shipitfish | Live Blog Main Event, 2006, Hour 9 (Reply)

(Remember, I've taken the “,000” off of the numbers, because there is no point in typing the chip inflation.)

02:59 EDT: Binger made it 1,000 and Gold flat-called behind in position, which is good. Gordon notes so. Now, Wasicka is raising from the blind, and gets Binger to throw it away. Classic squeeze play, but Gold is showboating. Wasicka offers to show, and Gold folds. Wasicka shows AKo.

02:57 EDT: Butler just called a 1,000 raise by Cunningham. Butler must have a strong hand, because he's so tight. Cunningham has moved all-in on a flop of 6 2 8. Butler thought for a while but folded.

02:52 EDT: Wasicka just moved all in from the SB into Binger for all his chips, and Binger folded.

Next hand, Gold raised and Binger called from the big blind. Binger checked and Gold bet the pot. Binger check-raised all-in, and Gold says he doesn't have enough money to get me off my hand, I have top pair and he calls. They both hold KT for top pair on K-J-2 and chop with T-A finishing board.

02:47 EDT: Gold just caught Cunningham with a huge hand on the river. Gold raised the river and Cunningham folded after some betting on the flop and a checked through turn. The board paired dueces on the river, and all the commentors felt that he was strong. I think he was too, and either Cunningham picked up on that, or was on a river bluff. I think Cunningham had top pair (an A) and layed it down.

Now, there was a collision with Butler's short stack, and they reconstructed the pot to make sure things were right.

02:24 EDT:

Blinds are going up to 150/300 with a 50 ante. They are coloring chips now.

02:22 EDT: Wasicka has finally bet out into a K Q 2 flop when he's playing Gold out of position for a raise. Gold raised, and Wasicka moved in. Wasicka has only K T and Gold has A K. Wasicka gets there with a T on the turn. Much shouting and whining from the crowd — this is the first huge lucky hit of the night in an all-in situation. The river fell 8 and the crowd is freaking out. Gold shakes his head saying I can't play any better than that!

The real question now is whether or not this will hurt Gold's demeanor.

02:16 EDT: Wasicka is making a lot of calls. Just now he's won a pot with Ace high against Binger. I am wondering if Wasicka's play is right; he's being perceived as very passive at the moment. Is this what he wants?

02:08 EDT: Butler is making his first non-all-in raise in a very long time; perhaps since this final table started. He, quite obviously, picked up the blinds. If Butler is savvy enough, he should start making moves in these spots. Instead, he showed his hand — A T. This was a big mistake; he needs to now get people guessing about his holdings and start pushing.

Cunningham raised and Binger called with position. They see T 6 Q. It went check-check on the flop (announcers aren't even paying attention). The turn fell 4 . Finally, Cunningham makes a bet for 1,100, which is only about a quarter of a pot. But, I think Cunningham was betting Binger's stack size instead, since Binger is not much better off than Butler.

The river is a J and it goes check-check. Binger immediately turns over JT instead of betting it, and Cunningham's cards went flying to the muck.

I somewhat think that Binger could have gotten a value bet called. I guess he's focused on preserving his short stack; I might make the same move given the chip positions.

02:00 EDT:

I am live-blogging the pay-per-view ESPN Coverage. I start a new post each hour.