rotonut's flopped straight that he made with Kd-Qh-Ac-2h. She was eliminated in 48th place, where she earned $1,212.78. With her elimination, the only remaining Team PokerStar Pro in tonight's event is Barry "barryg1" Greenstein, currently in 6th chip position with 234,218 chips.
3:05am--hoorah for the river!
The game has switched once again, this time Omaha Hi/Lo. mavet opened with a raise to 10,000 from early position and only the big blind, hoorah, made the call.
The flop put out two cards to a low, 5c-6d-Qs. hoorah checked, then called mavet's bet. When the Ad hit the turn, hoorah checked and called again. The river 2s was a gin card, apparently -- hoorah led out for 10,000, and with so much money in the pot, mavet made the call. hoorah tabled 4s-7s-Qh-3h for the nut-nut and a scoop.
3:00am-- You like these games, I like others
Rabscuttle and dobieatwar are currently discussing when they plan to be taking the most chips as we move into Limit Omaha Hi/Lo. Level 47 has blinds set at 5000/10000 and only 50 players remaining as the average chip count is hovering around 12 big blinds.
Here’s Rabscuttle pleding dobie for a little more flop game time:
Rabscuttle: but can u pls not take all allotted time to fold lol
Rabscuttle: i liek these games =(
dobieatwar: I did not
Rabscuttle: just half tim ebank
Rabscuttle: compromise
Rabscuttle: lol
2:56am--Ghamayun's queens find a sister on the flop
Ghamayun, one of the big stacks remaining in this tournament, hooked up with rotonut in a raised pot preflop. The flop came down Ah-Qs-2h, which perfectly match Ghamayun's Qc-Qd. He played rotonut like a fiddle and collected 78,000 chips from the pot when all was said and done. That pot pushed Ghamayun back up over 300,000 in chips.
2:53am-- Bdbeatslayer fending off beats tonight
Getting short stacked currently with 54,358 in chips with blinds at 4000/8000 for this round of Limit Hold Em’, Bdbeatslayer is looking to add to his sizable $26,192.80 take for 4th place in Event #3’s Limit Hold Em’ event. Find Bdbeatslayer's road to the Event #3 final table here at the PokerStarsBlog's live reporting post of that tourney.
2:44am-- Hour ten chip counts, double digit hours in, single digit tables left
Level 46
Blinds 4000/8000 (Limit Hold Em’ coming up)
Average Chip Stack: 101,177
Players Remaining: 62
First Prize: $67,330.20
2:40am-- Sensor looking to improve on 2007 WCOOP final table
Currently 7th in chips heading into the break as we finish up level 45’s Limit Stud Hi/Lo round, Sensor is no stranger to the late tournament game in the WCOOP. He made the Stud Hi/Lo final table in last year’s tournament series getting $5,681 for eighth place and is looking as several others are at that $67K first prize tonight.
2:35am--He'll be here all week, folks
As we mentioned earlier, Team PokerStars Pros get asked questions. Lots of questions. Some of them border on ridiculous. After a recent question by a railbird asking Barry Greenstein if he grew up religious, railbird Fats488 decided to poke fun at the other railbirds.
"Barry feel free not to answer but whats your SS# ?" he asked.
Greenstein, ever the comedian, responded, "888-88-8888. That's why the asian women like me."
With Greenstein currently fourth in chips, expect a few more quips throughout the night.
2:31am-- Good effort again, but still no double bracelet winner, playitsafe out
playitsafe will not get a matching 2008 WCOOP bracelet for his other wrist tonight as his short stack of 16,414 found it way into the middle by fourth street against the top five chip stack of troyomac. Holding a pair of nines against troyomac’s aces, troyomac would improve to aces up on fourth which was more then enough as playitsafe did not improve and is out in 79th place good for $1,045.50
2:29am--Thater finds another double-up
Not for the first time in this HORSE tournament, Katja Thater has staved off elimination with a double-up. All of her chips were in the middle by sixth street of a Seven-Card Stud hand against her lone opponent, Rabscuttle. Thater made aces up by fourth street, showing As-7c-7s-Ac-3d-Th; Rabscuttle had kings up with Js-Kd-Ah-Jd-4s-Kc. He needed to find a king or a jack on the river to knock out Thater, but it didn't happen. Rabscuttle's river was the 2c, and Thater now has 45,000 chips.
2:27am-- VietCutie: short stack attacker, KO’s IWillGetThere and reaches 200K in chips
With only 6,966 chips, IWillGetThere popped the opening raise of VietCutie to a three-bet all-in. VietCutie called the extra 966 chip bet as they both flipped over big pairs on 3rd street:
VietCutie: Ac-Ah/9h
IWillGetThere: Qd-Kh/Kd
Fifth street gave IWillGetThere the lead with running 2s as he got there, but only for a moment as VietCutie paired her doorcard with the 9s on 7th and IWillGetThere exited in 83rd place.
2:22am--Together again
For the second time this tournament, Barry Greenstein and his cook, "luney", are seated at the same table. This time Greenstein is the one with position
2:20am--Ghamayun's runner-runner cripples Thater
Katja Thater started a recent Seven-Card Stud hand with buried sevens and a Td door card, raising chip leaer Ghamayun who had completed the bring-in showing a 3s. Ghamayun called. Thater bet fourth street and fifth street, finally slowing down and checking on sixth street when the boards showed:
Ghamayun checked behind, taking the free card. Both players checked again. Thater was unable to improve on her original pair of sevens, but Ghamayun caught another ace on the river to make a running pair of aces and take down the pot. Thater has just 21,000 chips remaining.
2:16am--Greenstein's in a joking mood
Team PokerStars Pros, like Barry Greenstein, often draw dozens of railbirds when they play on PokerStars. Those railbirds offer incessant encouragement but also like to ask question. Lots of questions. Greenstein never fails to answer most of the questions thrown his way.
Flush with chips, he seems to be in a joking mood tonight. Railbird jr-wizzle told Greenstein, "[Mike] Matusow told me the other day he is one of the top 5 horse players in world..watcha think"
Without missing a beat, Greenstein replied, "Maybe a top 5 horse rider, now that he lost so much weight."
2:12am--Killer tables
With players consolidating down to 11 tables, chips and strong players are starting to bunch up. Katja Thater finds herself in an unenviable position on Table 86, seated between chip leader Ghamayun on her right and online wizard Rabscuttle to her left.
The players on Table 85 can't be too thrilled either. They have the players in second and third chip position, troyomac and Team PokerStars Pro Barry "barryg1" Greenstein, seated at opposite ends of the table.
2:10am-- The players breathe a sigh of relief, Razz is back!
Level 43 brings 3000/6000 ante 600 blinds and the love of worse hand wins the pot. There are 87 players still chasing the $67,330.20 first prize this evening as Ghamayun was the first player to crack the 200,000 chip mark.
2:03am-- shaundeeb shuffles off to bed
After a long night in Barcelona at the EPT, shaundeeb can shuffle off to bed. He got his last 8,608 chips in the middle preflop during the Omaha Hi/Lo round with Ac-Ts-5s-4d. He was called by Bdbeatslayer, who showed As-2h-3h-3d. Bdbeatslayer's small hearts made a flush on a board of Qs-8h-Kh-6h-Jc to take down the pot and eliminate shaundeeb in 101st place, an elimination worth $920.04 to shaundeeb.
