Hand #130: James Alexander got a walk in the big blind.
Hand #131: Amir Lehavot raised to 400,000 from middle position, and James Alexander called from the big blind. The flop was an action inducer; Alexander checked, Lehavot bet 500,000, and Alexander check-raised all in. Lehavot snap-called for 5,915,000 total and was at risk.
Alexander:
Lehavot:
With his set, Lehavot needed to fade a club to double up, but the sweat ended when he made quads with the on the turn. The meaningless fell on the river, and Alexander is now barely hanging on with less than 2 million.
Chris Lindh has been one of the most active players here on Day 7, and as a result his stack has oscillated throughout the first five hours of the day. During the break, we briefly spoke with Lindh about his tournament experience, the big swings he’s been dealing with, and his mental game.
PokerNews: You’ve cashed in a handful of events each year traveling the circuits. Is your background mainly in tournaments or cash games?
Lindh: In the beginning I was almost exclusively playing tournaments but then I switched over to cash-games about a year and a half ago. I think it’s important to excel in both aspects of the game to become a well-rounded player.
Why did you make the transition from Bear Sterns to playing poker professionally?
I was laid off from Bear Sterns so I looked to poker as a supplement. I was always playing poker anyway so it made sense. Plus I was given a nice severance package so I took that and used it as my starting bankroll. It’s been some good times and I’m fully happy with how things are working out.
This is your fourth WSOP Main Event but your first cash. What changes did you make that are helping with a successful this year?
I think just being around better players and discussing hands has helped me a lot since I’ve started. I’ve really surrounded myself with a knowledgeable group of players who have all seen success at one point in their careers, so it’s beneficial to a person like me who still has room for growth. I had a little bit of coaching for online poker but I haven’t had any for live tournaments or cash. I think you can really apply what you learn by playing online to live because online you are able to take more risks, play more hands, and pick up on things faster than you would just playing live.
You lost a big hand against Ryan Riess. Did the decline in your chip count affect you mentally at all? If so, how did you recover?
It didn’t really affect me at all. I still opened like 60 percent of hands after that hit and chipped right back up. You can’t play scared in this tournament. With so few players left, it is important to take shots and build your stack so you can have plenty to work with if you make it to the final table. Plus, losing is part of variance. It is how you handle it after that matters.
If you make it to the final nine, will you continue playing poker?
Continuing to play poker isn’t a question for me. I will definitely continue to play because I think I still have a lot left to accomplish. I’m already scheduled to play in the WSOP Europe so that will be next on my calendar. I think I am also looking into the $10 million guarantee tournament in Florida. I have absolutely no plans to stop.
Hand #123: The action folded to David Benefield in the small blind and he raised all in. Max Coleman was in the big blind, and he made the call to be at risk.
Benefield:
Coleman:
With Coleman at risk and needing to spike, the flop gave him backdoor outs to a straight, but when the landed on the turn, it would be Benefield spiking a wheel to leave Coleman drawing dead.
The river landed the meaningless and Coleman was headed to the rail in 21st place for a $285,408 payday as Benefield eclipsed the 10 million-chip mark.
Hand #74: Sergio Castelluccio had the button. Action folded to Ryan Riess, and he raised to 400,000 from the cutoff seat. Carlos Mortensen three-bet to 950,000 out of the small blind, and Riess went into the tank. After a bit of time, Riess folded, and Mortensen won the pot.
Hand #75: Carlos Mortensen had the button. Chris Lindh raised to 425,000. Marc McLaughlin called from the big blind, then checked the flop over to Lindh. Lindh bet 575,000, and McLaughlin check-raised to 1.3 million. Lindh called.
The turn was the , and McLaughlin bet 2.1 million. Lindh called.
The river was the , and McLaughlin slid forward a very tall stack of lavender T100,000 chips, betting 3.1 million. Lindh quickly called.
McLaughlin showed for trip fours with an ace, and Lindh mucked his hand.
Hand #105: From the cutoff Maxx Coleman moved all in for 1.2 million and won the blinds and antes.
Hand #106: David Benefield opened to 400,000 and Amir Lehavot moved all in from the big blind. Benefield swiftly folded and Lehavot was pushed the pot.
Hand #107: Jan Nakladal opened the cutoff to 400,000 only to have Amir Lehavot three-bet to 925,000 from the small blind. Nakladal folded and Lehavot picked up another pot.
Hand #108: From under the gun Maxx Coleman moved all in for 1,615,000 and James Alexander called next to act.
Coleman:
Alexander:
The board ran out and Coleman doubled through as Alexander slipped to 15,750,000 in chips.
Hand #109: From under the gun James Alexander raised to 425,000 only to have David Benefield move all in from the small blind for 2,915,000. Alexander made the call and the cards were tabled.
Benefield:
Alexander:
The board ran out and Benefield faded the flush draw and the rivered two-outer to double through to roughly 6 million.
Mark Newhouse is the new chip leader of the 2013 WSOP Main Event after a very productive level at the feature table. We spoke with Newhouse right before the start of Level 32 about the two big hands against Anton Morgenstern and his hopes to make the final table.
PokerNews: Can you walk us through the two hands against Morgenstern?
