September 18, 2005

It's time for the second and final match in Group B. Let's see what happened last week -

Scotty Nguyen - 10
Kathy Liebert - 7
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Chau Giang - 4
Mimi Tran - 0

If you remember from 2 weeks ago, the road is much easier for Scotty and Kathy than it is for Chau and Mimi. But if you also remember from 2 weeks ago, Todd Brunson was in last - and he wound up getting into the Quarterfinals. Can Mimi or Chau do the same?

Hand #1 - Chau raises with 5 ? 3 ? junk. Everyone else folds and the junk wins the hand.

Hand #2 - Tran raises with 10 ? 8 ?...not exactly junk, but not great. Everyone else folds anyway and Mimi wins the blinds.

Hand #3 - Nguyen raises with Q ? 10 ?, so the hands are getting better. Kathy's hand is better too, and she calls with a K ? Q ?. The Flop - A ? 8 ? 5 ?. Scotty, with nothing, bets, and Kathy, who also has nothing, folds, giving Nguyen his first winning hand in the show.

Hand #4 - Liebert has an A/4 ? and raises. Tran, with a 9/8 ?, goes over the top and goes all-in. Liebert, who knows that in order for Tran to advance, she has to be eliminated first, folds and Mimi moves up to second place on the chip count.

Hand #5 - Giang has 21 (Black Jacks) and raises to 95,000. No one else wants to play and Giang grabs the blinds.

Hand #6 - Giang has more hot hands - this time it's Vowels (A ? A ?). This time, he limps in and hopes to get a player. He gets two in Scotty (Q ? J ?) and Mimi (9 ? 8 ?). The Flop is a 3 ? K ? 5 ?. Chau bets and everyone folds. At least Chau got a little more than the blinds this time - but not much more.

Hand #7 - This time Chau has a Q/4 ? and raises. Liebert has 9's (? and ?) and she limps in. We get a 10 ? 9 ? A ? on the Flop and Kathy has Trip 9's. She bets $150,000 into it and Chau folds. Kathy shows the 9's and Chau, who is talking to himself, drops to the short stack. That's no good for Mimi, as she needs to see Chau eliminated second, not first.

Hand #8 - Scotty raises with a 10/3 ?, hoping to steal a blind. Kathy tells him to take it - and he does.

Hand #9 - Kathy is actually looking to play - but she can't find a good hand. That allows Mimi to grab the pot.

Hand #10 - Mimi goes all-in with a...8 ? 6 ?? This AFTER Kathy folds? Well the strategy is that Scotty can't be eliminated first, and he knows it, so he folds. Tran is now only 30,000 behind Liebert, and the goal is to get more chips so she can all-in Kathy and knock her out.

Hand #11 - Tran goes All-in again with a 7/6 ?. Everyone else folds and Tran is now the chip leader.

Hand #12 - Tran is all-in again with a 9/7 ?. This time, Kathy has an A/J ? Uh-oh. This time, Mimi has more chips, so if she goes all-in and loses, Mimi gets what she needs. Kathy knows this and folds, and you can see the frustration on Mimi's face.

Hand #13 - Tran is all-in again with a 7 ? 3 ?? She's trying to grab some more blinds to increase her stack, but this time, Kathy calls - and with a J ? J ?. Tran looks like she has her hand caught in the cookie jar, but a Flop of 5 ? 4 ? 2 ? gives Tran an open ended straight, with Mimi needing an Ace or a 6 to eliminate Kathy. The turn...K ?, is no help for Mimi, and the River...3 ?. Kathy avoids a major bullet and doubles up, while Mimi is now severely crippled.

Hand #14 - Giang has Jacks (? ?) and he decides to go all-in. Everyone else realizes their position, and they can't lose chips to Chau, so they all fold. Chau curses everyone out, as once again, he can't get any action.

Hand #15 - Liebert limps in with a Q/2 ?. Scotty, with a Q ? 3 ?. calls. Mimi goes all-in with a J ? 6 ? so she goes over the top and all-in with the little amount of chips that she has left. The Flop (9 ? 4 ? 8 ?) helps no one, but a Q ? on the Turn gives Scotty and Kathy both pairs. Kathy decides to go all-in and Scotty, knowing that Kathy has him covered, has no choice but to fold. Mimi needs a 10 on the River, which is...a 5 ?. Mimi is eliminated from both the match and the Tournament.

Hand #16 - Scotty is in the tournament. Chau is only in if he wins the tournament - or if Kathy is knocked out now. With the pressure off Scotty, it's time for him to start pounding on the blinds. Scotty goes all in with a 9/6 off-suit. Kathy has a 7/4 off-suit and she isn't thinking about calling with her trash.

Hand #17 - No it's Liebert's turn to play all-in with a A ? 7 ?. Scotty has a K ? 9 ?, but he is very covered on a 4-1 ratio by Kathy. Scotty folds and Kathy takes more blinds.

Hand #18 - This time Scotty has something good - a A ? J ?. He goes all-in and Kathy, with a 9 ? 6 ?, decides to call him. The Flop - Q ? Q ? 10 ?. Kathy is still leading, but a King gives Scotty a straight. a 6 ? on the River, however, gives Kathy a pair of 6's, and Scotty is now trailing. He needs a Jack, an Ace or a King, and gets...a 7 ?. Scotty is out, though he will be advancing to the Quarterfinals.

Who will be joining him? The person who wins between Chau and Kathy. Liebert is up 2,070,000 to 1,030,000. Who's going to win?

Hand #19 - Liebert has a Q ? 9 ? and limps in. Chau has a nice A/10 ? and goes all-in. Kathy can't call with that and Chau wins the blinds.

Hand #20 - Now it's Giang that limps in with a J ? 9 ?. Liebert limps as well with a 10 ? 4 ?. The Flop - K ? 5 ? 4 ?. Kathy pairs her 4's and bets. Giang doesn't want to play and folds. Kathy takes the blinds back.

Hand #21 - Liebert goes all-in with a A/8 ?. Giang, with a Q ? J ?, folds and Kathy wins the pot. Kathy is back to an over 3-1 edge.

Hand #22 - Giang folds out an 8/5 off-suit, not even waiting to see Kathy's K/4 ?.

Hand #23 - Liebert limps in with a Q ? 10 ?. Giang calls with a 8 ? 3 ?. The Flop is a 10 ? 7 ? 3 ? and both people catch part of the Flop - Chau gets the 3's and Kathy gets the 10's. Chau goes all-in and Kathy calls. The Turn is a 2 ? and Chau needs an 8 or a 3 or the match is over. The River...Q ?. Kathy has Queens and Tens and she moves into the Quarterfinals.

FInal Standings -

Kathy Liebert - 17
Scotty Nguyen - 14
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Chau Giang - 11
Mimi Tran - 0

Unlike Group A, where we had a surprise winner, this time things happen as planned, where the top 2 people advance. What's going to happen Next Week, when we see the first set of matches between Ted Forrest, Freddie Deeb, Cyndy Violette and Eli Elezra? Join us in 7 days to find out.