EVENT UPDATES
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Thursday, June 3, 2010 1:33 AM Local Time
Event #5 started off with loads of promise for the 2,092 players that registered, but only 53 would live to see Day 2. The money bubble hit fast on the second day, and we eventually got down to 23 players before play stopped.
Today's action started out with a flurry of eliminations (ten to be exact) happening in the first hour. In no time at all we were playing ten-handed on a single table. The final table would play in waves, with some stretches of hyper-aggressive preflop action and other stretches where it seemed like it would take ages between big hands.
Praz Bansi picked up poker in 2005 and wasted no time winning his first bracelet, which he snagged in 2006. Bansi has a number of World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour cashes, including a $594,000 payday for taking third in the 2009 WSOP Europe Main Event.
Today he kept a quiet presence through much of the day until the table was four-handed. At that time he got aggressive and carefully maneuvered his way through the field until he had every chip in play. He slowly stole chips from Vincent Jacques at the final table and came mind-numbingly close to winning the tournament on two occasions when Jacques managed to find last-minute outs.
In the end, Bansi got the cards necessary to win the final hand and book a win, his first bracelet in four years.
Thursday, June 3, 2010 1:30 AM Local Time
Vincent Jacques didn't have a lot to work with when he re-raised preflop, putting his last 315,000 chips into the pot after Praz Bansi had made it 225,000 to go. Bansi made a quick call and Jacques' tournament life was on the line once more.
Bansi:
Jacques:
Bansi paired his jack on a flop of , but in the spirit of this final table, he couldn't get away without a sweat when the fell on the turn. However, the came on the river giving Bansi the best hand and every chip in play.
Thursday, June 3, 2010 1:25 AM Local Time
Vincent Jacques has been losing a number of small pots to Praz Bansi and is now sitting on less than a million in chips.
Thursday, June 3, 2010 1:19 AM Local Time
Vincent Jacques went all in on the button and Praz Bansi considered his options for a good minute before calling.
Bansi:
Jacques:
Things were looking good for Bansi when the flop dropped . The on the turn paired Bansi's hand, drastically reducing Jacques' outs. But when the fell on the river, both players made a straight and chopped the pot. Bansi looked at the board in disbelief and slowly shook his head for a moment before taking his seat.
Thursday, June 3, 2010 1:06 AM Local Time
Praz Bansi has won number of small pots and is continuing to chip away at the short-stacked Vincent Jacques.
Thursday, June 3, 2010 12:59 AM Local Time
Both players saw a cheap flop of , and Bansi bet 150,000, getting a call from Jacques. When the turn came , Bansi check-called a 300,000 bet from Jacques would later win the hand after betting 1,000,000 into the river, which was .
Current chip counts:
Bansi: 7,000,000
Jacques: 2,000,000
Thursday, June 3, 2010 12:51 AM Local Time
The first few hands in this level haven't brought a flop yet. So far all we've seen are blinds changing hands. Jacques has the shorter stack, but is still sitting with 30 big blinds.
Thursday, June 3, 2010 12:32 AM Local Time
Praz Bansi: 6,000,000
Vincent Jacques: 3,000,000
Thursday, June 3, 2010 12:29 AM Local Time
The clock has stopped for 20 minutes as the players take a break.
Thursday, June 3, 2010 12:25 AM Local Time
Praz Bansi was one card away from winning his second WSOP bracelet when he called an all-in raise preflop against Vincent Jacques.
Bansi:
Jacques:
Jacques hit a queen on the the flop, but Bansi also hit a set when it came . The on the turn gave Jacques some more outs, one of which came on the river, which was . The runner-runner flush was all it took and these two will have to play a little while longer.
Thursday, June 3, 2010 12:17 AM Local Time
In this latest hand, Vincent Jacques opened to 225,000 on the button. He was called by Praz Bansi and the two took in a flop of .
Bansi check-called Jacques' bet of 285,000 on the flop, and both players checked when the came on the turn. When the arrived on the river, Bansi got Jacques to call an 875,000 chip bet and took the pot down with .
For anyone left holding doubt, James Akenhead remarked from the rail, "That's how you play deuce-free of diamonds."
Jacques is now extremely short in chips.
Thursday, June 3, 2010 12:04 AM Local Time
Praz Bansi bumped it up to 225,000 on the button and got a call out of Vincent Jacques. They both checked the flop of . With the on the turn, Bansi called Jacques' bet of 235,000. However, he folded to Jacques' 330,000 chip bet on the river.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 11:54 PM Local Time
Praz Bansi opened the pot with a 225,000 raise and got called by Vincent Jacques.
Flop:
Both players checked.
Turn:
Jacques fired a 225,000 bet and Bansi smooth-called.
River:
The young Canadian bet 330,000 chips and Bansi eventually folded.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 11:47 PM Local Time
Both players limped to a flop that fell . Vincent Jacques 105,000 on the turn, which was the and was called by Praz Bansi, who then folded to Jacques' 230,000 bet after the river brought the .
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 11:42 PM Local Time
Praz Bansi has won the first two pots of heads-up play, the larger of which saw him take 200,000 of Jacques when Bansi betted 275,000 into a board.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 11:38 PM Local Time
Praz Bansi and Vincent Jacques have returned from their break.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 11:27 PM Local Time
Praz Bansi: 5,140,000
Vincent Jacques: 4,280,000
Let the party begin!
p.s. After a 20 minute break.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 11:22 PM Local Time
Calvin Kordus went all in preflop and got called by Vincent Jacques.
Showdown:
Calvin Kordus:
Vincent Jacques:
Board: and Kordus is our third place finisher.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 11:16 PM Local Time
Praz Bansi just won a 1,000,000 chip pot against Calvin Kordus when his out-kicked Kordus' .
Bansi opened to 160,000 and got a call from Kordus. When the flop came , Bansi bet 275,000 and was again called by Kordus. They both checked the on the turn.
When the came on the river, Bansi bet 600,000 and got a call from Kordus.
Bansi's was better than Kordus' and Bansi took a huge lead.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 11:08 PM Local Time
A group of Vincent Jacques' supporters are reportedly betting on which color flops are going to be with James Akenhead, who is railing Praz Bansi. It's sometimes hard to tell if they're cheering for their buddies or for their themselves when they yell "diamond!" or "spade!".