Extended Bubble Play

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

The money bubble here at the Commerce seems to be never-ending. Believe it or not, hand-for-hand play began an hour and a half ago. (Although it started a few spots early, because several short stacks were very obviously stalling.) But with a rather subdued cheer from one table, the bubble has finally burst! There are 63 players left, and they are all guaranteed at least $22,020. If you believe in poetic justice, here's something that will make you smile. The one player who was stalling the worst (and who most blame for the early hand-for-hand play) ended up as the bubble boy after calling all in for about 20,000 with Q-5. More details to come in a moment.

Theo Tran Takes Advantage of the Bubble

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

|:img:4960,L:|Theo Tran has been using the extended bubble play to his advantage by really increasing his aggression, and by our calculations he is winning about 50% of the hands played. He's not shy about it either, at one point raising the pot and telling his opponent (honestly), "I haven't looked at my cards yet." Theo Tran is up to 490,000 in chips, and he might be one of the few people hoping the bubble situation continues for a while longer.

Hola Amigo

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Mickey Mills Makes a Big Laydown on the Bubble

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Alan Goehring limps as does Mickey "Mouse" Mills preflop, before Yury Parad raises to 100,000 from the small blind. This has been pretty standard action from Parad, and the big blind quickly folds behind him. Goehring also folds and action is back to Mills, who goes into the tank. He thinks for a while about his decision before folding pocket queens face up. Parad flashes pocket kings as he takes down the pot.

Still Stuck at 64 ...

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Everyone in the field is still waiting for one more player to bust. Phil Ivey is still the chipleader with 680,000, but Kyle Burnside (625,000) and Yury Parad (595,000) are closing in on him.

Phil Hellmuth Doubles Up on the Bubble

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

On a flop of J83 Phil Hellmuth moves all in and his opponent in seat 4 quickly makes the call. They then turn up their hands: Hellmuth: J8 Seat 4: J9 Turn and River: Q5 Hellmuth doubles up on the hand and survives, which receives a round of cheers from the railbirds.

One More To Go ...

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

There are 64 players left, and only 63 will finish in the money. As soon as one more player busts, that extremely unhappy person will make everyone else much happier. (Whether it's because they finished in the money themselves, or just so they don't have to play this damn hand-for-hand stuff any longer.)

Paul "uclabruinz" Smith Doubles Up on the Bubble

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Paul "uclabruinz" Smith just doubled up on the bubble when his pocket tens held up against the pocket nines of his opponent. Smith is still relatively short stacked, but is no longer on the bottom of the leader board. With one more player to go until the money, his earlier claim to the position of bubble boy may be prove to be incorrect.

Antonio Esfandiari Eliminated

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

Antonio Esfandiari was just eliminated on a recent hand. He held K6 against his opponents AK, on an ace-high board. He finishes in 66th place, just three places out of the money.

Blinds Increase

Level 30: 100,000-200,000, 30,000 ante

The blinds increase to 3,000-6,000, with a 1,000 ante. The 500 chips were raced off during the break. There are still 66 players remaining, and they will play hand-for-hand until three more players are eliminated. The bubble is particularly long because short stacks at several different tables were stalling on each hand.