October 16, 2005

When we last left Group D, this is what we got -

Johnny Chan - 10
Mike Sexton - 7
------CUTOFF----------
David Sklansky - 4
Huck Seed - 0


Johnny advances by not finishing in last. Mike advances by making sure that David leaves before he does. David has to win the tournament, while Huck must win and make sure that Mike, David and Johnny leave in that exact order.


Hand #1 - Everyone folds to Big Blind Sklansky, who has...crap. Well, thanks for nothing.


Hand #2 - Chan raises with a K ? J ?, while everyone else folds.


Hand #3 - Chan has another nice hand - an A ? Q ?, and raises again. Once again, everyone folds to CHan, who actually shows his hand. Strategy...


Hand #4 - Everyone folds to Big Blind Chan. 2 Hands to a Big Blind Fold. We haven't seen a flop Yet.


Hand #5 - Will we see one here? Nope - everyone folds to Sklansky and his Big Blind.


Hand #6 - Sklansky calls with a 10/5 ? and Sexton gets a free look with a K ? 4 ?. The Flop -  5 ? Q ? 2 ?. No luck for Sexton, but Sklansky pairs the 5's and bets on it. Sexton folds and he drops to the low stack.


Hand #7 - Sexton has a hand though, with an A ? 5 ? and he calls. Seed, knowing that Sexton has to leave first for him to advance, goes All-In with... a 6/9 ?? A grumbling Sexton calls and thinks that he has the better hand. He does - and it gets better with a 5 ? 9 ? 2 ? on the Flop, but it opens up a straight draw. The Turn - a K ? is no good, but the River is a 6 ? and Seed pairs the 6's. Not only is Sexton out of the match, but he is out of the Tournament. Sexton is still grumbling as he leaves, but at least he knows that he had the better hand going in.


Hand #8 - With Sexton leaving, that cements Chan's position in the Next Round - so all 4 Top Seeds have moved on into the Round of 8. There is another Seed that wants to advance - and this time, it's Huck Seed, who goes all-in with a 9/6 ?. Sklansky does have a pair of black 5's, but he won't play those and he folds. That loss drops Sklansky to the short stack. 


Hand #9 - Chan now goes all in with 6's. Sklansky, who knows that he is next on both Chan and Seed's list, folds.


Hand #10 - Sklansky has the Big Blind. Seed goes all-in on him. Sklansky
folds.


Hand #11 - Sklansky now has 7's. He calls and Seed goes all-in with a 10 ? 7 ?. This time, Sklansky has a good hand and calls. The Flop - 4 ? c ? 9 ? and Seed, though trailing, can win the hand and eliminate Sklansky with an 8 or a 10 - which doesn't come on the Turn (2 ?) or River (5 ?). Sklansky doubles up on Seed and now Seed relinquishes the chip lead to Sklansky.


Hand #12 - Everyone folds to Big Blind Sklansky, who now has a nice chip
lead.


Hand #13 - Chan goes All-in with black 6's. Seed can't play, because he needs Sklansky out first. Sklansky can't play because he doesn't want to lose it. They all fold to Chan.


Hand #14 - Seed wants another tussle with Sklansky - and gets it with a 8 ? 5 ?. The only problem is that Sklansky has the better hand with a A ? 10 ?. The Flop - 2 ? 6 ? 7 ?, which doesn't give Seed the lead now, but he could win it with a 4 or 9 for a straight. He won't win it with a 2 ? 6 ? - which is what he gets - and Seed is out in third.


This means that Sklansky and Chan have both moved into the Elite 8. However, there are 2 things to play for here. #1 - $15,000 to the winner, and #2 - the more points you get here, the more chips you will get in the next round, so there's still plenty at stake here.
 

Hand #15 - Sklansky has a nice 2,050,000 to 1,000,000 chip lead on Chan. Sklansky looks to end this one early with a spaded Big Slick, but Chan wants none of it and folds.


Hand #16 - Sklansky folds to Chan, who wins the blinds. Regardless, he lost some stack thanks to the last hand and trails, 915,000 to 2,135,000.


Hand #17 - Chan (8/5 ?) and Sklansky (10 ? 9 ?) both limp in. The Flop - 8 ? Q ? 4 ?, helps Chan and he bets on it. Sklansky bails out and gives Chan the pot.


