October 23, 2005

We have seen some great action so far - and we still have the quarterfinal and semi-final matchups to go! This week, we start up Group 1, which features Ted Forrest, Kathy Liebert, Scotty Nguyen and Todd Brunson. As you all know, the people start off with chip amounts, based on what they have done in the Round of 16. The list -

Ted Forrest - 850,000
Kathy Liebert - 850,000
Scotty Nguyen - 700,000
Todd Brunson - 500,000

Remember when everything was double elimination? Not this time. This is SINGLE elimination - you lose now, you go home. The top 2 people in each group advances to the semifinals.

Hand #1 - Todd Brunson has Jacks (? and ?) and raises. Liebert has pocket 10's (? and c; and raises to 315,000. Nguyen has...Pocket Aces. Wow. Nguyen raises and goes all-in. Brunson, who is sensing that his Jacks may not be too good now with 2 other people going nuts behind him, lays it down. Liebert doesn't, and someone may be going home at the end of the first hand. The Flop - Q ? 4 ? 7 ?. The Turn is a 7 ? and Kathy needs a 10. She gets an A c; instead and Kathy is down to 150,000.

Hand #2 - Liebert goes All-In with a K ? 4 ? Nguyen looks to finish the job with a pair of red 9's. The Flop - A ? 2 ? 2 ?. The Turn - 6 ? and Kathy needs a King or a Spade. The River...4 c;. Kathy Liebert, in 2 hands, is out of the Tournament, leaving with $60,000. Ted comments that should Todd have called, this would have been a VERY short match. This still could be short - Todd only has 385,000 worth of chips left.

Hand #3 - Brunson decides to play with a A c; 9 ? and Forrest calls. The Flop - A ? 7 ? Q ?. Brunson pairs the aces and bets, while Forrest, who matched the bottom pair, calls. The Turn - a 4 ?, which helps no one. Brunson bets again. Forrest calls, and we go to the River - a Q c;. Brunson's a winner and bets on it, and Forrest pays him off. That adds some chips to his total, but he's still the short stack.

Hand #4 - Forrest calls with a K c; 4 ?, while Nguyen limps in with a 7 ? 2 ?. The Flop - Q ? 8 c; 7 ? and Nguyen pairs up the 7's. The Turn - Q ?. Nguyen now has 2 pair and bets. Forrest calls ...and wins with an 8 ? on the River, as Forrest has a nice kicker. Nguyen bets it and Forrest calls. He's back up to 825,000, but Nguyen is still nursing a healthy 1,565,000 chip stack.

Hand #5 - Forrest raises with an A c; 6 ? and Nguyen calls with a 8 ? 3?. The Flop has 2 black 5's and an 8, which matches Nguyen. The Turn is a 6 c; , and now Forrest has a flush draw with 2 pair, but Nguyen still has the best hand. The River - 8 ? and Nguyen has a full house. He bets almost 1/2 of Forrest's stack (320,000). Forrest decides to lay it down and Nguyen adds to his lead.

Hand #6 - Forrest goes all-in with an A ? 7 c;. Brunson has an A/10 ? and calls. The Flop is a 2 ? K ? 9 ?, and Forrest has a Diamond Draw. The Turn - 9 ?. which helps no one...and neither does a 3 c; on the River, so Brunson doubles up to 850,000. Forrest is now down to 185,000, and is in great danger of joining Liebert.

Hand #7 - Forrest plays an A/5 c;. Nguyen limps in with a 9 ? 2 ?. The Flop 0 a 6 ? 9 ? 4 ? and Nguyen not only pairs his 9's, but now has a flush draw. He goes all-in and Nguyen calls. The Turn - a 5 ? and Nguyen has his flush. Forrest is eliminated and Nguyen and Brunson both move into the semi-finals.

Now just because there's no more competition, doesn't mean that there's nothing at stake. $30,000 goes to the winner, as well as 1,000,000 worth of starting chips. Just because Nguyen is up 2,430,000 Vs. 470,000 doesn't mean that Brunson can't make a game out of it.

Hand #8 - Brunson has pocket 9's while Nguyen floats in with a Q ? 8 c;. Brunson raises it and Nguyen bails out.

