The 2008 PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker live updates are brought to you by bloggers Jen Newell, Change100, Martin Harris, and Brad Willis. Click refresh to see the latest update. Playing in the event and have something to say? Shoot us an e-mail to blog@pokerstars.com.
6:53pm–I’m telling you what I have with my bet size
Tiibo raised to the curious-looking total of 8,888 from middle position, and Cwik1 reraised all in for 26,000 even. Tiibo called.
Turned out that weirdly-sized bet may have been a tell, as Tiibo showed 8c-8s. Meanwhile, Cwik1 had Ts-As and the race was on. The board came Kd-Jc-2d-7s-Kc, and Cwik1 was eliminated in 28th place.
We are down to three tables! The next nine to go out all win $215 tournament entries!
6:49pm–Tarheel1641 slams another
olinsha open-shoved from middle position for 16,899, and Tarheel1641 called from the big blind. olinsha showed 4c-Ad, while Tarheel1641 had a big, Tyler Hansbrough-like hand of Kd-Kh.
The board came Qd-5s-6h-8d-3s, and olinsha was out in 33rd. After picking up another nice pot shortly afterwards, Tarheel1641 now has 88,821 (9th place).
6:45pm–Rex Ferric out in 35th on another coinflip gone awry
Rex Ferric had maintained a healthy stack throughout this event, but just made his exit in 35th place. Baalim opened the pot for 5,400 and RealNaxer popped him to 15,000 before Rex Ferric shoved for his remaining 33,043. Baalim got out of the way but RealNaxer called the extra 18,000, his Jh-Js racing against Rex Ferric’s Ac-Qd. Ks-Jc-4s-6d-5s on the board and Rex Ferric’s tournament was at an end, while RealNaxer moved into the top ten with 92,446 in his stack.
6:42pm–Reverse psychology
TwistedEcho, down to just 1,313, found himself all in automatically when the big blind (now 2,000) reached him. The table folded around to Littlemage on the button who after thinking for a while raised to 5,000. NitroHUN folded the SB, and it was TwistedEcho’s pocket nines against Littlemage’s Tc-8s.
“T” typed TwistedEcho. Repeatedly. “TEEEEEN.” The board came 5h-4d-2h-2s-8c, and despite TwistedEcho’s twisted pleas, he’d survived.
Four hands later, TwistedEcho pushed all in from the cutoff with Td-Ah and was called by both Sentex and Lesage88. When the turn showed a board of As-8d-Qh-Kc, Lesage88 went ahead and bet out to push Sentex out of the hand — he’d turned Broadway with Jd-Th. The river was the 6h, and TwistedEcho was eliminated in 38th place.
6:41pm–BuddyDank snaps off kings to survive
Short-stacked with 17,979 in chips, BuddyDank open-shoved with his Ah-3h from late position, but was met with a quick call from csillagka on the button, who turned up pocket kings. The flop hit Mr. Dank, however, coming down Ac-Tc-Th. The turn was the 5s, the river was the 8d and BuddyDank survived, cracking kings to double his stack to 41,508.
6:38pm–Live from Hungary
Who knew you could watch football at midnight in Hungary. Well, there is one guy who knows. He’s currently among the leaders in WBCOOP. “It’s midnight here in Hungary and I’m watching Minnesota vs Atlanta,” NitroHUN wrote. He’s 19 years old and looking to grab one of the top prizes. He notes. “I only made my first deposit a week ago. Wish me good luck.”
6:35pm–Olimpinho takes chip lead with 100K pot
Olimpinho opened for 5,444 from under the gun and WMZeus, directly to his left, put in a reraise to 14,000. The action folded back around to Olimipinho, who made the call. The flop was Ts-9d-3s. Olimpinho used up nearly his entire time bank on his decision to move all in for 69,406 on the flop, putting WMZeus to a decision for his remaining 33,591 in chips. After a bit of a think, WMZeus made the call and saw the bad news– his unimproved Ah-Kd was up against Olimpinho’s Js-Jc. The turn was the 9h, the river was the Jd and Olimpinho dragged the 100,000 pot to vault him into the chip lead with over 137,000 and eliminate WM Zeus.
6:29pm–50 left
Just 50 players remain. Lesage88 just became our new chip leader after winning a three-way hand on Table 21. Lesage88 raised to 6,000 from UTG, Rex Ferric called from the cutoff, and SmileyHere also called from the big blind. All three checked down the board of 6d-2h-4d-5s-Qh. SmileyHere showed As-9s, Lessage88 Jc-Js, and Rex Ferric mucked. That hand took Lesage88 up to 98,043 and first place.
