2008 National Heads Up Poker Championship

[alexross]

my picks of who will win in bold..

* Chris Ferguson 4/5 vs. Gavin Smith 10/11 [tough decision]
* Phil Laak 4/5 vs. Jerry Yang 10/11
* Vanessa Rousso 5/6 vs. Andy Bloch 5/6
* Scott Fischman 8/11 vs. Jamie Gold 1/1
* Brian Townsend 4/5 vs. Huck Seed 10/11
* Doyle Brunson 5/6 vs. Erick Lindgren 5/6
* Barry Greenstein 5/6 vs. David Benyamine 5/6 (barry will win with an ace on the river..)
* Gus Hansen 4/6 vs. Scotty Nguyen 11/10
* Scott Clements 4/6 vs. Greg Raymer 11/10
* J.C. Tran 5/6 vs. T.J. Cloutier 5/6

[stereoman]

Yeah, Scott Fischman won! Technically I went 1-for-1 for money which is just as well as I went 11-for-16 missing David Benyamine, Orel Hersisher, Mike Matusow, Greg Raymer and J.C. Tran.

The third round matches:

Clubs
* Jonathan Little vs Greg Raymer
* Mike Matusow vs. Chris Ferguson

Spades
* Gus Hansen vs. Phil Laak
* Phil Ivey vs. JC Tran

Hearts
* Huck Seed vs. Michael Mizrachi
* David Benyamine vs. Doyle Brunson

Diamonds
* Andy Bloch vs. Scott Fischman
* Orel Hershiser vs. Freddy Deeb

My initial picks before the odds are out are Little, Ferguson, Hansen, Ivey, Seed, Brunson, Fischman and Deeb.

[stereoman]

D'OH! They've already played the third round and I forgot they play two matches on Saturday. Can you tell I've only just woken up?

We're into the quarter-finals and they play three matches on Sunday!

Clubs
* Jonathan Little vs. Chris Ferguson

Spades
* Gus Hansen vs. Phil Ivey

Hearts
* Huck Seed vs. David Benyamine

Diamonds
* Andy Bloch vs. Orel Hershiser

Orel Hersisher on a hugely surprising run (well KOing Ted Forrest, Allen Cunningham and Freddy Deeb demand some respect) and is this year's um, Shannon Elizabeth. The semi-finals demand if they're to have any prestige Andy Bloch to do well.

Some 2+2ers are banking on Jonathan Little who they backed into 20s from 45/1 at Bodog to do the bizzo.

I'd imagine Phil Ivey will be the 2/1 favourite because unless Bet365 are game it's only going to be the quarter-final matches and outright winner markets that will be up.

[stereoman]

The odds for the outright winner and the quarter-finals are up:



* Jonathan Little 5/6 vs. Chris Ferguson 5/6
* Gus Hansen 10/11 vs. Phil Ivey 4/5
* Huck Seed 10/11 vs. David Benyamine 4/5
* Andy Bloch 4/6 vs. Orel Hersisher 11/10

Tricky, tricky, tricky stuff. My initial thoughts are Little, Ivey, Benyamine and Bloch. It'd be nice for Dave and Andy to do well this year...a shame I was a year too early with my enthusiasm having backed those two last year!

7/2 for Phil Ivey to win outright? Hmmm. There are worse bets out there than that today.

Matches start at 11:30am PST so um, 7:30pm GMT then.

CardPlayer.com - Live Text Coverage of the National Heads Up Poker Championship

[stereoman]

Ah balls! I forgot about this and it's just turned 7pm GMT which means all bets are OTB over at Bet365.

For the record I would have picked Phil Ivey to win the whole thing. Why? Just because.

[stereoman]

Huck Seed the first man through to the semi-finals!

Huck Seed is through to the semi finals after instacalling a David Benyamine river shove with a full boat. The board read 2-3-7-3-5 and Benyamine made the move with pocket nines only to find out Huck held ducks for the full house.

Benyamine cashes $75k for his efforts and Seed will make no less than $125,000 for reaching the semis.

Live Updates - Special Tournaments 2008 - NBC Heads-Up Championship - PokerListings.com

[stereoman]

Andy Bloch into the semi-finals!

Orel Hershiser's run at the Heads-Up Championship is over. He got a lead, but lost it, then shippped with Jd-10s against Bloch's Ah-9c. The flop of 9h-6h-7s gave Orel some outs, but the 6c turn wasn't one of them. The river then came the 2c and Bloch moved forward to the semis while Hershiser's impressive run is cut short. He'll have some great memories and $75k to take home with him though - not bad for a few days of playing cards.

Chris Ferguson into the semi-finals!

Chris Ferguson resurrected himself in his match with ShipItHolla Balla Jon little and took a decisive chip lead before ending it. Ferguson raised to $15,000 from the button and Little moved all-in. Ferguson made the call, putting Little at risk of elimination.

