Live blog coverage of WCOOP Event #4 $215 2-7 Triple Draw is brought to you by bloggers Martin Harris, April Kyle, Change100, and David Aydt. Have a story for us? E-mail to blog@pokerstars.com. Click refresh to see the latest information. Want to see Event #3 action? See the WCOOP Event #3 Live Blog.

4:59am-- SgtKyle discharged in 8th place.

As we reported just a bit ago, SgtKyle had fallen upon short-stack status and though he ran his chips back up to 125,000 or so, his stack had dwindled back down to 34,440 when this hand came about. playitsafe opened for a raise from UTG and gudfaren three-bet from the button.

Sitting in the 4,000 chip small blind SgtKyle dipped into his time bank to think about his decision and decided to make his move, putting in four bets that left him with only 2,440 behind. Both opponents called and SgtKyle took two cards on the first draw while they each took one. SgtKyle checked, playitsafe bet out, gudfaren called, and SgtKyle committed the last of his chips.

Drawing two cards on the second and third draws, SgtKyle could not beat playitsafe's T-6-4-3-2 which emerged as the winning hand, bouncing SgtKyle from the tournament in 8th place. He earned $3,009.40 for his finish.

4:44am-- End of hour twelve chip counts

Level 23
Blinds 8000/16000
Average chip count: 275,250
Players remaining: 8
First Prize: $24,809.20

1. playitsafe 458,970
2. mardene 339,923
3. Mills23 339,760
4. jordan999 323,468
5. gudfaren 312,322
6. thevoice72 191,375
7. GymZQuirk 189,742
8. SgtKyle 46,440

Team PokerStars Pros

Eliminated:

John Duthie (32nd)
Alex Kravchenko (33rd)
Vanessa Rousso (34th)
Marcin "Goral" Horecki (36th)
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier (37th)
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose (59th)
Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown (74th)
Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes (191st)
Bill Chen (202nd)
Katja Thater (230th)
Tom McEvoy (258th)
Gavin Griffin (305th)
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (318th)
Luca Pagano (515th)
Victor Ramdin (531st)
Dario Minieri (579th)
Vicky Coren (683rd)
Andre "aakkari" Akkari (698th)

4:38am-- thetinkerman eliminated in 9th place

After being crippled on an earlier hand when mardene made 7-6-5-4-2 and dragged the nearly 100K pot, thetinkerman took his last stand, putting in three bets before the first draw after mardene opened for a raise and jordan999 called. On the first draw, thetinkerman and jordan999 took one each while mardene took two.

thetinkerman led out and was called in both spots. All three players took one card on the second draw and thetinkerman led out again. mardene made the call, only to have jordan999 bump it to two bets. thetinkerman reraised all in, mardene mucked, and jordan999 called. thetinkleman was in trouble, drawing one on the third draw while jordan999 stood pat. thetinkerman missed, making a seven-high straight that was no good against jordan000's 8-7-4-3-2.

For his 9th place finish, thetinkerman will find an extra $3,009.40 in his PokerStars account.

4:36am-- playitsafe not coasting into the final table

Instead of riding his chip lead into the final table, playitsafe continues to push hands pre-draw collecting the blinds and pressuring the smaller stacks to commit larger chucks of their stacks as we near the twelfth hour break and blinds going up to 8000/16000 when we return. Currently playitsafe is sitting on 452,190 in chips with mardene at 429,923 is catching up after taking a few monster pots.

4:21am-- SgtKyle trying to regain command of his chip for a final table run

SgtKyle was sitting on a comfortable stack for the past several hours but has begun to run into some resistance. Over the course of seven hands, SgtKyle saw his stack fall from nearly 170,000 to a low of 41,000. Half of that loss came from back-to-back hands vs. both Norwegians on Table 40-- gudfaren and dominant chip leader playitsafe.

SgtKyle had to concede a 67,000 pot to gudfaren after the third draw, having missed and facing a lead bet fromk gudfaren, and on the very next deal, he dropped another 30,000 chips to playitsafe, who stood pat on the second and third draws with J-9-7-6-3 while SgtKyle drew to improve. Again, he missed. SgtKyle set about rebuilding in haste and it was no doubt satisfying for him to make a wheel against playitsafe, taking his stack back north of the 100K mark. However, he's still the shortest stack of our nine remaining players, and has quite a way to go.

4:16am-- Money bumps

Now that we're getting into the bulk of the prize pool with nine players left, here's the payouts tonight for the remaining players:

1st $24,809.20
2nd $18,555.52
3rd $13,579.00
4th $11,010.00
5th $8,074.00
6th $5,505.00
7th-9th $3,009.40

4:09am-- TN_DeadMoney might consider name change after finishing 10th

After tangling with the theforce72 in the previous hand, TN_DeadMoney was left with under two big blinds (17,180 in chips) with blinds at 5000/10000 and three-bet a raise from thetinkerman as mardene came along for the ride calling for 15,000.

All players took two on the first draw as it was checked around. Only TN_DeadMoney required less cards on the second draw as he took one to thetinkerman and mardene’s two. thetinkerman liked what he found, lead out for 10,000 as TN_DeadMoney put his remaining 2,180 into the middle, and mardene wanted one more card and called.

Mardene caught a rough eight (8-7-6-4-2) on the third draw as both TN_DeadMoney and thetinkerman mucked while he raked in the 72,180 chip pot leaving TN_DeadMoney with 10th place earning $1,394.60

4:00am-- Canadouche eliminated in 11th place

Canadouche: i really
Canadouche: really
Canadouche: hate
Canadouche: you

Those were Canadouche's words for the wrecking ball that is playitsafe, just after the Norwegian showed the 8-7-6-4-3 that crippled him.

With only 11,230 remaining, Canadouche put the rest of his chips all in before the first draw behind an opening raise from gudfaren and a three-bet from GymZQuirk. Canadouche was in bad shape, drawing three cards, then two, then another two, all while GymZQuirk took one and gudfaren stood pat. gudfaren revealed 9-7-6-4-3 at showdown and Canadouche couldn't best it. He hit the rail in 11th place and takes home $1,394.60 for his finish.

