2008 World Series of Poker

Day 2 completed

Posted 06-04-2008 02:21 GMT-7

Stick a fork in me...

And so, with the departure of Ryan Fair signalling the end of play, we can officially pack up our gear and race to the bar like thirsty workers in the desert (hey, that is us!).

Tomorrow's final table is scheduled to commence at 2pm, with your current chip leader being American pro Joe Tehan. A former college player, Joe moved to Las Vegas to take up the game full-time, and soon shot to national fame when he triumphed in the 2006 WPT Mandalay Bay Poker Championship for in excess of one million dollars.

Now leading the way here in the Rio, can Joe add a World Series of Poker bracelet to his list of accolades, or will he be toppled by a member of the chasing pack? Tune in tomorrow to find out where Dana and I will be bringing you all the action from the final table of this $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'Em Freezeout.

Tags: Joe Tehan.

Final Table Chippy Counts

Joe Tehan -- 458,000
Jacobo Fernandez -- 428,000
Robert Lipkin -- 305,000
Al Barbieri -- 271,000
Russell Harriman -- 206,000
Gregory Alston -- 179,000
Zachary King -- 139,000
David Singer -- 83,000
Glen Bean -- 75,000

And They're Done!

It took three hands.

Al Barbieri raised to 28,000 in early position; Ryan Fair made it 70,000 from the hijack seat. Call.

The flop came down Q-Q-10 and Barbieri shoved for his last 40,000. Ryan Fair, on an almost-identical 39,000 or so, called all in.

Al Barbieri: A-Q
Ryan Fair: Jacks

No miraculous outcome for Fair from the Six on the turn or the Three on the river, and we'll be reconvening tomorrow at 2pm for the final table.

Tags: Al Barbieri, Ryan Fair.

And They're Off! Again!

Play has re-started and we're hoping the fact that they're now full of dinner doesn't slow down our players any. Watch this space...

Level 16 started

Posted 06-03-2008 21:30 GMT-7

Singer Ditches Card - It's the Break But I'm Still in the Press Area Looking for Things to Say

Incidentally, we also have in our possession on the press table David Singer's player ID card. He hasn't busted, but upon moving to a single table he handed it to one of our reporters, saying that they knew who he was (true) and that it was bad luck to take the ID card to the virtually-final table (probably not true, although I cannot pretend to understand the workings of fate).

Tags: David Singer.

Majority Doesn't Rule

There was a bit of a debate before dinner as all but one of the remaining ten players wanted to skip the lunch break and play on until that final player was lost.

However, although the table, when asked, all voted in favour of allowing play to continue, David Singer rebelled and demanded that they stopped for lunch.

The tournament director declared that the majority rules, but Singer was having none of it, claiming that it wasn't the rule. As a result, a higher up authority was reeled towards the table, who subsequently echoed the sentiments of his colleague.

Singer, meanwhile, remained adamant that play be stopped, stating that the rule claims that if one player objects, then the scheduled break must take place.

Eventually, the other players slowly came round, one by one, saying that if David wanted the lunch break so much, they would oblige, and that's exactly what happened.

So, after all that, we are indeed taking the scheduled lunch break, with play due to recommence in just under and hour.

Singer, incidentally, returns as the small stack.

Tags: David Singer.

Unusual Time to Break for Dinner

With us down to 10, they're on a single table now, seated as follows, and seeing as they've opted to take an hour's dinner break now instead of playing down to nine immediately, their breaktime chip counts:

1 Russell Harriman - 210,000
2 Joe Tehan - 410,000
3 Jacobo Fernandez - 440,000
4 Zachary King - 140,000
5 Al Barbieri - 125,000
6 Gregory Alston - 167,000
7 Ryan Fair - 120,000
8 Glen Bean - 130,000
9 David Singer - 105,000
10 Robert Lipkin - 230,000

Gone But Not Forgotten

Crikey O'Reilly, exits are like buses, you wait ages for one to arrive, then several pop their head around the corner at once. Today is no different, with the latest man made to walk the plank being American Brandon Schaefer.

With Jacobo making up the small blind and Brandon checking the big, the two players see a flop before Jacobo leads out with a pot bet. Brandon responds with a pot bet of his own, his reraise triggering yet another raise from Jacobo to put Brandon all in.

Brandon did indeed call, but found himself in need of assistance with against Jacobo's . A non-flushing on the turn and on the river wasn't enough, and the hugely popular Shaefer was out. Gone but not forgotten... who was I talking about again?

Tags: Brandon Schaefer, Jacobo Fernandez.