Joseph Cheong Eliminated by Martin Zentner

Level 7: 250-500, 50 ante

We missed the action, but the table kindly filled us in on how Joseph Cheong went from one of the big stacks to out.  After dropping a big pot when his aces were cracked, Cheong lost the rest of his stack after a big altercation with Martin Zentner.

According to the table, Cheong raised from early position and Zentner called from middle position.  The flop fell A-K-4 rainbow, Cheong bet 1,750 and Zentner called.

The turn brought a queen and Cheong bet 4,075.  Zentner called again and the river brought a six.  Cheong made a big bet of 20,100 and Zentner quickly announced he was all-in.  Cheong snap-called and tried to muck his hand when Zentner showed J-10 for a turned Broadway straight.  Cheong mucked and quietly made his exit, while Zentner raked in the pot and jumped up to 148,000 chips.

Chip Count Update

Level 7: 250-500, 50 ante

All of the chip counts have just been updated in the Chip Count Tab.

With 120 players remaining, here is a look at the top five...

Vitor Coelho - 160,000
Bobby Keller - 150,000
Martin Zentner - 148,000
Gavin Smith 145,000
Ben Klier - 137,000

Recent Eliminations...

John Dolan
Micah Raskin
Chris Bell
Joseph Cheong

Cracked Aces Are a Bad Portent for Joseph Cheong

Level 7: 250-500, 50 ante

A player is all in preflop from the cutoff with AQ against Joseph Cheong's AA in middle position. But the board comes 964310, and Cheong's opponent rivers a club flush to win the pot and double up. 

Joseph Cheong  -  56,000

A few minutes later, Cheong was eliminated from the tournament. Details on Cheong's final hand coming soon.

Level 7 Begins

Level 7: 250-500, 50 ante

The players return from break to begin Level 7, with increased blinds of 250-500 and a 50 ante. With 125 players remaining, the average stack is about 51,360. 

Play will continue today until the end of Level 10, which will be about 8:30 pm CT.

Larry Little Eliminated

Level 6: 200-400, 50 ante

Larry Little raises preflop, his opponent reraises, and Little moves all in with A-K. His opponent calls with J-J, and it's a race situation. Little picks up a club flush draw for additional outs, but never improves beyond that, and he is eliminated. 

Larry Little is the father of two-time WPT winner and Season VI WPT Player of the Year Jonathan Little. Larry won a $100 sit-n-go here at the Beau Rivage, and parlayed those winnings into a $500 satellite, where he won a seat into his first WPT event. 

Larry Little  -  Eliminated



http://twitter.com/#!/JonathanLittle/status/29630314779246592

Ben Klier's Fast Start

Level 6: 200-400, 50 ante

When Day 2 began, Ben Klier was the third smallest stack in the field with 5,350 chips--roughly 14 big blinds.  Over the course of the first 90 minutes of play, Klier has run that small stack into 83,000 chips, which will give him 116 big blinds headed into Level 7. 

Todd Terry Eliminated

Level 6: 200-400, 50 ante

Eric Baldwin Eliminated by Pat Walsh

Level 6: 200-400, 50 ante

Pat Walsh raises to 1,100 on the button and Eric Baldwin moves all-in for 9,725 from the small blind.  Walsh gets a count, then calls with 22.  He is racing with Baldwin's A9.

The Q97 flop favors Baldwin, but Walsh has outs with his diamond draw.  The turn brings the 7, but the 8 on the river gives Walsh a flush and the pot.  Baldwin is eliminated and Walsh chips up to 62,000.

Jonathan Little Applies Pressure to Take a Pot

Level 6: 200-400, 50 ante

With the flop showing J103 and only about 4,000 in the pot, the button has a bet of 8,000 in front of him, and Jonathan Little (late position) has put out a big stack of blue chips that easily covers the button's remaining 29,000.

The button tanks for more than a minute before he folds, and Little takes the pot. 

Jonathan Little  -  96,500

Jonathan's father Larry is still alive in his first WPT event, but his stack of 24,000 represents only half the current average of 48,000.

"Are We Playing Limit Here?"

Level 6: 200-400, 50 ante

Joseph Cheong, Ali Eslami, and Yuval Brohnshtein have been chatting about Limit Hold'em at their table and the chatter appears to be having an impact on their play in the tournament.

Ali Eslami limps from early position and Joseph Cheong min-raises to 800 from middle position.  The small blind calls, as does Todd Keikoan out of the big blind. 

Eslami continues with the fun, making it 1,200 to go.

Cheong laughs and asks, "Are we playing Limit here?"  He then reraises, making it 1,600 to go.  The small blind comes along, while Keikoan just shakes his head and folds, telling Eslami and Cheong, "I hope this is as much fun for you guys as it is for us."

Eslami asks the table, "Is there a cap on bets in this?"  No one seems to have a concrete answer, so Eslami five-bets to 2,000.  Cheong elects to just call, and the small blind calls as well.

The three players check the 998 flop and action checks to Cheong after the A comes on the turn.  Cheong bets 2,000, and the small blind deliberates for a minute or two before folding.  Eslami calls.

"I'm thinking of a card," Eslami tells the table as the dealer burns and turns the 4 on the river.  Eslami quickly checks and Cheong takes a beat before checking behind.

Eslami shows 66 and Cheong mucks.

Robert Keller, who is seated in between Eslami and Cheong asks, "What card were you thinking of?"

Eslami exclaims, "A six!"

Ali Eslami - 77,000
Joseph Cheong - 98,000