Francois Safieddine, who won the $2,500 No Limit Hold 'Em event this year, was all-in on a flop of . His opponent made the call and Safieddine showed 7-7 for a set while his opponent showed for a flush draw and straight draw. The turn was the and the river was the . Safieddine was scooping up the pot when John Phan, who is seated at an adjacent table, peered over to see what had happened.
"You're always lucky," Phan remarked in regards to the hand without seeing the action. "You always get there on the river."
"I have the bracelet," Safieddine quipped, "you don't. You're number two, I am number one!"
Safieddine and Phan were heads up during the $2,500 event. Phan came in second to Safieddine, who took first and the bracelet.
Scott Flansburg, known as the "human calculator," moved in with A-K on a short stack and flopped top two pair. On the turn he hit the ultimate jackpot-- the ace of diamonds-- for top full house and increased his stack to 24,000.
Jeremiah Teal, sitting at Table 3, seat 1, arrived 45 minutes late today. When asked about it, he replied that he didn't oversleep or forget the time, he just wanted to get a nice breakfast and come in on his own terms, relaxed and ready to play.
Teal started the day with 83,500 in chips, which is a healthy stack, but he says that didn't factor into his decision. He's played some games with Freddy Deeb, and Deeb once told him he left a final table for an extended break when he had just 30 big blinds -- his frame of mind was more important than the chips. Teal remembers that advice, and put it into practice today.
Phan moved in for his last 10,000 with K-Q, and another player moved all-in himself and tabled A-K. Undercards filled out the board and Phan was eliminated.
Chip Jett was leaning way, way back in his chair and a passerby brushed against him. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," Jett said, leaning forward...and then he saw that the brusher was ESPN's Norman Chad. "Oh it's you, I'm not sorry," Jett joked.
Jean "The Prince" Gaspard moved all in preflop and his opponent called.
Gaspard:
Opponent:
The flop was and Gaspard's opponent flopped a gutshot and a flush draw. The turn was the and the river was the . Gaspard was eliminated when his opponent rivered a straight against him. Gaspard's Aces were cracked and he headed to the rail.
A tournament reporter found a stray orange (5,000) chip on the floor in between some tables. According to procedure, he contacted the nearest floorperson, who removed the chip from play. (5,000 is the highest denomination currently in use.)
Not only is Jeff Norman at the top of the chip counts, he's picking up some hands as well. He raised to 3,000, the player in the cutoff called, and they saw a K-Q-4 flop. Norman bet 9K, his opponent folded, and Norman showed off his pocket Aces. He's now up to 315,000.
After a flop of , a player bets 11,500, another player calls, and Chad Brown calls. The turn card is the , the first player bets 19,000, the second player folds, Brown raises to 40,000, and his opponent calls. The river card pairs the board with the , his opponent bets 30,000, and Brown calls.
It's a paired board with three hearts and pretty heavy betting, so Chad Brown says, "The only hand I can really beat is [pocket] aces," and he shows for the vulnerable king-high straight, which he flopped.
His opponent shows for two pair, aces and nines, and Brown wins the pot, increasing his stack to about 240,000 in chips.
This is the second time today that Chad Brown has cracked aces with a straight.
Tony Hachem, brother of 2005 Champion Joe, is playing today. Much like his brother has done on a global scale, Tony has become somewhat of an ambassador for poker in his home country, Australia. He works tirelessly, organizing charity events and generally promoting our great game down under, immersing himself in the business side of the sport. But today he has come to play. He currently has just over 30,000 in chips and will be hoping to make a run at the final table. After his brother Joe’s exit from the tournament yesterday, he is the only one left to fly the flag. Will we see the Hachem name in lights once again? Time will tell.
You can join both Tony & Joe Hachem at the PokerNews Cup in Melbourne this October. For more details go to PokerNews.com. Click here to find out more