$2,700 No Limit Hold'em Main Event Day 2 | 2008 PokerStars.net LAPT Punta del Este

08-08-2008 13:40 UTC-3

Pros Doing Battle

[user66118]

Over in the featured table area, fellow PokerStars Pros Greg Raymer and Alexandre Gomes are seated next to each other, and they recently got tangled up in a pot.

Opening the action from the button, Raymer put out 4,000 chips. Gomes, next to act, reraised to 11,500, and Raymer called. The flop came out {3-Diamonds}

and both players checked.

Fourth street was the {5-Clubs}

. Gomes again checked, and Raymer flicked 12,000 chips into the pot. That was enough, and Gomes mucked his hand, chipping Raymer back up to 100,000.

Tags: Alexandre Gomes Greg Raymer

08-08-2008 13:58 UTC-3

Moving Day

[user66118]

With players getting settled into their Day 2 seats, there are a lot of chips moving around the tables. Our start-of-the-day chip leader, Jorge Gonzalez, has been on the losing side of that trend. He has already dropped several big pots, and has fallen all the way down to 35,000.

On the opposite side, a few players are working their way to the top of the board in fine fashion. Carter Gill had 180,000 at one point, and now sits with about 140,000 in chips. Edward Sabat is on the increase as well, having just hit the 100,000-chip mark for the first time. An UltimateBet pro is making some noise as well. Mark "P0ker H0" Kroon has been up and down over the last two days, but he sits comfortably with 110,000 at the present moment.

08-08-2008 14:09 UTC-3

Back to Work, Edward

[user66118]

Edward Sabat raised to 4,500 chips holding {Q-?}

, and Daniel Benjamin and one other player came along to the flop.

It showed up {9-?}

. Sabat continued out with a bet of 7,500, and Benjamin raised to 16,000. The other player folded, and Sabat moved all in, having his opponent covered.

Benjamin called, having flopped a set with his {2-?}

. He cuts Sabat's stack in half, back down to 51,000.

Tags: Edward Sabat

08-08-2008 14:18 UTC-3

A New Leader Emerges

[user66118]

We pick up the action in another hand involving Daniel Benjamin, immediately following his double up through Edward Sabat.

Benjamin opened with a raise from late position, and Alex Fernandez moved all in for about 55,000 chips. The two men had been playing hard at each other all day, developing a history of aggression between them.

Benjamin snap called, turning over {A-Clubs}

. Fernandez angrily showed down {A-Hearts}

. The board ran out {J-Clubs}

, and Fernandez was sent packing in the second level of play today.

Benjamin, meanwhile, is on the move, having climbed all the way up to 160,000, likely the chip leader at this point.

Tags: Alex Fernandez Daniel Benjamin

Level: 12

Blinds: 1,000/2,000

Ante: 150

08-08-2008 14:30 UTC-3

Como? What?

[user66118]

There is a significant language barrier at the tables in this tournament, with the majority of the players speaking only one of the two languages, Spanish and English, which are being spoken at the tables.

Mark Kroon, in particular, has been troubled by this problem on several occasions recently. In one such instance, a player under the gun tossed in a blue T5,000 chip and quietly said, "Cinco mil." Action came around to Kroon in the small blind, and he put out another 800 chips to complete the blind, thinking that the oversize chip was merely a call. The dealer informed him it was 5,000 to play and Kroon was confused for a moment, apologizing for not understanding the betting action.

A few minutes later, Kroon did the same thing himself. From the button, he tossed in a blue chip and said, "Five thousand." There was a single big blind, and he knocked the table, ready to see a free flop. He was informed that the bet was 5,000, and the floor had to be called over to make a ruling.

It is evident that the inherent difficulties of running a tournament are magnified when there is no common language between all parties involved.

08-08-2008 14:39 UTC-3

Chutes and Ladders

[user66118]

For the second time in two days, Mark Kroon has climbed to the top of the ladder and then fallen all the way back down the chute.

Early in the day, Kroon doubled up three times to move himself into the Top 10 in chips, but just one hour later, he found himself on the outside looking in. The final blow came when he was short-stacked and moved all in for 6,500 pre-flop. Mario Bonanata called him down from the small blind, putting Kroon at risk of elimination.

Kroon: {7-Clubs}

Bonanata:

The flop came {J-Spades}

, and the

on the turn gave Kroon the nine-high straight. Unfortunately for him, a fourth spade, the {9-Spades}

, dropped on fifth street, and Bonanata made the king-high flush. Kroon wished the table luck and loped slowly towards the exit.

Tags: Mark Kroon P0ker H0

08-08-2008 15:01 UTC-3

The Shark Finds a Spade

[user66118]

Humberto Brenes raised to open things from late position, making it 7,000 to play. Alessandra Santos reraised all in from the small blind for about 23,000, having Humberto covered. With half his chips in the pot already, Brenes made the call, putting himself at risk of elimination, and the hands were shown down:

Brenes: {Q-Hearts}

Santos:

The board came out {Q-Spades}

, and the four-flush on board made Humberto the winner with his spade in hand. He put a bad beat on Santos, and is back in contention with 35,000 in chips.

Tags: Humberto Brenes

08-08-2008 15:24 UTC-3

Break Time

[user66118]

With just six eight-handed tables left, the players are on a 10-minute break.

Level: 13

Blinds: 1,200/2,400

Ante: 200