1:59am--Down to double digits in players, The Bear takes the chip lead
Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein is simply running over Table 69. He scooped another pot in Omaha Hi/Lo after calling a raise from the big blind. The flop was all high cards, Jd-9h-Ac. Greenstein checked to his opponent, bachlant, who obliged with a bet of 2,500 that Greenstein check-raised to 5,000. bachlant called, and to the turn they went.
Greenstein bet the 8h turn and the As river, showing down Jh-Qs-8s-Th for a queen-high straight. He had flopped a partial wrap that filled on the turn. That pot pushed him over 200,000 in chips, the first player to eclipse that mark. It also gave him the chip lead with only 97 players remaining.
1:55am--shaundeeb on life support, and now out in 101st
Things continue to head south for shaundeeb. He waged a preflop raising war with Dc810 that led to a capped pot. Dc810 bet 2,500 on the 4h-Ad-2d flop and got a call from shaundeeb. When the turn fell 8h, Dc810's bet chased shaundeeb out of the pot. shaundeeb was left with only 8,608 which went in with a hand versus Bdbeatslayer pre-flop but his broadway straight was no match for Bdbeatslayer's flush.
1:52am-- Getting back to par, Thater doubles up
A big two hand swing for Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater as she just took down a 42,500 chip pot with a straight, but it was having pocket kings hold up against Big Slick during the Hold'em round that got her stack back into par territory.
1:47am--shaundeeb rivered out of 32k pot
shaundeeb is playing from Barcelona, where it is currently very early in the morning, after a long night at the EPT. We could almost hear his tired disappointment through the computer screen in a recent hand against Bdbeatslayer. shaundeeb opened the pot preflop with a raise before Bdbeatslayer three-bet from the small blind. shaundeeb called.
Bdbeatslayer bet the flop and the turn, and shaundeeb called both bets. On the river, the board read 4c-Qh-6h-Jh-9d. Both players checked, with Bdbeatslayer turning over Ah-9s for a river pair of nines. shaundeeb sighed and mucked his hand. After a recent rush, that pot dropped shaundeeb back to 48,608 in chips.
1:45am-- That's Mr. shaundeeb to you
While we attempt to cover the 14 tables remaining two PokerStars MTT crushers chat about the difficulty of keeping with more then one task at a time:
Rabscuttle: impossible to paly
Rabscuttle: and aim chat
shaundeeb: ....
shaundeeb: i do it everyday
shaundeeb: with lots of tables
Rabscuttle: well
Rabscuttle: ur shaundeeb
Rabscuttle: so
shaundeeb: that I am
1:40am-- Hour nine chip counts, Team PokerStars Pro Barry Greenstein leads the pack
Level 41
Blinds 2500/5000 (Limit Hold Em’ coming up)
Average Chip Stack: 53,615
Players Remaining: 117
First Prize: $67,330.20
Barry Greenstein (barry1) 142,273
Katja Thater (Katja Thater) 18,404
Humberto Brenes (Humberto B.) OUT 257
Dario Minieri (Dariominieri) OUT 321
Luca Pagano (LucaPagano) OUT 389
Greg Raymer (FossilMan) OUT 449
Isabelle Mercier (NoMercy) OUT 467
Gavin Griffen (gavingriffen) OUT 576
Hevad Khan (RiNKhaN) OUT 799
Tom McAvoy (Tom McAvoy) OUT 805
Chad Brown (ChadBrownPRO) OUT 874
Bill Chen (BillChen) OUT 965
Steve Paul-Ambrose (stevejpa) OUT 970
Vanessa Rousso (LadyMavverick) OUT 1260
Marcin Horecki (Goral) OUT 1353
Raymond Rahme (Ray Rahme) OUT 1416
Elky (Elky) OUT 1669
Lee Nelson (LeeNelsonP*) OUT 1715
Victor Ramdin (VictorRamdin) OUT 1961
1:29am--Break can't come soon enough for Greenstein's opponents
Barry Greenstein has won another pot, this one in Stud Hi/Lo. He led the betting all the way to the river and was called on every street by AJB444. At showdown, Greenstein turned over Qc-Qh / Ks-Th-6s-6h / 7d for two pair, queens and sixes. AJB444 couldn't beat that hand, and so another pot worth 35,200 slid Greenstein's way. He has over 140,000 chips and is in third chip position.
1:25am-- We’re not the only show in town tonight
Be sure to hit up the Event #17 $530 buy-in Pot Limit Hold Em’ 6-max live blog if you enjoy spamming the refresh button like a remote control during a boring night of TV filled with bad sitcoms and QVC trying sell you juicers for $24.99 plus shipping and handling. Also, fresh stories coming in from the EPT event currently taking place in Barcelona where the final table just got named.
1:20am--Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuush!
Barry Greenstein has hit a rush in the Seven-Card Stud round of the tournament, winning four pots in a row to jump to over 120,000 in chips. Three of those hands went to showdown, where Greenstein came up with a straight, two pair sevens and fives, and two pair kings and deuces.
1:18am-- playitsafe trying to strike gold again, now 3rd in chips
With 145 players remaining, playitsafe is trying once again for a second bracelet after taking down the 2-7 Triple Draw title in Event #4. His aggression got him one title and four other cashes in the current WCOOP series, will it net him a second bracelet?
1:03am--Beware the razz World Champion during the razz round
The winners of the last two WSOP razz bracelets -- Barry Greenstein in 2008, and Katja Thater in 2007 -- are both still in the field. Thater recently gave MarMoss a razz lesson. MarMoss completed the Ac before Thater raised the 6d. The two were heads-up to fourth street and both bricked, Thater catching the Tc and MarMoss the Qd. Thater led out and, stubbornly, MarMoss called. Both players caught well on fifth street, with Thater drawing the 2d and MarMoss the 8h. Thater kept firing and MarMoss kept calling. Sixth street was another brick for both players, as they both paired - Thater with the 2c, MarMoss with the Ah. Thater bet and called, then bet and called again on the river. Her down cards, 3d-4c-9c, made a 9-6 that beat MarMoss' J-8. After the hand, Thater's chip count jumped to 57,044.
1:00am-- Hoorah! I’m the first to 100,000 chips!
hoorah out on table 265 is celebrating his sizable chip lead as he is the first to cross the 100,000 chip barrier as we move to level 38 with Razz for all. The current level is 1600/3200 blinds with a 320 ante.
12:56am--Greenstein loves the Omaha
The current round of Omaha Hi/Lo has proven quite a boon for Barry Greenstein. He is sitting on over 76,000 in chips after scooping three pots in the span of seven hands. The third pot was the largest. Greenstein's preflop raise was called by the big blind, SJongeJongen. Greenstein bet the 4c-2d-8s flop, then called when SJongeJongen raised. The turn brought the Qc and a bet from SJongeJongen. Again Greenstein called. On the river 3c, SJongeJongen checked and then called Greenstein's bet. Greenstein turned over Ad-7s-4d-5d for a wheel and a scoop. Incidentally, his cook, "luney", got broken away from his table.
12:53am-- Seems like only a moment ago…
... that we were at the bubble with 305 players left, now with Limit Omaha Hi/Lo in level 37 and blinds at 1600/3200 we’re down to 180 players remaining. The average chip stack is sitting around 35,000 chips and the players are now assured $501.84 for their efforts.
