2013 WPT bestbet Open Day 3: Schechter Leads Final Table; Salsberg Out in 10th
On Monday, the 2013 World Poker Tour bestbet Open continued with Day 3 in Jacksonville, Florida. The remaining 25 players of a 351-player field returned to battle down to the final table of six, and those who failed to make it laid claim to a portion of the $1,123,204 prize pool. After eight levels of play, the final six were set with Danny Schecheter and his stack of 3,825,000 best positioned to captured the $321,521 first-place prize.
2013 WPT bestbet Open Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pete Tinnesz | 1,035,000 |
| 2 | Danny Schechter | 3,825,000 |
| 3 | Michael Linster | 2,150,000 |
| 4 | Pete Chwala | 1,180,000 |
| 5 | David Bell | 1,980,000 |
| 6 | David Diaz | 375,000 |
Action recommenced in Level 20 with the blinds at 5,000/10,000/1,000, and the first elimination of the day came quickly. According to the WPT Live Reporting Team, Raj Vohra opened from the small blind for 27,000 and then called when Sam Soverel moved all in for 196,000 from the big blind. Soverel turned over the A♦7♠, but it was well behind Vohra's Q♣Q♥. According to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Soverel only had a 28.33% chance of surviving the hand but dropped to 15.96% on the K♣J♠4♠ flop. The 10♣ turn meant that Soverel needed a queen on the river to stay alive, but there was only a 4.55% chance of that happening, because Vohra held two of them. The dealer burned one last time and put out the 3♠, sending Soverel home in 25th place for $8,236.
Over the next two levels a bevy of players joined Soverel on the rail including Barry Hutter (24th - $8,236), Anthony Spinella (23rd - $8,236), Matt Giannetti (22nd - $8,236), Colen Beck (21st - $8,236), David “Doc” Sands (20th - $8,236), Corey Zarnoch (19th - $8,236) and Day 1b chip leader Chad Deberry (18th - $9,884).
Deberry’s demise came in Level 21 (6,000/12,000/2,000) when Benjamin Zamani opened for 24,000 from the hijack and then called Deberry's shove for 108,000. Zamani tabled the A♥J♥, which was well out in front of Debrry’s A♦4♦. The board ran out K♥6♦5♥9♥3♣ and Zamani’s turned flush was enough to put an end to Deberry’s deep run.
From there, Aaron Lucas (17th - $9,884), Michael Tait (16th - $9,884), Odie Kennedy (15th - $9,884), Vohra (14th - $11,531), Peter Dragar (13th - $11,531), Daniel Buzgon (12th - $14,277) and Tim Reilly (11th - $14,277) all followed Deberry out the door.
Reilly was eliminated in Level 23 (10,000/20,000/3,000) after David Bell opened for 50,000 from the button and then called after Reilly shipped for 398,000 from the small blind.
Reilly: K♥8♥
Bell: A♥K♣
It was a terrible spot for Reilly, who shared a king with Bell, and the J♠10♣6♥ flop wasn’t very helpful. The 3♥ turn gave Reilly some hope to a flush draw, but the A♠ river would leave him exiting in 11th.
The next to go was current WPT Player of the Year points leader Matt Salsberg. It happened in Level 25 (15,000/30,000/5,000) on Hand #52 of the unofficial final table when Michael Linster min-raised to 60,000 from middle position and Salsberg shoved from the button for 150,000. Pete Tinnesz then moved all in from the big blind, Linster folded, and the cards were turned up.
Salsberg: A♥9♣
Tinnesz: A♠K♦
It was a bad spot for the Grand Prix de Paris winner, and he’d fail to find help as the board ran out 7♣7♦2♦8♣A♦. Salsberg, who already had a victory, two sixth-place finishes, a seventh-place finish and a thirteenth-place finish in Season XI, hit the rail in tenth place for $14,277 and more POY points.
After the eliminations of Benjamin Zamani (9th - $18,669) and John Dollinger (8th - $25,808), the final table bubble was on. Just seven hands after Dollinger's elimination, which happened in Level 26 (20,000/40,000/5,000), Bell opened for 80,000 from the hijack and Tony Cousineau defended from the big blind. Cousineau then moved all in for roughly 240,000 on the Q♠10♠4♥ flop, and Bell snap-called with the A♣A♥. Cousineau tabled the Q♦9♣ and needed some help. The 6♥ turn wasn’t what he was looking for, and neither was the 7♦ river. Cousineau missed and became the WPT Jacksonville bestbet Open bubble boy in seventh place, good for a $35,691 payday.
The fourth and final day of the WPT bestbet Open begins at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday and will play down to a winner. Stay tuned to PokerNews as we bring you a daily recap of the action.
Michael Linster finished as the ClubWPT Player of the Day, and you can check out his video interview below.
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
