[user75032]
Layne Flack
It's another beautiful morning in Kyrenia, Cyprus at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino. The tournament staff are brining out the chip bags and putting them on the table for Day 4 of the 2009 WPT Merit Cyprus Poker Classic.
When we left off last night at the end of Level 15, 21 of the original 181 players remained in the field. At their head was Layne "Back-to-Back" Flack, who amassed 912,000 chips. It's extremely unlikely he will be one of the three people that are eliminated before the money bubble bursts at 18 players remaining.
The plan today is to play down to 10 players. We anticipate that will happen at some point in the fourth level of play. Then tomorrow will be an even shorter day, playing from 10 to the final 6 who will come back for the official final table on Saturday.
Play is supposed to begin at noon local time, in fifteen minutes, but if the last few days are any indication we'll go off a bit late. Stay tuned...
[user38449]
The cards are officially in the air here on Day 4 of the WPT Merit Cyprus Classic.
Tournament Director Jack McClellan has informed the players that we'll be playing five full levels today, or down to 10 players -- whichever comes first.
[user75032]
On the very first hand at Table 4, Antony Lellouche opened from late position to 23,000. His raise was called by big blind Rep Porter. Both players checked an all-Broadway flop, . When the turn came a second diamond, , Porter led out for 35,000. Lellouche called.
The river was a massive draw-completer, the . Porter checked to Lellouche, who cautiously bet 80,000. Porter tanked for about a minute before putting a matching call into the pot. Lellouche responded by turning over for a Broadway straight. It was good.
[user75032]
The toughest table in the field is probably Table 2, with Jonathan Little, Huck Seed, Nenad Medic and Kelly Kim all battling each other. Medic recently bet 52,000 on a board of . Kim had position and called to the river. Medic checked, then tanked for more than a minute when Kim bet 50,000. Medic finally dropped a call into the pot but mucked his hand when Kim turned over .
[user75032]
It's a rough start to Day 4 for Nenad Medic. He limped into a pot preflop then called Rony Jazzar's raise to 24,000. Medic check-called 25,000 from Jazzar on a flop of . Both players checked the turn. That action induced Medic to bet 25,000 on the river. But Jazzar was wise to Medic's play; he raised to 100,000 and won the pot when Medic snap-folded.
[user38449]
Steven Fung
Short-stacks Engin Sancalctaroglu and John Lestina have just been eliminated from the main event during the same hand by big stack Steven Fung. Layne Flack played the hand back for us:
Fung opened the pot with a raise to 26,000 from early position and Sancalctaroglu moved in over the top for approximately 100,000. Action then folded around the table to Lestina who shipped his stack in as well (~100,000) and Fung called them both, setting up a three-way showdown:
Fung:
Sancalctaroglu:
Lestina:
The board then ran out giving Fung a Broadway straight to send both of his opponents packing.
"Just a cold call for a hundred thousand with king-ten," joked Flack after the hand. "You did just wake up, didn't you," he continued.
"You'd call there too," Fung retorted.
"What the f**k!" Flack fired back in jest.
As I finished jotting down the details, Fung looked up after stacking up his chips and asked, "Can you write down that it went in on the turn?"
The bubble has burst. Perennial short stack Antoine Abou Khalil is the unfortunate player eliminated just short of the money. Khalil was under the gun with just 20,000 chips left in his stack, and the 10,000-chip big blind coming in one hand. He opted to shove. Action folded to Tommy Vedes who called the raise.
Then Anthony Lellouche, sitting in the small blind with a big stack, eyeballed Vedes' stack, which was about 160,000. Lellouche announced a raise to 80,000, giving Khalil protection by driving Vedes (and his ) out of the hand. That took the table to showdown.
Khalil:
Lellouche:
The board did not help either player, . Interestingly, Vedes would have won the hand. It didn't matter though; Lellouche took the pot and Khalil is the bubble boy.
There is now a short pause to do the two-table re-draw.
![[user75032]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. When the turn came a second diamond, 
, Porter led out for 35,000. Lellouche called.
. Porter checked to Lellouche, who cautiously bet 80,000. Porter tanked for about a minute before putting a matching call into the pot. Lellouche responded by turning over 
for a Broadway straight. It was good.
. Kim had position and called to the 
river. Medic checked, then tanked for more than a minute when Kim bet 50,000. Medic finally dropped a call into the pot but mucked his hand when Kim turned over 
.
river. But Jazzar was wise to Medic's play; he raised to 100,000 and won the pot when Medic snap-folded.
) out of the hand. That took the table to showdown.
. Interestingly, Vedes would have won the hand. It didn't matter though; Lellouche took the pot and Khalil is the bubble boy.