The Downs and Downs of Michael Mizrachi

Michael Mizrachi and Khiem Nguyen were heads up in a three-bet pot with the board reading . Nguyen led out for 17,000, and Mizrachi called.

The turn was the , both players checked, and the river was the . Nguyen led out for 33,500, and Mizrachi folded.

The very next hand, a player limped in, another raised to 6,000, and Mizrachi made the call. Alexey Zakharov moved all in for 29,600 near the button, and the action folded back to Mizrachi.

The three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner wanted the dealer to pull in the bets, but she didn't understand what he was asking. Instead, she cut down Zakharov's stacks a second time, and repeated the amount of the bet.

"I'll gamble," Mizrachi then said, splashing forward enough chips to make the call. "I hope you have ace-king."

Sure enough, Zakharov rolled over . Mizrachi showed .

The jumped out of the window of the flop, but two clubs (the and the ) followed it, giving Zakharov a flush draw. According to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Zakharov was in the lead at this point by the smallest of margins, having 52.42% equity.

The turn was black, but the was a brick for the Russian. Mizrachi was one card away from having his gamble pay off.

The river was the remaining black five in the deck, and the gave Zakharov his flush. He more than doubled to 73,000 chips, while Mizrachi is down to 165,000.