Live Tournament Updates
Liebert Eliminated
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
Kathy Liebert has busted out of the tournament.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V12:53 PM, 10/25/06
Players are back. Round 3 had begun
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
Blinds are now 50 and 100. Play continues to be very slow here on the 1st day.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V12:49 PM, 10/25/06
Chatting with Amnon
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
I got Amnon Philippi to come over on the break just to chat about the action at his table. He told me Bradley Smith has been playing most pots and betting every street in many of them, but that its working. "He's turning a profit" the high-stakes player told me. "It's working like three of every five hands." Amnon went on to explain that Joe Sebok hasn't been getting the cards, and frustration may have contributed to his trying to get Smith to slow down. The most interesting comment, though, came when I asked if John Juanda had changed the table's dynamic. "John plays tight, I don't care about John" he said of Juanda, widely recognized as one of the best players in the world. "I'd rather have John Juanda at my table than Doug Lee. I bet T4,000 and Lee made it twenty more. Its hard to play against unpredictable players liek that." It wasn't about disresecting Juanda so much as being able to maintain an understanding of table dynamics.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V12:48 PM, 10/25/06
Break Time
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
The players are on a ten minute break.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V12:37 PM, 10/25/06
This 'n That
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
- Carlos Mortensen has entered the room and ben added to the table I mentioned earlier with Eli Elezra and James Van Alstyne. - One interesting attendee to this tournament is Howard Goldfarb. Howard finished second at the 1995 World Series, losing to Dan Harrington as he smoked and ate at the table. "I wouldn't mind a chance at revenge here" he told me, suggesting he'd want that to come at the final table in heads-up action.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V12:25 PM, 10/25/06
Kessler Wins a Big Pot with a Tough Call
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
Allen Kessler bets T550 from the small blind and seat nine calls from middle position. The flop comes J
9
6
and Kessler bets T850, seat nine raises to T2,100 and Kessler calls. The turn card is the K and Kessler checks. Seat nine bets T3,600 and Kessler calls. The river card is the J and Kessler checks to seat nine again who bets T10,000. Kessler goes into the tank for a few minutes and thinks about the call. He eventually moves his T10,000 into the middle and turns over pocket aces. Seat nine mucks his hand and concedes to his failed bluff.
12:25 PM, 10/25/06
Amnon Filippi wins big pot
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
Player in middle position raises T200. Filippi calls and Bradley Smith raises to T800. Both players call the raise.
The flop comes A9
10
Player and Filippi check. Smith bets T1200. Both players call.
The turn is the 6
Player checks and Filippi bets T7000. Smith calls. First player folds.
The river is the 8
Filippi checks as does Smith.
Filippi turns over 99 for a set of 9's to win the monster pot!
Smith sure didn't see that one coming!
12:21 PM, 10/25/06
Important note for novice tournament followers
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
Hey guys, just a style note here. To differentiate between tournament chips and actual money, when we're expressing a total number of tournament chips, we'll be using 'T' instead of '$'. So, for example, each player started the day with T20,000, not $20,000.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V12:10 PM, 10/25/06
The Subtle Manipulations of Bradley Smith
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
Some interesting action has been going down at the table featuring Amnon Philippi and Joe Sebok. Bradley Smith, the player who took Doug Lee out of the tournament, has been playing the big stack like he’s seen on TV, playing very aggressively and trying to push players around. Unfortunately for him, he’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar more than once. In the last hand I watched, after Amnon caught Bradley again, Sebok said “How many times are you going to try to bluff, dude�?, trying to get Smith to slow down. “Mind your business�? Philippi replied. Amnon has a big stack, so he can play with Bradley. Sebok lost a quarter of his stack early, so he’s trying to preserve. Watching them try to subtly manipulate Smith is a lot of fun. As if the table wasn’t tough enough, John Juanda was moved in just as I rushed off to write this up. - Speaking of Smith, I got a chance to talk with Doug Lee while he was still soaking in the frustration of his exodus. He explained that he’d raised the pre-flop six times with big blind with pocket eights, and Smith made a questionable call with Q-J off-suit. Then, on the flop of A-T-8, Smith bet out the double belly-buster (two inside straight draws) and was raised even before the action got back to Lee, who moved all-in. Bradley made the call, a play Lee still questions. The river was an ace and Lee was out. Of course, Lee is a casualty of bluffing on television. In his WSOP circuit win a year ago, Lee pushed the table of Jen Harman and Jean-Robert Bellande around with massive chip movement and it worked. Now he’s recognizable and has that memory stamped on his forehead. Today, he may have been a casualty of his own success.
Sorted In: Tournaments, Fallsview Casino Resort, North American Poker Championship, Season V12:09 PM, 10/25/06
Check-Check
Level 40: 1,000,000-2,000,000, 300,000 ante
No one is in a big hurry here on day 1A. A lot of pots are being checked all the way down to the river. A perfect example of this would be this hand that took place a few minutes ago. On a board of AA742 seven players checked through all four streets. Scott Clements won the monster T350 pot with 97.
11:57 AM, 10/25/06
