Event #22: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship Day 1 | 2017 World Series of Poker

06-12-2017 02:22 UTC-7

Jon Turner Leads After Day 1 of the 2017 $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship

Christian Zetzsche

Level 10 : 1,200/2,400, 600 ante

After a rather slow start, the field of the 2017 World Series of Poker Event #22: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship consistently grew and ultimately resulted in 67 unique entries and 25 re-entries, creating a field of 92 entries and total prize pool of $864,800. The top 14 spots will receive at least $15,333 for their efforts and the winner can look forward to a payday of $256,610 and the elusive golden bracelet this upcoming Tuesday, June 13th.

Ten levels of 60 minutes each were played on Day 1 and just 30 hopefuls bagged up chips for the night with Jon "Pearljammer" Turner (367,300) and Mike Leah (361,500) at the top of the counts. Other big stacks and notables in a field filled with big names of the international poker circuit include John Monnette (265,400), Robert Mizrachi (255,000), Shaun Deeb (230,700), 2016 runner-up Mike Watson (218,600) and Mike Gorodinsky (109,000).

While defending champion Jason Mercier was eliminated twice during the first eight levels, four former winners of this prestigious event bagged up chips for Day 2. This includes Phil Galfond (223,100), Nick Schulman (186,000), Jesse Martin (105,900), and Paul Volpe (97,700). Mercier busted the Event #21: $1,500 8-Game Mix 6-Handed before the money and didn't get much going on his first entry of 2-7 Lowball Draw either, took another shot and three-bet all in with a pat jack-eight. Alexander Schwartz drew one with an eighty-seven and spiked a ten to get there.

Record 14-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth entered late and was also among several players to join the rail twice without anything to show for. On his second attempt, Hellmuth called a four-bet by Shaun Deeb for most of his stack. Both drew one and Hellmuth and received an ace, while Deeb raked in the pot with a seventy-six. Others that busted two times included Samuel Touil, Ben Lamb, Dan Smith, Adam Owen and Philip Sternheimer.

Chris Klodnicki, Eric Wasserson Stephen Chidwick, Felipe Ramos, Richard Ashby, Jennifer Harman, Ben Tollerne, football striker Max Kruse and Benny Glaser were among those to join the competition late on and also failed to advance. Glaser lost a bigger pot in the last level of the night when Ray Dehkharghani drew a better low and lost the remainder of his short stack to Jeff Lisandro.

The $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship in Numbers

Year	Champion	Entries	Prize
2017	to be determined	92	$256,610
2016	Jason Mercier	100	$273,335
2015	Phil Galfond	77	$224,383
2014	Paul Volpe	87	$253,524
2013	Jesse Martin	87	$253,524
2012	Nick Schulman	101	$294,321

The action will resume with level 11 and blinds of 1,500/3,000 and a running ante of 700. A total of ten levels are scheduled and the action will recommence at 2 p.m. local time. As usual, PokerNews will be your one stop shop for all you need to know.

Day 2 Seat Draw

Room	Table	Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count	Big Blinds
Brasilia	715	1	Jon Turner	United States	367,300	122
Brasilia	715	2	James Chen	Taiwan	106,700	36
Brasilia	715	3	Nick Schulman	United States	186,000	62
Brasilia	715	5	David Benyamine	United States	67,800	23
Brasilia	715	6	John Monnette	United States	265,400	88
Brasilia	715	7	Darren Elias	United States	179,400	60

Brasilia	716	1	Mark Gregorich	United States	161,000	54
Brasilia	716	2	Dario Sammartino	Italy	95,300	32
Brasilia	716	3	Xavier Kyablue	United States	228,800	76
Brasilia	716	4	Mike Gorodinsky	United States	109,000	36
Brasilia	716	6	Majid Yahyaei	United States	102,400	34
Brasilia	716	7	Mike Watson	Canada	218,600	73

Brasilia	717	1	Mike Leah	Canada	361,500	121
Brasilia	717	2	Phil Galfond	United States	223,100	74
Brasilia	717	3	John Racener	United States	101,500	34
Brasilia	717	4	Galen Hall	United States	170,600	57
Brasilia	717	6	Hertzel Zalewski	United States	172,400	57
Brasilia	717	7	Jeff Lisandro	Australia	55,800	19

Brasilia	718	1	Paul Volpe	United States	97,700	33
Brasilia	718	2	Jesse Martin	United States	105,900	35
Brasilia	718	3	Chris Ferguson	United States	50,900	17
Brasilia	718	4	Konstantin Maslak	Russia	66,200	22
Brasilia	718	5	Anthony Zinno	United States	79,500	27
Brasilia	718	7	Per Hildebrand	Sweden	173,400	58