Once we get down to 45, all of those finishing 28th-45th will be earning a $109 entry into a PokerStars tournament of their choice.
6:28pm–True romance
MrAckley needs a win today for more than just the cash and chance to play in the Bahamas. He writes, “Soon to be engaged. Please to send me to the Bahamas so I can pop the question there.” MrAckley made the final WBCOOP final table in 2005. Living in Fairbanks, AL (”where it gets ridiculously cold,” he says), he takes care of his elderly father during the day and what he calls “an evil puppy” at night.
6:24pm–Priitk rides them cowboys
Imric_est kicked off the betting with a 4,500 opening raise, which was three-bet all in for 20,152 by Medino0308. Priitk moved all in for slightly more behind him and Imric_est got out of the way when the action was folded back around to him. Medino0308’s As-9s needed some serious help against Prittk’s Kh-Ks, and the 3-3-3-T-8 board brought none of it. Priitk jumped up to the top ten in chips with 46,029 while Medino0308 hit the virtual rail in 53rd place.
6:21pm–Ballim bowls ‘em over; two more go down
Ballim raised to 4,000 from middle position, thelivewire reraised all in for 10,807, and bosta_de_boi — with less than 2,000 chips to start the hand — called. Baalim called as well, showing Td-9d. bosta_de_boi had 7h-Ad. And thelivewire had Kc-3h.
The board came 7s-3s-Th-8s-5c, giving Baalim the hand with a pair of tens and knocking out thelivewire in 60th place and bosta_de_boi in 61st.
6:20pm–Rex Ferric drops 20K on coinflip
rockman255 moved all in pre-flop for 16,248 and Rex Ferric, one of the tournament’s largest stacks at 53,754 made the call. It was a classic race situation, Rex Ferric’s Ad-Kd up against rockman 255’s pocket sevens. 9-4-9-9-Q on the board and Ferric couldn’t catch up, the 35K pot heading rockman’s way. The hand evened up the two players’ stacks, Rex Ferric left with 37,331 to rockman255’s 35,396.
6:18pm–Returning from break number three
And as they did, the top ten chip counts and other pertinent info was as follows:
Level 19
Blinds 750/1,500, ante 175
Average chip count: 30,245
Players remaining: 61
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package
1. Olimpinho - 96,013
2. peggydee - 62,778
3. csillagka - 62,404
4. TarHeel1641 - 54,430
5. Rex Ferric - 53,754
6. kolmteist - 53,493
7. Baalim - 50,793
8. NitroHUN - 49,216
9. teamdobb - 47,878
10. cardacious - 45,562
6:17pm–Somewhere, from the top of Mt, Olympus (er…Lousiana)
It’s hard to say why anyone is still playing. With a guy named WmZeus in the field, the end seems like a foregone conclusion. WmZeus is actually David Griggs, an 18 years old living in West Monroe, Louisiana. He made the final table in Tuesday’s preliminary event and claimed his spot in the final.
6:14pm–Recent Eliminations
In the flurry of post-bubble eliminations, we lost Loretta8, o-hole-ne, Tom Bayes, j7gibson, Donegal, SushiSam, and ABVidale.
6:11pm–Two birds with one stone for NitroHUN
With 17,505 to start the hand, Rakewell1 shoved all in from the button when the table had folded to him, swerte_nmn decided to call with his last 11,390 from the small blind, and NitroHUN (who had 22,196 to start) decided to play as well, calling from the big blind.
swerte_nmn: Qc-Qh
NitroHUN: Kh-As
Rakewell1: 4h-Jc
Bad enough when one of the blinds wakes up with a hand, though Rakewell1. But both?
The board came 4d-7h-9d-Kc-Ah, and NitroHUN had knocked out both swerte_nmn (in 75th place) and Rakewell1 (in 74th). NitroHUN is up to 52,916 after that one.
6:10pm–JBug40 and the suck, re-suck
LuparFiend opened the betting with a raise to 3,400 and was met with a reraise to 7,500 from JBug40. Undeterred, he four-bet it to 12,500, JBug40 moved all in for 4,672 more and LuparFiend quickly called. LuparFiend’s pocket tens were in dire shape against JBug40’s K-K…that is until the flop came down Qs-Tc-8d, making him middle set. The turn was the harmless 5c, but LuparFiend’s dreams were dashed as the Kc appeared on the river, giving the re-suck and the 26,000 pot to JBug40, who made a higher set. LuparFiend was left with only 7,200.
