WSOP 2008
Zachary Out Third, Amit Back in Control
by Court on 08.29.08, 1:01 am
It didn’t take long for Amit “Amak316″ Makhija to get back to the chip lead. The very next hand after doubling up John Phan he was able to retake the chip lead and also put himself into heads up play with John Phan.
The chips that pushed Amit to the chip lead came at the expense of Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark (left). Amit had limped from the button and Phan completed the 100k from the small blind. Clark then moved all in for 1,855,000 and after thinking for a moment Amit made the call. Phan folded leaving the two PocketFivers heads up with Zach’s tournament life on the line.
Amit had the advantage with the A
6 while Zach was caught with the K
2
but drawing with two live cards. The T75
flop was no help to either player but the A on the turn sealed the deal, giving Amit the best hand and eliminating Clark in third place.
Zach’s impressive tournament run ended in a third place finish, a few spots shy of his ultimate goal but still brining a nice payday of $281,645.
Heads up play between John Phan and Amit Makhija will begin in a few moments with Amit taking 6,440,000 chips into play while Phan will start with 4,760,000.
Makhija Loses Lead to Phan
by Court on 08.29.08, 12:49 am
After holding the chip lead for all of the late stage of the tourney, one double up took Amit “Amak316″ Makhija out of the top spot and put John Phan (right) there. Amit had opened the pot for 300k and John Phan moved all in for around 2.4 million. Makhija called with pocket tens and Phan showed pocket aces.
Two big pairs running into each other was what it took for Makhija to lose a large chunk of chips, and when the aces held Phan found himself taking a slight chip lead with about 400k more than Makhija. After the hand Phan had just under 5 million while Amit was left with approximately 4.5 million. Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark still has just under 2 million as the chip counts level out some for the first time at the final table.
Three Way Play
by Court on 08.29.08, 12:18 am
“Amit is really playing good,” Marco “CrazyMarco” Johnson said when I ran into him while the final three were on break. Amit “Amak316″ Makhija has continued to prosper in 3 handed play. He is up to 7 million chips while the other 2 both have right at 2 million chips.
The story of the last two days of the tournament hasn’t been big hands over big hands, suckouts, or flashy play. It has been the consistency of Amit (left) at the top of the chip counts and his steady play that has kept him there. Poker is a game of swings, and the end game of tournaments is usually an exaggeration of that, with large pots moving back and forth based on the outcome of all in hands. Even in that environment Makhija has been able to consistently gain chips with no major setbacks and without putting a significant portion of his stack at risk.
Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark and John Phan still have a fighting chance and are not in desperate shape yet, but the two can’t afford to drop many more chips before getting into critical territory. After returning from the short break the players will be back at the tables and continue on at the 50k / 100k level.
Set Leaves Clark Short
by Court on 08.28.08, 10:20 pm
Three handed play with three talented players is what the Legends of Poker is down to. Amit “Amak316″ Makhija has been holding the top spot since early in the day yesterday, and there has been no let up from him so far. John Phan has been on more of an up and down ride, but he is up when it counts, recently flopping a set to take a large pot off of Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark and gain ground on Makhija. Clark finds himself the short stack three handed, but still has enough chips that one double up or big pot levels the playing field.
Phan had opened for 185k from the small blind and Clark (right) raised to 375k. An ever deliberate Phan made the call and the flop came J32. John checked over to Clark and he put out a bet of 150k. John called and both players checked the A turn. The 9 was the river card and Phan led out for 500k which Clark called. Once Zach made the call John showed his pocket deuces for a flopped set and Clark mucked his hand.
After the pot the players took a short break. Here are the chip counts from the announcer:
Amit “Amak316″ Makhija - 5,130,000
John Phan - 4,125,000
Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark - 1,455,000
Phan Sends Smith Home 4th
by Court on 08.28.08, 9:58 pm
With the elimination of Paul Smith (left), the Legends of Poker is now down to the final three, and it is the three many of the fans wanted to see. John Phan was able to bust Smith in a battle of the blinds.
Smith moved all in for 1,225,000 and Phan thought about his decision for a few minutes before Smith called the clock. Though Phan had taken a few minutes it was surprising to see Smith call the clock, and may have gotten Smith the action he did not want from Phan. As the time ran down on his clock John announced a call and showed pocket eights.
Smith was left fighting with one over as his A7 would need to overcome the pair for him to stay alive in the tournament. The flop was bingo for Smith, coming 977. Phan picked up the straight draw with the T and went jumping into the crowd as the 6 hit on the river to make the straight for Phan.
Paul Smith’s 4th place finish is worth $246,450.
After the hand Phan jumped ahead of Zachary “CrazyZachary” Clark in the chip counts, but both still strail Amit “Amak316″ Makhija by a large margin.
Makhija - 6,095,000
Phan - 2,625,000
Clark - 2,480,000