July 17, 2005

Welcome all to the middle of series #5. We are at Match #19, and it's getting serious. Remember how we were talking about everyone being around the line? Well, tonight, no one has 20 points, which means that no one is safe.

Ted Forrest - Ted's the safest with 20. That being said, he still needs some points to be mathematically safe.

Dewey Tomko - At 16, he's sort of safe. A good win by him will make him completely safe.

Barry Greenstein - He's also at 16 points. More points from him will get him into the 20's and pretty much secure him a spot in the Top 16.

Doyle Brunson - He is only 1 point behind Tomko and Greenstein in 15. The only problem is that 15 right now is under the cut-off line. Brunson needs to get points now and not worry about win and get help for Match #6.

Tommy Wang - He has 12. The cut-off is 16. Wang can't be satisfied with anything less than a third placed finish and then another Top 3 finish in his last match.

Bobby Hoff - He's really not safe. At 5 points, he needs to come in first or second or he will be joining Moneymaker and Myung in the Suck Pond.


Hand #1 - This is what you call making a play. Hoff has pocket Queens. No one wants to give money to Hoff and everyone else folds off of his raise.

Hand #2 - Hoff has another pair - this time he has 7's. (? ?). Wang has a set of chips. 'I'm getting excited. This is my small blind for the next hand.' He folds and Hoff wins another pair. Like Moneymaker, the other players don't mind giving him blinds - they just don't want him to make a move at someone else's expense, as a huge win from him means trouble for someone at the table.

Hand #3 - Tomko raises with an A ? 4 ?. Everyone is playing very tight right now, and Tomko gets to win some blinds.

Hand #4 - Wang plays a little loose with a Q ? 8 ?. He picked a really bad time to do it because Greenstein goes all-in with Cowboys (? and ?). Wang gets out of the way and Greenstein wins a pot.

Hand #5 - We still have yet to see a flop. We may now as Wang goes all-in with a ..7 ? 4 ?? Wha? They all bail and Wang wins the pot. Wow. He still has some catch-up to do, as Greenstein, who took Wang's raise a few hands ago, it still the leader.

Hand #6 - Wang decides to raise with a J ? 10 ?. He's hoping that people will drop out, but Hoff goes over the top and goes all-in with a A/J ?. Wang folds and Hoff takes a nice pot. Wang, who

We see a profile on Hoff, who is nicknamed 'The Wizard' and who is supposedly one of the best money players around. He spoke about destroying fraternity card games in the 1960's with his play. Welcome to the big leagues and 2,000, Bobby.

Hand #7 - Hoff is starting to speed with a Q ? 5 ?. Everyone is respecting him right now and he's taking pots.

Hand #8 - Hoff does it again with an 8/6 ?. Eventually, Hoff is going to get caught by a better hand. It won't be this one, though, as Hoff collects more chips off of everyone else's folds. The aggressive play has given him the lead. Wang is still the short stack.

Hand #9 - Hoff raises, but this time he has something - an A ? Q ?. Wang, with a J/6 ?, goes all-in. Hoff calls and we FINALLY get a Flop AND a Showdown. That said Flop is a 4 ? 5 ? Q ?. Hoff pairs the queens and Wang is in deep trouble. The 3 ? ends the match and the 3 ? on the River is inconsequential. Wang takes a huge loss with no points. He could not afford that. and he has to win his last match AND get help.

Hand #10 - We finally hear from some new people. Forrest raises. Everyone folds. New people, same result. Forrest shows his cards and says that this was the best hand of the day. Everyone else chuckles.

Hand #11 - Forrest limps in again with a J ? 9 ?. Tomko limps in with a K ? 10 ?. The Flop has a 9 ? 3 ? 5 ?. Forrest pairs the 9's, but he has no clubs and he doesn't know if Tomko does. Forrest tests the waters with a $40,000 bet. Tomko has no clubs either, so he folds and Forrest wins his second straight pot.

Hand #12 - The short stack is now Greenstein, who has red Queens. He goes all-in with them. Forrest calls with an A ? 9 ?. The Flop, with a 3 ? K ? A ? and Greenstein talks about how he never wins with Queens. The 3 ? and the 8 ? come out on the Turn and River, and Greenstein is out, thanks to Forrest pairing up his aces. Greenstein comes in 5th with a point, and he is really on the bubble for his final match.

Hand #13 - Forrest and Brunson are complaining about their hands. Forrest won't complain with a K/5 ? and raises. Brunson and Tomko are both short stacked, but neither of them go in. Hoff does, with...both red Aces. This spells big time trouble for Forrest, but he folds without getting involved in Hoff's re-raise.