6:08pm–A little bit about our remaining players…
Once the players got into the money, we asked them to give us a little information about themselves.
Since then we have discovered that thelivewire is married with three kids. We remember him from a few years back when he came in third in WBCOOP.
In another e-mail, dOdGyGrD write, “It’s 3am in Dubai and I just made the top 100. How long to win a place in the PCA I wonder. I’m Rick Theobald, a freelance writer for the likes of Bluff and Flush magazines. I have to say, having played in the last few of these, this year has been great, and not only because I locked up a prize!”
6:05pm–Where’d everybody go?
It took exactly 10 minutes for us to go from 100 players to 75. Olimpinho remains out in front with 92,488, followed by csillagka with 82,611.
6:03pm–Going for broke
The all ins are coming quickly now that the bubble has burst. MultiRulez just got bumped in 95th place when his Kc-Ah couldn’t catch up to TarHeel1641’s pocket rockets.
AllJyn92 got bounced in 89th when Td-9d was no match for ABVidale’s pocket kings.
jrgiacon2 then pushed with 8c-8s and was up against peggydee’s As-7s. An ace flopped, jrgiacon couldn’t come back, and he’s out in 80th.
5:59pm–Up4Poker can’t luckbox this one
After working a short stack for the last level or so, Up4Poker finally succumbed. He open-shoved for his remaining 2,968 with Jh-9s and was called by Baalim with Ac-Qd. The flop was Kd-Td-2s. The turn was a jack, though, making Baalim the nut straight and sending everyone’s favorite luckbox to the rail in 97th place.
5:55pm–100 remain
…of the 369 who began the day. Suddenly it occurs to us, with 369 players, all of whom keep their own blogs, could this possibly become the most meticulously chronicled online poker tournament in history?
Something tells me these last 100 might have more to say about it tomorrow than the other 269. That’s because these 100 have all made “the money” (so to speak). Those finishing 46th-100th are all guaranteed at least Step 3 entries. The big prizes await, however. (Click here for details.)
5:52pm–TNSpaceman blown out of orbit, PRO_rANDY hits the rail
Down to 3,118 in chips, TNSpaceman called all in for less after Sorror I made a pre-flop shove for 6,871. TNSpaceman’s Q-Q was up against A-Q, and the Kd-9c-3h flop looked safe enough. The turn was the 6c, another safe card, but the Ah spiked on the river, sending him to the rail in 126th place.
Eliminated in a similar fashion was PRO_rANDY, who moved all in on a Ks-Ts-8h flop holding Kc-Qd, only to have DonBartos hit the Ah on the river for his A-Q to take it down and send him to the rail.
5:49pm–Olimpinho out in front
Olimpinho has catapulted to the top of the leaderboard following a couple of huge hands over on Table 45. First Olimpinho scored a 23,000-plus chip pot with pocket aces against LParreira’s pocket kings. Then a 32,986-chip pot came Olimpinho’s way after he and Cynders 1 decided to get it all in on a flop of 5c-Qc-5h (see how that one played out below).
Olimpinho now has 75,948, over 15,000 ahead of nearest competitor csillagka.
5:47pm–Up4Poker’s stack falls on triple-barrel bluff
Up4Poker was cruising along, vacillating between 13K and 15K in chips after his K-J vs. A-K double-up…until this hand came along.
In a three-way limped pot the flop came down Jd-5h-3s. sillidillen, in the small blind checked to Up4Poker in the big, who put out a bet of 900. thelivewire called from position and sillidillen folded. The turn came the Kc. Up4Poker fired again, this time for 1,200, but thelivewire wasn’t going anywhere– he made the call. The river was the 7s and Up4Poker took one more shot at it, betting 2,000. thelivewire called.
Up4Poker’s 5s-9s was no match for thelivewire’s pocket tens. thelivewire vaulted up past 20,000 in chips while Up4Poker was left with 7,658.
5:42pm–AllJyn92 wins all in
Down to 7,598, Muppinger decided pocket queens was good enough to push all in, but unfortunately AllJyn92 was waiting there with pocket aces. The board came 6h-9h-5h-2h-8c, and Muppinger is out in 113th. AllJyn92 is up to 25,606. That’s 16th place out of the 110 players remaining.
