Thursday, October 1, 2009 10:11 PM Local Time
Three players left, and the night is yet young.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:59 PM Local Time
Current standings:
Negreanu - 4.74 million
Bansi - 4.26 million
Shulman - 1.035 million
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:53 PM Local Time
What a hand happened just now as we drift into another 20 minute break - it shifted the chip tide most conspicuously back to Bansi and left Barry Shulman all but crippled.
They saw a flop of
, on which Shulman check-called Bansi's bet of around 180k.
The turn was the
and this small, innocuous looking card set off a storm of chips - Shulman checked, Bansi bet 350k. Then Shulman check-raised a mighty 1,050,000 total - around half his remaining chips!
Bansi looked a bit taken aback, but thought quietly for a while, knee shaking under the table quite visibly from the tense rail (who were all standing up now, white knuckled). Suddenly, he announced all in. Everyone was quiet in expectation of the next all-in showdown, but as the final seconds of the level ticked away, Shulman passed!
Now Bansi has 4,335,000, while Shulman is left with just 1,000,000 or so.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:47 PM Local Time
What an amazing final table this has been - Daniel Negreanu, short stack at start of play today is now Big Leader and looking confident like only a man who just knocked out another man who at some point today had seven times his stack can be.
In every hand running from the elimination of Mr. Mercier until the break, Negreanu's been in there, whether reraising Praz Bansi 400k preflop and picking up some chips, or getting to the river vs. Barry Shulman with
on a board of
only to lose to Shulman's
-X, he's pretty much part of the furniture as far as action is concerned.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:43 PM Local Time
Negreanu - 4,765,000
Bansi - 3,230,000
Shulman - 2,040,000
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:39 PM Local Time
Daniel Negreanu raised under the gun and Barry Shulman called from the button. Jason Mercier in the small blind -- our shortest stack on 1.67 million -- well, he announced all in. Negreanu gave it some thought...
...and then called. Shulman got out of their way and they were on their backs.
Negreanu:
Mercier:
and looking a little like he might be sick
Board: an absolutely blanktastic
Thus with Messrs. Negreanu and Mercier sharing one of those back-slapping hugs that men give each other when something awful happens, we are down to three players.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:31 PM Local Time
Barry Schulman got a walk -- only the third of this final table, by our reckoning -- and disappointedly showed the table
.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:25 PM Local Time
Praz Bansi raised under the gun and Negreanu called on the button. Small blind Barry Shulman passed -- but over to Jason Mercier in the big blind, who reraised. Everyone folded, and the pot was his.
Even with that, Mercier is still our short stack right now, on 1,770,000.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:25 PM Local Time
Having spent some time in Short Stack Avenue, Barry Shulman is now, while still neighbouring it, on the way up to Average Street. Just now he raised preflop to 125k, called by Daniel Negreanu.
Flop:
Negreanu check-called Shulman's 250k.
Turn:
Again Negreanu checked, and Shulman bet 550k pretty quickly. Negreanu gave a nod-smile combo before saying, "That looks like it should be a pretty good card for me..."
He flipped a glimpse of something small and spadey saying, "Just a pair and a straight flush draw, that's all," and consigning his hand to the muck.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:19 PM Local Time
Daniel Negreanu takes the next blinds with a little preflop raise before Jason Mercier raises to 135k from the small blind when it folds to him. Big blind Praz Bansi has a mini think before grabbing a chunk of 25k chips and reraising to 350k. Mercier regards his own slightly shrunken towers of chips (still towers though) and slowly counts out the call, white plastic shades pointed at his own stack. Every now and then he has a sneaky peek at Bansi, but makes the eventual decision to pass.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:13 PM Local Time
Jason Mercier raised under the gun, and Praz Bansi reraised from the button. The next logical step -- Daniel Negreanu four-bet out of the small blind. But there the chain was interrupted -- Negreanu's four-bet had been all in and Shulman swiftly passed. Mercier and Bansi passed too, and Negreanu showed them pocket queens.
He's back in the lead, and the stacks seem to be unevening themselves a little...
