Event 49 - $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball - Live Updates

The heads-up match between Justin Bonomo and Lenny Martin was a back-and-forth affair. Bonomo started with more than a 2-to-1 chip lead, but Martin closed the gap.

For a long time, they traded chips back and forth, with neither player building more than a 2-to-1 chip lead.

Every time there was a big pot, it seemed to go to the smaller stack. It would only be a matter of time before a big stack caught momentum to finish off the shorter stack.

But then the swings got bigger, and the leads increased to more than 3-to-1.

Bonomo built the lead to 1.8 million to 500,000 after winning a pot with an 8-5 low, but he wasn't able to hold it. Martin evened things up by winning a pot with an 8-7, and then following that with a J-9 that was good enough to win.

With the limits large, every pot was a big one. Martin won another one where they both drew at every chance, and Bonomo's 10-9 fell to Martin's 8-7.

That gave Martin a huge lead with 1.94 million to Bonomo's 380,000 (5-to-1).

It was almost over when both players drew one card in the final draw, and Bonomo turned over a K to give him a K-8. But Martin checked and re-checked his hand before mucking, telling the announcer he had paired up. Bonomo nearly doubled up, but was still the short stack.

Then Martin won another pot with J-7 to get Bonomo back on the ropes, and set up the final hand.

Bonomo had to settle for his second 2nd-place WSOP finish.

 

THE FINAL HAND

In the final hand, Martin raised the button, and Bonomo called. In the first draw, Bonomo drew two cards, and Martin drew one. Bonomo checked, Martin bet, and Bonomo called.

In the second draw, Bonomo drew one, and Martin stood pat. Bonomo checked, Martin bet, and Bonomo check-raised all in. Martin called.

In the third draw, Bonomo drew one, while Martin still stood pat. They showed their cards before Bonomo checked his final card:

Lenny Martin: 8-7-6-4-3
Justin Bonomo: 7-4-3-2

Martin's 8-7 was strong, but Bonomo had outs. Bonomo needed a five for a perfect hand, and could also win with a six or an eight.

Bonomo's last card was a K.

LENNY MARTIN WINS!

Lenny Martin won the pot -- and the tournament -- with an 8-7 low. Justin Bonomo finished as the runner-up, earning $117,305 for second place.

Lenny Martin wins Event #49 ($2,500 2-7 Triple Draw), earning $189,919 and the coveted gold WSOP bracelet.

After he won, Martin was congratulated by Mike Matusow, and while they were hugging, Todd Brunson joked, "Hey Mike, he's not gonna loan you any money."

While Matusow seemed to magically appear at the end, Todd Brunson had been sweating most of the final table in support of Lenny Martin.

Martin will claim the bracelet under the Ukrainian flag, and the Ukrainian national anthem will be played at his bracelet ceremony. But he wanted to make it clear that he is a very proud American.

This is Martin's third WSOP cash since 2007, and all three have been final tables in deuce-to-seven triple draw.

2007: 2nd place in $1,000 2-7 Triple Draw - $128,120
2010: 6th place in $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw - $24,723
2011: 1st place in $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw - $189,919

Todd Brunson supported Lenny Martin all night, then jumped in to sneak a quick bracelet winner's photo.

 

In his winner's interview, Martin said, "Everything I have, I won in a poker game."

As for Bonomo, it's a tough beat. Last night, he tweeted:

@JustinBonomo: "Back to 98k. My mom gets into town tomorrow. Gonna try super hard to make a final table for her. Love you mom!"

Bonomo made the final table for her, and came close to winning the bracelet. Shortly after his second-place finish, he tweeted:

@JustinBonomo: "Thanks to all my amazing family and friends that supported me. I love you guys. I may hate life right now, but life is really good overall."

OFFICIAL FINAL TABLE RESULTS

1st: Lenny Martin - $189,919
2nd: Justin Bonomo - $117,305
3rd: David Bach - $77,517
4th: Masa Tanaka - $52,680
5th: Eli Elezra - $36,596
6th: Jason Mercier - $25,967

Bonomo managed to increase his lead with three players remaining, and for a little while, it looked like he had David Bach and Lenny Martin on the ropes.

