Day 4 unfolded in front of ESPN cameras at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. November Nine member Phil Ivey presided over the feature table, while a pair of former Main Event champions headlined Table Two.
In the show’s opening montage, Ivey explained his take on the money bubble, which had yet to burst at the 2009 WSOP Main Event: “The money is nice. The money is great. Winning is definitely more important at this stage in the game.” The chip leader entering Day 4 was Team PokerStars Pro member Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. Others in the field included 2005 Main Event winner Joe Hachem, 2008 champion Peter Eastgate, and Surindar Sunar, who all appeared at Table Two. The ESPN feature table included Ivey, who noted that he had bought UFC tickets for that night.
In the first hand shown, Ivey raised to 11,000 with A-10 of hearts and Bernhard Perner made the call with Q-9. The clop came 10-J-A and Perner bet 16,500 with his up-and-down straight draw. Ivey made the call and the turn fell a three. Perner fired out 27,500 chips and Ivey once again called behind. The river was a nine and Perner finally slowed down and checked. Ivey bet 50,000, prompting a fold from Perner, securing the 166,500 chip pot for the “Tiger Woods of Poker.”
Elsewhere in the field, Jeff Norman ousted 2009 dual bracelet winner Greg “FBT” Mueller with pocket aces against Mueller’s pocket sixes. “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” winner Lou Diamond Phillips doubled up J.C. Tran with pocket tens against Tran’s wired pair of aces. Denise Malloy, a grandmother of three, made quads in a hand against John Monnette.
At Table Two, the two Main Event champions squared off. Eastgate raised to 10,500 with A-10 of clubs and Hachem called from the big blind with 8-6, including the six of diamonds. The flop came 5-7-10, all diamonds, and the action went check-check. The turn was another five. Hachem bet out 18,000 and Eastgate called to see a river nine, giving Hachem a straight. Hachem bet 25,000 and Eastgate folded, prompting the following line from the Aussie: “Think you can raise my blind with A-10? You need to muck A-10.”
Former World Poker Tour (WPT) Bellagio Cup winner Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul tangled with Brian Shapiro. In the hand, Shapiro rivered a straight and then pointed to Saul and exclaimed, “You deserve that because of your hairdo.” Jack Effel issued Shapiro a warning for excessive celebration and, upon Saul complaining that Shapiro targeted him with brash comments, a one hand penalty was issued. Saul sported a mohawk. Meanwhile, Ivey’s run of cards continued, as the Full Tilt Poker pro made quads with 8-7 on a 7-J-7-8-7 board.
The Full Tilt-sponsored “Deal Me In” featured Chris Ferguson at the 2004 WSOP Main Event in a segment about protecting your hand. Meanwhile, Ivey was dealt pocket kings in a hand against Keven “Stamdogg” Stammen. ESPN announcer Norman Chad commented, “Phil Ivey with pocket kings? I think that’s illegal in 45 states.” Ivey scooped a 214,500 chip pot in the process, while Dan Harrington was shown donning a neck brace. Chad quipped, “Did he have a bad flop?” and then proceeded to laugh.
As play approached the money, hands like pocket kings, pocket tens, and A-K hit the muck pre-flop as players desperately tried to avoid earning the title of Bubble Boy. The title finally went to Kia Hamadani, who was all-in for the ante against Reed Hensel. The flop came Q-6-Q and, while Hensel held just 9-2, Hamadani could only muster 3-4. The turn came a nine, securing the win for Hensel and bursting the money bubble.
The second episode, which hit television airwaves at 9:00pm ET, began with Ferguson being shown the exit in 561st place. Meanwhile, Ivey picked up pocket aces, prompting Chad to explain, “Giving Phil Ivey aces is like giving the Incredible Hulk power bars.” Ivey raised to 16,000 pre-flop and Ben Wu called with K-Q of spades. The flop came 7-2-Q and Ivey bet 23,000 with his overpair. Wu called and the turn was an eight. Ivey bet 55,000 and Wu called, leading to a river four. Ivey asked for a count and pushed, having Wu covered. Wu tanked before finally calling and hitting the exits in 517th place.
An overly excited Marla Schwartz was shown at an outer table, while Ivey picked up A-K on the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Wild Card Hand to scoop another sizable pot. Still remaining in the 2009 WSOP Main Event field was Justin Henry, who owns the record as the youngest Academy Award nominee ever at age eight. He earned the nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in “Kramer Versus Kramer” with Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. Henry finished 235th in this year’s tournament.
Phil Hellmuth lost half of his stack after running into an opponent’s trips, leading to another memorable outburst. This time, Hellmuth lamented, “Oh my fucking God, I want to vomit on the floor. There goes my World Series to an absolute maniac. Those are the players that beat me. They can’t even spell poker.” No vomit was seen.
Hellmuth was eliminated later in the episode after pushing over the top of another player’s all-in with 20 big blinds behind him holding pocket aces. A player with 10-7 offsuit on a J-10-5 board called him. The turn came a seven, giving another opponent in the hand holding 8-9 a straight and cracking Hellmuth’s aces. The river came a three and Hellmuth’s run in the 2009 WSOP Main Event came to an end. He noted, “These are some of the worst players in the world over here. It’s just unbelievable.”
Schwartz continued to be boisterous, getting the best of Nick Binger in a hand with A-J against Binger’s A-10. Despite being a 70% favorite to win pre-flop, she yelled, “Let me get lucky!” The board ran out 7-Q-4-6-8 and Schwartz padded her stack. She ultimately finished in 369th place, earning $27,000.
Day 5 of the 2009 WSOP on ESPN will air from 8:00pm ET to 10:00pm ET next Tuesday.
