Event #27: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship

The $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship is one of the most prestigious tournaments held at the annual World Series of Poker. It also has a reputation as being one of the toughest. This year 153 players began Event #27 and played three grueling days of poker. In the end, only one man remained to claim the WSOP gold bracelet and the $378,642 first-place prize. That man was Daniel Idema, who redeemed himself after finishing runner-up in this very event just one year ago.

Day Three began with just 14 players including Matthew Gallin, who entered as chip leader with 575,000. Joining him were some tough competition in last year's runner-up Daniel Idema; three-time bracelet winner and Team PokerStars Pro (USA) Barry Greenstein; runner-up in the 2009 WSOP $40K NLHE tournament, Isaac Haxton; Microsoft millionaire Richard "Quiet Lion" Brodie; online sensation Justin "Boosted J" Smith; and Nick Schulman, who has numerous titles to his credit including a WSOP bracelet in the 2009 $10K No Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw event.

As Day 3 progressed, five players succumbed to the high betting limits. They included Marwan Abdelal (14th- $24,060), Matt Hawrilenko (13th- $24,060), Tam Hang (12th- $28,990), Darren Woods (11th- $28,990), and Hoyt Corkins (10th- $28,990). Their eliminations brought about the official WSOP Final Table, with Daniel Idema's stack of 740,000 leading the pack.

Official $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship Final Table

The first final-table elimination came when Schulman ran pockets nines into Greenstein's pocket sevens on a     flop. The   turn and   river changed nothing and Schulman was sent packing in ninth place ($35,519). Next out the door was Brodie who grew short stacked and couldn't improve his    against Greenstein's   .

It took a long time before the next elimination, but it finally came when Haxton got his stack in preflop with    againt the    of Landfish. The board ran out       to give Landfish a flush and send Haxton out the door in seventh place ($55,908). Not long after, short-stacked Smith got his chips in with    against Greenstein's   . The board ran out       and Boosted J followed Haxton out the door in sixth place ($71,897).

Five-handed action lasted a long time, which was surprising considering the high blinds. It just seemed like every time a player was all in, they doubled. That all changed when Denotaristefani raised on the button only to have Landfish snap three-bet from the small blind. Denotaristefani made the call and watched as the     came down on the flop. Landfish led out, Denotaristefani raised, Landfish three-bet, and Denotaristefani called off his last 35,000.

Landfish:   
Denotaristefani:   

Denotaristefani's tournament life was at stake but he was way out in front. The   turn changed nothing and left Landfish looking for one of two remaining nines on the river to steal the pot and eliminate his opponent. When the   spiked on the river, Landfish slapped the table in celebration. Denotaristefani's supporters fell deafly silent as their man was eliminated by a two outer. Denotaristefani took home $94,029 as he made his exit in fifth place.

Landfish's luck ran out soon thereafter when he ran    into the    of Gallin. Three-handed play didn't last long either as Greenstein received a bad beat after getting it all in with    against the    of Gallin on    . Unfortunately for the fan favorite, the turn came the   followed by the   on the river.

Heads up play lasted less than five hands as Idema entered with a commanding chip lead of 3.6 million to Gallin's 900,000. While Idema hadn't eliminated any opponents up to that point, he steadily increased his chip lead throughout the final table; in fact, he was the only player who was never all in during final-table play. His perseverance and patience paid off when he cracked Gallin's pocket queens by flopping two pair. After suffering with the title of $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship runner-up for a year, Idema has validated himself and found redemption as he claimed the title of Champion!

Final Table Results

Former $5,000-$10,000 Limit Hold'em Champions

Congratulations to Daniel Idema on capturing his first bracelet and becoming the 2011 WSOP Limit Hold'em Champion. That does it for our coverage from Event #27, but there are still plenty of more events to track in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back soon.

Matthew Gallin raised uner the gun only to have Steve Landfish raise from the small blind. The duo eventually got all their chips in the pot, and surprisingly both had the same exact amount of chips (290,000). Barring a chop, one player was going to be eliminated.

Gallin:   
Landfish:   

Landfish was dominated and in big trouble. We'd like to say he at least got a sweat out of it, but the board ran out a dry       and Gallin's aces held. Landfish shook hands with the remaining player before heading to the payout desk to collect his $125,120. Not a bad showing for the man who finished runner-up in the $10K Stud Championship earlier in the week, which will no doubt push him toward the top of the WSOP Player-of-the-Year race.

Matthew Gallin	610,000	320,000
Steve Landfish	0	-460,000

On a flop of     in a blind-vs-blind situation, Matthew Gallin bet from the small blind only to have Dan Idema raise from the big. Gallin made the call and then check-called a bet on the   turn. The same action occurred on the   river and Idema rolled over    for trip kings.

Gallin seemed frustrated as he flicked his cards in the muck, dropping to 300K in the process. Meanwhile, Idema is pulling away from the pack with 2.5 million and looking to accomplish what he failed to do last year, clear the entire field and capture the bracelet.

Daniel Idema	2,500,000	100,000
Matthew Gallin	300,000	-300,000

After winning the previous two pots, Domenico Denotaristefani raised in the cutoff and Steve Landfish called on the button. Barry Greenstein three-bet from the small blind and both other players called. On the     flop, Greenstein led out and received a call from his two opponents. On the   turn, Greenstein check-called a Denotaristefani while Landfish got out of the way. Greenstein went back to betting when the   hit the river and Denotaristefani made the call. Greenstein showed    for aces up and surged past the million chip mark after Denotaristefani mucked.

Barry Greenstein	1,350,000	575,000
Steve Landfish	400,000	-250,000
Domenico Denotaristefani	200,000	-180,000

Matthew Gallin raised under the gun and Steve Landfish three-bet from the small blind. Gallin made the call and called Landfish's bet on the     flop. On the   turn, Landfish bet again and was raised by Gallin. Landfish ended up all in and the players turned their cards.

Landfish:   
Gallin:   

Gallin would need an eight for the win or a king or nine for the chop. The river was the   and Landfish doubled again as the two players swapped places.

Steve Landfish	650,000	-50,000
Matthew Gallin	600,000	150,000

In a pot between the two biggest stack, Matthew Gallin raised from the small blind and Daniel Idema called from the big. Gallin led out on the     flop and Idema made the call. On the   turn, Gallin bet again only to get raised by Idema. Gallin made the call and check-called Idema's bet on the   river. Idema showed    for Broadway on the river which was good to win the pot. Idema now owns around half of the total chips in play.

Daniel Idema

2,300,000

945,000

Steve Landfish was in the small blind holding    against the    of Barry Greenstein in the big blind. Landfish got his short stack of 115,000 in preflop and his tournament life was on the line. The     flop was kind to Landfish, as was the   turn.

Greenstein needed either a queen or ten on the river to send his opponent to the rail, but he could not do it as the   blanked.

Barry Greenstein	885,000	-115,000
Steve Landfish	230,000	65,000

Barry Greenstein raised from under the gun and Steve Landfish made the call from the big blind. Landfish then check-called a bet on the     flop, leading to the   on the turn. This time Landfish bet out, Greenstein raised, and Landfish smooth called.

Surprisingly, Landfish check-folded to a Greenstein bet when the   rolled off on the river, leaving himself just 150,000.

Barry Greenstein	1,000,000	340,000
Steve Landfish	150,000	-370,000