Ferguson: 9h-9c

Little: Td-7d

Little would need a lot of help but got absolutely nothing from the Js-3h-2h-5h-4c board. He's out, taking $75,000, and Ferguson is on to the next round. Jesus has the best all-around record at this event having finished second twice out of the three years it's been run. Perhaps this will be the year he finally takes it down.

Phil Ivey through to the semi-finals!

n a limped pot Gus Hansen bet $6k into a 9h-6h-3h flop and Phil Ivey came over the top, making it $18k to go. Hansen tanked for a good two minutes before moving in. Ivey had him covered and wasted little time making the call with Kh-Qh. Phil had flopped the second nut flush and Hansen would need all kinds of runners to come back. The 8c turn meant he was drawing dead and Ivey moves on to the semis.

[stereoman]

They're just about to start the semi-finals (a long night ahead for poker fans and even longer with nothing riding on it! ). Jaysus there were some nice payouts on offer...

Ante-post ~ Outright winner: Phil Ivey 20/1, Chris Ferguson 25/1, Huck Seed 40/1 and Andy Bloch 55/1.

Ante-post ~ Spades - Phil Ivey 5/1, Clubs - Chris Ferguson 6/1, Hearts - Huck Seed 9/1 and Diamonds - Andy Bloch 12/1

Eh. C'est la vie. I wouldn't have picked any of these ante-post as much as I wanted to bet on Phil Ivey by making some weird Tiger Woods winning streak comparison.

[stereoman]

Jaysus! Chris Ferguson makes it to the final! How's that for variance!?

Phil Ivey is done here at the 2008 NBC Heads-Up Championship. The action in his final hand started with an Ivey raise. Ferguson then reraised to $34k and Ivey called. The flop came 3-4-9 rainbow and Ferguson took a $45k stab at it. Ivey called again and the turn was the 5d. This time Fergsuon stepped it up making it $100k to go and Ivey pushed all in for his tournament life. After a long deliberation, Jesus made the call showing pocket eights.

For the first time in a long time, Ivey didn't have the nuts and his sixes needed to catch a set on the river or find a deuce or seven to complete his straight. The Qh on the river ended all hope for Ivey and while he'll cash $125k for his semi final finish, Ferguson is on to the final for the third time in this tournament's four year history.

[stereoman]

I didn't expect this final! Andy Bloch wins!

By applying constant pressure on Huck Seed, Andy Bloch worked his way into a 2-1 chip lead without having to showdown very many hands.

Then he pushed in and Seed quickly called. It was Ad-Qc for Bloch against Seed's two red nines to put Bloch in the final or Seed back in the match. The flop looked good for a Seed double when the 5d-2c-6c came down. The 6s turn was good for Seed as well, but the Ac on the river did him in sending Bloch into a the final with Chris Ferguson.

I'm so glad I didn't bet this ante-post over at Bodog who didn't initially quote Andy Bloch as he was a late replacement for Brad Garrett.

[stereoman]

Andy Bloch wins the first match! Chris Ferguson needs to win the next match or it's all over!

Andy Bloch has taken the first match in the best of three format. Bloch limped in from the button and Chris Ferguson made it $70,000 to see the flop. Bloch called and the flop fell Ah-9d-9s.

Jesus led out for $150k and Bloch took a moment before pushing all in. Chris made the call felting Ad-Kd, but was behind against Andy's 10d-9h. The Js turn and 6h river were not the ace Ferguson needed and Bloch is one win away from the title.

The players are taking a quick ten minute break before coming back with the second leg.

[stereoman]

Chris Ferguson wins the second match! With quad queens! We're into the third and final match!

It's one and one now that Chris Ferguson has taken down the second match of this finale. Bloch was shortstacked after losing that big race a few moments ago and called all-in after Bloch shipped. Qd-Qc for Ferguson was in dominating shape against Bloch's Kc-3d and things only got worse as the flop came Qs-Jc-2c.

Jesus was looking for a miracle (sorry), but the turn was just the opposite, bringing the Qh. A shriek of delight went up from the crowd as Bloch was drawing dead on the river. We'll be back in a few minutes to decide who's walking away with the title and the half million.

[stereoman]

CHRIS FERGUSON WINS!!

Chris Ferguson raises to 25,000 and Andy Bloch makes the call. The flop comes 10c 7s 3s and Ferguson bets 35,000. Bloch check raises to 105,000 and Ferguson calls. The turn is the 7h and Bloch bets 150,000. Ferguson moves all in and Bloch tanks. He thinks it over for about 7 full minutes before decided to flip a coin. The coin lands on heads and he makes the call, showing 10s 4s for top pair and a flush draw. Ferguson turns over Js Jc and is in the lead. The river is the 7c giving both players a full house, Ferguson's higher. Ferguson wins the match and Bloch finishes runner-up.

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