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

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

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.

Level: 1

Blinds: 5,000/10,000

Ante: 3,000

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

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 14:30 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 14:35 UTC-7

One Miiiiiiiiiillion Dollars

[user4144]

It has come to our attention that instead of carrying over the chips won from previous rounds (which would total 300,000 each), the players have started today's final with a cool 1,000,000. Don't get excited though, it's not real money, I was just doing my Dr Evil impersonation.

06-10-2008 14:46 UTC-7

A Case of Bad Timing

[user46392]

Some mistimed early aggression from Casey Coleman failed to pay off for him.

John Strzemp minimum-raised to 20,000 in mid-position, and both Coleman in the small blind and Matthew Giannetti in the big blind called. They checked to Strzemp, who bet 40,000 on the {7-Hearts}

flop. Coleman called, and Giannetti raised to 160,000. Strzemp gave up on it and folded. After some deliberation, Coleman called. Coleman and Giannetti both checked the {10-Diamonds}

turn, and then Coleman bet out a massive 280,000 on the {4-Hearts}

river. After dwelling up for an age, Giannetti called with {A-Diamonds}

-- Coleman just mucked, and was down to around 500,000, while Gianetti leapt to 1.5 million.

06-10-2008 14:48 UTC-7

Timing Improving

[user46392]

Casey Coleman scraped back a few of those chips the next hand, though, betting every street of the {6-Spades}

board from the button until Matthew Giannetti folded to a 180,000 bet on the river.

06-10-2008 14:52 UTC-7

Two Small Pots

[user4144]

After Mike Schwartz snapped up the blinds with a 71,000 preflop raise, it was Sergey Rybachenko's turn to attack, this time raising to 55,000. Jason Young called a couple of seats down and the two players saw a {5-Spades}

flop. The flop, as well as the {6-Hearts}

turn and

river, was checked down, only for Young to take it down with {A-Clubs}

versus

.