5:36pm–LaxStarr1995 doubles through PRO_rANDY
With nearly 20,000 in chips to start the hand, PRO_rANDY called LaxStarr’s 925 opening raise from the big blind and the two saw a flop of 8s-5h-3s. PRO_rANDY check-called a 1,250 bet from his opponent. When the turn came the 8d, PRO_rANDY checked again, LaxStarr1995 fired out 2,450, and PRO_rANDY shoved over the top for 17,073. LaxStarr1995 made the call for the rest of his chips.
Both players had overpairs, LaxStarr1995’s J-J well ahead of PRO_rANDY’s 9-9. The Kh hit the river and the 22K pot was shipped to LaxStarr1995, while PRO_rANDY was knocked all the way down to 8,477 in chips.
5:31pm–MultiRulez on the rise
Four players limped to see a flop of 7c-Qs-4c. MultiRulez led out from the small blind for 800, and both MrAckley and SiresNme called. Hurricane010 then raised to 2,500. MultiRulez called, as did MrAckley. Then SiresNme reraised all in for 6,602 total. Hurricane010 responded by pushing all of his 18,015 in the middle as well. Then MultiRulez called with his last 8,970!
MrAckley, seeing three all ins ahead of him, typed the LOLCATSish “holy crap i has huge draw” before stepping aside.
MultiRulez: Qc-Ac (nut flush draw)
SiresNme: Qh-Kc (top pair)
Hurricane010: 7d-7h (middle set)
The turn was the Ks, and Hurricane010 was still ahead. But the river was the Jc, completing MultiRulez’ flush and awarding him the huge 34,092-chip pot.
5:29pm–ZClub outruns mattythatguy
After csillagka limped in for 400, ZClub made it 1,600 to go, only to be raised all in by mattythatguy, who shoved for his remaining 5,465. csillagka ran for cover, but ZClub made the call, committing his last 3,053 in chips. ZClub’s A-K outraced matthythatguy’s J-J when a king flopped, good for the 10,356 pot. mattythatguy was left with only two big blinds after the hand.
5:27pm–Dropping like…you know
In the 12 minutes that have passed since the second break, 32 players have been eliminated! Of the 138 that remain, 100 will win prizes while the rest will go home empty-handed.
5:23–Three-chip disadvantage means Photograph17 finished
BuddyDank was down to 4,860 chips, while Photograph17 had 4,857. Almost even. Both surely took note of that fact when BuddyDank decided to call Photograph17’s all in. BuddyDank had pocket kings, and Photograph17 had Jd-As. The board came 3s-2s-8d-2d-9d, and the three measly chips BuddyDank had behind suddenly mushroomed to 10,554. Meanwhile, Photograph17 was out in 148th.
5:21pm–Loretta8 passes 30K
Loretta8 didn’t waste any time in acquiring chips early in this event and he just took down a key pot to turn his average stack into a monster one.
Loretta8’s 810 opening raise was called by djhomeschool and they saw a flop of Kc-6s-6d. Loretta8 bet 1,200 and djhomeschool called. The turn brought the 4c, a 2,400 bet from Loretta8 and another call from djhomeschool. The 7h fell on the river and Loretta8 shoved for 9,241, which earned a call from djhomeschool. Both players had a king in their hands, but Loretta8’s A-K outkicked djhomeschool’s K-T to earn him the massive 28,112 pot.
Only a few hands later, Loretta8 passed the 30,000 chip mark and currently holds the tournament’s third largest stack.
5:20pm–A couple of comments from the field
At the break, we asked the field to give us a couple thoughts on the tournament and tell us a bit about themselves.
Tom Bayes said, “I like green chile, badugi, and deuce-to-seven lowball. NL holdem is my least favorite game.” Oh, and despite the fact Tom Bayes is still in the event, he said, “djhomeschool is the guy I want to see win.”
How kind.
CUdeP remarked, “This is the best tourney I have played ever. Thank you very much for this. I´m dreaming with some big prize and starting to playing higher tournaments.”
5:14pm–QQ in BB = good times for dOdGyGrD
dOdGyGrD just picked up what might have been one of the largest pots of the tournament after taking most of espanhol_pt’s stack following a preflop all-in confrontation. espanhol_pt had open-raised from the button, dOdGyGrD reraised to 2,450 from the big blind, espanhol_pt shoved for 9,905 total, and dOdGyGrD called. dOdGyGrD showed pocket queens, well ahead of espanhol_pt’s Qc-As. The board came 4s-7s-3c-4d-Kh, and dOdGyGrD claimed the 19,450-chip pot.
espanhol_pt, down to just 470 chips after that hand, was eliminated in 169th on the next hand.
