The WSOP on ESPN: Musumeci, Negreanu, & Lamb Headline Day 3

August 24, 2011

The 2011 World Series of Poker continued its run to the November Nine on Tuesday when ESPN aired two more episodes of the Main Event. Last week, the first two of 24 Main Event episodes were aired and kicked off coverage with Day 3 of the “Big One.” As you surely know by now, the 2011 Main Event drew an impressive 6,865 players and created a prize pool of $64,531,000.

At the start of the latest episode, action continued on Day 3 with a number of notables still in the field including Ben Lamb, Patrik Antonius, Erick Lindgren, Amanda Musumeci, and Daniel Negreanu. Here is a look at the top chip counts at the top of the broadcast:

New Episode Top Chip Counts

Let’s Get It On: With the blinds at 1,200/2,400 and a 300 ante, Daniel Negreanu was again at the featured table, which looked like this:

ESPN Feature Table

In the first hand, Timothy Joseph raised to 5,600 in early position holding A♦5♦ and Max Heinzelmann decided to defend from the big blind with Q♠9♥. They were heads up to the 9♦8♦4♣ flop, and both players checked. When the J♦ hit the turn, Heinzelmann bet 5,600 and received a call from Joseph, who happened to hold the nuts. The Q♥ improved Heinzelmann to two pair, and he fired out 10,700. Joseph counted out some chips and sprung into action with a raise to 31,000. Surprisingly, Heinzelmann wasted little time in sending his cards to the muck.

Playing the Big Stack: Sami Kelopuro, who goes by the moniker “LarsLuzak” online, was interviewed and explained the advantages of possessing a big stack: “If you have the bigger stack at the table, you cannot bust. In that point, you can take flips against the smaller stacks. You can put them in a bad spot because they can bust out and you cannot, so you can play more hands and you can gamble a little bit . . . you can put pressure on the smaller stacks.”

Kelopuro had the opportunity to test his advice when he held the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand and raised to 5,500. Paul Petraglia looked down at A♣J♥ in the cutoff and made the call, as did Kristy Gazes and Daniel Negreanu in the small and big blinds respectively. Viewers were given four possible hands that Kelopuro might hold: A.) K♣K♥ B.) A♦9♦ C.) A♠K♣ D.) 9♣8♣.

The players were four-handed to the flop, which came down Q♠A♥6♣, and action checked to Kelopuro, who bet 12,800. Petraglia called with top pair and the other two players got out of the way. When the 7♠ appeared on the turn, Kelopuro proceeded to check-call a bet of 20,000, the 10♥ rolled off on the river, and Kelopuro bet 32,500, enough to put Petraglia all-in. The latter called off only to discover Kelopuro held 9♣8♣ for the rivered straight.

Goodbye, George: Although the cameras didn’t capture the hand, they did arrive in time to see Jason Alexander saying his goodbyes to the table. His exit came on the heels of both Victor Ramdin and Sam Stein.

Musumeci vs. Saul Part I: Ara Melikian raised to 5,300 holding A♠K♠ and was called by the 10♦10♥ of Amanda Musumeci from the hijack. Kevin Saul looked down at 6♦5♥ in the big blind and opted to come along for the ride. The 9♥7♠J♦ flop saw action check to Musumeci, and she obliged with a bet of 9,200. Saul, never one to shy away, check-raised to 27,800, Melikian folded, and Musumeci made the call.

Neither player bet the 3♦ turn, but the J♥ river prompted Saul to bet 47,700. Musumeci took her time before making the call and taking down the 170,800 pot.

Negreanu vs. Zulker: Mike Zulker raised to 5,200 with 9♠9♦ and cleared the field all the way around to Daniel Negreanu in the big blind. Unfortunately for Zulker, Negreanu squeezed out A♣A♥ and reraised to 17,000. Zulker called and the flop fell A♦2♥8♦. Negreanu checked his set and Zulkner followed suit. He then called Negreanu’s 19,800 bet on the 10♣ turn. When the 5♥ appeared on the river, Negreanu grabbed his entire stack and committed it to the pot. Zulkner only had 36,100 remaining and made the call, putting an end to his 2011 WSOP.

Seed Doubles: On the secondary feature table, action folded to Huck Seed in the small blind and he moved all-in for 29,100 without looking at his cards. Ben Lamb called from the big blind and the 1996 World Champion was at risk.

