Just a few days after Mary 717’s boyfriend staked her $1,000 on PokerStars to take a shot at some bigger buy-in tournaments, she’s logged three WCOOP cashes, two final tables and a World Championship of Online Poker Bracelet for Event #7. Not a bad couple of weeks’ work!
The relative newcomer to tournament poker plans on entering more large-field tournament entries with her newfound bankroll, and likely some travel as well. A sales rep for a fashion company, the Washington native who now lives in Copenhagen plays “poker for fun,” but admits that she is likely to play more now. Her boyfriend’s initial $1,000 investment has performed well, logging a return of more than 350% in just two weeks; so playing more would certainly seem like a wise choice!
After cashing in WCOOP Event #6 (her first major tournament), Mary outlasted a field of 2,457 players in Event #7 - Pot-Limit Omaha to take down first place and $71,730 in prize money. Just ten days later, Mary took a big stack into the final of Event #20, eventually finishing in 5th place for $288,155.
Mary has only been playing for a couple of years, getting started on PokerStars because her boyfriend played there. “I knew how to play Hold’em but my boyfriend has taught me to play PLO and to be a much better poker player. He plays a lot of PLO so I have watched him A LOT and learned from him. I thought the game was very interesting and so I started playing PLO cash games.” Obviously she developed quite an aptitude for Omaha and Hold’em tournaments as well, logging big finishes in three WCOOP events.
Mary certainly proved the old poker adage of a chip and a chair, going from last in chips at one point to the chip leader as the final table kicked off. “So I started the final table with a good feeling, but also knowing anything can happen.” Anything could and did happen at the final table, but it always seemed to happen to Mary’s opponents as she took out four of her five opponents on the way to first place and the bracelet!
A new world record was established the other day in PokerStars Pot Limit Omaha Tournament. It was the largest number of players to ever participate in an Omaha tournament in history. This is not a surprise. Every guarantee in the first 8 events of the WCOOP has been exceeded-often by close to 50%, as the number of players has gone thru the roof.
My own tournament was cut short on a flop that contained a 9c-8c and the 4-d. I had the Queen, Jack,Ten, 9 with two clubs. I decided to gamble and raised my opponent's bet, got reraised and then went all-in. Alas, I got no help and his two pair stood up. I was a strong favorite to win this hand, but got no help and reported to the rail. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
I thought the final table was very exciting as Mary717 from Tacoma blasted thru the field to claim the title and the bracelet, as well as a lot of cash. When it was 8-handed, Mary was the shortest stack. When it was 7 handed-one short of the final table, Mary was the shortest stack. When it got down to the final 6, Mary was the table leader with $2,204,333 in chips and never looked back, storming thru the final table, always keeping the chip lead.
I am really looking forward to the rest of the events, and as a member of Team Pro, I like the chance to compete in various games. PokerStars has a game for everyone and a buy-in to fit almost every budget.
Omaha’s increased popularity has become evident the past couple years. As one player explained during the action, “Omaha is a sick game.” The increased popularity correlates directly to higher quality competition on the PokerStars tables. That was evident in WCOOP Event #7, a $200+$15 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament with a $491,400 prize pool.
Quality play was splattered all over the tables, making it a very tough – if not the toughest – online Omaha field to navigate. Making it even more difficult was the rather impressive field of 2,457 players on a Monday. Forget that it is the beginning of the work week, an opportunity like this could not be denied by so many PokerStars players. WCOOP events only come around once a year, and they weren’t going to miss this manageable Omaha buy-in.
It took 16 hours and plenty of flip-flopping at the top before the field was whittled down to two. Then it took only a couple minutes for a winner to be decided. Mary 717 won the coveted bracelet and $71,730 for the tremendous effort. It was quite an effort. Quite frankly, it’s not easy to outlast 2,456 other players in a marathon like this.
There was a rather large contingent of Team PokerStars Pros that participated. Among them were Bill Chen, Alex Kravechenko, Andre Akkari, ElkY, Chad Brown, Dario Minieri, Gavin Griffin, John Duthie, Katja Thater, Humberto Brenes, Isabelle Mercier, Lee Nelson, Marcin Horecki, Steve Paul-Ambrose, Luca Pagano, Tuan Lam, Vanessa Rousso, and Victor Ramdin. But none were there near the end, once again illustrating the strength and depth of the field.
The competition was so fierce on the six-max tables that it took almost an hour and a half to get rid of a player and form the final table. When markkx finally succumbed to the intense pressure and his dwindling chip stack to finish in seventh place, the final table looked like this:
Immediately there was talk of a deal, with several players admittedly exhausted and hungry. The deal, however, was denied by HORERogHALM and rkruok. Ironically, they were two of the first three eliminated at the final table.
bearbeer123 was the first to exit as pocket 10s weren’t enough to remain in the running for the nice first-place prize. Not when rkuok had a king in his hand and hit one on the turn. But it was not a surprise bearbeer123 was the first to depart the final table. After all, bearbeer123 was the shortstack when the field was reduced to the final six.
Rkruok, who has now recorded three WCOOP cashes in the first four days of action, wasn’t able to parlay that victory into any long-term success at the final table. It wasn’t long before he joined bearbeer123 and the 2,000-plus other entrants on the virtual rail. Pocket aces were not enough to keep rkruok alive. Not when Mary 717 hit two pair of eights and tens with a river ten.
At this point, with four players remaining, another deal was discussed and rejected. HORERogHALM did not accept the most recent terms, and subsequently was knocked out just moments later. It was a consistent final table trend in Event #7. HORERogHALM could have gotten $39,530 had the deal been accepted. Instead, HORERogHALM finished fourth and took home $30,221. Mary slowplayed aces perfectly to reduce the field to three.
