2013 World Series of Poker

Event #5: $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better
Day: 1
Event Info

2013 World Series of Poker

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
j8qk910
Prize
$216,958
Event Info
Buy-in
$2,500
Entries
374
Level Info
Level
28
Limits
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
10,000

Event #5: $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better

Day 1 Started

Get Ready for Some Mixed Games!

Welcome back to the Rio for Day 3 of the 2013 World Series of Poker! Today, we are kicking off the mixed game tournaments with the $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi-Low 8-or-Better. Last year, 393 players sat down to try and win this bracelet, and at the end of three long days of split and scooped pots, Ukrainian poker pro Oleskii Kovalchuk outlasted them all, winning $228,014, along with a beautiful gold bracelet.

Kovalchuk had to best an absolutely stacked final table that included German pro George Danzer, veteran player Mark Gregorich, online legend Yuval “Yuvee04” Bronshtein, and WSOP commentator Norman Chad. There was a laundry list of pros who cashed in this event, including Jeff Lisandro, Bryan Devonshire, Allen Bari, Scott Seiver, and former November Niner Jeremy Ausmus.

Play is scheduled to get underway at 5 PM local time, and we will be playing eight levels today. After that, we will bag and tag the chips for the night, and the remaining survivors will come back tomorrow at two, and try to play down to a final table. We will have all the updates all night here at Pokernews, so don’t go anywhere!

Level: 1

Limits: 75/150

Ante: 0

So who's here?

Level 1 : 75/150, 0 ante
Player Chips Progress
Eric Buchman us
Eric Buchman
WSOP 2X Winner
7,500 7,500
Daniel Negreanu ca
Daniel Negreanu
7,500 7,500
Brett Richey us
Brett Richey
7,500 7,500
Chris Tryba us
Chris Tryba
WSOP 1X Winner
7,500 7,500
Jennifer Harmen
Jennifer Harmen
7,500 7,500
Owais Ahmed us
Owais Ahmed
WSOP 1X Winner
7,500 7,500
David Bach us
David Bach
WSOP 3X Winner
7,500 7,500
Mike Sexton us
Mike Sexton
WSOP 1X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
7,500 7,500
David Skalansky
David Skalansky
7,500 7,500
Justin "Boosted J" Smith
Justin "Boosted J" Smith
7,500 7,500
Scott Clements us
Scott Clements
WSOP 3X Winner
7,500 7,500
Allen Kessler us
Allen Kessler
7,500 7,500
Jeff Madsen us
Jeff Madsen
WSOP 4X Winner
7,500 7,500
Ben Yu us
Ben Yu
WSOP 4X Winner
7,500 7,500
Frankie O'Dell us
Frankie O'Dell
WSOP 3X Winner
7,500 7,500
John Cernuto us
John Cernuto
WSOP 3X Winner
7,500 7,500
Scott Abrams us
Scott Abrams
WSOP 1X Winner
7,500 7,500
Norman Chad us
Norman Chad
7,500 7,500
Chad Brown us
Chad Brown
7,500 7,500
Bill Chen us
Bill Chen
WSOP 2X Winner
7,500 7,500
Mark Gregorich us
Mark Gregorich
7,500 7,500
Jesse Martin us
Jesse Martin
WSOP 2X Winner
7,500 7,500

Murderer's Row at Table 388

Level 1 : 75/150, 0 ante
Murderer's Row: Mike Leah, Jason Mercier, Vanessa Selbst
Murderer's Row: Mike Leah, Jason Mercier, Vanessa Selbst

As we were walking through the tournament floor for the first time, we noticed that no table really stood out as the traditional "table of death." That is until we arrived at table 388. We didn't recognize the poor souls occupying the five, six, and seven seats, but we certainly were able to pick out the players in seats one through three.

Seat one is Mike Leah, who recently signed on with Ivey Poker. Leah might not be known to the poker masses, but he is certainly well known and respected in the poker community. The Canadian pro has over $1.5 million in tournament earnings, earning a majority of them in 2009, where he had three six-figure scores, including two major tournament wins.

Leah is rubbing elbows with none other then Team PokerStars pro Jason Mercier. Mercier needs no introduction, but we'll give you one anyways. Mercier is one of the most well known and respected poker pros, with two WSOP bracelets already to his name. Mercier struggled here last year, but he's coming into this series on a heater after two deep runs at the EPT Monte Carlo last month.

Lastly, we have another two time bracelet winner, and fellow Team PokerStars pro, Vanessa Selbst. Selbst is widely considered to be one of the best poker players in the world. While she was always known for her play in No-limit hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha, she showed last year that she can play all the games when she took down the $2,500 10-game 6-max event for just under $250,000. Just like Mercier, Selbst is on fired heading into this series, as she has already secured nearly $2 million in tournament earnings in 2013 alone.

We can't wait to see the action that this table will provide, and we will bring you all the details from it as the day goes on!

Player Chips Progress
Mike Leah ca
Mike Leah
WSOP 1X Winner
7,500 7,500
Vanessa Selbst us
Vanessa Selbst
7,500 7,500
Jason Mercier us
Jason Mercier
WSOP 6X Winner
7,500 7,500

Level: 2

Limits: 100/200

Ante: 0

Add Bakes to the Mix

Level 2 : 100/200, 0 ante

Well just a few minutes ago, we talked about the brutal lineup on Table 388 with Mike Leah, Jason Mercier, and Vanessa Selbst occupying the first three seats. Well seats four and eight were empty to start, but seat eight is now full, and a 2012 bracelet winner is there. David "Bakes" Baker won the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E event last year for just a shade over $450,000, and he will be chasing another bracelet today, though it will be a tall task given the players on his direct left!

Player Chips Progress
David "Bakes" Baker us
David "Bakes" Baker
WSOP 3X Winner
7,500 7,500

Another Tough Table

Level 2 : 100/200, 0 ante
Brett Jungblut, Scott Clements, Phil Ivey
Brett Jungblut, Scott Clements, Phil Ivey

We found the next table that we could deem the "table of death". Table 383, which just so happens to be right next to our other brutal table, is home to four players who are well known in the poker world.

The first in seat two is Brett Jungblut. While he doesn't travel much for poker these days, Jungblut is always a fixture at the WSOP. He loves to play the mixed games, and he may have an edge on this field, as his sole bracelet came in the $5,000 Omaha Hi-lo Championship in 2004. That score added $175,000 to his bankroll, and Jungblut has nearly $500,000 in live tournament earnings.

The player warming up seat three is two-time bracelet winner Scott Clements. Clements is no stranger to the tournament circuit, as he already had two legs of the triple crown, with WPT and WSOP titles under his belt. Like Jungblut, Clements also has a bracelet in Omaha Hi-lo, winning a $3,000 event in 2006 for a shade over $300,000. Overall, Clements has amassed over $5.2 million in lifetime tournament earnings.

Seat four is Phil Ivey, and well.....that's about all that needs to be said.

Rounding out the table is seat nine David Levi. While Levi doesn't have any major tournament titles to his name, he has been one of the most consistent and successful tournament grinders of the last decade. Overall, he has over $3 million in lifetime winnings, and just like the rest of his esteemed tablemates, he knows how to play the mixed games well.

Player Chips Progress
Phil Ivey us
Phil Ivey
WSOP 10X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
7,500 7,500
Brett Jungblut us
Brett Jungblut
WSOP 1X Winner
7,500 7,500
David Levi us
David Levi
7,500 7,500