The Poker Thread

Hellmuth Has Chips

After a raise to 1,300 from late position, Phil Hellmuth called from the small blind, and the big blind came along as well. The flop came , and Hellmuth led with a bet of 1,500. The player to his left raised to 3,800, chasing the original raiser out of the hand. "Wow," said Hellmuth, sitting up and smiling before letting his hand go. The Poker Brat had a good first level today, and has chipped up to 75,000 now. Meanwhile, Todd "Dan Druff" Witteles who began this afternoon also at the main feature table with a short stack is no longer there, and appears not to have survived early action today.

Watch Out For ElkY

Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier opened the action with a raise under the gun to 1,500. The play folded around to the small blind who raised to 5,000. Grospellier popped it up once again to make it 18,500 before his opponent moved all in for a few thousand more. Grospellier made the call. Grospellier: Opponent: The board ran out and Grospellier spiked a pair of kings on the river to eliminate his opponent. Grospellier is up to a healthy 160,000 chips.

It's All Over Baby

Scotty Nguyen has been knocked out by Brandon Lee after all the money went in a board of . Nguyen was in fine shape with but Lee's got there on the river to make a very disappointed Nguyen head for the rail.

Ivey Forces Fold From Set

Catching the action on a board of with around 35,000 chips in the middle, Phil Ivey called the 15,000-chip bet of his opponent before the fell on the river. The action checked to Ivey who moved 45,000 into the middle as the media suddenly swarmed the table in anticipation of big Ivey pot. His opponent went into the tank and eventually folded face up. Ivey didn't show. He just raked in even more chips to get himself up to 168,000.

Raising Hellmuth

"And Phil is all in!" So said the announcer over on the feature table a moment ago. There'd been some back-and-forthing with preflop raises and reraises between Hellmuth and an opponent before the flop, culminating in the Poker Brat's all-in bet. His opponent -- whom Hellmuth had covered -- let it go, and Hellmuth showed pocket queens. The day continues to go well for Hellmuth, who is now sitting with 120,000.

Hachem Doubles

There was 7,000 in the middle on the flop of when Joe Hachem got all in with his opponent. Hachem held two queens, and his opponent held . The turn was the and the river the . With the board missing all of his opponent's draws and leaving him with just a pair of tens, Hachem was able to double up to 62,000.

Lederer Out

Howard Lederer just ran his pocket sixes into kings to bust from the tournament. Lederer was never able to get much going today.

Durrrr Chipping Up

Tom "Durrrr" Dwan has been a raising machine as of late, opening multiple pots in a row. He seems to take down the pot every time he makes a continuation bet, and although currently only at 22,000, he has added nicely to his stack over the past few orbits.

Hachem Wins A Flip

2005 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Hachem is up to 77,000. He raised to 2,000 UTG and found another player pushing all in behind him for 9,000. Hachem made the call with and found the board much more favourable for himself than for his opponent who had .

All Aboard The Ivey Train

We didn't catch the details but Phil Ivey is now commanding a stack of 230,000 thanks to a massive clash with Jonas Molander. The chips were in preflop with Ivey's pocket kings in control against Molander's ace-king. The board bricked out safely for Ivey as he raked in the 200,000+ pot to send Molander crashing out of the tournament.

ElkY Moving Up

Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier has boosted his stack to 250,000. With about 40,000 in the pot and the board reading , ElkY bet 39,000 on the river and his opponent called, showing . ElkY tabled for a full house and took down the pot.

Ylon Schwartz Eliminated

It's going to be very difficult for Ylon Schwartz to replicate his final table heroics from last year's WSOP Main Event, as he now finds himself headed to the rail after a clash with Bill Gazes. Schwartz held pocket kings with all the chips in preflop against the ace-king of Gazes. However, the board was spread and Gazes hit his ace to eliminate Schwartz from the tournament.

Ivey Cruising

Phil Ivey has been in a groove at Miranda #304. He recently took down five pots in a row and has upped his stack to 265,500. His table is being moved to the Amazon room at the start of the break as he hopes to continue his dominance over there.

Durrrr Done

Tom Dwan has been eliminated from the Main Event. As we wandered past his table to find his empty chair, the table recalled to us what led to his elimination. Dwan and one other player called a preflop raise to see a flop with two spades. The preflop aggressor followed up with a continuation bet which Dwan called, before the third player raised to 8,000. One call and Dwan decided to move all in for 22,000 more. Both opponents called. The turn was a and both live players checked before a fell on the river. Check, all in and fold was the action as the third player tabled pocket sixes for a rivered straight. Dwan flashed pocket kings and headed for the nearest exit.

They're Wary of Esfandiari

In his typical fashion, Antonio Esfandiari has been involved in many pots and seems to be having success today as the aggressor at his table. Recently he was involved in a hand in which the player under the gun raised to 3,500, it folded back to Esfandiari who called from the small blind, and the big blind got out of the way. The flop came , and Esfandiari led with a bet of 4,200. His opponent called. Both checked the turn. The came on the river, and Esfandiari pushed out a bet of 22,000, prompting the fold. Esfandiari is at 164,000.

Eastgate on the Brink?

Peter Eastgate, the defending champion, is down to about 8,000 and desperately needs a double up. The media and public interest in him has intensified over the last half hour or so once he got short. Can the 2008 Main Event Winner survive?

Khan Runs Into Renz

Hevad Khan raised to 2,500 from early position, and Christina Renz called from the button. The flop came , and following the very deliberate motion Khan typically employs, he grabbed 4,500 from his tall stacks and tossed them forward, keeping his gaze fixed downward toward the felt. Renz paused for a moment, then made the call. The turn was the . This time Khan tapped the felt with his right hand, still not moving otherwise. Renz bet 8,000, and Khan slowly made the call. The river was the . Khan again checked, and this time Renz bet 15,000. Khan sat motionless for 15 seconds, then made the call. Renz turned over -- she'd flopped trips -- and Khan mucked. He's at 145,000 now, while Renz is up to 82,000.

Big Hand, Modest Pot for Hellmuth

That's right. We used the words "modest" and "Hellmuth" in close proximity there. Phil Hellmuth had a terrific start today, boosting his below average stack up to 140,000 within the first two levels. He then settled back around the 120,000-chip mark and has been there for most of the day. We just now caught an intriguing hand in which the Poker Brat was involved. A player in middle position bet 2,700, and Hellmuth, sitting to his left, made the call. The blinds folded, and the flop came . The raiser continued with a bet of 4,700, and Hellmuth wasted little time calling. The turn was the , pairing the board. This time Hellmuth's opponent checked. Hellmuth sat up straight, rechecked his cards, looked to his right at his opponent, then gathered some chips. Finally he tossed out a smallish bet of 4,800, and his opponent called. The river was the , provoking a "oooh" from the crowd. Hellmuth's opponent again checked, and this time Hellmuth pushed out 12,000. His opponent rechecked his cards, then folded. Hellmuth then flipped his cards face up to the dealer -- -- provoking a louder response from the crowd. As we move towards the last half-hour of play for the night, Hellmuth has about 135,000.

Eastgate Survives

Peter Eastgate, who continually stole blinds to get himself back up to 16,000 has just doubled up to about 34,000 after he pushed with against a button raiser's but caught better on the board to make a straight.

How Quickly Can Fortune Change?

Peter Eastgate was staring at just 8 big blinds about an hour ago, but he's now gone on a great run. First, he was all in on a board with against the of the big blind. Eastgate housed up on the river to put him up to 87,000. Then he eliminated a short stack with against after a board. From 8,000 to 100,000 in next to no time - That's how the World Champion rolls...