5:10pm–170 players alive at second break
Level 13
Blinds 175/350, ante 45
Average chip count: 10,852
Players remaining: 170
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package
1. Rex Ferric - 42,062
2. Priitk - 28,906
3. peggydee - 28,871
4. Loretta8 - 28,112
5. Simka11 - 26,376
6. Cynders 1 - 25,423
7. Baalim - 23,698
8. DonBartos - 23,079
9. CUdeP - 22,790
10. guto1515 - 22,781
4:57pm–Recent Eliminations
Blogger notables heading to the rail in the last few minutes include Obie34, Easycure, ZeemJr, and lightning36
4:55pm–Stacks on the rise
A glance atop the leaderboard shows a few players closing in on the 30,000-chip mark at the moment. Priitk is in the lead currently with 29,748, followed by Rex Ferric with 29.032, and CUdeP with 25,840.
We are now down to 200 players.
4:51pm–Ladies Save ZClub
ZClub hadn’t been able to get anything going so far, and down to only 1,347 in chips, he got most of them in pre-flop and the rest of them in on the flop with Q-Q vs. thelivewire’s K-T. Ad-5c-3d-Ac-4d on the board and ZClub earned a much-needed double up (and then some) to 4,324.
4:47pm–Long live the king; the king is dead
Shortly after that double-up through TNSpaceman, micon’s day abruptly ended after a big hand versus shearin88. On a flop of 7c-Qc-9d, micon decided the multiple draws afforded by Jc-Tc were good for gambling, and shearin88 came along for the ride with a set of nines. The set held up, and micon was out 233rd.
4:44pm–Micon Doubles through TNSpaceman
TNSpaceman doubled up quite early on with pocket aces, but just saw his stack halved by the man they call the “King of All Degenerates”– micon.
In a three-way limped pot, TNSpaceman led out at the Th-7s-2c flop for 300. Both micon and LaNaranjita called. The turn came the 7d, pairing the board and TNSpaceman took another shot at the pot, betting 600. micon called and LaNaranjita folded. The river fell the Ad. TNSpaceman slowed down and checked,but was met with a shove from micon for his last 1,887. TNSpaceman made the call.
TNSpaceman’s 9h-Ts for two pair, tens and sevens couldn’t match micon’s sevens full of aces with A-7 in the hole and micon doubled to 6,484. TNSpaceman was knocked down to 5,278.
4:41pm–Here come cowboys; gadzooks64 doubles up
gadzooks64 raised to 600 from middle position, and the table folded around to schmengie who called from the big blind. The flop came 4c-5s-Th, and schmengie checked. gadzooks64 bet 1,000, and schmengie check-raised all in for 6,615 altogether. gadzooks64 called with her last 3,320, showing Kc-Kh for the overpair. “oops” typed schmengie, as he showed Jd-Jh.
The turn and river both brought sevens, and gadzooks64 doubled up to 10,165. schmengie is now at 2,295.
4:38pm–o-hole-ne doubles through PRO_rANDY in battle of the big stacks
PRO_rANDY, continuing to play with agression and abandon, opened yet another pot for 3 big blinds and found a caller in o-hole-ne. PRO_rANDY fired out 920 at the Kh-7c-2d flop, o-hole-ne put in a min-raise to 1,840, and PRO_rANDY called. The Jh on the turn gave PRO_rANDY pause and he checked, allowing o-hole-ne to fire out a bet of
1,590. PRO_rANDY made the call. The river was the 3h and both players checked.
o-hole-ne turned up Qs-Js, having paired up on the turn after raising the flop with air, crushing PRO_rANDY’s pocket tens. o-hole-ne jumped out to 16,955 in chips while PRO_rANDY was left sitting on 15,978.
4:33pm–That’s gonna leave a mark
Just saw a wince-inducing elimination over on Table 36. A short-stacked forstuvning had pushed all in for 1,987 with As-Js, and ABVidale, having him comfortably covered, made the call with Qs-Qd. The flop came Ac-2h-6d, and forstuvning was suddenly way ahead. The turn was the 4c. Still good. Then came the river… the Qc.
“No… Noooo!” typed forstuvning. In green, of course, as he had been rudely removed from the table, ending the day in 261st. Meanwhile, ABVidale is up to 15,397 — that’s top 15 at the moment.
4:31pm–8-game winner out of the mix
DjFog86, winner of the mixed 8-game qualifier is out of the 2008 WBCOOP after having his aces cracked by Kd-Qd on an all diamond flop.
