WSOP main even day 1A is over
July 4th 2008 08:23
The day finally came to an end and there is still a small buzz about one hand. It was the ultimate bad beat.
Justin Phillips took down Motoyuki Mabuchi with a royal flush. Certainly royal flushes are going to happen in a tournament, so why all the buzz? Mabuchi had quad aces. Talk about a sick way to go out.
I’m curious to figure out what Josh Arieh went out on. He got into a nice pot, and maybe he felt pot-committed as the board showed 2, J, and Q of spades along with 6 of diamonds and 7 of hearts. When the 7 came, Arieh’s opponent fired 10K, and Arieh eventually called, putting him all in…and gone. His opponent only had a pair of jacks. I thought at first that maybe Arieh though that the opponent was chasing, missed and fired. But his opponent kept betting it right the whole way: info seeking bet on the flop, then aggressive on the next two. Maybe Josh was confused. I have a feeling he had pocket 10s or 9s and honestly thought his opponent was chasing. Just a bad read by a quality player.
No matter, Josh is among the eliminated and there are 636 survivors from Day 1A.
What became interesting to watch was that as the final round of the day was in play, many of the lower stacks started going all in with a wide variety of cards. It was like they were desperate to have a high chip count at the end of the day. For some, it worked and a little bit of life was reborn. It’s understandable as you start to look around and see yourself with maybe 15000 in chips, while the leader is above 200,000 and many of the leaders are building. But the final level of the day is just 200-400. And it’s okay to still play a normal hand with a decent stack. Paul Wasicka did just that with pocket 4s, and when a 4 hit on the flop, then he moved all in to reach 30,000 in chips. Other players have been pushing with similar starting hands preflop.
At the end of the round, remember that you are combined with another group and the luck of the draw could make your 15,000 chip count a solid stack in your new table.
Holding at the top is Mark Gardner with over 200,000 and quite a few others over 100,000.
There are even more below 20,000 who will hope Day 2 is where they find gold. Then, there’s the several hundred dead. Probably about 550 or so survived the first day.
Among the dead in the final two levels of the day: Adam Katz, Joe Sebok (who, after five cashes last year, settled for just one this year), Tuan Lam, John Cernuto (owner of three bracelets and 45 WSOP cashes), JJ Liu (one of the top females in the game), the beautiful Erica Shoenberg, actor Mekhi Phifer, and the ultimate pro ---1996 champion Barry Johnston.
Johnston has cashed in an event every year since 1982. He finished third in the 1982 main event, and he has five total bracelets. Sadly, in today’s fast-rising poker world full of superstars like Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and Chris Feguson, among others, and the rise of no-name winners like Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, Johnston’s skill and talent have been overlooked by the poker audience. This guy is one of the best around.
But we have a ways to go before we know who is the best here.
Justin Phillips took down Motoyuki Mabuchi with a royal flush. Certainly royal flushes are going to happen in a tournament, so why all the buzz? Mabuchi had quad aces. Talk about a sick way to go out.
I’m curious to figure out what Josh Arieh went out on. He got into a nice pot, and maybe he felt pot-committed as the board showed 2, J, and Q of spades along with 6 of diamonds and 7 of hearts. When the 7 came, Arieh’s opponent fired 10K, and Arieh eventually called, putting him all in…and gone. His opponent only had a pair of jacks. I thought at first that maybe Arieh though that the opponent was chasing, missed and fired. But his opponent kept betting it right the whole way: info seeking bet on the flop, then aggressive on the next two. Maybe Josh was confused. I have a feeling he had pocket 10s or 9s and honestly thought his opponent was chasing. Just a bad read by a quality player.
No matter, Josh is among the eliminated and there are 636 survivors from Day 1A.
What became interesting to watch was that as the final round of the day was in play, many of the lower stacks started going all in with a wide variety of cards. It was like they were desperate to have a high chip count at the end of the day. For some, it worked and a little bit of life was reborn. It’s understandable as you start to look around and see yourself with maybe 15000 in chips, while the leader is above 200,000 and many of the leaders are building. But the final level of the day is just 200-400. And it’s okay to still play a normal hand with a decent stack. Paul Wasicka did just that with pocket 4s, and when a 4 hit on the flop, then he moved all in to reach 30,000 in chips. Other players have been pushing with similar starting hands preflop.
At the end of the round, remember that you are combined with another group and the luck of the draw could make your 15,000 chip count a solid stack in your new table.
Holding at the top is Mark Gardner with over 200,000 and quite a few others over 100,000.
There are even more below 20,000 who will hope Day 2 is where they find gold. Then, there’s the several hundred dead. Probably about 550 or so survived the first day.
Among the dead in the final two levels of the day: Adam Katz, Joe Sebok (who, after five cashes last year, settled for just one this year), Tuan Lam, John Cernuto (owner of three bracelets and 45 WSOP cashes), JJ Liu (one of the top females in the game), the beautiful Erica Shoenberg, actor Mekhi Phifer, and the ultimate pro ---1996 champion Barry Johnston.
Johnston has cashed in an event every year since 1982. He finished third in the 1982 main event, and he has five total bracelets. Sadly, in today’s fast-rising poker world full of superstars like Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and Chris Feguson, among others, and the rise of no-name winners like Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, Johnston’s skill and talent have been overlooked by the poker audience. This guy is one of the best around.
But we have a ways to go before we know who is the best here.
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