Pokerstars.com $350,000 Guaranteed - May 8th, 2005

Jon Eaton

May 8th, 2005

2,193 people shelled out $215 for the weekly $350k tournament on Pokerstars this Sunday, making the official prize pool a massive $438,600. First prize was $92k, with a total of 225 players getting paid. The final table lined up like this (chip counts in parenthesis):

Seat 1: lennart (703,183 in chips)
Seat 2: custom1 (552,111 in chips)
Seat 3: Luckyliu (730,016 in chips)
Seat 4: dadoum (222,252 in chips)
Seat 5: --l A l-- (167,791 in chips)
Seat 6: riverthenuts (1,235,072 in chips)
Seat 7: HoldumGod (679,756 in chips)
Seat 8: t11b7 (140,928 in chips)
Seat 9: RockyWaters (1,051,391 in chips)

Blinds were at the usual 20k-40k with a 2k ante for the rest of the event. The action started on the very first hand, with riverthenuts opening up under-the-gun for 120k. HoldumGod pushed 677k all-in and was called immediately. riverthenuts showed pocket queens, dominating HoldumGod’s jacks. The final board was 3s-Ad-2s-3c-4d, giving the 1.4 million pot to riverthenuts. HoldumGod collected $5,701.80 for his ninth place finish.

custom1 opened up for 120k in second position three hands later. With only 99k left, --l A l-- called the last of his chips all-in with Ah-Qs. custom1 showed Js-Ts. The flop was a monster for --l A l-- as it came down 2s-As-Ac. With the hand won on the flop, --l A l-- doubled up to 275k.

custom1 again got in the middle of the action, this time calling the baby raise from t11b7 who went all-in for about 69k. t11b7 showed Ac-Qd, and custom1’s Kh-5c was again drawing against A-Q. With the flop coming down Ah-Jd-Td, custom1 was drawing to three outs. No help came, and t11b7 doubled up to 173k.

Again, custom1 was involved in the action. This time, they limped in for 40k. dadoum pushed for 122k, which custom1 quickly called. dadoum showed Td-9d, making a very strange play considering he was very likely to be called. custom1 showed Qh-Jh, and when the board bricked off for the both of them, his queen high held up. dadoum was out in eighth, taking home $8,772.40 for his efforts.

It only took another three hands before two players met in the middle for all their chips. t11b7 pushed all-in for almost 100k, and was called by lennart, who showed 9h-4s (obviously making a pot-odds call). t11b7 showed As-4h. With no 9 in site, and an ace on the river, t11b7 doubled up to 233k.

Still short stacked, --l A l-- pushed all-in for 193k with Kd-Ts. RockyWaters made the call with Ah-Jc. Unfortunately for RockyWaters, his hand was way ahead until the miracle Td on the river doubled up --l A l-- yet again.

RockyWater’s bad breaks would continue, as he re-raised t11b7’s 155k all-in bet. No one called, and RockyWater’s saw that his pocket tens were well behind the aces of t11b7. No ten appeared, and RockyWater’s massive stack got just a little smaller yet again.

The very next hand, this already strange final table got stranger. With a healthy 565k, lennart put it all in the middle from the cut-off seat. --l A l-- called quickly with As-Qh, dominating lennart’s Qd-Th. A queen on the flop and rags the rest of the way doubled up --l A l-- yet again. From the shortest stack at the table to now holding over 800k, --l A l-- was on a roll.

lennart would push all-in with pocket fours from under-the-gun shortly thereafter, and outdrew RockyWater’s pocket nines on the Td-5d-4c flop. No help for RockyWater’s, and his luck continued to go south. lennart won the 382k pot.

lennart’s aggression continued after a round or so of bet-and-take it hands, pushing all-in with Kc-Th from the small blind. custom1 didn’t disappoint and made yet another big call, this time with Ad-5c. The flop came 7h-Qd-Qh, leaving lennart in bad shape. No help came, and he took seventh place, pocketing $12,719.40.

Luckyliu kept the aggression alive, pushing all-in from the button with Ac-7c. Unfortunately they ran into the As-Kh held by riverthenuts. The board came down 9d-Td-Ah-5d-9h, sending Luckyliu home in sixth place. For their efforts they were awarded $17,105.40.

