July 31, 2005

Starting tonight, this is the last set of matches until the post-season. This will also be the last set of matches for 8 people in the field. Tonight could also be the last match for someone - or someones. Let's see who the 6 people playing are and whether it could be anyone's last match.

David Grey - It won't be his last match. He has 30 points and is a lock for the post-season.

Ted Forrest - He doesn't have to worry either - his 30 also guarantees him for post-season play.

Dewey Tomko - he doesn't have to worry - as long as we doesn't finish in the bottom 2. He has 21, and 4th place would guarantee him a chance to play again.

Doyle Brunson - A bad showing here could be the end of Brunson. He needs to finish in the top half in order to guarantee him more playing time.

Bobby Hoff - It gets very serious here. Hoff needs to win to guarantee himself the post-season. He can come in second too, but he would need a lot of help form other sources. ANything less than second, and it's bye-bye. Hoff.

Tommy Wang - You see the critique for Hoff? As Wang has the same number of points as Hoff (12), that also applies to him. Come in the first 2 spots or it's adios, amigo.

Hand #1 - With 2 people who have to win this, this match ought to be fun. Hoff is one of those two people, and he raises with 7 ? 6 ?. Wha? Brunson, with a much more manageable Q/10 ?, calls. The Flop - 10 ? K ? 3 ?. Hoff raises, but doesn't know that Brunson has mid pair. Brunson doesn't know that Hoff is bluffing, so Brunson folds and Hoff gets the first win of the match.

Hand #2 - Tomko folds with an Ace - and he is obviously playing just to get points. Grey, who doesn't need to do that (as he is in with 30), has an A ? Q ? and Forrest, who can also play loose (since he also has 30 points), with his J/9 ?, stays in. Wang, with a diamond Big Slick (A/K), goes all-in. Everyone else ducks for cover, and Wang, like Hoff, wins a pot.

Hand #3 - Grey has a spaded Big Slick and raises. Brunson has pretty ladies (Q ? Q ?) and forces Grey to go all-in if he wants to play. Grey calls and it's shoot-out time. The Flop - 9 ? 8 ? 2 ?. The Turn is a 6 ? and the River is a 4 ?. Grey leaves with no points, which isn't a big deal, as he was already in. Tomko is also happy, because he gets points that he needs, while Brunson moves into the lead.

Hand #4 - The smart move for Doyle is to lay back and collect points. We'll see if he does that as Forrest limps in with red 3's. Wang limps in with a 4 ? 2 ? and Hoff calls with a 8 ? 7 ?. The Flop has a K h' 8 ? 10 ? . Everyone checks that as a J ? comes off on the turn. The river - a 3 ? and that gives Forrest a set of 3's. Wang, who goes for a bluff, bets. Forrest raises it up big time and Wang lets Forrest have the pot. Forrest shows off his set, to boot.

Hand #5 - Everyone folds to Wang, who limps in with a Q ? 10 ?. Tomko limps in as well to see s 10 ? 4 ? 5 ? on the Flop. A 9 ? gives Tomko a straight draw as well as a flush draw, but Wang pairs the 10's. Tomko bets and Wang goes over the top to force Tomko to go all-in. He doesn't, and Wang collects many chips, which makes him the new leader.

Hand #6 - Hoff raises with a A/6 ?. Tomko goes over the top with a A ? K ?. Hoff calls and has Tomko covered. The Flop is a 2 ? Q ? 6 ?. The turn is an 8 ? and Dewey has a club flush draw. The river is... a 2 ? and Tomko is out in 5th. That could be enough for Tomko to make the play-offs, but it's not a lock yet and he could have really used some more points.

Hand #7 - Wang sneaks in a little raise with a K/9 ?. Hoff goes over the top with a A/4 ?. That would trump Wang's flush should he decide to call, but Wang doesn't. Hoff takes the pot and moves into the chip lead.

Hand #8 - Hoff raises with a Q ? 3 ? and it's now Wang who goes all-in. Hoff folds out and with the blinds, Wang retakes the lead.