Showdown
Lamb: A♣7♣
Seed: 10♠4♣

The 8♦3♣8♥ flop was no help to Seed, but the 10♥ turn gave him a pair and the lead. The 9♠ river changed nothing and Seed doubled to 60,600, which was still short compared to the average of 157,214 with 1,310 players remaining.

Unfortunately, Seed's momentum was short lived. In the last hand of the first episode, Seed was under the gun and raised to 5,300 after looking down at Q♥Q♦. Marvin Peltola was the only player to make the call, holding A♥8♥ and the players were heads up to the J♥10♥5♣ flop. Seed led out for a modest 6,000, Peltola moved all-in, and Seed called off for 53,600. Seed was a 56 percent favorite, but the 2♥ turn left him drawing dead. The inconsequential 9♥ was put out on the river as Seed exited stage left.

Musumeci vs. Saul Part II: The second hour of broadcast picked up with 1,196 players remaining and Patrick Poirier still leading the pack with 984,200. The feature table was the same, with Daniel Negreanu, who was joined by his friend, Adam Junglen. Tthe first big pot occurred at the outer table when Kevin Saul opened for 6,900 from middle position with A♦5♥ and received calls from Ara Melikian who was holding 9♣8♣ and Amanda Musumeci with Q♠J♠.

The 9♠7♥K♠ flop made Musumeci the favorite with a straight-flush draw, but she checked and allowed Saul to fire out 10,800. Once again both of his opponents made the call, and the dealer burned and turned the J♥. Again Musumeci checked with the best hand, Saul bet 36,900, Melikian folded, and Musumeci made the call. The 10♣ river gave Musumeci a king-high straight, and she check-called Saul’s bet of 98,200. Just like that, Musumeci raked in the 328,400 pot and climbed over half a million.

Mini-Hellmuth Rant: Phil Hellmuth raised to 7,400 under the gun holding 8♣8♠ only to have Chee Kian Chan defend from the big blind with A♠4♣. Hellmuth was a 70 percent favorite, but the 2♥A♣10♠ flop quickly changed that because it gave Chan a pair of aces. The action went check-check to the 10♥ turn, which saw Chan check-call a bet of 4,800. The 6♥ river missed Hellmuth, and again the two checked. “Ace-four, yeah of course. You call 7,000 from an under-the-gun raise with ace-four offsuit,” Hellmuth bemoaned when the cards were flipped. In classic Hellmuthian fashion, the Poker Brat stood from the table and uttered a few choice words, which were promptly bleeped by ESPN.

Antonius Eliminated: At the outer tables, Patrik Antonius was all-in preflop for his last 48,100 and called by Christian Kudmore.

Showdown
Antonius: A♠9♠
Kudmore: 6♠6♦

It was a classic race, but Antonius needed to improve to stay alive. Much to Norman Chad’s dismay, the board ran out a dry 3♥4♥10♦7♦7♥ and Antonius exited the Main Event.

While one big name hit the rail, hostess Kara Scott was quick to point out that a number of notables were still in including Freddy Deeb, Eli Elezra, and Sam Simon (co-creator of the Simpsons).

Ignorance is Bliss and I’m Very Happy: On the secondary feature table, Alexander Debus raised to 6,500 with K♥J♦ and Marvin Peltola called from the big blind with 8♥8♦. The A♥J♥A♣ flop brought about two checks. The 8♣ gave Peltola a full house and he coyly checked and allowed Debus to bet 8,000. Peltola responded by immediately moving all in for 94,900!

“You could just fold,” Peltola launched into a speech. “You bust me, my wife’s gotta go home.” This went on for a few moments. While talking is usually a sign of strength, Debus thought otherwise and spiked in a call. The table seemed shocked when the cards were turned up, with a few noting that Peltola made a terrible play.

“Ignorance is bliss, and I’m very happy,” Peltola stated as he stacked the pot.

Bag ‘Em & Tag ‘Em: After a few more hands, the latest WSOP on ESPN episode came to a close with the end of Day 3. Only 852 of the original 6,865 players remained, with the top ten looking a little like this:

End of Day 3 Chip Counts

Tune in Next Week: Every Tuesday leading up to November, ESPN will air episodes of the 2011 WSOP Main Event. Be sure to either check your local listings or come back next week for our recap of the action.

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