12:49am--Win some, lose some
Hold'em seems to be providing the most action for the last hour or two. Katja Thater took down a 16K pot with Ah-Qs when she flopped top pair, top kicker but gave it right back on the next hand by losing a 19K pot to flopped top two. With the game now switching to Omaha Hi/Lo, perhaps things will slow down.
12:45am--18K pot to Rabscuttle
Being dealt a big pocket pair is always a good feeling. Having them hold up feels even better. Rabscuttle raised from under the gun to 2,400, folding everyone around to shaundeeb, on the button, who reraise to 3,600. Rabscuttle called.
The flop was an unfrightening Ts-7d-Th. Rabscuttle checked, then raised to 2,400 after shaundeeb fired a continuation bet. shaundeeb made the call, then called again on the 6c turn when Rabscuttle led out for 2,400. Both players checked the Ad river. Rabscuttle's Qd-Qs for two pair, queens and tens, was the winning hand, vaulting Rabscuttle to 44,020 in chips. shaundeeb had made a small recovery recently, but slipped back down to 18,540 as a result of this hand.
12:42am-- Rabscuttle in the money again
We’re in Event #18 tonight and online pro Rabscuttle with the menacing Syracuse Orange icon is doing some damage once again tonight. Making his 6th cash and 33% cashing rate during this WCOOP series, and a former WCOOP final tablist in 2005, we’ll be keeping an eye on him as the night progresses.
12:30am--Online poker is so rigged
We finally figured out Barry Greenstein's cryptic comment from earlier. It seems that three members of his household (Barry, a part-time resident, and the cook) are all playing in this tournament. Each of them is doing well. Or rather, was doing well until a recent table change landed the cook, screen-name "luney", at Greenstein's table on his immediate left!
"CRAPPPPP!!!!", said luney.
"This is TOOOO sick." Greensten agreed.
"At least I have position on him," considered luney thoughtfully. "Do not unleash your wrath on me Barry."
Greenstein took off the gloves, firing back, "I have your wife in my office. be careful. And she's a beautiful asian woman, for those who don't know."
Greenstein's love of Asian women is well known and has been fodder for numerous Internet humor pieces.
"OK OK take it easy there ", said luney.
Greenstein jokingly warned him a second time. "I think you are the one who had better take it easy."
Greenstein currently is sitting on 43,262 in chips as luney simmers over 46,805
12:29am-- And back to flops, Level 36 brings back Limit Hold Em’:
With blinds at 1200/2400 the average stack of 29,000 chips is only sitting on ~12 big blinds meaning one wrong hand could send our players from par stack to no stack quickly. 214 players remaining as the bubble burst continues to flush more players out of the tourney.
12:24am-- The Shark gets eaten, Humberto Brenes is out in 257th
While in the Limit Stud 1000/2000 blind ante 200 level number 35, Team PokerStars Pro found himself tangled for his tournament life starting the hand with just 3,750 in chips starting out with x-x/4d Brenes brought in for 300 and called by DaveDiscount showing 5h, Pliny, Elder popped it to 1000 showing the Js. Humberto decided to take a stand and raised, this got DaveDiscount out of the way, and Elder put in another raise as Brenes shove his remaining 550 chips all-in.
By sixth here’s out the cards showed:
Pliny, Elder: x-x/Js-4s-Ts-Qc
Humberto B. x-x/4d-Ks-2c-Td
No pairs on the board but both players would flip over two pair, as Brenes would showdown Tens and Fives, but couldn’t top the Queens and Jacks of Pliny, Elder and Humberto B. would have to settle for 257th place tonight.
12:16am--shaundeeb moving in the wrong direction
shaundeeb has been struggling to acquire chips through the last several games. Showing the 7d as his door card in Stud Hi/Lo, he completed the bring-in to 1,200 after two players limped in. Those players, monstershark and PapaHarkin, both called.
shaundeeb paired sevens on fourth street and took the lead with a bet of 1,200. Again both other players called. That was also the case on fifth street. On sixth street, the boards read:
shaundeeb now checked, eliciting a bet of 2,400 from monstershark and a raise to 4,800 from PapaHarkin. shaundeeb had to fold, but monstershark called, then raised all-in to 2,616 after PapaHarkin bet the river. PapaHarkin called only to get scooped. monstershark showed down 2c-5c-7h-4d-9c-6d-8h for a nine-high straight for the high half of the pot and a 7-6 low for the low half. PapaHarkin only had jacks and fours.
After this hand, shaundeeb retained 18,720 chips.
12:09am-- The floodgates have officially opened
Following the bust out of our 305th place finisher this evening, another 30 players push their stacks towards the middle with no returns. We are at level 34 a Limit Stud round with 1000/2000 blinds and a 200 ante.
12:02am--GSUSLIVS is dead; bubble pops
All the players remaining in the tournament owe a debt of gratitude to GSUSLIVS, who went out in 305th place and was our bubble boy.
12:00am-- Two to the bubble as we’re hand-for-hand at midnight
Midnight is going to the strike in more then one way for the next couple of bust outs as we’re officially on the bubble.
11:54pm-- Dario all-in and no split means no chips, out in 321st
Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri was riding a short stack into this hand with SJongeJongen. Minieri raised from the small blind holding only 3,096 in chips starting the hand, and SJongeJongen three-bet from the big blind as the rest of the table let the two go at it when Minieri called. On the flop of Jc-7c-Js SJongeJongen forced Minieri to get the rest of his chips into the middle and flipped over A-A-7-7 for the flopped boat, leaving Mineri searching for a runner-runner low holding A-2-4-Q. With the Jh on the turn Mineri was drawing dead and out just before the money in 321st.
11:48pm--Greenstein gets his chips back, with interest
Barry Greenstein is talking to us through the tournament chat. He typed, "update for bloggers: our house rules: luney (cook) 38k. vietcutie (parttime resident) 50k, me only 17k." He then proceeded to scoop two pots in Omaha Hi/Lo to chip up to 35k.
In the first, he raised from the small blind to 1,600 and was called by Fibear in the big blind. On a flop of Jh-2c-Th, Greenstein bet, then called when Fibear raised. The turn was another big card, the Ks, and brought a check from The Bear. When Fibear bet 1,600, Greenstein check-raised to 3,200 and Fibear called.
The river put a fourth Broadway card on board, the Jc. Greenstein bet, and when Fibear called Greenstein showed down Ac-Qc-Tc-7c for a Broadway straight and a scooped pot.
In the second hand, Greenstein raised from late position, but was reraised by Fibear behind him. Short-stacked tentacul then moved all in for 2,812. Greenstein and Fibear both called and checked the flop of 6c-Jd-9h. On the turn Qd, Greenstein bet 1,600 and Fibear called. It was second verse, same as the first on the 5h river. Greenstein showed down 5d-9s-7h-Ad for two pair, nines and fives, for the hi. No low was possible, and when Fibear mucked and tentacul turned over Ks-3c-5s-Kc, Greenstein scooped again.
11:44pm--The Bear can't top two
Barry Greenstein was in the big blind against Believer82 in the small blind and decided to call a raise when action folded to Believer82. The two players took a flop showing As-9h-5d in the Omaha Hi/Lo round. Believer82 fired out a continuation bet that Greenstein raised.