3:42am-- End of hour eleven chip counts

Level 21
Blinds 5000/10000
Average Chip Count: 200,181
Players remaining: 11
First Prize: $24,809.20

1. playitsafe 449,190
2. thevoice 299,625
3. thetinkerman 242,107
4. Mills23 237,760
5. GymZQuirk 223,242
6. jordan999 176,611
7. gudfaren 158,092
8. mardene 130,243
9. SgtKyle 101,720
10. Canadouche 101,230
11. TN_DeadMoney 82,180

Team PokerStars Pros

Eliminated:

John Duthie (32nd)
Alex Kravchenko (33rd)
Vanessa Rousso (34th)
Marcin "Goral" Horecki (36th)
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier (37th)
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose (59th)
Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown (74th)
Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes (191st)
Bill Chen (202nd)
Katja Thater (230th)
Tom McEvoy (258th)
Gavin Griffin (305th)
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (318th)
Luca Pagano (515th)
Victor Ramdin (531st)
Dario Minieri (579th)
Vicky Coren (683rd)
Andre "aakkari" Akkari (698th)

3:38am-- Geetarer runs into the playitsafe buzzsaw and leaves in 12th place

With blinds at 4000/8000 Geetarer took his smallish stack to a pre-draw war with the chip leader, playitsafe. Capping the betting before the draw, Geetarer’s 21,298 chip stack found its way into the middle, as both players drew two on the first draw. Bad news for Geetarer on the second draw as playitsafe stood pat and Geetarer needed two again. The final draw Geetarer only took one as playitsafe once again stood pat.

Geetarer must have felt good about making an eight (8-7-6-4-3), but its was playitsafe’s day as a single pip got him the 44,596 chip pot with a 8-7-6-3-2. Geetarer received $1,394.60 for 12th place.

3:27am-- BrandonPL hangs on to his short stack no longer, out in 13th place

Whittled down to 13,000 in chips, BrandonPL took what would be his last stand against Canadouche, getting the rest of his stack in before the first draw. BrandonPL made a Q-8 low that was no mathch for Canadouche's 9-8 low and he hit the virtual rail in 13th place, collecting $1,174.40

We are now down to two tables with 10th-12th place getting $1,394.60

3:24am-- Morteler eliminated in 14th place

After rather swingy last couple of hours which saw his stack climb from 45,000 to more than 100,000 only to slip back down to 27,000, Morteler met his tournament end courtesy of TN_DeadMoney. Morteler opened for a raise from second position, TN_DeadMoney three-bet from the button, Morteler capped and TN_DeadMoney called. Morteler drew one card while TN_DeadMoney stood pat, and check-called a bet after the first draw.

Morteler drew one again on the second draw and check-called all in when TN_DeadMoney bet. Morteler couldn't improve his queen-low by the showdown and TN_DeadMoney dragged the pot with 9-5-4-3-2. A 14th place finish here tonight earned Morteler $1,174.40.

3:16am-- RiskStar fades out in 15th place

With under three full big blinds at the 4000/8000 blind level, RiskStar found a hand to go with and faced last year’s 2-7 WCOOP final tablist GymZQuick as he got his remaining 17,621 into the middle after the first draw after three-betting GymZQuick pre-draw.

Both players drew two on the first draw, but GymZQuick stood pat on the final two draws. RiskStar drew one on his final draws, but couldn’t connect with his 7-6-3-2-X draw as he ended up with a queen-seven (Q-7-6-3-2) which lost to the rough eight of GymZQuick (8-7-6-3-2) and RiskStars earned $1,174.40 for 15th place.

3:06am-- Stirfry714 woks in 16th place.

With slightly less than 21,000 remaining in his stack, Stirfry714 called playitsafe's button raise and drew two cards while his opponent took one. Stirfry714 check-called a bet and both players took a card apiece on the second draw. Stirfry714 check-called another bet from playitsafe and took one more card on the third draw while playitsafe stood pat.

Stirfry714 check-called all in for the rest of his chips on the final betting round and saw the bad news when playitsafe rolled over 8-7-4-3-2, trouncing his 9-7-5-4-2. For his 16th place finish, Sitrfry714 earned $1,174.20 and playitsafe added to his chip lead and now is over 400,000 in chips.

3:01am-- Scandis, Yanks go to war on Table 40

At Table 40, it's looking more like an Olympic hockey match than a poker game. Not so much with the blood and fisticuffs, but certainly the aggression and wild swings. And where there's aggression at the poker table... you're sure to find a Scandi. Or three. Check out this excerpt from their chat:

Geetarer do you guys play a lot of 2-7 in Norway?
Geetarer: i see three guys from Oslo
Stirfry714: no, they're just much better at it than us.
gudfaren: yes,its the 2-7 capital
Geetarer: hahahaha
Geetarer: we'll see about that
Geetarer:
Stirfry714: yeah, this is like the U.S. vs. Norway table... lol.

Indeed, at that particular table, gudfaren, RiskStar, and playitsafe all hail from the Norwegian capital of Oslo while their three opponents are all Americans.

2:54am-- The Sarge sends private pauliejaboni home in 17th

Crippled on a previous 94,500 chip pot with Morteler, pauliejaboni got his remaining 11,680 chips into the middle before the first draw with SgtKyle who was sitting with 155,540 to start the hand with 3000/6000 blinds.

Both players were forced to draw on all three chances but pauliejaboni bricked with his draw to a seven by getting the Qc for a Q-7-6-3-2 on the final draw as SgtKyle made a nine (9-6-4-3-2) and took the 23,360 chip pot.

While exiting in 17th place, pauliejaboni received $1,027.60

2:46am-- RagingMensan eliminated in 18th place, probably doesn't care for seeing jordan999 anytime soon

After a series of pots with tablemate jordan999 which saw his chip count take a sudden nosedive, RagingMensan got his remaining 6,991 all in before the first draw vs. (who else?) jordan999. On the third draw, RagingMensan stood pat with J-T-7-6-2 while jordan999 drew one and caught good, making T-7-5-4-3 to oust RagingMensan from Event #4.

For his efforts today, he'll collect $1,174,40. A familiar face in PokerStars tournaments, RagingMensan won the Nightly Hundred Grand back in March for a $32,792 score.

2:38am-- Rage against the chips, RagingMensan drops 150K

Over the course of the last three orbits, RagingMensan has gone from the top of the leaderboard to the basement, his 191,000 stack plummeting to the 30,000 he sits with now. His nemesis? jordan999, who made wheel in a 56,000 pot vs. RagingMensan, then forced a fold from him on the third draw on the very next hand. Down to around 75,000 RagingMensan dropped another pot to jordan999, mucking his hand when jordan made an 8-6 low.