4:26pm–Luckbox lives up to his name
Blogger Up4Poker is affectionately known as “The Luckbox” by his peers and demonstrated just how he got that name on this hand vs. kapiuksheing. Up4Poker opened for 375 and kapiuksheing made the call. On the Kc-6h-2h flop, Up4Poker checked, kapiuksheing made a small bet of 240, and Up4Poker check-raised all in for his remaining 2,429. kapiuksheing called and turned up As-Kd to Up4Poker’s Ks-Js. No problem for the Luckbox, though… as the Jh spiked on the turn to make him two pair. No ace on the river and Up4Poker doubled to 5,923 in spectacular fashion.
4:21pm–Oh, and just one more thing…
Columbo777 started late today, and so had blinded down a bit by the time he finally took his seat late in the first hour. Down to 3,305, it appeared the time had come to solve the Case of the Dwindling Chips.
The table had folded around to Columbo777 who completed from the small blind. Player titcar, who had Columbo777 covered, raised to 360, prompting Columbo777 to repop it all-in. titcar quickly called, showing Ad-Ac, well ahead of Columbo777’s 5c-5d.
The board came 9d-2c-Kd-Jc-Tc, and Columbo777 was free to walk his dog, having ended the day in 280th. titcar currently has 6,695.
4:16pm–Oh captain! my Captain! Our fearful trip is done
Speaking of OhMyCaptain’s elimination…
Down to 1,993 chips, OhMyCaptain decided the time had come to right the ship. After DidiTKN raised to 320 from the button, OhMyCaptain pushed all in from the small blind, and DidiTKN called. OhMyCaptain showed 9d-Ac, and DidiTKM Tc-Ts. The board came 3d-7s-Qc-Kh-8h, and OhMyCaptain sailed away in 289th. DidiTKM has since chipped up to 12,703, good enough for the top 20.
4:15pm–Recent eliminations
Since the end of the first break we’ve lost esteemed bloggers OhMyCaptain, asphnxma, and NumbBono.
4:10pm–GRobman humbled, badblood44 in need of bandages
In the first hands after the first break, both badblood44 and GRobman went off to find other activities for the Sunday afternoon. GRobman was crippled before the break and came back with an eye on doubling up. It didn’t work out. Badblood44’s chips went to fellow poker blogger Donegal in a TT vs KK battle on a 334 flop. You can find badblood44 at the Badugi tables. GRobman will be somewhere combing his hair and admiring himself.
4:08pm–A visual of the rake’s progress
As an added bonus, we have the visual for the Rakewell1 hand:
4:05pm–Rakewell1 rakes one in
Vegas rounder and oberserver of all things infuriating, blogger Rakewell1 just benefited from a timely double-up with AK vs A9. That was as entertaining for him as his recent observation the advertisement in Vegas that advertised steak “just off the casino floor” was for us.
4:02pm–Whew…first break
Level 7
Blinds 50/100, ante 10
Average chip count: 5,990
Players remaining: 308
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package
1. peggydee - 17,262
2. Medino0308 - 17,200
3. Rex Ferric - 15,010
4. sleddog - 14,970
5. csillagka - 14,082
6. WMZeus - 13,727
7. PRO-rANDY - 13,665
8. Rakewell1 - 13,170
9. on_thg - 12,825
10. blahdy - 12,600
Play will resume momentarily.
3:58pm–TBPauly Doubles Up Tom Bayes
pillango and Tom Bayes both limped in for 50 and were met with a raise from lenCindahood to 250. TBPauly flat-called, pillango gave up his hand and Tom Bayes called as well. The flop came down Qs-7h-6c. Tom Bayes checked, lenCindahood bet 550, TBPauly shoved for 3,710, and Tom Bayes shoved behind him for his remaining 5,080, leading lenCindahood to get out of the way. The cards went on their backs:
Tom Bayes 7d-6d
TBPauly Qc-Jc
Bayes was far ahead with two pair to TBPauly’s top pair, and his hand held up through the 2d on the turn and the Kc on the river. THe 8,845 pot was shipped to Tom Bayes, increasing his stack to 10,215, while TBPauly hit the rail in 341st place.
3:54pm–It wasn’t a blind steal, after all
It folded to chezchez2 who raised 4x to 240 from the button. Vandalar called from the small blind, and pickup09 folded the BB. The flop came 4d-7c-Ah. Both checked. The turn was the 5c. Vandalar checked, chezchez2 bet 320, and Vandalar called. The river was the 9s. Vandalar checked, chezchez2 bet 640, then Vandalar surprisingly check-raised all in for a total of 6,735.
chezchez2 suddenly had a decision to make. After thinking for a while, chezchez2 made the call with his last 5,050. Vandalar showed 6s-7s for a pair of sevens. chezchez2 showed Ac-As for a set of aces.
