On Tuesday night, one PocketFiver made waves in the $1,500 Mixed Hold'em (limit/no-limit) tournament at the 2008 World Series of Poker. Three members of the site finished in the top 12 spots in Event #41, a remarkable feat. Jonathan driverseati Tamayo led the way, finishing second for $140,093. Barely missing the final table was Todd DanDruff Witteles, who finished 10th. 2007 WCOOP Event #1 winner Sam samethebull Hiatt took home 12th place. PocketFivers have now pocketed a grand total of $12 million dollars from the 2008 WSOP and six – drossxyu, worldsgrtest, blur5f6, barryg1, miamivce, and legrouzin – have taken home bracelets. With the Main Event one week away, let’s take a look at how PocketFivers fared in Event #41, which was tracked live on PocketFivesLive.com, your source for WSOP coverage.Tamayo made the final table of the mixed hold’em event and finished second. He entered the final table fifth in chips with 238,500, trailing chip leader Mats Gavatin’s stack of 405,000. He was the victim of two straight unfortunate hands that shrunk his chip stack, leading to his exit from the tournament. On the first hand, Tamayo flopped the nut straight with A-K, but eventual champion Frank Gary hit a runner-runner full house to win. On the second hand, Tamayo’s A-10 was bested by Gary’s J-8. Both occurred during limit hold’em play.
At the end of March, Tamayo took home nearly $63,000 for a sixth place finish in the $1,050 buy-in Sunday Million on PokerStars. One week earlier, he won the Fifty-Fifty on FullTiltPoker, cashing for $10,462.73. At the World Series of Poker, Tamayo logged his fourth cash lifetime and third in 2008. His largest previous cash at the WSOP was a $10,212 payday for he finishing 10th in a $2,000 limit event last year. PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Adam Johnson talks about Tamayo’s play leading up to the final table, “It was fun to watch Tamayo on Day 1. He had the tournament staff running around frantically trying to color chips up because they took up more than half of the table. It's been common for chip leaders to blow up so far in this World Series, but Tamayo kept a level head and made it through Day 2 without getting himself into trouble.”
Todd DanDruff Witteles bubbled the final table and finished 10th in Event #41. Limit hold’em was the game and Witteles called a raise, seeing a flop of 5-10-J rainbow. He check-raised all in, holding 9-10 of clubs against Michael Chu’s pocket queens. The turn came a queen and the river came a seven, sending Witteles out of the tournament. He cashed for $12,473. If you’re not familiar with Witteles, he won a bracelet during the 2005 WSOP in a $3,000 limit event and made three final tables in his first four WSOP cashes. His lifetime earnings top $560,000. Johnson commented, “Witteles made the most of a miracle two-outer toward the end of Day 1 (which would have sent him home) and nearly made his first final table of this year’s WSOP. You won't find a better limit player anywhere.”
Sam samethebull Hiatt (pictured at right) finished in 12th place after he was all in pre-flop during no limit play with pocket jacks against Chris Rentes’ A-7. The flop came A-A-10, leaving Hiatt barely breathing. An eight on the turn and six on the river ended Hiatt’s bracelet hopes. He cashed for $12,473. It was Hiatt’s second WSOP cash ever; he also took 38th in Event #31. He was the champion of the first event of the 2007 World Championship of Online Poker, besting a field of 4,610 entrants in a six-max no limit tournament. His payday for his WCOOP win was a rousing $172,875. Johnson commented, “He's mostly known for his success in the nosebleed no-limit cash games online, but Sam showed that his talents convert to the tournament arena. He now has two WSOP cashes in this year's World Series. Maybe spending more time playing donkaments could pay off after all.”Daniel voff Deveau finished 24th. He has a string of sizeable cashes online, including a win in the $65K Guaranteed on Full Tilt Poker for $19,500 three weeks ago as well as a pair of wins in the $33K Guaranteed. Event #41 marked his second WSOP cash of his career. PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Jessica Welman commented, “Daniel ran up a big stack early in the tournament to propel him into Day 2. Watching him on the second day of play, I was particularly impressed with his limit game. That’s when he was able to pick up several key pots.”
We’re one week away from the Main Event. There are 10 more preliminary WSOP events between now and then, so head over to PocketFivesLive.com, your home for WSOP coverage. Congratulations to all PocketFivers who have banked some dough at the 2008 WSOP.
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