Believer82 called the raise, then led out again on the Td turn. Greenstein called that bet, then called again when the river fell Kc. Believer82 showed Ah-Th-7s-6c for two pair, aces and tens, a hand that Greenstein couldn't beat. No low was possible, so Believer82 scooped the pot.
11:41pm-- Omaholics line up, your game is ready
Blinds remain the same at 800/1600 as level 32 switches to Omaha Hi/Lo with 327 players still in and 23 to the money bubble.
11:37pm-- Humberto meet OmahaEd
Ed “OmahaEd” Tonnellier is currently seated a few seats to the left of Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes out on Table 80. Tonnellier made the final table of the $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo coming up just short of the bracelet as the runner-up while banking $118,000 for his efforts. Follow the link to the write up from PokerStarsBlog in 2007.
11:29pm--Katja comes out swinging
Straight from the break, the game has rotated back to hold'em. Katja Thater wasted no time chipping up. She three-bet mirri preflop in a battle of the blinds. On a flop of 6s-Jc-9c, mirri tried check-raising Thater's continuation bet, but Thater fired back with another three-bet that mirri called. Mirri check-called through the 6d turn and the 6c river to showdown, where Thater showed down Kd-Js for sixes full of jacks and the winner.
11:25pm-- 363 go out for dinner, 59 will come back famished
As the money bubble approaches, 304 players will be assured $313.65 tonight with a shot at the $67,330.20 awaiting the H.O.R.S.E. champion tonight. 59 players however will receive a cold plate of nothing as Limit Hold Em’ will be played with 800/1600 blinds when the players return to their tables.
11:12pm-- Dinner break chip number for hour number seven
Level 31
Blinds 800/1600 (Limit Hold Em')
Average Chip Count: 17,280
Players Remaining: 363 (304 make the money tonight)
First Prize: $67,330.20
Barry Greenstein (barry1) 28,084
Katja Thater (Katja Thater) 20,471
Humberto Brenes (Humberto B.) 14,450
Dario Minieri (Dariominieri) 7663
Luca Pagano (LucaPagano) OUT 389
Greg Raymer (FossilMan) OUT 449
Isabelle Mercier (NoMercy) OUT 467
Gavin Griffen (gavingriffen) OUT 576
Hevad Khan (RiNKhaN) OUT 799
Tom McAvoy (Tom McAvoy) OUT 805
Chad Brown (ChadBrownPRO) OUT 874
Bill Chen (BillChen) OUT 965
Steve Paul-Ambrose (stevejpa) OUT 970
Vanessa Rousso (LadyMavverick) OUT 1260
Marcin Horecki (Goral) OUT 1353
Raymond Rahme (Ray Rahme) OUT 1416
Elky (Elky) OUT 1669
Lee Nelson (LeeNelsonP*) OUT 1715
Victor Ramdin (VictorRamdin) OUT 1961
11:01pm-Luca Pagano is out
He made it all the way to Level 30 (Stud H/L 600/1200) but no further. He was very short when it started and was all in by 4th street. With three other people in the hand, things weren't looking good. And it wasn't to be. Luca Pagano is out in 389th.
10:57 pm - Game change
It's time to wrap up this level with another game change. We're now playing Stud Hi-Lo with stakes at 600/1,200 and antes of 120.
10:56pm - Minieri falls, Greenstein rises
It was in just the last hour when their roles were reversed. Barry Greenstein found himself relatively short needing to go on a rush. And Dario Minieri was busting through 20K in chips and feeling good.
How quickly things change. Minieri is now sitting at 6,644 while Greenstein is at 21,064.
10:50 pm - Nice one for Humberto
Humberto Brenes just scored a nice pot to jump up to 13,280.
mysterio6044 had the bring-in with the 2d, and Bad Beat Oz (Kh), Brenes (Jd), and Pliny, Elder (7c) all limped in behind him for 180.
On fourth street, Brenes showed Jd-Qh and led out for 600, with only mysterio6044 (showing 2d-Kd) calling. It was mysterio6044 who led out for 1,200 on fifth street after pairing with the Kc; Brenes called with the 5s.
mysterio6044 again led out on sixth street, showing 2d-Kd-Kc, and Brenes called the 1,200. When the river came, however, mysterio6044 checked and Brenes bet 1,200. After a good bit of thought, mysterio6044 released his hand and Brenes grabbed the 7,680 pot.
10:45 pm - Who's a Stud stud?
We're about to find out, as the game switches back to Stud with stakes of 600/1,200 and antes of 120.
10:44 pm - Raymer fossilized
Down to just 756, Greg Raymer was ready to make his stand. Razz had already claimed his fellow Team PokerStars Pro, Isabelle Mercier, and now it was Raymer's turn.
Unfortunately, his moderately promising start (a 4 showing) ran into a pair of 8s and a pair of 7s. The best he could manage was a J-T-8-7-4 while his opponent had a better than was needed 6-5-4-2-A. Raymer was out in 449th place.
10:39pm - Mercier hits the rail
She started the hand with A-7-2 to her opponents 9-2-A. When Isabelle Mercier paired her deuce on 4th street, she had a chance to lay down her hand and fight on with 2,500. Her opponent pulled a 6 on 4th and was looking strong. Mercier decided it was now or never and she went all in. By the river, she had a 7-6 low but her opponent had a 6-5 low. It was over and Isabelle Mercier was out in 467th place.
10:37 pm - No repeat this year
We don't know who will win tonight's event, but we do know we won't have a repeat champion. After rising as high as 8,000, jaliks hit the skids and found himself with a stack of just 703. He got all in a few hands into the Razz round, with his first four cards coming 6-3-4-8. He managed to brick the last three cards, though, and hit the rail in 481st place.
10:35pm - Mercier in trouble, Raymer joins her
With the average stack at more than 13K right now, Isabelle Mercier and Greg Raymer both find themselves in big trouble. Mercier has lost a few pots in a row and finds herself down to just 3,600. Raymer made an amazing comeback but found himself down to just 3,000. However, Raymer found the double up he was looking for when his 9-7 low edged out a T-7 low. It's going to be a long climb back up!
10:33 pm - Game change
It's time to play Razz, with stakes of 500/1,000 and antes of 100.
10:31 pm - Stealth
One player who's been flying under the radar today is Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes. How far under the radar? We managed to miss his presence in the leaderboard the entire day!
The Costa Rican fan favorite is at Table 80 sitting with 10,270, just about 2k below average at the moment.
10:25pm - Greenstein with a BIG pot and another one
It's Level 27 (Omaha Hi/Lo) and the stakes are high. It's just the right time to make a move.
Under the gun, Barry Greenstein raises to 1000. It's re-raised and Greenstein and another player called.
The flop was Qs-Th-7c. This time Greenstein check-raised to 1000 and he gets two caller.
The turn was the Qd. Greenstein lead out for 1000 and his opponents both fold. It's a pot of 8250.
Just two hands later, it's another 7500 for Greenstein and he's up for 14,000 for the first time.
10:22 pm - Game change
We're now playing Omaha Hi-Lo with stakes of 500/1,000 and blinds of 250/500.
10:21pm - Minieri breaks 20K, Raymer doubles up again!
