Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open

Par BJ Nemeth

The poker room at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino is split into two levels, and the tournament is starting out on the upper level while cash games continue below. There were 125 players who started on Day 1A =


L'analyste du WPT Raw Deal, Tony Dunst, est flanqué des Royal Flush Girls Brittany Bell et Jeannie Duffy, ainsi que de la TD Jessica Hudson, alors qu'il accueille les joueurs à l'événement.


Matt Stout (seat 10, far right) arrived near the end of the first level, and found himself seated at the toughest table in the room with players like Corey Burbick (seat 2, not pictured), Matt Waxman (seat 4, far left), Jesse Cohen (seat 5), Noah Schwartz (seat 6), and Christian Harder (seat 7). They called it the late-reg table, filled with the types of top players who don't show up early for WPT events.


WPT Champions Club member Rhynie Campbell played his first WPT tournament since last season's event here at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino, probably because the south Florida location is a short flight away from his home country of Turks & Caicos, in the Caribbean.


WPT Raw Deal analyst Tony Dunst (left) also provides live commentary on the WPT Final Table Live Stream. On Day 1A, he was seated next to Season VI WPT Player of the Year, Jonathan Little. In addition to two WPT titles and more than $4.7 million in career earnings, Little won the Seminole Hard Rock's $1,100 prelim event the night before.


Will Failla, the current points leader in the WPT Player of the Year race, took his seat during Level 3. His arrival prompted Matt Stout to say, "Will Failla walks in and the room instantly becomes 100 decibels louder. Not just his voice, but everyone else talking louder to compensate."


Matt O'Donnell was the early chipleader on Day 1A, tripling his starting chip stack in the first four levels to 91,000.


Last summer, Shaun Deeb (center left) backed his grandmother Ellen Deeb (center) into the WSOP Main Event. She was 91 years old, and had been playing poker since she was a child. Ellen came down to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino to sweat her poker-playing grandson on Day 1A.

When Shaun introduced his grandmother to the players at his table, he told them he backed her into the WSOP Main Event. Somebody asked her how well she did, and she just soured her face and shook her head to indicate she didn't do too well.

Shaun a souri et a déclaré : "Elle joue comme je le fais dans les tournois live."


Jeff Forrest, membre du WPT Champions Club, peut être vu au-dessus du logo du Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open.


Vitor Coelho (à gauche) vit à Tampa et a été finaliste du plus récent événement WPT ici en Floride lorsqu'il a terminé deuxième au WPT Jacksonville en novembre. Jason Mercier (à droite) est souvent cité comme l'un des meilleurs joueurs de poker au monde et est originaire de cette partie du sud de la Floride.

Mercier finished the day third in chips, with 176,400, while Coelho survived with 50,100.


Will Failla (assis, à gauche) est plus intéressé par les Royal Flush Girls Jeannie Duffy (au centre) et Brittany Bell (à droite) que par l'action à sa table.


At the end of the day, there were only two players with more than 200,000 in chips, and they were seated right next to each other. Ely Levy (left) finished with 218,500, while Uri Kadosh eliminated a player on the second-to-last hand to finish with 275,500.



Jour 1A came to an end after 10 niveaux avec 48 joueurs. Voici un aperçu du haut du classement :

1. Uri Kadosh -   275,500
2.  Ely Levy  -   218,550
3.  Jason Mercier   -   176,400
4.  Omar Sider  -   170,600
5.  Nick Avera  -   133,200

Jour 1B begins Saturday at 12:00 noon ET, when some players take their first shot (and others their second) at making Tuesday's WPT Final Table. Return to WPT.com for continuing live coverage throughout the day.

Dans cet épisode du Jess and BJ Show, Jessica Welman et BJ Nemeth ont parié le Over/Under du bookmaker sur le nombre total de joueurs sur le terrain, récapitulatif de la journée 1Lors du Seminole Hard Rock Lucky Hearts Poker Open, découvrez la nouvelle application iPad du magazine WPT et répondez à la question « Quelle est votre chanson préférée de Heart ? »

It's an unofficial count, but Day 1A se termine par 50 players remaining, and an average chip stack of 75,000. These players will return to action on Sunday for Day 2.

Any players who busted today have the option of re-entering tomorrow on Day 1B. 

In addition, any players who survived today but are unhappy with their chip stack can forfeit their remaining chips and try again tomorrow. However, if they bust out tomorrow, they can't reclaim their forfeited Day 1A stack.

Revenez sur WPT.com demain matin pour le décompte officiel des jetons et un nouvel épisode de The Jess & BJ Show.

On the second-to-last hand of the night, a short-stacked player (a little less than 10,000) is all in preflop with [4s2s] against chipleader Uri Kadosh, who has [AcKd].

Le conseil vient [Kc6s4h9hAh], and Kadosh wins the pot with two pair, aces and kings, to eliminate the last player of the night.

Uri Kadosh -  275,500

Shannon Shorr relance à 2,300 from under the gun and Fred Goldberg reraises to 6,300 from the hijack.  Shorr calls and they go heads-up to a flop of [KcQhJs].  Shorr checks, Goldberg bets 6,500, et Shorr appelle.

