Poker News / Matthew Pitt / 30 August 2010 / Leave a Comment

Event 3 of the 2010 World Series of Poker Europe, the £1,075 No-Limit Hold'em event, is only 18 days away and two more players have won the chance to take JP Kelly's crown after finishing in the top two of the $215 WSOPE Event 3 Qualifier that took place on Sunday 28 August.

Nineteen players parted exchanged $215 for 5,000 tournament chips and a 15 minute clock. The top two players would receive a $1,700 package along with an additional $450 in cash. Some of the regulars from the old Betfair Poker software were present, including Slaven11, grazza and E_V_V_O.

Chip counts at the start of the final table

Blinds - 100/200

1.) TheBot87 - 15,860
2.) untrue21 - 14,055
3.) grazza - 13,495
4.) Fradge - 13,011
5.) E_V_V_O - 11,314
6.) Anti-Top1 - 7,215
7.) L1LBuddh4 - 6,798
8.) x_dinamoz - 6,404
9.) Tandberg21 - 4,318
10.) shazznpc - 2,530

This week's WSOPE Event 3 Qualifier seemed to be the week of the underdog as the majority of the elimination hands saw the best hand lose, something that shazznpc can testify. TheBot87 made it 436 to go from the cutoff, Anti-Top1 called on the button and x_dinamoz in the small blind. Sensing a good spot to squeeze, shazznpc moved all-in from the big blind for a total of 2,530 chips, enough to fold out everyone barring x_dinamoz. The Kh9s of shazznpc was in front of the Jc9c of x_dinamoz and it stayed that was on a 6dQd7d flop. The 8c on the turn gave x_dinamoz some outs to a gutshot straight draw, one of which arrived in the shape of te Th on the river to send shazznpc home in tenth place.

Almost quarter of an hour passed until the next elimination took place and it was another suckout that claimed a scalp. The action folded around to grazza on the button who made a raise of three times the big blind to 600. The small blind folded but Anti-Top1 made the call from the big blind. A flop reading Th6sKh saw Anti-Top1 check, grazza bet 1,200 into the 1,300 pot and then Anti-Top1 check-raise all-in for an additional 2,798 chips, or 3,998 in total. After a brief pause grazza called and revealed AsQd which needed to catch up against the KsJs of Anti-Top1 who had made top pair. The turn saw a second ten fold, this time of clubs, which put Anti-Top1 further in front but his world came crashing down when the Ac arrived on the river to bust him in ninth place. He did not let this get him down though as he qualified for the $530 WSOPE Main Event Qualifier on September 12 just a few hours later.

Eighth place went to untrue21, again with the best preflop hand losing out. Finding himself very short-stacked, untrue21 open-shoved on the button for just 1,189 chips with blinds at 100/200/20a, holding Ac3h, and found a caller in _ Fradge_ who held Kc9h. The dealer put out a Jc5sTh flop made untrue21 a 62% favourite in the hand and this increased slightly to 68% when the 7c fell on the turn. However, a Qc on the river saw _ Fradge_ make an unlikely straight to see off his opponent and boost his own chances of winning one of the two WSOPE packages.

Ask any poker player to describe one of the most exciting feelings in poker and many will tell you it is when they are sat with pocket aces and have action in front of them. Try telling that to poor old L1LBuddh4 who went out the very next hand after untrue21 had been eliminated. Sat holding AcAh he must have been delighted to have seen x_dinamoz raise to 533 before him, a bet he raised to 1,600. Any excitement must have been doubled when E_V_V_O in the big blind put in a further raise to 9,000, enough to fold out x_dinamoz and put L1LBuddh4 all-in. He obviously called and was in great shape against E_V_V_O's red kings. A flop of 8c3d9s saw L1LBuddh4 go from an 82% favourite to one with 92% equity but that all changed with the arrival of the Kc on the turn as he was now an 95% underdog! The 2s on the river completed the hand and sent the unfortunate L1LBuddh4 to the rail in seventh place.

Unfortunately, due to a technical hiccup the elimination of Tandberg21 at the hands of x_dinamoz was not recorded but the cameras were fully functioning to see TheBot87 lose all of his chips and finish in fifth place. Everyone folded to grazza in the small blind who made it 1,200 to play, an amount TheBot87 was happy to pay. The flop came down Tc5s8h, grazza bet 2,000 into the 2,600 pot only to see his opponent move all-in for a total of 9,369 chips. Getting nearly two-to-one pot odds grazza would need a good excuse to fold and holding top pair with JsTs meant this was a trivial call. TheBot87 showed 9s7s for an open-ended straight draw but grazza held one of his outs. The turn and river were the 2d and Qc respectively and the tournament was down to just four players.

The first of these four to head for the rail was _ Fradge_ who himself will have a bad beat story to rival that of L1LBuddh4 earlier. On a flop reading 8s3dAd, grazza checked in the big blind, x_dinamoz lead out for 1,800 chips only to see _ Fradge_ raise to 6,000. After grazza folded in the big blind x_dinamoz moved all-in for a total of 21,388 chips, a bet that _ Fradge_ insta-called. With the cards on their backs it was easy to see why the action went the way it did, x_dinamoz held AcQs for top pair with a solid kicker whilst _ Fradge_ held As8d for top two pair and 86% equity. Just as it seemed _ Fradge_ was going to more than double up and become the chip leader, the Qc made an unwelcome appearance on the turn to give x_dinamoz a better two-pair. This left _ Fradge_ drawing to one of the two remaining eights in the deck but the long-shot did not happen as another queen, of diamonds, to rub salt into the wound and give x_dinamoz an unnecessary full house.

Chip counts going into three-handed play

1.) x_dinamoz - 44,606
2.) E_V_V_O - 27,560
3.) grazza - 22,114

Nobody likes to go home empty handed in a poker tournament, especially when they are the last person to go home without wining anything. With that in mind spare a thought for grazza who was eliminated in third place. With blinds at 250/500/50a, grazza limped in on the small blind and then raised-all-in over the 1,750 bet of x_dinamoz, who quickly called. Grazza showed 2d2c which was way behind the pocket jacks of his opponent. A flop of KcKs4c failed to alter anything, neither did the Qc on the turn. The river had to be a four or a two or grazza would be eliminated but it was the Qd meaning both players had two pairs Kings and Queens but x_dinamoz had a jack kicker whilst grazza had to play the board.

With the $1,700 package and $450 in cash in the bag the next elimination did not take long to occur. Both E_V_V_O and x_dinamoz moved all-in preflop, E_V_V_O with Ks2h, x_dinamoz with AsTc. By the river the board read 6s6c4h2d7h and E_V_V_O was the official tournament winner.

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