Kulev Finds the Right Call for Half
Alex Kulev opened to 6,000 from middle position and received a call from Ori Caballo in the hijack. Ngoc Minh Hoang three-bet to 17,500 in the small blind and Kulev thought about his decision for two minutes before putting in chips to call. Caballo got out of their way and action proceeded heads up to a flop of 
. Hoang thought for about 40 seconds and then made a continuation-bet of 17,500. Kulev went into the tank for a half-minute.
"How much is that?" asked Kulev. The dealer told him the amount and he thought for another full minute before calling. The turn came 
and Hoang checked. Another minute went by with action on Kulev before he tapped the felt, bringing the river 
. First to act, Hoang thought about his decision for well over a minute and then bet 20,500. It was then Kulev's turn to deliberate further, taking close to four minutes before making the call.
Hoang tabled 
and Kulev showed 
, resulting in both players taking half the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
250,000
-10,000
|
-10,000 |
|
137,000 | |
|
78,000
-12,000
|
-12,000 |