It was at this point with three players left that a deal was finally struck. The terms went like this: kev19 $49,861; Mary 717 $65,730; mddgfc $50,301. The winner would pocket an additional $6,000 and earn the coveted bracelet.
With the details agreed upon, it didn’t take long for a winner to be crowned. Within five minutes, Mary 717 disposed of the competition. First, kev19 put most of his chips in preflop with As-Ac-3c-2h. Unfortunately for him, Mary 717 held Kh-Kc-9h-5h and flopped three nines when the board showed 4d-9c-9s. The case nine on the turn sealed the deal.
Heading into heads-up play, Mary 717 now had a huge 5/1 chip advantage, one that mddgfc wasn’t going to overcome. mddgfc quickly got it all-in with Jd-10d-10s-9h, but Mary 717 had an even better hand with Ad-Ah-Qs-10c. The board came out Kd-Qc-Jh-5h-3s and it was over. Mary 717 had hit the nut straight on the flop.
Mary 717 beat the extremely strong Pot-Limit Omaha field and pocketed $71,730.
Oh yeah, Mary 717 also earned the prestigious bracelet that comes along with the WCOOP Event #7 victory.
Congratulations to Mary 717! For more information about WCOOP Event #6, see the live blog . To watch the final table in its entirety, go to PokerStars.tv.
Live blog coverage of WCOOP Event #7, $215 PLO, is brought to you by bloggers Johnny Kampis, April Kyle, Jennifer Newell, and Jordan Raanan. Have a story for us? E-mail to blog@pokerstars.com. Click refresh to see the latest information.
6:37am--Mary 717 wins Event #7 Pot-Limit Omaha
Heads-up with a 5-to-1 chip advantage, Mary 717 finished off mddgfc after the two got all-in preflop. Both held monster Omaha hands -- Ad-Ah-Qs-10c for Mary 717 and Jd-10d-10s-9h for mddgfc.
The board ran out Kd-Qc-Jh-5h-3s and Mary 7171 made Broadway, earning the bracelet and slightly more than $71,000. mddgfc got just over $50K for the runner-up finish.
6:34am--Mary 717 continues hot streak and sends kev19 out in third
Kev19 got half his chips in preflop with As-Ac-3c-2h and the rest in on a flop of 4d-9c-9s. Unfortunately for him, Mary 717 held Kh-Kc-9h-5h for flopped trips. The case 9 on the turn sealed the deal. Kev19 gets $49,861 after the deal.
6:35am--Deal is struck
The third time was the charm when they tried to strike a final-table deal. This is how it broke down:
kev19 $49,861
Mary 717 $65,730
mddgfc $50,301
6:29am--Curse of rejected offer strikes HORERogHALM
First rkruok got stung for not accepting the first deal. Next it was HORERog HALM's turn. He could have gotten $39,530 had he taken the deal on the table with four players remaining, but he finished fourth and took home $30,221.
Mary 717 slowplayed a set of aces to perfection to send HORERogHALM away:
6:22am--Mary in command
Mary 717 has close to four million chips, twice as many as the nearest competitor. With only four players remaining, that is quite a significant advantage.
6:10am--No deal can be reached
Play was stopped again to discuss a deal with four players remaining, but no deal could be reached. After more than 15 and a half hours they continue the long march. The breakdown would have been Mary 717 $65,094, kev19 $49,788, mddgfc $42,780, HORERogHALM $39,530.
6:06am--rkruok settles for fifth
Even after denying a deal and the $34,227 that would have come with it, rkruok was knocked out in fifth place and took home $21,130.20 in his third cash of the WCOOP. This was the hand that sent rkruok to the virtual rail wishing he would have accepted the deal:
6:00am--bearbeer123 out in sixth
bearbeer123 has not choice but to settle for sixth place after pocket 10s did not hold up. rkruok ended the tournament for bearbeer when he had AK and hit a king on the turn. bearbeer123 entered the hand short on chips with just 176,028.
bearbeer123 takes home $12,481.56.
5:55am--rkruok takes a big hit
Maybe it was karma. Not long after being one of two players at the table to deny a deal, rkruok took a pretty big hit. And a tough one with this hand.
5:46am--Deal denied, final table gets going
There was a deal offered and vetoed. So now we play on. Here is the final table:
5:42am--Looking into a deal
The players are currently on a break looking into a possible six-way deal. Going by their comments in the chat, it doesn't appear rkruok is willing to make a deal. Still, it's being discussed.
Mary 717 is the leader, followed by kev19, mddgfc, rkruok, bearbeer123 and HORERogHALM.
5:35am--Markkx finishes 7th
After a long battle, markkx succomed to the pressure that came with a lack of chips. And when Mary 717 hit three of a kind with eights, it was the end of the road for markkx. So after 15 hours, markkx settled for seventh place and $4,619.16, just missing out on the final table.
5:30am--Just like that a new leader
Kev19 went from life support to the lead in a span of two minutes. Here is the hand that put him in the lead over mddgfc:
5:24am--Kev19 hangs on with river
Nobody wants to exit. Nobody wants to miss the final table. Nobody wants to give up the chance for the $77,395.50 first-place prize.
The players are doing everything in their power to remain in the game. Kev19 just pulled a club on the river against mddgfc to keep his hopes alive. Three hands later, kev19 forced mddgfc out of a pot and has build his stack to nearly 1 million chips.
