Live Tournament Updates
Vivek Rajkumar Eliminates Ryan Hughes
Level 1: 100-200, ante
Ryan Hughes (16,000) has been battling back against Vivek Rajkumar (24,000), trying to get back to even.
Hughes limps for 600, Vivek raises to 1,900, Hughes moves all in, and Vivek quickly calls with J
J
. Hughes shows A
3, and he'll need to improve to stay alive.
The board comes K6
697, and Vivek Rajkumar wins the pot -- and the match -- with his pocket jacks.
Ryan Hughes is eliminated in the 9th-12th range, earning $25,150. Vivek Rajkumar advances to the next round, where he will face Amit Makhija in another elimination match. They are taking a shot break, and plan to begin playing around 2:20 pm PT.
Vivek shared the betting details on his earlier double up when he caught a runner-runner straight with king-rag. At the time, Hughes had built up a 25,000-to-15,000 lead over Vivek. Here are the updated details on that key hand:
Ryan Hughes min-raised from the button, and Vivek Rajkumar called with K7. The flop came AQ5, and Vivek check-called a bet from Hughes. The turn card was the J, giving Vivek a gutshot straight draw, and he check-called another bet from Hughes. The river card was the 10, completing Vivek's straight, and he checked for the third time. Hughes bet 5,200, and Vivek thought for about a minute before moving all in for 10,900. Hughes studied Vivek before eventually calling, shocked to see Vivek's K-7 for the nuts. Hughes mucked.
That was the key hand, giving Vivek a roughly 30,000 to 10,000 lead that set up the final hand.
2:20 pm: Vivek Rajkumar vs. Amit Makhija
02:04 PM, 02/20/09
Steve Sung Opens Up a Lead Against John Racener
Level 1: 100-200, ante
Steve Sung has caught a little momentum against John Racener, and he has taken the first big lead of this match.
Steve Sung - 28,000
John Racener - 12,000
01:47 PM, 02/20/09
Vivek Rajkumar Doubles Through Ryan Hughes
Level 1: 100-200, ante
With about 7,000 already in the pot and the final board showing AQ5J10, Vivek Rajkumar checks, Ryan Hughes thinks a bit before betting 5,200, and Rajkumar tanks for about a minute before saying, "I'm all in."
The stack is counted down, and it's another 5,700 to Hughes. Hughes counts out his own chips, and studies Vivek before he calls.
Vivek quickly turns over K7 for a runner-runner ace-high straight, and Hughes can't help but laugh before mucking his cards -- he clearly didn't imagine that Vivek had king-rag.
Vivek Rajkumar - 29,400
Ryan Hughes - 10,600
01:40 PM, 02/20/09
Updated Chip Counts
Level 1: 100-200, ante
Ryan Hughes has taken his first decent lead over Vivek Rajkumar, while Steve Sung and John Racener remain close to even.
Ryan Hughes - 25,000
Vivek Rajkumar - 15,000
Steve Sung - 22,700
John Racener - 17,300
01:33 PM, 02/20/09
Update: Steve Sung vs. John Racener
Level 1: 100-200, ante
Steve Sung and John Racener continue to do cautious battle, and neither player has opened up much of a lead yet.
Steve Sung - 22,000
John Racener - 18,000
01:21 PM, 02/20/09
Ryan Hughes Doubles Through Vivek Rajkumar
Level 1: 100-200, ante
We just had an all-in situation between Vivek Rajkumar (30,800) and Ryan Hughes (9,200).
Vivek raised to 1,300, Hughes moved all in for 9,200, and Vivek called with 88. But Hughes showed KK, and he was a big favorite to double up.
The board came AQ42A, and Ryan Hughes won the pot with his pocket kings, doubling up to 18,400. Things are effectively back to even after Hughes was all the way down to 3,000 in chips.
Vivek Rajkumar - 21,600
Ryan Hughes - 18,400
01:18 PM, 02/20/09
Ryan Hughes Battling Back Against Vivek Rajkumar
Level 1: 100-200, ante
A little more than an hour into their match, Ryan Hughes has started to move back in the right direction against Vivek Rajkumar.
Vivek Rajkumar - 31,000
Ryan Hughes - 9,000
The Steve Sung vs. John Racener match has been underway for about 15 minutes or so, and they are both still close to their starting stacks of 20,000 each.
01:09 PM, 02/20/09
Vivek Rajkumar Has Momentum Against Ryan Hughes
Level 1: 100-200, ante
Vivek Rajkumar (37,000) has been steadily dwindling the stack of Ryan Hughes (3,000) toward the felt.
Vivek raises to 600, and Hughes calls. The flop comes 963, Hughes bets 800, Vivek moves all in, and Hughes calls all in for 2,400 with J9 (pair of nines). Rajkumar shows AQ for two overcards, and he'll need an ace, a queen, or running spades to win the match here.
The turn is the 7, the river is the 5, and Ryan Hughes win the pot with his pair of nines to double up to 6,000 in chips. Vivek still has a commanding lead with 34,000.
01:01 PM, 02/20/09
Steve Sung vs. John Racener Begins
Level 1: 100-200, ante
Steve Sung has arrived, and his match against John Racener has begun. The winner will play Steve Billirakis for a spot in the second Final Four.
The Loser's Bracket has two stages for each number of players, because the losers from the Winner's Bracket come over to replace the losses each round.
12:58 PM, 02/20/09
Amit Makhija's Magic Hand: Pocket Tens
Level 1: 100-200, ante
Amit Makhija lost his first-round match against Charles Hook, got a second-round bye, and then won seven matches in a row to guarantee himself a spot in the final eight (worth at least $35,000).
But Makhija had a little help: Pocket Tens.
In four of his seven victories, pocket tens played a huge role. They won the final hand for him against Erick Lindgren, Jeremy Joseph, and now David Perades. Makhija also won a key pot against Amit Rah Singh with pocket tens, though it wasn't the final hand of that match.
When asked what he'd do if he sees pocket tens again, he said, "I'm not gonna lie. I might go crazy. But heads-up, tens are strong."
Makhija still has a long road ahead of him. With a current record of 7-1 (8-1 if you count his bye in the second round), Makhija still needs to win five more matches to win the tournament.
12:46 PM, 02/20/09
