Tuesday, June 2, 2015 3:49 AM Local Time
Day 2 of the $10,000 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball Championship began Monday afternoon with 56 of 109 players still in the hunt. Ten levels later, that number is reduced to just seven with defending champion Tuan Le holding the biggest stack of 1.1 million chips.
Le got it quietly for most of the day, even dipping down into short-stacked territory for a spell early on. His championship form began to shine through in the later stages however, as he picked up the pace and tightened the screws on the field. Le was responsible for the elimination of Paul Volpe in 12th place, then Greg Mueller in 9th. A few minutes later, he picked off a James Obst bluff, then crossed the million-chip mark in another small pot a few hands later.
Obst himself was the chip leader at one point late in the day, but having Le on his left caused a heap of problems for the Aussie pro. He'll return for Day 3 with the shortest stack of 207,000 chips.
As short as that is, Bruno Fitoussi would likely trade places if he could. The French legend was hovering around the chip average for much of the day, but he was unable to catch the right cards at the right times as the limits grew more vicious. His run ended on the very last hand of the night, exiting in 8th place and triggering the final redraw with seven players left.
Here's what the unofficial final table will look like when the players return for Day 3:
Seat 1: Rep Porter - 303,000
Seat 2: Phil Galfond - 355,000
Seat 3: Calvin Anderson - 552,000
Seat 4: James Obst - 207,000
Seat 5: Ismael Bojang - 404,000
Seat 6: Tuan Le - 1,100,000
Seat 7: Max Casal - 431,000
One of the other names that jumps off the page is Phil Galfond, the high-stakes pro and instructor who also final tabled this event last year. Galfond finished sixth the last time around, and his game certainly hasn't gotten any weaker in the meantime. He finished the day in fifth place and a bit below the chip average.
Some of the pre-bubble activity is worth mentioning, too.
The pace of play slowed considerably once the field redrew for the final three tables and what had once been a loud, happy-get-lucky event turned rather more serious. With 18 players left and only 12 spots paying, nobody wanted to be among the last to go home empty handed. Scott Seiver suddenly went from the penthouse to out-of-the-house altogether within a couple levels, dropping out in 14th place to bring the field onto the direct bubble.
At that point, Alan Richardson and Volpe were in a dead heat for shortest stack in the field. Volpe managed to find a few timely pots to keep him afloat, though, and it was Richardson who ended up earning the proverbial wooden spoon. Others who failed to earn a payout include Robert Mizrachi, John Monnette, Layne Flack, Phil Hellmuth, and Billy Baxter.
Here's the list of the in-the-money finishers so far:
8th place: Bruno Fitoussi ($35,389)
9th place: Greg Mueller ($27,971)
10th place: Viacheslav Zhukov ($27,971)
11th place: Mark Gregorich ($22,110)
12th place: Paul Volpe ($22,110)
Play resumes at 2:00 PM inside the Amazon Room.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 3:47 AM Local Time
The clock has struck zero, and Day 2 is history. Stick around for a recap of the day's action.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 3:41 AM Local Time
Maximilian Casal raises to 20,000 and Tuan Le and Bruno Fitoussi call as each player draw two.
Le checks, Fitoussi bets 10,000 and Casal raises with both Le and Fitoussi calling as Le draws two and the other two draw just one.
Le and Fitoussi both check and Casal bets only to have Le check-raise to 40,000. Fitoussi then moves all-in for 43,000 and both Casal and Le call before they each stand pat and Fitoussi draws one.
Le bets, Casal calls and Le tables his to best Casal's .
Fitoussi tables his for a better draw, but could only find the to pair him up and send him to the rail in 8th place for a $35,389 payday.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 3:11 AM Local Time
From the small blind, James Obst raises to 20,000 and Tuan Le calls in the big as both players draw two.
Obst bets 10,000 and stands pat after Le calls and draws one.
Obst bets out 20,000 and Le cuts out a raise to 40,000 to prompt a fold from Obst.
With that pot, Le now surges to 1,005,000 as Obst drops to 150,000.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 3:08 AM Local Time
Maximilian Casal opens his button to 20,000 and Tuan Le three-bets to 30,000. Casal calls and draws two to Le's one.
