Shawn Buchanan opened to 2,000 from under the gun, Yevgeniy Timoshenko called on the button, and David Benefield defended the big blind. The flop fell , and the action checked to Timoshenko who fired 3,500. Only Benefield called.
Both Benefield and Timoshenko knuckled after the turn (), and the river ().
"I've got a three," Benefield said, turning over .
Timoshenko sweated his cards one last time before releasing them, and Benefield pulled in the pot.
Our own Rich Ryan laid his reputation on the line with a bold prediction earlier this week: Galen Hall will win the PCA Super High Roller. It's a little early to go patting "SantanaBandana" on the back — he's gloating too much for that — but Hall has already put himself on top of the chip counts here in the first level.
The pot began with Hall opening to 3,000 from the button, and Bill Perkins three-bet to 10,000 in the small blind. Hall flatted, and off they went. The board ended up running with Perkins barreling the whole way. It was 15,000 on the flop, 30,000 on the turn, and 55,000 on the river, and Hall called him all the way down. When he called the river bet, Perkins surrendered verbally: "Good hand. Ace-high."
Hall showed for the set, and that big pot moves him up to about 370,000. After the hand, Hall let on that he was expecting a three-barrel from Perkins, adding, "We know each other enough by now."
Perkins is now the short stack with just over half his starting count.
Picking up the action on the turn of a board with what looked to be about 7,500 in the pot, Mike "Timex" McDonald check-called a bet of 5,200 from Daniel Negreanu. The river brought the and McDonald fired 9,900. Negreanu thought it over for about 20 seconds before tossing in the chips to call.
McDonald showed , while Negreanu tabled for kings and threes to win the pot.
Action folded to Viktor Blom in the cutoff seat and he raised to 2,200. In the small blind, Isaac Haxton three-bet to 9,000. Play got back to Blom and he called.
The flop came down and Haxton continued with a bet of 13,000. Blom called rather quickly to see the turn.
The turn was the and both players checked through to see the land on the river. Haxton took his time and then fired 42,000. Blom checked his hand one final time and then tossed them into the muck.
Humberto Brenes opened to 3,000 from middle position, Masa Kagawa called on his direct left, and Eugene Katchalov called out of the big blind. The flop came down , and the action checked to Kagawa who tossed out 6,000. Katchalov called, and the turn was the . Katchalov checked again, and Kagawa fired 12,500. Katchalov called.
The river was the , and both players checked. Katchalov tabled for a pair of aces, but Kagawa's had him out kicked, and he won the pot.
Action folded to Isaac Hacton in the cutoff and he raised to 3,200. Jonathan Duhamel, on the button, re-raised to 7,700 and forced the blinds out. Haxton called and an flop hit the board.
Haxton check-called 9,000, landing the on the turn. It was the same story again as this time Haxton check-called 23,700 from Duhamel. When the hit the river, Haxton checked for a third time. Duhamel fired 60,000 and sent Haxton into the tank for a good two and a half minutes. Finally, Haxton opted to called and was happy to see Duhamel quickly flash what appeared to be (suits may be off, but the cards are right).
Bryn Kenney opened to 2,500 from the hijack position, Galen Hall called on the button, and Bill Perkins three-bet to 6,000 from the small blind. Kenney then four-bet to 20,300, Hall got out of the way, and Perkins licked his lips before asking, "How much?"
The dealer answered his query, and Perkins cooly tossed in a green T25,000 chip, making the call. The dealer fanned , and Perkins checked. Kenney fired 20,500, and Perkins immediately folded.
"You're so eager to rebuy," Hall told Perkins, grinning.
Doc Sands opened with a standard raise from the cutoff seat, and Chance Kornuth three-bet to 9,000 from the small blind. Sands called, and they checked through the flop. On the turn, the brought a bet of 13,000 from Kornuth, and a call led he and Sands to the river. Kornuth fired another 30,000 at the pot, and Sands tanked and folded.
On the next hand, it was Bryn Kenney opening to 2,500 from early postion, and both Sands and Kornuth called to go three ways to the flop. Kenney fired 3,500 on the , and now only Kornuth called to continue. He called another 6,300 on the turn and 16,400 on the river, and Kenney showed for aces up. Kornuth had that well beaten with , and his full house earned him a second pot in a row.