The Biggest Hands from the 2013 PCA $100,000 Super High Roller
The 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, kicked off this weekend with the $100,000 Super High Roller. The tournament attracted 47 players who accounted for 12 reentries, bringing the total to 59 entries and created a prize pool of $5,724,180.
That tournament is down to the final table and will recommence on Monday as the final eight play down to a winner, who will take home a hefty $2,003,480 first-place prize. Of course, you can follow the updates from the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas alongside the PokerNews Live Reporting Team.
Here’s a look at the $100,000 Super High Roller final table:
| Seat | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Schulman | 2,295,000 |
| 2 | Dan Shak | 870,000 |
| 3 | Greg Jensen | 1,500,000 |
| 4 | Scott Seiver | 755,000 |
| 5 | Vladimir Troyanovsky | 505,000 |
| 6 | Philipp Gruissem | 1,610,000 |
| 7 | Cary Katz | 540,000 |
| 9 | David Sands | 6,680,000 |
To help generate some excitement for the final table, we'd like to set the stage a bit by taking a look back at the first two days at some of the biggest hands that helped the finalists get to where they are.
The Mysterious Amateur Makes Final Table
Before the start of the $100,000 Super High Roller, registration was a laundry list of well-known professionals sprinkled with a few experienced amateurs — with the exception of Greg Jensen. Here was a man that no one in the poker community had heard of. A little digging revealed that Jensen was a hedge fund manager and the co-CEO and co-CIO for Bridgewater Associates of Westport, Connecticut, with assets totaling $122 billion.
What's more, Jensen entered the tournament on whim after a colleague of his had gifted him a seat into the $10,000 PCA Main Event. Jensen decided to take a shot in the Super High Roller, and incredibly, he made it all the way to the final table thanks in no small part to a few key hands on Day 2:
Not long ago, Greg Jensen was nursing a short stack. Now, the investment banker has made a charge and is up above the chip average.
It happened when Daniel Negreanu opened for 42,000 under the gun, Vladimir Troyanovsky three-bet to 93,000 from the cutoff, and Jensen four-bet all in to 343,000 from the small blind. Negreanu got out of the way and Troyanovsky made the call.
Troyanovsky: Q♦Q♣
Jensen: 4♠4♣Jensen was dominated, but luckily for the amateur, the 4♥10♣2♣ flop delivered salvation. Neither the 9♦ turn nor the 3♥ river helped Troyanovsky, and he watched a good portion of his chips sent across the table.
A short time later, the same two players saw a flop of 9♠A♠5♦, and Jensen check-called a bet of 45,000 from Troyanovsky. Jensen then check-called another bet, this time 129,000, on the 2♦ turn, and then both players checked the 9♦ river. Jensen tabled the Q♥9♥ for rivered trips, and Troyanovsky simply mucked.
Sands Eliminates Ivey in Largest Pot Of Tournament; Takes Out Selbst
In what was the largest pot of the tournament up until that point, David “Doc” Sands and living legend Phil Ivey clashed in a Day 2 pot that resulted in the former having a commanding chip lead over the rest of the field. We’ll let the hand, as reported in the live blog, speak for itself:
Sands opened to 57,000 from early position, Ivey defended his big blind, and the flop fell 5♦A♣3♦. Ivey checked, Sands continued for 64,000, and Ivey called.
The turn was the 6♣, Ivey checked again, and Sands tossed out 177,000. Ivey check-raised to 557,000, Sands moved all in for 1.25 million, and Ivey went deep into the tank.
The eight-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner went deep into the tank, readjusting himself in his chair. About three minutes later, he laughed to himself then called, putting his tournament life at risk.
Ivey: 5♣2♣
Sands: A♥5♥The river was the 6♦, and Ivey was eliminated. Sands raked in the monstrous pot to move around three million chips.
As if that wasn't enough, Sands won another massive pot against Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst, the only woman to ever play the PCA $100,000 Super High Roller, in one of the last levels of Day 2.
Sands opened to 64,000 from the hijack seat, and Selbst called in the cutoff. The flop fell J♣4♠2♣, Sands led out for 84,000, and Selbst raised to 233,000. Sands called.
The turn was the Q♣, Sands checked, and Selbst fired 347,000. Sands called.
The river was the 5♣, and Sands checked again. Selbst moved all in for 1.2 million, and Sands instantly snapped it off.
Selbst showed the 7♦5♦ for just a pair of fives, but Sands had that crushed with the A♣2♠ for an ace-high flush. Selbst was out, while Sands moved to a barn-sized chip lead with 5.6 million chips.
Dan Shak Makes Back-To-Back PCA $100K Final Tables
Last year, Dan Shak navigated a field of 32 entries to make it to heads-up play in this very event against Viktor "Isildur1" Blom. The match ended up being one-sided because Shak was only able to win a few small pots while his Swedish opponent took down all the big ones. Eventually, Blom claimed the title and left Shak with an $846,700 consolation prize.
It was a nice showing by Shak, but it no doubt left a sour taste in the mouth of the amateur who is transitioning into being a poker pro. As such, the consummate high roller returned this year looking to finish one spot better. Amazingly, Shak has a chance to do just that as he made the final table for the second year in a row — a truly remarkable accomplishment.
Shak, who starts the final table fifth in chips, slowly chipped up throughout Day 2 and then hit a bit of a heater in the middle levels. It was there that he eliminated Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel and left Tom Marchese crippled. Here's the hand:
Seidel open-shoved for his last 197,000 on the button, Shak called in the small blind, and Marchese re-shoved for effectively 708,000 from the big blind. Shak made the call, and the three hands were tabled:
Seidel: K♠7♣
Shak: 4♠4♥
Marchese: A♦K♦The board came 8♦8♥3♠4♣J♦, and Shak more than doubled to 1.64 million chips. Seidel was eliminated in the process, and Marchese was left with 20,000 chips or so.
Here’s a look at some other memorable events from the PCA $100,000 Super High Roller:
- Viktor “Isildur1” Blom did not return to defend his title.
- Eugene Katchalov scored the first double up of the event.
- Phil Hellmuth visited the PCA for the first time, entered the $100K in the last level of the night on Day 1, then busted 30 minute later.
- Philipp Gruissem finished as the Day 1 chip leader.
Action is set to recommence at 1 p.m. EST on Monday when the final table will play down to a winner. Be sure to join us then as the PokerNews Live Reporting Team brings you all the latest and greatest from the 2013 PCA!
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