Martin got it all in against Bonomo after the second draw in a pretty big pot, and they both drew one card in the third draw.

Justin Bonomo: A-5-4-3-2
Lenny Martin: K-7-6-4-2

Martin managed to double up to give himself some breathing room. Would David Bach be as lucky?

No.

DAVID BACH OUT IN 3RD PLACE

David Bach lost two straight hands against Bonomo to get down to a critically low stack, and then he was all in against Lenny Martin after the first draw.

When David Bach won the $50K WSOP Player's Championship, deuce-to-seven wasn't in the mix.

 

In the second draw, Bach drew one card, and Martin drew one card. In the third draw, they each drew one again, showing their four-card hands before revealing their final cards.

Lenny Martin: 5-4-3-2
David Bach: 8-6-3-2

Bach showed first, and caught a horrible card -- a 3 to give him a pair of threes. He still had outs, as Martin could catch an ace or a six for a straight, or an five or a four for a worse pair.

Martin's last card was a 9, and he won the pot with a 9-5 low.

David Bach was eliminated in third place, earning $77,517.

HEADS-UP PLAY BEGINS

Bach was the last bracelet winner still in the field -- he won the $50,000 Players Championship at the 2009 WSOP. So the winner of this event would be taking home their first WSOP bracelet.

Lenny Martin has 3 WSOP cashes in the last four years, and all 3 have been final tables in 2-7 triple draw.

 

Both players have reached heads-up play at the WSOP before. Martin finished second in $1,000 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw back in 2007, while Bonomo finished second in $5,000 Mixed Hold'em back in 2008.

Here are the official chip counts for the start of heads-up play, with the blinds at 20,000-40,000 and limits at 40,000-80,000:

David Bach - 1,630,000 (20 big bets)
Lenny Martin - 750,000 (9 big bets)

3rd: David Bach - $77,517
4th: Masa Tanaka - $52,680
5th: Eli Elezra - $36,596
6th: Jason Mercier - $25,967

Eli Elezra was hoping to win the second WSOP bracelet of his career at this, his seventh WSOP final table. But the cards weren't falling in his favor after the dinner break.

After Jason Mercier's elimination, Leonard Martin was the short stack, with less than two big bets to his name. But he has battled back strong, even taking the chip lead at one point, while Elezra was steadily losing chips.

David Bach, who was 12th in chips with 12 players remaining earlier today, managed to not only make the final table, but he became the first player to reach 1 million in chips.

The lead has changed several times since then, and all three players who are still alive (Justin Bonomo, David Bach, and Leonard Martin) have had the chip lead since the dinner break.

ELI ELEZRA OUT IN 5th PLACE

Eli Elezra was all in against Masa Tanaka after the second draw -- Tanaka had drawn one, and Elezra had drawn two. For the third draw, both players decided to stand pat.

Elezra showed a 9-8-5-3-2, but couldn't beat Tanaka's 8-7-4-3-2.

Eli Elezra was eliminated in fifth place, earning $36,596.

Masa Tanaka only has one other recorded cash -- a 2nd place finish in the 2009 WSOP in 2-7 Triple Draw.

 

MASA TANAKA OUT IN 4th PLACE

Masa Tanaka was in pretty good shape after eliminating Eli Elezra, but it all went downhill for him after that.

He folded a pot to Leonard Martin after the second draw, and then lost a big pot when he played to the showdown against Martin but couldn't beat Martin's 8-5 low. (Tanaka mucked.)

It got worse for Tanaka. He played another pot to showdown, this time against Justin Bonomo. But Bonomo showed an 8-7 to win this pot, and Tanaka mucked again.

In his final hand, Tanaka was all in before the first draw against Justin Bonomo.

In the first draw, Tanaka drew one, and Bonomo drew two. In the second draw, Tanaka drew one, and Bonomo drew two.

