Southern Poker Championship - Live Updates

This tournament is over! Allen Carter has defeated Bobby Suer in heads-up play to claim the title and the $1 million first prize. In the climactic hand, Suer limped in on the button and Allen Carter raised to $300,000 from the big blind.

Suer moved all-in for another $1,190,000 and Carter, after some thought, made the call, turning up A♦ 4♥. Suer was in a dominant spot, turning up A♣ K♣, but the way the final table had played out, no lead was safe.

The J♣ 5♣ 3♠ flop gave both players draws, with Carter needing to dodge clubs if he had any hope of taking down the tournament on this hand. The 2♦ on the turn was so money, giving Carter the wheel and the lead with one card to come.

Now Suer desperately needed a club or a four, but the river card was the Q♦, and Allen Carter had clinched his first World Poker Tour title!

For the win, Carter banks the $1 million first prize, a couple of bracelets, an entry into the $25k WPT Championship and an interview with PokerListings.com. Runner-up Suer earns $501,082 as a consolation prize.

Congratulations to both finalists!

Just when it looks like the madness has to end:

Allen Carter limps in and Bobby Suer checks his option in the big blind. The flop comes T♣ 6♦ 3♠ and Suer checks to Carter, who bets out $150,000. Suer moves all-in over the top for about $900,000 and after asking for a count, Carter makes the call.

It's a loose call. Carter has Q♣ 4♣ and Suer has 6♥ 4♠. The turn is the 8♣, giving Carter the club flush draw, but the river is the J♥ and Suer stays alive, doubling up to over $2 million and prolonging the pleasure of this heads-up match.

Former boxing world champion Lennox Lewis just walked into the spot and his presence is rather fitting as Bobby Suer is on the ropes. Suer cannot get any traction going in this heads-up match and it seems only a matter of time before Allen Carter clinches the title.

In the most recent hand, Suer limped and Carter checked his option in the big blind. The flop came 7♥ 4♣ 3♠ and Carter checked. Suer bet out $200,000 and Carter made the call. The turn was the Q♣ and Carter checked again. Suer checked behind and the river was the 8♣.

Now Carter bet out $300 and Suer laid down the hand. This is a bloodbath.

Bobby Suer limps in and Allen Carter checks his option. The flop comes K♠ 5♠ 4♠ and Carter leads out for $300,000. Suer raises to $1 million and Carter moves all-in without much of a thought. Suer goes into the tank but ultimately lays it down, and Carter takes a monster pot.

Allen Carter raises to $240,000 and Bobby Suer moves all-in over the top for $1.215 million. Carter snap-calls, turning up 2♣ 2♠ to Suer's A♦ K♠, and it's a race for Suer's tournament life.

They say deuces never loses, but the K♥ J♥ 5♠ flop threatens to put a hole in that theory. The turn card is the 3♣, narrowly missing Carter's two remaining outs, and the 4♠ on the river is a step in the wrong direction, giving Suer the pot and the timely double-up.

The blinds are on the rise. No break.

Allen Carter has slowly but surely taken a stranglehold on this heads-up match, taking all but about $1 million of Bobby Suer's chips in a succession of small pots. Suer has been absolutely unable to get any traction so far in this heads-up match and will need to make a serious move very quickly if he wants any chance at that $1 million first prize.

Carter's biggest victory came in a hand that saw him limp in and Suer check his option. The flop came K♦ 5♦ 3♠ and both players checked. They checked again on the T♣ turn, but when the A♦ fell on the river Suer bet out $400,000.

Carter made the call, showing an ace, and Suer's king was not good enough. He was forced to ship the pot across the felt to his rival.

Bobby Suer limps-in and Allen Carter raises to $200,000. Suer makes the call and the flop comes J♦ 6♦ 6♥. Carter leads out for $400,000 and Suer makes the call. The turn is the 6♠ and Carter checks. Suer checks behind and the river is the 9♥. Both players check again and Carter turns up A♥ 9♦, good for a full house and, after Suer mucks, the pot.

