Level: 17
Blinds: 2,500/5,000
Ante: 500
2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open
Event 15: $200,000 Guarantee Six-Max NLHE Re-Entry
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open
Buy-in
$1,000
Prize Pool
$361,810
Entries
373
Level
26
Blinds
20,000 / 40,000
Ante
4,000
Now We're Playing the Game
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 17
: 2,500/5,000, 500 ante
In the last deal before the break, we watched a raising war escalate between Tony Sinishtaj and Igor Skochilo, and at the rate towers of pink T10000 chips were being pushed around, a showdown of premium holdings appeared to be inevitable. Some wars stay cold, however, and that was the case here today.
The action started when Sinishtaj made a reraise to 28,500 (action before that was undetermined), only to see Skochilo push a big bet of 108,500 into the middle. This four-bet left Skochilo with about 200,000 behind, and Sinishtaj easily had that covered with just elevated tower of pinks.
So in they went, all of them, for a massive five-bet shove to effectively put Skochilo at risk if he called.
The tank was long and hard, as Skochilo agonized over the spot he has suddenly found himself in. Eventually, after minutes had passed away and the break had begun, Skochilo reluctantly released his hand into the muck: 
.
Skochilo laid down a monster and showed as much, while Sinishtaj expressed mild surprise at his opponent's discipline, showing him the 
as a professional courtesy.
The sight of big slick - rather than the aces of kings he must have read Sinishtaj to be sitting on - obviously pained Skochilo, and he stayed behind for a few minutes into the break, discussing the dynamics of what may prove to be the pivotal play of the tournament for both men.
"That was a terrible hand..." said Skochilo, not in regards to Sinishtaj's cards but his own laydown. "I thought those were five-thousands for some reason."
Apparently, with the tournament chip set being used today skipping the T5000 chips (going from orange T1000 chips to pink T10000 with nothing in between), Skochilo had calculated his original four-bet to be 58,500 rather than the 108,500 he actually reraised to. Now knowing that he he had just put one-third of his chips into the middle with a premium pocket pair, before ultimately folding to a pressure play, Skochilo's frustration was evident, while Sinishtaj simply remarked that his play worked as it should have considering his extremely tight table image.
Bravo, boys... bravo.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
655,000
155,000
|
155,000 |
|
||
|
205,000
205,000
|
205,000 |
Kelsall With the Big Call
Level 17
: 2,500/5,000, 500 ante
The final board read 
and a sizable pot worth more than 60,000 was already in the middle.
Andre Kelsall faced a large bet of 39,000 and with just 
in the hole, he had a decision on his hands. Top pair may be good, it may not be... that's the game.
Taking more than a minute or so to deliberate, Kelsall ultimately looked his man up and made the call, with his opponent insta-mucking as a result. The big call provided a boost to Kelsall's stack, and our Day 1 chip leader continues to climb as Day 2 rolls on.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
445,000
71,500
|
71,500 |
|
||
Queen Deposed
Level 17
: 2,500/5,000, 500 ante
Despite entering the day with a decent chip stack for a deep run at 168,000, Alex Queen is no longer in the tournament.
We're not sure whether or not he slipped into the money before his exit (official payout information coming shortly), but Queen was one of the chip leaders throughout Day 1, so his absence here today is certainly conspicuous.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Take Your Time and Think it Through
Level 17
: 2,500/5,000, 500 ante
As the stakes get higher with eliminations meaning a climb up the pay ladder, the play in most pots has slowed a just a bit, with players using every minute available to them to ponder their options.
Recently, we watched two hands go down that involved lengthy tanks, showing that the players who have survived this long know how to look before they leap.
First, Rogen Chhabra moved all-in for his last 200,000 - effectively 100,000, as the bet covered his opponent's stack - with the final board reading 
. The pot contained upwards of 80,000 when he made his move, and the bet-sizing left his opponent confused enough to dive into the tank for more than four minutes, talking through the hand as he did so.
"Ace-king?" he asked Chhabra, prodding for a tell. "I put you on ace-king the whole hand."
Chhabra never said a word during the extended interrogation, and his silence appeared to be piquing the other player's curiosity as he continued examining the situation.
"Ace-king of spades... two big spades, could be," he continued, more to himself this time than to Chhabra. "Ahh, I know you're bluffing me but I'll let you take this one."
"One hundred percent you bluff me," he added as an epitaph to the hand.
One table over, Amanda Musumeci played a pot to the turn, and with the board showing 
by fourth street, her opponent tapped the table for a check. Musumeci fired out a 21,500 bet, but the other player sprung his trap with a check-raise to 75,500.
The pressure back on her, Musumeci tanked for a minute or so, staring hard at both the board and her opponent. After a few moments, however, her hand went sliding into the muck and the pot was awarded to the big bettor.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
305,000
64,000
|
64,000 |
|
244,000
-31,000
|
-31,000 |
Level: 18
Blinds: 3,000/6,000
Ante: 500
Joe Cool
Level 17
: 2,500/5,000, 500 ante
With his stack having dwindled down to the danger zone at just 70,000 or so, Joey Couden just shoved all in before the flop to scoop up some life-sustaining blinds and antes.
Couden was in the small blind and he pushed over the top of Ronit Chamani, who tanked for a bit before surrendering the hand. The win kept Couden in contention for the $88,643 top prize, but he will need to make a few more moves like this to get back above the current average of 230,000 or so.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
92,000
-72,000
|
-72,000 |
|
|
||
The Big Stacks
Below is a selection of photos of players with the big stacks into the money on Day 2:
A Lingering Wound
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 500 ante
A level or so after losing a huge hand to Tony Sinishtaj - when he folded queens preflop in the face of an all-in play - Igor Skochilo was unable to shake the effects of what he deemed to be a misplayed hand.
"Worst hand of my life..." he told us during a recent pass through the room. "I thought my bet was fifty thousand, not one hundred. I never fold queens there with a third of my chips already out there."
"Just thought they were five thousand chips, it's my fault," he continued, still stuck on a decision that - in his eyes - should have gone down differently.
According to Skochilo, it was none other than Sinishtaj who claimed the last of his chips, when the latter called down an all-in shove for 67,000 with 
and his hand held up over 
. Skochilo is currently playing in Event 17 ($100,000 Guaranteed Big Stack NLHE Re-Entry) with his deep run in the Six-Max event having come to an end, showing that in poker, the game never truly ends.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted |
Ronit Chamani Rails Joey Couden
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 500 ante
Joey Couden moved his last 140,000 or so into the middle with three-bet jam, coming over the top of Ronit Chamani's standard opening raise.
Holding 
and sitting with about 170,000 left, Chamani made the call and found herself flipping against Couden's 
.
The two headed to the flop with a nearly equal chance of taking the pot down, and it was a classic race situation with Couden's pair trying to dodge Chamani's overcards.
Flop: 
Both players hit the high-card flop hard, as Chamani found top two pair, but it was Couden who surged into the lead with a set of jacks.
Turn:
River: 
In the flash of fourth and fifth street, Couden's full house went from a monster to a mouse, and now it was Chamani who held the best hand with a boat. Couden waited for the stacks to be counted down, and when he discovered it was all over he leaned in to congratulate Chamani, filling her in on his hole cards from a previous hand between the two.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
335,000
145,000
|
145,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||