Phil Ivey Running Hot at 2009 WSOP Main Event
July 14th, 2009
Phil Ivey is terrorizing the 2009 WSOP Main Event field and is currently third in chips heading into Day 7. (Image Courtesy MainPot Poker)
Yesterday’s Day 6 saw the WSOP Main Event reduced from 185 to 64 players.
It was a tough day for former champions as both Joe Hachem and Peter Eastgate were eliminated. Hachem went home in 103 place cashing for $40,288 while Eastgate made it 78th and cashed for $68,979.
Other well-known poker pro eliminations included French online poker legend, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. Grospellier was a chip leader for a good part of the WSOP Main Event until he got into a huge three-way pot with top pair while holding Big Slick and running into Scott Cook’s full house through his pocket fives. Unable to bounce back from being shortstacked, Elky hit the rails in 122nd cashing for $40,288.
Among the surviving poker pros going into Day 7 is fan favorite Joe Seebok. Seebok was severly shortstacked after a long period of card-death. But after the break he made some key pushes and doubled up a couple times to hit 1,000,000 in chips. Down but not out.
The man known as “The Magician,” Antonio Esfandiari, also put on a bit of a show as he made some key plays late in the day to make his way to being 6th in chips. Esfandiari’s biggest bump of the day came when he was reraised preflop by Wesley Ismay and made the call. The flop came 7s-5h-5c and the Magician bet with Ismay calling. The Kh on the turn sparked another bet from Esfandiari and a shove all-in from Ismay. Esfandiari called and tabled As-Kc while Ismay got caught with his hand in the cookie jar holding Q-9. With no help on the river for Ismay, Esfandiari began a big push that saw him end the day with 5,610,000 in chips.
Phil Ivey went on a major tear yesterday busting several players and ending the day 3rd in chips with 6,345,000. Sometimes the poker gods are with you and sometimes they aren’t. Yesterday, they were definitely with Ivey as he busted several players regardless of getting it in with a better hand or not.
Hac Dang had the misfortune of being dealt queens when Ivey had jacks. It all went in preflop and the board ran jack high giving Ivey the set.
In another hand Ivey raised from the button and Kent Goulding reraised from the big blind. Goulding checked the flop of Qs-4h-2h and Ivey fired a bet that would put Goulding all-in. He made the call and showed top pair with Qc-7h and Ivey showed a flush draw with Jh-5h. The turn was a 9s but the river accommodated Ivey with the Kh.
Some other chip counts of notable survivors include: Editor of Cardplayer Magazine, Jeff Shulman (4,745,000), 2007 WSOP Player of the Year, Tom “Donkey Bomber” Schneider (2,895,000), 2008 WSOP Final Tablist, Dennis Phillips (2,305,000), and infamously horrible rapper and consistent WSOP Main Event deep runner, Prahlad Friedman (840,000).
The current chip leader is Darvin Moon with 9,745,000 and Billy Kopp is in second with 8,245,000.