Table change perhaps would help?

2:35am-- End of hour ten chip counts

Level 19
Blinds 3000/6000
Average chip count: 122,333
Players remaining: 18
First Prize: $24,809.20

1. playitsafe 278,962
2. thetinkerman 212,775
3. Mills23 208,760
4. TN_DeadMoney 196,875
5. SgtKyle 136,040
6. gudfaren 130,592
7. GymZQuirk 129,621
8. Stirfry714 109,430
9. Geetarer 107,798
10. mardene 105,743

Team PokerStars Pros

Eliminated:

John Duthie (32nd)
Alex Kravchenko (33rd)
Vanessa Rousso (34th)
Marcin "Goral" Horecki (36th)
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier (37th)
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose (59th)
Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown (74th)
Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes (191st)
Bill Chen (202nd)
Katja Thater (230th)
Tom McEvoy (258th)
Gavin Griffin (305th)
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (318th)
Luca Pagano (515th)
Victor Ramdin (531st)
Dario Minieri (579th)
Vicky Coren (683rd)
Andre "aakkari" Akkari (698th)

2:30am-- PlayaAAK8 there for Fossil Man’s WCOOP PLO win, out in 19th

Now we are down to three tables with the elimination of another former WCOOP final tablist PlayaAAK8. As you may remember Team PokerStars Pro Greg “FossilMan” Raymer’s victory in Event #6 of the 2007 WCOOP, PlayaAAK8 had a front row seat and placed 6th, no final table today as he’ll be banking $1,027.60 for his 19th place effort.

2:18am-- Tapping toes, and no one goes

We have been at 19 players for a while now as the blinds have increased to 2500/5000 and a couple of players are hanging out to only a couple of big blinds while playitsafe continues to lead and driving towards breaking the 300,000 chip mark. The pay scale also will go up to $1,174.60 from $1,027.60 for the 19th place finisher.

2:00am-- Who says size matters?

"i feel so little" wrote Geetarer in the chat window.

Modestly stacked at 55,000 the onetime winner of the Nightly Hundred Grand (an $18,788 score back in June of this year) is surrounded by four of the top five stacks in the tournament-- gudfaren, Stirfry714, playitsafe, and GymZQirk, who are all over 150,000.

1:35am-- 200,000 chip barrier broken by playitsafe

Probably misnomer as in poker you don’t usually get a pile of chips by playing it safe but “playitsafe” is currently in the driver seat breaking the 200,000 chip mark (see below) while leading the tournament with blinds at 2000/4000.

1:27am-- End of hour nine chip counts

Level 17
Blinds 2000/4000
Average chip count: 91,750
Players remaining: 24
First prize: $24,809.20

1. playitsafe 169,462
2. thetinkerman 167,335
3. GymZQuirk 165,600
4. gudfaren 152,592
5. TN_DeadMoney 135,875
6. Mills23 124,678
7. mardene 115,493
8. SgtKyle 107,290
9. Stirfry714 96,680
10. Morteler 92,805

Team PokerStars Pros
None

Eliminated:

John Duthie (32nd)
Alex Kravchenko (33rd)
Vanessa Rousso (34th)
Marcin "Goral" Horecki (36th)
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier (37th)
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose (59th)
Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown (74th)
Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes (191st)
Bill Chen (202nd)
Katja Thater (230th)
Tom McEvoy (258th)
Gavin Griffin (305th)
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (318th)
Luca Pagano (515th)
Victor Ramdin (531st)
Dario Minieri (579th)
Vicky Coren (683rd)
Andre "aakkari" Akkari (698th)

1:16am-- GymZQuick looking to return to the final table

GymZQuirk is currently 2nd in chips with 142,000 hailing from the great state of Minnesota (ok I may have a little bias here). His current chip position is not by chance, as the St. Paul resident is shooting for a return to the 2-7 Triple Draw final table after placing fourth in this very event last year. I’m sure he would like to improve on the $7,788 he won last year.

1:01am-- Winner of the last longer bet, last of the Team PokerStars Pros John Duthie exits in 32nd

Bang, bang, bang and gone. Four Team PokerStars Pros made it past the recent break then exited quickly.

John Duthie was the last standing as he started his final hand with just 5,030 in chips and blinds at 1600/3200. His two big blinds would go into the middle before the first draw as the betting was capped by Geetarer and soapsuds. Geetarer drew two with Duthie and soapsuds taking one. Bet by soapsuds found a call by Geetarer, as the second draw things looked up for Duthie as he stood pat while Geetarer and soapsuds continued to draw. On the third draw, Geetarer again took two cards, Duthie stood pat, while soapsuds took one, but this time Geetarer lead out testing soapsuds for his remaining 3184

Geetarer 8-5-4-3-2
Duthie: 9-8-5-3-2
soapsuds: 9-6-5-4-2

And the last of the Team PokerStars pros was eliminated in 32nd place banking $734.00

12:50am-- Alex Kravchenko eliminated in 33rd place

Newly minted Team PokerStars Pro Alex Kravchenko just met his tournament end when his 8-7-6-4-2 was just out-pipped by the thetinkerman's 8-6-5-4-2, eliminating him from the tournament. The young Russian will pocket $734.00 for his finish (or 18,703 Rubles, which sounds much sexier to us).

12:40am-- "LadyMaverick" Exits in 34th Place

One-time chip leader Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso was just eliminated, much to the chagrin of the rail. Her stack down to 26,765 after a high of more than 110,000, she lost the bulk of her remaining chips when she made a seven-high straight after the third draw while Stirfry714 was sitting on a wheel after the second.

Her remaining 7,500 went into the middle went into the middle on the next hand, where she stood pat on each draw with 9-8-5-5-4, her opponent doidovarrido ending up with 8-7-6-3-2 to end her tournament. Rousso will take home $734.000 for her efforts today.

