Join PokerStars now!

LEVEL UP. PLAYING 200-400-50 IN LEVEL TWO




1pm: Maybe he is that good
On Tuesday night, as Joe Sweeney was stacking up five bounties and winning his heat, a friend and supporter arrived to the rail and said (with a good degree of admiration): "You must have got some help from the man upstairs because you ain't that good."

Sweeney, an amateur player, had just beaten a table stacked with some of the best professional poker talent in the game and had not looked at all out of place.

That same friend is back today to support Sweeney at the final table, and he was the most vocal in his admiration for this recent hand too.

Sweeney made a standard opening raise pre-flop and then called Micah Raskin's three bet. "No one's pushing us around Joe!" shouted Sweeney's supporter. So it proved.

The flop came [6d][4s][8h] and Raskin bet 4,000. Sweeney raised to 13,000 and Raskin called. Both players checked the [4d] turn, but then when Sweeney led for 15,000 on the [10c] river, Raskin folded.

Joe Sweeney at NAPT Bounty Shootout final table


Big--and deserved--cheers from Sweeney's rail. -- HS

12:51pm: Raskin the early chip leader
Micah Raskin just moved into the chip lead after taking down two consecutive pots. In the first, he opened for 600, earning calls from Eugene Katchalov and Jimmie Guinther. Guinther checked to the raiser on the [Tc][9d][3h] flop and Raskin bet 1,200. Katchalov called and Guinther folded. The turn came the [7s] and Raskin slowed down and checked, leaving the door open for Katchalov to bet 3,000. Raskin called and the [Kc] hit the river. Raskin turned around and led out for 6,000, a bet too rich for Katchalov as he pursed his lips and folded.

On the next hand, Raskin and Guinther went heads-up to a [7c][7d][2h] flop. Guinther led out for 800, Raskin raised to 2,500 and Guinther gave it up as Raskin moved up to 60,000 in chips. --KB

12.50pm: Portents
This week is all about repeats, and superstition's Joe Giron has just noticed that Jason Mercier, looking to repeat his Bounty Shootout triumph of last year, is today occupying the nine seat, the same chair that Vanessa Selbst occupied yesterday as she completed her back-to-back main event triumph. Oooooh. What could it mean? -- HS

12:41pm: Von Kriegenbergh does a little advertising
Opening his fourth pot out of five, Eugene Katchalov made it 600 to go, Jason Mercier called from the cutoff and Taylor von Kriegenbergh three-bet to 2,000 on the button. Katchalov folded and Mercier called. The flop fell [Kh][5c][5d] and Mercier check-called von Kriegenbergh's 4,100 bet. However, when the turn fell the [6s], Mercier couldn't continue, folding to von Kriegenbergh's 8,000 bet.

Jason Mercier eyes Taylor von Kriegenbergh


Von Kriegenbergh showed the bluff, showing the [2c][4c] as he raked in the pot. --KB

12.35pm: Raskin involved
Michah Raskin, who always likes to be involved, has been playing true to form in the early stages today. After Jason Mercier raised to 400 from late position, Joe Sweeney called in the small blind. Raskin, in the big blind, raised to 1,800 and the squeeze got rid of Mercier. Sweeney called.

The flop was [3c][jh][2d] and after Sweeney checked, Raskin bet 2,100 which was enough to take it down. -- HS

12:30pm: Presto!
Eugene Katchalov opened his third pot in a row with a raise to 600, Jason Mercier looking him up from the small blind. Mercier checked over to Katchalov on the [6h][8h][6d] flop, then raised his fellow Team Pro's 800 continuation bet to 1,600. Katchalov called and both players checked down the [Ad] on the turn and the [Qs] on the river.

Eugene Katchalov mucks and smiles at Jason Mercier


Mercier showed pocket fives and they were good. --KB

12:27pm: Early analysis
For a quick pre-game chat between a nice-looking woman and bloated old man, check out the video below. --BW

12:20pm: Jaffe scores first blood
Taylor von Kriegenbergh came in for a raise and set the stage for a three-bet to 1,900 form Joe Sweeney. Jonathan Jaffe was having none of that and made it 4,200 to play. Von Kriegenbergh got out of the way, but Sweeney called. On a flop of [js][3h][9h], Sweeney checked and Jaffe bet 5,800. Sweeney got out of the way, and Jaffe picked up the first pot of the day. --BW


12:15pm: Away we go
Cards are in the air with blinds starting at 100-200-25. Levels are 40 minutes long and players start with 50,000 in chips. Here's what they all look like. --KB

Back row (l-r): Joe Sweeney, Taylor Von Kriegenbergh, Scott Blackman, Jonathan Jaffe, Jason Mercier. Front row (l-r): Micah Raskin, Michael Pesek, Eugene Katchalov, Jimmie Guinther.


11.45am: Mercier also leads bounty race
In addition to the first prize of $142,600 for winning this tournament, there are also a number of other ways players can pick up additional money.

Each table winner has already taken either $36,000 or $40,000 for besting their eight- or nine-handed opening tables, and they will have also taken $2,000 for every player they have eliminated. That's the "bounty" part of the bounty shooutout, and the tally of bounty winners from the first flight is over on the results page.

At the end of the entire tournament, the player who has picked up the most bounties will also get a bonus $20,000 in cash, plus a buy in into the next NAPT Bounty Shooutout.

Currently leading that charge is, you guessed it, Jason Mercier. He has six bounties from his opening heat. Joe Sweeney picked up five and the closest others, Katchalov and Blackman, have three.

It's still possible for everyone to win that race, however.-- HS

11.40am: Mercier aims to emulate Selbst
At almost any other tournament in world poker, Jason Mercier's achievement of making the final table 12 months after he won the same event would be enough to have commentators purring. The problem for Mercier, who will sit down today at the final of the $10,000 NAPT Bounty Shootout final and attempt to defend his own crown, is named Vanessa Selbst.

Last night, Selbst completed a remarkable back-to-back triumph in NAPT Mohegan Sun Main Events. Today, anything less than back-to-back victories for Mercier will somehow feel like a disappointment, even though his is also already a spectacular achievement.

Mercier railed Selbst to triumph yesterday. Today Selbst is back in class at law school, so Mercier will have to go it alone. He will also have to beat a field including his Team PokerStars Pro colleague Eugene Katchalov, as well as seven other players who emerged victorious from a stacked field of talent on Tuesday.

The full line up, in seat order, is:

1. TAYLOR VON KRIEGENBERGH
2. JOE SWEENEY
3. MICAH RASKIN
4. MICHAEL PESEK
5. EUGENE KATCHALOV
6. JIMMIE GUINTHER
7. SCOTT BLACKMAN
8. JONATHAN JAFFE
9. JASON MERCIER

Play is due to begin at noon.

Reporting team: Kristin Bihr, Howard Swains and Brad Willis. Photography: Joe Giron.





Play at PokerStars!