Event 57 - $10,000 World Championship No Limit Hold'em Day 1a | 2009 World Series of Poker

07-03-2009 08:14 UTC-12

Ante Up for Africa

With a growing focus on giving back to the community here at the WSOP, the number of charity poker tournaments has been increasing steadily for a few years now. Still, nothing has come close to the annual Ante Up for Africa charity event in terms of publicity and star appeal since its inception three years ago. Hosted by Annie Duke and Don Cheadle, the 2009 event was held yesterday here in the Amazon Room, and ESPN was on hand to film all of the action. So was PokerNews, and here you can check out our own look at the people that were part of this great event.

07-03-2009 08:08 UTC-12

Brkovic Chips Back Up

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With a raise to 225 and two callers before him, Aleks 'Banana Thief' Brkovic made the call before leading for 600 on the {K-Hearts}

flop.

The original raiser made the call, as did one other to see the {6-Diamonds}

fall on the turn.

Brkovic fired 1,600 at the pot, and lost one opponent after the original raiser made the call again.

When the river landed the {5-Clubs}

, Brkovic's 2,350-chip bet was enough to prompt a fold from his opponent after deliberating over the decision for near on three minutes.

As Brkovic raked in the pot, he pushed back up to over his starting stack; now sitting with 33,600 in chips.

Tags: Aleks Brkovic

07-03-2009 08:06 UTC-12

Smith Loses a Small One to a Small Pair

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When a player in middle position raised to 350, Gavin Smith made the call.

Both players then checked down a board of {A-Diamonds}

. When his opponent showed {2-Hearts}

, Smith tapped the table and mucked.

07-03-2009 07:59 UTC-12

Good Start for Van Zadelhoff

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Steven Van Zadelhoff raised to 300 from early position and got two callers. The flop came down {A-Hearts}

and the big blind led out for 500. The third player folded and Van Zadelhoff called. The turn was the {K-Hearts}

and the big blind fired again for 1,000. Van Zadelhoff called and they went to the river, which came the {J-Clubs}

. The big blind bet 5,000 and Van Zadelhoff called.

The big blind showed {K-Diamonds}

, having turned trip kings, but Van Zadelhoff rivered the nut flush with {A-Clubs}

to take down the pot. He's now up to 34,500.

07-03-2009 07:57 UTC-12

John Phan Eliminated

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Wow. Surely this was not how John Phan was expecting his Main Event would take shape. Phan bet 1,500 on the turn of a {10-Spades}

board after his opponent checked. That opponent then check-raised to 4,000, with Phan making the call.

The river came {Q-Diamonds}

and brought a bet of 5,100 from Phan's opponent.

"I'm supposed to raise here," said Phan. But instead he just called with {Q-Hearts}

, a set of queens. His opponent showed {8-Clubs}

for the turned straight and the winning hand.

That loss knocked Phan down to 4,000 chips. A few hands later he opened for 300 preflop and was called by a late-position player and the small blind. The small blind checked the {8-Hearts}

flop, inducing a bet of 700 from Phan. That bet folded the late-position player, but not the small blind. The small blind check-raised to 5,000, sending Phan deep into the tank.

"This is how my World Series is gonna end?" Phan asked no one in particular. "35 minutes in? You know what I have."

Phan called all in and showed {A-Diamonds}

. His opponent had top pair, {K-Spades}

. The turn was the {10-Hearts}

, raising the specter of a board straight. The river was worse than that for Phan -- it was the {K-Hearts}

, making two pair for Phan's opponent and ending Phan's Main Event in the first hour of play. He is out.

Tags: John Phan

07-03-2009 07:57 UTC-12

Not So Good for Nelly

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Six players each paid 350 to see a flop of {J-Diamonds}

. Action checked to Nelly, who bet 1,500 before getting raised to 4,000 by a player in position. Everyone else folded and Nelly made the call.

Both players checked the {9-Diamonds}

on the turn and Nelly bet 3,000 when the {5-Diamonds}

appeared on the river. His opponent called and Nelly showed {A-Clubs}

for top pair. It wasn't enough, as his opponent tabled {A-Hearts}

for top two and took the pot. Nelly's stack slipped to 21,500 after the hand.

07-03-2009 07:54 UTC-12

Schneider Scares Off Frangos

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The action was folded all the way around to Tom Schneider in the small blind. He limped in and was met with a raise to 325 from Nick Frangos in the big blind. Schneider called and they saw a flop of {A-Spades}

. Schneider checked, Frangos bet 325, and Schneider called. Both players checked the {10-Hearts}

on the turn. The river fell the {4-Clubs}

and Schneider led out for 1,400. Frangos mucked his hand and "Donkeybomber" raked in the pot, taking his stack up to 31,000. Frangos slipped to 25,000.

07-03-2009 07:51 UTC-12

Sexton Folds to Overbet

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After a flop of {10-Hearts}

, Mike Sexton checked from middle position and the player in the cutoff seat bet 1,200. Sexton made the call.

The turn brought the {9-Hearts}

and both players checked.

The river was the {J-Diamonds}

and Sexton checked for a third time. The cutoff bet 5,000 into a pot of only about 3,000.

Sexton thought for a few moments before folding to the river overbet.

Tags: Mike Sexton

07-03-2009 07:50 UTC-12

Cajelais Tripping the Light Fantastic

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Erik Cajelais was the only caller of a preflop raise to 250. He called again on a flop of {k-Diamonds}

when his opponent bet 500. On the turn {Q-Diamonds}

, Cajelais' opponent slowed down and checked. Cajelais took the opportunity to bet 900. He was called.

The river fell {A-Spades}

. Cajelais' opponent woke up and led out for 1,200, a bet that Cajelais raised to 4,200. His opponent called and mucked when Cajelais showed down {3-Clubs}