Day Two is Over, But It’s All a blur
by Jessica on 07.02.09, 5:53 am
And just like that, we are one day removed from the end of preliminary events here at the 2009 WSOP. While this final event isn’t over just yet, the vibe at the Rio is one of anticipation for the Main Event just around the corner. Still, there were 25 or so players with more pressing matters on their mind–namely, how to survive to the end of Day Two in the $5K NLHE 6-Max event and earn a chance to return tomorrow at 1PM and play for the bracelet.
When we last reported on Blair “blur5f6″ Hinkle (pictured right) he was one of the biggest stacks in the room with over one million chips. Level 20 was not kind to the younger Hinkle and shortly after doubling up one of the other players at the table, Blair and Peter “Nordberg” Feldman clashed in a hand that would put Hinkle’s tournament life on the line. With the blinds at 8K/16K ante 2K Feldman opened for a raise from the button, Hinkle reraised out of the small blind, and Feldman moved all-in, having Hinkle’s 400K or so stack easily covered. Blair showed A
J
while Peter held KQ
. The board fell K85
66 and Feldman’s pair of kings scooped the pot and eliminated Hinkle in 23rd place. After the hand Feldman was up to 1.2 million and when we checked up on him at the end of the night he had 1.328 million.
While Feldman just kept moving up, up, up, there were other P5ers who had a level that was more akin to a roller coaster than a steady uphill climb. Jonas “plummer92″ Wexler climbed over the one million chip mark when his pocket jacks held against David Chiu’s pocket tens. However, he went from experiencing the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat when James St. Hilaire’s A-10 was able to outrun Wexler’s A-Q. We missed the preflop action, but hurried over to the table when we heard Jonas’ frustrated yell as the ten peeled on the turn to ship the one million chip pot St. Hilaire’s way. He ended the day with 848K, which is right around average stack.
Jon “apestyles” Van Fleet (pictured left) also had a swongy Level 20.
He lost the majority of his stack to Rory Mathews when the two got it all-in preflop with Van Fleet holding A-7 to Mathew’s A-9. After losing the hand, Jon was down to his last 68K, which he pushed all-in on the very next hand after another player opened for a raise form early position. His opponent called with A9 and Van Fleet held KJ. The Q63 flop gave Van Fleet a lot of help. The turn was an inconsequential 6, but the T on the river made Jon’s flush and doubled him up to nearly 150K.
Just an orbit or two after that, Van Fleet clashed with Mathews once again. Action folded around to Mathews on the button and he moved all-in on Van Fleet in the small blind and Raymond Davis in the big blind. Once Jon realized Davis was as short-stacked as he was, he decided to call with A3. When he saw that Mathews held 9T Van Fleet let out a happy “yay!” before flipping over his hand. The K43 flop paired Jon’s trey and it held as the turn and river came 5 then 4. The second double up sent him up to 310K.
Hoping that the third time was the charm, Van Fleet raised all-in over the top of Mathew’s raise once again a few hands later with 88 and Mathews called with KQ. The QJ496 board failed to help Van Fleet this time around though and he was eliminated in 19th place.
Faraz “The-Toliet0″ Jaka did his best to shrink the field as the day was winding down. A player opened for a raise to 40K in middle position and Jaka reraised to 130K or so total. The other player moved all-in for a little over 100K more and Jaka called with QT. He was not pleased to see his opponent held AQ and when the board failed to bring Jaka a ten or a flush, he dropped under a million chips to around 750K. He will return for play tomorrow with 778K.
Frank “Frank1the1Tank” Calo was more successful in his attempt to put out the competition. When a short-stacked Ryan “dank stax” Milisits moved all-in on the button for the alst of his chips, Calo reraised all-in from the small blind, forcing the big blind out of the pot. Milisits showed KT and Calo turned up A9. The Q72 was great for Calo and the T on the turn sealed Ryan’s fate as the 18th place finisher in the event. Calo scooped the pot to end the day with 569K.
Here are the chip counts of the P5ers remaining in the 16-person field who will be returning tomorrow at 1PM to play down to a winner:
Peter “Nordberg” Feldman - 1.328 million
Jonas “plummer92″ Wexler - 848K
Faraz “The-Toilet0” Jaka - 778K
Alex “EC10″ Venovski - 684K
Frank “Frank1The1Tank” Calo - 569K
Josh “brikdog24″ Brikis - 294K