12:31am-- End of hour eight chip counts

Level 15
Blinds 1600/3200
Average chip count: 64,764
Players remaining: 34
First Prize: $24,809.20

1. RangingMensan 153,815
2. thetinkerman 134,455
3. jordan999 115,012
4. RiskStar 108,392
5. mardene 95,295

Team PokerStars Pros
Vanessa Rousso 32,865
Alex Kravchenko 26,940
John Duthie 40,030

Eliminated:

Marcin "Goral" Horecki (36th)
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier (37th)
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose (59th)
Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown (74th)
Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes (191st)
Bill Chen (202nd)
Katja Thater (230th)
Tom McEvoy (258th)
Gavin Griffin (305th)
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (318th)
Luca Pagano (515th)
Victor Ramdin (531st)
Dario Minieri (579th)
Vicky Coren (683rd)
Andre "aakkari" Akkari (698th)

12:24am--Team PokerStars Pro Marcin “Goral” Horecki takes leave in 36th

In a family pot Horecki, raised it up from UTG with blinds at 1400/2800 and armed with only 8,960 chips he was joined by Storm338 and BrandonPL in the hand for the first draw after the blinds folded. No betting took place after the first draw, but the second draw saw all three players take two cards setting off the fireworks of betting as Storm338 lead off with BrandonPL raised it up to 5600, and Horecki 3-betting all-in for his remaining 6,160 in chips.

Storm338 and BrandonPL checked the third draw after Horecki and Storm338 took one while BrandonPL stood pat. Horecki flipped up a smooth ten, Storm338 mucked, but BrandonPL showed 9-7-4-3-2, good enough to eliminate the Team PokerStars Pro in 36th place.

12:15am-- Fooge eliminated in 39th place, Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier eliminated in 37th place

Fooge will unfortunately have to wait for the next event to try and make a repeat WCOOP final table appearance (his first was an 8th place finish in the 2006 Stud Hi/Lo). Down to his last 5,380, Fooge made a pre-draw raise from second position and was called by both blinds. After drawing two cards, the rest of his chips went in, thetinkerman and RagingMensan continuing to bet on the side through the second and third draws. Ultimately, RagingMensan's 8-5-4-3-2 emerged as the winning hand, while Fooge mucked and hit the virtual rail in 39th place, collecting $660.60.

As for Team PokerStars Pro's Isabelle Mercier, she was not-so-comfortably nestled at her "Table of Death" with Vanessa Rousso and Alex Kravchenko both to her right when her final hand came up. Down to 4,700 in chips, Mercier raised it up from UTG, Morteler three-bet from second position, and Rousso called from the big blind. All three players drew two, Rousso leading out with a bet, Mercier calling all in for her last 505, and Morteler coming along as well. At the showdown, Morteler's T-7-5-4-3 held up to beat Rousso's Q-7-5-3-2, while Mercier mucked and exited in 37th place.

And sadly, with Mercier's elimination, that "Table of Death" we were so fond of was broken.

12:04am-- Anyone know these people?

Not often you’ll find two Team PokerStars Pros at the same table of a full nine person NLHE ring game, so how about finding three of them sitting at a 2-7 Triple Draw table late in a tournament?

Open up Table #32 where Alex Kravchenko, Isabelle Mercier, and Vanessa Rousso are currently battling it out. Fellow Team PokerStars Pro Marcin “Goral” Horercki currently looking for admission to the table as well to make a it full party.

11:55pm-- Vanessa Rousso losing some ground

Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso returned from the last break as the chip leader with 111,815, but has lost nearly half that stack over the course of several small pots.

In one recent hand, her frustration bubbled to the surface just a little, after raising it up pre-draw and getting called in two spots by Isabelle Mercier and Morteler. All three drew two cards with Vanessa raising Morteler's post-draw lead and forcing out Mercier. Morteler stood pat on the second draw and Rousso took one. Morteler led out with a check and Rousso checked behind. Morteler was pat again on draw number three while Rousso drew one and folded to Morteler's 2,400 bet.

"grrrrr" was LadyMaverick's only reply. Rousso currently sits on just over 65,000 in chips.

11:52pm-- Isabelle “NoMercy” Mercier is grinding it out.

At the same table with fellow Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso, Mercier is hovering a little below average in chips currently but just took a 22,000 chip pot of Geetarer after the two took a card on the first draw trading bets with blinds at 1200/2400.

Geetarer stood pat on the second draw and bet with Mercier taking one again and calling the 2400 chip bet. The third draw found both players standing pat and this time it was Mercier as the aggressor putting out her bet with a call from Geetarer she turned over 7-6-4-3-2 for the second nuts, taking down the pot sitting on 31,705 in chips.

11:43pm-- Mike "Sowerss" Sowers Eliminated in 50th Place

Sowerss came back from the break with a slightly below-average stack of 44,000 and saw it dwindle down to 8,500 after coming out on the bad end of several mid-sized pots. After dev209 opened for a raise from second position, Sowerss three-bet to 3,600 and was called by GymZQuirk in the small blind, as well as original raised dev209.

Sowerss drew three again on the second draw while GymZQuirk rapped pat and dev209 took another two. In went those last 165 chips, Sowerss taking two cards on the final draw while both his opponents stood pat. Crazily enough, both dev209 and GymZQuirk ended up with the same hand, 8-6-5-3-2, while the one time chip leader Sowerss paired aces and hit the rail.

11:34pm-- THAY3R Eliminated in 52nd Place

THAY3R, a frequent face on Poker Stars final tables, was just eliminated in 52nd place with a one-two punch. THAY3R lost about 6,000 of his14,000 remaining chips when he couldn't improve his hand on the third draw vs. goodevibe1, who stood pat with a T-9-7-6-5 and lost the rest on the next hand. Though he was drawing smooth with 7-6-5-2, he picked up a king on the third draw, losing the hand to pauliejaboni's 9-8-4-3-2. For his efforts, THAY3R will bank $513.80.

11:21pm--Kravchenko continues to grind

As the stakes increase -- a big bet in Level 13 is 2,400 -- we're starting to see more hands end prior to that third draw. Team PokerStars Pro Alex Kravchenko recently took down a decent-sized pot versus RobRoy when the latter folded to Kravchenko's bet after the second draw.

Kravchencko has maintained a playable stack all day, and currently sits right at the average stack size with of just under 44,000 chips, good enough for 20th place at the moment.

