That'll do it for our day 1 coverage of the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championships. Tomorrow's coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. local time, when the following 32 players take to the felt for round 2 action:
Dan Schreiber moved his stack into the middle holding and was well ahead of T.J. Cloutier's , but a five on the flop flipped the scales in Cloutier's favor, leaving Schreiber drawing to an ace, jack or running straight cards to stay alive.
Unfortunately for Schreiber, the turn and river blanked out, giving the pot and the match to Cloutier, who will face J.C. Tran in tomorrow's round of 32.
A short-stacked Alisha Kunze moved the remainder of her chips into the middle holding a pocket pair of sevens and found herself in a coin-flip situation against Phil Ivey who made the call with .
The board filled out giving Ivey two pair and one of the two remaining spots in the round of 32, setting up a second round match-up between Ivey and Johnny Chan.
Alisha Kunze had built up a slight chip lead over 1st round opponent Phil Ivey before the two got it all in pre-flop with a pair of monster hands: aces for Ivey and kings for Kunze.
The board blanked out and Ivey's aces held up to take the lead in the match.
The only other match still undecided is over on table one, with Dan Schreiber and T.J. Cloutier battling it out for one of two remaining spots in the round of 32.
A short-stacked Annie Duke moved the rest of her chips into the middle holding against round 1 opponent J.C. Tran, who called in the dark. Fortunately for Tran, his had Duke on the ropes and the board only improved his hand further to eliminate Duke from the tournament.
With the win, Tran secured one of the final spots in tomorrow's round of 32.
Actor and poker player Don Cheadle did all he could do, getting his money in before the flop with the best hand (pocket jacks) against Gus Hansen's , but an unfortunate king in the door sent the Academy Award Nominee to the rail.
Hansen's win sets up a round 2 match-up against fan favorite Scotty Nguyen.
Two-time WSOP main event champion Johnny Chan has just eliminated David Williams from the tournament, getting it all in pre-flop holding pocket jacks against Williams' .
The board filled out and Chan's jacks held up to win the pot and the match, earning him a spot in the round of 32.