Heads-up play between Allen Carter and Bobby Suer is now under way, with Carter holding roughly a 1.4-1 advantage over Suer.

Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion!

Soheil Shamseddin raises to $300,000 on the button and Allen Carter makes the call in the big blind. The flop comes K♣ T♠ 5♦ and Carter checks to Shamseddin, who checks behind. The turn is the T♣ and Carter checks again. Shamseddin bets out $400,000 and Carter makes the call.

The river card is the A♦ and Carter checks a third time. Shamseddin announces all-in and Carter calls instantly, flipping up Q♣ T♦ for trips. Fittingly, Shamseddin is revealed to have bluff-shoved with J♣ 7♦ (aka jack-high), and Carter takes the pot.

Shamseddin is thus eliminated in third place, his reign of terror over. He'll earn $263,725 in remuneration for his maniacal spree.

Allen Carter limps on the button and Soheil Shamseddin limps behind in the small blind before Bobby Suer raises to $400,000 from the big blind. Carter folds out but Shamseddin, as he has been doing all day, claims he's ready to gamble. He makes the call and, even better, checks dark.

The flop comes 7♦ 4♣ 2♦ and Suer moves all-in. Shamseddin insta-calls, turning up Q♦ J♦ and finding himself in a bad spot against Suer's A♦ T♦. The pro-Shamseddin crowd hollers for queens and jacks, but the board finishes out 7♣ 5♣ and Suer doubles back up to stay alive.

We're on a quick 20-minute break.

Soheil Shamseddin raises to $300,000 from the small blind and Bobby Suer makes it a cool $1 million to play from the big blind. Shamseddin moves all-in for $1,675,000 total and Suer makes the call, turning up K♣ J♥ and finding himself behind Shamseddin's K♠ Q♠.

Shamseddin leads a call for spades, and lots of them, as he awaits the flop. Once again, the dealer obliges, putting A♦ T♠ 6♠ on the table and giving both players the straight draw to boot.

The turn is the J♠, giving Shamseddin the broadway straight with the open-ended straight flush draw, and after the river is the K♥ Shamseddin doubles to $3.3 million, taking a huge bite out of Bobby Suer.

Allen Carter has just won three hands in rapid succession, only one of them at showdown, and has now taken over the tournament chip lead with three players remaining.

The hands: 

1. Allen Carter raises from the button to $225,000, and Bobby Suer calls from the big blind. The flop comes A32, Suer checks, Carter bets 500,000, and Suer folds. Allen Carter takes the pot. 

2. Soheil Shamseddin raises from the button to $250,000, and Allen Carter calls from the big blind. The flop comes K62, and both players check. The turn card is the 9, Carter bets $500,000, and Shamseddin folds. Allen Carter takes the pot.

3. Allen Carter completes the small blind to $80,000, and Soheil Shamseddin checks his option. The flop comes AQ3, and both players check. The turn card is the 3, Carter checks, Shamseddin bets $200,000, and Carter calls. 

 

The river card is the 6, and both players check. Carter shows Q7 to win the pot with two pair, queens and threes, and Shamseddin mucks.

 

 

 

Soheil Shamseddin raises to $200,000 on the button and Bobby Suer three-bets to $640,000 from the small blind. Allen Carter lays it down in the big blind but Shamseddin is game to gamble and makes the call.

The flop comes J♦ T♥ 8♥ and Suer checks. Shamseddin bets $600,000 and Suer, after barely a pause, moves all-in. Shamseddin lays it down and Suer takes the pot, and the chip lead.

Hilbert Shirey moves all-in for $620,000 from the small blind and Bobby Suer insta-calls from the big blind, turning up A♣ 8♦ to counter Shirey's J♠ T♠. Shirey will need to improve to stay alive, but the A♦ K♣ 9♦ compounds the situation, giving Suer top pair while giving Shirey the gut-shot draw.

