2011 World Series of Poker

Event #35: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha / Six Handed
Day: 1
Event Info

2011 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q653
Prize
$619,575
Event Info
Buy-in
$5,000
Prize Pool
$2,382,900
Entries
507
Level Info
Level
29
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
0

JC Tran Cut Back

Over on table five, David Williams limped in from under the gun before JC Tran raised to 400 from the cutoff. The player on the button potted it, making it 1,575 to go and both the blinds and Williams got out of the way before Tran called to go heads-up to the flop of {8-Clubs}{Q-Hearts}{3-Clubs}.

From there, all the money was shoved into the middle and the cards were tabled:

Button: {A-Diamonds}{A-Clubs}{9-Spades}{3-Hearts}
Tran: {K-Spades}{K-Clubs}{J-Spades}{10-Clubs}

Tran had outs to the gut-shot straight draw, but the opponent improved to a set with the {A-Hearts} on the turn and then filled up with the river {8-Hearts} to double through.

Player Chips Progress
JC Tran us
JC Tran
16,500
1,500
1,500

Can You Call Him the Defending Champ?

While there was no $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha/Six-handed Event last year, there was a regular PLO $5K buy-in event. Chance Kornuth emerged victorious in that tournament, so for all intents and purposes, he is considered the defending champ.

Kornuth is back in action today and looking to defend his title . . . or at least capture a brand new one!

Player Chips Progress
Chance Kornuth us
Chance Kornuth
15,000
WSOP 3X Winner

Tags: Chance Kornuth

T.J. Still Has Some Play In Him

Level 3 : 75/150, 0 ante

T.J. Cloutier bet out 1,275 on a flop of {q-Spades}{7-Spades}{5-Spades} and was called by the button. The turn came {6-Diamonds} and Cloutier bet out 3,825. The button folded an Cloutier showed the {a-Spades} but no other spades in his hand. He said, "The old man still has some play in him after all."

Cloutier is up to 21,000 after the hand.

Tags: T.J. Cloutier

Kitai Loses One but Still in Good Shape

Davidi Kitai raised to 300 from middle position and was called by both the button and Amnon Filippi in the big blind. Filippi checked the {4-Diamonds}{9-Hearts}{Q-Diamonds} flop, allowing Kitai to continuation bet 650. The button called behind while Filippi decided to get out of the way.

Kitai slowed down once the dealer burned and turned the {6-Hearts}, providing the button the opportunity to seize control with a 1,575 bet. Kitai thought for about a minute before tossing his cards to the muck. While he lost that pot, Kitai is still sitting pretty with a stack of 18,000 and both his rebuy chips.

Player Chips Progress
Davidi Kitai be
Davidi Kitai
28,000
13,000
13,000
WSOP 3X Winner
Winamax

Tags: Davidi Kitai

Negreanu's No Grasshopper

The action folded around to the player on the button who raised to 400 before the flop; Men "The Master" Nguyen called from the small blind, as did Daniel Negreanu from the big blind to go three ways to the flop of {6-Diamonds}{3-Spades}{6-Clubs}.

Nguyen bet 800, Negreanu called and the button got out of the way before both players checked down the turn of the {J-Spades} and the river {3-Clubs}.

"Two pair, ace high," mumbled Nguyen. It wasn't good enough, because he mucked after Negreanu showed {8-Hearts}{8-Diamonds}{7-Clubs}{5-Spades} for a bigger two pair.

Player Chips Progress
Daniel Negreanu ca
Daniel Negreanu
30,500
-350
-350
Men Nguyen us
Men Nguyen
7,000
WSOP 7X Winner

Table Of Eternal Doom Tearing It Up

Level 3 : 75/150, 0 ante

We already mentioned the late registering table featuring Brandon Adams, Layne Flack, Brian Hastings, JC Tran, and Amnon Filippi, but what we didn't mention is that they are already tearing it up, throwing chips around, and having a good time.

On a flop of {2-Hearts}{8-Hearts}{4-Spades} Brian Hastings bet the pot (1500), the big blind moved all in, and Brandon Adams also went all in with Hastings calling. Adams said, "Well, this might be a short tournament for me" as he put his chips in the pot.