Le tour amène le [5h] et les deux joueurs checkent. La rivière est la [6h] and Shorr checks again.  Goldberg bets 10,000 ad Shorr gives it quite a bit of thought before folding.

Fred Goldberg - 65,000
Shannon Shorr- 55,500

Shaun Deeb relance à 2,200 from under the gun and gets two callers.  A player in middle position reraises to 6,700 and the player behind him moves all-in for his last 1,700.  

Action folds back around to Deeb, who makes it 16,700 to go. Everyone else folds and Deeb picks up the side pot.

Deeb turns over [9h10h] and he is up against [Ad5s].  Deeb flops two pair on the [10s9d3h] board and stays out front as the turn comes [Qc] and the river the [2d].  The other player is eliminated and Deeb takes the main pot.

Shaun Deeb - 135,000

A player moves all in from early position for 7,300, and Shannon Shorr calls from middle position with [AhJc]. His opponent turns over [AsQc], and he's a favorite to double up.

Le conseil vient [10s9h5s7c5d], and the A-Q holds up to double thru Shannon Shorr.

Shannon Shorr -  64,000

Matt Giannetti relance à 2,100 in late position and Mohsin Charania reraises to 4,800 out of the small blind. Giannetti fires back, reraising to 10,100 total. Charania folds and Giannetti takes the pot.

Matt Giannetti - 49,000
Mohsin Charania - 77,000

Niveau 9 se termine et le niveau 10 commence avec des blinds augmentés de 500-1,000 et 100 ante. Le jeu continue sans interruption. 

This is the last level of the night. Any players who bust out today have the option of re-entering tomorrow for Day 1B.

Photo Shaun Deb

Avec le tableau montrant [Jh2c2dQs] on the turn and about 6,000 déjà dans le pot, Shaun Deeb checks the big blind, and his opponent bets from early position. Deeb check-raises it to a total of 10,000, et son adversaire relance à 22,200.

Deeb four-bets it to 65,000, which covers his opponent's remaining stack. His opponent thinks for a while before he folds, and Deeb flashes one card -- the [Kh] -- as he takes the pot.

Shaun Deeb -  125,000

Justin Zaki relance à 1,700 from middle position and Matt Waxman reraises to 4,200 and action folds to Christian Harder in the cutoff. Harder cold four-bets to 8,000 total and Zaki folds.  Waxman eyes Harder's stack and confirms he has around 24,000 derrière.

Après environ une minute de réflexion, Waxman annonce qu'il est all-in et Harder jette instantanément ses cartes dans la boue.

Matt Waxman - 90,000
Christian Harder - 24,000

Jesse Cohen moves all in from early position for 6,700, and Noah Schwartz calls from middle position. Everyone else folds, and Schwartz smiles and says, "I predict that a Jewish person will win this hand."

Cohen shows [Ad6s], but Schwartz is a favorite with [6d6h].

They pick up identical straight draws on the turn, but the board comes [Jh5d4h3d4d], and Schwartz wins the pot pour éliminer Cohen du tournoi.

Noé Schwartz -  54,000
Jesse Cohen -  Eliminé

Un joueur en position médiane relance à 2,100 et Matt Giannetti appelle. Le flop arrive [Jh10h7c] et le relanceur initial obtient 2,100. Giannetti relance à 6,000 au total, l'autre joueur se couche rapidement et Giannetti prend la pot.

Matt Giannetti - 56,500

Les joueurs reviennent de la pause pour commencer le niveau 9, avec des stores augmentés de 400-800 et 100 ante. L'horloge du tournoi indique 70 joueurs restants d'une journée 1Un champ de 125.

Players who bust out today will have the option to re-enter tomorrow on Day 1B.

L'action se terminera ce soir après le niveau 10, autour 11:45 après-midi.

Big stacks Matthew O'Donnell and Shaun Deeb are two of three players who see a flop of [6d5d5s].  O'Donnell bets 2,400 from the big blind, the player in middle position folds, and Deeb calls on the button.

Le tour est le [8s] and O'Donnell checks.  Deeb bets 6,050 and O'Donnell calls.  The river is the [9c] and O'Donnell checks again.  Deeb bets 26,575 and O'Donnell thinks for quite a while before laying it down.

Shaun Deeb - 95,000
Matthew O'Donnell - 108,000

Photo Shaun Deeb (au centre à gauche) discute avec sa grand-mère Ellen Deeb (au centre) entre les mains.

L'été dernier, Shaun Deeb a soutenu sa grand-mère Ellen Deeb dans le Main Event des WSOP. Elle était 91 ans à l'époque, ce qui fait d'elle la femme la plus âgée à avoir jamais participé à cet événement.

Ellen est venue au Seminole Hard Rock Casino pour faire transpirer son petit-fils joueur de poker ici le jour 1A.

