Poker Articles

PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Court Harrington comments on the WPT Championship: “This deep-stacked $25,000 buy in event was expected to turn out almost all of the top pros. Those expectations were met, with this turning out to be one of the toughest fields ever assembled. There were no easy table draws, even on day one. Tables were stacked with top pros and winning players with strings of solid results.” One such established pro at the WPT Championship was Fischman. With blinds of 60,000/120,000 with a 15,000 chip ante, Kirk Morrison raised to 425,000 and Fischman moved in for around one million more chips. Morrison called, flipping over pocket fives. Fischman turned over 7-5 offsuit. The flop came J-4-2 with two diamonds (Morrison had the only diamond in play). A six of diamonds on the turn gave Fischman an open-ended straight draw, but needed a non-diamond three or eight. The river was an ace of hearts, sending Fischman to the rail $247,525 richer.

Finishing in 15th was Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, who just chopped the Irish Poker Open for over $600,000. From the button, Mizzi raised to 100,000 and Carlos Mortensen made it 310,000 from the big blind. Mizzi came over the top all in for around 1.4 million chips and Mortensen called. Mizzi flipped over pocket jacks and Mortensen revealed pocket kings. The flop came king high, which left Mizzi with few outs. He cashed for $154,705. Harrington comments, “Sorel could easily have found himself at the final table if a few hands had gone his way. He had Thomas Wahlroos all in for a huge pot with a set against a flush draw. The draw hit and Sorel lost a pot that would have made him the chip leader or close to it with fewer than 25 people left. Later, he had David Levi all in with a pair of jacks on an eight high board. Levi had top pair and made trips after the chips went in stay alive. Sorel was doing such an amazing job of picking up chips that he was able to survive both of those beats."

Jim “KrazyKanuck” Worth was eliminated right before Mizzi, in 16th place, when his pocket eights ran into Tim Phan’s pocket tens. Harrington on Worth’s fan base: "Jim has a ton of fan support for a reason. He is a genuinely nice guy and well-deserving of all the respect and support he receives. He has proven himself as a top-notch player and continued to put up results here at the Bellagio, cashing in three events, including going deep in the Main Event." Worth took home $123,760.

Ian “Ian J” Johns (pictured at right) landed himself a 30th place finish. Johns was eliminated when he found himself all in with A-K against pocket nines. He picked up a diamond draw on the turn and needed any diamond, an ace, or a king on the river to stay alive, but it didn't happen. Johns’ 30th place finish earned him $92,820. Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo was all in with K-T against Paul Lee’s big slick. The flop came A-A-8, and a turn 4 and river 3 sent Bonomo packing. He finished in 35th place for $77,350.

Jared “TheWacoKidd” Hamby (pictured at right), who just won two preliminary events at the Bellagio, continued his impressive live play by finishing 44th for $61,880. Hamby walked away from the Bellagio, all told, $500,000 richer. Other finishes by PocketFivers included Jason "J FREE" Fretag, who was eliminated by Roland de Wolfe. Fretag finished in 90th place for $46,410. Alvin "alsmooth" Zeidenfeld finished 93rd, which earned him $46,410.

PocketFivesLive.com travels back to Las Vegas for the Mirage Poker Showdown in a few short weeks. The action kicks off May 19th, with the final table set to happen on May 23rd. If you’re planning on playing in the Mirage Poker Showdown, you can register for free on PocketFivesLive.com and we’ll cover you.