Dan Shak eliminated from the WSOPE after questionable play

Dan Shak eliminated from the WSOPE after questionable play

Sunday, 26 September 2010

Dan Shak was eliminated in 54th place today to join the rail on Day 3 of the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. I can’t say I’m surprised – in the three and a half days that I’ve been watching the event, Shak made not one but two of the worst plays I saw all week.

In the first, he crippled Antonio Esfandiari. With the board reading Jd-9d-5c, Shak got it all-in for more than a hundred big blinds against the dominating Kd-Td. Fortunately for him he hit one of his scant outs, the 3c, on the river to double him up and send Esfandiari down to just 2,900 in chips.

In his bustout hand, the pot was just 35,000 on the turn of a 6c-7d-Qh-2h board when Shak checked and his opponent, new chip leader Bojan Gledovic, bet 30,000. Shak put in a raise to 115,000 and Gledovic moved in for Shak’s last 40,000. He called and sat calmly when Gledovic turned over 6-6, saying simply “I’m drawing dead” before being made to turn over Qd-9d.

The first hand is atrocious. I’ve written before about how it’s not easy to crit. high stakes poker because there is metagame and history and out-levelling all over the place so plays that appear bad are often not. But... when you go all in with a six-high flush draw on that board, what are you expecting to get called by and be ahead? Surely Esfandiari, who is a good player, will only be calling with J-J, 9-9, 5-5, perhaps J-9 or a bigger flush draw?

The second hand just looks, frankly, like a “hurr durr I has top pair all in” thought process. I could be wrong, but again I’m not surprised that Shak is out of the door.



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