Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:56:59 -0700
Chandrasekhar Billavara Wins the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Championship
After Douglas open-pushed several times and got Billavara to surrender the blinds and antes, he tried the same move with
and Billavara called with
.
We'd seen so many players come from behind to win that it felt like a queen would spike on the flop, but when the dealer spread the cards we saw the
. And whatever drama was left ended when the
hit on the turn, leaving Douglas drawing dead and Billavara our champion.
Chandrasekhar Billavara came to this final table as the shortest stack, but he picked up aces on the first hand and played fast and aggressive on the way to the bracelet and the $722,914 first prize. Taylor Douglas was the chip leader coming in and throughout most of the day, but after losing some tough hands he battled back to finish as our runner-up, winning $467,101.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:44:59 -0700
A Close Call
After the first few hands Billavara seemed to get the best of both the cards and the action. He moved first at several pots and built up his stack. But Douglas managed to avoid a trap in one hand. He limped with J-6 and Billavara checked his option with 3-4 offsuit. The flop came A-J-3 and both players checked. The turn was another three -- and again both players checked. A four fell on the river, giving Billavara a full house, and this time he led out into the pot for 500K. Douglas thought it over, thinking that perhaps his jack was good...but he ended up throwing his hand away and avoided handing over a big chunk of his stack.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:36:47 -0700
Heads-Up Begins
We had a brief break as the money and bracelet were delivered to the table. Here are the chip counts as we begin heads-up play:
Chandrasekhar Billavara: 5,465,000
Taylor Douglas: 4,000,000.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:17:41 -0700
John Hunt is Eliminated in Third Place
And when he goes to sleep tonight, he's going to have nightmares about jacks. Jacks on the flop, especially.
Hunt pushed with
, and Chandrasekhar Billavara called with the
. That wasn't a good sign for Hunt in the last hand, and it wasn't a good one here. The flop came
to give Billavara the lead, and when the
fell on the turn and the
on the river it gave the hand to Billavara and sent Hunt out in third place. He lost two consecutive hands when he went in as the favorite, but John Hunt will take home $292,476 as a consolation prize.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:12:32 -0700
Taylor Douglas Wins a Wild Hand
Douglas moved all in with
, and John Hunt reraised with
. Chandrasekhar Billavara held K-Q and thought awhile about calling before mucking his hand.
Hunt had Douglas dominated...until the flop came
. That jack put Douglas in the lead, and when the board ran out
and
he survived and doubled up at Hunt's expense.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 20:53:44 -0700
John Hunt Doubles Up
After Chandrasekhar Billavara raised to 1 million, John Hunt moved in for the last of his chips. Billavara called with
and Hunt held pocket fives. The
flop gave Hunt a set and though the
on the turn gave Billarava a wheel draw, the
on the river gave Hunt a full house and the pot.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 20:31:34 -0700
Another Player Doubles Through Douglas
This time it was Leandro Pimentel, who raised with
and had Douglas come over the top with
. Pimentel jumped out of his seat and slapped his cowboys down on the felt, though the flop of
and
on the turn gave Douglas a flush draw. But the river was the
and just like that, Douglas doubled up two players and surrendered his chip lead.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 20:26:52 -0700
Chandrasekhar Billavara Doubles Up
One advantage of aggressive play is that the other players don't know when you have a big hand. Taylor Douglas has been gobbling up the blinds and antes the last few orbits and when he raised on this particular occasion he held
. Billavara came over the top for all his chips holding
and Douglas quickly called.
