WSOP Main Event: James Akenhead, Antoine Saout Double Up

Players came out swinging after the first break of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table. Both short stacks entering the day, Antoine Saout and James Akenhead, doubled to get a new lease on life at the final table.

Akenhead was all-in on back-to-back hands. He received no action in the first, but on the second hand, he pushed pre-flop and Steven Begleiter made the call. Joe Cada’s supporters called loudly for their hero to call as well. Eric Buchman asked for a chip count, pointing to Akenhead’s stack, and then isolated by re-raising to 12 million. The stage lights brightened up considerably as everyone came to their feet with the first all-in and call of the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table. Begleiter faced nine million more to call and shoved his hand into the muck. Akenhead turned over K-Q, while Buchman showed A-K.

The flop came 2-3-J, helping neither player and keeping Buchman out in front. The turn was a king, giving both players top pair, and Akenhead needed to catch a queen to stay alive. Sure enough, one of the three remaining ladies in the deck hit the river, causing an explosion among the British train conductor’s fans. Buchman gave a small smile and Akenhead survived the all-in.

Shortly thereafter, Saout re-raised to 6.75 million over the top of a raise to 2.3 million by Darvin Moon after the flop came K-J-2. Moon re-raised all-in and Saout snap-called, having already committed two-thirds of his stack, and flipped up J-2 for bottom two pair. Moon revealed A-4 for ace-high and the turn came a three, giving Moon a straight draw to a five. However, another deuce hit on the river, doubling up Saout. The crowd came to life once again, as Saout’s supporters, decked in blue t-shirts, rallied behind their hero. Meanwhile, the French news outlets frantically began typing a story before the army of WSOP and PokerNews reporters could summarize the hand.

An official from Club Poker told Poker News Daily, “If Antoine wins, it will be huge for France.” He speculated that Saout could become the French version of Chris Moneymaker, who ignited the modern poker boom by winning the 2003 WSOP Main Event.

All nine players remain in the hunt for the $8.5 million first place prize payday. During the afternoon’s second break, rapper Ja Rule took to the stage with Lacey Jones and told the Absolute Poker pro that he’s rooting for Phil Ivey. Also taking center stage were Mike Matusow, who promoted his new book, “Check Raising the Devil,” “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke, and Full Tilt Poker pro Jennifer Harman, who was railing Ivey and Jeff Shulman.

Moon continues to lead the way, although his stack has fallen to below 50 million. Joe Cada, Shulman, Akenhead, Phil Ivey, Kevn Schaffel, and Saout all sit with between 10 million and 20 million chips. Blinds are 200,000-400,000 with a 50,000 ante.

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Poker talk:

LIVE ONE - The best kind of opponent, a poor player with a lot of money to lose and in a hurry to lose it.
READ - To determine whether an opponent has a good, medium or bad hand by observing his personal behavior. An inexact science.
STRAIGHT FLUSH - A hand consisting of 5 cards in sequence and the same suit.
KICKER - In hands containing pairs and trips, the highest card not matched. In draw games, sometimes a card kept for deception purposes.
MARKED CARDS - Cards that have been (illegally) altered so that their value can be read from the back.
TELL - Any personal mannerisms that reveal the quality of one's hand. E.g., constantly looking at one's hole cards is often a tell of a poor hand. (Some players, knowing this, will at times check their hole cards when they have a great hand and don't need to look.)

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