Event 10 - $2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em/Omaha | 2009 World Series of Poker

06-05-2009 16:35 UTC-12

Impish Cimpan

Shamus

Omaha

The previous hand had seen four players limp in, then check down all of the way to the river where Cornel Cimpan fired out a pot-sized bet, causing all to fold. Cimpan turned over a bluff as he dragged the pot.

Then Najib Bennani opened with a raise to 60,000 from UTG, and Cimpan called behind. "Maybe I can bluff this one, too," he said.

The two of them checked the flop and turn. When the river card was dealt, the board showed {2-Hearts}

. Bennani checked, then Cimpan checked behind.

Benanni turned over {A-Hearts}

-- he'd turned a wheel, and might've been trying to get Cimpan to bet there on the end as he had done before. Cimpan mucked, saying he had 9-9-x-x as he did.

Cimpan has about 520,000 right now, while Bennani has a little more with 531,000.

06-05-2009 16:26 UTC-12

Much Ado

Shamus

Hold'em

Cornel Cimpan raised to 100,000 from under the gun (a.k.a. the hijack here five-handed), and Daniel Makowsky reraised to 250,000 from the small blind. Cimpan pushed his remaining 299,000 in and Makowsky called.

Makowsky turned over {A-Spades}

and Cimpan {A-Clubs}

. The board came {Q-Hearts}

, and all of those orange and pink chips retreated back to where they had started the hand.

06-05-2009 16:20 UTC-12

Queens Go Unchallenged

Shamus

Hold'em

Rami Boukai raised to 90,000 from under the gun, then Najib Bennani reraised to 315,000 behind him. It folded to Ben Grundy who asked for a count of Bennani's remaining chips, then folded. Boukai folded as well.

Bennani showed {Q-Diamonds}

. He trips up past the half million mark.

06-05-2009 16:17 UTC-12

Money Matters

Shamus

Earlier when Cornel Cimpan asked that question about how much the non-elimination of Najib Bennani had cost him, more than one player quickly replied "$18,000." That's roughly the difference between a fourth- and fifth-place finish. Players are obviously well aware of what a good finish here could mean.

Here are the payouts for the remaining five spots:

1st -- $244,862
2nd -- $151,335
3rd -- $99,574
4th -- $69,546
5th -- $51,313

06-05-2009 16:12 UTC-12

Updated Chip Counts

Shamus

Rami Boukai -- 1,056,000
Ben Grundy -- 755,000
Daniel Makowsky -- 662,000
Najib Bennani -- 464,000
Cornel Cimpan -- 449,000

Level: 25

Blinds: 0/0

Ante: 0

06-05-2009 16:05 UTC-12

How About River Bennani?

Shamus

Omaha

Just before the break, Daniel Makowsky opened with a raise to 70,000 from the button, and Rami Boukai folded from the small blind. "What do you have?" asked Najib Bennani of Makowsky from the big blind. A wordless grin was all the response he got. He made the call.

The flop was {5-Clubs}

. Bennani bet the pot, leaving himself just 12,000 behind. Makowsky thought a moment, then reraised to put Bennani all in.

Bennani showed {10-Hearts}

, and Makowsky {A-Diamonds}

. The turn was the {K-Clubs}

, and Makowsky was ahead with kings and nines. But the river was the {10-Clubs}

, giving Bennani a full house and the pot.

"How much did that card cost me?!" asked Cornel Cimpan good-naturedly. He's now the table's short stack (by just a tad).

Bennani doubles up once again, and now is right back in the thick of things with 464,000. Meanwhile, Makowsky slips to 662,000.

Tags: Daniel Makowsky Najib Bennani

06-05-2009 15:56 UTC-12

Break it Down

[user66118]

The clock has ticked down through level 24, and the players are now on a shortened 10-minute after-dinner break.

06-05-2009 15:52 UTC-12

River Ben

[user66118]

Omaha

the cutoff spot, Cornel Cimpan opened the pot to 70,000. Next to act, Ben Grundy made the call, and the blinds folded out of the way.

The board came out {Q-Diamonds}

with the two players check-checking it all the way down. In the end, Cimpan was first to show, but he pump faked and hesitated. Grundy went ahead and showed {A-Spades}

.

From the smirk on Cimpan's face, it was clear that he was ahead until the ace fell on fifth street. From across the table, Najib Bennani quipped, "River Ben!"

The five men are all laughing and joking with each other, but the situation is becoming serious for Cimpan. Since counting himself at over one million, he has dropped well over half of his stack in short order.

Tags: Ben Grundy Cornel Cimpan Najib Bennani

06-05-2009 15:43 UTC-12

Cimpan Slips; Bennani to Blame

[user66118]

Omaha

First into the pot from the small blind, Najib Bennani came with a pot raise to 84,000. In the big blind, Cornel Cimpan flat-called, heads up to the flop.

The dealer spread out the first three community cards, revealing {8-Diamonds}