And then all that aggressive play came for naught when the
flopped. Douglas picked up a straight and flush draw when the
turned, but the river brought the
and Billavara doubled up.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:45:16 -0700
Pimentel Takes Another Pot
Taylor Douglas opened with a raise holding pocket deuces, and Duane Felix called with pocket nines. Leandro Pimentel moved all in with
and after Douglas folded, Felix went into the tank. He counted out the chips he needed to make the call, thought about it some more, and finally mucked his cards.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:42:10 -0700
Leandro Pimentel Starts Pushing
Low on chips, Pimentel started moving in nearly every hand, and after pushing with
John Hurt called from the big blind with
. Hurt hit a pair on the
flop, but when the board paired with the
on the turn it gave Pimentel some extra outs. And that's what save Leandro -- the
on the river counterfeited Hurt's pair and Pimentel's jack played.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:46:44 -0700
Pimentel Doubles Up
Now the short stack at the table, Leandro Pimentel moved all in with
and Taylor Douglas called with
. The flop
was a good one for Pimentel, though the
on the turn gave Douglas an open-ended straight draw. But the
fell on the river and Pimentel doubled to 600K.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:40:43 -0700
Cort Kibler-Melby is Eliminated in Sixth Place
After John Hunt raised from the small blind, Cort Kibler-Melby decided to take his stand in the big blind with
. Hunt called and turned over pocket nines, and the
board did not save Kibler-Melby. He finishes in sixth place and takes home $96,775.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:29:16 -0700
Chandrasekhar Billavara Doubles Up
After Leandro Pimentel raised with
Chandrasekhar Billavara decided to just call with
in the big blind, even though that left him with practically no chips behind. The flop came
and seeing that king on the flop got Billavara so excited he moved all in out of turn. Pimentel made the crying call and the
and
did not improve his hand.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:58:59 -0700
Duane Felix Doubles Up
Felix has been very quiet at today's final table, winning the blinds and antes twice in the only hands he contested. So when he moved all-in under the gun the other players quickly got out of his way. But Taylor Douglas had
in the big blind, and even though he didn't look happy about it he made the call. Felix turned over
and that hand held up to double his stack to 1,350,000. Douglas fell to 4 million.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:53:29 -0700
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
After Leandro Pimentel raised with pocket eights, Chandrasekhar Billavara looked down at
and tried to decide what to do. "I'm calling if you move in," Pimentel said, and after giving it about a minute's thought Billavara did just that. And then Pimentel thought things through for a minute...and decided to fold.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:44:21 -0700
Ray Spencer Is Eliminated in 7th Place
Spencer saw his stack dwindle as play progressed this afternoon and he moved all-in with
, only to run into Taylor Douglas'
. The
flop gave Douglas top pair and Spencer a gutshot draw, but the
and
on the turn and river didn't bring the Queen he needed. Ray Spencer takes home $79,270 for his seventh-place finish.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:34:44 -0700
Greg "FBT" Mueller Is Eliminated in 8th Place
Poker can be a cruel game, and this is one of those hands that reminds you of that fact. From the cutoff Mueller raised with
and Ray Spencer called in the small blind with
. Taylor Douglas decided to call from the big blind as well, and they saw a flop of
.
After Spencer checked Douglas bet 210K. Mueller raised to 420,000, Spencer folded, and Douglas thought over his move. He hasn't been showing his hole cards clearly during some of the broadcast and no one knew exactly what he had as he announced he was all-in. Mueller quickly called with his trips...and Douglas turned over
for trips with a higher kicker.
Mueller needed help to take the lead or chop the pot, but the
and
on the turn and river weren't enough, and he wins $55,914 for what must be a disappointing 8th place finish.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:20:39 -0700
Greg Mueller Takes A Big Pot
Perhaps stinging a bit after losing that last hand, Mueller raised with
and was called by Cort Kibler-Melby with
. Mueller led out on the
and Kibler-Melby called, as he did when Mueller bet after the
fell on the turn. In serious trouble now Mueller caught the
on the river and tossed in a small bet that left him with very few chips behind.
Kibler-Melby hung his head and seemed to know that he'd either been dead all along or that Mueller had hit that Jack, but he made the call and paid Mueller off.
Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:13:33 -0700
Leandro Pimentel Doubles Through Greg Mueller
With the blinds raised to 30-60K Greg "FBT" Mueller raised to 240K with pocket Jacks. And Leandro Pimentel woke up with pocket Queens. He moved all-in, and although Mueller took his time thinking it through, perhaps smelling that he was beat, he was getting too good a price on the call and moved his chips forward.
The board ran out
and Pimentel doubled up to 1,430,000. Mueller's stack fell to 600K.
