WPT LA Poker Classique

Par BJ Nemeth

Remarque : For the official Day 4 seating assigments and chip counts, cliquer ici.

Jour 3 a commencé avec 238 players, and they had to play down to 63 in order to burst the money bubble. The entire day lasted more than 13 hours, forcing the start time of Day 4 (Monday) to be pushed back to 1:30 16 h 00 HP.

Voici un aperçu du haut du classement avant le jour 4:

1. Jason Dewitt - 1,023,000 (170 b)
2. Richard Toth - 993,000 (165 b)
3. James Carroll - 843,000 (140 b)
4. David "Bakes" Baker - 702,000 (117 b)
5. Mike Sowers - 677,000 (112 b)
6. Shannon Shorr - 655,000 (109 b)

Et maintenant, un retour photographique sur la Journée 3 du WPT LA Poker Classic :


Before play began on Day 3, Phil Ivey s'est assis pour une rare interview avec WPT Anchor Kimberly Lansing. The in-depth questions covered a variety of topics, including Ivey's thoughts on who might be the second-best player in the world, and why he thinks he plays poker differently than the other top players. Unfortunately for Ivey, the tournament didn't go as well as the interview, and he was eliminated fairly early in the day.


Avec le tableau final montrant [Kh7s4hQd5c], Lauren Kling (au centre) a fait tapis contre Michael "Le broyeur" Mizrachi (foreground, right). Mizrachi eventually folded, saying he had pocket aces and had put Kling on king-queen. Kling didn't reveal any clues about her hand.


Lors du troisième niveau de la journée, triple vainqueur du WPT Carlos Mortensen construit ce que nous pensons être sa première sculpture de jetons du tournoi.


In a hand that extended deep into a break, Day 2 chipleader Joe De Niro (far right) bet the river on a board of [Kh6c5s5h7h], and Lauren Kling (à l'extrême gauche) a hésité un moment avant de suivre. DeNiro a dit : « Bon appel » et a perdu la main en jetant ses cartes. Kling a attendu que le croupier lui pousse la pot, et j'ai gagné un autre joli pot sans montrer ses cartes.


Pendant une pause, WPT Anchor Kimberly Lansing (à droite) a interviewé une actrice nominée aux Oscars Jennifer Tilly. Certains des sujets abordés incluent pourquoi Tilly préfère le feutre vert au tapis rouge, et ses réflexions sur ce qui se passerait si elle jouait au poker nue. Cliquez ici pour regarder la vidéo.


Avec le tableau final montrant [Jc9s7c2c8[s], Eddy Sabat (assis, à gauche) mise les deux tiers de son tapis restant, et Michael Divita (standing, right) tanked long enough for Sabat to call the clock. When a floorperson arrived to begin the countdown, DiVita spent most of his one-minute warning asking whether the countdown began when Sabat asked for a clock, or when the floorperson arrived. DiVita eventually min-raised to put Sabat all in, and Sabat called with the second nuts -- [Kc10c] -- to beat DiVita, who had a nine in his hand for second pair.


Scott Seiver s'amusait tellement à jouer à cette table qu'il a demandé une photo commémorative, comparant la situation à celle d'un grand groupe essayant de se prendre en photo dans un restaurant. Fidèle à son habitude, cette photo montre des gens penchés maladroitement et détournant le regard de l'appareil photo.

The players, clockwise from the dealer: (seat 1) Scott Seiver, (2) Eric Blair, (3) Tim West, (4) Bryan Paris, (5) Randy Dorfman, (6) Brandon Crawford, (7) Eddy Sabat, (8) Michael DiVita, (9) Kido Pham.



After his elimination in Level 14, Phil Hellmuth agrees to summarize his tournament for the WPT cameras. Hellmuth said he took a big hit to his stack early in the day when a player moved all in with king-queen, and Hellmuth called with pocket queens -- but a king hit the board. He then stayed afloat with a short stack for another three hours or so before moving all in with [10d10s]. Chad Batista called with [Ad10c], putting Hellmuth at risk of elimination for the first time in this tournament. An ace hit the turn to end Hellmuth's day.


Alors que le terrain approchait de la bulle monétaire, Allen Cunningham (à gauche) emmêlé dans quelques spots avec Jason Dewitt (premier plan, à droite).


