On a board reading , with about 27,000 in the pot already, a player in early position checked, and Nipun Java moved all in for his last 24,200.
Java sat still for a while as his opponent was visibly torn by the decision. He had less than 20,000 in front of him and would be at risk for his tournament life should he call. Several minutes passed, and eventually, a player at the table called the clock. A floorman walked over and counted down, and eventually, Java's opponent called.
Java tabled for the nut straight, and his opponent rapped the table in defeat and hit the rail.
Patrick Serda raised to 1,800 from late position, and the player in the cutoff three-bet to 3,900. Serda asked to see how many chips he had behind and called.
The flop came , and Serda check-called a bet of 5,100 from his opponent. The turn was the , and both players checked to the river, which was the . Serda paused for a moment and led out for 14,500. His opponent instantly started to move about in his chair with a pained look on his face. He looked over at Serda's stack and eventually opted to fold.
Kristen Bicknell opened under the gun to 1,200, and Natasha Mercier defended her big blind.
On a flop of , Mercier checked-called the 1,200-chip continuation bet from Bicknell. The turn was a , to which both players checked. The river came the , and Mercier checked-called a 4,000-chip bet from Bicknell.
Bicknell showed to win the pot, and Mercier sent her hand to the muck.
Yuriy Boyko is fresh off a final table performance in the Millionaire Maker, finishing in sixth place for a career-best $241,303. He currently has a mountain of chips in front of him and looks to take another crack at scooping his first bracelet.
Action folded to the button, who raised to 1,700. Jake Schindler tank-called in the small blind. Gaurav Raina, in the big blind, responded with an all in for 19,000.
The button folded, and once again, Schindler tank-called, putting at risk his last 6,500 chips only to see the bad news.
Gaurav Raina:
Jake Schindler:
The board came , giving Schindler a little hope, but the turn and the kept Raina's aces ahead.