Monday, June 24, 2013 8:13 PM Local Time
Griffin Doubles
We arrived at the table to find Ashton Griffin all in for his tournament life before the draw against Paul Volpe. Both players took one card and their hands were turned over
Griffin:
Volpe:
Volpe squeezed his card out first but let out a groan when he pulled a which gave him a pair. Griffin rolled over a , giving him a ten-low and the best hand. He doubled to around 94,000 while Volpe has fallen to roughly 185,000.
Paul Volpe | 185,000 | -55,000 |
Ashton Griffin | 94,000 | 36,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 8:01 PM Local Time
Uno vs. Uno
Jon Turner raised to 9,000 in early position, Paul Volpe defended his big blind, and Turner called.
"Uno," Volpe said, grinning as he discarded on.
Turner silently flicked on card forward, and the dealer tossed them their down cards. Volpe reached for chips, firing out 13,700, and Turner raised to 38,500. Volpe tanked for a bit, then called.
"Eighty-six," Turner said, fanning .
Volpe nodded, and mucked his hand.
Jon Turner | 245,000 | 60,000 |
Paul Volpe | 240,000 | -32,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 7:50 PM Local Time
Level 14 started
Level: 14
Blinds: 1500/3000
Ante: 700
Monday, June 24, 2013 7:48 PM Local Time
Musso Gets "Cold-Decked"
Vincent Musso, who just doubled through Ashton Griffin, open-shoved for 26,200 in the hijack seat. Jon "PearlJammer" Turner tank-called in the big blind. Turner patted, and Musso unhappily discarded the .
Player | Hand | Discard |
Musso | | 2 |
Turner | | Pat |
Musso turned over mo-town ( ), and was eliminated short of the money.
"Cold-decked," Musso muttered to himself after the hand. "That's how you get cold-decked."
Jon Turner | 185,000 | 15,000 |
Vincent Musso | 0 | -41,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 7:38 PM Local Time
Kassela Gets Baked
Frank Kassela raised to 6,500 from middle position and James Lee called the raise. David Bakes Baker three-bet to 20,000 out of the blinds and Kassela wasted little time moving all in. Lee folded and Baker quickly dropped chips in the middle and announced that he was pat. Kassela drew one and the hands were turned over.
Player | Hand | Draw |
David Bakes Baker | | Pat |
Frank Kassela | | 1 |
Kassela threw away the from his hand and was looking to make his wheel draw or enough to beat Baker's ten low. Unfortunately for Kasslea, he pulled the which paired his treys and eliminated him from play. Baker dragged in the pot and now sits on about 310,000 in chips.
David Bakes Baker | 310,000 | 99,000 |
Frank Kassela | 0 | -50,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 7:34 PM Local Time
Flack "Does It"
John Hennigan opened from early position to 6,000 and Max Pescatori called from the button. Layne Flack three-bet the action to 26,000 from the small blind and it folded back to Hennigan who came back over the top for 56,000. Pescatori folded and Flack flat called.
Both players stood pat and checked the final betting round. Flack tabled which prompted Hennigan to throw his hand to the muck.
"Wow Layne, you just do it. It's interesting to watch," chimed in Phil Laak from the next seat over. "You just do it. He just does it! Like those Nike t-shirts that say just do it- only they should just say...Layne. Just do it."
Regardless of what Flack is doing or not doing, he's currently sitting on 360,000 which is good for the biggest stack in the room.
Layne Flack | 360,000 | 75,000 |
John Hennigan | 190,000 | -35,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 7:27 PM Local Time
Levy and Hansen Bust
Steven Hansen open-shoved for 17,300 from the hijack seat, and Larry Wright called on his direct left. Both players opted to discard one.
Player | Hand | Draw |
Hansen | | 1 |
Wright | | 1 |
Hansen ripped over a , giving him a pair, and the only way he could survive is if Wright found an eight or a nine. The 2012 bracelet winner flipped over a , and Hansen hit the rail.
At an adjacent table, we missed the action, but Eliyahu Levy busted with . His opponent, Calvin Anderson, had good old number one ( ).