In the third and final draw, Tanaka drew one, and Bonomo drew one. They turned over their cards before revealing their final draw.

Justin Bonomo: 7-5-4-2
Masa Tanaka: 8-6-5-4

Breaking protocol (the all-in player usually reveals last), Tanaka quickly turned over his last card, which was a 3 -- effectively a perfect card for him.

But Bonomo also pulled a 3, which gave him a perfect 7-5-4-3-2 to win the pot.

Masa Tanaka was eliminated in fourth place, earning $52,680.

Bonomo has more than half the chips in play.

 

UPDATED CHIP COUNTS

Justin Bonomo has been on a hot streak recently, and currently has more than half the chips in play, while Martin and Bach are effectively even.

Here are the updated chip counts as the blinds increase to 15,000-30,000 and the limits at 30,000-60,000.

Seat 2. David Bach - 513,000 (8 big bets)
Seat 3. Leonard Martin - 520,000 (8 big bets)
Seat 4. Justin Bonomo - 1,200,000 (20 big bets)

4th: Masa Tanaka - $52,680
5th: Eli Elezra - $36,596
6th: Jason Mercier - $25,967

Jason Mercier came back from the dinner break with just four big bets in his stack, so he was somewhat at the mercy of the cards.

Mercier lost a three-way pot shortly after dinner against Eli Elezra and Justin Bonomo. Bonomo stood pat on the final draw, while Mercier and Elezra both drew one card.

Bonomo won that pot with an 8-6 low, and Mercier was left with just 1 1/2 big bets.

Mercier then got it all in a few hands later after the second draw against Bonomo, and both players stood pat.

Bonomo showed an 8-6, but Mercier flipped over a perfect 7-5-4-3-2 to win the pot and double up to 3 big bets.

JASON MERCIER ELIMINATED IN 6th PLACE

A short while later, Jason Mercier three-bet himself all in after the first draw against Masa Tanaka.

In the second draw, Tanaka drew one card, and so did Mercier. In the third draw, they each drew one card again.

Masa Tanaka was the one who busted the always-dangerous Jason Mercier.

 

Before they got their final cards, they showed the four they had left.

Masa Tanaka: 8-7-3-2
Jason Mercier: 6-5-4-2

Tanaka received his last card and quickly flipped it over -- a 10, for a 10-8 low. Mercier would need a ten, nine, eight, or a seven to stay alive. (A three would give him a straight.)

Mercier slowly sweated his last card, and then flipped it over when he saw that it was an A. (Which, if you weren't aware, always plays high in 2-7.) Tanaka won the pot.

Jason Mercier was eliminated in sixth place, earning $25,967.

UPDATED CHIP COUNTS

Here are the official chip counts, with the blinds increasing to 10,000-20,000 and the limits increasing to 20,000-40,000:

Seat 1. Eli Elezra - 490,000 (12 big bets)
Seat 2. David Bach - 810,000 (20 big bets)
Seat 3. Leonard Martin - 70,000 (1 big bets)
Seat 4. Justin Bonomo - 625,000 (15 big bets)
Seat 5. Masa Tanaka - 400,000 (10 big bets)

6th: Jason Mercier - $25,967

There are still six players remaining as the level comes to an end, and they take their one-hour dinner break.

The chipleader is David Bach, followed closely by Eli Elezra.

The short stacks are Leonard Martin and Jason Mercier, so Mercier has his work cut out for him if he is to become the first player to win two bracelets at this year's WSOP.

Here are the official chip counts, with the blinds increasing to 8,000-15,000 and the limits increasing to 15,000-30,000:

Seat 1. Eli Elezra - 721,000 (24 big bets)
Seat 2. David Bach - 775,000 (25 big bets)
Seat 3. Leonard Martin - 110,000 (3 big bets)
Seat 4. Justin Bonomo - 397,000 (13 big bets)
Seat 5. Masa Tanaka - 186,000 (6 big bets)
Seat 6. Jason Mercier - 139,000 (4 big bets)

Action will resume around 8:55 pm.

