Poker Tournaments

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

RESULTS

CHIP COUNTS

UPDATES

POKER TWEETS

DAY:
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2b
2a
1d
1c
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PAGE:
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Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:25:45

Dangerous Board Ahead

Phil Ivey opened for 320,000, Jordan Smith raised to 1,000,000 and Ivey made the call. Smith checked the

flop over to Ivey, who checked behind. The

fell on the turn and both players checked again. The

on the river prompted an excited "oooh" from the crowd, but they checked it down again. Smith turned over

for two pair and Ivey mucked.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:21:27

Nick Maimone Doubles Through Jordan Smith

Jordan Smith made it 320,000 to go from middle position, Nick Maimone reraised to 825,000 on the button, and Smith made the call. Smith moved all in on the

flop and Maimone snap-called. Maimone

Smith

The stands surrounding the feature table exploded as Maimone hit the

on the turn. The river was the

and Maimone scored a double-up to just over 4 million.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:17:48

Kopp to the Top

Billy Kopp continues to amass a dazzling collection of orange, green, lavender, and almond colored chips stacked in columns before him. He was in action again just now, raising to 275,000 from under the gun and getting a caller in Steven Begleiter from the button. The flop came down

. Kopp continued for 600,000, and Begleiter called. Both then checked the

turn and

river. Kopp showed

, and Begleiter mucked. Kopp has moved into the chip lead now with 19.1 million. Begleiter currently has 11.35 million.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:16:54

Another Hit for Akenhead

James Akenhead had scrabbled his way back to about 4.5 million in chips but has suffered another setback. He opened the button for 310,000 and was called by big stack Darvin Moon from the small blind. Moon checked a flop of

, then raised to 1.0 million after Akenhead bet 380,000. Akenhead snap-mucked to the raise, preserving his stack at 3.3 million.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:14:35

Mettes Folds to Shulman's Reraise

Marco Mettes opened for 300,000, Jeff Shulman reraised to 1.1 million from the button. Mettes gave it up and again, a pre-flop three bet was enough for Shulman to take down the pot.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:11:40

No Stopping Kopp

Ben Lamb raised to 285,000 from the hijack seat, and it folded to Billy Kopp who raised to 860,000 total from the small blind. The big blind folded, and Lamb called. The flop came

, and both checked. Both also checked the

turn. The river brought the

, putting four spades on board. Both checked again. Kopp turned over

for the straight, and Lamb mucked. Kopp is now up over 18 million, and Lamb at 7 million.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:11:03

Blind vs. Blind Battle for Ivey and Shulman

Phil Ivey completed the small blind and Jeff Shulman checked his option. The flop was

. Ivey led out for 120,000 and Shulman called. The turn was the

and Ivey checked to Shulman, who bet 200,000. Ivey gave up his hand and Shulman won the pot.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:07:54

Gin!

Those turned and rivered two-outers are so difficult to spot and can be so deadly for opponents. After Darvin Moon limped into the pot, Jonathan Tamayo raised the button to 355,000. Eric Buchman called from the big blind and Moon called as well for a pot with about 1.1 million chips in it before the flop. The first three community cards came out

. Buchman and Moon checked to the preflop raiser, Tamayo. He bet 760,000 and was called only by Buchman. Both men checked the

turn. The river fell

. Buchman made a less-than-half-pot bet of 1.1 million. Tamayo probably never saw the hand he was running into when he called. Buchman showed down

for a turned full house, sixes full of nines.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:07:49

Francois Balmigere Eliminated in 25th Place ($352,832)

Francois Balmigere raised to 330,000 from middle position, Steven Begleiter called behind him, and it folded around to Billy Kopp who also called from the big blind. The flop came

. Kopp led with a bet of 700,000, then Balmigere pushed all in for 2.785 million total. Begleiter folded, and Kopp went into the tank. After a minute, Kopp counted out the chips needed to call and stacked them in a single column. Finally he picked up the stack and set it down before him with a thump. The players' cards were revealed: Kopp

Balmigere

The turn was the

, and Balmigere's jacks were still good. But the river brought the

, giving Kopp the straight. Balmigere stood with a pained look for a moment, then shook hands with the others as he departed. Kopp is now up to 17.5 million.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:07:09

