In a battle of the blinds, Freddy Deeb limped in in the small blind, and Joe Kuether checked his option. The flop came , and Deeb checked to Kuether, who fired out 35,000. Deeb responded with a check raise to 100,000, but Kuether wasn't budging, as he made the call after a minute of thought. The turn came the , and Deeb fired at it once again, this time for 150,000. Again, Kuether thought for about a minute before putting in the call.
Both players checked when the hit the river, and Deeb showed for a pair of fours. It was no good though, as Kuether tabled for top pair. After the hand, Kuether now has 2 million, while Deeb is back down to 625,000.
Wow. That was a big hand. Action folded around to Ty Spires, who made it 125,000 to go. It folded to Chris Bratene in the small blind, who went all in for 300,000. Chris Cronin was next to act, and after taking a peak at his cards, announced all in himself! It came back to Spires, and he wasted little time in calling! Cronin had both Spires and Bratene covered, and when the cards were tabled, Cronin was out in front.
Cronin:
Spires:
Bartene:
There was an ace in the window for Spires, as the flop came out . Bratene also caught a piece of the flop, getting middle pair, but would need more to survive the hand. The on the turn changed nothing, but the on the river changed everything. Cronin caught his two outer, eliminated both Spires and Bratene. IN addition to the double knockout, Cronin took the chip lead in the process!
Chris Cronin opened the action from middle position with a raise to 90,000 and was called only by Joe Kuether in the small blind. The flop came and Kuether check-raised a bet worth 140,000 to 300,000 total. Without much hesitation, Cronin said, "Six-fifty" and placed 650,000 chips across the betting line. Kuether thought for a few minutes before letting go of his hand.
Joe Kuether opened with a raise to 80,000 before David Funkhauser moved all in out of the small blind. Chris Cronin was waiting in the big blind and asked for a count of Funkhauser's chips, which stood at 470,000 total. Eventually, both Cronin and Kuether let Funkhauser rake in the pot.
The very next hand, Funkhauser moved all in, and once again did not find a caller.
David Funkhuaser opened shoved all in on the button, and Chris Cronin was next to act in the small blind. Cronin peaked down at this cards, then called fairly quickly. Freddy Deeb folded, and the cards were tabled, with Cronin way out in front.
David Funkhauser:
Chris Cronin:
The flop brought no help for Funkhauser, coming . Funkhauser was still looking for an eight, and while he didn't get it on the turn, he did pick up some more outs, as the hit the turn. Funkhauser would get a chop if the board paired again, but it wouldn't happen, as the the river. Funkhauser was eliminated, while Cronin secured the knockout. Cronin now has nearly half the chips in play.