With Scott Dorin's elimination in eighth place, the final seven players relocated to the ESPN stage to continue playing.

A short while later, Jon Turner was eliminated in seventh place, just missing his second final table of the WSOP. (Only the final six get official credit for a final table.)

SCOTT DORIN OUT IN 8th PLACE

Scott Dorin was all in before the first draw against David Bach.

In the first draw, Bach took one and Dorin drew two. In the second draw, Bach stood pat and Dorin again drew two.

In the final draw, Dorin once again drew two cards, but it wasn't good enough. Bach showed a 9-6-5-4-3, and Dorin couldn't beat it.

Scott Dorin was eliminated in eighth place, earning $18,804.

JON TURNER OUT IN 7th PLACE

Jon Turner was all in before the first draw against David Bach and Masa Tanaka.

In the first draw, Turner, Bach, and Tanaka each drew two cards (in that order), and Bach and Tanaka checked the dry side pot.

Scott Dorin just missed reaching the ESPN stage.

 

In the second draw, Turner and Bach each took two, while Tanaka stood pat, and then bet after a check from Bach. Bach called.

In the third draw, all three players stood pat.

Turner showed J-9-6-5-4, but Bach turned over 8-6-5-3-2 to win the pot. (Tanaka mucked.)

Jon Turner was eliminated in seventh place, earning $18,804.

THE FINAL TABLE

With six players remaining, the official final table is set. Here are the official chip counts with the blinds at 6,000-12,000, and the limits at 12,000-24,000:

Jon Turner bubbled what would have been his second final table of this WSOP.

 

Seat 1. Eli Elezra - 434,000 (18 big bets)

Seat 2. David Bach - 817,000 (34 big bets)

Seat 3. Leonard Martin - 273,000 (11 big bets)

Seat 4. Justin Bonomo - 313,000 (13 big bets)

Seat 5. Masa Tanaka - 148,000 (6 big bets)

Seat 6. Jason Mercier - 343,000 (14 big bets)

7th: Jon Turner - $18,804

8th: Scott Dorin - $18,804

The field for the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw has dropped down to the final nine. When they reach the final seven, they will move to the ESPN arena, though only the final six will get official credit for a final table.

One of the most notable eliminations was Scott Seiver, who summarized his fall on Twitter:

@ScottSeiver: "From chiplead to busto in 50 minutes"

We'll get to Seiver's "busto" after we deal with Galen Hall's elimination.

GALEN HALL OUT IN 12th PLACE

Galen Hall is having an incredible year, with a victory in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $2.3 million back in January, and followed up with a third-place finish at the WPT World Championship in May.

But Hall will not be winning his first WSOP bracelet today.

Even with a 12th-place finish here, Galen Hall is having an incredible year.

 

Hall got it all in after the second draw against Masa Tanaka, and neither player took a card in the third draw. Hall showed a 7-6 low, but Tanaka turned over a perfect 7-5-4-3-2 to win the pot.

Galen Hall was eliminated in 12th place, earning $10,474.

SCOTT SEIVER OUT IN 11th PLACE

After flying high earlier today, Seiver lost several substantial pots to get short, tripled up with a 9-7, and then got short again.

In his final hand, Seiver was all in before the first draw against Eli Elezra. First draw, Elezra drew one, and Seiver drew two. Second draw, Elezra drew one, and Seiver drew two.

In the third and final draw, Elezra stood pat, and Seiver drew one.

Elezra showed 8-7-5-4-3, while Seiver was still alive but drawing thin with 8-7-5-2 before turning over his final card. Seiver needed a three or a four to stay alive, but his final card was a K.

Scott Seiver was eliminated in 11th place, earning $10,474.

SHAWN BUCHANAN OUT IN 9th PLACE

Shawn Buchanan was short in chips, and got it all in before the first draw against Jon Turner. In the first draw, Turner drew one card, and Buchanan drew three. In the second, Turner drew one, and Buchanan drew two.

In the third draw, Turner drew one card, and Buchanan stood pat.

