September 25, 2005

So far, both #1 seeds have made it through. In this round, we get Ted Forrest, Freddie Deeb, Cyndy Violette and Eli Elezra. As in the other 2 matches, each person gets a chip count based on where they finished. Let's see that chip count, please...

Ted Forrest - 1,000,000
Freddie Deeb - 825,000
Cyndy Violette - 650,000
Eli Elezra - 575,000

Hand #1 - Forrest, with the big stack, raises with crap. No one has anything to challenge him, so Forrest takes the blinds. This is what's known as 'pushing around' the little guys, so the strategy is good.

Hand #2 - This time Forrest has good stuff - a A ? 7 ?. He raises and Deeb re-raises with a...J ? 8 ?? He does and Forrest decides not to challenge him.

Hand #3 - Forrest raises again with a K ? 9 ?. Elezra has something better - A /7 ? - but just limps in. The flop is a 5 ? 9 ? Q ? and Forrest has flopped 9's. They both check to the Turn, which is a 3 ?. They both check again and we see a 5 ? on the River. Eli checks to Ted, who also checks. Ted wins the small pot with 9's and 5's.

Hand #4 - Elezra decides to play a Q ? 10 ? right into Forrest, who has a pair of 7's (? and ?). Forrest re-raises and Elezra folds. That's now 2 straight hands that Eli has contributed a bunch of chips to, and he's starting to be short-stacked.

Hand #5 - Forrest, once again with a decent hand (K ? 10 ?) raises once again. Eli has a A ? J ? and goes over the top and all-in. Forrest calls and we get our first race. The Flop - 6 ? 4 ? 8 ?, which is no help to anyone. The Turn is a 5 ? and Forrest now has a flush draw, but a 7 that's not a 7 will make a split pot. The River...7 ?, and we do have a split pot. Ted smiles, but Eli isn't looking too happy.

Hand #6 - Eli goes all-in once again with a A ? 10 ?. Deeb has a A/3 ? and doesn't want to play it, so Eli FINALLY wins a hand. He's still in last in chips, though.

Hand #7 - VIolette decides to limp in with a Q ? J ?. Eli calls with an A/4 ?. The Flop - a 5 ? J ? 8 ? and Cyndy has paired the Jacks. The Turn is a 7 ? and with a possible flush on the table, Cyndy decides to bet. Eli has nothing to he bails out and Cyndy wins a pot.

Hand #8 - The lady has ladies - Cyndy has a Q ? Q ? and raises. Ted goes all-in with s A ? 7 ? and Cyndy quickly calls. The Flop - 5 ? 7 ? Q ? and Cyndy has 3 Queens. The Turn is a K ? and it doesn't matter what the River is. Cyndy doubles all the way up to first place. Ted, with his hugs chip lead, is still in a comfortable second place.

Hand #9 - But Ted may be losing more of it as he goes all-in with an A ? 3 ?....or maybe not, as everyone else folds.

Hand #10 - Ted's got some nice power now - an A/Q ? makes him raise. A K ? J ? by Deeb makes him call. The Flop is a 6 ? J ? 4 ?, and Freddie pairs the Jacks. He bets and Ted folds.

Hand #11 - Ted limps in with a J/9 ? and Deeb will check with a 4 ? 3 ?. The Flop is a 10 ? 8 ? Q ? and Ted's made a straight. He bets and Freddie, with his 4/3 off-suit isn't going to stick around long in this hand.

Hand #12 - He'll stick around for an A ? 3 ? and raise. Eli, with an A ? 10 ? goes all-in. Freddie decides to call and doesn't like what he sees. The Flop - 9 ? 4 ? 4 ? and Eli keeps the lead, until a 9 ? shows up and with the 2 pair and both of them having Aces as kickers, it looks like another split pot. With a 10 ? on the River, it IS another split pot and Eli is beside himself.

