Event #35: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed

The World Series of Poker heard the voice of the players and included a six-handed PLO event on this year's schedule. Event #35 $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha/Six Handed was the first of its kind and appealed to an assorted mix of amateurs, professionals, and seasoned online players. When registration closed two days ago, 507 players had entered to create a prize pool of $2,382,900, with $619,575 of that reserved for first. It took three grueling days of intense play, but eventually it was Jason Mercier who defeated a stacked field to claim the prize and his second PLO WSOP gold bracelet.

Day 3 got off to a bang when the field of 15 that started the day was whittled down to just eight within the first two hours of play. The man making the most noise during that time seemed to be Mercier, who scored a double knockout to vault among the top stacks. In that hand, David "Devilfish" Ulliott raised to 25,000 from the button and Peter Jetten re-raised to 110,000 from the small blind. Mercier called from the big blind, while Ulliott called behind

The flop came down     and Jetten open-shoved all in, Mercier instantly went all in, and Devilfish called off his stack.

Mercier:     
Jetten:     
Ulliott:     

Ulliott was ahead with a set of jacks, but Mercier had both straight and flush draws and Jetten's aces weren't looking too good. The turn came   to give Mercier the straight, leaving Devilfish looking to pair the board; however, the river was the   and both Jetten and Devilfish hit the rail. Of course the ever-vocal Devilfish didn't leave before calling Mercier "the luckiest f***ing mother f***cker alive"

Early Eliminations

Brooks' elimination meant the official final table had been reached. It was there that WSOP rookie Michael "Timex" McDonald got his short-stack all in against four-time bracelet winner David Chiu.

Chiu:     
McDonald:     

Unfortunately the board ran out       and Timex was eliminated in sixth place for $73,965. The next elimination came some time later and in excruciating fashion. It began when Joe Ressler raised to 80,000 from under the gun and the action folded to Steven Merrifield in the small blind. He called as did Mercier in the big blind to see the flop fall    . Merrifield and Mercier checked to Ressler who bet 150,000, only to see Merrifield check-raise to 425,000. Mercier folded, Ressler snap-shoved and Merrifield insta-called.

Ressler:     
Merrifield:     

It was set-over-set as the dealer burned and turned the  . Ressler was one card away from a double, but much to the shock of his supporters, the   spiked on the river. Merrifield had hit a one outer to send Ressler home in fifth place ($105,967).

The next to go was Chiu, who grew extremely short stacked and couldn't outflop Mercier. The four-time bracelet winner hit the rail in fourth place, worth $156,628. Three-handed play began with the chips essentially spread equally between the players. Merrifield held a small lead, but short-handed play did not go his way. He was chipped down considerably and eventually eliminated at the hands of Hans Winzeler. That left Mercier (3.49 million) to do heads-up battle against Winzeler (4.125 million).

The heads-up match saw the chip lead change hands a couple of times, lasting almost two hours. In the end, Mercier hit a straight on the river to claim the title, his second in the PLO variation, with his previous victory coming back in the 2009 Event #5 $1,500 PLO after he cleared a field of 809 players to claim the $237,462 first-place prize. That means he has now won two PLO bracelets for a combined $857,037.

Final Table Results

Congratulations to Jason Mercier on becoming the Event #35 $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha/Six Handed champion. That does it for our coverage from this event, but there are plenty more ahead. Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all the updates from the 2011 WSOP.

Hans Winzeler raised to 160,000 on the button only to have Jason Mercier make it 480,000 to go from the big blind. Winzeler made the call and there was nearly a million in the pot preflop. Just when it seemed like there might be some fireworks, both players checked the     flop, as well as the   turn.

When the   hit the river, Mercier decided it was time to put out a bet, settling on 530,000. Winzeler didn't take long to make the call, but ended up mucking when Mercier turned over      for a straight.

Jason Mercier	4,250,000	995,000
Hans Winzeler	3,350,000	-990,000

The cards are back in the air! Two more levels until we either crown a champion or bag and tag, whichever comes first.

Hans Winzeler limped on the button, Jason Mercier checked his option in the big blind, and it was heads up to the     flop. Mercier bet 70,000, Winzeler called, and the   was put out on the turn. Both players checked, the   hit the river, Winzeler bet, and Mercier folded.

That certainly wasn't anything exciting, but you could simply copy and paste that hand to get a good idea of what's been happening as of late.

The grinding has begun. How excitement!

Earlier, Hans Winzeler limped in from the button and Jason Mercier called before both players checked the flop of    . However, Mercier check-folded after Winzeler led out for 100,000 on the turn of the  .

Then in the very next hand, Mercier raised from the button to 120,000 and Winzeler called before check-calling Mercier's bet of 95,000 after the flop of    , only to check-fold after Mercier bet 285,000 on the turn of the  .

The players are now essentially even in chips.

Hans Winzeler	3,800,000	515,000
Jason Mercier	3,800,000	-515,000

Jason Mercier raised to 120,000 from the button and Hans Winzeler made the call from the big blind. Winzeler proceeded to check-call a bet of 95,000 on the     flop, the   hit the turn, and both players checked.

Winzeler felt inspired to fire out 300,000 when the   appeared on the river, which Mercier call. Winzeler turned over      for the nut flush, which was good enough to be the winning hand.

Jason Mercier	4,650,000	-650,000
Hans Winzeler	2,950,000	650,000

Hans Winzeler limped from the button and Jason Mercier checked his option from the big blind. Both players proceeded to check the     flop, leading to the   turn. Mercier checked, Winzeler bet 125,000, Mercier check-raised to 390,000, and Winzeler made the call.

When the   hit the river, Mercier fired out 590,000 and Winzeler made the call. The latter could only muck when Mercier rolled over      for the nuts.

Jason Mercier	4,500,000	1,010,000
Hans Winzeler	3,050,000	-1,075,000