5:22am--Each table wanting the other to get aggressive
Sample chat (courtesy of rkruok): "the other table are playing so soft against each other"
5:15am--We're still at seven as we go to break again
Level 27
Blinds 15,000/30,000
Average chip count: 1,053,000
Players remaining: 7
First prize: $77,395.50
Mddgfc grabbed a 2.5 milliion pot and crippled kev19 when he outflushed his opponent. Here is how the hand played out:
4:53am--The shorties keep doubling
Both Mary 717 and bearbeer123 have been under 400K recently but both have doubled up in the last 10 minutes. All players now have stacks of 700K or more with rkruok leading the pack with 1.51 million.
4:46am--Who's next?
It's now been nearly an hour since EggBall went out in eighth. The final table bubble is keeping everyone cautious. Big bets on the flop keep taking pots down. No one wants to SeventhBok this tournament.
4:28am--Full WCOOP slate later today
There will be no shortage of WCOOP action Tuesday afternoon. Kicking it off at 2:30 EST is Event #9, the new 4-max $215 No-Limit Hold'em event with a $400,000 guaranteed prize pool. Following at 4:30 EST is Event #10, $215 Razz with a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000. Remember, satellites are running around the clock.
4:14am--Working through the night
It's different times in different parts of the world right now. In Europe, for example, it's morning. In the United States, it's the middle of the night.
Some players either played all day or all night. HORERogHALM and mddgfc are admittedly tired. They didn't get a lick of sleep and it's already past breakfast. Mddgfc just used the break to get a bite to eat, HORERofHALM snuck in a quick nap. It's not easy trying to win that $77,395.50 first-place prize.
4:11am--Final table bubble is a big one too
Whoever gets seventh will take home $4,619.16, the same as the eighth and ninth-place finishers. Sixth plplace earns $12,481.56, so making that final table is key as we play hand for hand.
3:57am--Markkx in the lead at break
Level 26
Blinds:8,000/16,000
Players: 7
Average: 1,053,000
First prize: $77,395.50
A leader earlier in this event, EggBall just exited in eighth and got $4,619.16. Here is the hand that led to his demise:
3:48am--Kev19 might not want to stop
Mddgfc is now the former chipleader after kev19 won three straight hands worth more than 1.5 million. The biggest of the three came when kev19 was all-in against mddgfc and hit a straight on the river.
After mddgfc stopped the streak with a win, kev19 took another big pot from mddgfc with three jacks.
3:43am--Talk of deal or sleep
The four players on table 266 -- HORERogHALM, mddgfc, kev29 and bearbeer123 -- have talked about making a deal. All seem willing.
The problem is that they are not at the final table yet. So, technically, a deal can not be struck.
In the meantime, they play on.
3:39am--Eights and fives no good for greenrizla, who departs in 9th
After a long battle, greenrizla just exited in ninth and collected $4,619.16. Here is how it happened:
3:30am--Mddgfc still going strong after 13 hours
Chipleader mddgfc's stack keeps growing as we speak. Playing four-handed at a table with kev19, bearbeer123 and HORERogHALM, mddgfc is aggressively winning (probably stealing) a lot of blinds. For now, whatever the philosophy, it's working. With nine players remaining, mddgfc has over 1.6 million chips. Nobody else even has 1.2.
3:24am--They can type!
For the first time in maybe hours, there finally was some chat at the tables. The exchange between mddgfc and kev19 went like this:
"Yuk."
"nh"
"ty"
At least we know they are capable of typing and not just clicking.
3:20am--Twenty times return
The final nine must be feeling pretty good. They will all get at least a 20 times return on their initial $215 investment with a chance at a return of more than 360 times.
3:10am--RaSZi out in the dreaded 10th spot
The tournament's shortstack raSZi pushed just before the money doubled. It didn't work out on this hand and bearbeer123 sent raSZI out in 10th place with $1,818.18.
3:06am--It's all about late-game performers
Over the last several hours, there were several chipleaders who sat at or near the top for quite some time. Most of them, however, are gone.
Rkruok is one of the few who have hung around the leaderboard for several hours. Others, such as markkx, HORERogHALM and mddgfc, just got hot at the right time.
It just goes to show, it's best to get hot late in the game.
2:50am—Another chip count as we are down to 10
Level 23
Blinds 5,000/10,000
Average chip count: 737,100
Players remaining: 10
First prize: $77,395.50
Kid Atavism raised it to 21K, mddgfc re-raised to 75K and the Kid Atavism called. After a flop of 10h-7d-9s, mddgfc opened for 162K and Kid Atavism pushed all-in for 432K. Mddgfc called and showed Ad-As-Jh-8c while Kid Atavism had Qh-Qc-8s-7h. The board ran out 8s-7h and mddgfc won with a jack-high straight and claimed the chip lead with 1.58 million chips.
Kid Atavism received $1,818.18 for his day’s work.
2:38am--The importance of the top 10
Right now there are 11 players left on the tables. And the next two out might be two of the most disappointed, even though they outlasted over 2,400 other players.
The 11th and 10th-place finishers get $1,818.18. Ninth place gets more than double that with $4,619.16. There is definitely a big difference between 10th and ninth. A big enough difference to leave a player upset with finishing 10th out of 2,457.
2:34am--Analyser2 goes out in 12th with deficient flush
Often a ten-high flush will take the pot, but in this case it sent Analyser2 packing in 12th place. He collected $1,818.18 after this hand:
2:27am--Maverick1 out in 13th
After losing a large pot to Kid Atavism with tens versus a set of kings, a crippled Maverck1 (who uses a picture of Mel Gibson as Maverick for his avatar) was gone a few hands later when Analyser2 made queens and tens versus his solitary queens.
For his efforts, Maverick1 collects $1,572.48.
