LAPT San José Main Event Day 1 | 2008 PokerStars.net LAPT - San José

11-03-2008 17:21 UTC-5

Break it Up

The clock has been paused, and the players are on a 10-minute break. At the four-hour mark, it appears that PokerStars own Victor Ramdin is in the chip lead. He has tripled his starting stack, and sits now with 31,000.

11-03-2008 16:57 UTC-5

So Long, Sabat

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Eddy Sabat has just been eliminated, despite jumping out to an early double up at the start of the day.

In his final hand, he held {Q-?}

, and was tangling heads up. The flop revealed {J-Hearts}

, and both players checked.

The turn came the {2-Clubs}

, and Sabat called a bet.

The last card off was the {6-Clubs}

. Again, the unknown opponent bet out, this time with 3,000 chips. Sabat had just 5,000 left, and he moved all in and was quickly called. His opponent tabled the winning {Q-?}

, spelling the end for Eddy.

Tags: Eddy Sabat

11-03-2008 16:53 UTC-5

The Other Brenes

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

We join the flop in a heads-up pot involving Alex Brenes. With four cards out on the board, it reads {8-Diamonds}

. Brenes' lone opponent is first to act, and he bets out 700. Brenes thinks for a moment before making the call.

Fifth street comes the {A-Spades}

. Once more, Brenes sees his opponent lead out, this time for 1,000 chips. More quickly this time, Brenes again calls. His opponent turns over {J-Spades}

, but Brenes shows the winning {A-Hearts}

, drawing a puzzled look from his opponent. With that little pot, Brenes has chipped his way up to 12,500.

Tags: Alex Brenes

11-03-2008 16:36 UTC-5

Gill Slowplays, Then Folds

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Carter Gill opened with a raise to 500 from early position, and got called by a player behind him, as well as the man in the small blind position. Three handed, the flop brought {J-Spades}

. The small blind and Gill both checked, and the middle-position player bet out 500. That was enough to get one man out, but Carter Gill made the flat call.

Heads up now, the turn came the {10-Spades}

. Gill checked again, and his opponent asked for a count. When he learned Gill's total, he waved both of his hands forward in the universal "all-in" gesture.

Gill went into the tank for a few minutes, lamenting his position. "I was slowplaying on the flop, too!" he said. "Now I can't think of anything I can beat." With that, he released his hand, and is left with 6,550 chips.

Of note is the fact that Victor Ramdin has just joined this table, with Carter Gill and last year's San Jose champion Valdemar Kwaysser, giving Table 18 a run for its money as the toughest table going.

Tags: Carter Gill

Level: 4

Blinds: 100/200

Ante: 25

11-03-2008 16:21 UTC-5

Toughest Table in Town

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Alex Brenes was broken from his brother Humberto's table about an hour ago, but the charming Liv Boeree has just been moved there, keeping it the toughest table in the room. It is still home to Humberto Brenes and Jon Van Fleet, along with Boeree.

11-03-2008 16:04 UTC-5

By the Numbers

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

With registration now closed, the final numbers are in. This kickoff event for LAPT's second season drew 219 runners, creating a huge overlay to the $1,000,000 guaranteed prizepool. To be exact, the overlay is $256,495. The tournament staff seems a bit disappointed by the number, as it represents a sharp decline from the 397 who played the first season in San Jose.

The full payout information will be posted as soon as it's made available to us.

11-03-2008 15:52 UTC-5

Three Names, Two Times the Chips

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Shawn Patrick Ryan is at it again. Once more, he moved all in, this time before the flop for all 6,575 of his chips. He was looked up by Tommy Guerra, who turned over {K-Spades}

. The second-best hand in poker was second best here too, as Ryan flipped up {A-Spades}

.

The board came {5-Diamonds}

, earning Ryan another double up. He now sits with 13,375, much improved from when he was hovering close to 1,000 just a few minutes ago.

Tags: Shawn Patrick Ryan Tommy Guerra

11-03-2008 15:42 UTC-5

Ryan Riding the Roller Coaster

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Shawn Patrick Ryan was just involved in a pot holding {Q-Diamonds}

. The flop was yahtzee for him, coming out {Q-?}

. Action was checked all the way around, and the turn brought the {K-Diamonds}

, giving Ryan the second-nut flush. One of his opponents bet out 1,400, Ryan called, and the third man in the pot raised to 4,400. He and Ryan ended up all in, with the unknown opponent eventually showing down {A-Diamonds}

for the nut flush. Ryan was crippled down to just 1,300 chips, but would soon rebound.

Facing a raise in front of him, Brent Harpe called from the button, and Ryan squeezed all in for 2,500 from the big blind, after working his way out of the hole a little bit. The original raiser ducked out, but Harpe called, putting Ryan at risk of elimination.

Showdown:
Harpe: {5-Clubs}