PartyPoker Premier League IV Day 6 | PartyPoker Premier League IV

02-17-2010 09:00 UTC-12

Schwartz Gone

donpeters

No, Luke Schwartz isn't out of the tournament, but he isn't at the table. Schwartz was there when play began, but has taken a leave of absence from the table.

In his pregame interview, Schwartz said that he thought about not even showing up and just blinding away up to a few points and secure a spot in the top eight.

The other players at the table are talking about whether or not this is actually the optimal play for Schwartz. They argued that if he's the type of player that just has an addiction to playing hands and cant just sit there and fold, this might be the best decision for him.

Don't worry though, Roland De Wolfe put a stuffed monkey in his seat to take his spot. Yes, that's right, a stuffed monkey.

We'll see if he comes back anytime soon.

Tags: Luke Schwartz

02-17-2010 08:57 UTC-12

Happy Retirement

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donpeters

Hellmuth reading the card De Wolfe got for him

Roland De Wolfe just walked to the other side of the table and gave Phil Hellmuth a card. The card was a "Happy Retirement" card and De Wolfe wrote a note in it wishing Hellmuth happy retirement from the game of poker as a shot to Hellmuth. The table got a great laugh from this one.

Tags: Phil Hellmuth Roland De Wolfe

02-17-2010 08:53 UTC-12

Hellmuth Picks One Up

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donpeters

David Benyamine raised to 6,000 with the {K-Diamonds}

and Phil Hellmuth called behind with the {K-Hearts}

.

The flop came down {A-Diamonds}

and Benyamine checked. Hellmuth fired 4,000 and Benyamine called.

The turn was the {A-Hearts}

and Benyamine checked. Hellmuth fired 10,000 and won the pot.

Tags: David Benyamine Phil Hellmuth

02-17-2010 08:45 UTC-12

Shuffle Up and Deal!

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donpeters

The players have taken their seats and the cards are in the air. Roland De Wolfe is wearing some sort of Darth Vader costume complete with a toy lightsaber.

Level: 1

Blinds: 1,000/2,000

Ante: 0

02-17-2010 08:43 UTC-12

Pregame Stretch?

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donpeters

Phil Hellmuth is stretching himself off to the side in the Ravello Bar as the players wait to get things started. He laid on his stomach and arched his back and then stood up to tell Vanessa Rousso about how his back has started to hurt.

"I'm 45 and I've never had any back problems," he said. "So what I do is lay face down and do this and then curl this way," he went on to describe about how he stretches out his back.

Hellmuth then went back to the floor and laid on his stomach befores arching back like a snake, then he goes into a position where he pulls his knees to his chest and squeezes, then back to snake-like, then spins side to side, then back to pulling his knees in.

We'll see how loose he comes out of the gate.

Tags: Phil Hellmuth

02-17-2010 08:17 UTC-12

The Final Heat Warming Up

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donpeters

Today marks the final heat of the PartyPoker Premier League IV before the final table. Heat #6 is the most interesting matchup of players and also the most important. Being the final heat in the event before the final table, every player knows where they stand and can judge where they need to finish to make it to the final table.

Daniel Negreanu comes into today with 10 points and stated in his pregame interview that he needs to finish third or better. He also revealed that he got out his notepad last night and figured out where everyone else needs to finish. Knowing this, he'll be able to apply pressure to people where needed.

Here's a look at the standings, with everyone in bold playing today.

1. Phil Laak – 48 points
2. David Benyamine - 35 points
3. Giovanni Safina - 29 points
4. Ian Frazer – 26 points
5. Luke Schwartz – 23 points
6. JC Tran – 20 points
7. Yevgeniy Timoshenko – 16 points
8. Roland De Wolfe – 14 points
9. Vanessa Rousso – 12 points
10. Daniel Negreanu – 10 points
11. Tony G - 9 points
12. Phil Hellmuth - 8 points

As you can see, the five players with the least amount of points all finish today. After today, the top four point getters automatically make the final table with the next four spots playing heads-up matches to see who gets the final two seats. Even though David Benyamine and Phil Laak have a final table appearance locked up, they'll be looking to pick up some more points and increase their chip stack at the final table. These two will have the advantage of not being no scared to bust out from the tournament.

Rumor has it, Roland De Wolfe will be willing to fold almost every hand because he knows he needs to move up in points. In a previous season of this event, De Wolfe folded over 70 straight hands at one point in order to move up. Hellmuth believes he'll just fold, fold, fold until he picks up a monster and then he'll just move in.

It's going to be very interesting to see how the match plays out and you can find all the coverage right here on PokerNews. Stay tuned!