2:24am--AGame18 finishes in 14th
AGame18 didn't have many chips -- 125,832 to be exact. That is not much when the blinds are at 3,000/6,000. Maybe that is why AGame18 made a move from the big blind against raiser mddgfc. After mddgfc raised to 21,000,kev19 bumped it to 60,000 and AGame18 called. So did mddgfc. After a flop of 4d-5s-Jh, kev19 bet 54,000. AGame raised all-in and mddgfc and kev19 called. The Jd on the turn prompted mddgfc to push all-in and kev19 folded.
mddgfc showed Kh-Kc-3h-7d for two pair, kings and jacks. AGame18 had 2d-8h-6d-9h for a pair of jacks and was eliminated in 14th place, earning $1,572.48
2:20am--Onehandturks eliminated in 15th
Onehandturks just exited the proceedings and collected $1,572.48. This is the hand that got him:
2:15am--Rkruok grabs chip lead
With aggressive play at table 105, rkruok has grabbed the chip lead with a stack of 1.1 million. He's the only million-chip player right now. Our former leader EggBall has dropped to 520K and is stuck in a pretty big logjam around 500K.
2:05am--Cautious play the order of the hour
No bustouts since the break as our 15 remaining players, all of whom still have a shot at the title, don't want to be the next to go.
After all, there is a huge difference between $1,572.48 for 15th and $77,395.50 for first.
1:55am--Quiet tables
Usually this late in tournaments, a lot of the players know each other. That leads to talking and some friendly chat. Right now, in WCOOP Event #7 with a $77,395.50 first-place prize at stake, the tables are very quiet. No talking going on whatsoever. Maybe it's just because the players are tired. Or they are just super-focused.
1:48am--Chip counts as the tournament winds down
Level 21
Blinds 3,000/6,000
Average chip count: 491,400
Players remaining: 15
First prize: $77,395.50
Top ten in chips:
1. EggBall 991,167
2. markky 788,027
3. rkruok 729,027
4. HORERogHALM 635,364
5. Kid Atavism 620,174
6. Maverick1 596,424
7. kev19 553,404
8. bearbeer123 438,423
9. Mary 717 422,961
10. mddgfc 421,320
1:42am--Aces not enough to save schuster90
schuster90 was down to just 45,668 chips and needed to make a move with the blinds at 3,000/6,000. It just so happened that schuster90 found Kd-Ad-Ac-10c in his hand. AGame18, who originally raised the pot 7,274 to 12,274, called schuster90's reraise with Jd-Qh-9h-3d.
The flop came 7h-Jh-5c, a good flop for AGame18, giving him top pair and a flush draw. The flush came on the turn with the 4h and the Kc and ended schuster90's run.
schuster90 finished in 16th place and won $1,572.48.
1:37am--EggBall cracks a million and knocks payupnowx out in 17th
Getting very short, payupnowx got the rest of his chips in against EggBall with a straight draw, but EggBall had flopped a set of tens and made tens full on the river.
After the hand, EggBall moved up to 1.13 million while payupnowx collected $1,572.48 for 17th.
1:34am--Where are the millionaires?
Remember before when it looked inevitable that Maverick1 was going to get over the one million mark well before anyone else? Well, it never happened. Maverick1 has slowly whittled away his stack, yet he still sits in sixth place with over 600,000 chips.
1:25am--Silo9206 exits in 18th
Among the short stacks, silo9206 went down to the superhot EggBall. In this hand, EggBall raised to 15K and silo9206 re-raised to 45K. EggBall called and the flop came Ks-6h-Jh. Silo9206 led for 90K and EggBall put him all in for 10K more.
The hands were As-Th-8h-5d for EggBall, giving him a flush and inside straight draw, and Qc-Td-9d-8c for silo9206, giving him a straight draw. The board finished off with 8h-7h, making silo9206 his straight, but giving EggBall the flush.
silo9206 won $1,572.48 for his effort.
1:18am--kev19's clinging ways
kev19 has been low on chips for quite some time. But kev19 just won't go away. A key double-up now has kev19 at 261,000 after his A-A-8-Q preflop held against AGame18's K-K-J-4. Average is still over 400,000,
so kev19 still has his work cut out. ditto AGame18 and his 313,139 chip stack.
1:14am--NA$DAq's day comes to an end
rkruok's flush just took down NA$DAq, who ended his day in 19th place. That leaves us with only three tables.
1:10am--markkx saved by river, greenrizla hurt, Pass_72 out in huge hand
The river saved markkx's tournament. Pass_72, meanwhile, once the chipleader, is out after this 666,576 chip hand.
1:06am--EggBall jumps into second
EggBall just took down a large pot to knock Belabacsi out in 22nd place and give himself a 800K+ stack. Here is how that hand played out:
12:55am--Catch this on the rebound
Want to see what happened in WCOOP Event #7 even after it's over? PokerStars.tv is the place for you. There you can get final table highlights and analysis once the tournament is complete. Don't waste this great resource. It can help your game.
12:49am--Soon to be millionaire
Maverick1 is on the verge of becoming the first player to one million chips. He's currently at 976,707, with rkruok next in line with 874,736. The two top players have been high on the leaderboard now for quite some time. Average right now is 335,000.
12:38am—Kings hold for EggBall
EggBall just doubled up to 450K against NA$DAq. In the hand, NA$DAq raised to 8K and EggBall made it 28K preflop. On the flop, which was 3h-Qh-Tc, NA$DAq checked, EggBall made it 60K and NA$DAq made it 240K and EggBall called all in.
The hands were 9c-5c-Jd-Qd for NA$DAq, giving him a pair and an open-ended straight draw, while EggBall held Kc-Kd-9h-8h for kings and a flush draw. The turn and river came 3s-Ts and the kings held. Eggball now has over 450,000 chips and is in seventh place.
12:35am--The Final Four tables at the break
We are down to four tables and 24 players.