Turner's final card was an 8, giving him an 8-7-6-4-2. Buchanan showed a 9-low and mucked, apparently a favorite before the final draw.

Shawn Buchanan was eliminated in ninth place, earning $13,897.

Shawn Buchanan is barely recognizable without his hoodie. But trust us, this is what he looks like.

 

OFFICIAL CHIP COUNTS

Here are the official chip counts from the break as the limits increase to 10,000-20,000:

Seat 1. Justin Bonomo - 155,000 (7 big bets)
Seat 2.
Seat 3. Masa Tanaka - 220,000 (11 big bets)
Seat 4.
Seat 5. Leonard Martin - 406,000 (20 big bets)
Seat 6. Jon Turner - 243,000 (12 big bets)

Seat 1.
Seat 2. Jason Mercier - 581,000 (29 big bets)
Seat 3.
Seat 4. Scott Dorin - 142,000 (7 big bets)
Seat 5. Eli Elezra - 173,000 (8 big bets)
Seat 6. David Bach - 409,000 (20 big bets)

And the players who have busted so far today:

9th: Shawn Buchanan - $13,897
10th: Nicholas Verkaik - $13,897
11th: Scott Seiver - $10,474
12th: Galen Hall - $10,474
13th: Fabian Holling - $8,049

When one more player is eliminated, the final seven will move the action over to the ESPN stage. Though only the final six will get credit for a WSOP final table.

Note: Single-draw deuce-to-seven events play seven-handed, while triple-draw deuce-to-seven events (like this one) play six-handed.

Two years ago, when Jason Mercier won his first WSOP bracelet (in $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha), he had a big stack of chips through most of the tournament.

Not just a big chip count, but a physically large stack of chips on the table. It's become a trademark for Mercier when he's doing well deep in a tournament.

Earlier this WSOP, Mercier had a physically big stack again, in Event #35 ($5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha). Once again, he carried that big stack all the way to a bracelet victory.

Now, Mercier has a big stack in Event #49 ($2,500 2-7 Triple Draw) with 12 players remaining. Can Mercier carry the big stack to another bracelet?

HOW TO BUILD A JASON MERICER-STYLE BIG STACK

First, a brief word on how Mercier gets such mountainous piles of chips. Obviously, you need to be pretty high up on the leaderboard.

But more than that, Mercier bets with his big chips. If he's betting 5,000, he'll bet a single 5K chip instead of five 1K chips. He'll bet with the most efficient number of chips possible.

Eli Elezra doesn't need a big stack to be imposing.

 

While this may, psychologically speaking, make his bets look smaller, it keeps his stack looking larger, giving him an intimidation factor.

A short while ago, Mercier had 400,000 in chips, while Eli Elezra had 330,000 across the table. But while Mercier's chips were in a mountain built by 30 stacks of chips, Elezra only had three stacks in front of him.

Of course, Elezra had a lot more green (25K) and pink (5K chips) than Mercier.

Once Mercier amasses a lot of chips, he builds his stack vertically into a tower, which is much more intimidating than a large, flat mass of chip stacks.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you build a Jason Mercier-style stack. Earning those chips by winning pots is up to you.

DOWN TO 12 PLAYERS

Play resumed today with 13 players, but Fabian Holling didn't make it very far today.

After the three draws, Holling held J-10-6-4-2, but Dorin pulled a ten on the end to win with a 10-9-7-5-2.

Fabian Holling was eliminated in 13th place, earning $8,049.

UPDATED CHIP COUNTS

Here's a look at the top 10 approximate chip counts with the betting limits at 6,000-12,000, courtesy of WSOP.com:

Jason Mercier - 410,000
Eli Elezra - 360,000
Scott Seiver - 315,000
Leonard Martin - 270,000
Scott Dorin - 227,500
Shawn Buchanan - 176,500
Jonathan Turner - 145,000
Galen Hall - 143,000
Justin Bonomo - 111,500
Nicholas Verkaik - 85,000

When the field is down to eight players, they will move to the ESPN stage to continue playing down to a bracelet winner.