2009 40th Annual World Series of Poker
World Championship NL Texas Hold'em (Event 57)
Date:
Friday, July 03, 2009 to Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Buy-In:
$10,000
Prize Pool:
$61,043,600
Entrants:
6,494
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:36:06
Joe Ward Eliminated in 28th Place ($253,941)
Jamie Robbins and Joe Ward got their entire stacks in before the flop, Robbins having Ward out-chipped by about 200,000.
Ward 
Robbins 
The flop was 
, Ward still in the lead. The turn was the 
but the 
cruelly spiked on the river to end his Main Event run in 28th place.
After the hand, Robbins was up to 9.7 million.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:31:57
Kopp Takes One More
Billy Kopp raised to 250,000 from middle position and Kevin Schaffel called from the small blind. Jonathan Tamayo also called out of the big blind.
The flop came down 
and everyone checked. The turn brought the 
and Schaffel fired 500,000. Kopp flat-called.
The river was the and Schaffel checked. Kopp fired 700,000 and Schaffel folded.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:31:02
Balmigere Not Done Yet
Joseph Cada came in with a raise to 250,000 and Francois Balmigere moved all in for the 720,000 he had left from his crippling one hand ago. The table folded around, and Cada quickly called to put Balmigere at risk of bubbling Day 8.
Showdown
Cada:
Balmigere: 
The board would run down 
, safe for the all-in player. With his pair of jacks, Francois Balmigere has picked up a crucial double up which is far better than being outta here in 28th place. He's back to 1.7 million now, alive but still in need of some help.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:28:39
Action Sloooooooooows
If you've looked at our Prizepool and Payouts page, you probably noticed that the 28th-place finisher will receive $253,941. What you may not have noticed is that the 27th-place finisher will receive $352,832. That's a $99,000 difference for finishing one place higher.
It should be no surprise, given that difference, that play has tightened up massively. Even with four tables in play, there's not a whole lot going on right now. Nobody wants to be the player who busts in 28th place and misses out on an extra six figures -- not to mention the extra TV exposure ensured by coming back tomorrow.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:25:12
Esfandiari Working His Magic
Francois Balmigere opened the pot with a raise to 250,000, and the action came around to Antonio Esfandiari in the big blind. He made it 700,000 to go, and Balmigere would go into the tank for a spell. After a couple minutes, he announced an all in, and Esfandiari snap-called and instantly flipped over 
. He was in perfect shape to double up against the 
of Balmigere.
Esfandiari disappeared from the stage to go sit in a spectator's chair as he sweated this board. There wasn't much drama as it was a clean slate for him, coming down 
. The crowed erupted with the most ambitious celebration so far today as Esfandiari raised his arms in the air and high-fived the crowd. There are even a group of old women who were doing the wavy magicians' voodoo arms thing in the corner of the stage. It's clear everyone in this arena is pulling for Esfandiari, and he now has twice as many chips to work with.
Esfandiari - 4,400,000
Balmigere - 730,000
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:23:29
And the Double-Ups Keep Coming
We've had what seems an inordinate amount of players surviving their all-in bets and doubling up this level -- the kind of thing that can potentially wear down a player's patience.
Just now, Phil Ivey raised to 260,000 from the cutoff, and Jordan Smith reraised all in from the small blind. The big blind folded, and Ivey took a moment to consider the situation.
"How much is it?" he asked. Smith was all in for a total of 2.035 million. "I don't know if I can take this anymore," he added.
Ivey thought a moment longer, then made the call.
Smith showed 
and Ivey 
. The community cards came 
, and Smith is now up to 4.4 million. Ivey slips to 11 million.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:13:04
Jesse Haaback Doubles Through Nick Maimone
Nick Maimone opened for 300,000 from the hijack, Jesse Haaback shoved from the cutoff for 1,495,000 and Maimone called.
Haabak
Maimone
The board ran out 
to double Haabak to 3,220,000.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:07:09
Begleiter Hero Calls with Aces Up
Ludovic Lacay opened for 250,000, Steven Begleiter called from the small blind and Nick Maimone called from the big blind.
All three players checked the flop as well as the 
on the turn. The fell on the river and the action was checked to Lacay, who bet 325,000. Begleiter called and Maimone folded.
Begleiter showed for aces up and Lacay mucked.
Begleiter= 12,400,000
Lacay= 6,400,000
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:06:24
To the Aggressor Go the Spoils
Eric Buchman raised to 250,000 preflop and Kevin Schaffel called along with Jonathan Tamayo. The flop came down 
and Buchman was first to act. He fired 400,000 and Schaffel folded. Tamayo made the call.
The turn brought the and Buchman fired 700,000. Tamayo called again.
The river brought the 
and Buchman again fired. He bet the same as he did on the turn -- 700,00. Tamayo quickly announced a call.
Buchman turned over 
for a seven-high straight. Tamayo was about to show his hand, but then realized what Buchman had and mucked before sending the chips over.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:05:53
Tavelli is Italian for Check-Raise
Ian Tavelli came in with a raise to 250,000, and the action came around to late position where Warren Zackey made a reraise to 750,000. Tavelli eventually called, and the flop came out 
. Tavelli checked. Zackey fired out 600,000 only to see Tavelli check-raise all in for a total of 2,490,000. After a long spell in the tank, Zackey decided to let his hand go, sending 1.35 million of his chips across the felt.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:04:51
Cargiorgas Doubles Through Smith
Jordan Smith raised to 275,000 from the cutoff, and George Caragiorgas raised all in for 965,000 from the small blind. Smith made the call.