David « fait cuire » le boulanger had a good day, moving up from 23rd position at the start of the day to finish fourth in chips with 702,000.


Daniel Alaei, trop souvent négligé comme l'un des meilleurs joueurs du monde, mise sur la rivière pour remporter un pot alors que le secteur se rapproche de la bulle monétaire.


Darryll Poisson (à gauche) regarde vers le bas David Baker (foreground, right) on the money bubble. Like Baker, Fish had a strong Day 3, à partir de 78th position but finishing eighth in chips.


Once hand-for-hand play began on the money bubble, every big hand attracted a crowd hoping to see someone (else) eliminated. Here, with the board showing [AdJs7cQh9h], Jason Dewitt (au premier plan, à droite) miser sur Allen Cunningham (gauche). Cunningham a fait un tank pendant plusieurs minutes, et TD Matt Savage (standing, center) eventually called the clock. Cunningham called the bet, but mucked when he saw Dewitt's [AsJd] (two pair). This pot moved Dewitt into the lead with more than 1,000,000 en chips.


Amir Lehavot reraised all in preflop for 23 big blinds, and a big crowd gathered as Michael DiVita pondered whether or not he would call. Après réflexion, DiVita a demandé à Lehavot : "Est-ce que quelqu'un t'a déjà dit que tu ressemblais à Homer Simpson ?" DiVita then added, "Well, Mr. Simpson, I'll call." DiVita had [9h9s] to Lehavot's [AdKh], and short stack Lehavot caught an ace on the river to win the race and double up in chips -- extending the money bubble even further.


Le Amir Lehavot Ressemble-t-il à Homer Simpson ? Soyez le juge.


Ancien champion des WSOP et vainqueur du WPT Joe Hachem (center) can't bear to look at the river card even though he is a heavy favorite to double up. Hachem was all in preflop with [AcAs] against the [10h9h] de Jason Senti (foreground, left). But Senti flopped a gutshot straight draw and turned an open-ended draw. Hachem covered his face before the river card came out, but his aces held up on the board of [KdJd4s8h3c].


Alors que la bulle monétaire s'éternisait, le tapis le plus court de la salle appartenait à Ted Jivkov. According to players at his table, he tightened up so much that he folded pocket queens preflop in an attempt to reach the money. Jivkov eventually left the room without explanation and started missing hands, leading the other players to wonder if he was planning to come back. His stack was down to 17,000, which was less than three big blinds.


Enfin, dans le 19th hand of the money bubble, Hoyt Corkins (à gauche) a été refroidi avec [QcQs] contre le [KcKh] de Mike Semeurs (right). The best hand held up on a board of [Js8d5s4s6h], and two-time WPT winner Hoyt Corkins was the unfortunate bubble boy, ending Day 3. L'autre 63 players are now guaranteed at least $22,230, with their collective eyes on the first prize of $1.65 millions.

Ted Jivkov, le joueur mentionné plus tôt qui a apparemment abandonné sa pile de jetons, est arrivé peu de temps après la fin du jeu. Jivkov a expliqué à sa table qu'il était descendu chercher une chambre ici au Commerce, en disant : "Que j'aie gagné de l'argent ou non, je savais que je dormais ici ce soir." Jivkov peut désormais mieux dormir, sachant qu'il a terminé dans l'argent.


As the surviving 63 players bagged and tagged their chips, Lauren Kling gave a quick interview to the WPT crew. Kling has now played in five open WPT events -- and cashed in three of them. Kling is hoping to improve on her previous best WPT finish (14th) and make the televised final table.


Jour 4 commence lundi à 1:30 16 h 00 HP. Revenez sur WorldPokerTour.com pour une couverture continue en direct, y compris des mises à jour des mains, des décomptes fréquents de jetons, des interviews vidéo avec Kimberly Lansing et un autre épisode de "The Jess & BJ Show".

It took two hours and about 20 hands, but the money bubble finally burst, bringing Day 3 jusqu'à la fin avec 63 joueurs. 

The chipleader appears to be Jason Dewitt with 1,023,000, followed closely by Richard Toth with 993,000. The full list should be released by the casino soon. 