Another big hand for Dario Minieri and we have our first Team PokerStars Pro to crack 20,000. His stack of 22,130 now has him back in the top 40. At the same time, Greg Raymer has built his stack from just 790 to 6,700. It's been an unlikely climb, but I'm sure Raymer is very happy to be alive!
10:20 pm - Griffin a goner
We've lost Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin. Down to just 1,523 after a late position steal that was called down by golferjon123, Griffin got his remaining chips in the middle before the flop last hand with A-3, only to fall to Rutis' 9-9. He finishes in 576th place.
10:17pm - Does the tide turn for Team PokerStars?
It was looking rather gray there for awhile, but things are looking up a bit. Dario Minieri has climbed about 18K. Katja Thater has been over 12K for a little while. Isabelle Mercier has recently climbed over 10K. Barry Greenstein has himself back up to 6K. And we've written about Greg Raymer's recent luck. We'll see if it continues!
10:17 pm - Raymer doubles again
It seems Greg Raymer is a little like Rasputin. He found himself all in again, this time with Jd-Td. His opponent had pocket 6s and we were off to the races. The flop provided no help, but the Jack on the turn was all Raymer needed. He's back up to 3,364.
10:14 pm - Greg Raymer gets a stay of execution
With next to nothing in front of him, Raymer was virutally all in in the big blind. His Qh-4h ran up against Qc-Tc. Not an envious position, but the flop brought a flush draw and the river filled it with hearts. Raymer lives with just 1,582.
10:11pm - Greg Raymer nearly out
The first hand out of the break and Greg Raymer is in big trouble. He started Level 26 with 3,991, but he's now down to just 791. Raymer says he flopped an open ended straight draw with J-T, but it was busted by the river and we never saw a showdown.
10:08 pm - Play resumes
We're back in action with Hold'em, stakes of 400/800 and blinds of 200/400.
10:02 pm - Break time
Level 26
Stakes 400/800
Players remaining: 589
Average stack: 10650
First prize: $67,330.20
Dario Minieri (Dariominieri) 18,730
Katja Thater (Katja Thater) 12,551
Isabelle Mercier (NoMercy) 8176
Gavin Griffin (gavingriffin) 6523
Luca Pagano (LucaPagano) 4463
Greg Raymer (FossilMan) 3991
Barry Greenstein (barry1) 3347
Hevad Khan (RaiNKhaN) OUT 799th
Tom McEvoy (Tom McEvoy) OUT 805th
Chad Brown (ChadBrownPRO) OUT 874th
Bill Chen (BillChen) OUT 965th
Steve Paul-Ambrose (stevejpa) OUT 970th
Vanessa Rousso (LadyMaverick) OUT 1,260th
Marcin Horecki (Goral) OUT 1,353th
Raymond Rahme (Ray Rahme) OUT 1,416th
Bertrand Grospellier (ElkY) OUT 1,669th
Lee Nelson (LeeNelsonP*) OUT 1,715th
Victor Ramdin (VictorRamdin) OUT 1,961st
10:00pm - Raymer, Greenstein looking for a miracle
With the stakes at 400/800 in this level of Stud, neither Barry Greenstein nor Greg Raymer have a lot of wiggle room.
Each was sitting at about 2,300 in chips before finding themselves either all in (Greenstein) or nearly all in (Raymer). Both survived, however and are now around 3,500. They'll need a lot more, and fast, if they want to stay competitive.
10:00 pm - Keeping the dream alive
Our defending champ has a little bit of breathing room now, but he's still got half the average stack. jaliks started with a split pair of nines against dhub24's (3h-4h)-5d. Things got a little scary on fourth street when dhub24 caught the 6c to give him an open-ended draw, but he never caught his outs and jaliks took the pot with two pair, nines and sevens.
jaliks now has 4,592.
9:52pm - Mercier loses a big one to Thater
They were bound to tangle sooner or later. And it came in Level 24 (Stud 300/600).
Isabelle Mercier brought in the first raise to 300 with her 8c showing. WiLDmAn75 raised to 600 and Katja Thater and Mercier both called.
Each made one bet on 4th street and another on 5th street. By 6th street, WiLDmAn75 wanted no part of this clash of the titans. The board showed:
Thater: 4h-Kh-2c-Td
Mercier: 8c-4c-Qc-As
On the river, there was another bet and at the showdown, Mercier obviously missed her spade flush draw, holding just a pair of 8's. Thater, on the other hand had a King-high heart flush.
Thater collected 7,470 from the pot and climbed to 11,551. Mercier fell to 4,456. The good news is that just a few hands later, Mercier found herself back up to 8,816.
9:51 pm - Splitting hairs
It's time to split a few pots again with some Stud Hi-Lo. We're playing with stakes of 400/800 and antes of 80.
9:45 pm - Oh, we're halfway there...
Defending $215 HORSE champion jaliks is living on a prayer in tonight's event, clinging to a stack of 1,844. That's after dragging the bring-in and antes a moment ago after opening the pot with an ace showing.
9:42pm - Dario Minieri gets one when he needs it
After his hot start, Minieri has found his chips slowly bleeding away.
In Level 24 (Stud 300/600), Minieri went to war with ramonieye. Minieri lead out with a bet every step of the way and ramonieye called each time. At the showdown, Minieri showed a straight, Ten to Ace. ramomieye mucked. Minieri got the Jack he needed on 6th street, but it's not clear whether he filled Broadway on the river or if he already had it. Either way, he was back up to 8,500.
Just three hands later, Minieri again hit an Ace-high straight, but this time we know he filled it on the river. And now Minieri is back up over 12,000 chips.
9:37 pm - Stud time
It's time to switch the game back to Stud, with stakes of 300/600 and antes of 60.
9:35pm-Team PokerStars hits a rough patch
The last level and a half have been awfully tough on about half of the Team PokerStars Pros remaining in the field. Here's how they've fallen:
Dario Minieri from about 14K to 8K
Isabelle Mercier from about 10K to 7K
Katja Thater from about 10K to 4K
Greg Raymer from about 10K to 3K
Barry Greenstein from about 7K to 3K
It's time to get rolling again!
9:33 pm - No second bracelet for Brown
Chad Brown won't be taking home another WCOOP HORSE bracelet tonight. After flying high in the early going, Brown found himself in desperate shape a few minutes ago with just 1,442 in his stack. He got all-in with 6-4-A as starting cards, but Zugie improved his 9-7-A starting hand to a 7-6-4-2-A by the river. That was enough to sink Brown in 874th place.
9:30pm - Greg Raymer takes a big hit
No one really likes Razz, right? That's where we are as we start Level 23. Greg Raymer started the hand with a solid 6,761, but ended the hand with about half that.
His board read 7h-8d-5c-Kc at the end, but what ever he had down wasn't good enough to beat doi_doiari's 7-5-3-2-A.
Now Raymer finds himself well below average and fighting his way back up.
9:26pm - Dario runs over his new table
With bustouts coming more frequently, players are moving from table to table a little more often. Dario Minieri is no longer sitting with Chad Brown. In fact, he's moved twice, and I think he likes his new table. No sooner had he sat down had Minieri won two of three pots, building his stack up to his new high point at 14,772, good for a spot in the Top 50.
9:26 pm - Razz-berry Beret
It's time to change the game to Razz, with stakes of 300/600 and antes of 60. We're down to just 933 players at this point and should see quite a few more hitting the rail now that we've moved up again.
