PartyPoker Premier League VI: Tobias Reinkemeier Wins Group B Heat 1; Dan Shak 2nd
Group B of the PartyPoker Premier League VI kicked off Monday with Tobias Reinkemeier, Tony G, Igor Kurganov, Phil Laak, Dan Shak, Jason Mercier, Jennifer Tilly and Talal Shakerchi taking their seats in the $125,000 buy-in event for the first time.
It didn't take long for two of the high rollers to mix it up, either. In one of strongest plays so far at the Premier League, Reinkemeier pulled a fast one on Shakerchi by bluffing him out of hand preflop. Shakerchi opened to 11,000 with the A?3?. Reinkemeier three-bet to 29,000 with the A?2?, and Shakerchi followed with a four-bet to 79,000. In a surprise move, Reinkemeier five-bet to 179,000, resulting in a quick muck from Shakerchi.
Soon after, Shakerchi went from zero to hero after doubling through Tony G. Tony G opened to 11,000 with pocket queens. From the small blind, Shakerchi three-bet to 29,000 with pocket kings. Tony G four-bet to 71,000 and Shakerchi moved all in for 166,000. Tony G called, then watched the 4?Q?5? shoot him into the lead with a set of queens. However, the K? on the turn gave Shakerchi control again, and the A? on the river sealed the deal for Shakerchi, whose stack boosted to 336,000. Tony G was left with 221,000.
After struggling to recover his losses, Tony G was the first to hit the rail and earned zero points in Heat 1 of Group B. He pushed his remaining 160,000 chips into the middle with pocket jacks, but was called by Tilly who had him trumped with pocket queens. Tilly��s queens held up, leaving Tony G on the wrong side of another cooler.
Despite vaulting near the top of the chip counts earlier in the day, Shakerchi earned just two points after being eliminated in seventh place. After dropping to just 109,000, Shakerchi three-bet all-in with pocket jacks over Shak��s opening raise. Unfortunately for him, Shak called with pocket kings which held up on a nine-high board, ending Shakerchi��s run in the first heat.
Igor Kurganov was a last-minute addition to the Premier League after replacing Luke Schwartz. He was eliminated in sixth place to pick up three points after getting his chips in with pocket tens against Mercier��s A?Q?. Both turned a heart flush, but Mercier had the nuts, and Kurganov was out of his seat before the river card hit the board.
A few hands later, Laak three-bet all in with the A?4?, and Reinkemeier called with the K?Q?. The K?K?6? flop left Laak drawing virtually dead, and he eventually exited Heat 1 in fifth place with four points following the run out of the board.
The blinds were at 15,000/30,000/5,000 when Mercier picked up six points for fourth place. Down to just 232,000 in chips, Mercier moved all in on the button with the 9?5?, and Reinkemeier called with the A?J?. The board failed to improve Mercier��s hand, and he was sent to the rail.
Jennifer Tilly showed that she could be a contender after outlasting a some of the top players in her group. She ended the evening in third place, earning eight points for her efforts. On her last hand, Tilly moved all in with the J?10?, and Reinkemeier called with the A?9?. Tilly was left drawing thin after the A?6?6? flop, and she didn't improve from there.
After 209 hands, the blinds jumped to 30,000/60,000/10,000 with two players remaining, and Reinkemeier (1,263,000) was the slight chip leader ahead of Dan Shak (1,117,000). After tossing chips back and forth, Shak eventually took a slight lead. In what would be the definitive hand of the night, Shak raised to 120,000 with the K?Q?, Reinkemeier moved all in with the A?5?, and Shak called. The board ran out 4?7?6?10?3? to give the German pro nearly all of the chips. Shak barely had Reinkemeier covered and was left with less than one big blind. Shak was eliminated on the next hand.
Here��s a look at the Group B Heat 1 results:
| Place | Player | Points | Prize* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tobias Reinkemeier | 16 | $32,000 |
| 2 | Dan Shak | 11 | $22,000 |
| 3 | Jennifer Tilly | 8 | $16,000 |
| 4 | Jason Mercier | 6 | $12,000 |
| 5 | Phil Laak | 4 | $8,000 |
| 6 | Igor Kurganov | 3 | $6,000 |
| 7 | Talal Shakerchi | 2 | $4,000 |
| 8 | Tony G | 0 | $0 |
And here are the standings from Group A:
| Place | Player | Points | Prize* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Duhamel | 16 | $32,000 |
| 2 | Sam Trickett | 11 | $22,000 |
| 3 | Marvin Rettenmaier | 8 | $16,000 |
| 4 | Daniel Negreanu | 6 | $12,000 |
| 5 | Phil Hellmuth | 4 | $8,000 |
| 6 | Antonio Esfandiari | 3 | $6,000 |
| 7 | Daniel Cates | 2 | $4,000 |
| 8 | Scott Seiver | 0 | $0 |
*Each player receives $2,000 for every point earned during the event
Both groups will play three more heats, and the top three players from each group will automatically advance to the finals. The fourth- and fifth-place finishers in each group will compete heads up in a best-of-three format for the final two seats at the final table. The eight finalists will then play for the top prize of $450,000.
The second heat of Group A began late on Monday and reconvened earlier today. Stay tuned to PokerNews for full recaps of each heat of the PartyPoker Premier League.
For more, check out the PartyPoker Blog.
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