Hand #13 - Eli goes all-in again with a K ? J ?, and Ted, with a A ? 7 ?, calls. The Flop - A ? 5 ? Q ?. Ted pairs the aces, and the 4 ? doesn't help Eli on the Turn. Eli needs a 10 to stick around and the river is...Q ?. Eli is the first person eliminated and he had a long road to hoe next week.

Hand #14 - Ted raises with a J ? 6 ? and Cyndy calls with a 10 ? 9 ?. The Flop - K ? 8 ? A ?. Neither person has anything, but Cyndy is the first person to bet. Hence, Ted folds.

Hand #15 - Ted raises with a K/6 ? and Cyndy, with 7's (? ?), calls. The Flop - K ? 6 ? 4 ? and Ted has 2 pair, but they both check. The turn is a 2 ? and Ted bets at it. Cyndy calls as we see the River - a Q ?. Ted has the best hand and Cyndy checks to Ted, who makes a nice bet. Cyndy calls and makes a huge error in judgement as she not only gives Ted the lead back, but she loses a huge chunk of her chips and is a very short stack.

Hand #16 - Ted goes all-in with a Q ? 5 ?. Freddie calls with a A ? J ?. Freddie has the lead going into the Flop, but a 9 ? 5 ? K ? gives Ted a pair of 5's. The Turn is a 7 ? which is no help to anyone. The River - a 10 ? and Freddie gets knocked out of the match. The good news for Cyndy is that she's guaranteed no less than second. The bad news is that she's trailing in chips 2,810,000 to 240,000

Hand #17 - Ted limps in with a K ? 5 ?. Cyndy limps in with a Q ? 3 ?. The Flop, a 10 ? Q ? 4 ?, and Cyndy pairs her Queens. Ted forces Cyndy all-in, and Cyndy gladly calls. The Turn is a J ? and the river is a 7 ?, neither of which helps Ted, so Cyndy doubles up. She'll need to do that 3 more times to take the lead.

Hand #18 - Ted has an 8/6 ? and goes all-in. Violette calls with a A ? 10 ? and here we go. The Flop - A ? 7 ? 4 ?. Cyndy has Aces, but Forrest has both a straight and a flush draw. The Turn is a 9 ? and Ted has more outs...but he doesn't find any of them with a 9 ? on the River. Cyndy doubles up again and now she needs to double up 2 more times to take the lead.

Hand #19 - Cyndy goes all-in again with a A ? 4 ? and Ted calls - this time with 6's. The Flop - 10 ? A ? 2 ? and Cyndy pairs the Aces. The Turn is a 2 ? and the match will continue as long as a 6 doesn't show up. The River - K ? and Cyndy doubles up yet again.

Hand #20 - Ted limps in with a J ? 9 ?. while Cyndy just checks the 9 ? 5 ?. The Flop - Q ? 2 ? 4 ? as Ted still has the lead, but Cyndy has a flush draw. They check to the Turn, which is a 7 ?. Cyndy has a flush, but Ted can get a higher one if a heart shows up on the River. Ted bets and Cyndy re-raises him. Ted folds and Cyndy is only 170,000 behind Ted.

Hand #21 - Cyndy raises with a K ? 9 ?. Ted has a A ? 10 ? and goes all-in. Cyndy, who now has chips, now folds and will try to find another time to take the lead.

Hand #22 - Ted goes all-in with 5's. Cyndy calls with 9's. The Flop - 2 ? K ? 4 ?, which helps no one. the Turn is a 3 ? and Ted can now make a straight with an Ace or a 6. The River....6 ?! Ted makes his straight, eliminates Cyndy and wins the Match.

Here's the quick standings after the first Match.

Ted Forrest - 10
Cyndy Violette - 7
------CUTOFF----------
Freddie Deeb - 4
Eli Elezra - 0

During Match #1, the guy with the goose egg snuck into the next round. During Match #2, the top two people advanced. Join us in 7 days to see how this one winds up.