Le bets 10,000 and Casal calls and draws two as Le stands pat and bets 20,000. Casal folds and falls to 250,000 as Le moves to 935,000.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 3:04 AM Local Time
James Obst raises to 20,000 from the cutoff, and Tuan Le three-bets to 30,000 on the button. Obst calls.
The draw happened while the reporter's attention was turned to the other table, but it's followed by a bet from Le. Obst check-calls and draws one, while Le stands pat the rest of the way. Le bets after the second round, and Obst sneaks in a check-raise to 40,000. Le calls, and both men pat the river. Obst bets, and Le calls.
"You're good," Obst admits, sending his cards into the muck. Le leaves his hand face-down, but Obst asks to see it: .
With that pot, the defending champion has taken the chip lead, and just seven players stand between him a remarkable achievement.
Tuan Le - 775,000
James Obst - 265,000
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 2:52 AM Local Time
After losing a big pot to James Obst's , Greg Mueller saw the last of his chips enter the middle in a pot against Tuan Le.
Le raises to 20,000 from the small blind and Mueller defends from the big as both players draw two. Le bets 10,000 and Mueller raises all-in for his last 16,000 with Le calling.
Le draws one and Mueller two before both players draw one on the end.
Le fans out his to be ahead of Mueller's .
Le flips over the to render Mueller drawing dead as he flipped over his for a pair.
As Mueller heads to the rail in 9th place for a $27,291 payday, Le climbs to 630,000 in chips.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 2:46 AM Local Time
On the first draw, three-way action begins with Viacheslav Zhukov who draws two and checks. Rep Porter draws one and bets, and Calvin Anderson draws two and calls. Zhukov calls as well, and he draws one. Porter pats and bets again, and Anderson finds another call after drawing two. Zhukov check-folds, leaving himself very short on chips.
On the last round, Porter is pat, and Anderson draws one more card. They both check, and Porter's wins the pot.
One hand later, Zhukov gets the rest of his short stack in against Phil Galfond. Galfond ends up making a , and Zhukov still needs to improve on the last draw. He shows while he sweats his last card, drawing live to the wheel. He pulls an though, and that is no help.
With that, Zhukov has been eliminated in 10th place.
Rep Porter - 700,000
Phil Galfond - 275,000
Viacheslav Zhukov - Eliminated
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 2:36 AM Local Time
| Level: | 20 | | Blinds: | 5,000/10,000 | |
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 2:36 AM Local Time
Phil Galfond opens to 16,000 and Mark Gregorich moves all in from the big blind for his last 24,000. Galfond calls and draws one to Gregorich's two.
That same draw is repeated before the final draw sees each player draw one.
Gregorich tables his to be drawing against Galfond's .
Gregorich flips over the , but it would be Galfond finding the that would send Gregorich to the rail in 11th place.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 2:33 AM Local Time
In a battle of the blinds Mark Gregorich leads out with a big bet of 16,000 after the second draw. Phil Galfond is on his left, and Galfond raises to 32,000. Gregorich cuts down his remaining short stack and eventually calls.
Both men stand pat, and Gregorich check-calls one final bet.
Galfond shows , and Gregorich can't beat it. It's very hard to count Galfond's chips as he intentionally has them stacked awkwardly and in odd amounts. Call it 400,000. Gregorich, on the other hand, is left with less than two bets.
Phil Galfond - 400,000
Mark Gregorich - 24,000
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 2:25 AM Local Time
James Obst raises to 16,000 and Paul Volpe calls all-in for his last 11,000. Tuan Le calls next to act as he and Volpe draw two to Obst's one.
Obst bets and Le calls before they each draw one to Volpe's two. Both players check and draw one again as Volpe now stands pat.
Obst checks and Le bets out 16,000 with Obst making the call.
Le tables his as Obst mucks and Volpe tables his and heads to the rail in 12th place for a $22,110 payday.
Tuan Le - 410,000
James Obst - 290,000
Paul Volpe - Eliminated
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 2:19 AM Local Time
Bruno Fitoussi raises to 16,000 under the gun, and Paul Volpe three-bets to 24,000 from the button. Greg Mueller calls in the big blind, Fitoussi calls the extra bet, and off they go.
