How the Mighty Have Fallen –– Matt Jarvis & Fabrice Touil Out in NLHE Six Handed, as Unofficial Final Table Starts

With 10 players left, working down to the final seven and the ESPN stage, once proud chip leaders Matt Jarvis and Fabrice Touil were among those felted. Bryn Kenney used his table image to jump past Jarvis into a chip lead position. Fifteen minutes before their momentum shifting hand, Kenney had shown a river bluff against Borrat. Now, he min-raised 38,000 into a 9-9-2 board and was called by Jarvis. He continued for 98,000 on the turn 4 and was called again. When a six peeled out on the river, Kenney made a pot sized bet of 264,000 and Jarvis tanked for about five minutes before calling. Kenney showed K-9 for flopped trips and Jarvis mucked. 

                                                 Jarvis and Kenney: locking horns.

Now in critical push or fold mode, Jarvis staked his remaining chips with pocket fours and Kenney called in the big blind with A-K. The king came out on the turn, sealing the fate of former chip leader Matt Jarvis, who cashed for $41,000. 

                                   Jarvis pushes in his last chips with 4-4 against Kenney's A-K

                                   It's never fun leaving the table.

Now it Fabrice Touil, who had been very active and briefly held a position among the chip leaders, who suffered a major setback. He made a river bluff for 100,000 in chips against Jeremy Kottler. After thinking it out, Kottler called with A-2 on an 8-5-10-10-8 board and scooped the pot with ace kicker. Touil had an active image to say the least and betting so small on a double paired board (in which an ace kicker would likely play) was not the brightest idea. 

Another major hand involved the Italian Mustapha Kanit and veteran Belgian pro Pierre Neuville. Kanit min raised from the cutoff and Neuville called from the small blind. When a 4-5-J board came out with two diamonds, Kanit bet and Neuville made the call. A ten of diamonds on the turn brought a flush possibility and Neuville shipped his remaining 345,000 chips. After lengthy consideration, Kanit called with an unpaired A-K and a nut flush draw. Unfortunately, he failed to connect and Neuville essentially swapped stacks with him, chipping up to 860,000. Arguably, Kanit should have folded if he thought Neuville had a flush, which he was certainly representing.The last to go before our unofficial final table was Fabrice Touil, who moved his last 270,000 into the pot with A-5 and was dominated by Kevin Eyster’s A-J. 

Fabrice Touil sees the bad news that Kevin Eyster has him dominated.

With the final seven set, I would put my money on either Andrew Lichtenberger (1.2 million chips) or Bryn Kenney (1.3 million chips). Both players have displayed creative play, with Lichtenberger wielding his stack effectively to take uncontested pots and avoiding major confrontations. I was particularly impressed by a power move he made on a J-3-8 club flush draw board that he had been consistently raising. When a four of clubs fell on the turn he made a major bet and  Eyster, clearly suspicious, finally elected not to call or try a move. Chip leader Kevin Eyster sits on nearly 2.1 million chips and has also been effective in picking his spots and calling down bluffs. 

All Eyes on 2010 “November Niner” Matt Jarvis, Heading Into $5,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Day Three

Today at the Rio, all eyes are on Event #24: $5,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, a $5,000 event that brought out a healthy 541 runners and which is down to the final 17. As reported in PokerNews, Canadian chip leader Matt Jarvis, who sits well ahead of the pack at 1.37 million chips, gained his lead in an all-in cooler, the last hand of the night. With Jarvis holding A-K and Italian Andrea Dato holding A-Q, both players shipped their stacks when two aces appeared on the flop. The king kicker held and another dream of WSOP glory was snuffed. 

A respected British Columbian pro, Jarvis reached poker’s biggest stage in 2010 as a member of the November Nine. This was the event in which table boss Matt Affleck was famously felted by Jonathan Duhamel in 15th, in a well-remembered 42 million chip pot. Affleck––who had established a loose table image by relentlessly pushing around stacks of all sizes, finally woke up with the premium hand of pocket rockets. With a flop of 10-9-7 and a turn  Q, all of the two players’ chips found their way into the middle. Duhamel’s jacks needed to improve to a straight or trips to take the pot and a commanding chip lead. Naturally, an 8 peeled off and the rest is history, with  a visibly crushed Affleck taking the long walk out of the Rio. 

Matt Jarvis, who came into the 2010 November Nine sixth in chips, faced a memorable array of opponents that included Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachii, Soi Nguyen, Joseph Cheong, Filippo Candio, and tournament winner Jonathan Duhamel. Needing to double up, Jarvis busted relatively quickly in 8th, finding himself in a flip situation that was “bound to happen eventually” because of how short the table was. This dramatic hand began as a classic race between Jarvis‘ pocket nines and Mizrachii’s A-Q. With the Grinder well ahead on a flop of Q-Q-8, Jarvis turned his miracle trip nines, needing to fade only an A or the last remaining Q in the deck. Unfortunately, an ace peeled on the river, giving Mizrachii the higher boat. Jarvis, clearly shaken after the monumental cooler commented afterwards “I played it right, he played it right, it is what it is.” Jarvis came back the next year and took home the WSOP bracelet in the same six-handed event he currently holds chip lead in. 

Today’s event promises to be an action packed one, with notables such as 2012 WSOP main event winner Greg Merson, Pratyush Buddiga, and Andrew Lichtenberger still in the hunt. Also alive is Kory Kilpatrick, who won his first bracelet on Monday in Event #20: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout, and Mustapha Kanit, who the same day final tabled NLHE Event #19 won by retired Marine sergeant Ted Gillis.