The turn is the 9♥ and Shirey is drawing to one of four queens to stay alive. The river, however, is the 8♠, giving Suer the check mark and busting Shirey in fourth place. The final table's elder statesman will take home $184,607 for his finish.

Hilbert Shirey raises to $400,000 and then all hell breaks loose. Tyler Smith moves all-in over the top for another $430,000 and then Allen Carter ships it on top of that. Shirey, after barely a moment's deliberation, lets it go and Smith and Carter square off to do battle.

Carter, with the big stack, has Q♠ Q♣ and it's your everyday, run-of-the-mill race scenario as Smith turns up A♠ K♠. With the crowd on its feet hollering for aces, queens, one-times and pair-the-boards, the flop comes J♦ 8♦ 4♥. The queens still lead.

The turn is the 2♦ and the river is the 8♥ and Carter takes the pot with two pair, queens and eights. Smith is eliminated in fifth place and earns $134,500 for his time.

Another level of madness has come and gone and we're bumping the blinds. Oh yes we are. Action continues without pause.

Soheil Shamseddin raises to $200,000 from the small blind and Chuck Kim moves all-in for another $705,000 from the big blind. Shamseddin gives the matter some serious thought before making the call and turning up A♦ 9♣.

He's dominated, obviously, by Kim's A♣ K♠, but Shamseddin doesn't play the cards, he plays the man. And Kim is no match for Shamseddin's oversized horseshoe. The flop comes A♥ 5♣ 4♦. All good for Kim. The turn is the T♥. Still no sweat.

But the river, the brutal river, is the 9♥, giving Shamseddin the three-outer and busting Kim from the tournament. He's out in sixth place, earning $105,490 for his efforts and reducing the field to five just one hand (the 93rd) short of the longest-ever start to a WPT final table without an elimination.

The break is over and the cards are back in the air from the final table of the Southern Poker Championship. More poker will be forthcoming shortly.

PokerListings.com reporter-at-large Martin Derbyshire, on location in Melbourne, Australia for the 2009 Aussie Millions, has just busted out of a 45-man sit-and-go on PokerStars after shoving pre-flop for 12 big blinds with A-K and getting called by a similar stack who held A-T.

Everything looked good for Donkeyshire until the river, which brought a cruel ten, giving Player 2 the pot and busting the Canadian from the tournament.

This is a good thing, though, because it gives Derbyshire time to get back to work. His coverage of the final day of the $100k High Roller event will resume at midnight Eastern Time. 

We're now on a quick tape-change break again.

Seems like we're just going around in circles here. Chuck Kim raises to $110,000 and Bobby Suer moves all-in for $975,000. Action gets back to Kim, who insta-calls the all-in with the monster A♥ T♠ against Suer's A♠ K♣.

The flop comes K♠ J♠ 3♣ and Suer flops top pair while Kim picks up the gut-shot straight draw. The turn is the 5♥ and the river the 6♣ and the kings hold, doubling Suer back up and maintaining play six-handed.

Hilbert Shirey open-shoves from the cut-off and Bobby Suer mucks A♥ J♠ faceup on the button. The blinds get out too and Shirey takes the pot.

In another hand that defies description at a final table that is rapidly becoming that way itself, Chuck Kim raises to $170,000 from under the gun. The action folds around to Soheil Shamseddin, who reraises to $500,000 out of the big blind.

Kim moves all-in, adding another $420,000 to the wager, and Shamseddin goes into the tank for a ridiculously long time given the pot odds. Eventually, he announces, "I'm getting 3-1. Boy, I hope you don't have a pair."

He makes the call, turning up an incredible 9♦ 2♣, and finds he's got one over to Kim's 8♥ 8♦. Thankfully, the board runs T♥ 3♥ 3♦ A♦ 6♥ and Kim is spared a brutal bad beat, instead doubling through the resident maniac as action continues six-handed.

