Event 33 - $10,000 World Championship Limit Hold'em Day 1 | 2009 World Series of Poker

06-15-2009 14:40 UTC-12

And They're Back

[user46392]

The current number of runners, and we suspect the final tally, is 185. We'll confirm or deny that shortly.

06-15-2009 14:46 UTC-12

Here They Come...

[user67765]

Some more late arrivals after the break include Todd Brunson, Gabe Kaplan, Mike Caro, Chino Rheem and the seven-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Ivey.

06-15-2009 14:48 UTC-12

What Kind of Time Do You Call This?

[user46392]

As predicted, a whole load of folks who didn't really fancy it in levels one and two have just rolled in, among them Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Peter Gould, Alex Kravchenko, Sami Kelopuro (who has become the sixth fearsome name at the Table of Doom, right next to Erik Seidel) and Jan Sjavik -- although whether the latter is actually playing or just milling is not yet clear.

06-15-2009 14:56 UTC-12

A Battle of the Heavyweights...Off the Felt

[user67765]

We can't but help report on a somewhat heated discussion taking place within three feet of our blogging desk.

Before the break Mike Sexton, who doesn't appear to be playing this event, and Daniel Alaei were busy finalizing their dream teams in this event for some sort of side bet. It caught our attention as obviously there is a lot of interest in this event and they were busily negotiating on scraps of paper next to our desk.

Following the break, Sexton was joined by Howard Lederer and the two were clearly involved in an animated argument over side bets.

Without speculating, the two were obviously unable to agree on the terms of a previous side bet, which may have been something to do with the much-publicized Ivey bracelet bets, as the argument was next to Phil Ivey's table who seemed bemused by the discussion.

"You two arguing like this is bad for poker," laughed Ivey, "Take it outside."

After a few more minutes of discussion, Lederer left in one direction, and Sexton in the other.

Tags: Howard Lederer Mike Sexton

06-15-2009 14:59 UTC-12

Minieri Maximizes Stack

[user46392]

Dario Minieri called a bet from the gent on the small blind on the turn of a {4-Hearts}

board, and come the {7-Clubs}

river the small blind checked and then tossed his cards into the muck when Minieri bet. With that pot, Minieri's stack has topped the 50,000 mark -- an excellent start for the tiny Italian.

Tags: Dario Minieri

06-15-2009 15:03 UTC-12

Matusow's Opponent Clearly Does Not Suspect He Has Aces

[user46392]

A gent in the cutoff raised and Mike Matusow three-bet him; undeterred, Mr Cutoff called.

Matusow bet and Mr Cutoff called all the way down the {6-Diamonds}

board -- until Matusow flipped over {A-Clubs}

and Mr Cutoff mucked.

Matusow's up to 39,000 now.

Tags: Mike Matusow

06-15-2009 15:10 UTC-12

Chu's Hansu Are Tied

[user46392]

"Excuse me, can I please ask your name?" asked I, seeing a young gentleman win a very tiny pot he had been all in for.

"Yeah, Loser," replied he, sort of half giggling.

It transpires that this unfortunate is one Mr Hansu Chu, and he's, well, in a spot of bother on just a few hundred in chips. It's amazing how fast $10,000 can slip through your fingers in Vegas.

06-15-2009 15:17 UTC-12

Short Handed Play Time Is Over

[user46392]

With the total number of runners now fixed at 185, three tables have been broken and condensed into the the rest of the field -- all tables are nine-handed now, or as close to it as possible.

One notable table right now features Annie Duke, Liz Lieu, Phil Ivey, Shaun Deeb and young Dutch brightly coloured shirt enthusiast Michiel Brummelhuis.

06-15-2009 15:18 UTC-12

Harman Likes Diamonds

[user67765]

Noah Boeken raised the action from the cutoff before Jennifer Harman put in the 3-bet from the button. The blinds folded and Boeken made the call.

They saw a flop of {Q-Diamonds}

and Boeken checked to Harman who fired a bet. Boeken made the call and the {6-Clubs}

hit on the turn. Again Boeken checked, Harman bet and Boeken called. The river was the {2-Diamonds}

and once again Boeken check-called the bet from Harman.

Harman tabled {8-Diamonds}

for a rivered flush to collect the pot. She moves up to 36,000 chips with Boeken back to 42,000.

Tags: Jennifer Harman Noah Boeken

06-15-2009 15:27 UTC-12

Hellmuth Fails to Beat His Record

[user46392]

Phil Hellmuth hasn't quite sat down yet, but he is at least in the tournament room -- only two hours and 45 minutes into the tournament, thus over an hour away from the three hours and 50 minutes late he arrived for the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em the other day. Great work nevertheless.

Tags: Phil Hellmuth