Saturday, November 6, 2010 1:43 PM Local Time
Jason Senti has the button in Seat 1.
Two players fold to Matthew Jarvis. He reaches for chips and puts in a raise to 1,175,000. Everyone else folds.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 1:41 PM Local Time
The cards are flying once again with 1:28 left in the current level.
Entering the table now are the brand spankin' new cranberry T500,000 chips. They're oversized at 50mm in diameter, and they present a whole new riffling challenge for the players. Let's see who puts them to use first.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 1:02 PM Local Time
Since its inception, it's not uncommon for the players that reach the November Nine at the end of July to continue their success on the felt during the months leading up to November.
The year the November Nine concept was introduced was 2008. That year, both Ivan Demidov and Peter Eastgate both found some success in the off months leading up to their massive final table. Eastgate found himself deep in the EPT London Main Event where he finished in 18th place. Demidov did something that was rather unheard of at the time and final tabled the WSOP Europe Main Event, eventually finishing in third place. When he returned to Las Vegas in November, he topped that finish with a second-place finish, falling short to none other than Eastgate himself.
The following year in 2009, James Akenhead and Antoine Saout both did what Demidov did the year before, they final tabled the WSOP Europe Main Event. They weren't the only pairing to find themselves sharing a final table in the off months though. Kevin Schaffel and Steven Begleiter both final tabled the WPT Legends of Poker Championship Event. That begs the question for this year: who's kept their summer run good going in the of months for 2010?
Out of the nine players who have made the November Nine this year, only three of them went without cashing in something during their break. The three that did not cash were chip leader Jonathan Duhamel, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and Jason Senti. It's unsure about how many events Senti has played in the downtime, but both Duhamel and Mizrachi have been seen a good amount on the circuit, Mizrachi especially. He has been seen all over the globe trying to get as much poker in as possible. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't able to cash in any events, but that still doesn't mean the practice won't help him this weekend.
Out of the other six who did have some success, here's what they have done.
Joseph Cheong
[TABLE]*Event | Entries | Finish | Prize*
Detox Poker Series $230 No-Limit Hold'em | 122 | 13th | $650
EPT London £1,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 222 | 24th | £1,300
EPT London £10,000 High Roller Turbo | 69 | 2nd | £162,280
Festa al Lago $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 90 | 1st | $142,635[/TABLE]
Matthew Jarvis
[TABLE]*Event | Entries | Finish | Prize*
Canadian Open Poker Championship Heads-Up Championship | 64 | 1st | C$100,000
WSOP Europe £1,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 582 | 40th | £2,747
Festa al Lago $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 136 | 1st | $71,895[/TABLE]
John Racener
[TABLE]*Event | Entries | Finish | Prize*
Full Tilt Cyprus Classic $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys | N/A | 2nd | $22,143
WSOP Europe £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha | 120 | 5th | £39,486[/TABLE]
John Dolan
[TABLE]*Event | Entries | Finish | Prize*
EPT London Main Event | 848 | 107th | £7,500
World Poker Finals $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em | 212 | 2nd | $45,000[/TABLE]
Soi Nguyen
[TABLE]*Event | Entries | Finish | Prize*
WPT Legends of Poker Championship Event | 462 | 34th | $11,500[/TABLE]
Filippo Candio
[TABLE]*Event | Entries | Finish | Prize*
Caesars Palace Classic $230 No-Limit Hold'em | 232 | 3rd | $4,726[/TABLE]
Joseph Cheong had the most cashes with four and looks to have the best performance on the felt during his break before the November Nine. His four cashes are highlighted by a second-place finish in the EPT London High Roller Turbo and a win in a big Festa al Lago preliminary event. Matthew Jarvis had a good amount of success as well. Like Cheong, he also won a preliminary event at Festa al Lago. He also won the Canadian Open Poker Championship Heads-Up Championship, giving him two big wins. John Racener and John Dolan also had greater than one cash each, proving this final table isn't missing out on talent.
Someone's got to win the WSOP Main Event. Will it be one of the players who had a lot of success in the off months or one of the ones who couldn't even find the money a single time in an event? Be sure to stick right here at PokerNews to find out!
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:57 PM Local Time
That thrilling hand took the remaining eight players -- and the 1,500 or so people in the theater -- to the first break of the day. Play will resume in 20 minutes.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:55 PM Local Time
Soi Nguyen has the button in Seat 9.
When the table folds around to him, he announces an all in, and his large cheering section rises to their feet with a loud rush of support. It's 7.6 million total, and as soon as the amount is announced, Jason Senti immediately makes the call from the small blind. On cue, the entire theater rises to their feet, and the ensuing noise makes the stage tremble a bit.
Showdown
Senti:
Nguyen:
"Ja-son Sen-ti!" half of the theater is yelling in full throat for their guy while Camp Nguyen is a bit more outwardly nervous. They put their arms around each other, leaning toward the stage as they gaze up to see the cards on the big screen overhead. There is a long pause to build the tension for television, and the dealer is finally given the command to burn and turn:
Flop: ! Senti's lead grows into a monstrous one, flopping his set to put Nguyen two cards from the door. It's not without a sweat, though, as Nguyen flops four outs to the gutshot Broadway.
