Event 52 - $3,000 Triple Chance No Limit Hold'em Day 1 | 2009 World Series of Poker

06-28-2009 13:36 UTC-12

Play Shifting to 9-Handed

We started play today 10-handed, presumably so that the entire field could be accomodated in the Amazon Room without having to overflow into Brasilia or Miranda. Now that plays has consolidated entirely within the Blue section of the Amazon Room, the tournament staff are removing one seat from each table rather than break additional tables. Once all tables are nine-handed, we'll resume the usual table breaking process.

06-28-2009 13:32 UTC-12

Ferguson Cruising

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Like Phil Hellmuth before him, we don't believe that Chris Ferguson was in his seat when the first hand was dealt today. But that hasn't stopped him from accumulating a double-par stack. He recently eliminated a player for 5,675 chips, all in preflop. Ferguson's {A-Hearts}

dominated his opponent's {A-Clubs}

, and turned a queen on an otherwise blank board to cinch the hand.

Ferguson is on 28,000.

Tags: Chris Ferguson

06-28-2009 13:27 UTC-12

Coren Eliminated by King-High

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As my British colleague danafish might say, "Oh dear." The day has come to a tragic end for Vicky Coren at the massive, tattooed guns of Erik Cajelais. Coren opened for 1,100 from middle position and was called by a player in late position and Cajelais from the small blind. Cajelais checked the {9-Spades}

flop to Coren, who bet 2,500. That bet folded the third player and brought the action back to Cajelais.

After considering his options, Cajelais check-raised to 8,000. Coren moved all in and Cajelais called!

Coren: {7-Spades}

Cajelais:

Both players had decided to gamble on draws. Coren's problem was that half of her draw was no good, losing to Cajelais' bigger spade draw. In the end, both missed. The turn {Q-Clubs}

and river

hit neither, allowing Cajelais to take down the pot by playing the board pair of eights with his king kicker.

After that stunning hand, Cajelais is leading the tournament with 57,000 chips.

Tags: Erik Cajelais Vicky Coren

06-28-2009 13:11 UTC-12

Froehlich Looking Good, Billy Ray

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We took a spin by Eric Froehlich's table recently to check in on his progress. About a half hour ago it seemed like he only had 5,000 chips. Now he has about 15,000 chips, no small feat at a table that includes Nenad Medic and Andy Black. We pressed Froehlich for details of his good fortune but he said that -- more or less -- he's just grinding it out.

06-28-2009 13:05 UTC-12

More Chips for Tran

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With the flop showing {K-Spades}

, J.C. Tran's lone opponent opened for 2,220. Tran had a total of 6,125 chips in this stack, all of which went into the middle with a reraise. Tran's opponent called and showed {Q-Clubs}

; Tran opened a much better pocket pair, {A-Diamonds}

. The board bricked out {5-Clubs}

and

.

Tran once again has chips. Right now the total is 15,000.

Tags: J.C. Tran

Level: 6

Blinds: 150/300

Ante: 25

06-28-2009 12:56 UTC-12

Still Here!

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We're still here. We've been making one last scour of the room, turning up hats and hoddies and sunglasses looking for faces we might not have seen yet. We didn't find too many more that haven't been mentioned; it's safe to assume that everyone who's playing has taken their seats by now.

Sorry, Victor Ramdin fans. It looks like your man is not in our tournament. Can we offer you Johnny Lodden instead?

06-28-2009 12:34 UTC-12

Hellmuth Firing on All Cylinders

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Phil Hellmuth showed up late today (as is his custom) but that hasn't stopped him from practically doubling his starting stack. With 8,000 chips in the pot on the river of a {K-Hearts}

board, Hellmuth bet 4,000. His opponent called, with what we'll never know. Hellmuth showed a flopped Broadway straight, {A-Hearts}

, which was enough to win the hand.

Hellmuth, once again without any baseball cap or sunglasses, is up to 17,500 in chips.

06-28-2009 12:29 UTC-12

Tran Reduces the Field by One

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We saw J.C. Tran sliding chips into the pot to call a player's all-in bet on the turn of a {10-Diamonds}

board. All Tran had was a pair of aces, {A-Clubs}

, with no significant draw to speak of. But all Tran's opponent had was a pair of kings, {K-Clubs}

, also no significant draw to speak of. The river blanked {J-Diamonds}

, giving Tran a stack that measures 14,000.

Tags: JC Tran

06-28-2009 12:25 UTC-12

Setback for Convey

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We always try to keep a close eye on poker media who play in WSOP events. It helps when they are right by our media table. Marc Convey raised from the small blind to 600 and was called by the big blind. A series of raises on a flop of {A-Spades}

got Convey's opponent all in for 6,100. Convey showed down {A-Clubs}

, a pair of aces and was trailing his opponent's {A-Diamonds}