Le jeu reprend demain à 1:30 pm PT, giving the players a little extra time to compensate for the late finish. Return to WPT.com later tonight for official chip counts and a photo recap of the day's action.

On the final hand of play Hoyt Corkins gets it all-in holding [QcQs] to Mike Sowers' [KcKh].  The board runs out [Js8d5s4s6h] and Sowers' kings hold to eliminate Corkins' in 64th place andbring Day 3 jouer jusqu'à la fin.

Allen Cunningham raises from late position and the big blind moves all-in for his last 29,000.  Cunningham calls with [Ks7s] and the other player shows [AcAh].

The aces hold as the board runs out [JsJd8c2dQd] and the short stack doubles up while Cunningham drops to 375,000. 

Joe Hachem relance à 15,000 on the cutoff.  James Carroll is in the small blind and eyeballs Hachem's remaining 150,000 or so before announcing he is all-in.  Ryan Welch is in the big blind with around 60,000 and folds and Hachem quickly folds as well.

Carroll nonchalantly flips up [4d8d], much to the delight of his tablemates.

"Oh mon pote, je t'aurais mis dans un si mauvais état", lui dit Hachem. "J'avais aussi un huit." 

Dan Heimiller relance à 17,000 and Phillippe Ktorza reraises to 50,000 behind him.  Heimiller then moves all-in, having Ktorza's emaining 145,000 couvert.

Ktorza goes in the tank for nearly five minutes before callinf with [JhJs].  He is racing with Heimiller's [KhQs].

Le [Qh5h2s] flop pairs Heimiller's queen, but the [Jd] on the turn give Ktorza one of his two outs.  The river is an [8c] and Ktorza doubles up.  Hand-for-hand play continues.

Phillipe Ktorza - 410,000
Dan Heimiller - 430,000

Shannon Shorr (left) studies the board before betting the river in a pot on the money bubble. His opponent would eventually fold, and Shorr took the pot.

Allen Cunningham (à l'extrême gauche) contemple un pari à la river de Jason Dewitt (far right) on a board of [AdJs7cQh9h]. Cunningham eventually called, but mucked after he saw Dewitt's [AsJd] (two pair).


A short-stacked player (far right) doubles up with [AhKh] all in preflop against the [As6[s] de Tim Ouest (far left). The money bubble continues ...

Shannon Shorr opens for a raise and Daniel Alaei moves all-in for an additional 64,000.  Shorr gets a count before telling Alaei, "I have to call."

SHorr shows [4d4c] and he is racing with Alaei's [Ac10c].  The [KhQc2c] flop draws a mix of gasps and laughs as Alaei flops a straight and flush draw.

Le tour est le [3c] and Alaei secures the double up.  After the [3h] on the river, Shorr pays up and Alaei rakes in the pot.

Daniel Alaei - 165,000
Shannon Shorr- 700,000

After a series of raises, the short stack in seat 3 fait tapis pour 141,000 more and Michael DiVita goes into the tank.

DiVita is clearly on the fence and starts to mumble, "You know how they say, what would Jesus do? I'm thinking, what would Mizrachi do?" (Referring to Michael Mizrachi, sitting at the same table.)

Joe DeNiro quips, "He would have beat the raiser in the pot!"

Everyone gets a laugh and Divita stares at his opponent. "Did anyone ever tell you that you look like Homer Simpson? Well, Mr. Simpson, I'll call", says DiVita as he pushes his chips in the center.

Places assises 2 shows [AdKh] and Darryll Fish yells, "D'oh", as DiVita turns over [9s9h].

Le conseil vient [Js10s4d2cAs], giving Seat 3 top pair on the river. DiVita just shakes his head as he ships a third of his chips accross the table. One of the former chipleaders, DiVita is now down to just 300,000.

Michael DiVita - 300,000

Après une relance de Jason Senti under the gun, Joe Hachem fait tapis pour 54,000 de la coupure. Senti appelle et montre [10h9h] et il aura besoin d'aide contre [AsAc] d'Hachem.

Le plateau arrive [KdJd4s8h3c], les as de Hachem tiennent et il double jusqu'à 120,000. 

