2009 World Series of Poker

Event 55 - $2,500 Limit Deuce to Seven Triple Draw
Day: 1
123
Event Info

2009 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Prize
$165,521
Event Info
Buy-in
$2,500
Prize Pool
$593,400
Entries
257
Level Info
Level
24
Blinds
13,000 / 25,000
Ante
0

Bad Hands Win Today; Deuce to Seven Set to Go

[user66118]
[user66118]
Good evening and welcome to the last non-Hold'em for this year's WSOP. Event #55 is the $2,500-buyin Limit Deuce to Seven Triple Draw Lowball funfest, and it is the only triple draw event on the schedule. We expect to have a pretty solid field for this one, though the numbers are small right now. The big yellow board tells us that 87 players have put up their buyin so far, with another 50 or so expected to join us as the first two levels progress.

Players will start the day with 7,500 chips, and said chips are being counted out and distributed by the dealers as we speak. It should be just a minute or two before the players start to meander in to take their seats, and we're scheduled for a 5:00pm start time. Sit tight, we'll be back with the shuffle up and deal in just a few.

Almost There

[user66118]
[user66118]
We've just crossed our scheduled starting time, and things aren't quite ready to go yet. The good news is that the board shows 121 runners so far, and that number is climbing fast. The not-so-good news is that they've just started the clock counting down from 12 minutes. It's a fair indication that it'll be at least 12 minutes before we get rolling.

Be right back.

Shuffle Up and Deal!

[user66118]
[user66118]
"We're playing deuce to seven, which means that the best hand is 2-3-4-5-7," said Director Jack Effel. "Don't forget that straights and flushes count against you." We'd hope the players here are already familiar with the rules of the game, but a few of them were actually paying attention to the announcements.

After running down the rest of the rules, Effel uttered the most famous words in poker, and we're out of the starting gate in Event #55!

Level: 1

Blinds: 50/75

Ante: 0

Familiar Faces

[user66118]
[user66118]
So far, the notable names are pretty well dispersed throughout the field. Among others, Terrance Chan, Allen Kessler, Thor Hansen, Steve Zolotow, Robert Mizrachi, Nikolay Evdakov, and David Singer all have their own tables full of unfamiliar faces.

That's not the case over on Table 196. Seat 1 holds Erick Lindgren, Gavin Smith occupies Seat 3, and Chino Rheem is in Seat 5. That one is the clear front runner for most dangerous (and entertaining) table so far.

More Names

[user66118]
[user66118]
There's a huge contingent of notable pros here already, and every time we look up, another handful have taken their seats. Here's a partial list of those within eyeshot:

Brett Richey
Yueqi Zhu
Shannon Elizabeth
Steve Sung (sitting with Terrence Chan)
Amnon Filippi
Jimmy Fricke (sitting with Tracey Nguyen)
Bill Chen
Mike Sexton
VaShon "Julian Verse" Watkins
Peter Hedlund
David Sklansky

A Few More

[user66118]
[user66118]
We've pipped over 200 players registered already, and the number is still creeping upwards. The field has now expanded over into the Red/Magenta section of the Brasilia, and we've spotted another gaggle of familiar faces:

Jon "Pearljammer" Turner
Ken Aldridge
John Monnette
Bryan Devonshire
Andre Akkari
Gavin Griffin
Richard Brodie
Yan Chen
Billy Baxter (sitting with Matt Hawrilenko)
Michael Binger
Fabrice Soulier
Mike Schneider
Dario Alioto

Rheem Goes Farthest, Mucks

[user66118]
[user66118]
We found four-way action over on Table 192 already. It started when Gavin Smith raised under the gun and the player to his left called from middle position. Chino Rheem and the big blind came along as well. Each player drew two cards except for the middle-position player who drew just one. The big blind and Smith checked, the middle-position player bet, and all three opponents called.

Rheem and the big blind drew two cards again, while Smith and the bettor each pulled one, and the action was check-checked around the table.

Each player took one card on the final draw. The middle-position player bet again, and this time only Chino Rheem made the call.

The bettor showed 8-6-4-3-2, and Rheem sent his cards back to the muck.

Still Coming

[user66118]
[user66118]
Casey "bigdogpckt5s" Jarzabek was in his seat to start the day, but we missed him on the first trip past his table. Apart from that, we have another few tables starting to play on the far side of the room. Over there we have Daniel Alaei and Max Pescatori sitting with Steve Wong. We also spotted Eli Elezra, Kelly Kim, Rob Hollink, Alex Jacob, and Victor Ramdin filing in late.

Frank Kassela has joined us too, just about an hour after bubbling out one spot short of the money in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Better luck here, Frank.

Chen Loses a Small Battle

[user66118]
[user66118]
In a battle of the blinds, Bill Chen completed from the small, and his opponent tapped the table for a free draw from the big. Chen took three and the big blind took four cards, after which Chen made a bet and was called.

Each player drew one card on the second draw, with Chen check-calling a bet this time. He would need to draw one more while his opponent stood pat. On the final betting round, both men checked. Chen showed a J-7 low, but it was no good against the big blind's ninety-six.

Tags: Bill Chen

12345…9