Newhouse: The first one was ace-queen against his two eights. He played the hand just fine and I had no choice but to get it in. Obviously it was a coinflip so it felt good to be on the good side of variance. On the second hand I flat-called with pocket deuces. The flop was deuce-ace-ace. He bet into me and I called. The turn was a three. He bet again and I raised him. He reraised me back. At this point I was actually a bit concerned that he could possibly have ace-three and maybe I was behind, but my hand was too strong to let it go. I then get it in and he calls with ace-jack. I’m actually very surprised to see that hand. I don’t know what he was thinking to be honest. He maybe just had a lapse of judgment and lost a big pot. Now I’m chip leader and feel great.
Does being chip leader put any kind of pressure on you at all?
I’m going to try not to let it affect me. If I lose a pot and someone else is above me then it is what it is. I think I’ll still be in great shape until I lose a big one. Until then I’ll keep making good decisions and hope for a final table.
There’s a good mix of pros and amateurs right now. What ratio are you hoping for if you make it to the final table?
All amateurs. Except for JC Tran because he’s a good friend of mine. Honestly, I think having amateurs on the final table would make for good television. It could attract a more general demographic and help with the image of the game. A table full of pros might be less interesting for the average player and could potentially deter them from watching. Either way, I hope to make it to the final nine.
The second break of Day 7 has arrived, and we're down to the last 21 players in the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event. There's a new player sitting atop the leader board after Anton Morgenstern lost two massive hands to Mark Newhouse at the ESPN feature table. Newhouse is the new man to catch with approximately 22 million in chips at the break.
First, Morgenstern lost a huge flip to Newhouse when his ace-queen clipped the German's pocket eights. A short while later, Newhouse flopped a full house against Morgenstern's trip aces and doubled up when Morgenstern called his shove on the river. Morgenstern began Level 31 with nearly 30 million in chips, and he'll enter Level 32 with about 5 million.
Day 1b chip leader Clement Tripodi's run ended in 23rd place early in Level 31. Tripodi three-bet shoved from the hijack seat with ace-queen and Bruno Kawauti called with pocket kings. The board ran dry for the Frenchman, who collected $285,408 for his deep finish.
Yevgeniy Timoshenko, arguably the most talented no-limit hold'em player remaining when Day 7 began, got his short stack in the middle during the past level and wasn't able to survive. He moved all in preflop with ace-eight and finished second best to Jan Nakladal's ace-jack.
Hand #89: Jay Farber raised to 330,000 on the button and collected the blinds and antes.
Hand #90: Anton Morgenstern raised to 325,000 in the hijack and Mark Newhouse called on the button. The flop came down and Morgenstern continued for 425,000. Newhouse called to see the turn where Morgenstern bet 750,000. A raise to 2 million came from Newhouse, Morgenstern came back over the top to 3.9 million, and Newhouse shoved for 10.095 million. Morgenstern called.
Morgenstern:
Newhouse:
Newhouse led with deuces full of aces and dodged Morgenstern's river outs as the river not only gave Newhouse the pot, but the chip lead, too.
Yevgeniy Timoshenko gets a hug from David Benefield
Outer Table
Hand #69: Matthew Reed raised to 325,000 from middle position, and James Alexander (button) and Jan Nakladal (big blind) called to see a flop of . Reed and Nakladal checked to Alexander, who bet 405,000, and the other two folded.
Hand #70: David Benefield raised to 320,000 from middle position and James Alexander called from the cutoff. Alexander stared down Benefield as the flop rolled out . Both checked, and same action occurred on the turn. The arrived on the river and Benefield fired 265,000. Alexander called, and Benefield showed to win the pot.
Hand #71: James Alexander raised to 340,000 from middle position and won the blinds and antes.
Hand #72: Yevgeniy Timoshenko raised all in for 2,165,000 from the hijack, and Jan Nakladal paused for 30 seconds before announcing a call from the cutoff seat. The other players folded, and Timoshenko was at risk and in bad shape.
Timoshenko:
Nakladal:
The flop was disastrous for Timoshenko, but he picked up some chop outs on the turn. Unfortunately for him, the on the river gave Nakladal a full house, and Timoshenko graciously made his way out of the Amazon Room.
Hand #31: Alexander Livingston raised to 340,000 from under the gun, Bruno Kawauti called from middle position, then after a lengthy pause Clement Tripodi pushed all in from the hijack seat.
It folded back around to Livingston who asked for a count of Tripodi's stack — 2.3 million — and he folded, but Kawauti called right away.
Tripodi showed , while Kawauti had picked up another big pair with . The flop came , then the on the turn provided Tripodi a couple of additional outs to make a straight. But the river was the , and Tripodi is out in 23rd place.
![[user153906]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop was an action inducer; Alexander checked, Lehavot bet 500,000, and Alexander check-raised all in. Lehavot snap-called for 5,915,000 total and was at risk.
on the turn. The meaningless 
fell on the river, and Alexander is now barely hanging on with less than 2 million.
flop gave him backdoor outs to a straight, but when the 
and Coleman was headed to the rail in 21st place for a $285,408 payday as Benefield eclipsed the 10 million-chip mark.
for trip fours with an ace, and Lindh mucked his hand.
and Coleman doubled through as Alexander slipped to 15,750,000 in chips.
and Morgenstern continued for 425,000. Newhouse called to see the 
turn where Morgenstern bet 750,000. A raise to 2 million came from Newhouse, Morgenstern came back over the top to 3.9 million, and Newhouse shoved for 10.095 million. Morgenstern called.
. Reed and Nakladal checked to Alexander, who bet 405,000, and the other two folded.
turn. The 
to win the pot.
flop was disastrous for Timoshenko, but he picked up some chop outs on the 
. The flop came 