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:10 PM Local Time
Seat 1: Barry Shulman - 1,920,000
Seat 2: Jason Mercier - 2,540,000
Seat 3: Praz Bansi - 3,050,000
Seat 8: Daniel Negreanu - 2,525,000
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:10 PM Local Time
Praz Bansi raised from the small blind and after a while Daniel Negreanu in the big blind called.
They saw a
flop and Bansi bet; with a sigh, Negreanu tossed in the call.
They saw a
turn too, and this time Bansi bet an enormous 650,000. Negreanu tanked up for a while. "Bleurgh," he said, and motioned imaginary vomit coming out of his mouth. "Bleurrrrrgh." Then he folded, to applause from Bansi's supporters at the rail -- now including friend and fellow Hit Squadder James Akenhead, better known as our Ninth Place Finisher.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 9:02 PM Local Time
Under the gun Daniel Negreanu raises to 115k, called by Barry Shulman on the button, and both blinds.
Flop:
- over to Shulman who's the only one interested in betting it - 300k. Negreanu is the only one interested in calling that bet.
Turn:
Now Negreanu bets out 430k... and is rewarded with what can only be classed as an instafold.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 8:59 PM Local Time
Yup, the stacks really are that even. Mercier took that commanding 300,000-chip lead by seeing a
flop and, when Barry Schulman bet out 75,000, raising. Schulman folded instantly, and a chip leader was born.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 8:53 PM Local Time
Praz Bansi makes it 130k to go preflop, but dwell-folds when Barry Shulman ups it by 300k.
The next hand, though, Bansi raises under the gun (155k) and when Jason Mercier in the big blind calls, he bets him off a
flop to more than get his money back from the previous hand.
Who will upset the cycle?
Thursday, October 1, 2009 8:47 PM Local Time
Small blind vs. big blind, Jason Mercier vs. Praz Bansi. A checked flop of
brought a harmless looking
and a bet out by Mercier of 210k. Bansi made the call.
On the
river Mercier checked, and Bansi pushed out 300k in red 5k towers (mainly) which looked impressive. Mercier thought for a while but eventually folded, giving Bansi, still the chip leader, a little reboost after doubling up Shulman.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 8:46 PM Local Time
Praz Bansi raised under the gun and both Barry Shulman (small blind) and Jason Mercier (big) called. They saw a
flop.
We're not entirely sure how the action on the flop went -- whether Shulman open-shoved or whether it checked around to Bansi and then Shulman shoved to a bet -- but however it went down, Shulman moved all in. Jason Mercier spent a while thinking about it but eventually folded, looking very unhappy -- but Bansi called, and they were on their backs, to a whole load of shouting from the railers, who are filling every available nook around the main stage.
Bansi:
for an overpair
Shulman:
for a flush draw
Turn:
River:
Thus Shulman failed to hit his flush but managed to spike an ace instead to give him the double up. The whole rail, filled as it is with Bansi-ites, fell silent, except for Shulman's wife who kept on shouting support for some minutes after the hand was over.
With that, although Bansi is still technically chip leader, the stacks have returned to pretty much even. We could be in for a long night.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 8:37 PM Local Time
Jason Mercier (button) and Daniel Negreanu (big blind) started playing the next pot with a minimal bet pre, and a heads up flop of
. Negreanu checked and Mercier bet 160k. Unlike in his first two confrontations, however, Negreanu called and they saw a turn:
.
Now Negreanu checked again, Mercier bet 290k, and again he called.
The river:
Check to Mercier once more. He considered for a short while, before betting 805k. Negreanu did some squirming.
"Sometime's it's a silly silly game," he let everyone know. "That's a very good bet." He considered for a few moments more, asked himself, "What would Phil Ivey do?" and made the call.
Mercier showed:
Negreanu showed:
!
A round of applause, genuine and unsuggested, kicked off in the stands.
Thursday, October 1, 2009 8:27 PM Local Time
Praz Bansi, slight chip leader at dinner, has extended that lead to a rather convincing 3.975 million compared to second-placer Negreanu's 2.59 million.
Most recently Bansi in the big blind called a button raise from Barry Shulman to see a
flop which both players checked. Bansi bet out on the
turn, and Shulman folded, to cheering from the Bansi camp at the rail.