Level: 8
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 100
Level: 8
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 100
Level 7 of Day 2a/b of the 2014 World Series of Poker is officially in the books! It's been four hours of play today here at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino and the remaining players are now on their second 20-minute break of the day.
At the start of Level 7, PokerNews' own Chad Holloway caught up with the 2003 WSOP Main Event champion to check in on how his day kicked off. The PokerNews Impromptu can be listened to here.
As the level wore on, poker professional, commentator and Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton saw his tournament come to an end. Sexton flopped top pair and got it in against an opponent's bottom two pair. The WSOP bracelet winner failed to improve and he was sent to the rail.
Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Mike Matusow was also denied another piece of jewelry today, as he was eliminated from play roughly halfway through the level by the hands of Scott Waltenburg. Other players eliminated during this level include Jessica Dawley, Jeff Rossiter, and 2013 November Niner Michiel Brummelhuis.
While Brummelhuis has fallen, his fellow November Niner, Jay Farber, is having a successful day and looking for a repeat deep run. Start-of-day chip leader Martin Jacobson still sits atop the counts and PokerNews caught up to follow him for one orbit around the table late in Level 7. Other big stacks include Ryan Buckholtz, Joe DeGeorge, Samuel Moore and Ajaykumar Karanam.
During the break, be sure to check out our latest video interview with Marvin Rettenmaier, who is still alive and thriving here on Day 2a/b.
Drazen Ilich bet 88,100 on a flop of ![]()
![]()
heads-up against Liv Boeree. Ilich was in the big blind, and Boeree called from the cutoff. On the
turn, Ilich put his opponent all in for her last 15,250 and she quickly folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
88,100
15,100
|
15,100 |
|
|
15,250
16,750
|
16,750 |
|
|
||
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
180,000
54,000
|
54,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
175,000
175,000
|
175,000 |
|
|
160,000 | |
|
|
160,000
40,000
|
40,000 |
|
|
150,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
|
|
120,000
35,000
|
35,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
120,000
52,000
|
52,000 |
|
|
100,000 | |
|
|
90,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
85,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
|
|
85,000
22,500
|
22,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
75,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
|
70,000
24,000
|
24,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
70,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
65,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
59,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
|
|
50,000
32,500
|
32,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
50,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
50,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
45,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
|
|
42,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
|
|
40,000
44,000
|
44,000 |
|
|
33,000
11,000
|
11,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
25,000
9,000
|
9,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
22,500
2,000
|
2,000 |
|
|
||
Martin Jacobson is a regular on the European Poker Tour, finishing second (twice) and fourth in EPT Main Events in 2010 and 2011 alone. Last year, the Swede reached the final table of the One Drop High Roller, finishing in sixth for $807,427, and altogether he has over $4.8 million in career live tournament earnings.
Jacobson entered Day 2a as the chip leader in this contained area of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, but he doesn't seem to be getting out of line or playing like a maniac. After all, since 2007, Day 1 chip leaders haven't had the greatest success:

Since 2007 only 14 out of 26 @WSOP #MainEvent Day 1 chip leaders have made the money. Two reached the final table: @BenbaLamb and @cada99.Follow @brettcollson
In a recent orbit at his table, we witnessed the Swede's patience.
Hand #1: Jacobson started the orbit with 244,800 chips and the button, and the action folded to him. He raised to 1,400, and received no callers.
Hand #2: The action folded to Jacobson, who folded as well.
Hands #3-6: There were no opens or limps in front of Jacobson, and he chose to fold four more times.
Hand #7: Jacobson was the first player to act, and he raised to 1,500. Two players called - one in the cutoff and another out of the big blind - and the flop fell ![]()
![]()
. The player in the big blind checked, Jacobson bet 2,500, and only the player in the cutoff called. The turn was the
, Jacobson checked, and his opponent fired out 4,000. Jacobson folded.
Hand #8: The action folded to the player on Jacobson's right, and he raised to 1,500 out of the small. Jacobson called, then folded to a bet on a flop of ![]()
![]()
.
Hand #9: Jacobson raised to 1,800 out of the small blind, and David Gorr surrendered his big blind.
In the end, Jacobson had 240,275 chips, a little less than eight big blinds short of what he started the orbit with.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
240,275
4,525
|
4,525 |
|
|
||
Picking up the action after the river of a ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
board with about 20,000 in the pot, Greg Himmelbrand checked to Michiel Brummelhuis who shoved for about 17,000. Himmelbrand tanked for about 60 seconds before he called, and Brummelhuis tapped the table and said, "Good call."
Himmelbrand tabled ![]()
, while Brummelhuis showed ![]()
.
"That's exactly what I was trying to get you to fold," said Brummelhuis.
Himmelbrand collected the chips while Brummelhuis wished the players at the table good luck before making his exit.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
143,000
27,000
|
27,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Brendon Long opened for 1,200 and got a raise from Mikiyo Aoki to 4,300. One other player called as well as Long and they went three-way to the flop of ![]()
![]()
.
Long bet out for 4,400 and Aoki tossed out a raise with two orange T5000 chips. The other player folded and it was back to Long who sighed and then gave it up.
“Aces?” he asked. “Show me one time?” but Aoki was having none of it. He continued to ask what she had much to the amusement of the table, especially after disclosing that he had laid down ![]()
and continued to worry that he had made a bad fold.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
46,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
182,000
54,000
|
54,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
160,000
160,000
|
160,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
120,000
96,775
|
96,775 |
|
|
120,000
23,575
|
23,575 |
|
|
115,000
12,400
|
12,400 |
|
|
||
|
|
112,000
37,000
|
37,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
110,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
|
110,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
|
|
100,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
95,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
|
|
92,000
43,300
|
43,300 |
|
|
80,000
4,050
|
4,050 |
|
|
80,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
67,000
46,000
|
46,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
60,000
16,700
|
16,700 |
|
|
50,000
28,000
|
28,000 |
|
|
47,000
3,600
|
3,600 |
|
|
||
|
|
45,000
45,000
|
45,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
44,000
7,600
|
7,600 |
|
|
||
|
|
38,000
38,000
|
38,000 |
|
|
32,000
19,000
|
19,000 |
|
|
32,000
11,600
|
11,600 |
|
|
||
|
|
18,000
200
|
200 |
With approximately 40,000 already in the pot, Jonathan Taylor slid out a bet of 39,000 with the board showing ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
. His opponent, went into the tank for a minute before counting out a call and tossing it carelessly into the middle as if he wasn't expecting to see those chips again.
"You're good," said Taylor, mucking his hand as his opponent showed ![]()
for a pair of queens.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
52,000
66,500
|
66,500 |
After a player limped in from under the gun, Jack Schanbacher raised to 2,200 from the hijack seat. Benjamin Godl was in the cutoff seat and made the call. The preflop limper also called, and the flop came down ![]()
![]()
. The first player checked, Schanbacher bet 3,700, Gold called, and the other player folded.
The turn was the
, and both Schanbacher and Gold checked to see the
fall on the river and complete the board. After Schanbacher checked, Gold bet 11,200. Schanbacher gave it up, and Gold won the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
150,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
|
148,000
10,000
|
10,000 |