11:09pm--Chip counts at six-hour break

Level 15
Blinds 600/1,200, stakes 1,200/2,400
Average chip count: 42,346
Players remaining: 52
First prize: $24,809.20

1. Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso 111,815
2. RiskStar 94,762
3. jordan999 86,228
4. thetinkerman 69,765
5. cpfz55555 69,290
6. RagingMensan 66,215
7. Team PokerStars Pro John Duthie 65,860
8. TN_DeadMoney 61,310
9. Xaston 59,507
10. PlayaAAK8 58,633

Team PokerStars Pros:

Alex Kravchenko 50,940 (17th)
Marcin "Goral" Horecki 39,426 (28th)
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier 23,305 (41st)

Eliminated:

Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose (59th)
Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown (74th)
Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes (191st)
Bill Chen (202nd)
Katja Thater (230th)
Tom McEvoy (258th)
Gavin Griffin (305th)
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (318th)
Luca Pagano (515th)
Victor Ramdin (531st)
Dario Minieri (579th)
Vicky Coren (683rd)
Andre "aakkari" Akkari (698th)

11:03pm - Rousso runneth over

The LadyMaverick continues to hold the #1 spot in Event#4 and as we head into break appears to be an unstoppable force. Just before players broke a big hand developed between LadyMaverick, gudfaren, and Morteler. With action three-bet before the draw and raised again on the second and final draws, the pot had swelled to 33,000. This pushed the LadyMaverick's stack to 111,815 when she showed her unbeatable hand of 7-5-4-3-2 to the table.

10:43pm - Ladies night

Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso was just moved to the same table as Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier. Rousso is currently in 1st place and Mercier is in 37th, making this not only a powerhouse table but a very popular table for the railbirds. Much like occurred earlier when our TeamPokerStars Pros greeted each other, the two ladies greeted each other fondly and then began the difficult task of establishing exactly which continent and time zone the other was on. Ah, the life of a professional poker player!

10:42pm--Duthie retreats; cpfz55555 pushes ahead

Team PokerStars Pro John Duthie was just seen mixing it up with one of the chip leaders, cpfz55555. After cpfz55555 raised from middle position, Duthie called from the big blind. On the first draw, both took one card. Duthie then check-called cpfz55555's bet. Both again took one card on the second draw. Once again, Duthie checked, cpfz55555 bet (2,000 this time), and Duthie called.

Both stood pat on the third draw. Duthie checked, and when cpfz55555 bet again, Duthie let it go, giving his opponent the 10,500-chip pot.

Duthie now has 38,860, placing him near the bottom of the top 25. Meanwhile cpfz55555 is up to 83,820, very close to leader TN_DeadMoney. Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso is in third.

10:25pm - Duthie holding strong

John Duthie has seen his chip stack dwindle to the danger zone, but much like his fellow Team PokerStars mate Rousso, has had several big hands in Levels 10 and 11 that have built his stack up to a more comfortable level. For her part, the LadyMaverick is 5th place at the moment with a very managable 68,615.

10:13pm--Brown goes down

Down to just 4,610 -- with the blinds 400/800 and the stakes 800/1,600 -- Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown raised from middle position and mgritter three-bet from the small blind. Brown then capped it, and mgritter called.

Both discarded one on the first draw. mgritter bet, Brown raised with the last of his chips, and mgritter called. On the second draw, mgritter took two cards and Brown one. Then both took one on the third round.

mgritter showed J-T-7-3-2, good enough to best Brown's A-8-6-4-3. Brown is out in 74th place, while mcgritter has 39,465, putting him in 20th.

10:00pm--Chip counts at five-hour break

Level 11
Blinds 400/800, stakes 800/1,600
Average chip count: 26,853
Players remaining: 82

First prize: $24,809.20

1. Sowerss 66,290
2. TN_DeadMoney 64,910
3. soapsuds 60,029
4. Donkey X 58,725
5. luxet 58,590
6. Geetarer 53,310
7. mogli64 52,020
8. cpfz55555 48,820
9. Rabscuttle 47,825
10. RiskStar 46,402

Team PokerStars Pros:

Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso 42,805
Marcin "Goral" Horecki 34,313
Alex Kravchenko 28,740
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier 28,600
John Duthie 24,860
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose 15,495
Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown 9,010

Eliminated:

Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes (191st)
Bill Chen (202nd)
Katja Thater (230th)
Tom McEvoy (258th)
Gavin Griffin (305th)
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (318th)
Luca Pagano (515th)
Victor Ramdin (531st)
Dario Minieri (579th)
Vicky Coren (683rd)
Andre "aakkari" Akkari (698th)

9:59pm - Things that make you go hmmm....

During Level 10, Vanessa Rousso won a combined total of 26,700 over 3 hands with hands having a T-high card.

9:40pm--Sowerss powers ahead

Having gathered some chips just before the bubble burst, Mike "Sowerss" Sowers has continued his aggressive play since that moment passed. He's won 4 of the last 8 pots over at Table 75, and now has more than 75,000 -- 20k ahead of cpfz55555 in second.

9:33pm--Bubble bursts as luv2winalot goes out in 109th

While he faced the prospect of being the bubble boy with just 1,790 in chips, luv2winalot's tablemates were commiserating. "its ok," he typed. "story of my life lately."

In the fatal hand, krex raised, luv2winalot reraised with his last chips, and krex called. Both drew two cards on the first round. On the second, luv2winalot took one card while krex stood pat. Both stood pat on the third round.
luv2winalot had drawn to a nice hand -- 7-6-5-4-2 -- but krex had a nicer one with 7-6-5-3-2. Amid the "gg"'s, Team PokerStars Pro Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose chimed in "sick....g."

9:29pm - Big hand for the Lady

Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso continues to build her stack, having just taken a 12,600 pot with a surprising showdown. Her opponents having three-bet before the draw, she called, and on the first draw drew 2 and checked. When jordan999 bet she called along with Stirfry714. On the second draw both she and Stirfry714 drew 2, jordan999 drew 1, and action was checked to jordan999 who bet out. Rousso raised and stirfry714 folded, leaving jordan999 to call. On the final draw Rousso stood pat and jordan999 drew one and both checked.

At showdown Rousso revealed T-8-7-5-2 much to the delight and dismay of her tablemates. Currently she is running over table 20 with nearly 40k in chips. In the most ladylike manner, of course.

9:26pm--Three off the money

As we begin Level 10 (blinds 300/600 & stakes 600/1,200), we are just three eliminations away from the cash bubble bursting.

9:11pm--Life getting uncomfortable for short stacks

That line across which only those who will cash in today's event will go is getting closer. With 128 players left, we are just 20 more eliminations from the money. Those lasting to that point will all be guaranteed $308.28.