Hand #9 - Nguyen has a 6 ? 2 ? and limps in to Brunson's K/J ? and goes all-in. Nguyen certainly isn't going to go in with that and folds again.

Hand #10 - Brunson has a k/5 ? and raises 450,000. Nguyen has an A ? 7 ? and reraises to go all-in. Brunson calls. the Flop - K ? 9 ? Q c; and Brunson pairs the Kings. The Turn is a 8 c; and the River is a 3 ?. Brunson does double up, but Nguyen still has a huge lead.

Hand #11 - Brunson calls with a Q ? 5 ?. Nguyen, with deuces, just limps in. The Flop - 3 ? 6 ? 6 ?. The Turn is a 3 c; and the River is a 5 c;, which pairs up Todd and makes him a winner - unless he folds on Nguyen's bet. He doesn't, and he wins it. Nguyen still has the chip lead.

Hand #12 -Nguyen goes all-in with an A ? 3 ?. Brunson has a pair of 8's...and calls. The Flop - 3 c; 7 ? 7 ?. Brunson's pair will hold...er...make that Trips when a 8 ? comes out. that makes Brunson a winner and Brunson doubles up to within 60,000 of Nguyen.

Hand #13 - Brunson comes in with a A ? 5 ? while Nguyen goes in with a 6 c; 5 ?. The FLop - a 7 c; 2 ? 3 ?. Nguyen has a straight draw -which doesn't come up on the Turn (10 ?), but Nguyen bets on it anyways. Brunson folds and Nguyen gets his lead back.

Hand #14 - Nguyen raises with 10's and Brunson calls with a J/5 ?. The FLop - 5 ? 6 ? 4 ?. Brunson pairs the 5's, but Nguyen still has the lead and bets it. Brunson folds and Nguyen builds his chips back up to 2 million.

Hand #15 - Scotty raises on a K ? 3 ? and Brunson calls with a 10/6 ?. The Flop - a K c; Q c; Q ?, as Scotty leads. The Turn is an A ?, so Nguyen still lead...until the River, which is a J ? and which gives Brunson a straight. Brunson finally bets when he has a straight and Nguyen calls, Brunson gets some more chips.

Hand #16 - Brunson has a 6 c; 5 ? and calls. Nguyen limps in with a K d ?. The Flop - 2 ? 7 ? 3 ?. The Turn - 9 ?. The River - A ?. That gives both people flushes, but Nguyen's is higher and he bets half of Brunson's stack. Brunson calls, and he is severely crippled.

Hand #17 - The Flop is a 10 ? 8 c; 3 ?, which is good for Brunson, who has 10 c; 8 ?. Nguyen has a 8 ? 4 ? and has a flush draw. Brunson goes all-in and Nguyen calls. The Turn is a 3 c;, which helps no one, and the river is a 10 c;, which gives Brunson a boat and a double-up. Nguyen still has a huge lead.

Hand #18 - Brunson raises with a K c; 10 h. Nguyen has a K/J...but folds. Hmmm...

Hand #19 - Brunson has another nice starting hand - this one a K c; Q ?. Nguyen limps in with a 5 ? 4 ? - and then pairs it with a 9 c; 8 c; 4 ? on the Flop. The Turn - a Q ?, which pairs Brunson's queens. He bets and Nguyen folds.

Hand #20 - Brunson has a K ? 10 ? and limps in. Nguyen also limps in with a 7 ? 2 ?. The Flop - a 7 ? A ? 10 c;. Nguyen pairs the 7's, but Brunson pairs the 10's and bets. Nguyen folds and Brunson now has the chip lead.

Hand #21 - Nguyen has an A ? 5 c; and raises. Brunson goes all-in - with A ? A c;. The Flop - 9 c; K ? K ?. That doesn't help Nguyen - and the 4 ? on the Turn ends the match. Todd Brunson wins $30,000, but Scotty Nguyen also advances.

Next week - Carlos Mortenson, Johnny Chan, David Sklansky and Freddie Deeb. This should be a wild one. Join us in 7 days to see how wild it will get.