Six hands later, t11b7 called their last 51k all-in after custom1 made a raise. custom1 showed Ac-7h, which couldn’t beat t11b7’s pocket fours when the hand was done. t11b7 collected the 212k pot, doubling up.

In a rare non-all-in confrontation, a 650k pot developed between RockyWaters, who limped in the small blind, and the big blind, custom1. RockyWaters bet 40k on the 8d-6d-Kh flop, and again when the 2c hit the turn. custom1 called both, and then 200k on the 8h river after RockyWaters checked. He was paid off, as custom1 showed 8c-7h for trips. RockyWaters’ final table had gone completely wrong, leaving him now with just 343k after starting with over a million.

RockyWaters’ end was met shortly after. He pushed 339k all-in to the middle with Ah-4d, and --l A l-called with the As-8h. --l A l-- didn’t need the 8d on the river, but that sealed the deal. After taking some rough beats and running into aces, he took fifth place and $21,052.80.

t11b7, still short stacked and desperate, pushed in with Ks-2s for 70k, which was called by custom1 from the big blind. custom1’s Ah-3c was ahead, but couldn’t beat the pair of 2s that t11b7 flopped, as they doubled up to 149k.

t11b7’s good fortunes would turn even better, as they pushed in for 147k over the top of riverthenuts’ pocket kings. t11b7’s Ah-Qd took a commanding lead with an ace on the flop, and doubled up yet again, this time collectiong 363k.

For the next few rounds, a raise or re-raise won the pot without any contest. custom1 managed to take down a huge 488k pot from --l A l-- after the two saw the flop for the minimum. custom1’s Qs-8s made top pair on the flop and held up to the river, despite a K and A falling.

t11b7’s pocket kings managed to hold up after pushing all-in for 223k against custom1, who had to call after raising in first position with the 9h-8c. The extra king on the flop doubled them up yet again, giving him the 474k pot.

t11b7’s good fortunes came to a screeching halt shortly after. He pushed all-in from under-the-gun for 448k, which was called by --l A l--. The flop was 2s-Jc-Tc, giving --l A l-- an open-ended draw with his Kd-Qc, but was still behind the Ac-Kc of t11b7. However, the dreaded ace on the river eliminated t11b7 in fourth, collecting $26,316.

Three-handed play started as deal discussions were had, but custom1 wasn’t having any of it. “Only deal I'm interested in is winner takes it all,” custom1 said. However, despite his courage, custom1 would soon bust on a huge bluff. custom1 brought it in for 120k, which was re-raised by --l A l-- to 200k. He called the raise.

On the flop of Qh-3h-4s, --l A l-- bet 120k, and was called by custom1. When the 5s fell on the turn, --l A l-- bet 120k yet again. This time, custom1 put all 1.3 million in the middle, and --l A l-- beat him in the middle with pocket kings. custom1 showed a big draw with the 6h-8h, but the Kc on the river didn’t help. custom1 took third and $34,649.40 for their efforts.

Heads-up play started, and a deal was struck between the two. riverthenuts took $78,492 and gave $68,000 to --l A l--. With the pressure off, the action was back and forth with a series of all-ins trading the chip-lead back and forth. However, on the final hand, --l A l-- showed Qh-Td, which made the nut straight against riverthenuts’ Th-9h, which was good for two pair. The title went to --l A l-- but the prize money had already been dealt out.

Final Results (prize money adjusted for financial deal between 1-2):

1st - --l A l-- (Arhus N. DK) - $68,000
2nd - riverthenuts (Oakland, CA) - $78,492
3rd - custom1 (Bergen, Norway) - $34,649.40
4th - t11b7 (Moneta, Italy) - $26,316
5th - RockyWaters (Clarenville, CA) - $21,052.80
6th - Luckyliu (Newcastle, UK) - $17,105.40
7th - lennart (Hollviken, Sweeden) - $12,719.40
8th - dadoum (Paris, France) - $8,772.40
9th - HoldumGod (Oakdale, MN) - $5,701.80