Lorsque Shaun l'a présentée aux joueurs à sa table, il leur a dit qu'il l'avait soutenue pour le Main Event des WSOP. Quelqu'un lui a demandé comment elle s'en était sortie, et elle a juste fait un visage maussade et secoué la tête pour indiquer qu'elle n'avait pas très bien réussi. (Ellen Deeb a été éliminée au deuxième niveau lorsqu'elle a obtenu deux paires dans un set.)

Shaun a souri et a déclaré : "Elle joue comme je le fais dans les tournois live."

"We like flops," Christian Harder says of his table.  "We don't three-bet.  We just call and see flops."

This is the same table with a line-up of several notable names that have been duking it out all afternoon.  Rather than back off and stay out of each other's way though, this group is keen to play pot après pot with one another, including a stretch where the table saw eight flops in a row.

Avant de passer en revue l'action, jetons d'abord un coup d'œil à la composition qui a un peu changé depuis ce matin avec des joueurs comme Corey Burbick et Keith Ferrera qui se sont retirés et leurs sièges ont été remplis de nouveaux joueurs :

Places assises 1: joueur inconnu
Places assises 2: joueur inconnu
Places assises 3: Justin Zaki
Places assises 4: Matt Waxman
Places assises 5: Jesse Cohen
Places assises 6:Noah Schwartz
Places assises 7:Christian Harder
Places assises 8: joueur inconnu
Places assises 9: joueur inconnu
Places assises 10: Matt Stout

Main #1

First, Waxman raised to 1,200 from middle position, Noah Schwartz called behind him, and the player in the cutoff reraised to 4,400. The player on the button cold-called, Waxman folded, and Schwartz called, telling the dealer, "I'm thinking of a flop."

Le flop arrive [9d9c8h] and all three players check.  Schwartz checks when the turn brings the [Jc], the player in the cutoff bets 6,000, and both the player on the button and Schwartz fold, giving him the pot.

Main #2

Then Harder raised to 1,200 from middle position and the player in cutoff called.  Harder bet 1,525 sur le [8s7s4d] flop, which was good enough to take the pot.

Main #3

Harder decided  to keep the aggression going and raised to 1,200 the very next hand.  The same player from the previous hand called, as did the player in the small blind and Justin Zaki in the big blind.

Le flop est venu [7c4h4d] and the player in the small blind checked.  Zaki bet 2,500 and only the player in the hijack called.  The two players check it down as the turn brings the [Qs] and the river the [9h] and Zaki takes the pot avec [Ac7s] for two pair, sevens and fours.

Main #4

Un joueur en position médiane relance à 1,500, Stout calls, and the player on the button calls as well.  The flop comes [Jd8h6d] and action checks to the player on the button, who bets 3,600.  The initial raiser folds and Stout calls.  Both players check the [Kc] on the turn and the river brings the [Ac].  Stout checks, the player on the button bets 5,600 and Stout calls.

The other player shows [As9s] pour une paire d'as sur la rivière pour prendre le pot.

Main #5

Schwartz relance à 1,300 from under the gun, Harder calls behind him, and Zaki calls on the button.  The flop comes [Ac10s8d] and Schwartz checks.  Harder bets 2,100, Zaki calls, and Schwartz calls as well.

The trio checks it down as the turn brings the [5h] et la rivière la [5s].  When it comes time for showdown, everyone seems a little reluctant to turn over their cards.  Zaki turns over [Ad7d] for two pair, aces and fives, and takes the pot.

Main #6

Un joueur en position médiane relance à 1,400, Stout calls, Waxman calls on the button, and Schwartz defends.  The fop is [AdKh5c] and Schwartz and the initial raiser both check.  Stout bets 2,700, Waxman calls, Schwartz folds, and the initial raiser calls.

The action slows down after that and the players check around after the [As] on the turn and check again when the river brings the [10s].

The initial raiser shows [KdQd] fo two pair, aces and kings and takes the pot.  As he stacks his chips, the attention of the table turns to the NBA game between the New York Knicks and the LA Lakers.  Like the rest of the basketball world, they are fascinated by Jeremy Lin and are part of the "Linsanity" sweeping the nation.

Main #7


The player under the gun limps, then the player behind him raises to 1,500.  Harder is in the big blind and calls.  The limper calls as well.  The flop is [9c7c5d] and actions checks to the raiser, who bets 3,500.  The other two players fold and he takes the pot.

Main #8

Le joueur sous le coup de la menace relance à 1,500, a player in middle position calls, and Jesse Cohen reraises to 4,200 from the cutoff. Both of the other players call.

Le flop arrive [Jd9h8h] and action checks to Cohen, who moves all-in for his last 8,100.  The initial raiser quickly gets out of the way, but the third player in the hand needs an exact count and some time to think.

While that player deliberates and Cohen sits stone-faced and all-in, Jason Mercier pays a visit to the tabl to talk, you guessed it, NBA basketball.  Half the table is talking about tonights' games and the betting lines and almost don't notice the player fold and Cohen take the pot.

Main #9

Des augmentations plus dures 1,200 on the button, the player in the small blind calls, and the player in the big blind reraises to 4,000.  Harder gets out of the way, as does the player in the small blind, and, for the first time in nearly an orbit, someone takes down a pot sans voir de flop.