The World Series of Poker Main Event returned on TV last night with Part 2 of Day #6. In cased you missed Part 1, click here. The day began with 4 tables of 9 players each. Check out the highlights below to see who was lucky, who was unlucky, and who was eliminated oh-so-close to the November Nine. To those of you eliminated in the most soul-crushing of ways (and there were a few), we salute you.
Highlights
The action opened up immediately to a 3.58M all-in preflop pot between Michiel Brummelhuis’ QQ and the 1010 of short stack Rep Porter. A 10 on the flop would spell doom for Brummelhuis, and he would not improve by the river. The hand would deal a big blow to the Dutchman leaving him with 2.3M – only 23 big blinds.
Online pro David Benefield made a massive miscalculation, running AJos into Bruno Kawauti’s pocket Aces. Benefield lost 49% of his stack in the hand, leaving him with 2.27M. On the other hand, Kawauti doubled up to exactly 4.5M.
Chris ‘Lindhsanity’ Lindh, no stranger to aggressive play, found himself up against former November Niner Steve Gee and fellow young gun Farber. A dealer miscalculation after the flop lead to an Ace of Clubs being revealed, which was a huge card since both Farber and Gee held an Ace. A 9 on the flop gave both Lindh and Gee top pair, and a bet from Lindh saw a call from Gee. On the turn, Lindh put more pressure on Gee when he shoved all-in. Gee held top pair and top kicker, and after a moment of hesitation he made the call. A 9 on the river was no help to Lindh, who doubled Gee up to over 4.5M. The hand only cost Lindh 17% of his stack, leaving him with 11.66M.
On one of the secondary tables, 28-year-old French pro Claymond Tripodi flopped the nut straight on the oldest player left in the ME, 65-year-old retired executive Dan Owen. Owen nevertheless shoved all-in on the turn with mid-pair and a broadway draw, and after squirming in his seat Tripodi made the call. A King on the river was no help to Owen, who doubled up Tripodi to over 6M. This effectively ended Ownen’s Main Event, leaving him with only 6 big blinds.
In perhaps the (second) most sickening hand of the night, James Alexander decided to reraise Nicolas Le Flock all-in to 4.46M preflop with only A8os! Le Flock made the call with AQ and the players eagerly awaited the flop for a 9M chip pot. An 8 on the flop made Le Flock turn his head in disgust. An Ace on the river was no luck – a tough exit for the Frenchman. He exited in 35th place for $229,281. After risking approximately 75% of his stack preflop with Ace-rag, Alexander saw his chipstack jump up to 10.8M.
On the featured table, Mat Reed’s small raise with KK drew both Carlos Mortensen’s AJos and JC Tran’s A6c into the game. An all-diamond flop of A64 saw Tran bet his two pair, and both Reed and Carlos called with a nut flush and top pair respectively. A bet on the turn won the hand for Tran, who added 1.34M to bring his chip total up to 12.88M.
American wild-man James Alexander gave more credence to the idea that he really had no business in the ME when he folded top pair with AJ to Fabian Ortiz’s third pair of 7s. To make matters worse, Alexander boastfully folded his hand face up, only for Ortiz to show the bluff! Ugly.
On the button, Bruno Kawauti was warned not too raise by Chris Lindh, but he did so anyway with 98h. Both blinds, Lindh and Benefield, made the call with K10. The flop brought top pair for both Lindh and Benefield, as well as a flush draw for Kawauti. Lindh opened the action, and both Benefield and Kawauti called. A heart on the turn gave Kawauti a flush, but that didn’t stop Lindh from betting out 500,000. Incredibly, despite being way ahead with a 91% chance of victory, Kawauti inexplicably folded his hand! I’m as confused as you are, believe me. Somewhere, Phil Ivey is shaking his head in disgust.
James Alexander was once again on the receiving end, getting a 1M check-raise from Jason Mann and his 52c. The Texas bar owner folded a pair of 6s and was once again shown a bluff. With the win, Mann brought his stack up to 8.83M. They both laughed about it afterwards, and Mann quipped that it was his ‘ESPN Moment’.
The last remaining woman in the field, Jackie Glazier, shoved all in with AQ only to find herself called down by Sergio Castelluccio and his pair of 10s. The board was no help to Jackie, and she exited 31st place for $229,281. Castelluccio would win 2.1M in the hand, bringing his total up to 6.66M.
A short while later, Frenchman Sylvain Loosli decided to get creative with QJos, 4-betting Danard Petit, who only smooth called with pocket Aces. Petit’s slow play paid off as the flop brought Loosli a top pair of Jacks. Loosli fired out with 950k and Petit check-raised to 2M, leading to a call by Loosli. The turn brought out both a flush draw and a straight draw, and after Petit checked Loosli shoved 4M all-in. Petit called and saw himself as an 80% favorite to take down a 14.3M pot. Alas, the poker gods were unkind to Petit, and the 10 on the river gave Loosli a straight. Petit was eliminated in 30th place for $229,281. All things considered, Danard Petit handled it like a man.
Philip Long was eliminated shortly after when his pair of 3s failed to survive against James Alexander’s J10 and a flopped two-pair. He finished in 29th place.
Chip leader Anton Morgenstern took out another player, sending George Wong home in 28th place when his AJ failed to improve against Morgenstern’s 99. Morgenstern bumped his chip lead up to an astounding 22M. He ended the day with almost an 8M chip lead on second place.
With Day 6 officially in the books, 1 day remained until the final table. Make sure to tune in next week for more coverage, as episodes will continue to air until the final table begins play in early November.
Players Remaining: 27
Average Stack: 7,060,000