Level 20
Blinds 2,500/5000
Average chip count: 307,125
Players remaining: 24
First prize: $77,395.50
Remember about two hours ago when Pass_72 was the chipleader for quite some time. Well, slowly Pass_72 has lost chips. Now, he's down to a measly 83,870, almost four times less than average. With blinds at 2,000/4,000, there is not much time left before a move is mandatory. Still, it's not impossible to pick some good spots and get back in the mix. He's not forced to push just yet.
12:22am--Us_Alex's bust is Maverick1's victory
A huge hand sent Us_Alex, not so long ago the leader, to the rail and Maverick1 straight to the top. A set ot deuces was enough for Maverick1 to win this 564,178-chip pot.
12:14am--Now it's rkurok's turn
The hottest player in the WCOOP circuit just won a massive pot to take a 200K chip lead on the field. Here is the hand that made rkurok happy:
12:09pm--WCOOP just getting underway
WCOOP is still in its infantile stages. There are almost two weeks of action left. Check out the schedule of events and enter the tournaments that best suit your skills.
11:58pm--Down to five...tables that is
We are now down to 30 players, a tidy five tables of six players each. WCOOP master rkruok is now in the lead with 537,707. Maybe rkruok can add a bracelet to his three WCOOP cashes.
11:47pm--schuster90 the new leader
It might not have been for long, but schuster90 was in the chip lead momentarily before Us_Alex reclaimed the top spot. Right now, schuster90, Us_Alex, Maverick1 and greenrizla are trading the top spot pretty much every hand as 33 players are still fighting for the $77,395.50 first-place prize.
11:41pm--Us_Alex shoots down Maverick1
Us_Alex just won a huge hand against Maverick1, possibly changing the direction of this event. This is the hand, one in which Us_Alex won 438,750 chips.
11:37pm--Chip counts at the eight-hour mark
Level 17
Blinds 1,250/2,500
Average chip count: 223,363
Players remaining: 33
First prize: $77,395.50
Down to 7,718, Jon “PearlJammer” Turner got it all-in three ways with RaSZi and rkruok. After a flop of Tc-Qs-8d, rkruok bet 20,000 to get it heads-up with Turner. Rkruok showed Ad-Qd-Th-6h for top two pair while Turner had only kings with Kc-Kh-4d-3c. After the turn and river came 7c-5d the queens and tens held and Turner was out in 35th.
Meanwhile, rkruok is up above 300K.
11:21pm--Six tables left, no PearlJammer
There are six tables and just 34 players remaining. Maverick1 still has a commanding lead with 743,007 chips. PearlJammer, meanwhile, just busted in 35th place. Details in a moment.
11:15pm--A real blue chipper
Down earlier to less than 80K, NA$DAq just won a big one to move up the charts. While continuing to needle his opponents, NA$DAq had moved into the top 10 with a stack to contend for the title.
11:02pm--rkruok's other WCOOP cash
We mentioned previously that rkruok cashed in the limit Event #3. That 12th-place finish was good for $3,612.80. It turns out rkruok also finished 17th in the No-Limit Hold 'Em Event #5. That was good for $28,890 for rkruok, who has entered every WCOOP event so far. With this cash, his third so far in the WCOOP, rkruok is on pace to be one of the top overall performers. Oh yeah, he just missed cashing in Event #8 earlier today too.
10:58pm--Watch out for greenrizla
He's not in Maverick1 territory yet, but over at table 357, greenrizla is playing aggressive poker and creeping up. He now has 486K and still climbing.
10:52pm--rkruok making another good run
On Saturday, rkruok finished 12th in the No-Limit hold 'em WCOOP Event #3. Now, rkruok is among the final 44 players in the Pot-Limit hold 'em Event #7. rkruok is currently in eighth place.
10:40pm--It's good to have a lot of chips
There are a lot of advantages to having a lot of chips. One is that you can play more aggressively because nobody wants to tangle with the chipleader. Maverick1 is getting a taste of this advantage, and increasing his lead in the process. Maverick1 just won four straight small pots and closed in on 700,000 chips. Nobody else is even at 500,000.
10:25pm--Maverick1 flies into the lead at the seven-hour mark
Level 15
Blinds 900/1,800
Average chip count: 139,075
Players remaining: 53
First prize: $77,395.50
His stack down to a fraction of its former glory, Mr. C Brown pushed into a crowded field hoping for the best, but bearbeer123 found a hand to call him with and put him down in 58th place.
10:08pm--THE_D_RY happy to be back and taking PearlJammer's chips
Sitting to the left of PearlJammer, AKA Jon Turner, is usually not an enviable position. THE_D_RY doesn't seem to care. After being moved tables away from PearlJammer and then being switched back to the same seat, THE_D_RY just took a 57,576 chip pot from him. Here's how it went down:
PearlJammer is now below average with just under 90,000 chips.
10:01pm--WCOOP Event #6 final table in action
After two long days of action, WCOOP Event #6 $530 no-limit hold 'em finally has a final table. Check out the action live at table or check Event #6's blog. If you miss it, don't worry. You can catch the replay and analysis at PokerStars.tv.
9:58pm--Action finally slowing down
After furious bustouts throughout the day, action is finally grinding more slowly. There have been only a handful of eliminations since the break. With blinds at 800/1,600 and average stacks of 117,000 there is plenty of play left in this event.
9:51pm--Pass_72 asserts dominance
Pass_72 has done nothing but continue to move in a positive direction since returning from the break.
Since coming back about 30 minutes ago with 302,821 chips, the leader has since built his stack to 348,949 and is still in front. Not content with his chips, Pass_72 is playing a lot of hands and using the big stack to his advantage. Nobody at Table 181, especially the three short stacks, wants to battle.