Calvin Anderson | 170,000 | 49,000 |
Larry Wright | 72,000 | 19,000 |
Eliyahu Levy | 0 | -43,000 |
Steven Hansen | 0 | -30,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 7:16 PM Local Time
Final Three Tables and Chip Counts
Table 353
Seat | Player |
1 | Vincent Musso |
2 | David "Bakes" Baker |
3 | Paul Volpe |
4 | Ashton Griffin |
5 | Jon Turner |
6 | Frank Kassela |
7 | James Lee |
Table 359
Seat | Player |
1 | Jesse Martin |
2 | Steven Hansen |
3 | Larry Wright |
4 | Naoya Kihara |
5 | Konstantin Puchkov |
6 | Jeff Lisandro |
7 | Dan O'Brien |
Table 360
Seat | Player |
1 | John Hennigan |
2 | Calvin Anderson |
3 | Eliyahu Levy |
4 | Brian Hastings |
5 | Max Pescatori |
6 | Layne Flack |
7 | Phil Laak |
Layne Flack | 285,000 | -5,000 |
Paul Volpe | 272,000 | 62,000 |
Jesse Martin | 236,000 | 114,000 |
David Bakes Baker | 211,000 | 105,000 |
Naoya Kihara | 178,000 | 36,000 |
John Hennigan | 175,000 | 48,000 |
Jon Turner | 170,000 | -6,000 |
Calvin Anderson | 121,000 | -34,000 |
James Lee | 116,000 | 31,000 |
Ashton Griffin | 110,000 | 20,000 |
Dan O'Brien | 101,000 | -61,000 |
Konstantin Puchkov | 100,000 | 0 |
Max Pescatori | 95,000 | -14,000 |
Phil Laak | 77,000 | -10,000 |
Larry Wright | 53,000 | -22,000 |
Frank Kassela | 50,000 | -45,000 |
Eliyahu Levy | 43,000 | -31,000 |
Brian Hastings | 42,000 | -2,000 |
Vincent Musso | 41,000 | 23,000 |
Jeff Lisandro | 35,000 | -52,000 |
Steven Hansen | 30,000 | 30,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 7:12 PM Local Time
Catching Some Flack
by Pamela Maldonado
With only 87 entries in this event, it's no wonder we saw a stacked list of players to advance on to the second day including Paul Volpe, Phil Laak, Dan O'Brien, Phil Ivey, John Hennigan, Ashton Griffin, Phil Galfond, Brian Hastings and so many others.
Layne Flack is one of the notable contenders who made it to Day 2 of Event #43: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball today, and he's back hunting for his seventh World Series of Poker gold bracelet.
Before break, Flack was sitting near the top of the leader board with 145,000 in chips, third behind Paul Volpe and Phil Laak. PokerNews had a short opportunity to chat with him a bit about his life of sobriety, his history as "Back-to-Back Flack", and his experience with mixed games.
Last year you had two final tables, and this year you have three WSOP cashes. What have you been doing, if anything, to improve your mixed-game skills?
I actually haven't been doing anything [differently]. This year I started really poorly. I play a lot of golf, so I try to look at it like my golf game. If you don't play so well on the front nine, you have to play well on the back nine. So my three cashes didn't come till the second half of the Series. From the first half to the second half, I decided to make some adjustments and I think it's helped.
We heard you've been two-years sober. How has life changed for you since?
I wasn't forced to quit, I decided to on my own. Priorities, the more important things in life, started factoring in and once I put that into perspective, it just made sense and I knew I had to make a change for the better.
So your nickname is "Back-to-Back Flack." Do you wish for the same kind of success this year?
Absolutely. That name is tough to get. To win back-to-back WSOP events and then to come back the following year and win back-to-back WSOP events again, that's unheard of. I actually had back-to-back success at The Legends also, so I've actually done it three times.
What game do you feel is your strongest?
I like the split games. I've had a lot of success in no-limit hold'em, but the limit games like H.O.R.S.E. and other games I enjoy more. Since I like those games better than the rest, I will enter more of those events.
What changes to the WSOP do you wish to see?
There is one big one I would like to see. I think the bracelets are starting to get saturated by allowing the European and the Australian bracelets to count as part of record lists. I think the people with a lot of bracelets should protect that because you don't know where it's going to end. I was talking about this to Phil Hellmuth, who has 13 bracelets. I told him 10 years from now there may 150 bracelet events or more and so 13 will no longer be a big number. Those who have won WSOP bracelets here in Las Vegas aren't being protected and I think that needs to change.
Monday, June 24, 2013 7:07 PM Local Time
Flack Busts Alioto; Three Tables Remain
Layne Flack raised to 6,800 on the button, Paul Volpe three-bet to 18,000 out of the small blind, and Dario Alioto cold four-bet jammed for 51,200 from the big blind. Flack re-shoved for well over 200,000, and Volpe folded.
Alioto didn't know whether or not to discard, so he started to tank. After a few minutes, Phil Laak took a pair of binoculars out of his bag because he couldn't read the board.
"This happens five or six times a day," he said. "I can't see the board from here (three table-lengths away), so I bought these."
Finally, after around three minutes, Alioto tossed a card away. Flack instantly fanned , prompting Alioto to show . The Italian had thrown away a .
He was dealt a card facedown, sweated it, then flipped over a for a meaningless ninety-eight. Alioto hit the rail, and the final 21 players are now redrawing to three tables.
Layne Flack | 290,000 | 148,000 |
Dario Alioto | 0 | -105,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 6:57 PM Local Time
Over the Till-er
We arrived at the table post-draw to find Dee Tiller move all in for his final 16,200 against Konstantin Puchkov and Frank Kassela. Puchkov slowly and deliberately counted out enough chips to call and dropped them in the middle. Kassela looked at his new hand after the draw and seemed to be shocked that he made a hand as well. Ultimately, Kassela opted to lay it down.
