A day like Wednesday is stuck, not exactly the beginning of a week but not terribly close to the weekend. What can Wednesday do to change its image? Hosting a low buy-in Stud tournament in the Turbo Championship of Online Poker is a good start.
There were other TCOOP options today, of the Hold'em and Omaha variety, but Stud is a game that many people enjoy but don't often take the time to play. With a $27 buy-in, Event 31 presented an opportunity - a challenge, if you will - to play some Stud. Wednesday hadn't looked so appealing in a long time, and poker players were excited to see the offer of a $50K guarantee.
So, registration ended with these final tournament numbers:
Players: 2,668
Guarantee: $50,000.00
Prize pool: $65,499.40
Paid players: 336
The money bubble burst not long after the close of registration, and players were then guaranteed a minimum payout of $44.53. But with most final table finishers looking at four-figure payments and more than $11K for first place alone, the work for many players had only just begun.
Only two tables remained at the 3.5-hour mark, and play was moving along very quickly to reach the final table. The 10th place elimination of PeterS.Blind initiated hand-for-hand action, and it didn't take long for hamster22253 to move all-in on fourth street and KomendaCZ to call. Hamster22253 ended up with [Ac][Kc][Kh][Ts][Tc][7h][7c], but KomendaCZ showed [6s][3s][Ad][3d][7d][Td][6d] for the flush. With no qualifying low, hamster22253 had to leave in ninth place with $468.32.
Dr dakon leads group of eight
The final table began in Level 39, with blinds of 200,000/400,000 and a 40,000 ante, along with these player chip counts:
Seat 1: thedarkman (28,072 in chips)
Seat 2: bal15_12 (1,933,000 in chips)
Seat 3: AYungov (1,475,085 in chips)
Seat 4: Chykot (959,010 in chips)
Seat 5: KomendaCZ (2,735,103 in chips)
Seat 6: knife888806 (2,468,513 in chips)
Seat 7: Rodinater (623,360 in chips)
Seat 8: Dr dakon (3,117,857 in chips)
Thedarkman was all-in on the very first hand with his short stack, and Rodinater also pushed all-in after a raise and reraised from KomendaCZ. Thedarkman was on the line with [Tc][4c][Ts][Qs][7h][Ks][7c], and Rodinater was at risk with [3c][3s][3d][7s][5s][9h][6s]. The latter's three of a kind was enough to double-up, as KomendaCZ only had [Ad][9d][As][6c][Js][2h][7d]. Thedarkman, on the other hand, had to accept eighth place and the $654.99 that went with it.
On the very next hand, Chykot, KomendaCZ, and Dr dakon got involved, with a bet and two calls on fourth street and three checks on fifth. When sixth street was dealt, KomendaCZ bet with [5h][6c][7d][6d] showing, Dr dakon folded, and Chykot called all-in with [7s][Jh][3c][3h] showing and [Ad][2d] behind. KomendaCZ turned up [4s][6s] and pulled a [4c] on the river for the full house. Chykot had [Kh] on the river and was eliminated in seventh place with $1,309.98.
Again, it was the very next hand that more action occurred. It started with AYungov and knife888806 going to fourth street, only to cap the betting. AYungov had the opportunity to bet all-in on fifth with [Tc][8c][7c][Qh][As], and knife888806 called with [Ts][Td][3s][9s]. AYungov received [5s][Kh] to finish the hand, and knife888806 took [9c][4h] for two pair. AYungov finished the tournament in sixth place with $1,964.98.
Two hands after that, KomendaCZ, knife888806, and Rodinater went to fourth street, at which point KomendaCZ bet with [2h][2c] showing, knife888806 called with [8c][4d], and Rodinater raised with [3h][8s]. Both players called, and Rodinater moved all-in on fifth street when dealt a [Kd]. Both players were along and checked the river, at which point KomendaCZ showed [4s][3s][2h][2c][6d][7c][9s] for the best low hand, and knife888806 had [8d][6s][8c][4d][8h][7h][Qc] for the high hand. Rodinater simply mucked before leaving in fifth place with $3,274.97.
Bal15_12 was involved in several chopped pots before being at risk in this key hand. It started with bal15_12 and KomendaCZ, the former of whom called bets on fourth and fifth street. When KomendaCZ bet on sixth street with [2s][2h][9c][5c] on the table, bal15_12 called with [2d][4h][Qh][9h] and [3c][3s] behind. KomendaCZ had [5h][5d] to uncover and took [7s] on the river. Bal15_12 took [Qc] but couldn't beat the full house. That left bal15_12 out in fourth place with $4,584.95.
Three-handed play went on for several rounds until KomendaCZ was the shortest of the three remaining stacks. The hand started with KomendaCZ and Dr dakon going to a raised fourth street. A bet and call took them to fifth and then sixth street, at which point KomendaCZ had [Tc][Ts][Qs][6s] on the table as compared to the [Ad][4d][3d][7c] of Dr dakon. KomendaCZ bet again, and Dr dakon called again, and the river brought the all-in bet from the former and call from the latter. KomendaCZ turned over a complete hand of [Ah][9s][Tc][Ts][Qs][6s][8h] for the pair, but Dr dakon showed [7d][3h][Ad][4d][3d][7c][Jc] for two pair. KomendaCZ was out in third place with $6,198.86.
Doctor leads heads-up
Initial starting stacks were as follows:
Seat 6: knife888806 (2,483,137 in chips)
Seat 8: Dr dakon (10,856,863 in chips)
knife888806: shows [5s Ac Qs 2s 6d 8s 3s] (HI: a flush, Queen high; LO: 6,5,3,2,A)
Dr dakon: shows [4s 8d 6c 2h Jd Kh Jh] (HI: a pair of Jacks)
knife888806 collected 2383137 from pot
knife888806 collected 2383137 from pot
Knife888806 did double through Dr dakon on the fourth hand of the battle with [5s][Ac][Qs][2s][6d][8s][3s] for the high and the low, which beat the [4s][8d][6c][2h][Jd][Kh][Jh] of Dr dakon.
But Dr dakon applied the pressure, and knife888806 got involved again, all-in on fifth street with [7h][4c][3c] showing. Dr dakon called with [2h][Qs][2s] and added [5d][3d] and [Qh][4s] to that for two pair. Knife888806 had a complete hand of [7c][9c][7h][4c][3c][Js][Kd], and with no qualifying low, knife888806 had to accept second place and $7,859.92.
Dr dakon won the TCOOP title and $11,137.51. Congrats!
2013 TCOOP Event 31 ($27 Stud H/L) results for 01/23/13:
Players: 2,668
Paid players: 336
1st place: Dr dakon (Lithuania) - $11,137.51
2nd place: knife888806 (China) - $7,859.92
3rd place: KomendaCZ (Czech Republic) - $6,198.86
4th place: bal15_12 (Mexico) - $4,584.95
5th place: Rodinater (Canada) - $3,274.97
6th place: AYungov (Russia) - $1,964.98
7th place: Chykot (Russia) - $1,309.98
8th place: thedarkman (UK) - $654.99
There are more TCOOP tournaments on the schedule, and satellites are available for all of them. Make sure to check out the TCOOP home page for all information about the series.
Jennifer Newell is a PokerStars freelance contributor.