The WSOP on ESPN: Mortensen's Big Fold, JC Tran Emerges on Day 6
ESPN’s coverage of the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event continued Tuesday night with a 90-minute episode featuring the start of Day 6.
Last week’s broadcast saw eliminations from Marvin Rettenmaier, Annette Obrestad and Beverly Lange, leaving Jackie Glazier has the last woman standing going into Day 6. Just 68 players remained including 2012 WSOP Main Event ninth-place finisher Steve Gee and former Main Event champ Carlos "El Matador" Mortensen. Here’s a look at the top 10 chip counts at the start of the broadcast:
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sami Rustom | 7,005,000 |
| 2 | Marc Etienne McLaughlin | 6,695,000 |
| 3 | Jason Mann | 6,580,000 |
| 4 | Maxx Coleman | 6,260,000 |
| 5 | George Wong | 5,740,000 |
| 6 | Sylvain Loosli | 5,690,000 |
| 7 | Ryan Riess | 5,570,000 |
| 8 | Keanu Tabali | 5,435,000 |
| 9 | Matthew Reed | 5,255,000 |
| 10 | Chris Lindh | 4,070,000 |
Show Your Aces: Day 6 featured more than a few bustouts, doubles ups and dropped chip stacks as a result of pocket aces. Noah Schwartz lost 85% of his stack after seeing his pocket kings all in against Jay Farber’s A♠A♥, leaving Schwartz with only 10 big blinds. Keanu Tabali was eliminated in 58th place after his A♦Q♦ failed to survive against Jorn Walthaus’ A♠A♥. Brett Richey, after being featured in his own rap video promoting the night’s episode, was eliminated in 55th place for $123,597. Richey’s K♠Q♥ couldn’t keep him alive against Texas amateur James Alexander’s A♦A♣.
Schwartz’ demise would be a replay from his earlier encounter. After losing kings versus aces, Schwartz was knocked out in 52nd after running his pocket sevens into Pellegrino’s A♦A♣.
Aces weren’t always the winner, though. In one of the biggest hands played, Carlos Mortensen opened to 135,000 with K♣8♣. Alexander oddly enough called with 6♣5♠, while JC Tran raised to 420,000 with his pocket eights. Walthaus, who already busted Tabali with aces, picked up the same hand with A♥A♦, and raised to 945,000. Mortensen and Alexander gave up their hand, and Tran contemplated for a bit before calling. The flop showed 8♥6♥K♠. Now behind, Walthaus led for 655,000, and Tran raised to 1,450,000 with his set. Walthaus threw out a four-bet worth 2,255,000 and Tran shoved. Walthaus didn’t pause before snap-calling to discover he was way behind. The 3♣ turn and Q♦ river completed the board, boosting Tran’s stack to 8.2 million. Walthaus still owned a comfortable stack of 4.5 million.
In another situation involving pocket aces, Mark Newhouse raised 125,000 with his A♥A♣ and got calls from Chris Lindh (Q♠2♠) and Jaime Kaplan (2♥2♣). The 8♠9♠2♦ flop was an action generator, giving Lindh bottom pair and the flush draw, Kaplan the set, and Newhouse the overpair. In a made-for-TV moment, Lindh bet 225,000, Kaplan raised to 600,000, and Newhouse re-raised to 1,500,000. Lindh had had both players covered and announced "all in" with his draw. Kaplan appeared confused but announced all in as well. Newhouse had a third of his stack in the pot but opted to fold with the crazy action in front. Lindh then got his spade on the turn with K♠, and the 6♦ fell on the river. Kaplan was out in 47th place and Lindh was suddenly the chip leader with 11,920,000 million in chips.
Alexander Calls the Clock on El Matador: ESPN has aired some pretty lengthy tanks in the past, but Carlos Mortensen may have taken the cake on Day 6. Mortensen was left with a tough decision after picking up K♠K♦ against two players, Walthaus 7♠7♦ and Matthew Reed K♥Q♥. On a flop of J♥J♣8♠, Reed and Mortensen checked before Walthaus bet 215,000. Only Mortensen called before the 7♥ came on the turn, giving Walthaus a full house, sevens full of jacks. Mortensen check-called a bet of 510,000, and then checked again when the 2♥ completed the board. Walthaus bet 975,000, less than half the pot, and that’s when Mortensen went into the tank ... for at least 12 minutes. Alexander told Mortensen at the 12-minute mark that he was considering calling the clock, and a short while later he followed through with his threat. With just seconds left to make a move, Mortensen tossed his kings into the air toward the muck, perfect enough for the cameras to see his hand, showing the world that he's capable of making great folds.
Tune in Next Week: The WSOP on ESPN will continue every Tuesday through November. You can check out the full schedule by clicking here. Two more episodes will air next week, and if you happen to miss it, check back right here on PokerNews for a full recap of the action.
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