With around 2,000 in the pot and a flop of , four players checked and the dealer burned and turned the . Two checks saw Mark Betts bet 1,300 from the cutoff, and Ryan Riess folded the button. The big blind got out of the way, and Kahle Burns decided to look him up from early position.
Burns then checked the river and Betts fired again, this time 1,500. Burns thought for about 45 seconds before making the call, but he mucked just as soon as Betts tabled the for top pair.
Phil Hellmuth, the World Series of Poker's most decorated player with 13 gold bracelets, is known for making late entrances, and the WSOP Asia-Pacific is no exception. The "Poker Brat," who flew into Melbourne earlier this afternoon, has waited until Level 6 to make his entrance.
He folded the first hand he was dealt, but in the second he opened to 400 from middle position. The button called, as did both blinds, and four players took a flop of . Two checks saw Hellmuth continue for 400, and that cleared two of the players out of the way. However, the third proved tougher to shake as the big blind check-raised to 1,250.
"I might last two hands," Hellmuth said with a smile. "I have two queens already."
Sure enough, Hellmuth showed the and then sent them to the muck.
"Alright, I'm easy," Hellmuth said before taking inventory of his remaining chips. "That hurt."
Back on July 14, the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event final table was set. The players in this year's "November Nine" are set to resume play on November 10, and it is a globally diverse group of young players who will be battling it out for the $10 million top prize.
Martin Jacobson will certainly be a favorite amongst poker pro circles around the world. The Swede has plenty of respect and a hard-earned reputation as one of the best and consistent tournament players in the game. When the lights turn on in November, it'll true be his time to shine and put his experience to work.
After finishing with the Day 1a chip lead, Jacobson will enter the final table eighth in chips with 14.9 million, second to last, and knows how much this final table means to him. "It feels incredible to make it this far in such a big and prestigious tournament," Jacobson told PokerNews. "This is probably my biggest achievement so far."
Shane Stark opened the action with a raise to 500 and got three callers, including Scott Clements and David Bowen in the blinds. The flop was checked through, and then Bowen bet 1,500 after the landed on the turn. The fourth player in the hand tossed in the chips for the call, as did Clements. Stark folded.
The completed the board and only Clements called the 1,700 bet from Bowen. Bowen tried to steal the pot with the , but it was no good against Clement's for a straight.
At the tail end of Level 6, action folded to 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Ryan Riess in the small blind. The Michigan native raised to 600, and Australia's Jonathan "xMONSTERxDONGx" Karamalikis pushed back with a three-bet to 1,400 from the big blind. Riess responded by four-betting all in for right around 5,000, and Karamalikis wasted little time in making the call.
Karamalikis:
Riess:
It was a classic flip, but Riess needed to improve to stay alive. The flop did little for him, while the delivered him a gutshot straight draw. The dealer burned one last time and put out the , a blank for Riess.
"Good luck guys," the champ offered before taking his leave from the Day 1a field.
That's what Jonathan Little told us as he took his seat at Table 29.
"I didn't even know I could play today," he explained. Indeed he could, but just barely as he got in with literally less than two minutes to spare. Little said he was a bit tired, but he's going to try his best to tough it out for the last two levels.