Ben Heath opened to 40,000 from the hijack and Stephen Chidwick three-bet jammed from the small blind. Chris Brewer then tanked in the big blind and used a time bank before calling off with a stack of 216,000. Heath gave it some deliberation but folded.
Chris Brewer:
Stephen Chidwick:
Brewer was in great shape to double up with the fishhooks and he did so as the board ran out a clean .
The action folded around to Orpen Kisacikoglu in the small blind who shoved all in for around 140,000. Juan Pardo was in the big blind and called to put Kisacikoglu at risk.
Orpen Kisacikoglu:
Juan Pardo:
The flop came to give Kisacikoglu a pair of queens but Pardo picked up the lone flush draw. The hit the turn and Pardo prepared to throw his deuce at the board as the river hit, encouraging another heart to roll off. However, Kisacikoglu blocked the throw and the river bricked out, earning him a double-up.
Aleksejs Ponakovs was in position in a heads-up pot against Henrik Hecklen on a board of .
Hecklen checked on the turn and Ponakovs bet 75,000. Hecklen called. Hecklen checked again on the river and Ponakovs used two time banks before pushing out a stack of 25,000 chips for a bet of 450,000 with around 350,000 in the pot.
Hecklen moved around in his chair a bit before tossing in a call. Ponakovs showed for a flush and his Danish opponent mucked in defeat.
Adrian Mateos limped in from the small blind and Seth Davies checked his option. The flop came and Mateos led out with a bet of 35,000. Davies called and the landed on the turn.
Mateos sized up a bet of 70,000 on the turn and Davies stuck around to see the on the river. Mateos checked this time and Davies quickly knuckled back. Mateos turned over for king-high while Davies held for a pair of tens.
Justin Bonomo opened to 32,000 on the button and Orpen Kisacikoglu defended out of the big blind.
Kisacikoglu checked on the flop of and Bonomo continued for 25,000. Kisacikoglu check-raised to 65,000 and Bonomo sat completely still with his hands in his lap as he used two time banks.
He eventually broke his statue pose, pushing out a stack of around 500,000 to put Kisacikoglu all in. Kisacikoglu quickly folded.
Daniel Dvoress raised to 32,000 in the hijack and Juan Pardo three-bet to 94,000 on the button. Dvoress called and they went heads-up to a flop of . Dvoress check-called a bet of 70,000 from Pardo and the landed on the turn.
Both players checked this time and the paired the board on the river. Dvoress led out with a small bet of 80,000 and Pardo quickly called. Dvoress flipped over but Pardo turned the best hand with .
Mike Watson opened on the button and Aleksejs Ponakovs three-bet to around 120,000 from the small blind. Adrian Mateos then four-bet jammed for 484,000. Watson folded and Ponakovs quickly called with a bigger stack.
Adrian Mateos:
Aleksejs Ponakovs:
A king in the window on the flop of gave Mateos a big lead and nothing changed as the board finished out to earn him a big double.
Isaac Haxton raised to 35,000 in the hijack and Chris Brewer called from the button. Ignacio Moron shipped all in for 434,000 in the small blind and Haxton asked for a count before re-shoving all in. Brewer quickly folded and the two remaining hands were tabled.
Ignacio Moron:
Isaac Haxton:
Haxton found himself in a dominating position and the flop of solidified his lead. Neither the on the turn nor the on the river was any help to Moron. After counting the stacks, Haxton had him covered by just 2,000 chips and Moron was eliminated.
In the latest PokerNews Podcast episode of 2023, Chad Holloway and Connor Richards handle things while Jesse Fullen is in Australia. They discuss Mike Postle’s sudden reappearance in the poker world after making a final table at the Million Dollar Heater at Beau Rivage in Mississippi, while also talking about the slowroll and needle that accompanied his bust out.
They try to balance that story with a heart-warming one where Johnnie “Johnnie Vibes” Moreno put a bartender into the MSPT Sycuan Main Event, with the recreational player going on to finish in fourth place for $40,000!
Speaking of which, PokerGO’s Mori Eskandani joins the show as this week’s guest. The Poker Hall of Famer talks 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) preparations, who came close to challenging Jason Koon on High Stakes Duel III (HSD), plus when we can expect the next HSD match to take place. He also discussed new developments to this year’s PokerGO Tour (PGT) and shared memories from the days when the Mirage was the hot spot for poker in Vegas.