Event 17 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout | 2008 World Series of Poker

06-10-2008 14:30 UTC-7

Hat Trick of Wins

[user4144]

The early stages have been mostly low-key, both in the action and the level of table talk, but that's not to say that players haven't been aggressive, just that big pots have failed to emerge.

The player who has been most active thus far is John Strzemp III. As the opening round was being completed, Kyle Bowker raised to 60,000 from the button and Strzemp called in the small blind. On the {3-Hearts}

flop, Strzemp then check-raised his foe from 80,000 to 200,000 and Bowker quickly folded.

A few hands later, it was Strzemp who was the preflop aggressor, raising it up to 60,000 from the cutoff. Jason Young called in the big blind. With the flop reading {K-Spades}

, Strzemp took it down with a continuation bet of 100,000.

On the very next hand, it was Matt Giannetti's turn, but he also felt the wrath of Strzemp, the latter reraising Giannetti's early-position preflop raise of 55,000 to 260,000 to take yet another pot.

A solid start from Strzemp, who takes an early chip lead.

Tags: John Strzemp III

06-10-2008 14:23 UTC-7

Cagey Play

[user46392]

With so much to play for, the style of play so far has, predictably, been one of measured aggression--lots of raising when there is an opportunity, calling in position, folding to a continuation bet on an unfriendly flop, and so on.

It folds around to Thomas West in the small blind, and he raises. Rory Monahan in the big blind calls. The flop comes down a jacktastic {J-Diamonds}

and West bets out. Monahan, refusing to drop any more chips than is strictly necessary, folds.

Then Sergey Rybachenko raises in late position, and Jason Young calls to his immediate left, but folds when Rybachenko bets out on the {A-Diamonds}

flop.

06-10-2008 14:11 UTC-7

In a Russian

[user4144]

Sergey Rybachenko isn't messing around today. He took the first pot uncontested with a preflop raise to 60,000. Everyone folded.

Tags: Sergey Rybachenko

Level: 1

Blinds: 5,000/10,000

Ante: 3,000

06-10-2008 14:06 UTC-7

Tired, But All Present

[user46392]

As the players sleepily take their seats at the glamorous non-televised Green Section Table 15 to whittle themselves down to a single champion, foremost in their collective minds, besides how to get hold of another cup of coffee, must be the obscene leap in prize money from 10th place ($7,507) to first ($335,565). It's worth staying awake for.

06-10-2008 08:44 UTC-7

Shootout Finale Set for 2pm Start

[user33020]

It's a short night of sleep for the ten finalists returning for today's Round 3 of Event #17, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout. This field capped its entrants at 1,000, ten of whom will return this afternoon at 2pm PDT. One of these ten will claim a bracelet and $335,565 by night's end:

WIth seat assignments and home towns (each player will start with 300,000 in chips), here are the finalists:

Seat 1: Casey Coleman (Kingston, Ontario, Canada)
Seat 2: Matthew Giannetti (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Seat 3: Thomas West (Los Altos, California)
Seat 4: Rory Monahan (Carbondale, Illinois)
Seat 5: Kyle Bowker (Walton, New York)
Seat 6: John Strzemp III (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Seat 7: Mike Schwartz (Encino, California)
Seat 8: Sergey Rybachenko (Moscow, Russian Federation)
Seat 9: Jason Young (Suffern, New York)
Seat 10: Alexander Triner (Rockville, Maryland)

Tags: Thomas West