That pot pushed chezchez2 up to 12,580, while Vandalar has tumbled all of the way down to 1,045 for the busted move.
3:45pm–Easycure takes it easy on OhMyCaptain
Easycure limped in for 60 from UTG+1, DidiTKM completed from the SB, and OhMyCaptain checked his option in the BB. The flop came 2d-7d-Jc. DidiTKM checked, OhMyCaptain bet 180, Easycure called, and DidiTKM got out of the way. Both checked the Ac on the turn. The river was the 8c, putting a possible backdoor flush on board. OhMyCaptain checked, Easycure bet 180, and OhMyCaptain called. Easycure showed Qh-As for top pair, and OhMyCaptain mucked.
Easycure now has 6,205, while OhMyCaptain slipped to 2,763 on that hand.
3:44pm–PRO_rANDY Grinds Out a Double
PRO_rANDY is tearing up his table, having already doubled his starting stack in the space of only a few hands. After making a full house against FANTOMEX, who had turned trip fours, PRO_rANDY took down three consecutive pots to chip up to 8,300. Then came this hand.
PRO_rANDY opened for 150 and got one caller in C8meplacton. The flop was Jc-6c-3c. C8mepacton checked, PRO_rANDY bet 225 and C9meplacton called. The turn was the 4d and C8mepacton check-called a 525 bet from PRO_rANDY. The river fell the Kh and C8mepacton check-called another bet, this time for 1,125. PRO_rANDY turned up Qc-8c for the flush and raked in another 4,075 chips to take his stack up to 10,405. He’s currently among the top ten in chips.
3:41pm–SushiSam needs some sake
It’s time to celebrate at SushiSam’s table. Why? Well this is one helluva board.
[8c 4c 2h 4d] [Ks]
Why so hellish? Well, consider SushiSam held a four in his hand.
Consider his opponent,PNEWS_ITALIA, held pocket kings.
Now, consider SushiSam also held the case four in his hand.
“I can’t believe it,” SushiSam said.
3:40pm–sleddog leading the pack
Forty minutes in and so far 30 of our starting field of 369 have fallen by the wayside. Right now sleddog has the most chips of the 339 players left with 14,750, with Pinkypollo close behind with 14,720.
3:33pm–LoneRhino looks for another way to Bahamas
After winning Event #6 yesterday, LoneRhino looked in good form for today’s event. It was not to be. He’s out after the first half hour of play.
3:31pm–peggydee harpoons TheUKShark
TheUKShark just met an unfortunate, early end after flopping trip nines against peggydee. Unfortunately for TheUKShark, peggydee also flopped trips, and peggydee’s bigger kicker meant TheUKShark was just about dead in the water. Here’s how it happened:
3:28pm–MrAckley “Tight!”
Bloggers are sometimes like dealers. They have a lot of gamble in them. Not so much the case at MrAckley’s table. “We might see a flop one in five hands,” he said. MrAckley final tabled the first ever WBCOOP in 2005.
3:25pm–Obie34 Flushes the Competition
j7gibson opened for 160, and Obie34 made the call. j7 gibson led out for 200 on the Qc Td 7d flop and Obie34 called. The turn brought the Ad and j7gibson bet another 200 but was met with a raise to 600. Undeterred, he called 400 more. The river was a dangerous-looking Js, putting a possible straight out there to go with the possible flush. j7gibson checked, Obie34 bet 1,200 and j7gibson called.
The crafty Obie34 showed 8d-9d for a flush and raked in a hefty pot to start his tournament, increasing his stack to 6,550.
3:22pm–gadzooks64 spooks Shishio13
Player gadzooks64 — who managed to make the top 72 in the first three WBCOOP preliminary events — just picked up a few chips here at the outset of play. Shishio13 raised preflop from middle position to 120, and it folded around to gadzooks64 who called from the BB. The flop came As-6d-2h. gadzooks64 checked, Shishio13 made a continuation bet of 210, and gadzooks64 called. The turn brought the 2s, prompting gadzooks64 to bet 570 into the 675-chip pot. Shishio13 stepped aside.
Shishio13 now has 4,580, while gadzooks64 has 5,350.