Hilbert Shirey raises to $130,000 from the small blind and Bobby Suer defends in the big blind. The flop comes Q♦ 6♣ 3♦ and Shirey moves all-in for his last $630,000. Suer again goes into the tank, but this time no clock is needed, as he comes out of his own volition and decides to make the call.

"Pair and a flush draw," Shirey announces, flipping up 9♦ 6♦. He's in better shape than he might have imagined as Suer turns up 7♦ 6♥ for the same pair and a worse kicker. The turn is the 9♣, giving Shirey two pair, and after the river is the J♣ Shirey has doubled through Suer to bring his stack up to about $1.5 million.

Soheil Shamseddin raises to $160,000 and Bobby Suer reraises to $550,000 from late position. Action folds back to Shamseddin, who tanks for a few minutes before making the call. The flop comes 8♠ 5♦ 4♣ and Shamseddin instantly moves all-in for a total of $1.25 million.

This sends Suer deep, deep into the tank. He stands and paces, looking utterly anguished, before asking his friends in the gallery what they think he should do. Johnny Grooms calls a stop to that, but that doesn't accomplish anything as far as forcing Suer to act goes.

Finally Shamseddin calls the clock, giving Suer a minute to act. He continues to ruminate, but after about 30 seconds he decides to fold his hand, laying down pocket jacks faceup. Unbelievable.

Shamseddin, positively gleeful, turns up a pocket pair of sixes as he rakes the pot.

We've just colored up and the blinds are on the rise.

The break is over and the cards are back in the air with seven minutes left in the current level and six players still in contention. Stay tuned as we attempt to whittle the field down to one newly minted millionaire!

Soheil Shamseddin raises to $120,000 from under the gun and the action folds around to Hilbert Shirey, who reraises to $450,000 from the cut-off. Bobby Suer tanks for a bit on the button but lays it down, and the blinds get out of the way also.

Action is back on Shamseddin, who gives an Oscar-worthy performance, Hollywooding it up before moving all-in for $405,000 more. Shirey announces that he has no choice but to call, tabling K♣ Q♦ and finding himself dominated by Shamseddin's K♠ K♦.

"Give the man ten-jack," Shamseddin tells the dealer. "Let's sweat a little."

Instead, the board comes 8♦ 7♣ 3♠ 3♦ J♦, producing nothing even resembling a sweat, and Shamseddin doubles to a little over $1 million.

Bobby Suer raises to $110,000 in early position and Chuck Kim makes the call in the big blind. The flop comes K♥ Q♦ 2♠ and Kim checks to Suer, who bets out $250,000. Kim lays it down and Suer takes the pot.

Hilbert Shirey raises to $110,000 and Bobby Suer isn't having it. He reraises to $290,000 and after the action folds back around, Shirey lays it down and Suer takes the pot.

Soheil Shamseddin raises to $160,000 from middle position and Bobby Suer makes the call in the small blind. The flop comes A♦ 6♥ 5♠ and Suer checks to Shamseddin, who checks behind. The turn is the T♠ and Suer leads out for $300,000. Shamseddin quickly moves all-in over the top.

"I've got no choice," Suer proclaims. "I have to call." He does, turning up 5♦ 5♥ for the set. Shamseddin is surprisingly strong with A♠ Q♠, drawing for a spade to send Suer to the rail.

The river, however, is the 4♦ and Suer does a booty dance on his chair as he rakes the pot, doubling through Shamseddin and taking over the chip lead.

Allen Carter raises to $110,000 and Soheil Shamsedden makes the call, as does Bobby Suer in the big blind. The flop comes K♠ 7♣ 3♠ and action checks to Shamseddin, who bets out $315,000. Suer instantly check-raises all-in for another $110,000 and Carter gets out of the way.

Shamseddin begins mugging for the audience. "Do I waste $110?" he asks them, and the crowd screams its encouragement. He makes the call, turning up T♦ 8♦ and needing some serious help against Suer's K♥ 3♦. 

