Dan Shak raised to 85,000 on the button and Viktor Blom re-raised to 270,000 from the small blind. After Galen Hall folded his big blind, Shak four-bet to 850,000. Blom folded instantly, giving Shak the pot.
"Four-bet bluff?" asked Vanessa Selbst from the audience.
"I don't four-bet bluff", replied Shak. "I don't watch any "Isildur1" videos online."
"You play cash games or mostly tournaments?" Viktor Blom asked the out-of-the-blue question to Galen Hall.
Hall quietly said, "Tournaments," and Blom nodded.
From the other side of the table, Dan Shak joined in the conversation with a big laugh. "You ain't gonna see us much in your cash games," he said to Blom.
They're both probably bankrolled for some nosebleed side action, but Shak and Hall seem rather comfortable in their roles as tournament specialists.
In a battle of the blinds, Viktor Blom called a raise to 125,000 from Dan Shak, and the two men saw a 
flop. Shak continued out with another 125,000, and Blom called rather quickly. The turn 
drew another bet from Shak — 150,000 this time. Blom couldn't call the second bullet, uncapping his cards and returning them to the dealer face-down.
Viktor Blom raised to 90,000 from the button and Dan Shak defended his big blind.
Shak check-called 85,000 from Blom on the 
flop, leading to the 
turn. Shak checked again and Blom bet 175,000. A quick fold from Shak gave the pot to Blom, showing the 
.
Dan Shak raised to 120,000 from the small blind and Viktor Blom defended his big blind.
Shak fired 150,000 at the 
and forced a quick fold from Blom.
Galen Hall raised to 80,000 on the button and Viktor Blom called from the big blind.
The flop came down 
and both checked. The 
hit the turn and Blom check-called 50,000 from Hall. The river was checked by both and Blom showed 
for ace high. Hall tabled 
, also ace high, and they chopped it up.
Galen Hall raised to 80,000 from the button, and Viktor Blom defended his big blind to see a flop.
It brought 
and a pair of checks, and the two of them checked through the 
turn, too. On the river, the 
finally cued a bet of 95,000 from Hall, and Blom paid it off quickly.
At showdown, Hall's 
gave him queens and fours, and that beat Blom's mystery hole cards. The Swede mucked, and Hall gains a bit of breathing room with that little pot.
Dan Shak and Galen Hall have been talking about a deal for nearly an hour now, but nothing had come to fruition. They were very close to locking something up before they addressed the potential tax implications, and that put a halt on the talks. Both men assumed that their official payout would be recorded as it reads on the prize pool, and they didn't want to have to deal with a resulting heap of tax paperwork.
The event's Executive Host, Neil Johnson came to the rescue just a moment ago, though. He informed the players that the staff would adjust the reported payouts based on any deals the players made. The only catch was that all three players had to agree. Shak and Hall quickly settled on a save amount to be paid by the higher-finishing player, but nothing was official yet.
The outcome depended on Blom, and he didn't take much exception at first. As the deal came together though, it appears Blom reconsidered and decided that it wasn't in his best interest to allow the other two to deal. "It's like when you're the chip leader on the bubble," he explained. "And the bubble is quite small."
Though the deal doesn't affect him directly, Blom realized that allowing a save might make things tougher on him, and he's put the wrench in that plan for now.
Galen Hall called on the button, Dan Shak folded his small blind, and Viktor Blom checked his option. The flop came down 
.
Both checked to see the 
turn where Blom bet 65,000. Hall called and the 
hit the river. Blom bet 180,000 and Hall quickly folded.
From the button, Viktor Blom raised to 90,000, and Galen Hall wanted to play for more. A lot more. He slid out 695,000 chips, and that was enough to end the hand without any further drama.
"Pocket fours?" Blom asked after he mucked.
"Pocket fives," came the answer. We're not sure if we believe him either. "Sick read, though," he continued. "Did you fold pocket threes?"
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