2009 World Series of Poker

Event 23 - $10,000 World Championship No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw
Day: 1
Event Info

2009 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Prize
$279,742
Event Info
Buy-in
$10,000
Entries
96
Level Info
Level
23
Blinds
12,000 / 24,000
Ante
6,000

Event 23 - $10,000 World Championship No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw

Day 1 Completed

One Day in the Books

Chip leader Roland de Wolfe
Chip leader Roland de Wolfe
It was a surprisingly quiet Day 1 here at Event 23, the $10,00 World Championship of No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw. The defending champ, Mike Matusow, provided some color and insight at the start of play; Sam Grizzle and Jean-Robert Bellande provided it at the end.

In between, 96 players sat down and played poker. Some (Tom Dwan, Phil Hellmuth) sat down later than others and left sooner; others quietly chipped up without making much of an impact on the tournament.

At the end of the day, it was Roland de Wolfe's name atop the leaderboard with approximately 180,000 chips. He's followed by John Juanda and Vince Musso. A total of 60 players -- about 60% of the field -- made it through to Day 2.

Those 60 players will go home for the night to get some sleep. They'll reassemble tomorrow for Day 2 at 2pm local time in the Orange section of the Amazon Room. See you then!

Anna Wroblewski Eliminated in Three-Way All In

Anna Wroblewski
Anna Wroblewski
Before the draw, both Daniel Alaei and Anna Wroblewski were all in against Jeff Lisandro, who had both players covered. All three drew one card.

Wroblewski picked up an ace to make A-8-6-3-2, while both Alaei and Lisandro drew tens. Alaei's T-7-4-3-2 beat out Lisandro's T-8-7-6-5 to take down the pot and give him a late-night double up to about 52,000. Lisandro slipped to 20,000 while Wroblewski hit the rail.

Prognosis Negative for Rheem

There has been plenty of short-stack survival at Chino Rheem's table tonight. His luck didn't match theirs. Rheem moved all in for his last 14,200 and saw Gus Hansen reraise all in over the top to isolate from the button. Rheem drew one card; Hansen stood pat with 10-7-6-5-4. Rheem opened T-7-6-3 but drew a nine. He's eliminated just before the end of the day.

Tags: Chino RheemGus hansen

Seven More Hands

With ten minutes remaining in Level 8, the tournament clock was stopped and a card drawn to determine the number of hands that would be played before stopping for the night. It was a seven, ergo seven more hands before our survivors bag and tag their chips.

De Wolfe Gobbles Up Flack

Hungry like De Wolfe
Hungry like De Wolfe
Roland De Wolfe opened for 2,500 from UTG and Layne Flack called from the cutoff. Each player drew one card.

De Wolfe bet nearly enough to set Flack all in. Flack moved the rest of his chips in the middle and De Wolfe called the small balance.

De Wolfe showed number two, 7-6-4-3-2 and Flack hit the rail. De Wolfe is now up to 165,000 in the closing minutes of Day 1.

Situation Critical for Rheem

While Sam Grizzle and Jean Robert Bellande continue to snipe at each other, poker is being played on some of the other tables. Eric Kesselman opened for 2,500 from middle position, then called big blind Chino Rheem's raised to 10,000. Rheem was pat; Kesselman drew one.

After the draw, Rheem checked to Kesselman, who moved in for 22,000. "I have to call," said Rheem. Kesselman showed down 8-6-4-3-2 to drag the pot and cripple Rheem in the process.

Tags: Chino RheemEric Kesselman

Sam Snipes, Bellande Bites

The antics at the table currently shared by Sam Grizzle and Jean-Robert Bellande have risen to new levels of sad hilarity. Grizzle has been razzing Bellande ever since he sat down and while he ignored the comments for a while, Bellande has begun to hit back.

At one point, Grizzle challenged Bellande to a heads-up match. Bellande pointed out that they've set up many heads-up matches in the past, only every time, Grizzle failed to come up with the cash.

"The last three times I showed up, no one would stake you. The only way I'll play you is if you show up with money" said Bellande.

"Bobby, you're the biggest joke in poker!" retorted Grizzle.

One table away, Mike Matusow couldn't resist getting in on the conversation.

"I could pull someone off the rail and they'd have more of a chance against you!" cackled Matusow.

"I don't know, I'm lookin' at the rail and they look pretty smart" remarked Bellande.

"I'm lookin' at you like a three-headed donkey!" laughed Grizzle.

Ville Wahlbeck Crippled

Ville Wahlbeck tried to make a move on David Grey, but it backfired. Wahlbeck opened for 2,100 pre-draw then called Grey's raise to 7,000. On the draw Wahlbeck took one while Grey stood pat.

Once the draw was completed Wahlbeck squeezed his card. He then moved all in for 16,400. Grey tanked for more than a minute before calling all in for slightly less. Grey's 10-9-5-4-2 was good enough to take the pot. Wahlbeck is crippled to 1,450; Grey is now on about 45,000.

Tags: David GreyVille Wahleck