9:47pm--Checking in with Mr. C. Brown
Our one-time chipleader is still doing well in the event. He just won a nice pot to move back into the top 25. Here it is:
9:37pm--THE_D_RY comes right back
THE_D_RY was comfortably seated between PearlJammer and t soprano for quite a while. Then he was gone ... for a few minutes.
THE_D_RY was only gone for seven hands. And then he was back. Same seat, pretty much same size stack. One player asked in the chat if he took his chips with him to the bathroom. Not quite. THE_D_RY remains slightly under the average with around 80,000 chips.
9:30pm--Money about to get slightly bigger
Right now we stand at 79 players. One more elimination and there is a slight money jump. Those who finish
73rd to 78th earn $1081.08. The 79th-place finisher gets $1,031.94. It will remain within the one-thousand range until the final table.
9:12pm--Chip counts at the six-hour mark
Level 13
Blinds 700/1,400
Average chip count: 88,807
Players remaining: 83
First prize: $77,395.50
Kid Atavism has just risen to the leaderboard with a monster hand that won him a 180,252 pot. At the start of the hand the Kid had just 59,884 in chips and when it was all over Kid Atavism was sitting in 7th place with 191,646. Not bad for a few minutes work! Proof that just a little patience at the tables can really pay off big. Take a look at how the hand played out:
8:59pm--Four figures for the rest
Now that we are under 85 players the remaining field is guaranteed at least $1,031.94.
8:56pm--The 300,000 man
Pass_72 has taken the chip lead with a 307K stack. Can he keep it for a sustained period unlike the others today who have held the lead?
8:53pm--Former chipleader duzeplecy knocked out
After gaining that chip lead earlier tonight, duzeplecy saw a gradual decline and finally went down in 92nd on this hand:
8:45pm--Is the end near?
When we started this tournament with its 2,457 runners many players surely thought they'd be grinding away into the wee hours of the night before they could even entertain the thoughts of seeing a final table. Yet here we are already under 100 players and for the 95 that remain championship dreams stand a very real chance of becoming a reality. All remaining participants are guaranteed $933.66.
8:32pm--A made man
Player t soprano has also been rising in the ranks, thanks to agressive pre-flop play and hands like this one:
He's currently #17 on the leadboard with just under 120k in chips, and was just moved to table 345 with notable online player PearlJammer.
8:28pm--NA$DAq true to his word
NA$DAq said he was coming for one-time chipleader duzeplecy and he did as promised. The two began this hand with 126K and 180K respectively. After several players limped, the flop came 2d-9d-Ks, all players checked to duzeplecy who bet 4,000. NA$DAq check raised to 21,000 and duzeplecy called after the others folded. After the turn brought the 5c NA$DAq fired out 51,000 and duzeplecy called. The river brought the 7s and NA$DAq fired all in for about 52K. Duzeplecy folded and NA$DAq took down a 153K pot to move up above 190K in chips. Duzeplecy fell to around 110K.
8:24pm - lowballeric rises to 10th
On a flop of 3s-Ts-9c lowballeric bets out 9000 and RobertKoren fires back with a raise all-in to 14650. Lowballeric calls and both players show their cards: Ad-Qh-2d-Qs for lowballeric and Kd-2h-As-Ac for RobertKoren. Turn was a 5c and river was a Qc, giving lowballeric the 47,300 pot and the 10th place spot.
We're currently sitting 117 players strong and nearly 6 hours of play.
8:15pm--Varela42 takes lead
Varela42 just won a monster pot of 250K to knock WiLDmAn75 out in 135th place and take a 50K chip lead over the field. Here is the hand:
NA$DAq, who has hovered near the top of the leaderboard for much of the day, is trying to bait his opponents, including the tournament chipleader duzeplecy. Recently NA$DAq typed into the chat box, "duzeb---- u next son of b----" to which duzeplecy replied, "come to papa."
NA$DAq responded with,"yeah come on clown!"
7:53pm--Duzeplecy takes control
Duzeplecy is our first 200,000 player and now has a 45,000 chip leader over the field.
7:45pm--Big hand at table 40
Lowballeric just took down a 67,876 pot and put tablemate SARPAT on life support when he hit a broadway straight on the turn versus SARPAT's two pair aces and kings. SARPAT is now down below 10k, making him the short stack at the table and looking to make a move soon.
7:38pm - jonnybegoode out in 199th
After checking the Qs-5c-Jh flop, jonnybegoode raised all-in the inital bet from AGame18 when the 4d hit the turn. AGame18 showed 4h-Ad-3d-Qc giving him a pair of queens and a straight draw. Jonnybegoode showed Jc-Ts-Js-9c giving him a set of Jacks. The river brought a 2s giving AGame18 his straight and sending jonnybegoode to the rail.
7:36pm--Under 200 players remain
We're still humming right along with more than 2,200 players knocked out of this tournament in five hours. Any bets on the over/under for the end of this event?
7:35pm--Last of the breed
Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes was the final remaining Team PokerStars pro in today's PLO event, but just finished in 213th place. Here is the hand that sent him packing:
7:15pm--The self-disparaging player
We don't think a true reservoir dog would criticize himself. There are too many banks to rob, after all, to worry aboult self introspection. So we don't think Mr. C. Brown is one of that crew. Our one-time chipleader just lost a big pot to Exit4afilm2 when Mr. C. Brown put his opponent all in after flopping top two pair with K-T only to find that his foe had flopped a straight with a J-Q on the K-T-9 flop. The straight held, which led Mr. C. Brown to type in the chat box, "how does someone flop nuts then have someone bet out for them, how stupid".
To which Exit4afilm2 replied, simply, "true".