Hand #9 - Forrest goes all-in with a A ? 2 ?. Brunson has a K ? Q ? and calls it from the small blind. The Flop is a 9 ? 4 ? 2 ? and Forrest has the lead with deuces. The J ? is on the turn an the 8 ? is on the river, giving Forrest a flush. Brunson is disgusted, as the cards don't allow him to eliminate Forrest, who gets to double up. Brunson falls to the short stack.

Hand #10 - Everyone folds to Forrest, who has pocket Jacks. 'That happens to me every time everyone else folds.' Heh.

Hand #11 - Forrest goes all-in again with an A ? 9 ?. Hoff, who would be going all-in instead with a call, calls him with a A ? K ? Big Slick. The Flop is a 3 ? 8 ? 10 ?. The Flop is a 10 ? and the River is a 10 ?, which does no good to Forrest. It's now Hoff who doubles up and grabs the chip lead.

Hand #12 - A short-stacked Brunson goes all-in with a A ? 6 ?. Wang decides to call it with a 8 ? and a 5 ?. The Flop is Q ? 7 ? A ?. The Turn is a Q ? and Brunson stays alive, as Aces and Queens is better than what Wang can do on the River. Brunson stays alive in the match, and possibly the tournament.

Hand #13 - Everyone folds to Hoff, with a Q ? 2 ?. It's not that important, except that the blind collection makes him the new chip leader. By picking up Forrest's blinds, it also makes Forrest the short stack.

Hand #14 - Brunson decides to go all-in with a A ? J ?. Forrest calls with his 9's, which makes Forrest go all-in. The Flop has...a K ? K ? A ? and that's a huge Flop for Brunson. The Turn is a 8 ?, which means that Forrest needs a 9. The River....9?!!!! Forrest stays alive and Brunson is seriously crippled.

Hand #15 - Brunson has to go all-in with whatever he has, which is a Q/8 ?. Forrest goes all-in with a K/10 ?. The Flop - a J ? A ? 2 ?. The turn is a 7 ? and Brunson needs an 8. The River...2 ?. Like Tomko, Brunson takes points, but not enough to solidify a post-season slot. Brunson needs Forrest to win the Match, as that would knock out both Hoff and Wang from contention and put both Brunson and Tomko in at the same time.

Hand #16 - Hoff goes all-in with a A ? 3 ?. Forrest will answer the call with a A ? 9 ?. A 9 ? 10 ? J ? greets both people, which gives Forrest a pair. A q ? gives both people a straight draw, and the River, an 8 ?, gives both people a split pot with a straight.

Hand #17 - It's Wang who goes all-in with a K ? 6 ? and Forrest calls with a 7 ? 7 ?. Wang can't finish in third place or he'll be out. The Flop is a A ? 5 ? 6 ?, which gives Wang a pair of 6's, but Forrest still has 7's. A 4 ? ensures that Wang needs a 6 to stick around, and a 2 ? ain't it. Wang is out in third place, and 5 points won't cut it. Wang is eliminated from post-season action. Wang says that this was the best that he has played all tournament (which he has), but this is a classic case of too little, too late.

Hand #18 - Hoff starts the hand with the chip lead. Forrest goes all-in with a A/4 ?. Hoff calls with a A ? 8 ?. The flop is a 7 h. 2 d. 6 ?. The turn..a 4 ?! An 8 or 5 finishes the match for Hoff, but a 9 ? gives Forrest the win and a huge chip lead - 1,090,000 to 410,000.

Hand #19 - Hoff goes all-in again with a K ? 3 ?. Forrest calls him with a A ? 4 ?. Back to another race...the Flop is a 10 ? J ? 7 ?. The turn is a 4 ? and Hoff needs a King. He doesn't get one on the River (9 ?) and Forrest makes Brunson and Tomko happy. It's good news for another Brunson, as well - Todd is now mathematically in the play-offs thanks to Forrest stopping Tomko and daddy Brunson from passing him.

Ted Forrest wins his third match and moves into a 3 way tie for first-placed points, while Hoff, though over the cut-off for now, really needs some crashing and burning if he wants to see another match. So who are the people who need to crash and burn to make Hoff happy?

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

* - Have played in 6 matches

Next week - more people need to play like their existence is riding on it - because it is. Join us in 7 days to see who could be having an out-of-body experience.