Hand #14 - With the blinds going up, Brunson goes all-in with A ? Q ?. Hoff has A ? Q ? and also goes all-in. Only a flush is going to mean anything, as Brunson has a 1% chance to win it outright and Hoff has a 2 % chance to win it outright. A 3 ? A ? 10 ? with no flush draw, gives both people a 0% chance to win it outright and they split the pot.

Hand #15 - Forrest goes all-in with a K/5 ?. Unfortunately, it's now Tomko with the Red Aces and he calls. The Flop is 10 ? 5 ? Q ?. Forrest has 5's and has a straight possibility. A 4 ? on the Turn gives Forrest more possibility to crack the aces, but a 3 ? on the River isn't any of those possibilities. Tomko doubles up, but that still keeps him in third and Forrest in second.

Hand #16 - Tomko goes all-in. Brunson does too. Neither person has looked at their hand. Tomko has... K ? 8 ?. Brunson has...6 ? 2 ?. Ick. a Flop of 6 ? 5 ? 7 ?, however, pairs Brunson's 6's and he's in the lead. An A ? on the Turn is good for Doyle, and a Q ? on the river gives Brunson the double-up in the dark. 'Sometimes, good things happen in the dark', says Tomko, who is now the short stack.

Hand #17 - Hoff raises with a Q/5 ?, right into Forrest's A ? 10 ?. Forrest calls, and we see a flop of K ? J ? 2 ?. That does nothing for either person, and the first bet should win this one. That comes from Hoff with $280,000. Forrest folds and Hoff takes the pot.

Hand #18 - Hoff now has more than Forrest, Tomko and Brunson combined. He looks to add to it with pocket 10's (? and ?). He goes all-in and Forrest folds, but Tomko is forced to call with a K ? 9 ?. The Flop gives Tomko the lead with a K ? J ?, 3 ?, An A ? gives Hoff a straight draw, meaning that Tomko doesn't want to see an Ace or a Queen. The River...a 4 ?, which doubles Tomko up and shrinks Hoff's lead a little.

Hand #19 - Hoff goes all-in again on pocket 5's (? and ?). Brunson has an A ? 6 ? and calls. The Flop - 2 ? 10 ? 3 ?. Unlike Forrest, Brunson isn't getting and help from that, the 2 ? on the Turn, or the 9 ? on the River. Brunson finishes in 4th and gets 3 important points for him. That moves him over the cut-off, which means that good play from him in the last match will get him into the post-season.

Hand #20 - Forrest goes all-in with a A ? 10 ?. Tomko calls with a A ? 3 ?. Hoff wants no part of that and folds. The flop is a K ? 5 ? 10 ? and Forrest pairs his 10's. The Turn is a K ? and Tomko can get a split - but not with a 4 ? on the River. Tomko is out in third place with 5 more points, but he's now over the 20 mark and is looking much better.

Hand #21 - Hoff is in great shape to win this match. Forrest limps in and Hoff checks. The Flop - a j ? K ? Q ?, matches Forrest's Queens (Q ? 5 ?) and he bets. Hoff (with an inside straight draw with his J ? 8 ?) folds. With the blind steal, it's now Forrest who has the lead and the upper hand.

Hand #22 - Forrest has Big Slick. Hoff bails.

Hand #23 - Hoff gets aggressive and now Forrest bails.

Hand #24 - Hoff tries to get aggressive with a 9 ? 7 ? and goes all-in. Forrest, with a A ? 5 ?, calls and catches Hoff with his hand in the cookie jar. The Flop - 4 ? 6 ? 7 ?, which gives Hoff the pair, but it gives Forrest a straight draw. It doesn't come on the turn (2 ?), but it does on the river (8 ?) and Forrest wins the match with a straight.

The good news for Hoff is that he finally got to have a good showing. The bad news it that he is almost going to have to win the last match to have a shot at advancing at the post-season. Who has the shots as we look at the standings now?


*40 - Kathy Liebert
*40 - Carlos Mortenson
*35 - David Sklansky
30 - Johnny Chan
*30 - David Grey
*30 - Ted Forrest
*26 - Todd Brunson
*23 - Cyndy Violette
22 - Freddie Deeb
*22 - Eli Elezra
*21 - Scotty Nguyen
*21 - Dewey Tomko
18 - Mimi Tran
*18 - Doyle Brunson
*18 - Mike Sexton
*17 - Barry Greenstein
-----CUTOFF-----
*16 - Mike Caro
14 - Chau Giang
*12 - Bobby Hoff
*12 - Tommy Wang
11 - Huck Seed
*7 - John Myung
6 - Antonio Esfandari
*5 - Chris Moneymaker

* - Have played in 5 matches

With Hoff's nice showing this week, that shows Esfandari and Giang that they can do the same. In order to have any shot at the post-season, they are going to have to. Join us in 7 days to see if they do.