Of these things the short stacks are surely aware. One such player, Ryan "Daut44" Daut, had been sitting on a stack of a little more than 4,000 for the last couple of orbits, folding 11 straight hands prior to the initial draw. Finally, down to 3,540 -- just over three-and-a-half big bets -- Daut found a hand to play.

bzola had raised from middle position, Mills23 called from the button, and Daut also called from the small blind. On the first round, all three drew two cards, and all three checked. All three again drew two on the second draw. This time bzola bet out, and both Mills23 and Daut called. On the third draw, all three drew a single card. This time Daut bet out, leaving himself just 540, bzola called, and Mills23 raised. Daut called with his remaining chips and bzola folded. Mills23 showed 7-6-5-3-2, besting Daut's 8-7-5-4-2 and knocking him out in 131st.

8:53pm - Wait, before you go...

Right before the break, as other players were heading off and enjoying those extra "free" break minutes, John Duthie was finishing up the hand that doubled him up and set him up nicely for Level 9 play. Starting with 4,910 in chips he three-bet before the draw and had one caller, SADWCT. On the first draw both players checked, with Duthie having drawn one card and SADWCT two. At the second draw Duthie stood pat and bet out, SADWCT drew one and called. On the final draw both players stood pat with Duthie betting and SADWCT calling. Duthie had the nuts and raked a 6,000 pot.

8:52pm--Chip counts at four-hour break

Level 9
Blinds 250/500, stakes 500/1,000
Average chip count: 15,398
Players remaining: 143
First prize: $24,809.20

1. mogli64 44,380
2. NeocortexX 40,315
3. cpfz55555 37,220
4. E-Daddie 36,400
5. Sowerss 35,950
6. Geetarer 34,860
7. jordan999 34,178
8. soapsuds 33,489
9. PlayaAAK8 32,450
10. luxet 32,340

Team PokerStars Pros (near end of Level 8):

Marcin "Goral" Horecki 20,265
Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso 16,850
Alex Kravchenko 16,140
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose 15,860
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier 12,235
Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown 11,760
John Duthie 4,910

Eliminated:

Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes (191st)
Bill Chen (202nd)
Katja Thater (230th)
Tom McEvoy (258th)
Gavin Griffin (305th)
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (318th)
Luca Pagano (515th)
Victor Ramdin (531st)
Dario Minieri (579th)
Vicky Coren (683rd)
Andre "aakkari" Akkari (698th)

8:45pm--Goral gathering chips

Team PokerStars pro Marcin "Goral" Horecki built up chips early and has enjoyed an above average stack throughout the tournament thus far.

Recently Horecki picked up a nice 8,200-chip pot after having drawn to a 7-6-5-3-2, pushing him up to 22,465 and into the top 30.

8:23pm - Vanessa Rousso doubles up

Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso has gotten a boost to her stack in Level 8. After hovering around the 4k mark she doubled-up courtesy of mardene and SgtKyle with a 7-6-5-3-2 at showdown, giving her a 9900 stack when it was all over. Her chip count has been steadily rising since, making this lady a formidable opponent at the tables.

8:25pm--Chen takes it on the chin

Down to just 1,035, Team PokerStars Pro Bill Chen was all in before the first draw against lara15fiona. On the first two draws, both players took one card. Chen took one again on the third draw, while lara15fiona stood pat.

lara15fiona showed T-8-6-3-2, but Chen had paired on the end, losing with a 7-7-6-3-2. He's out in 202nd. Meanwhile, lara15fiona is up to 24,800 and 14th place.

8:14pm--Sowers claims chip lead

Our current chip leader is Mike "sowerss" Sowers, sitting on a nice-sized stack of more than 35,000.

Sowers was recently involved in a pot that was capped four ways prior to the first draw. By the end, only he and iffywicky remained in the hand, and Sowers' 8-7-5-3-2 just nipped iffywicky's 8-7-6-4-2 to give him the 9,300 pot.

7:56pm--Griffin gone

Just before the break, Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin was sitting on a stack of 980 when the following hand went down.

Griffin raised from the button, Little Kraut three-bet from the big blind, Griffin capped it at 800, and Little Kraut called. Little Kraut drew one card and Griffin three. Then Little Kraut made the bet of 200, which Griffin called with his last 180.

Little Kraut then stood pat as Griffin drew two cards, then one. Little Kraut showed 9-6-5-4-2, while Griffin had unfortunately paired up, showing 7-7-5-3-2. Griffin was out in 305th.

Little Kraut currently has 6,440, though can't be too comfortable sitting beside DocHolatchya, whose stack of 26,374 has him in the top five.

7:49pm--Chip counts at three-hour break

Level 7
Blinds 200/400, stakes 400/800
Average chip count: 7,780
Players remaining: 283
First prize: $24,809.20

1. jordan999 24,000
2. TSAI168 21,345
3. DocHolatchya 21,200
4. iffywicky 19,905
5. lepton 19,350
6. Team PokerStars Pro Marcin "Goral" Horecki 17,940
7. Schwobble 17,615
8. E-Daddie 16,950
9. NoFreeBids 16,585
10. kalthor 16,375

Team PokerStars Pros (near end of Level 6):
Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes 12,835
Alex Kravchenko 11,090
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier 8,785
Bill Chen 7,935
Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso 6,900
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose 6,165
Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown 4,870
Tom McEvoy 2,620
Katja Thater 1,260
John Duthie 625

Eliminated:
Gavin Griffin (305th)
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (318th)
Luca Pagano (515th)
Victor Ramdin (531st)
Dario Minieri (579th)
Vicky Coren (683rd)
Andre "aakkari" Akkari (698th)

7:41pm--Katja Thater holds on a little bit longer

With just 880 in chips, Thater two-bet before the draw and InanimateJ called. She stood pat on the first draw and InanimateJ drew 1; Thater bet and InanimateJ raised, leaving Thater to raise all-in. On the second draw she took one card and InanimateJ stood pat. At showdown Thater had 8-6-5-4-2 and InanimateJ had 8-7-6-5-3. Thater was at 1,860 after the hand as we head to level 7.

7:34pm--PearlJammer out-pipped, out

Jon "PearlJammer" Turner held steady early on, but saw his chip stack gradually dwindle over the last couple of levels. Down to just 340, Pearljammer pushed all in before the first draw and was called by JJQQQ.

