With the betting folded around to the blinds, chip leader Matthew Haugen moved all in from the small blind. The big blind had just 110,000 chips left, and he made the call to put himself at risk, turning over . Seemingly content to flip for his double up, he watched as Haugen tabled , and the race was on.
The flop was clean and safe for the at-risk player as it came . The on the turn was safe as well, but the that rivered was a soul crusher. Haugen pairs his overcard, picking up the knockout and moving up dangerously close to the two-million-chip mark. He's got 1.97 million by our count.
First in from the button, Praz Bansi open-raised, and Carlos Mortensen moved all in for just about 150,000 in the small blind. Bansi has a mountain of chips, and he elected to make the call with a chance to knock off the dangerous former World Champion.
Showdown
Bansi:
Mortensen:
The flop was a clean slate for the at-risk Mortensen as it rolled out . The that hit the turn was a bit of a scare, though, as it gave Bansi four outs to the winning gutterball. Wouldn't ya know it, the ripped off the deck on the river, improving Bansi to the unlikely straight.
Mortensen was surprised when the dealer began to pull in his chips, not realizing that he'd just been eliminated from the tournament. With a shrug, he stood and made his way slowly toward the door.
Bansi is now all the way up to 1.41 million in chips.
It looks like we may have spoken a little to soon about Phil Ivey moving his stack back up the ranks, because he just slipped back down after giving a chunk of his stack to Praz Bansi.
From under the gun, Bansi made it 21,000 to go. Ivey called out of the small blind and the two players saw the flop laid out in front of them. Ivey checked first and then Bansi checked behind.
The turn card was the and Ivey bet 25,000. Bansi called.
The river produced the and Ivey fired 90,000. Bansi was right there to make the call with his pocket tens -- . Ivey mucked his hand without showing and dipped down to 305,000. Bansi increased to 1.27 million.
From the button, Amanda Baker raised and then Wayne Bentley accelerated the action from the big blind, making it 50,000 more. Baker then moved all in, having Bentley well covered for his remaining 211,000. Bentley tanked and then folded his hand. Baker moved to 710,000.
The PokerStars online qualifier Bentley might have bit off more than he can chew at this table. Here's a look at the competition he's facing that may have caused his stack to dwindle down all day long.
Seat 1: Liz Lieu
Seat 2: Peter "Nordberg" Feldman
Seat 3: Michiel Brummelhuis
Seat 4: Amanda Baker
Seat 5: Robert Mizrachi
Seat 8: Alex "AJKHoosier1" Kamberis
A player in the cutoff seat opened with a raise, and Barry Shulman three-bet him from the small blind. The opener then moved all in, and Shulman insta-called to put his opponent at risk of elimination.
Severe risk, in fact. Shulman showed up , and the all-in player was looking to get very lucky with . To his demise, the board ran down clean: . Shulman tallies the knockout, moving his stack up to about 620,000 in the process.
Phil Ivey raised to 20,000 and only the big blind called. The two players checked the flop and turn as the board ran out . After the river fell, Ivey fired 25,000 after his opponent checked. The player folded and Ivey scooped the pot. It's not a big hand, but things are improving for Ivey. He's back up to 475,000 chips.
A player in early position opened to 20,000, and the man on the button moved all in for 204,000 total. Action was on Chase Steely in the small blind, and he thought it over for a minute or two before making the flat-overcall for a significant chunk of his own stack. The original raiser folded, and the cards were tabled.
Showdown
All-in Player:
Steely:
The flop was a swing and a miss for Steely as it came . Steely stood from his chair and clutched his hands to his head, clearly nervous. He would be able to settle down just a bit as the dealer peeled the off the deck on fourth street. Steely was shocked to hit his card as he spun around and shook his head. The river was a blank , and Steely's pair of kings is good enough to earn him the knockout.
He's still stacking up those chips, but it looks like he's up to about 560,000 at the moment.