3:16pm–Pinkypollo pole-vaults into lead
Pinkypollo has jumped out to an early lead, thanks to a huge hand versus Virrr. Preflop, Virrr had raised to 90 from UTG, Pinkypollo reraised to 150, and it folded back around to Virrr who called. The flop came 3d-Ks-9c. Virrr checked, Pinkypollo shoved all in for 8,330, and Virrr called for 4,655. Virrr showed Kc-Js for top pair, but Pinkypollo had Ad-Kh for top pair, better kicker. The turn was the 2d, the river the 5h, and Virrr hit the rail in 362nd.
Pinkypollo meanwhile sits atop the leaderboard with 13,330.
3:15pm–Blood spilled early
badblood44 opened for a 75 chip raise and RevmodPoker made the call. badblood44 led out at the 9c 3d 2s flop for 120, RevmodPoker popped him with a min-raise to 240, and badblood44 retaliated with a three-bet to 660. RevmodPoker called. The turn fell the 9s, pairing the board. badblood44 fired again, this time for 500 and RevmodPoker flat-called. The river was the Kh. badblood44 slowed down and ultimately check-folded to RevmodPoker’s 750 river bet, conceding the 2,500+ pot.
badblood44 was down to 3,015 after the hand while RevmodPoker shot up to 6,200.
3:13pm–LParreria looking to go back-to-back
The 2007 WBCOOP champion is LParreria showing some early strength today. In the first fiteen minutes of play, he has doubled his stack to more than 10,000.
3:04pm–TNSpaceman rockets ahead
TNSpaceman open-raised to 60 from the cutoff, donkulate reraised to 200 from the button, the table folded back around and TNSpaceman called. The flop came 9h-2c-2d. TNSpaceman checked, donkulate bet 180, and TNSpaceman called. The turn was the 8h. TNSpaceman again checked, and this time donkulate bet 420. TNSpaceman promptly check-raised to 1,120. donkulate thought a moment, then called the reraise.
The river brought the 6c. TNSpaceman pushed all in for 2,280, and donkulate made the call. TNSpaceman showed 9d-9s for the flopped boat, while donkulate mucked. TNSpaceman is up to 8,810, while donkulate slips to 1,020.
3:03pm–GRobman humble as always
Anyone who has ever played live or online with GRobman knows he is as self-effacing and humble as any blogger in the business. GRobman qualified this week in one of the no-limit hold’em contests and today is proving the old adage, it’s hard to be humble when you’re this damned good. He said as the event began, “I’m honored to be playing in the Poker Stars Blogger Championship. I’m sure the other bloggers are equally honored to be playing with me.”
3:02pm–Gigli honors go to BigSlickNut
Poker bloggers have a tradition of awarding the Gigli designation to the person who busts first from their tournament. That honor, named after the tragic Ben Affleck flick, goes today to BigSlickNut. He called all in with pocket queens on a 2c-5h-9h flop against Ah-7h. Sure enough, a heart fell on the river. Sorry, BSN.
3:01pm–Cards on the screen!
The first cards have been dealt, and we have a casualty in the first minute of play. BigSlickNut from Huntsville left the tournament in 369th place; more information to come. Action may be faster than anticipated today.
2:55pm–Ready for kickoff!
It seems that the players in today’s much-anticipated event are taking their virtual seats at 41 tables and gearing up to win some phenomenal prizes today. With the final 100 survivors “in the prizes,” if you will, we’re looking for some exciting action at the kickoff with 369 players.
2:00pm–WBCOOP Main Event to begin shortly
The main event of the 2008 PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker will begin at 3:00pm ET.
PokerStars has already given away $50,000 worth of prizes in the prelim events. Now, it’s time to fight for the $50,000 worth of Main Event prizes.
The 369 qualifiers from the six preliminary events will be fighting for the following prizes.
1st–PokerStars Caribbean Adventure prize package
2nd–European Poker Tour prize package, SCOOP, Main Event ticket, Step 6 ticket
3rd–European Poker Tour prize package
4th–SCOOP Main Event ticket + Step 6 ticket
5th–Step 6 ticket
6th–SCOOP Main Event ticket
7th–$1,050 Tournament entry
8th–Step 5 ticket
9th–$530 Tournament entry
10th-18th–$320 Tournament entry
19th-27th–$215 Tournament entry
28th-45th– $109 Tournament entry
46th-100th– Step 3 ticket
Join us here for all the action at 3pm ET.
Team Ireland landed in the finals of the World Cup of Poker IV, England did it the year before, and Scotland did it the year before that. 2009, however will see these nations gathered together under the banner of Team United Kingdom as they go for the gold in the Bahamas. 
