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

08-08-2008 15:40 UTC-3

Play Resumes

[user66118]

The break is over, and the T25 green chips have been raced off and colored up. The cards are in the air once again.

08-08-2008 15:50 UTC-3

With the players approaching the money bubble, there are still four PokerStars pros left in the field.

Greg Raymer has been riding the big stack most of the way, and he is sitting at the featured table with 110,000 in chips.

Alexandre Gomes has been battling hard since midway through Day 1, and he is now right around the average stack, working with 70,000.

Vanessa Rousso has been up and down a little bit. She started the day with just 14,000 but has managed to grind that up to 90,000, where she sits at the present moment.

Humberto Brenes has found himself in the most trouble out of the four. He got very short early in Day 1, but battled back to finish with over 53,000 after a late positive run. Today, he again found himself getting short, but has managed to survive a couple of all ins, and now has 62,000 chips in front of him.

Will one of the pros capture the title in their sponsor's tournament? Only time will tell, but these four players are certainly giving it their best shot.

Tags: Alexandre Gomes Greg Raymer Humberto Brenes Vanessa Rousso

08-08-2008 16:07 UTC-3

No Stealing From Gill

[user66118]

With two people limping into the pot, Carter Gill came along for 2,400 from the button. Action was on the small blind, and he put in a raise to 13,800. The big blind and the first two limpers folded relatively quickly, but Carter Gill immediately moved all in, having his lone opponent slightly covered. Just as quickly, the small blind folded, and Gill showed his {A-Diamonds}

as he raked in a mound of free chips. He has climbed back up over the 80,000 mark.

Tags: Carter Gill

08-08-2008 16:23 UTC-3

Beaten By a Girl

[user66118]

Vanessa Rousso has kicked things into a noticeably higher gear in the last level or so, and the results are showing up in her chip count. She has been among the more active players in the room, and is using her selective aggression to win a lot of beneficial pots.

In her most recent venture, she opened from the cutoff with a raise to 7,500. Only the big blind came along, and the flop showed up {K-Diamonds}

. Both players checked.

The turn was the {10-Clubs}

. The big blind checked, and Rousso confidently put out a bet of 7,500, a little less than half the pot. Her opponent looked pained, re-checked his cards, and then slid them into the muck.

Riding this recent surge of activity, Rousso has vaulted over the century milestone, and she is sitting pretty with 110,000 chips.

Tags: Vanessa Rousso

08-08-2008 16:33 UTC-3

Really... No Stealing From Gill

[user66118]

Carter Gill is at it again. In the last hand, he limped under the gun for 2,400, and the player to his left again raised him, this time to 8,400. The table passed the action back to Gill, and he looked a little bit frustrated. He counted and re-counted his chips before tossing most of them -- another 30,000 -- into the pot for a reraise to 32,400. Very quickly, his opponent folded, and his cards unintentionally flipped face-up: {10-Spades}

.

Gill showed the table his {3-Diamonds}

, and that bold play earned him more than 11,000 chips without having to see a flop.

Tags: Carter Gill

08-08-2008 16:40 UTC-3

We're Getting There

[user66118]

As we come to the end of the fourth round of play today, we have lost more than half of our starting players. The clock shows that we have just 40 players left in contention. Being that we're playing eight-handed, another table has been broken, and we are down to our final five groups of players. Once we lose one more table of eight, everyone left will be in the money.

The staff has informed us that there will be a redraw conducted when we get to four, three, two, and one remaining table, and we will be left with one nine-handed table after that last redraw.

Level: 14

Blinds: 1,500/3,000

Ante: 300

08-08-2008 16:54 UTC-3

Pair the Board!

[user66118]

Humberto Brenes has been on a roller coaster today, alternatively finding himself with plenty and not nearly enough chips. Lately, he has been swinging to the negative, and he found himself badly in need of a double up. With action folded to him on the button, he moved all in for about 30,000 holding {A-?}

. Next to him, the small blind made the call, turning over {A-Clubs}

.

Humberto was in trouble and at-risk of being knocked out, but the flop brought him some help. It came out {10-?}

, putting him back in the lead but still needing to dodge a king or a queen. The turn was a safe {6-?}

, and Humberto yelled, "Pair the board!" as the dealer obliged him with another {J-?}

on the river. "Pair the board!" he yelled again, patting his opponent on the shoulder. Brenes does indeed get his double up, and he is back up to 65,000 in chips.

Tags: Humberto Brenes

08-08-2008 17:17 UTC-3

Do the Tighten Up

[user66118]

With the money bubble drawing ever closer, the atmosphere and pace of the tournament has changed considerably. Early in the day, it was commonplace for pots to be hotly contested between three or more players. In this latest level though, things have tightened up a great deal.

Very few hands are being played all the way to the river, or even the turn. Even fewer involve more than two players. The vast majority of the hands played right now are being won with a pre-flop raise or a single bet on the flop. With just six players left to bust before the money hits, all indications are that it might be a while before we get there.

08-08-2008 17:37 UTC-3

Bubble Approaching

[user66118]

We have lost two players in the last 20 minutes, bringing us nearer and nearer to the money bubble. With thirty-six players remaining, we need to lose just four more before everyone is guaranteed a payout. One of those who fell victim to the last level was "Fossilman" Greg Raymer.

Raymer lost about half his chips when he raced with his {A-?}

against an opponent's {6-?}

. The pair of sixes held up, and Raymer was down to around 50,000.

A few hands later, he and another player were tangled up in a pot with the board showing {9-Clubs}

. Raymer moved all in for a substantial amount with {10-Diamonds}

and was called down by his opponent holding {A-Diamonds}

. The

and

that completed the board were of no use to Raymer, and he couldn't beat ace high. Despite working with a big stack much of the tournament, Fossilman found himself petrified just a few spots from the money.

Tags: Greg Raymer