Day 3 at the WPT Borgata Poker Classic

Day 3 at the WPT Borgata Poker Classic

Wednesday, 30 January 2008

The WPT Borgata Poker Classic is providing a great example of just how the speed of play at a tournament can change the whole dynamic of the event. Ninety nine players returned from the carnage of the previous day, and it took a while for many of the

The WPT Borgata Poker Classic is providing a great example of just how the speed of play at a tournament can change the whole dynamic of the event. Ninety nine players returned from the carnage of the previous day, and it took a while for many of them to come to life. During the first level, only nine players fell out of contention.
With 54 players getting paid, play from 90 all the way down to 56 was a more brisk affair, with many trying to use the tension as a prime chance to add chips to their stacks. For some though, the double-edged strategy failed them with Cliff Josephy, Erik Cajelais, Fred Goldberg, and Isabelle Mercier all hitting the rail.
After the bubble was eventually burst, the anticipated acceleration in pace never came about. In fact only four more players were knocked out in the hour before dinner. Only after dinner had been served did the tournament heat up, with players falling in rapid succession.
One of the final eliminations in the day saw David Tran jump out to a monster chip lead, breezing his way past 2,000,000 chips. Tran opened the pot and was raised by Bill Kontaratos up to 100,000. Tran made the call, and the flop came Ts 9d 9h. Tran check-raised Kontaratos’ 200,000 bet, which saw Kontaratos going into tank. His 200,000 bet had only left him with 250,000 behind, and eventually he made the call presumably hoping to see Tran flip a pair such as QQ which left him with two overcards. Kontaratos was out of luck though when Tran showed he had pocket aces. The turn and river offered no miracles, and Tran ended the night as the chip leader with just over two million.
The final 27 players return for play today, where they will play down to a final table of six.



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