Adams: {a-Hearts}{k-Spades}{a-Diamonds}{4-Hearts}
Big Blind: {6-Clubs}{7-Hearts}{4-Clubs}{6-Hearts}
Hastings: {6-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}{j-Hearts}{10-Clubs}

The turn and river were {7-Spades}{9-Hearts} respectively and Adams rivered the nut flush to stay in it. Flack after the hand said something along the lines of, "Man, it would suck to take a bad beat from Layne (Layne sucked out on Adams earlier in a big hand), hear a bad story from Layne, and then get busted a few hands later."

Layne then found a golf ball in his pocket and said, "Man, I didn't think that was mine, I thought I was going to have to go to the doctor or something." The players laughed as Hastings and the big blind pushed chips over to Adams and he tripled back up to around 16,000.

This will be a fun table to watch while it lasts here in the early stages of the tournament.

Tags: Amnon FilippiBrandon AdamsBrian HastingsJC TranLayne Flack

Cheong and Lindgren Can't Avoid Middle Cards

Four players limped to Erick Lindgren in the big blind and he decided to exercise his option by betting pot. Robert Williamson folded under the gun and Joseph Cheong responded with a limp-raise to 2,000. The player on the button than move all in for 4,275. Lindgren called for less while Cheong called behind.

Button: {9-Diamonds}{6-Hearts}{5-Hearts}{8-Diamonds}
Lindgren: {A-Spades}{A-Diamonds}{8-Hearts}{2-Hearts}
Cheong: {A-Hearts}{J-Hearts}{K-Spades}{K-Diamonds}

While Lindgren and Cheong were playing big cards, the button had decided to go with middle cards. That decision paid off when the flop fell {7-Hearts}{8-Spades}{10-Clubs}, giving him a straight. The {9-Hearts} turn put out a flush draw, but the {7-Spades} river blanked. The button scooped the pot leaving Cheong hurt and Lindgren to rebuy.

Player Chips Progress
Joseph Cheong us
Joseph Cheong
13,800
-4,200
-4,200
WSOP 1X Winner
Erick Lindgren us
Erick Lindgren
10,000
-5,000
-5,000
WSOP 2X Winner

Tags: Erick LindgrenJoseph Cheong

Cheong Chips Up

The action folded around to 2010 WSOP Main Event third-place finisher Joseph Cheong who min-raised to 300 from the button; the player in the big blind was the only caller, so they went head-up to the flop of {6-Spades}{10-Diamonds}{3-Hearts}.

The big blind check-called Cheong's bet of 450 after the flop, then did the same on the turn of the {A-Diamonds} after Cheong opened for 950. However, the big blind check-folded after Cheong fired out 2,000 on the river of the {Q-Spades}.

Player Chips Progress
Joseph Cheong us
Joseph Cheong
18,000
2,500
2,500
WSOP 1X Winner

Kassela Has a Mountain to Climb

2010 WSOP Player of the Year Frank Kassela came by media row and asked if he could borrow one of the spare chairs. "You can more than borrow it, you can keep it," came the reply from one of our PokerNews blogging crew.

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll be needing it for long," replied Kassela. As it turned out, Kassela was very short-stacked coming back from the break, but he's just managed to double up through 2010 WSOP November Niner Jason Senti.

All the money was in the middle before the flop and we got there just as the cards were tabled:

Kassela: {A-Diamonds}{A-Clubs}{J-Spades}{6-Hearts}
Senti: {Q-Clubs}{10-Diamonds}{10-Diamonds}{8-Spades}

The flop of {9-Clubs}{K-Diamonds}{K-Clubs} gave Senti the open-ended straight draw, but Kassela's two pair held up all the way as the turn and river ran out {6-Spades}, {8-Clubs}. Kassela then managed to pick up another pot a short time later and he's still in it, albeit with around 3,000 in chips.

Player Chips Progress
Frank Kassela us
Frank Kassela
3,000
-5,200
-5,200
WSOP 3X Winner