Event #25: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Day 2 | 2018 World Series of Poker

06-13-2018 02:18 UTC-7

Greenstein and Elezra Bag Big Ahead of Final Day in $1,500 Stud Hi-Lo

Jan_Kores

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante

Three-time bracelet winners Barry Greenstein and Eli Elezra are making a strong push for increasing their already-impressive showcases. Greenstein and Elezra are among the frontrunners in Event #25: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Stud-Hi Lo 8 or Better, sitting near the top of the leaderboard with just 23 players left in contention.

The two seasoned veterans bagged the second and fourth biggest stacks respectively, trailing only Benjamin Dobson, who soared to the pole position thanks to a huge cooler in a hand versus another legend: Mike Matusow. Matusow was among the leaders on dinner break but Dobson seized the most of his stack in a boat-over-boat clash that left "The Mouth" crushed.

That setup helped Dobson improve to 595,000 and a clear lead at the end of the day. There may be a huge gap between Dobson and the rest of the field but the doyens of Greenstein (349,000) and Elezra (334,000) have been in these situations countless times. Greenstein demonstrated his lifelong experience very well during Day 2. He was on a nub for the better part of the day only to boost his stack towards the top during the latter stage.

While the tournament lost Matusow in 30th place, it's still a memorable lineup vying for the $173,528 first-place prize. The top half of the standings features bracelet winners Jesse Martin (335,000) and Georgios Sotiropoulos (231,000), along with movie star and longtime WSOP participant James Woods (210,000) who's already made a final table this year, finishing fifth in the $1,500 Dealer's Choice event.

Some of those who couldn't sneak through included Frankie O'Dell, Tim Frazin, Scott Bohlman and Brian Hastings who all made it to the last five tables but fell short of appearing on the final three.

A former champion of this very event, 2014 winner Calvin Anderson, was the last to leave the tournament without any reward. Anderson bricked his wheel draw on the stone bubble, losing his remaining chips to Andrei Kaigorodtcev. The remaining 90 players locked up chunks of cash, starting from $2,246.

However, the majority of the $804,600 prize money will be awarded on Wednesday, June 13, so make sure to come back at 2 p.m. local time to follow the PokerNews live coverage of the final outcome.

Tags: Barry Greenstein Benjamin Dobson Calvin Anderson Eli Elezra Georgios Sotiropoulos Jesse Martin Mike Matusow

06-13-2018 01:24 UTC-7

Greenstein Wins a Massive Pot Before Showdown

Jan_Kores

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante

Barry Greenstein: /
Paul Sexton: /
Tim Finne: /

Barry Greenstein four-bet pre and Paul Sexton and Tim Finne stuck around. Greenstein then fired on every street except of fifth which was checked through. Sexton and Finne called two more bets but they both laid their hands down on the river, leaving Greenstein scooping the huge pot without showing anything.

Player	Chips	Progress
Barry Greenstein	405,000	200,000
Tim Finne	170,000	5,000
Paul Sexton	80,000	-40,000

Tags: Barry Greenstein Tim Finne Paul Sexton

06-13-2018 01:19 UTC-7

Back-to-Back Losses Leave Matusow On Fumes

Adam Lamers

Level 20 : 8,000/16,000, 2,000 ante

After losing multiple pots to Eli Elezra when he joined the table, Mike Matusow has been on a downward spiral. Matusow got involved in a large pot with Benjamin Dobson where Matusow made a big laydown on sixth street and then got involved in another massive pot with Bentley Roberts.

Bentley Roberts: /
Mike Matusow: /
Frankie O'Dell: / /

Bentley Roberts completed and was called by Mike Matusow, Frankie O'Dell and Joel Tushnet from the bring-in. Roberts led out on fourth and was called by all three opponents. Roberts fired again on fifth and Tushnet was the only one to fold.

The action checked around on sixth and Roberts led out again on seventh. Matusow called and O'Dell mucked his hand. Roberts tabled aces full of kings while Matusow could only muster sevens full of sixes. Matusow was left with just 5,000 chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Benjamin Dobson	320,000	128,000
Bentley Roberts	232,000	96,000
Mike Matusow	5,000	-94,500

Tags: Benjamin Dobson Bentley Roberts Eli Elezra Mike Matusow

06-12-2018 23:03 UTC-7

Woods Wins a Big One, Vaults Near the Top

Jan_Kores

Level 18 : 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante

James Woods: /
Shirley Rosario: /
Tom McCormick: /

"I have a queen-high flush and an eight-low!" James Woods said in a victorious tone when he got two calls on the river, from Tom McCormick and Shirley Rosario.

The pot was large as all players were in for one bet on each of the three previous streets. Woods was the one who fired on fourth and sixth.

The end result was that McCormick and Rosario both looked at Woods' strong two-way hand and almost simultaneously mucked.

Player	Chips	Progress
James Woods	215,000	6,000
Shirley Rosario	102,000	-41,000
Tom McCormick	91,000	-7,200

Tags: James Woods Shirley Rosario Tom McCormick

06-12-2018 22:25 UTC-7

Rosario Scoops It All

Jan_Kores

Level 17 : 4,000/8,000, 1,000 ante

Shirley Rosario: /
James Woods: /
Aristide Carozza: /
Max Hoffman: /

We only caught the action on the river where Shirley Rosario bet and earned three calls. But the outcome was rather surprising as Rosario turned up trip fives and no low, likely expecting to chop the pot with some other player. However, it became apparent that nobody managed to complete a low and Rosario surely liked to see all three of her rivals mucking their hands.