9:20 pm - Barry says, "Watch out!"
Rumors of Barry Greenstein's demise were greatly exaggerated.
After being on life support for at least a level of two, Greenstein has found his rush. Winning 5 out of 8 hands has pushed Greenstein to about 7,300, about 1K more than average stack.
On his last pot, Greenstein raked in 3,500 with Broadway. He's dancing now!
9:14 pm - FossilMan busts one in a big pot
It's Level 21 (Hold 'Em 200/400) and Greg Raymer seems poised to make a move.
In the big blind, Raymer is dealt Ad-9c. It's raised in late position by Neoflo, re-raised by THE_D__RY and then raised again by Raymer to 800. Both players called.
The flop was 2h-7d-Th. It's checked the Neoflo, a short stack, who pushed their last 84 into the pot. Raymer and THE_D__RY call.
The turn was the Ac. RAymer bet 400 and is called. The river was the Qs. Raymer again bet 400 and was again called.
At the showdown, Raymer showed his pair of Aces and everyone else mucked. Raymer rakes a pot of 4,252, moving him above the 10K mark to 10,171.
9:12 pm - The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain
While the WCOOP continues to run its course with two events tonight, the EPT is playing down to a final table in Barcelona, Spain. Don't miss a second of EPT Season 5 Barcelona coverage with us on the PokerStars Blog.
9:05 pm - Blowin' in the wind
Gavin Griffin's stack is swinging back and forth in this hold'em round. He lost with A-K to Pliny, Elder's A-9 before falling to 5,573 when Pliny found himself a pair of aces and Griffin went all the way to showdown, often getting multiple bets in the middle.
One cure that's almost always sure to fix the Dropped My Stack Blues is flopping a set - and that's just what the doctor ordered for Griffin a few hands later, when his 5-5 hit the board from the big blind and made a full house on the turn, shipping a 3,300 pot to him.
He's got 7,473 at the moment, but as Girffin has showen us already, there's no telling where he'll be a minute from now.
9:04pm - Isabelle and Katja battle it out
It may sound like a dream table, sitting with the lovely Isabelle Mercier and the lovely Katja Thater... but it'll cost you. That's a scary table.
Each find themselves well above the average stack as we start Level 21. We'll keep our eyes on them and let you know how they make out!
9:01 pm - Ready to rumble
We're back in action now, playing Hold'em with stakes of 200/400 and blinds of 100/200.
8:56 pm - It's time for station identification
We've reached our fourth break of the day. Here's a look at the big picture.
Level 21
Stakes 200/400
Players remaining: 1139
Average stack: 5507
First prize: $67,330.20
Barry Greenstein (barryg1) 4247
Bill Chen (BillChen) 6742
Chad Brown (ChadBrownPRO) 6632
Dario Minieri (Dariominieri) 11872
Bertrand Grospellier (ElkY) OUT 1669
Greg Raymer (FossilMan) 8496
Gavin Griffin (gavingriffin) 8773
Marcin Horecki (Goral) OUT 1,353th
Katja Thater (Katja Thater) 7660
Vanessa Rousso (LadyMavverick) OUT 1,260th
Lee Nelson (LeeNelsonP*) OUT 1,715th
Luca Pagano (LucaPagano) 4432
Isabelle Mercier (NoMercy) 9192
Hevad Khan (RaiNKhaN) 5926
Raymond Rahme (Ray Rahme) OUT 1,416th
Steve Paul-Ambrose (stevejpa) 2116
Tom McEvoy (Tom McEvoy) 1426
Victor Ramdin (VictorRamdin) OUT 1,961st
8:52pm - Greenstein finds a little breathing room
Nearly all in just a few hands ago, Barry Greenstein now finds himself just about average.
Greenstein started the hand with a 2s showing. It was raised to 160 and Greenstein and one other player called.
On 4th street, Greenstein was dealt the As. He lead out for 160, luv2winalot raised, richiestone called, Greenstein re-raised, luv2winalot capped and both players called.
On 5th street, it was a 5d for Greenstein who lead out for 320, luv2winalot went all-in for less and richiestone called.
Sixth street brought Greenstein the 5d, giving him 2s-As-6d-5d showing, and a virtual lock on the low. He lead out for 320 and was called again.
After the river, it was another 320 from each and at showdwon, Greenstein showed a low of 8-6-5-2-A for all of the low pot. The all-in player had a full house for most of the high pot, but Greenstein's two pair got him the high in the side pot, too.
8:48 pm - It feels good to scoop!
Gavin Griffin is now knocking on the door of the Top 100 thanks to a big scoop against Pliny, Elder. In another hand where Griffin had the bring-in, he made a six-high straight in his first five cards against Pliny, Elder's (x-x)-Ah-Qh-Th-6c-(x) to scoop the 3,136 in the middle. That took him up to 9,109, the biggest stack at his table.
8:46pm - Brown in trouble?
He was up around 10,000 for much of the last few levels, but he's lost a lot of chips since then.
It's Level 20 (Stud Hi/Lo 160/320), and Brown got himself heads up with a short stack. All of breddz money was in the pot by 5th street and Brown needed the pot or he'd be down to just around 3,300.
When the cards were dealt, Brown finished two pair, Kings and Sevens while breddz was saved by a low hand of 8-5-4-3-A. Brown chopped the pot and was sitting at 4,202.
8:45 pm - Griffin gaining
Thanks to two consecutive pots in the Stud round, Gavin Griffin now more chips to work with. He won the first of those two pots on at showdown with a board of 3h-3s-5h-5s against FunkyRag and short-stacked chris75, taking him up to 6,261.
Then Griffin would tangle with FunkyRag again, as he's been doing all day. He won a 1,744 pot at showdown with just the buried pair of queens he started the hand with. That boosted him to 7,333, a far cry from his short stack earlier in the hour.
8:42 pm - The chopping block
It's time to chop a few pots - Stud Hi-Lo is now being played with stakes of 160/320 and antes of 32.
8:40pm - The Bear stays alive
With just 1,275 left, Barry Greenstein seemed content with going all in with a stud hand where he had a K showing. luv2winalot seemed content to go along... until 5th street. At that point, Greenstein had Kc-6s-6h showing and luv2winalot folded. Barry had less than one bet left in front of him at that point. But with the pot shipped his way, he was back up to 2,459.
8:38 pm - The patience of a champion
Being that it's comprised of 60% stud games, HORSE takes a lot of patience. jaliks, our defending champion, is proving that he's long on patience. He's hanging in there with a stack of 4,455, a little below average, picking good spots to build his stack a little at a time until he can pick up a monster.
8:31pm - Greenstein on life support
Average stack size at this point in the tournament is 4,572. Barry Greenstein would need to triple up to get there.
Absent any big hands, Greenstein has struggled to get any momentum going. He's sitting at just 1,503 chips and looking for anyone willing to double him up.
8:30 pm - Another twelve minutes, another game
We've moved around to Stud once again, with stakes of 160/320 and antes of 32.
8:26pm - Two Team PokerStars Pros in the Top 100
Only 1,394 players remain from the starting 2,091 entrants. And as Level 18 (Razz) nears a close, we find two PokerStars Pros in the Top 100.
Dario Minieri is 33rd with 10,371. Greg Raymer is 91st with 8,768.