On the first draw, PearlJammer drew one and JJQQQ took three. Both took one card on the second draw. On the last draw, JJQQQ took one last card, while PearlJammer stood pat.

PearlJammer showed 8-6-5-3-2, but JJQQQ had outdrawn him to an 8-6-4-3-2. "bleh" typed PearlJammer, as he hit the rail. JJQQQ is now up to 12,500.

7:26pm--Pro vs. pro vs. pro at Table 2

Gavin Griffin has now been moved to Table 2, joining fellow Team PokerStars pros Humberto "HumbertoB." Brenes and Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown. The three aren't steering clear of one another, not that one really could easily avoid two other players at a six-handed table.

Just had a hand in which Griffin raised from middle position with Brown and Brenes in the blinds. Brown folded, but Brenes called. Both Brenes and Griffin drew two cards, then Brenes bet and Griffin called. On the second draw, Brenes took one and Griffin two. This time when Brenes bet the 400, a short-stacked Griffin decided to look for another spot.

Brenes currently has 5,220, Brown 2,170, and Griffin 1,280.

7:16pm--Half the field we used to be

We've played through five levels -- just over two-and-a-half hours -- and exactly half of the original field of 734 has been eliminated. With 367 players left on 62 tables, the average chip stack is, of course, exactly twice the starting stack -- 6,000.

Our chip leaders all have more than 15,000 chips, with pauliejaboni, bzola, donflun, yesmoney, E-Daddie, and DocHolatchya currently leading the way.

7:12pm--Donald gets dinged

Our defending champ just lost a big hand when he ran into the nuts from SADWCT. Donald is now down to just under the starting stack of 3,000, so he's got some work to do to get things built back up again. But to his advantage is that he is still seated with many of the same players he started the day with. He's got big stacks all around him though and blinds/stakes are rising.

6:58pm--Double up for Duthie

Team PokerStars Pro John Duthie is back from break and back in the thick of things with a big hand that doubled his stack to put him at near the 5k mark. After betting all the way down with JPV667, on the third draw Duthie stood pat while JPV667 drew 1. When Duthie bet out JPV667 folded giving Duthie a 2550 pot.

That may have been just the boost he needed to get things going; Duthie is now sitting with 6,840 in chips.

6:53pm--Good evening... er, morning

Bill Chen was just moved to Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier's table. Chen has chipped up to 8,090, while Mercier is holding steady at 2,735.

When he arrived, the fellow Team PokerStars pros greeted each other in the chatbox, with Mercier noting she's playing from Macau, where she has been participating in the 2008 PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour. That means it's early Sunday morning for Mercier, while it is Saturday afternoon or early evening for her American competitors.

To see PokerStars live blog of this year's APPT, click here.

6:43pm--Chip counts at two-hour break

Level 5
Blinds 75/150, stakes 150/300
Average chip count: 4,549
Players remaining: 484
First prize: $24,809.20

1. fun2draw1 14,965
2. donflun 14,230
3. NeocortexX 13,100
4. Kern89 12,870
5. NickdaNutz 12,870
6. yesmoney 11,870
7. Aicirt 11,750
8. pauliejaboni 11,200
9. PimpingU2 11,130
10. gudfaren 11,100

Team PokerStars Pros (near end of Level 4):
Alex Kravchenko 8,515
Bill Chen 7,140
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose 6,790
Marcin "Goral" Horecki 6,130
Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes 4,760
Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso 4,650
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier 4,490
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier 4,340
Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown 3,120
Katja Thater 2,730
Tom McEvoy 2,660
Gavin Griffin 1,880
John Duthie 1,820

Eliminated:
Luca Pagano (515th)
Victor Ramdin (531st)
Dario Minieri (579th)
Vicky Coren (683rd)
Andre "aakkari" Akkari (698th)

6:24pm--shaniac likes his hand the way it is

With all of his chips in by the second draw, Shane "shaniac" Schleger stood pat while two opponents, HT-Max and Chocoyote, continued to draw and bet into a side pot. When Chocoyote bet out after the third draw, HT-Max took some extra time before letting the hand go.

Chocoyote turned over J-8-5-4-3 and claimed the side pot, but shaniac survived with his 9-8-5-4-2. He now has 1,560. Meanwhiel, Chocoyote has 2,970 and HT-Max just 1,200.

6:19pm--Dario Minieri busted

PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri has just busted from Event #4, unable to get any headway in today's event. A crippling hand between Dario and the big stack on his right, crazepoker, took his stack to just under 1,000. crazepoker raised before the first draw, Dario three-bet, and crazepoker called. crazepoker drew 2 cards, Dario 1, and crazepoker then checked. Dario bet out and craze called. Both players drew one card on the second draw and the betting was capped. On the third draw both stood pat and crazepoker bet and Dario called. At showdown crazepoker revealed 7-5-4-3-2 (you might know that as the nuts).

Crippled, Dario was then in the blinds for the next two hands but didn't find anything worth playing. Then on the button with blinds at 50/100 and Dario with just 760 in chips he raised, and STLzwick82 three-bet. Dario called, and on the first draw drew 2 to STLzwick82's 1. On the second draw STLzwick82 stood pat while Dario drew 1, and when STLzwick82 bet Dario raised all-in. At showdown STLzwick82 flipped 8-7-5-3-2 and Dario showed 9-8-4-3-2.

For more on Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri, click here.

6:11pm--Mercier calls Ramdin's bluff

Two Team PokerStars pros just tangled over on Table 86, as Victor Ramdin and Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier tangled in a hand that threatened to knock Mercier out of the event. Mercier had nearly committed the last of her chips when calling Ramdin's bet after the third and final draw, but the showdown revealed her 8-7-6-4-2 to be comfortably ahead of Ramdin's J-T-8-6-2. Mercier currently has 1,680, while Ramdin has slipped to less than 1,000.

Here's an interview from earlier this year with Mercier:

Watch Team PokerStars Pro Isabelle Mercier on PokerStars.tv

6:06pm--From 3,000 to 10,000 in 90 minutes

As we near the end of Level 3, we're seeing our first players cross over the 10,000-chip mark, with donflun, gudfaren, and fun2draw1 being the first to reach that milestone.

With level 4, the blinds will be 50/100 and the betting stakes 100/200. Exactly 600 of the 734 who entered still remain, meaning the average stack at the moment is 3,670.