Rosario scooped the whole pot and climbed over 140,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Shirley Rosario	143,000	73,000
James Woods	82,500	-34,000
Aristide Carozza	32,000	-7,200
Max Hoffman	20,000	-35,000

Tags: Shirley Rosario James Woods Aristide Carozza Max Hoffman

06-12-2018 22:11 UTC-7

'The Mouth' Moves Over 200K

Adam Lamers

Level 17 : 4,000/8,000, 1,000 ante

Mike Matusow: /
Brian Hastings: / /
Benjamin Dobson: / /

With around 40,000 in the pot already, Mike Matusow, Brian Hastings, and Benjamin Dobson were all still alive in the hand. Matusow led out on fifth street and was called by both of his opponents.

Hastings took the lead on sixth but played it cautiously and checked. Matusow tossed in another bet and both Dobson and Hastings called again.

"I need one card to scoop everything," Matusow said as he rubbed his hands together.

On seventh, the action checked around and Matusow tabled for trip queens and both of his opponents mucked. It appears as though 'The Mouth' has just taken over the chip lead as the only player to climb over 200,000 thus far.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mike Matusow	225,000	75,000
Benjamin Dobson	121,000	36,000
Brian Hastings	39,500	-32,500

Tags: Benjamin Dobson Brian Hastings Mike Matusow

06-12-2018 19:05 UTC-7

Woods Wheels a Triple Up

Adam Lamers

Level 15 : 2,500/5,000, 500 ante

James Woods: /
PJ Cha: /
Brian Goddard: / /

James Woods had the lead on fifth street but the action checked to PJ Cha who took a shot at the pot with a bet. Woods check-raised all in for 8,700 and was called by Brian Goddard and Cha.

On sixth, Goddard check-called another bet from Cha to form a side pot and then both players checked on seventh. Cha tabled a pair of kings and that was good enough to earn him the side pot. Woods showed a six-high straight and the nut low to scoop the main pot and triple up his stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
James Woods	50,000	-2,000
PJ Cha	42,000	-12,000
Brian Goddard	28,000	-27,500

Tags: Brian Goddard James Woods PJ Cha

06-12-2018 18:01 UTC-7

Calvin Anderson Bubbles the $1,500 Stud Hi-Lo Event

Jan_Kores

Level 14 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante

Calvin Anderson (as seen in a previous event)

One of the most accomplished mixed-games players in the world, Calvin Anderson, was on a nub during the stone bubble. He was all in on fourth street, having a pair of threes along with two other wheel cards.

Anderson was up again Andrei Kaigorodtcev who had pocket eights in the hole and one low card out.

The action was frozen as the tournament floor staff waited for all other tables to finish their hands in progress. Kaigorodtcev cut out 8,100 in the meantime, matching Anderson's total.

Then they completed their seven-card hands:

Calvin Anderson: / /
Andrei Kaigorodtcev: / /

Anderson spiked a great card on fifth street, but he bricked the rest and failed to make a low. He didn't improve his pair of treys either, and Kaigorodtcev locked the whole pot with two pair.

Anderson left his seat while the 90 remaining players are guaranteed at least $2,246.

Player	Chips	Progress
Andrei Kaigorodtcev	30,000	4,700
Calvin Anderson	Busted

Tags: Andrei Kaigorodtcev Calvin Anderson

06-12-2018 16:42 UTC-7

Monnette and Deeb Eliminated on the Same Hand

Jan_Kores

Level 13 : 1,500/3,000, 300 ante

Shaun Deeb: /
John Monnette: /
Douglas Carli: /
Max Hoffman: /

Shaun Deeb completed and Max Hoffman raised. John Monnette called for his last 800, Douglas Carli called, and Shaun Deeb then moved all in for fewer than a full three-bet. All four players went to the showdown with Carli and Hoffman adding a few bets on the way.

Carli made a low while all other players made two pair. Unfortunately for Deeb and Monnette, their respective two-pair hands were inferior to Hoffman's aces up.

Monnette and Deeb left their chairs while Hoffman added to his huge chip stack. He's now playing around 142,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Max Hoffman	142,000	29,600
Shaun Deeb	Busted
John Monnette	Busted

Tags: Douglas Carli John Monnette Max Hoffman Shaun Deeb

06-12-2018 14:45 UTC-7

Matusow Walks the Talk

Adam Lamers

Level 11 : 1,000/2,000, 200 ante

Mike Matusow: / /
Mikko Hirvonen: / /
Brian Hastings: / (folds on fifth)

Mike Matusow limped in along with Mikko Hirvonen and then they both called when Brian Hastings completed. On fourth, the action checked to Hirvonen who tossed in a bet and was called by both players.

Matusow was the first to bet on fifth, only to have Hirvonen raise and Hastings quickly mucked his cards. Matusow thought for a moment and then called. On sixth, Matusow led out again with four cards to a straight flush on his board. Hirvonen called and on seventh, Matusow pretended it was the first time he noticed how strong his hand looked.

"Oh, I have six, seven, eight, nine of diamonds. Almost a straight flush."

Matusow then proceeded to toss in a bet and sat with his tongue out in anticipation of what Hirvonen was going to do. Hirvonen just called and Matusow revealed for a flush and an eight-low. Hirvonen looked back at his cards and then sent them all to the muck, sending the entire pot to Matusow.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mike Matusow	45,200	16,000
Mikko Hirvonen	7,000	-21,200

Tags: Brian Hastings Mike Matusow Mikko Hirvonen