Caragiorgas showed 
and Smith 
. The board went 
, and the fours held. Caragiorgas is at 2.1 million now, and Smith falls to 1.6 million.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:02:05
Vedes Makes a Disciplined Fold
Nick Maimone limped in, Antoine Saout completed the small blind and Tommy Vedes checked his option.
All three players checked the flop. When the turn came the , Saout checked, Vedes bet 250,000, Maimone called and Saout folded. The river was the and Vedes checked. Maimone bet 400,000 and after quite a long think, Vedes flashed the 
and folded.
Maimone showed and raked in the pot.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:01:44
Lucrative Sequence for Ludovic
Here are three recent hands involving the very active Frenchman, Ludovic Lacay. All three begin with Lacay opening the action with a raise to 250,000.
In the first, Lacay raised from the cutoff, Antoine Saout called from the small blind, and Tommy Vedes called from the big blind. The flop came , it checked to Lacay who bet 350,000, and both blinds folded.
A few hands later, Lacay raised from middle position, and Nick Maimone called from the big blind. The flop came . Maimone checked, Lacay bet 300,000, and Maimone called. The turn was the . Maimone checked, Lacay bet 800,000, and Maimone folded.
Soon after, Lacay was raising from under the gun. Steven Begleiter called from the button, as did Jesse Haabak from the big blind. All three checked the 
flop. The turn was the . Haabak bet 465,000, Lacay called, and Begleiter folded. The river was the , and both checked.
Lacay showed , and Haabak folded.
After that sequence, Lacay has improved to 6.9 million.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:58:58
Smith's Turn to Double Up
It was a hand that played itself. Jordan Smith opened all in from the button for 1.25 milion and Ben Lamb called. Lamb might have thought his 
was in the lead, but not after Smith turned over . One of the other players at the table told Smith that he had folded .
"Don't tell me that!" said Smith. "I don't want to know."
Of course the flop came with two spades, , giving Smith a sweat. The turn gave Lamb a couple more outs, but he mssed everything on the river. Smith doubled up to about 2.8 million.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:45:32
Steven Begleiter Doubles Through Tommy Vedes
Tommy Vedes opened for 290,000 from the cutoff, Steven Begleiter reraised to 650,000, Vedes four-bet to 1,490,000, Begleiter shoved for 5,265,000 and Vedes called, creating a 10 million chip pot.
Begleiter
Vedes
The flop was safe for Vedes, coming down , but the hit the turn to give the lead to Begleiter. He made two pair when the 
hit the river and scored a massive double-up to 10.75 million. Vedes was left with 5.52 million.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:42:32
Lamb Chops Chips from Ivey's Stack
Ben Lamb opened with a raise to 265,000, and the table folded to Phil Ivey in the big blind who called.
The flop came . Ivey checked, Lamb bet 320,000, and Ivey called. Both checked the turn.
The river was the . Ivey checked, Lamb bet 640,000, and Ivey made the call. Lamb showed and Ivey mucked. "I had an eight, too," said Ivey as he tossed his cards to the dealer.
Lamb has 9 million now, while Ivey is at 13.3 million.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:37:06
Chip Leaders
After losing 14 players during the two hours of Level 28, we've lost just one thus far during the first hour of Level 29.
The current chip leaders with 28 players remaining:
1. Billy Kopp -- 15,500,000
2. Darvin Moon -- 15,000,000
3. Phil Ivey -- 14,000,000
4. Tommy Vedes -- 10,540,000
5. Jeff Shulman -- 10,500,000
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:32:14
Ivey in the Tank!
It hasn't been often (or at all, really) that we've seen Phil Ivey take a long time to make a decision today, but he just tanked for several minutes in a multi-way hand. George Caragiorgas opened preflop with a raise to 300,000. Ivey had the button and called before small blind Jamie Robbins and big blind Joe Ward also called.
All that action created a four-way pot worth 1.2 million on a flop of 
. Action checked all the way to Ivey. He bet 600,000 and was called by Robbins before Ward moved all in for 3.195 million. Caragiorgas quickly folded, bringing the action back to Ivey. He went deep into the tank.
For several minutes, play stopped as Ivey studied Ward looking for clues as to what to do. His eyes darted back and forth and he could be seen talking to himself, although the words were inaudible. After a few minutes, Ward fiddled with his hand a little bet, double-checking his hand and fiddlng with the lavender chips that were in the middle.
Those actions brought a smile to Ivey's face. "What was that all about?" he asked Ward.
"I'm playing mind games with you," Ward replied. Ivey's smile widened a bit more. After another 30 seconds he folded his hand. Robbins quickly folded a few seconds later, allowing Ward to drag the pot.
Ward is back up to 6 million.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:23:20
Esfandiari Fading
Under the gun, Joseph Cada came in with a raise to 250,000, and the betting folded most of the way around the table. From the button though, Antonio Esfandiari three-bet it up to 805,000. The small blind ducked out, but James Akenhead wasn't going anywhere from the big. After some deep thought, he came over the top of both players with a healthy raise to 2,150,000. Cada quickly folded, and Esfandiari reluctantly let his cards go as well, dropping more than one third of his chip stack with that failed three-bet. He is now the shortest stack in the field with just over 1.5 million in chips.
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:20:40
Buchman Opens-Ships Three Million
Eric Buchman decided not to make one of his more normal raises, but instead open-shoved slightly over three million into the middle. Jonathan Tamayo asked for a count and when he found out, made the call.
Tamayo tabled and then the dealer turned over Buchman's hand -- 
. The crowd sprung to their feet to watch the action as Tamayo's rail cheered.
The flop was gin for Buchman when it came 
. Buchman is rarely emotional, but again slapped his hands together and yelled, "Yes!"
The turn was the which officially ended things. The river completed the board with the and Tamayo sent the chips over.
