And then there were six...

   In my last post I discussed the first three eliminations. This post will talk about the next three. Six players to go and "short-handed" poker begins. This is when the value of hands goes up. Hands like A-8 off that you throw away in the beginning now become raising hands in certain situations. As I watched the footage on Youtube I noticed that was where Pius Heinz started to try and run over the table. Only problem was Ben Lamb wouldn't let him.

   First to go out in this phase was yet another of my horses, Eoghan O'Dea who wins the Player I'd Most Like to Have a Beer (or a Guinness) with award. His bust out hand was Q-6 off, but the hand that crippled him was A-9 vs Ben Lamb's Q-8 suited. O'Dea raised coming out with his Ace and Lamb reraised all-in. O'Dea took some time to think before eventually making the call. I think O'Dea felt like he was ahead and he was right. The luck o' the Irish was not on his side as Lamb rivered an 8 to win the enormous pot leaving O'Dea with just 2.5 million or so in chips. And right before the dinner break! Ouch! I'd almost rather just bust before the break. Maybe O'Dea saw the opportunity to bust the best player at the table, but I still think it was not the right move for that situation. He was right that he was ahead, but that's pre-flop. The hand isn't over till that river is dealt. With a little patience he could have gone deeper into the tournament. I suspect O'Dea will be haunted by that hand for some time. Still, he played well and I'm willing to bet this is not the last we'll see of him.

   The next victim was 5th place finisher Phil Collins who wins the Loudest Entourage award. It seemed like he was just having an off night. Maybe the cards just weren't coming for him. I've had MANY nights like that! His bust out hand was A-7 suited in diamonds vs Heinz and his 9's once again. The flop came 4-5-6. The turn was the 9 of diamonds giving Collins all sorts of outs. The river didn't work for him though and Heinz won a pretty good sized pot. Okay, once again I don't agree. Collins still had 18 big blinds. It ain't much, but it's enough to stick around for little bit. You don't have to move with the first Ace you see. Maybe even just try to make a raise and win the blinds and antes. If you get reraised, just fold, but youth often lacks patience and I believe this to be the case here.

   In 4th place was the Most Resembling a Cop award winner, Matt Giannetti. Giannetti was the ONLY player at this final table with sunglasses. Frankly, I'm happy too see that. I don't like sunglasses at the table. I think it shows weakness. Letting your opponent see you stare at the middle of the table can be more intimidating than the shades. They look douchy (is that a word?). Nothing against Giannetti, he's a damn good poker player, but I just don't think the shades are necessary. He was crippled by Ben Lamb when his J-J lost to Benba's A-7 suited in hearts. Lamb hit the flush and Giannetti was hurting. He eventually busted with A-3 off vs Lamb's K-K. Giannetti probably had the most impressive showing of all. I thought he played patiently and picked his spots with precision. He's a pro no doubt about it. In fact, I was shocked to learn that he took down a WPT event during the four month hiatus. Yikes! Great job Matt, but please, lose the shades. You don't need 'em and you're probably a better player without them.


   Giannetti's bust out ended the day. On Tuesday 3 players (Pius Heinz, Ben Lamb, and Martin Staszko) would return to determine who would walk away with 8.7 million dollars and the highly coveted gold bracelet. That's all coming up next. Till then...