Last week, PokerNews had the pleasure to follow around Phil Hellmuth for a day as he competed in the 2021 WSOP Online in quest of his record-extending 16th gold bracelet..
The "Poker Brat" showed us his home away from home at the ARIA Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and puts in an online poker session on his tablet - not just in his suite, but also in the gym.
Daniel "DNegs" Negreanu raised to 625 from the cutoff and then called when Taylor "ReadyGambo" Black three-bet to 2,000 from the button.
Both players checked the 
flop and then Negreanu bet 1,500 on the 
turn.
Black called and the 
completed the board on the river. Negreanu bet again, this time 5,700, and Black wasted little time in making the call.
Negreanu showed the 
but it was no good as Black had him out-kicked with the 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
61,312 | |
|
|
8,321
-21,679
|
-21,679 |
Level: 7
Blinds: 150/300
Ante: 30
On Friday, July 16, the WSOP Summer Online Circuit kicked off to run alongside the bracelet events. The firs tournament was the $320 buy-in Event #1: $40,000 GTD Limit O8 or Better 8-Max, which attracted 142 runners who rebought 51 times. The 193-entry field resulted in a $57,900 prize pool that was paid out to the top 30 finishers.
Among those to cash were Nathan "surfbum" Gamble (3rd - $6,791.67), Bruce "Robert1951" Yamron (5th - $3,850.35), Michael "miw210x" Wang (8th - $1,638.57), Jesse "Rebuysexual" Cohen (14th - $764.28), Kevin "SpecialK333" Calenzo (20th - $486.36), Nicholas "MrFinalT" Kiley (26th - $486.36), and Anthony "Duhmenace" Tomita (30th - $486.36).
In the end, it was Aaron "Sagevsal" Henderson besting "lilmiracle" in heads-up play to win a $12,077.94 top prize and his first gold ring.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron "Sagevsal" Henderson | $12,077.94 |
| 2 | "lilmiracle" | $9,107.67 |
| 3 | Nathan "surfbum" Gamble | $6,791.67 |
| 4 | "ITELLNOLIE" | $5,100.99 |
| 5 | Bruce "Robert1951" Yamron | $3,850.35 |
| 6 | "omaha8stud" | $2,912.37 |
| 7 | "normanchad" | $2,188.62 |
| 8 | Michael "miw210x" Wang | $1,638.57 |
Faraz "22NevaLoose" Jaka jammed all in for 10,755 from the button over a raise and a call, it folded back to the caller "NgucMammy" who called.
Jaka had the big advantage with the 
vs the 
.
The flop was an innocuous 
but the turn was a deadly 
dart to pop the tens of Jaka and the 
on the river busted him to force him to re-buy his stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
42,595
42,595
|
42,595 |
|
|
30,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
Daniel "DNegs" Negreanu raised to 750 under the gun and Taylor "ReadyGambo" Black called next to act. Two other players limped before Justin "LappyPoker" Lapka, who just last night captured his first WSOP gold bracelet, three-bet jammed for 8,972 from the button.
Both blinds folded, Negreanu moved all in over the top for 16,790, and Black called to put both players at risk. The other two limpers folded and all three hands were turned up.
Taylor "ReadyGambo" Black: 
Daniel "DNegs" Negreanu:
Justin "LappyPoker" Lapka: 
Lapka was ahead with pocket queens but the 
flop vaulted Black into the lead thanks to his kicker. Neither the 
turn nor 
river changed a thing Black scored the double knockout and became the first player to hit a six-figure chip stack.
Meanwhile, both Lapka and Negreanu opted to re-enter the tournament.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
103,854
42,542
|
42,542 |
|
|
30,000
21,679
|
21,679 |
|
|
30,000 |
Level: 8
Blinds: 175/350
Ante: 35
Mark "askyourgirl" Perry raised to 700 under the gun, Ryan "Adopt_aDogg0" Leng called as did the big blind.
The flop came the 
. Perry get 700, Leng raised to 2,200 and was called. The turn was the 
, both checked. The river came the 
, Perry bet 3,145, Leng raised all in for 12,835, Perry called.
Perry had the 
for the straight while Leng had the 
and he had to re-load with a re-buy.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
38,455 | |
|
|
30,000 |
At the beginning of the 2005 WSOP, Doyle Brunson remained the co-king of the all-time bracelet count, tied along with Johnny Chan at nine. However, as the series drew toward its close in late June, that was no longer the case — Chan had overtaken him by winning No. 10 to stand atop the mountain alone.
Brunson was already phasing out his tournament play, having cashed precisely zero times that summer and just three times in the previous two combined, although one had resulted in a bracelet victory.
When it came time for Event #31: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed, Brunson dusted off his tournament chops and made a run.
For the a more thorough look on Brunson's historic 10th bracelet win, click the link below.
Click here to read the full story on Brunson's legendary win!
In the last hand of Level 8, Terry "twheeler68" Wheeler raised to 945 from the cutoff only to have Daniel "DNegs" Negreanu three-bet to 2,590 from the small blind. Wheeler responded with a four-bet to 6,562 and then called when Negreanu five-bet jammed for 23,528.
Daniel "DNegs" Negreanu:
Terry "twheeler68" Wheeler: 
The 
flop gave Negreanu a gutshot straight draw and backdoor heart options, but the turn took away the latter possibility while putting out some chop options.
Unfortunately for "Kid Poker," the river was a brick and he was eliminated from the tournament for the last time as he'd exhausted the maximum two re-entries.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
84,021 | |
|
|
Busted |
