In the final hand Matt Jarvis played in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, running draw outs had the crowd in awe. Jarvis was all-in with a wired pair of nines and up against the A-Q of diamonds belonging to poker pro Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. The classic race situation had the crowd on their feet as the second elimination of the Main Event final table loomed large.
The flop came Q-Q-8, giving “The Grinder” trip queens and a stranglehold on the hand. The crowd cried “Ooooh” in earnest as the first three community cards were spread across the table. However, Jarvis hit a two-outer on the turn, as a nine hit to give the Canadian a full house. Needing to draw to an ace or queen on the river to eliminate Jarvis in eighth place, Mizrachi caught an ace and the final table was trimmed to seven.
Sitting next to Poker News Daily here at the Rio, ESPN’s Bernard Lee quite literally fell out of his seat at the final card, creating the first buzz worthy hand we’ve played.
Out in the lobby, Jarvis’ poker coaches Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi and Tom “Kingsofcards” Marchese looked on his earnest as Jarvis gave his bust out interviews. Mizzi told Poker News Daily that Jarvis made the right play on his final hand, getting his chips into the middle with the middle pocket pair. Interestingly, Jarvis could not have been given better advice, as Mizzi finished seventh place in the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) Foxwoods World Poker Finals, while Marchese made the final table and finished third.
Back inside the Rio, a monster hand brewed between Joseph Cheong and Jonathan Duhamel that saw the latter rake in a healthy pot. Chants of “Du-ha-mel” penetrated the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas following the win. If you’re looking for his fans, by the way, just look for the folks decked out in Canadian hockey jerseys.
Through 54 hands, Mizrachi has the most number of hands won with 10. Of the seven remaining players, Filippo Candio has scooped the fewest pots to this point at four. Mizrachi won the first nine hands he played in an amazing feat. Now, he’s won 10 of 11 hands. Cheong has played 12 hands and is the most active; Jason Senti and Mizrachi are hot on his heels at 11 hands apiece.
About 25% of the hands have been 3bet before the flop, meaning that the table has been active early and often. Only two hands have been stopped at the turn, so players who see the flop are likely to continue to the river. There has yet to be a limped pot pre-flop, whereas there were four in the first 21 hands of 2009. This could perhaps be due to the youth at this final table, whose remaining players are all in their 20s. Kudos to Lee for these unofficial stats. Here’s how the chip stacks currently look as ESPN changes tapes around 4:40pm PT:
Joseph Cheong – 54,800,000
Jonathan Duhamel – 41,350,000
Michael Mizrachi – 39,250,000
Filippo Candio – 34,775,000
John Dolan – 23,675,000
John Racener – 15,475,000
Jason Senti – 10,775,000
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest from the 2010 WSOP Main Event.