Joe Hachem - 120,000
Jason Senti - 420,000

Les joueurs reviennent de la pause pour commencer le niveau 18, avec des niveaux accrus de 3,000-6,000 et 1,000 avant. Avec 64 joueurs restants, le stack moyen est d'environ 320,000.

Play will continue until the money bubble bursts with the next elimination. The top 63 les joueurs sont assurés de gagner au moins $22,230.

Shannon Shorr raises from early position to 12,000, un joueur en position intermédiaire relance à 29,000, and Shorr calls. Both players check to the turn on a board of [Ah5s3s2s], Shorr bets 38,000, et son adversaire appelle. 

The river card is the [Qd], and Shorr thinks for a while before he bets 92,000, and his opponent folds. Shannon Shorr takes the pot. 

Shannon Shorr -  800,000

On a board of [AdJs7cQh], Jason Dewitt bets 39,000 from the small blind and Allen Cunningham calls. 

La rivière est la [9h], Dewitt bets 87,000 which sends Cunningham into the tank. After nearly ten minutes of thought, Tournament Director Matt Savage lets Cunningham know that he has one minute to act on his hand. Cunningham immediately calls, and Dewitt shows [AsJd] for two pair to take the pot et franchir la barre du million de jetons. 

Jason Dewitt - 1,010,000
Allen Cunningham - 460,000

Nick Rampone raises to 12,000 from early position and Michael Mizrachi reraises to 32,000 on the button.  Michael DiVita is in the big blind and calls, while Rampone folds.

Le flop tombe [Qs10d3c] and DiVita checks.  Mizrachi bets 26,000 and DiVita cringes and starts to think.

"Please don't be suicidal," DiVita tells Mizrachi.  "I'd be sad if you were the bubble boy." 

DiVita thinks a little while longer and calls.  The turn brings the [5c] and DiVita checks.  Mizrachi thinks about his options and DiVita again suggests that betting might not be his best option.  He offers to show Mizrachi his hand if Mizrachi folds.

"Hey, I don't know if I want to give you a free card," Mizrachi tells him with a grin.  After a little more thought, Mizrachi checks behind.

La rivière est la [5d] and both players check.  DiVita shows [Ad10c] for tens and fives and Mizrachi mucks his cards, wuietly telling himself, "Oh, I should have bet."

Michael DiVita - 430,000
Michel Mizrachi - 65,000 

Chipleader Richard Toth still leads the field with nearly 1,000,000 en chips.







Carlos Mortensen (à gauche) et Bryan Paris wait for the preflop action to reach them. Mortensen's chip-stack sculpture has increased in size since we last saw it.







Allen Cunningham regarde vers le bas Jason DeWitt (premier plan, à droite) dans un pot pendant le niveau 16.

Another player was just eliminated, leaving 64 players in a field where only 63 get paid. The tournament clock has been paused with about 25 minutes left in the level, and once all the tables have concluded their current hands, action will continue hand-for-hand until one more player is eliminated.

Grâce à 40,000 dans le pot et le tableau indiquant [Kd5d2h], Michael Mizrachi checks in the big blind, Nick Rampone bets 15,500 from late position, and Joe DeNiro folds on the button.  

Mizrachi calls and the turn brings the [3h].  Both players check.  The river is the [As] and Mizrachi moves all-in for his last 60,000 or so.  That elicits a quick fold from Rampone and Mizrachi takes the pot.

Michel Mizrachi - 130,000
Nick Rampone - 373,000 

David "Bakes" Baker raises from middle position to 11,500, and the woman in the big blind calls. The flop comes [7d6h3d], the big blind checks, Baker bets 14,500, et le big blind check-raise à 49,000. Baker moves all in, and she quickly calls with [9d8d] for an open-ended straight draw with a flush draw. Baker turns over [7s6d] pour deux paires. 

The turn is the [Kd], and the big blind quietly celebrates with a fist pump as she catches her diamond flush to take the lead. But a few seconds later, the dealer puts out the [6c] on the river, and now it's Baker's turn to celebrate as he wins the pot with a full house, sixes full of sevens. 

With this woman's elimination, there are now 65 players remaining in the field, two spots'éloigne de l'argent.

David "Bakes" Boulanger -  675,000