Moments of Sheer Terror

We'd be better journalists if we could remember (or bothered to look up) who called no-limit hold'em "hours of boredom followed by moments of sheer terror". It's an apt description of what's going on here in the 8th floor ballroom of the Galaxy StarWorld hotel.

Over on Table 15, things had been progressing along quietly. Then a hand opened with a raise to 300 from early position, a call, a re-raise to 1,000 from the button and a third raise to 2,600 from the small blind. The button called, then bet 2,500 on an ace-high flop that the small blind checked. The small blind wasted no time in getting a check-raise to 8,500 into the middle, inducing a shaking fold from the button.

For what it's worth, starting stacks are 10,000 chips. Committing that many chips to a hand in Level 2 of a deep-stacked tournament is what provides the moments of sheer terror.