Hand #18 - Sklansky folds on the blinds and Chan wins again. He is still
under a million chips.


Hand #19 - Sklansky folds again to Chan. Booooorrrriiiing.


Hand #20 - Sklansky has a hand with an A ? 8 ? and goes All-In. Chan, despite having an A/10 ?, doesn't want to play.


Hand #21 - Chan limps in with a 10 ? 8 ?, while Sklansky has a 6/5 ?. The
Flop is a 2 ? 8 ? K ?. That gives Chan 8's , but he checks to Sklansky, who also checks. The Turn - a 5 ?, and now Sklansky is on the board with a pair, but they both check again.  The River is a 6 ? and Sklansky now has the best hand with 2 pair. Now, Chan bets at the River, but Sklansky calls and takes more chips from Chan.


Hand #22 - Sklansky has an A / Q ? and limps in. Chan has 8 high - which
isn't going to look any better with 2 queens on the flop. Sklansky bets and Chan gets out of the way.


Hand #23 - Chan has a J ? 9 ?, while Sklansky has a 9 ? 5 ?. The Flop features a 5 and a 4, while the Flop and the River don't help either person, They both check through and Sklansky takes more chips from Chan.


Hand #24 - Chan limps in with 9/2 ?. Sklansky checks with 5/2 ?. The Flop - 4 ? 10 ? 3 ?. Chan bets at it, but Sklansky, with an open straight draw, bets half of Chan's stack. Chan has no choice but to fold.


Hand #25 - Chan folds to Sklansky's blinds.


Hand #26 - Chan has a Q/10 ?. and limps in. Sklansky calls with a 7 ? 5 ?. The Flop - a 10 ? 8 ? 6 ?. That pairs Chan's 10's, but SKlansky now has an open ended straight draw  - which does not come into fruition, because the 8 ? and a 3 ? shows up on the Turn and River. Sklansky makes a bet at it, but Chan calls and wins the pot. The win brings Chan to...still under a million, thanks to Sklansky (who still has over 2 million) beating Chan in almost every other hand.


Hand #27 - Chan folds to Sklansky and his blinds again. This is why Chan  can't get over a million.


Hand #28 - Chan limps in with an 8/2 ?. Sklansky gets a free look with a 9 ? 6 ?. The Flop is a Q ? Q ? 10 ?, which helps no one, but a bet by Chan has Sklansky folding.


Hand #29 - Sklansky has a K ? 6 ? and raises to Chan's A ? 6 ?. Uh-oh. Chan calls, and we see a Flop of K ?, 8 ? 6 ?. That gives SKlansky 2 pair and he bets, while Chan, who has a small pair of 6's, calls. The Turn - a 5 ?, and Sklansky now bets half of Chan's remaining stack. That gets Chan to fold and Sklansky keeps eating chips.


Hand #30 - Chan folds again to Sklansky, who now can lose an All-In and still be the chip leader.


Hand #31 - Chan calls with a 5 ? 4 ?, while Sklansky does the same with a Q 8/?. The Flop - a A ? 6 ? 6 ?. The Turn is a 5 ? which pairs up Chan's 6's for 2 pair, while the River is a J ?. Everyone checks through and Chan finally wins a pot, but he's woefully down, 785,000 Vs. Sklansky's 2,265,000.


Hand #32 - We get more limping - Chan with a 9 ? 7 ?, and Sklansky with a K ? 2 ?. The Flop is a 10 ? 3 ? Q ? and Chan makes a bet at it. Though he has nothing, neither does Sklansky, and he folds to Chan.


Hand #33 - Sklansky finally has something - a K/J ? and limps in. Chan goes all-in with a A ? 8 ? and Sklansky calls. The Flop - J ? 9 ? K ? and Sklansky gets 2 pair. The Turn - a 6 ? and Chan has a flush draw. The River...8 ? and Sklansky wins the match. Chan is safely in as well.


Final Standings here -


Johnny Chan - 17
David Sklansky - 14
------CUTOFF----------
Mike Sexton - 7
Huck Seed - 4


Next Week  - we have 8 people left, which means that it's time to get into
Quarterfinal Action. Join us in 7 days to see Group A of the Quarterfinals.