Cada Three-Bets to Victory

Marco Mattes made a button raise to 300,000, Joe Cada three-bet to 860,000 from the small blind, Mattes elected to lay it down after a long think and Cada won the pot.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:59:37

Shulman's Three-Bet Takes It Down

Jordan Smith opened for 325,000 from middle position, Jeff Shulman raised to 1.1 million from the cutoff. After a bit of a think, Smith mucked his hand and Shulman took it down.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:59:37

Calderaro Moves First

Sometimes he who fires first wins the pot. Tommy Vedes was the first aggressor preflop, raising to 335,000. He was called by Ian Tavelli on the button and James Calderaro from the small blind. All three players checked an ace-high flop,

. When the turn came

, Calderaro had first action and made the first motion, leading out for 800,000. Each of his opponents folded.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:56:41

Nick Maimone Doubles Through Phil Ivey

Nick Maimone open-shoved for his remaining 1.03 million and Phil Ivey made the call from the button. Maimone

Ivey

The flop favored Ivey, coming down

, but Maimone spiked the

on the turn to take the lead. The river was the

and he doubled up to 2,360,000.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:53:49

Lichtenberger Wins with Four-Bet Shove

Andrew Lichtenberger opened for 325,000 from late position, Marco Mattes three-bet to 825,000 and with the action folded back to Lichtenberger, he moved all in. Mattes let his hand go and Lichtenberger took it down.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:52:05

Story Time

"I lost my voice. It hurts to talk," said Antonio Esfandiari a little while ago. "Yet... I can't shut up." Actually, Esfandiari and his eight tablemates have been very quiet in the early going, with hardly any noise emanating from the table but the quiet riffling of chips and the dealer's announcements of action. "Tell me a story, Steve," said Antonio to Steven Begleiter, with whom he'd opened a brief dialogue a little while ago following that cheer for Begleiter from the rail. From the looks of things, the only stories this group will be telling in the near term will be told via the cards and chips.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:48:34

Shulman Gets on the Board

Jeff Shulman opened for 300,000 and Joe Cada called from the small blind. Cada checked the

flop over to Shulman, who made a continuation bet of 550,000. It was enough to chase away Cada and Shulman won his first pot of the day.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:48:28

Re-Balancing

Because the first two players eliminated were both from the same table, tournament staff had to break a player off of one of the other tables. Players at Table 1 were not thrilled to see chip leader Darvin Moon show up with rack after rack after rack of chips. He's now in the 1-seat formerly occupied by Jesse Haabak.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:48:19

Schaffel Chips Up

Kevin Schaffel opened with a raise to 300,000 from middle position and got three callers -- Jamie Robbins (hijack), Ludovic Lacay (small blind), and Steven Begleiter (big blind). The flop came

. It checked to Schaffel who bet 850,000, Robbins called, and the others folded. The turn was the

, and both checked. The river brought the

. Schaffel bet 1.5 million this time, and Robbins gave it a short think before letting it go. Schaffel has 12.3 million now.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:45:35

Lichtenberger Snaps off Moon's Aces

Darvin Moon limped in from UTG, Andrew Lichtenberger limped on the button, Marco Mattes completed the small blind and Joseph Cada checked his option. The flop came down

. Moon bet 300,000 and all three opponents called. The turn was the

and the action was checked to Moon, who bet 700,000. Lichtenberger called, Mattes folded, and Cada let it go. Heads-up to the river, which came the

. Moon led out for 1,000,000 and Lichtenberger called. Moon revealed

in the hole but Lichtenberger had trip nines with

to take the pot away.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:43:19

Jesse Haabak Eliminated in 26th Place ($352,832)

Action folded around to Jesse Haabak. He open-shoved his diminished stack. Warren Zackey was sitting with the button, looked down at

, and made an easy call. Haabak showed down two live cards,

, that were significantly less live after a flop of

. Haabak needed a jack or running trips. He was booted to the rail in 26th place when he got neither, bricking the turn

and river

. As a result of that pot and a few other small pots, Zackey has more than 10 million chips.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:39:05

Ship It to the Moon

Darvin Moon limped in from early position, Andrew Lichtenberger completed the small blind, and Marco Mattes checked his option. Lichtenberger checked the

flop, Mattes checked, and Moon bet 500,000. It was enough to chase away both opponents and Moon took it down.