World Series of Poker Europe 2010

Event #5: £10,350 WSOPE Championship No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 1b
Event Info

World Series of Poker Europe 2010

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
1010
Prize
£830,401
Event Info
Buy-in
£10,000
Entries
346
Level Info
Level
27
Blinds
30,000 / 60,000
Ante
10,000

Furlong Fights for His Chips

Noel Furlong, significantly more grumpy looking now
Noel Furlong, significantly more grumpy looking now

Phil Ivey's table just broke, and he joined table Mortensen/Elezra/Shak over there in the corner. We tend to follow Ivey around, so we dropped by to see how he was liking his new digs.

As we walked up, there was a commotion brewing, and the floor was called. Here's the deal. There was a board of {A-Diamonds} {Q-Spades} {5-Clubs} {6-Hearts} {6-Spades} in the middle of the table, and the pot was heads up at this point. Gabriel Alarie had checked, and Noel Furlong bet 12,000, just a bit less than the pot. That's where the confusion started. Alarie said either "fold" or "call" depending on whose ears you trust, and he opened up his {A-Spades} {K-Diamonds}. Furlong, whose hand was clearly beaten, insisted that he heard Alarie announce a fold, open-mucking his big slick. Eli Elezra and Furlong were getting a bit heated as Elezra argued that Alarie clearly said call. A couple other players at the table nodded in agreement, but there was no unanimous verdict.

Floor!

This one required the big boss, T.D. Jack Effel, and it took a minute for him to pick his way through the thick mass of spectators and into the ropes. When he arrived, he reconstructed the action, listened to both sides of the story, and made what we think is a pretty logical ruling.

The relevant factors:
- Furlong had committed 12,000 chips to the pot on the river.
- Alarie had exposed his hand, which did not necessarily make it dead.
- There was no indication that Alarie intended to fold.

Effel therefore ruled that Alarie would have another chance to make his action, though it was pretty apparent what his decision was going to be. He splashed in the call, Furlong mucked, and Alarie dragged the pot.

Furlong's argument was that Alarie had never put his chips in the pot. "I have 12,000 in the pot. Right there. When a player calls, he puts his chips in the pot," Furlong argued in his light Irish brogue.

A few of the other players at the table tried to politely give him the "well nowadays" routine, but Furlong was too steamed to pay much attention. He's dropped to 29,000 now, and it's back to battle with his starting stack.

Tags: Gabriel AlarieNoel Furlong

Don't Take Deeb's Dinner Advice

Freddy Deeb doesn't look like he's stopped talking for most of the second half of this level. Included in his reminiscences, queries and miscellaneous table talk was this advice to Simon Higgins (who's got a reasonable stack and just won another pot): "Just go to the dinner break now. Make sure and eat a big steak. You might fall asleep later. I'll buy you a steak upstairs. With a pint of beer. And a big piece of cheesecake."

His encouragement of the post-dinner slump is to be admired for its direct approach.

Knaves for Negreanu

Old foes clashed as Daniel Negreanu and Praz Bansi locked horns on an {8-Spades}{10-Clubs}{4-Clubs}{3-Hearts}{6-Spades} board. Bansi proceeded to call bets of 2,200, 5,100 and 9,000 before being shown {J-Hearts}{J-Diamonds} and mucking his cards.

Negreanu seems to be picking up pace with around 60-65,000, whilst Bansi, who claimed to have called with "just top pair", has slipped to 34,000.

Tags: Daniel NegreanuPraz Bansi

Ouch! My Akenhead

Short-stacked James Akenhead has just been knocked out by Ludovic Lacay. The super-aggressive Frenchman had 3-bet with {J-} {2-} against Akenhead, thinking the latter had 12,000 instead of 6,000 and was then forced to call a shove. He managed however to hit against Akenhead's {K-} {9-} to eliminate the former WSOP and WSOPE Main Event finalist.

Tags: James AkenheadLudovic Lacay

Bonus For JP

JP Kelly - Going for gold. Again.
JP Kelly - Going for gold. Again.

Tony Bloom opened to 800 and JP Kelly flat-called behind before a young player reraised to 2,800 out of the blinds. Bloom folded and Kelly made it 7,200 before snap-calling a 30,000 push with his {Q-} {Q-}. His opponent showed {6-} {4-} and despite flopping a gutshot and turning a flush draw, the two-time bracelet winner's queens held for a 60,000 chip pot.

Kelly has 95,000 and is up with the chip leaders.

Tags: JP Kelly

Scott's Set Goes Down

From early position, Phil Ivey raised to 800. Andrew Scott and Marc Inizan called from middle position. The big blind also called. The four players then all witnessed a flop of {10-Diamonds}{6-Diamonds}{3-Clubs} put out on the felt by the dealer. Action checked to Scott and he fired 2,000. Inizan raised to 8,000 before the big blind folded along with Ivey. Scott then tanked before moving all in for 22,425. Inizan quickly called with the {5-Diamonds}{4-Diamonds}. His open-ended straight draw plus flush draw was up against the {3-Hearts}{3-Diamonds} for Scott for bottom set.

The turn brought the {J-Diamonds} and completed the flush for Inizan, but Scott could still improve to a full house on the river. The {Q-Spades} didn't make for any repeats on the board and Scott's chips were sent Inizan's way, who's now up to about 80,000.

Tags: Andrew ScottMarc InizanPhil Ivey

Teng Falls Out

Andrew Teng
Andrew Teng

Andrew Teng was down around 8,500 chips when he got himself involved in a multiway pot.

Five, maybe six players paid 800 chips apiece to see a flop of {4-Clubs} {3-Clubs} {K-Clubs}. A player we don't recognize bet out 2,300, and Andrew Teng raised to 5,800. That folded the rest of the table, but the original bettor reraised the few chips required to put Teng to the all-in test. He called, though he didn't seem to confident about it.

Alas, though, he was well ahead as his {Q-Clubs} {J-Clubs} had flopped a flush against his opponent's {K-Spades} {K-Hearts}. That was a set of kings, though, and a {3-Diamonds} improved him to kings full and left Teng drawing dead to the {5-Diamonds} river.

Teng's Main Event is done.

Tags: Andrew Teng

Weisner Doubles Benyamine

David Benyamine: Quaaads!
David Benyamine: Quaaads!

Amidst some floor-calling over-the-line controversy: it was all about the river when the short-stacked David Benyamine apparently made a motion with his stack which was taken by Melanie Weisner to be a call of her river raise, so she turned her hand over. However he said it wasn't a call and he was still deciding. The rather mild confrontation had been going on for a couple of minutes by the time I got there but the board was {2-Hearts} {10-Spades} {9-Spades} {6-Clubs} {6-Spades}, with the second Six having arrived on the river. The TD announced her hand (already known to be {10-Clubs} {8-Clubs}) was still live and it honestly looked close between the bet and Benyamine's entire stack. This was eventually determined to be the amount, and it was only then that he flipped {6-Hearts} {6-Diamonds}. Up to 42,000 while Weisner drops to 15,000.

Tags: David BenyamineMelanie Weisner

Trincher Wins Another Off Trickett

Vadim Trincher limped in and Sam Trickett attacked with a raise to 1,000. Trincher made the call and the flop came down {A-Hearts}{J-Diamonds}{10-Hearts} for another battle between these two players. Trincher check-called a bet of 1,100 from Trickett.

The turn brought the {6-Hearts}, completing a possible flush draw. Trincher opted to lead out and made it 3,000 to go. Trickett checked back at his hand and then tossed it into the muck, slipping below 100,000 now. Trincher now holds about 45,000.

Tags: Sam TrickettVadim Trincher