Mueller draws one, Fitoussi two, and Volpe one. It checks around to the second draw.
Everyone draws one card this time, and Fitoussi is the first to bet at it. Volpe calls, Mueller folds, and it's heads-up to the last round.
Fitoussi is pat while Volpe draws one. Volpe can see Fitoussi eying up his short stack, so he helps out, "Just over a bet." Fitoussi slides 16,000 into the pot, and Volpe calls.
Fitoussi says, "Seven," and shows . Volpe mucks, and he's left with less than a big bet now.
Bruuno Fitoussi - 220,000
Paul Volpe - 11,000
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 2:11 AM Local Time
After taking a nice pot from James Obst, Maximilian Casal was back at it in a multi-way pot featuring Greg Mueller and Bruno Fitoussi.
Mueller raises to 16,000 and both Fitoussi and Casal call from the button and small blind respectively as each player draws two.
Fitoussi bets and reduces his draw to one as Casal and Mueller each take two. Fitoussi bets out again and this time only Casal call as both players draw one.
Casal bets 16,000 and Fitoussi folds.
Maximilian Casal - 575,000
Greg Mueller - 290,000
Bruno Fitoussi - 130,000
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 2:08 AM Local Time
Calvin Anderson, Phil Galfond, and Viacheslav Zhukov build a big three-way pot, and after the second draw, action is on Anderson in the small blind. He checks, and Galfond bets the 16,000. Zhukov folds out of the way, but Anderson check-raises to 32,000. Galfond tanks and calls.
Both men pat the last round, and Galfond calls one more bet.
Anderson says, "Nuts," and rolls over . That is indeed the wheel, and Galfond nods, grimaces, and mucks.
With that big pot, Anderson has taken the chip lead, closing in on the half-million mark.
Calvin Anderson - 480,000
Phil Galfond - 390,000
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 1:59 AM Local Time
Table 353
Seat 1: Calvin Anderson - 326,000
Seat 2: Ismael Bojang - 154,000
Seat 3: Mark Gregorich - 116,000
Seat 4: Phil Galfond - 459,000
Seat 5: Viacheslav Zhukov - 272,000
Seat 6: Rep Porter - 321,000
Table 359
Seat 1: Greg Mueller - 321,000
Seat 2: Bruno Fitoussi - 152,000
Seat 3: Maximilian Casal - 426,000
Seat 4: James Obst - 291,000
Seat 5: Paul Volpe - 79,000
Seat 6: Tuan Le - 372,000
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 1:59 AM Local Time
The cards are back in the air with 36 minutes remaining on the clock. Play will continue until the end of the next level or until the field reaches six players, whichever happens first.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 1:40 AM Local Time
A few of the players asked for a break, and there were no objections. Play resumes in 20 minutes with the final two tables.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 1:38 AM Local Time
Alan Richardson raises to 16,000 from the button, and Rep Porter three-bets to 24,000 from the small blind. Richardson calls, leaving just 13,000 lonely chips behind. Porter is pat for the draw rounds. Richardson draws one card, then is content enough to stand pat himself for the last two rounds.
Porter rolls over his , and it's good. Richardson shows his inferior , and he has been eliminated in 13th place.
The 12 remaining players are all in the money.
Rep Porter - 320,000
Alan Richardson - Eliminated
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 1:28 AM Local Time
Max Casal raises to 16,000 under the gun, and Paul Volpe calls in the cutoff. On the button, Viacheslav Zhukov raises to 24,000, and Casal calls. Volpe now decides to make the next raise to 32,000, and Zhukov comes right back over the top with the cap-raise to 40,000. Casal calls, and Volpe calls all in for 38,000.
Volpe pats the whole way. Casal draws two and check-calls the 8,000 from Zhukov who had drawn one. Both men draw one on the second round, and it goes check-check. They both draw one again, and a bet from Zhukov is enough to shake Casal loose and get Volpe heads-up for his tournament life.
Volpe shows his , and Zhukov shows the same . They chop up Casal's money, and Volpe earns another increase.
Paul Volpe - 63,000