The turn is the K♣ and Suer boats up, and after the river is the A♥ he's doubled through Shamseddin, who is insane.

The break is over and the cards are back in the air from the final table of the Southern Poker Championship. Stay tuned for more thrilling poker action from this thrilling poker contest!

Chuck Kim raises to $85,000 in the cut-off and the action folds around to Tyler Smith in the big blind. Smith gives the matter some careful consideration before popping it up to $260,000. Now it's Kim's turn for consternation, and after a fair amount of it he lays down the hand. Smith takes the pot.

Allen Carter raises to $90,000 and Chuck Kim makes the call in the small blind. The flop comes J♦ 8♠ 5♠ and both players check. The turn is the Q♥ and Carter leads out for $115,000. Kim makes the call and the river is the 5♦. Carter again checks and Kim checks behind. Carter turns up A-Q and his queens-up beats Kim's A-T for ace-high. Carter takes the pot.

Soheil Shamseddin raises to $90,000 out of the small blind and Chuck Kim defends his big blind. The flop comes T♠ T♣ 3♣ and both players check. The turn is the 3♦ and Shamseddin bets out $200,000; Kim moves all-in over the top for $782,000.

Shamseddin thinks it over but ultimately decides to lay it down, and Kim takes the pot.

Chuck Kim limps in before Hilbert Shirey raises to $90,000. Allen Carter makes it $250,000 to go and Kim quickly gets out of the way. Shirey, however, is not impressed, and he adds another $400k to the wager for a total bet of $650,000.

Carter ruminates for a minute or so before ultimately laying down the hand, mucking A-K faceup and conceding the pot to Shirey.

Allen Carter raises to $75,000 and Soheil Shamseddin makes the call on the button before Chuck Kim moves all-in from the small blind. Hilbert Shirey lets go in the big blind and Carter lays it down before Shamseddin starts to think things through. 

He asks for a count and is told the all-in is $387,000. He turns to Kim. "You're so far ahead that you have no idea how far ahead you are," he says, then returns to the tank.

After a minute or so of thought, he makes his decision. "You're ahead, baby, but I want to gamble. I call."

Shamseddin turns up T♣ 7♠ and Kim is indeed ahead, tabling J♠ J♣. The flop, however, brings Shamseddin a bit closer, coming Q♠ 8♦ 7♣.

"Gimme a nine just for the heck of it," Shamseddin says. The dealer obliges with the 9♥. Now any six, seven or jack will bust Kim.

The river, however, is the T♠, giving Kim the queen-high straight and doubling him through Shamseddin.

Soheil Shamseddin raises in the small blind and Chuck Kim moves all-in from the big. Shamseddin quickly lays it down and Kim takes down the pot.

Allen Carter makes a raise from early position, only to see Soheil Shamseddin make it $225,000 to go from his left. The action folds around to Carter, who makes the call, and we're heads-up to the flop, which comes K♣ Q♠ 5♦.

Carter checks to Shamseddin, who bets out $350,000 and Carter lays it down. Shamseddin takes the pot as his supporters make their pleasure known.

Bobby Suer raises to $87,000 from under the gun and the action folds around to Chuck Kim, who makes the call in the small blind. The flop comes Q♠ J♦ 2♠ and Kim checks to Suer, who bets out $150,000. Kim gives the matter some thought before laying down the hand, and Suer takes the pot.

After nearly a round without a flop, Tyler Smith raises in the small blind and Allen Carter defends in the big blind. The flop comes K♦ 6♥ 3♠ and Smith bets out $115,000. Carter makes the call and the turn is the T♥. Now Smith checks and Carter fires $175,000 into the middle. Smith lays it down and Carter takes the pot.

The fans in the stands are clapping their hands and the players have been introduced. The dealer's done the shuffling and everyone's dealing with it. Cards are in the air from the final table of the Southern Poker Championship and it don't quit until somebody's walking away with a milli. Game on!