6:00pm--FellKnight fells gobboboy

Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke, down to just 140 chips, was all in before the first draw against FellKnight. After three draws, gobboboy showed 9-7-4-3-2, not enough against FellKnight's 8-6-5-4-3. gobboboy is out in 621st, and FellKnight now has 5,030.

5:54pm--Brother, can you spare a dime?

Table 63 is where our current chip leader is -- kalthor -- along with andyphan, who is sitting in 12th place. It's also where one of the shortest of the short stacks is seated, hanging on with 280 remaining. Surrounded by all those chips, you know loxo is just waiting for the perfect deal. Or twelve.

5:50pm--ElkY cripples gobboboy

Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke has been seated to left of Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier the first part of today's event. ElkY got off to a good start, then fell back down below the starting stack of 3,000. Meanwhile, gobboboy's stack has been steadily declining from the start.

The pair just got involved in a hand in which ElKY raised before the first draw, gobboboy three-bet, and ElkY called. ElkY drew two cards, and gobboboy one. ElkY bet out, gobboboy raised, and ElkY called. On the second draw, ElkY took one card while gobboboy stood pat. This time ElkY checked, then called gobboboy's bet.

On the third draw, ElkY took one card again and again gobboboy stuck with his hand. This time ElkY bet and gobboboy just called. ElkY showed 7-5-4-3-2 -- he'd drawn the nuts on that last round -- and gobboboy mucked. Elky is back up to 3,370, while gobboboy is on life support with just 390.

5:40pm--734 runners

With registration closed, a total of 734 players entered today's Event No. 4, creating a total prize pool of $146,800. The top 108 finishers will get paid, with first prize landing a cool $24,809.20.

This year's number of entries exceeds that of last year for this event, when 649 entered.

5:36pm--Chip counts at one-hour break

Level 3
Blinds 40/80, stakes 80/160
Average chip count: 3,200
Players remaining: 688
First Prize: $24,809.20

Top ten chip counts:
1. kalthor 8,570
2. 102976 7,570
3. kdo2300 7,480
4. donflun 6,980
5. n0-MoD 6,950
6. Prague1 6,920
7. By-TorNV 6,900
8. diggle 6,820
9. sw23 6,820
10. PokerSkiBum 6,670

Team PokerStars Pros (near end of Level 2):
Luca Pagano 4,880
Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes 4,200
Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose 3,940
Alex Kravchenko 3,820
Isabelle "NoMercy" Mercier 3,810
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier 3,810
John Duthie 3,300
Bill Chen 3,050
Chad "ChadBrownPRO" Brown 2,960
Katja Thater 2,810
Marcin "Goral" Horecki 2,810
Dario Minieri 2,010
Andre "aakkari" Akkari 1,900
Gavin Griffin 1,880
Tom McEvoy 1,490
Vicky Coren 1,490
Victor Ramdin 1,400
Vanessa "LadyMaverick" Rousso 1,230

5:22pm--Donald takes a hit

Our defending champ just took a big hit to his stack when he tangled with dogsballs and peseudos. As we head into break he's now down to just under starting stack and all the hard work from today has been lost.

5:09pm--"Number One" helps in quest for first

Team PokerStars Pro Bill Chen had gotten off to a rough start today. As Level 2 began, he had slipped down below 1,200, but just bounced back after taking a nice 1,650-chip pot with a the nuts -- 7-5-4-3-2, also known as "Number One."

"Glad I got out in time," said Dozers, who had briefly challenged Chen in the hand. Dozers added that he'd finished 12th last year in this same event, noting he'd picked up Number Ones on four occasions, and was fortunate enough to be up against players holding "Number Two" (7-6-4-3-2) each time. "Pure luck," said Dozers. "Thats what it takes in big fields as well as skill," replied Chen.

Chen is up to 2,820, while Dozers is off to a good start again this year with 4,420.

4:48pm--Defending champ Donald doing ducky

2007 Event #4 2-7 Triple Draw Champion Donald is looking to make a repeat in this year's event and thanks to a big hand involving nearly every player at his table, he's now off to a swimmingly good start.

With blinds at 20/40, and Donald in the BB, there was a raise from dogsballs to 80 and a call from Tom Bayes. The small blind, Bimbostix then raised to 120 and the players called. On the first draw, Bimbostix discarded 1, Donald 2, and dogsballs 2, and Tom Bayes 1. Donald bet 80 to Tom Bayes' raise to 160, which was met with a fold from Bimbostix. Our hero duck had no fear and called the 80. On the third draw the remaining players stood pat and checked. At showdown Donald showed 8-7-6-2-5 for a 1,040 pot.

4:46pm--Chad Brown takes one down

Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown is off to a nice start, having chipped up to 4,000 here in the early going. He just took a pot of 560 off of Little Kraut after his 9-7-6-5-3 nipped Little Kraut's 9-8-6-4-3.

Looks like fellow Team PokerStars Pro Humberto "HumbertoB." Brenes has just joined Brown's table, taking a seat to Brown's left.

4:38pm--Quick start for shaniac

Incidentally, 2-7 triple draw is played six-handed. The blinds here in Level 1 are 20/40. We just saw a hand in which Shane "shaniac" Schleger got involved in a blind-vs.-blind confrontation with scapi. It folded to shaniac who raised (to 80) from the SB. scapi then three-bet from the BB, and shaniac called.

Both drew two cards on the first round. shaniac checked, scapi bet (40 here on the first draw), and shaniac called. On the second draw, shaniac took two cards, and scapi one. Again, shaniac check-called scapi's bet (which after the second and third draws here in Level 1 is 80).

Both drew one card on the third draw. shaniac checked, scapi bet, and shaniac check-raised. scapi called, and shaniac turned over 7-6-5-3-2. shaniac has jumped out to 3,920 (from the starting stack of 3,000), while scapi has slipped to 2,600.

4:32pm--Shuffle Up and Deal!

We're off! Nearly 700 have entered as we begin today's Event No. 4, the $215 2-7 Triple Draw event. Late registration is still open.

8:48am--WCOOP Event #4 begins at 16:30 ET

It hardly seems Event #2 is over and we're already looking at Event #4. The $215 2-7 Triple Draw event with a $100,000 guarantee will kick of at 16:30 ET. Coverage can be found here when the event starts.