7:08pm--jonnybegoode continues to run good
The thorn in the side of several TeamPokerStars pros today just doubled up and is now sitting with a 50k stack. After calling a post-flop all-in from fishlover on a 5c-8s-7c flop, jonnybegoode caught running spades to make a king-high flush and take a 50,180 pot.
6:53pm - Four hours finished
Level 9
Blinds 300/600
Average chip count: 27,000
Players remaining: 273
First prize: $77,395.50
Since the bubble burst the bustouts have been bountiful. OK, enough with the alliteration. Recent notables include Adam "Roothlus" Levy in 404th place, Steve "MrSmokey1" Billirakis in 322nd and Eric "Rizen" Lynch in 294th.
6:33pm--Moberg72 jumps in front
Moberg72 just took down the biggest pot of the tournament to take the chip lead with more than 167,000, about 67,000 more than anyone else. See how it happened here:
6:32pm - Fossilman extinct
Following the bubble burst is Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, who fell victim to Jonnybegoode, who you may recall has had it our for our Team PokerStars Pros today! Down to 4,395 in chips Rayer raised all-in pre-flop with Qs-5c-9h-Ah and no doubt found the 6d-6h-Qh flop to be a welcome sight. However Jonnybegoode's 8h-5s-Kh-Kd had him beat and the turn and river brought no help to the Fossilman.
6:30pm--We've reached the money!
All remaining players are guaranteed $343,98 with the winner getting a bit more in $77,395.
6:24pm--WiLDmAN75 is the top man
WiLDmAn75 just became the first player to clear six figures and sits atop the leaderboard with 102,400.
6:12pm - FossilMan claims a life
TeamShizzz goes down to the FossilMan when he calls the TeamShizzz all-in and turns a boat to best the pair of pair of sevens that TeamShizzz made from the board. FossilMan collected 5,370 from the pot and is now sitting with just under 6,000.
6:02pm--Obama loses the election
Isaac “westmenloAA” Baron lets his political colors be known – Barack Obama is his avatar – but no Democrat could save him on this hand.
Baron raised to 750 of his remaining 7,500 stack and barlogos re-raised to 2,400. Baron called and the flop brought 4c-Jc-Qd. Barlogos led for 4,950 and Baron went all in. Barlogos held aces with Ad-Ac-Kh-4h while Baron had flopped top two pair with Kd-Qh-Jh-8d. The turn and river brought the counterfeiting combo of 6d-6c, however, and Barron lost to aces up to exit in 442nd place.
5:59pm - Shaniac eliminated
The tides are turning fast on players here today, as another notable name sees his stack rise only to see it all ship away soon after. Shaniac raised all-in preflop and found his Qs-As-2s-Ah up against Ad-Ac-3c-6h from kev19. A 3h on the flop paired kev19 and a 6c on the turn paired him again; the board never bringing any help to shaniac. He exited the tournament in 439th place.
5:56pm--Less than 100 to the money
Among some notable pros knocked out in the last hour include Brett "gank" Jungblut in 569th, Justin "Boosted J" Smith in 550th and Dag "dmmikkel" Martin Mikkelsen in 418th.
5:47pm - Three hours completed
Level 7
Blinds 150/300
Average chip count: 16,058
Players remaining: 459
First prize: $77,395.50
As we near the break, Shane "shaniac" Schleger gets a boost when he doubles-up through jdepa01 with a ten-high straight versus jdepa01's pair of Aces. Schleger now sits with just under 7,000.
5:36pm - The price of poker
There are no cheap cards over at table 77 when Maverick1 and KankeeAhmed are involved. Often in Pot Limit Omaha you'll see pot sizes swell as players try to ensure that their opponents aren't allowed a cheap draw. At table 77 though this concept is taken very much to heart. Recent pot sizes have topped 30k and 20k, without anyone seeming to hestiate. It's just all in a day's work for these players. Here's how a recent big hand played out -
5:26pm--How quickly things turn
Team PokerStars pro Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu had a yo-yo day. He went from one of the top stacks to an average stack to a fairly big stack again to being out in 560th place.
Right after busting fellow PS pro John Duthie, Negreanu lost nearly all of his chips on this hand and was out on the next deal:
5:20pm--Duthie looks better than he feels
Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu just ended John Duthie's day in 589th place. Duthie flopped two pair and a flush draw and got it all in against Negreanu, who held pocket kings and an inferior flush draw with 6h-2h. However, the board came running sixes to give Negreanu trips and a current stack of 20,000.
5:17pm--Looking good
Team PokerStars pro John Duthie doesn't have a large stack as he's sitting with 6,800 currently, about half the average, but he's getting compliments from the rail.
One railbird said, "u look good for 50 JD" to which Duthie replied, "cheers it's all the exercise and diet"
5:12pm--Brenes bounced
WiLDmAn75 is running over his table and just knocked Team PokerStars pro Humberto Brenes out of the tournament with a flush over a straight. After this hand, WiLDmAn75 is above 59,000, good for second place on the leaderboard.
5:02pm—Less than 700 remain
Among the latest round of eliminations are Team PokerStars players Bill Chen in 958th, Vanessa “LadyMaverick” Rousso in 942nd, Chad Brown in 859th and Dario Minieri in 750th. Other notable knockouts include Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy in 853rd place.
4:48pm - WCOOP Event #3 Highlights
Below, a little treat from PokerStars.tv; a hightlight recap of WCOOP Event #3 -
4:37pm--OK, maybe he will leave your ear alone, but he will take your chip stack
Mr. C. Brown just won a monster pot against two other all-in players when he hit a ten-high straight on the turn. He is now up above 65,000, giving him a 20,000 chip cushion on second place.