Brasilia	719	1	Robert Mizrachi	United States	255,000	85
Brasilia	719	2	Erik Seidel	United States	76,300	25
Brasilia	719	3	Usman Siddique	United Kingdom	96,700	32
Brasilia	719	5	Ray Dehkharghani	United States	94,500	32
Brasilia	719	6	Shaun Deeb	United States	230,700	77
Brasilia	719	7	Bernard Lee	United States	101,200	34

Tags: Adam Owen Alexander Schwartz Ben Lamb Benny Glaser Chris Klodnicki Dan Smith Eric Wasserson Felipe Ramos Jason Mercier Jeffrey Lisandro Jen Harman John Monnette Jon Turner Max Kruse Mike Gorodinsky Mike Leah Mike Watson Nick Schulman Paul Volpe Phil Galfond Phil Hellmuth Philip Sternheimer Ray Dehkharghani Richard Ashby Robert Mizrachi Samuel Touil Shaun Deeb Stephen Chidwick

06-12-2017 01:39 UTC-7

Top Three Stacks With 30 Minutes Left

[user270022]

Level 10 : 1,200/2,400, 600 ante

Mike Leah and Jon Turner have been atop the leaderboard for most of this evening, the latter being on his second bullet. Shaun Deeb is closing in on them and may have a chance to catch them as a table has broken sending Leah to the immediate left of Turner, and Deeb to a table with much smaller stacks.

Turner just picked up a nice chunk after taking a hand from Ray Dehkharghani that also involved Galen Hall. A three-bet pot saw Hall and Turner draw one with Dehkarghani staying pat.

Dehkarghani and Hall checked and Turner bet 18,500. Dehkarghani thought for a few moments before making the call. Turner flipped over an and took down the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mike Leah	370,800	800
Jon Turner	346,000	31,000
Shaun Deeb	254,000	2,000

Tags: Jon Turner Mike Leah Ray Dehkharghani Shaun Deeb Galen Hall

06-12-2017 00:27 UTC-7

Lee Eliminates Gee and Price

Christian Zetzsche

Level 9 : 1,000/2,000, 500 ante

Steve Gee moved all in for his last 9,400 and was called by Bernard Lee from one seat over, Ned Price in the small blind, and David Benyamine in the big blind. Price stood pat, Benyamine and Lee took one card apiece, and Lee took two.

Price bet 15,000 with not much behind, and Benyamine called. Lee then moved all in and picked up a call from Price and a fold from Benyamine. Lee showed a wheel, Price had an eighty-seven, and Gee's cards quickly went into the muck.

The double elimination vaulted Lee's stack well above the average. He's aiming to finish one spot higher than he did in Event #13: $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw.

Player	Chips	Progress
Bernard Lee	170,000	80,000
David Benyamine	71,000	-56,000
Steve Gee	Busted
Ned Price	Busted

Tags: Bernard Lee David Benyamine Ned Price Steven Gee

06-11-2017 23:48 UTC-7

Deeb Sends Hellmuth to the Rail Again

MrCleverFox

Level 8 : 800/1,600, 400 ante

When Phil Hellmuth sat down at Shaun Deeb's table, Deeb said, "This is gonna be fun."

"Can I get a new table, please?" Dario Sammartino asked, also seated with them.

Sammartino raised to 4,500, and Hellmuth three-bet to 17,000. Shaun Deeb, on the button, made it 42,000 to play on a four-bet. Everyone folded back around to Hellmuth, and after some time, he called, leaving himself with just 2,300 behind.

Both players took one card. Hellmuth checked over to Deeb. Deeb asked for a count, and upon seeing Hellmuth's tiny stack, put him all in for the rest. Hellmuth thought for a bit, then called.

Deeb showed , and it was good. Hellmuth's hand was turned over, revealing for an ace-low.

"I thought you were drawing," Hellmuth said, as he got up from his chair and took his leave from the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
Shaun Deeb	215,000	114,200
Phil Hellmuth	Busted

Tags: Dario Sammartino Phil Hellmuth Shaun Deeb

06-11-2017 23:37 UTC-7

James Chen Approaches 300,000-Chip Mark

MrCleverFox

Level 8 : 800/1,600, 400 ante

After a raise to 5,200 from Paul Volpe, James Chen reraised to 15,600 from the small blind. Volpe called.

