We watched David "ODB" Baker try the classic squeeze play from the big blind holding . Baker, dubbed "Other David Baker" by the poker media to differentiate him from David "Bakes" Baker, shoved all-in over the top of a large raise made by a player from under-the gun. Another player had called the original raise, and ODB wanted to end the hand immediately with his massive overbet. Unfortunately for him, the UTG player held and was compelled to call him down.
Both players showed their hands and the race for the chips was underway. The player holding big slick quickly got a flat tire, however, when the flop fell . Baker's flopped set of sixes put him far ahead, and the sealed the deal. After the meaningless on the river, ODB doubled his stack of 92,000 and now wits with just under 200,000, putting him in great shape to claim a seat on Day 3.
As the number of players is dwindling and the stacks are getting larger, it seems that the action has begun to slow fairly significantly.
Other than the occasional big pot, most hands are ending either preflop or after the flop. We're nearing the end of level 17 so we still have a little more than three levels of play left tonight. In that time we could actually see this field play down to the final three tables but only time will tell.
With a number of well known players still in the field the rail is filled with onlookers trying to catch a glimpse of the action. Will they get to see Phil Hellmuth continue his run at bracelet #12? Only time will tell!
A hand went down recently which displayed the high level of poker play that occurs deep in every WSOP tournament.
With the board reading and a pot of over 55,000 at stake, Andrew Teng was forced to make an extremely difficult decision. His opponent in the big blind had fired a bet of 39,500 at Teng, and the young pro who has cashed three times in this year's series, went as deep into the tank as a player can go.
Teng studied the board for more than five minutes, until finally another player at the table called the clock. With a tournament supervisor on hand to begin the count, Teng finally decided to muck his hand face-up, and when the table saw his holding, they immediately understood what took Teng so long. He folded the , good middle set, upon coming to the conclusion that his opponent had him beat.
While most amateur players, and many professionals as well, would make the crying call with Teng's set, the young tournament veteran released the monster seemingly with ease. He later told the winner of the pot, "I think if you had bet a little more, or a little less, I would've called." After the great laydown in a spot where many players would go broke, Teng preserved his chip stack and will live to fight another day.
We didn't get to see what Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger had gone all in with, but we know his opponent held the and the board read and Lichtenberger was eliminated from the tournament.
David Baker wasted no time in building his stack after the beginning of the level. He and another player got all the chips in the middle preflop with Baker having the other player covered.
Baker:
Opponent:
The board ran out and the other player was sent to the rail while Baker's stack grew to 305,000.
Shortly after retaking his seat following the recent break, Phil Hellmuth raised to 16,000 and his opponent on the button reraised all-in for 62,500. Hellmuth quickly made the call and flipped up , but the Poker Brat began whining just a bit when he saw his opponent's .
"Come on! Really?!" Hellmuth blurted before closing with "I just knew I was gonna bust this guy, he kept moving in on me and then he wakes up with queens!"
The final board ran out and Hellmuth's jacks were second best. He shipped about one-fourth of his chips to the opponent, all the while lamenting his opponent's good fortune.
After a tough few levels Aaron Massey was just able to double his stack. He held the and although we don't know what his opponent held, the board ran out and Massey's hand was best and his stack grew to 130,000.
Jonathan Duhamel (Event # 40) Was On The Rail to Support Jonathan Driscoll Here On Day 2
Throughout the first two days of this event, we have followed Jonathan Driscoll and documented his success in this year's $1,000 NLH tourneys. The Canadian native has made two deep runs in prior $1k events, finishing in 10th place in Event # 8, and he is doing his best to surpass that milestone here today.
We found ourselves wondering where Driscoll drew the motivation to enter the minefields of the massive donkament fields. During a recent break, we watched Driscoll and a buddy exchanging strategy tips and talking poker along the rail.
Upon closer inspection, Driscoll's sounding board turned out to be none other than Jonathan Duhamel, the defending Main Event champion who has made his own deep runs in the 2011 WSOP. Apparently the two are friends and this connection sheds some light on Driscoll's dominant run in the smaller buy-in events. With Duhamel on hand to provide advice and guidance, Driscoll is armed with the knowledge and experience necessary to bring another gold bracelet back to Canada
. Baker, dubbed "Other David Baker" by the poker media to differentiate him from David "Bakes" Baker, shoved all-in over the top of a large raise made by a player from under-the gun. Another player had called the original raise, and ODB wanted to end the hand immediately with his massive overbet. Unfortunately for him, the UTG player held 
and was compelled to call him down.
. Baker's flopped set of sixes put him far ahead, and the 
sealed the deal. After the meaningless 
on the river, ODB doubled his stack of 92,000 and now wits with just under 200,000, putting him in great shape to claim a seat on Day 3.
, good middle set, upon coming to the conclusion that his opponent had him beat.
and the board read 
and Lichtenberger was eliminated from the tournament.
, but the Poker Brat began whining just a bit when he saw his opponent's 
