2011 World Series of Poker Day 39: Binger and Anter Take Final Preliminary Bracelets
Day 39 of the 2011 World Series of Poker saw the final two preliminary bracelets of the Series awarded in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event and the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo event. Also, another large field descended upon the Rio for Day 1b of the Main Event and one of the featured members of the 2010 November Nine made an early exit.
Event #56: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
Three players returned on Friday to battle for the final $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em bracelet of the Series. Hassan Anter began as the chip leader with 8.38 million, followed by Nemer Haddad with 3.44 million and Andy Philachack was the short-stack with 3.23 million.
Haddad and Philachack both took hits to their stacks early and Anter quickly extended his lead to 11.2 million. Philachack was the first to fall in a hand that consolidated the short stacks. After Haddad limped from the button, Philachack shoved from the small blind for around 1 million. Haddad made the call and found his A♣10♥ racing with Philachack's pocket threes. A flop of 10♣6♠7♠ put Hadad in the lead and Philachack was looking for either a three or running spades. The turn brought the K♠ and gave Philachack 11 outs for the win. Haddad faded those outs when the K♥ fell on the river and Haddad moved up to around 4 million in chips.
Heads-up play between Hassan Anter and Nemer Haddad started with Anter leading with around 12 million in chips to Haddad's 4 million. The heads-up battle started with Haddad picking up a few chips and then giving them right back to Anter. Haddad managed a comeback and took the chip lead briefly when he was able to double up with pocket sixes against Anter's {Ad3c}.
However, Anter's aggressive style of play proved too much for Haddad to be able to combat. Anter won two huge pots without a showdown to retake his initial 3:1 chip lead. In the final hand, Haddad came over the top of a preflop raise from Anter and moved all-in with A♦2♣. Anter made the call with A♠4♦ and had Haddad dominated. The flop fell K♠Q♠10♠ giving Anter a royal flush draw. The bad news was that any nonspade card bigger than a five would bring a chop. When the 4♠ hit the turn, the event was technically over for Haddad, but the river brought the J♠ to complete Anter's royal flush, possibly making him the only person in WSOP history to win a bracelet with a royal flush as his final hand.
Hasan Anter won the final preliminary no-limit hold'em bracelet of the 2011 WSOP and $777,928.
Find out all the details on how Anter took down this event in our live coverage blog.
Event #57: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split
David Bach and Nick Binger returned to complete their heads-up battle in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Event on Friday. Binger started with a 3.23 million to 2 million chip lead over Bach who was looking for his second career bracelet while Binger was still searching for his first career WSOP bracelet.
Bach was able to take the chip lead briefly in a pot where Binger missed a draw, but he failed to hold that lead for long. Binger extended his lead to about 3.75 million to 1.5 million before the final preliminary champion of the year was determined.
After a preflop raise from Bach to 300,000, Binger potted to 900,000. Bach then shoved with his remaining stack for his tournament life. Binger called and showed A♣5♦3♣3♦ and Bach showed A♦K♥K♠4♥. The flop fell 7♣5♥2♣ to give Binger the nut-low and a nut-flush draw. The turn brought the 9♣ to give Binger the flush and lock up the high. Only a three would give Bach a chop. The 5♣ fell on the river and Binger took the title.
Nick Binger won the final preliminary bracelet of the 2011 WSOP. In addition to his first bracelet, he took home $397,073.
Read all the action in this heads-up battle in our live event blog.
Event #58: $10,000 Main Event
Day 1b of the 2011 WSOP Main Event drew a crowd of 985 players to the Rio on Friday looking for their shots at poker's richest prize. The 985 players on Day 1b were 504 players fewer than Day 1b of the 2010 Main Event and only 88 players more than Thursday's total.
Last year, Michael Mizrachi had an epic year winning the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship and making the November Nine of this event. Unfortunately, he will not make another final table run because his day ended on Day 1b. He took a big hit to his stack early and slipped to 8,500 before play was even into Level 2. He battled for a while but could never build any momentum. Finally, he was all-in preflop for his last 5,000 with K♣10♣ against the pocket nines of Robin Fisher. A flop of Q♥J♦7♠ gave Mizrachi an open-ended straight draw, but that draw failed to materialize as the turn brought the J♥ and river the 4♣. As such, Mizrachi's 2011 WSOP comes to an end.
Ben Lamb started the day in a bit of trouble after losing almost half his stack. After a couple of successful all-in bluffs, however, he was able to rebuild his stack and from that point he was able to thrive. A combination of big pots and strong play allowed Lamb to chip up throughout the day and even move over 200,000 chips for a brief time. Lamb ended the day with 188,925 and the chip lead for Day 1b.
Guilllaume Rivet has been having a solid WSOP and finished Day 1b 10th in chips with 131,175. Former Main Event champ Carlos Mortensen is also near the top of the leaderboard with 105,025. Mark Kroon, Sam Stein, Nicolas Chouity, and Ryan D'Angelo all finished with stacks over 100,000. Notables that failed to make Day 2 of the Main Event included Anthony Yeh, Eric Froehlich, Andre Akkari, Rep Porter, Justin Smith, Nacho Barbero, Noah Schwartz, Erica Schoenberg, and Nicholas Levi.
After five levels of play, 616 players will advance to Day 2. They will join the Day 1d field and continue play in Day 2b on Tuesday. With just two opening days remaining in the Main Event, Saturday's Day 1c field promises to be a massive one.
Who survived Day 1b? Find out in our live reporting blog.
On Tap
Day 1c of the 2011 WSOP Main Event will see yet another field take to the felt and chase a dream and poker superstardom. If historic patterns prove true, expect a sizable jump in field size for Saturday.
Podcast
On Friday, the PokerNews Podcast crew discussed all the Day 1a action in the 2011 WSOP Main. Doyle Brunson's decision to play the Main Event was one of the major topics discussed, as was which starting day is best for players. Later, Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari joined the podcast to discuss his bracelet win, his daughter's ability to see the future, and the poker boom in Brazil.
The PokerNews Podcast crew will be with there through all of the Main Event. Click here to listen.
Video of the Day
Nick Binger finally took down his first bracelet in Friday in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo event. Sarah Grant caught up with him right after the win to talk about the strength of competition in the field, the importance of having poker players you respect as friends, and where you will see him next.
For all your updates during the Main Event, follow PokerNews on Facebook and Twitter.