Other Team PokerStars Pros are knocking on the door, including Chad Brown with 8,146. We'll have a full PokerStars Pro update at the break in about a half hour.
8:18 pm - Let's play Razz
It's time to switch to our lowball game of choice, Razz, with stakes of 120/240 and antes of 24.
8:17 pm - Brown takes a big one off Minieri
It was the first time the two big names squared off in a big pot and Chad Brown came out on top.
We're still in Level 17 (Omaha Hi/Lo 120/240). Dario Minieri raised from UTG to 240 and two players, including Brown, called.
The flop was 8s-9h-Qd. Minieri led out, LUCKYDOG97 raised, Brown and Minieri both called.
The turn was the 4c. Minieri checked to the raiser this time, who bet 240, getting called by both pros.
The river was the Ah. It was apparently a scare card for everyone because it was checked around. Here was the showdown:
Minieri: Kc-Kd-2s-Jd, a pair of Kings
LUCKYDOG97: 9c-Kh-8c-rh, two pair, Nines and Eights
Brown: Qh-7c-8h-Jc, two pair, Queens and Eights
Brown scooped 2,580 from the pot and climbed back up to 9,782, while Minieri was back down to 9,615.
8:11pm - Greg Raymer SCOOPS
When you'r playing Omaha Hi/Lo, it's nice to split a pot. At least that means you didn't lose anything. But you don't really make a move in this game unless you can find a few scoops.
Greg Raymer called 120 from early position. It was raised by the big blind and Raymer and one other player called to see a flop of 8h-As-Ad.
It was checked to Raymer who bet 120 and got called by both opponents. The turn was the 5c and Raymer lead out again, this time only getting called by daxfut.
The river was the 9h. Raymer bet one last time and got called again. At the showdown, Raymer scooped the pot with 7s-9C-Ah-Sc, which had given him aces full of nines and an 8-7 low. Daxfut just mucked and Raymer was up to 8,330.
8:10 pm - And just like that...
Gavin Griffin is back in the thick of things after a few nice pots.
The first came before the end of the hold'em round with Kd-Kc; cradshark_ was around to showdown on a board of 9d-7h-4d-Jh-5s but couldn't beat the cowboys. Griffin picked up a cool 2,150 pot to get back above 3k.
Then, just after the Omaha round began, Griffin pulled off a scoop of a 3,360 pot. The three-way action between Griffin, STUDstood, and marielaspan went four bets preflop, three bets on the flop, one bet on the turn, and no bets on the river once the board read 4c-Kd-Td-7h-Qc.
marielaspan showed Ad-9c-5h-2c for a whole lot of nothing; when Griffin showed Ah-Ks-5c-4h for two pair, kings and fours, STUDstood mucked and the pot went to Griffin. The former EPT Grand Final champ is now up to 5,465.
8:06 pm - Game change
All right, Omaholics, it's time for your game. Omaha Hi-Lo is being played now with stakes of 120/240.
8:04pm - Chad Brown and Dario Minieri make acquaintances
Dario Minieri is on a roll. And now he has fellow PokerStars Pro Chad Brown at his table to watch.
Minieri has won five out of the last six hands to climb from 8,890 to 10,765.
Brown was apparently feeling left out, however, because he came back to win the next hand to get back up to 7,642. Both are sitting well above average right now and Minieri finds himself in the top 25.
It's worth mentioning that Chad Brown has proven his HORSE prowess during WCOOP time before; back in 2006, under the screen name 'stelladora', he won the $5,200 HORSE event to add his name to the annals of WCOOP champions.
8:00pm - Minieri now in the Top 40
Apparently I don't know Dario Minieri as well as I thought. Since I last mentioned him, he's mostly treaded water before winning a nice pot right before the break and now another one right after the break.
In this last hand (Level 16, Hold 'em 100/200), re-raised from late position with 9s-7s. That's right, he RE-raised with 9s-7s.
He was heads up with dreadnoughts when the flop came 4s-2s-8c, giving Minieri a flush draw. It was checked to Minieri who bet 200. dreadnoughts called.
The turn was the 9d, a good card for Minieri, who now had top pair and a flush draw. He bet again, and was again called.
The river was a 6h, meaning Minieri missed his flush. He bet and was called again, finding out that his top pair was good enough. The 2,150 pot moved Minieri to 8,890.
7:56 pm - You've got to know when to hold 'em
And in this case, right now would be when, in fact, you want to hold 'em. We're back on the 'H' in HORSE, with stakes of 100/200.
7:49 pm - Break time
Level 16
Stakes 100/200
Players remaining: 1622
Average stack: 3867
First prize: $67,330.20
Barry Greenstein (barry1) 2381
Bill Chen (BillChen) 6242
Chad Brown (ChadBrownPRO) 6192
Dario Minieri (Dariominieri) 7790
Bertrand Grospellier (ElkY) OUT 1669th
Greg Raymer (FossilMan) 5130
Gavin Griffin (gavingriffin) 2185
Marcin Horecki (Goral) 1703
Katja Thater (Katja Thater) 4496
Vanessa Rousso (LadyMavverick) 4494
Lee Nelson (LeeNelsonP*) OUT 1715th
Luca Pagano (LucaPagano) 2088
Isabelle Mercier (NoMercy) 2434
Hevad Khan (RaiNKhaN) 3785
Raymond Rahme (Ray Rahme) 4198
Steve Paul-Ambrose (stevejpa) 2305
Tom McEvoy (Tom McEvoy) 2240
Victor Ramdin (VictorRamdin) OUT 1961st
7:39 pm - Griffin on the downswing
Gavin Griffin had the bring-in with the 6d a moment ago and came along after Pliny, Edler had raised the bet to 80. By sixth street Griffin's board read 6d-8c-5d-Qh against Pliny, Elder's Kd-2h-9d-3h.
Griffin led out after the two had checked the previous street, only to be raised. He called and the called another bet on the river, showing down queens and sixes, but Pliny had made two pair on fourth street with kings and deuces, good enough to claim the 1,248 pot.
Griffin dropped to 2,027 with that hand, and has since fallen to 1,455.
7:32pm - Chad Brown's roller coaster continues
In just six hands, Chad Brown has lost 2400 chips in three showdowns, more than a third of his stack.
The hands came in Level 14 (Stud 80/160). In the first one, Brown was basically heads up against PaperTouchin. At the river, his board showed 2c-Kc-Td-7d, but he lost to just a pair of Kings. He seemed reluctant to make the river call, so it's likely he missed a draw.
In the second hand, it was Brown against KingHomer. This time each player showed two pair, but King Homer had Kings and Fours and Brown had just Sixes and Fives.
In the third hand, Brown got to the river against lockace, but, again, was on the losing end to a pair of Kings.
7:25pm - Greenstein trying to hang in there
It hasn't been an easy run for Barry Greenstein recently. He was having trouble getting up over 2000 chips, until Level 13 (Razz 80/160) rolled around.
He got heads up in the hand against Lauren M. Greenstein had a 7s showing and Laren M had a 5d up. The betting continued all the way to the river with little in the way of raises as each player avoided bricks.
By the showdown, Greenstein had himself a 6-4-3-2-A low. Lauren M just mucked, and Greenstein had himself a 1,912 pot and was back up to 2968.
