More than 10,000 was in the pot from preflop action on a board reading . Wayne Harmon was heads up in the hijack against an opponent in the cutoff and had check-raised a bet of 6,000 up to 18,000. His opponent thought for a bit and then called.
The turn came and Harmon announced he was all in. His opponent asked for a count and Harmon's stack was totaled to be 41,100. Over a minute passed by with the player counting his own chips and ultimately deciding to fold.
Juan Rodriguez opened the action with a raise to 2,000 in the cutoff and was called by Paul Petraglia, who defended his big blind. The flop came and Petraglia check-called a continuation-bet of 2,500 from Rodriguez.
Action went check-check on the turn and the river fell . Petraglia tossed in a 5,000-chip and Rodriguez didn't take long to call.
Petraglia tabled for a full house, threes full of nines and got a muck from Rodriguez to earn him the pot.
Wayne Harmon just doubled and caught up to explain how he got his newly-earned chips. According to Harmon, he had 20,000 and raised to 2,000 in the cutoff. The small blind called and then the big blind put in a three-bet. Harmon four-bet shoved and received an immediate call from the big blind once the small blind folded.
Wayne Harmon:
Big Blind:
The flop put Harmon's top two pair up against Broadway, leaving him just four cards in the deck that could keep him alive. Luckily for him, one came on the river and he scored the double.
Derahn Sikes had a bet of 5,000 in front of him from under the gun into a pot of 7,500 with the board reading . David Jackson had checked his big blind and action was back on him. He called.
The turn came and Jackson checked again. Sikes bet 5,300 and Jackson check-raised to 14,300. Sikes found a call and the river came . Jackson shoved for 22,000 more and Sikes called.
Jackson tabled and Sikes threw his hand down onto the felt in a frustrated manner. The dealer immediately reached across to scoop up the no-good hand and send it into the muck before making the pot right to ship Jackson's way.
Sunday night, eight players will make the final table of the bestbet Jacksonville Spring Series $2,500 Main Event. Come that time, the tournament will be live-streamed on bestbet LIVE until a winner has been declared.
The local duo of Eddy Mroczkowski and Eric "1k" Steinbaugh will be in the booth calling the action (unless one or both make the final table, of course).
More than Just Playing Poker
Of the two, Mroczkowski was the one to get his foot into the door of the broadcasting booth, so to speak. bestbet Jacksonville held a contest in January 2018 in search of a worthy commentator for its live stream, and having been around the local poker scene for over a decade, Mroczkowski proved himself well-versed enough to win the contest.
Commentating has become another poker-related hobby for Mroczkowski, but it is still secondary to playing. With over $450,000 in lifetime earnings on his Hendon Mob database, Mroczkowski said the dream is to travel to play poker tournaments and then jump into the booth should they fall short of the final table. A win-win situation.
The E-Train Enters the Station
As soon as Mroczkowski got onto the broadcast, he knew that bringing his friend Steinbaugh into the booth would work well, and as of around a year and a half ago, the E-Train pulled into the station for the first time. COVID-19 prevented the two from working together in 2020, and regardless they are often busy in their own lives. Still, they try to get together on stream as often as possible, and certainly for every big event at bestbet Jacksonville.
Both Steinbaugh and Mroczkowski know poker well enough to talk about it on air and are able to entertain while staying focused on the game. They get along great in the booth because it is an extension of their friendship away from the game of poker, one Mroczkowski's wife actually predicted years prior to the two crossing paths.
Mroczkowski's wife and Steinbaugh worked together at Daytona's poker room and she told him that the two would get along well. Years later, they found themselves in Las Vegas together one summer for the World Series of Poker and immediately connected. Now, they travel the world together, having visited destinations domestic and international alike such as Utah, Colorado, London, and Amsterdam.
For more updates all tournament long, stay tuned to PokerNews to catch all the action. Also, be sure to catch the live stream on the bestbet LIVE Twitch Channel.
Brian Kent opened the action with a raise to 2,000 in the hijack and received a call from the cutoff. The player on the button three-bet shoved for 24,500 and Kent came over the top to commit his entire stack as well, forcing the cutoff out of the pot.
The player on the button showed
"I don't think I can suck out on that a third time," said Kent, tabling .
A queen came in the window on a flop of , causing a reaction from the side of the table that could see it. However, Kent found himself with one less out going to the final two cards. His chances at hitting were cut in half on the turn , but the miracle river gave him trips and scored him the pot and the knockout.