November Nine Final Table Day 1 | 2009 WSOP Main Event - The Final Table

11-07-2009 09:37 UTC-12

Hand #15 - Eric Buchman

[user75032]

Eric Buchman has the button. He opens the pot to 825,000 and gets no callers.

11-07-2009 09:36 UTC-12

Steven Begleiter has the button. Jeff Shulman puts in another oversized raise to 1,250,000, and this time he finds some action. It comes from Phil Ivey who sends a long stare across the felt before announcing an all-in re-raise. A murmur of nervous cheers and muted applause works its way through the audience.

A few seats over, Joe Cada asks for a count, and the dealer cuts down Ivey's stack of 8,655,000. Cada waits for the exact amount before reluctantly folding out of the way. Shulman makes a quick decision, returning his cards to the muck and sending a nice chip-up pot over to Mr. Ivey.

He's up to 10,175,000.

Tags: Phil Ivey

11-07-2009 09:30 UTC-12

Hand #13 - Eric Buchman

[user75032]

Kevin Schaffel has the button. Action folds all the way to small blind Steve Begleiter. He completes in front of Eric Buchman's big blind, but Buchman is having none of it. He raises 650,000 on top, a raise that drives Begleiter out of the pot.

Tags: Eric Buchman Steve Begleiter

11-07-2009 09:28 UTC-12

Hand #12 - Phil Ivey

[user66118]

Phil Ivey has the button. With the action folded to him, he makes it 800,000 to skate. Nobody wants to see a flop with Ivey yet, and he picks up a free orbit of play.

Tags: Phil Ivey

11-07-2009 09:26 UTC-12

Hand #11 - Limp and Re-raise Works for Moon

[user75032]

James Akenhead has the button. Action passes to Darvin Moon, who limps in from the cutoff. Phil Ivey completes the small blind, bringing action to big blind Kevin Schaffel. He makes a raise of 900,000 on top. Moon springs into action almost immediately, putting in a re-raise to 3.0 million straight. Ivey's caught in the middle and chooses to abandon his hand.

Moon has his right hand against the side of his face and is staring down at the felt while Schaffel contemplates what to do. Ultimately Schaffel decides not to tangle with the biggest stack at the table and mucks his hand.

Tags: Darvin Moon Kevin Schaffel Phil Ivey

11-07-2009 09:25 UTC-12

Who's the Best For Poker?

[user122824]

The wait is over. The November Nine have taken their seats and the cards are in the air. There has been much speculation about what effect the next world champion might have on poker. We broke it down for you in our latest PokerNews Op-Ed: Who's the Best for Poker?

11-07-2009 09:22 UTC-12

Hand #10 - Cada Convinces Ivey

[user66118]

Darvin Moon has the button. Joe Cada raises to 750,000 from middle position, and Phil Ivey decides to play ball from the big blind. Flicking in the calling chips, he and Cada go heads-up to the flop.

The dealer rolls out {K-Hearts}

, and Ivey knocks the table. Cada gives it a good think-over before sliding out a bet of 1,000,000 straight. You can probably picture the blank stare that he gets from Ivey, but Phil sends his cards back to the dealer, and the pot goes to Cada.

11-07-2009 09:18 UTC-12

Hand #9 - Jeff Shulman

[user75032]

Jeff Shulman has the button. Actions folds to Joe Cada. He puts in a raise to 750,000. Shulman is two seats behind Cada and takes thirty seconds before re-raising to 2.325 million. Both blinds fold; Cada grimaces and then follows suit.

Tags: Jeff Shulman Joe Cada

11-07-2009 09:15 UTC-12

Hand #8 - Three-Bet From Moon

[user66118]

Antoine Saout has the button. Under the gun, James Akenhead gives the table a long stare before opening with a raise to 775,000. In the big blind, Darvin Moon peeks at his cards, then over at Akenhead. He quickly announces a re-raise to 1,800,000, drawing a big sigh from the short-stacked Akenhead. Without enough chips to play poker after the flop, Akenhead eventually kicks in his cards and elects to wait for a better spot.

Akenhead - 5,636,000
Moon - 59,945,000

Tags: Darvin Moon James Akenhead

11-07-2009 09:12 UTC-12

Hand #7 - Steve Begleiter

[user75032]

Joe Cada has the button. Steve Begleiter opens the pot with a raise to 775,000. It's his second raise of the first orbit and once again nobody else wants to play with him. He takes down the blinds and the antes.

Tags: Steve Begleiter