7:24 pm - And now for something completely different
Attention players: your rags are now worthless again. It's time to play Stud with stakes of 80/160 and antes of 16.
7:17 pm - Brown back in the Top 25
A few rough hands had Chad Brown out of the top 100. Well, he's back.
At the end of Level 12 (Omaha Hi/Lo 60/120), Brown was in the big blind. There was a raise to 120 in front of him and Brown called along with three other players.
The flop was Kc-Td-6s. After a couple bets, PaperTouchin raised to 120 and three players, including Brown, called.
Four players saw the 7d on the turn. It was checked to the raiser and PaperTouchin bet 120. Brown and the other three players all called.
The river paired the board with a 7h. PaperTouchin again bet 120, but this time Brown raised to 240 and only PaperTouchin called.
Brown showed Ad-Qs-Th-7c, giving him Sevens full of Tens. PaperTouchin mucked, and Brown scooped the 2,040 pot.
So who is Chad Brown, exactly? PokerStars.tv knows the pro well:
Here we go again: it's time for Razz, with stakes of 80/160 and antes of 16.
7:10pm - Dario Minieri finds the action
Back in August 2006, "Super" Dario Minieri burst on to the scene, making a deep run in the WSOP Main Event. We here at the PokerStars Blog knew lots about him, but the rest of the poker world was still trying to figure out just who this guy was.
They know now.
Minieri has no trouble finding the action. You'll often see him quickly climbing the leaderboard with wild swings up and down. If Dan Harrington is "Action" Dan, then Dario Minieri is "Sleepy" Dario.
As we hit Level 13, Minieri finds himself in 110th place with 5921 chips. Don't expect him to be there long. The next time we report on him, he could be in the Top 10, or he could be fighting his way back from a short stack.
7:07 pm - Now that's a big draw
Gavin Griffin had made a little headway after dropping that earlier hold'em hand against FunkyRag, getting back to 3,300, but he's back down to 2,903 now.
How did that happen? iiiPLiii flopped trips and a straight flush draw in a multi-way pot with 9s-8d-7s-6s, eventually rivering quads and extracting two bets there from Griffin with the board reading Ts-8s-8h-5s-8c.
7:00 pm - Game change
After letting the hold'em players have their way for 12 minutes, it's time to switch the game to Omaha Hi-Lo, with stakes of 60/120.
6:58pm - Falling off the HORSE
We're slowly working through all of my bad HORSE puns. This one is being used because Chad Brown just took another hit dropping him to the bottom of the top 100.
Out of early position in Level 11 (Hold'em 60/120), Brown raised from 60 to 120 with Jc-Qd. He gets just one caller.
The flop was 5h-Th-Td. Brown checked, xxxLev bet 60 and Brown called.
The turn seemingly helped Brown with a Qc. He checked, xxxLev bet 120 and Brown raised to 240. xxxLev called.
The river was a harmless 9c. Brown lead out for 120 and xxxLev called, and then showed Ad-Qs, out-kicking Brown's Jc. That dropped Brown to 5,640 and 98th place.
6:55 pm - When runner-runner is no good
We just dropped in to check on Gavin Griffin and saw him drop an unfortunate pot. With a limper in front of him he raised in the cutoff and FunkyRag called on the button. The limper also came along to the ^s-4c-3d flop, which got a bet from Griffin, a call from FunkyRag, and a fold from the limper.
The 7d came on the turn, and again the action went bet-call. Bet-call again on the 7h river, and Griffin showed Qc-7c for trips with the running sevens. It wasn't good enough to beat FunkyRag's As-5s, though, and he took the 1,050 pot with the straight.
Griffin now has 2,303, while FunkyRag has 6,048.
6:43 pm - Pause for the cause
We've reached our second break of the day after two full rotations of HORSE. We'll be back in five minutes for another round of Limit Hold'em.
Level 11
Stakes 60/120
Players remaining: 2026
Average stack: 3096
First prize: $67,330.20
Barry Greenstein (barry1) 2051
Bill Chen (BillChen) 3352
Chad Brown (ChadBrownPRO) 5810
Dario Minieri (Dariominieri) 5143
Bertrand Grospellier (ElkY) 983
Greg Raymer (FossilMan) 4126
Gavin Griffin (gavingriffin) 2933
Marcin Horecki (Goral) 1833
Katja Thater (Katja Thater) 4338
Vanessa Rousso (LadyMaverick) 3064
Lee Nelson (LeeNelsonP*) 2967
Luca Pagano (LucaPagano) 3501
Isabelle Mercier (NoMercy) 5212
Hevad Khan (RaiNKhaN) 1688
Raymond Rahme (Ray Rahme) 3790
Steve Paul-Ambrose (stevejpa) 2681
Tom McEvoy (Tom McEvoy) 4320
Victor Ramdin (VictorRamdin) 741
6:38pm - Barry Greenstein is a little distracted
Apparently, Barry Greenstein has competing interests in the HORSE event. From the chat:
barryg1: sweating my girlfriend and my cook in this; cook is going to outlast us all
Recent levels have not been kind to Greenstein. He's seen his stack dwindle to just around 2,200.
Fortunately,Greenstein was able to take a 630 chip pot without reaching the river in Level 10 (Stud Hi/Lo).
But just a few hands later, he got deep into a hand before mucking and he's at his lowest point, just 2,151.
6:28 pm - Split personalities
It's time to make another change, the last of this hour's rotation. Our Stud Hi-Lo round will stay with stakes of 50/100 and antes of 10.
6:18pm - Chad Brown jumps into the Top 5
The big hands just keep on coming for Chad Brown.
It's Level 9 (Stud 50/100) and Brown raised from 50 to 100 with a 4c showing. Two of his opponents called him.
Fourth street brought Brown a Ts, but that didn't stop him from raising a pair of 3s on the board. And with the pair on the board, he's able to raise from 50 to 150, again getting two callers.
Fifth street was a 7s for Brown and now his opponents let him take the lead, just calling his 100 bet.
On Sixth street, Brown got the card he was looking for, the As. They checked to him again and only SGM called his 100 bet.
Another bet on the river and it was time for a showdown.
Brown showed three Aces and SGM mucked. The 1,530 pot propels Brown into the top 5 with a stack of 6,517.
6:15 pm - Feeling Stud-ly?
It's game change time once again. We're now playing Stud with stakes of 50/100 and antes of 10.
6:14 pm - Raymer finds salvation on the river
It was a big hand for Greg Raymer in Level 7 (Omaha Hi/Lo). Holding 2h-3d-Ts-4s, Raymer decided to raise from the button, getting two callers.
The flop was 8d-Tc-Qh, giving Raymer just second pair. His callers checked to him, however, and Raymer maintained control of the hand, betting 40
by Katja Thater
A horse is a horse, of course of course. That is, of course, unless that horse is a $215 poker tournament in which five separate variants of poker are rotated every twelve minutes. 
10:50 pm - Nice one for Humberto
10:35pm - Mercier in trouble, Raymer joins her
10:17 pm - Raymer doubles again
Gavin Griffin is back in the thick of things after a few nice pots.
Apparently I don't know Dario Minieri as well as I thought. Since I last mentioned him, he's mostly treaded water before winning a nice pot right before the break and now another one right after the break.
The big hands just keep on coming for Chad Brown.