4:32pm—Negreanu moves up to second
Kid Poker just won another big one. Mr Swatch raised to 350, TeamShizzz called and Negreanu re-raised to 1,750 from the big blind. Mr Swatch four bet to 5,950 leaving him about 5,000 behind. TeamShizzz got out of the way and Negreanu put Mr Swatch all in. Negreanu held As-Ah-Jc-9d and Mr Swatch had Kd-Qc-Th-9s.
The flop came Kh-Jd-2d putting Mr Swatch in great shape with a pair and a nice wrap, but the turn 2s and river Js didn’t improve his hand and Negreanu won with three jacks. Negreanu has jumped up above 40,000 chips and is in second place.
4:28pm - Dario risks it all and lives
Dario Minieri just put his tournament life on the line raising all-in pre-flop and getting called by Roundhauskik. At showdown Minieri had two pair, Kings and Queens, against Roundhauskik's Tens and Fives, giving him the win and a 7,490 pot.
4:23pm—We’re under 1,000 players
Notable eliminations since the last report include Team PokerStars pros Lee Nelson in 1,428th place, Marcin “Goral” Horecki in 1,359th, Victor Ramdin in 1,076th and Steve “stevejpa” Paul-Ambrose in 1,062nd. In addition, popular pro Kevin “BeLOWaBOVe” Saul left in 1,330th place.
4:15pm - Right back at ya
Looks like Jonnybegoode found that boat, as he has eliminated Victor Ramdin from today's event with a full house Jacks full of Aces versus Ramdin's set of Aces.
4:20pm - You're gonna need a bigger boat
Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin has been steadily adding to his chip stack today, and just got a nice boost when he took a large pot from Jonnybegoode by virtue of having a better full house. Take a look at how the hand played out:
4:15pm--Mess with him and he'll cut off your ear
Is he a reservoir dog? We don't know, but we do know that Mr. C. Brown is our current chipleader with 36,139.
4:13pm - Score another one for KidPoker
Team PokerStars pro Daniel "KidPoker" Negreau just won another nice pot with two pair to move above 24K in chips. Here is the hand:
4:00pm - You don't want to move to Table 82
This one is a dandy. You've got Team PokerStars pro Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu with 16,700 chips in one seat, the tournament chipleader stortv with 28,600 chips directly to his left and poker pro Jon "PearlJammer" Turner with 7,000 chips.
3:30pm--KidPoker moving up the charts
Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu just won a nice pot with aces up on the last hand before the break to move up to 18,165, good for fourth on the leaderboard.
3:26pm--But he had trips! Oh wait...
Our chip leader JoeBundy just padded his stack to more than 19,000 by hitting two pair on the river against big_d135 who was all in with a few aces in his hand. Here is how the hand played out:
3:15pm—More than 600 gone in first 40 minutes
The bustouts continue to be fast and furious. Among the notables gone are Chris “Money800”Moneymaker in 2,197th place, Katja Thater in 2,106th, J.C. “area23JC” Tran in 2,091st, Scott “emptyseat88” Fischman in 2,083rd, Betrand “ElkY” Grospelier in 2,058th, Luca Pagano in 1,992nd and Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad in 1,954th.
3:07pm - Final numbers are in
A total of 2,457 runners took a chance at the championship today giving us a total prize pool of $491,400.00. Our eventual champion will have a tough road ahead of him or her after fighting through a field that large but the prize that awaits - $77,395.50 - plus the glory of forever being a WCOOP Champion is well worth it. The rest of the final table payouts -
2:57pm--Raymer wishes he was playing Badugi instead
PokerStars plans to add Badugi to the roster of games in the future, but Greg "Fossilman" Raymer wishes he could be play it today.
In the chat box he typed "badugi" and "8 in 28 hands, sick"
Apparently, Raymer has gotten a Badugi (that is one of each suit among his four hole cards) in nearly a third of his hands so far. If Raymer could get that many badugis on the first draw in that game he would do quite well. But four different suits in Pot_Limit Omaha? Not so good.
Raymer just took down a nice pot to put his stack around 7k.
2:53pm--Watch out for Fossilman
Team PokerStars pro Greg "Fossilman" Raymer may be one to keep an eye on today. He won the Pot-Limit Omaha with rebuys event at the 2007 WCOOP and has started strong today, building his stack to $4,700 in the early going.
2:48pm - A star-studded affair
With the many strategic elements that make up a good game of PLO, plus the added element of today's event being 6-max, and the prestige of winning a WCOOP event added in to the mix, it's no surprise to see so many of our Team PokerStars Pros out at the tables today. Among them are Bill Chen, Dario Minieri, Betrand ElkY Grospellier, Greg Raymer, John Duthie, Katja Thater, Daniel Negreanu, Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso, Lee Nelson, Luca Pagano, Chris Moneymaker, Tom McEvoy, and Victor Ramdin.
We'll be keeping an eye on all of them today and updating you on their progress as the action continues.
2:40pm--The horror! The horror!
This being PLO with so many possible draws and redraws, the carnage has been swift early. Fifty players were gone in less than 10 minutes, including DuckU, who made the final table of the $10,300 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em event Sunday.
2:30pm--Off and running
Today's $215 Pot-Limit Omaha has begun with more than 2,200 players. Registration is still open.
5:40am-WCOOP Event #7 $215 PLO
WCOOP Event #7, $215 PLO Six-Max will begin at 2:30pm ET. Join us here for all the action.
Just a few days after Mary 717’s boyfriend staked her $1,000 on PokerStars to take a shot at some bigger buy-in tournaments, she’s logged three WCOOP cashes, two final tables and a World Championship of Online Poker Bracelet for Event #7. Not a bad couple of weeks’ work! 
by Tom McEvoy