Turn: , an anti-climatic card that takes the air out of the theater for a moment.
River: . It's scary paint, and the theater all "Ooooooh"s in unison. Ultimately, however, it's no use to Nguyen's chances, and he has become the first casualty of the final table.
Jason Senti - 17.5 million
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:51 PM Local Time
Filippo Candio has the button in Seat 8.
John Racener raises to 1.2 million from the cutoff seat. Candio quickly reaches for a big stack of chips and reraises to over three million. Racener folds after a minute of thought and Candio shows just a .
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:48 PM Local Time
John Racener has the button in Seat 7.
Actions passes all the way to Racener. He raises to 1.1 million, which is good enough to collect the blinds and the antes.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:46 PM Local Time
Matthew Jarvis has the button in Seat 6.
Jonathan Duhamel raises to 1.3 million, his third raise in a row. He was batting .500 before this one, but he's improved that to .667 now as he takes the blinds and antes with no contest -- though there were a couple of sideways looks on down the line).
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:44 PM Local Time
MIchael Mizrachi has the button in Seat 5.
Jonathan Duhamel raises to 1.2 million from the cutoff seat. Everyone folds and Duhamel adds some chips to his field-leading stack.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:42 PM Local Time
Jonathan Duhamel has the button in Seat 4.
Duhamel opens to 1.25 million after everyone ahead of him folds. Michael Mizrachi gives his cards a long look before pitching them to the dealer. Matthew Jarvis does the complete opposite -- he moves all in from the big blind for 7.525 million more. Duhamel quickly cries "Uncle!" and mucks his cards.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:40 PM Local Time
John Dolan has the button in Seat 3.
Jason Senti raises to 1.125 million, and Joseph Cheong quickly folds. That sends the action to Dolan, and he takes his pause before cutting out a stack of reraising chips. After a moment, he slides out a three-bet to 2.525 million, but the action wasn't done yet. From the big blind, Michael Mizrachi decides it's cold four-betting time, and he makes it 8.525 million straight. That's enough to quickly fold Senti out of the way, but Dolan is not so quickly pacified. He takes about three or four minutes to consider before surrendering, and Mizrachi will add 4.35 million chips to his stack. He's at 18.6 million now.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:32 PM Local Time
Joseph Cheong has the button in Seat 2.
John Racener raises to 1.3 million from middle position. Action folds around to fellow Floridian John Dolan in the small blind. He thinks for a little bit and then makes the call.
The flop comes down and Dolan is up first. He checks. Racener checks behind.
The turn card is the , completing a lot of draws. Dolan reaches for chips and fires out 1.775 million. Racener makes the call.
The falls on the river. Dolan puts out a bet of 3.55 million. Racener thinks for a little while and then makes the call. Dolan shows just a pair of queens with before Racener tables the to win the pot.
With this pot, Racener improves to 25.275 million while Dolan slips to 42.4 million.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:25 PM Local Time
Jason Senti has the button in Seat 1.
Player of the Year candidate Michael Mizrachi raises from early position to 1.2 million. Everyone else surrenders their cards.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:23 PM Local Time
Soi Nguyen has the button in Seat 9.
Filippo Candio raises to 1.2 million from the cutoff seat, and he runs into no confrontation.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:22 PM Local Time
The Italian Filippo Candio has the button in Seat 8.
From under the gun, Joseph Cheong raises to 1.025 million. This is the second rotation in a row that Cheong has raised from first position. Action then folds around to Matthew Jarvis in the hijack seat. He moves all in for 6.75 million. Everyone folds back to Cheong and he also folds.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:20 PM Local Time
John Racener has the button in Seat 7.
John Dolan gets things started with a raise to 1.25 million from middle position. That raise also ends things after everyone else folds. Pass the chips to Dolan.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:19 PM Local Time
Matthew Jarvis has the button in Seat 6.
When the table folds around to the cutoff, Michael Mizrachi figures it's time to play a pot. He opens to 1.2 million, and he might well do that again as it's earned him 1.2 million in blinds and antes.
"Grind-er! Grind-er!" chants ring from the balcony.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:17 PM Local Time
Michael Mizrachi has the button in Seat 5.
Soi Nguyen raises to 1.15 million. He then watches as one by one each player folds and he wins the pot.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:16 PM Local Time
Jonathan Duhamel has the button in Seat 4.
John Racener is under the gun and opens the pot to 1.3 million. Action folds to Jason Senti, who moves all in for the fourth time in 13 hands. That re-raise, to a total of 9.525 million, clears out all remaining players back to Racener.
While Racener is considering what to do, a spectator shouts, "Call!" Jack Effel quickly drops the hammer on such behavior. "That will get you ejected," he tells the theater.
Racener thinks a few seconds longer and then folds.
Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:12 PM Local Time
John Dolan has the button in Seat 3.
Matthew Jarvis opens to 1.175 million under the gun, and he wins the pot.