Chen stood pat, while Volpe took one. Both players checked. Chen showed for a ten-nine, and that was good enough to get a muck from Volpe.

With that pot, Chen moves close to the chip lead and has almost breached 300,000 late here on Day 1.

Player	Chips	Progress
James Chen	275,000	140,000
Paul Volpe	80,000	25,000

Tags: James Chen Paul Volpe

06-11-2017 23:19 UTC-7

Defending Champion Mercier Eliminated

Christian Zetzsche

Level 8 : 800/1,600, 400 ante

Jason Mercier had re-entered after running out of chips in the first attempt, and he was cut down on bullet number two, too. Just now, Alexander Schwartz opened to 4,500, and Mercier moved all in from one seat over for what appeared to be 25,000.

Schwartz called, and Mercier stood pat, flipping over . Schwartz drew one and showed his , and the last card he turned over was a to eliminate Mercier.

Player	Chips	Progress
Alexander Schwartz	70,000	20,000
Jason Mercier	Busted

Tags: Alexander Schwartz Jason Mercier

06-11-2017 22:45 UTC-7

Kassela Can't Get There

MrCleverFox

Level 7 : 600/1,200, 300 ante

Under the gun, John Monnette raised to 2,800. Next to act, James Chen reraised to 9,500 total. Action folded around to Frank Kassela, who moved all in for a total of 36,025. Action folded back to Monnette, who followed suit with a fold. Chen asked for a count, then called the shove.

Chen stood pat, while Kassela drew one. Chen showed . Kassela showed and was drawing live, but a on the end paired him and dashed his hopes, eliminating him from the tournament. That was Kassela's second entry, so he has officially been eliminated.

Kassela was the first player to win a bracelet in 2-7 Lowball Single Draw this year when he locked up $89,151 for his victory in Event #13. Bernard Lee, who finished second in that event, is still alive in this tournament, albeit on his second bullet, as well. He has built up a healthy stack here on Day 1 and could be poised to make another deep run.

Player	Chips	Progress
James Chen	135,000	25,000
Frank Kassela	Busted

Tags: Bernard Lee Frank Kassela James Chen

06-11-2017 22:07 UTC-7

Dan Smith Hits the Rail Again

MrCleverFox

Level 7 : 600/1,200, 300 ante

According to Bernard Lee, who is also seated at the table, Dan Smith open jammed for 20,450. Action folded around to Benny Glaser, who called.

Smith thought for a while, then took one. Glaser stood pat, then turned over his . Smith was already drawing dead. He showed his and started laughing, as did some of the other players at the table. His final card was a meaningless and that was it for Smith, who had already busted once from the event.

Player	Chips	Progress
Benny Glaser	65,000	-31,000
Dan Smith	Busted

Tags: Benny Glaser Dan Smith

06-11-2017 21:32 UTC-7

Zinno Makes a "Tight Fold," Then Doubles Monnette

MrCleverFox

Level 6 : 500/1,000, 250 ante

After the draw, Anthony Zinno bet. Usman Siddique moved all in over the top of the bet. Zinno then folded an eighty-seven low face up.

"That was a tight fold," he said after the hand.

On the next hand, Phil Hellmuth opened with a raise to 3,500. Zinno made it 11,000 before Monnette moved all in for just over 18,000. Everyone folded, including Hellmuth, but Zinno called. Monnette stood pat, while Zinno pitched in one card, showing a face-up. Monnette had for a ten-low. Zinno showed , having broken the best hand. He did not improve with his draw, either, pulling a to give him a worse low. With that, Monnette doubled up, while Zinno was left with a short stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
John Monnette	40,000	5,000
Anthony Zinno	18,700	-31,300

Tags: Anthony Zinno John Monnette Phil Hellmuth Usman Siddique

06-11-2017 20:13 UTC-7

Schulman Nearly Through His Second Bullet; Szymaszek Doubles

MrCleverFox

Level 5 : 400/800, 200 ante

Nick Schulman opened with a raise to 2,500. Jared Bleznick called before Matthew Szymaszek raised to 12,000 from the small blind. Action folded back to Schulman, and he moved all in with a stack that covered both Bleznick and Szymaszek. Bleznick quickly folded. Szymaszek thought for a moment, then called.

Both players stood pat. Szymaszek showed . Schulman turned up , which was second-best, and he was forced to send over roughly 45,000 chips to Szymaszek.

Player	Chips	Progress
Matthew Szymaszek	93,500	43,500
Nick Schulman	10,500	-39,500

Tags: Jared Bleznick Matthew Szymaszek Nick Schulman