"Ninety-six!" said Tiller, spreading on the felt. Puchkov had him beat, though, as he fanned for an eight-low and the best hand. Tiller made his exit from the tournament area and Puchkov scooped up a pot that brings him to right around 100,000 in chips.
Konstantin Puchkov | 100,000 | 51,000 |
Dee Tiller | 0 | -38,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 6:53 PM Local Time
Ivey Falls to Turner
We missed the details but were able to get the action of Phil Ivey's final hand thanks to Jon Turner's twitter.
Across the room, John Monnette was also eliminated from play in unknown action.
Jon Turner | 176,000 | 58,000 |
John Monnette | 0 | -84,000 |
Phil Ivey | 0 | -48,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 6:52 PM Local Time
Level 13 started
Level: 13
Blinds: 1200/2400
Ante: 600
Monday, June 24, 2013 6:22 PM Local Time
Break Time
Players are now on a 20-minute break.
Monday, June 24, 2013 6:19 PM Local Time
Bakes and Ivey Double
Brian Hastings opened to 5,500 on the button, Jesse Martin called out of the small blind, and David "Bakes" Baker moved all in for 82,000 in the big blind. Only Hastings looked him up.
Player | Hand | Draw |
Hastings | | 1 |
Baker | | Pat |
"Don't sweat it, Stinger," Baker asked him.
Hastings didn't, ripping over a king, and Baker doubled.
At another table, Phil Ivey was all in before the draw as well. Jon Turner had him at risk.
Player | Hand | Draw |
Ivey | | 1 |
Turner | | Pat |
Ivey received a six, making a ninety-seven to double.
David "Bakes" Baker | 170,000 | 86,000 |
Jon Turner | 118,000 | -17,000 |
Brian Hastings | 68,000 | 0 |
Phil Ivey | 48,000 | 9,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 6:10 PM Local Time
Parker Falls to Alioto
Benjamin Parker open-shipped all in for his last 13,200 from the cutoff and it folded around to Dario Alioto who slowly looked at his cards one at a time before announcing a call.
Player | Draw | Hand |
Dario Alioto | 1 | |
Benjamin Parker | 1 | |
Alioto was the first to flip his card over and showed the - making a queen-nine low. Parker squeezed his out but slapped it down on the table when he realized it was the giving him a pair of threes and the losing hand. Alioto was able to drag in the pot and eliminate last year's fourth-place finisher in one fell swoop. Alioto now sits on about 105,000 in chips.
Dario Alioto | 105,000 | 24,000 |
Benjamin Parker | 0 | -21,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 6:07 PM Local Time
O'Brien Picks One Up
Justin Gardenhire opened for 4,000, and received two callers in Dario Alioto and Dan O'Brien. All three players discarded one, then the action checked to O'Brien, who fired out 10,400. Only Gardenhire called.
O'Brien fanned for an eighty-six, picking up the pot.
Dan O'Brien | 162,000 | 37,000 |
Dario Alioto | 81,000 | -25,000 |
Justin Gardenhire | 49,000 | 9,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 5:51 PM Local Time
Baxter Busted
Frank Kassela opened with a raise to an unknown amount from the cutoff and it folded around to Billy Baxter who shipped all in from the small blind for roughly 25,000 total. Kassela wasted no time calling and both players stood pat just as quickly.
Kassela fanned and Baxter dropped his hand into the muck. Since it was an all in situation, the dealer made Baxter show his cards to the table and though we did not catch what they were, the hand was not enough to beat Kassela's pat eight.
Kassela raked in the pot and is now up to about 95,000.
Frank Kassela | 95,000 | 51,000 |
Billy Baxter | 0 | -30,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 5:50 PM Local Time
"You Wanted to Three-Bet Me Pre"
Calvin Anderson raised to 4,400 in early position, Layne Flack called on the button, and Naoya Kihara called out of the big blind.
Player | Draw |
Kihara | 2 |
Anderson | 1 |
Flack | 1 |
The action checked to Flack, who cooly tossed out 11,000. Kihara, the only Japanese player to ever win a World Series of Poker gold bracelet, folded, and Anderson went into the tank.
"You were going to three-bet me pre," Anderson said after a few seconds.
Flack couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright," Anderson sighed, tossing the 11,000 in front of Flack.
"I paired," Flack told him.
Anderson fanned , and dragged in the pot.
Calvin Anderson | 155,000 | 27,000 |
Layne Flack | 142,000 | -3,000 |
Monday, June 24, 2013 5:40 PM Local Time
Pat Ten For Baker
Jesse Martin raised to 6,000 from the cutoff and the button folded his cards. David Bakes Baker made it 18,000 to go from the small blind and it folded back to Martin. He tanked for a bit before finally dropping out a call.
Baker tapped the table to signify standing pat while Martin opted to draw one card. Baker checked post-draw and Martin rapped the table behind. Baker showed and then followed that with the rest of his hand - . Martin mucked his cards and Baker dragged in the pot. The 2010 champion of this event now has about 106,000 while Martin has fallen to 122,000.
Jesse Martin | 122,000 | -16,000 |
David Bakes Baker | 106,000 | 13,000 |