A few hands into heads-up play a huge hand started to develop. It began with a min-raise and call preflop, but once the came on the flop, fireworks ensued. Waite check-raised Hinkle's 100,000 bet to 300,000. Hinkle took his time, but decided to fire out 600,000, and when Waite four-bet to 1,100,000, the room started to stand and gather around the table, in anticipation of a possible all-in situation. Hinkle eventually made the call and the peeled off on the turn. Waite checked and there was a long pause, now about ten minutes into this hand, before Hinkle checked behind. The came on the river and Waite put out a bet of 800,000 and Hinkle quickly called.
Waite:
Hinkle:
Hinkle had flopped trip sevens and took down the massive 3,800,000 pot.
The remaining two players are each battling for their second WSOP Circuit ring. As previously mentioned, Blair Hinkle won this very event two years ago, while Brendan Waite won his ring here at the Horseshoe Council Bluffs back in February 2010 in Event #14 $345 No-Limit Hold'em for $11,094.
After dwindling a bit, Sean Small moved all in under the gun for 800,000. Blair Hinkle folded the small blind, and then Brendan Waite squeezed out his cards in the big. "Call," he said as he rolled over the . Small's face dropped a bit and he tabled the inferior . Both players had a king, which meant Small's best chance of survival was a ten.
The flop was dry, though Small's supporters began calling for a diamond. "Three of diamonds," Small requested. The dealer put out a three, but it was not a diamond. Instead, the turned. Small began to rise in preparation for his exit, which he made in third place after the blanked on the river. Small earned $54,716 for his performance here in Council Bluffs.
Play has slowed to a crawl here in the Whiskey Roadhouse. Min-raises seem to be the norm, but there haven't been many defenses of the blinds. It might take a cooler to get the chips moving.
In the meantime, Ma Hinkle and Mason Hinkle are in the house to cheer on Blair, who is seeking to win this title for the second time in three years.
Sean Small opened for 110,000 on the button and Brendan Waite defended from the big blind. The latter proceeded to check-call a bet of 100,000 on the flop, and then both players checked the turn and river. Wait tabled the and Small flashed the before mucking his hand.
Now three handed, Hinkle, under the gun and on the button, raised to 110,000. Sean Small, in the big blind, put in an all-in reraise for over 1,000,000. Hinkle released and Small took down a 135,000 pot.
There's no denying Mark Bonsack's poker prowess here at the Horseshoe Council Bluffs. Last year he final tabled this very event and ultimately finished in fifth place for $25,127. Not only did he follow that up by making the final table for a second consecutive year, he managed to win a ring in between. Unfortunately, he won't be making it two.
On the first hand of Level 30 (25,000/50,000/5,000), Blair Hinkle opened for 110,000 under the gun and Bonsack shoved for 580,000. The blinds folded and Hinkle made a quick call.
Hinkle:
Bonsack:
Bonsack was in big trouble and needed some help. According to the PokerNews Odds Calculator, Hinkle was a 70.61% favorite, and Bonsack had just a 28.97% chance of surviving the hand. The flop dropped Bonsack's chances to 16.46%, but the turn gave him some hope by delivering him a flush draw and bumping it up to 25%. The dealer burned one last time and put out the .
Bonsack missed his flush and was sent to the rail in fourth place for $40,627, but he also left with the consolation prize of being the Casino Champion, which locked him up a seat in the National Championship for the second year in a row.
![[user249964]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
came on the flop, fireworks ensued. Waite check-raised Hinkle's 100,000 bet to 300,000. Hinkle took his time, but decided to fire out 600,000, and when Waite four-bet to 1,100,000, the room started to stand and gather around the table, in anticipation of a possible all-in situation. Hinkle eventually made the call and the 
peeled off on the turn. Waite checked and there was a long pause, now about ten minutes into this hand, before Hinkle checked behind. The
came on the river and Waite put out a bet of 800,000 and Hinkle quickly called.
. Small's face dropped a bit and he tabled the inferior 
. Both players had a king, which meant Small's best chance of survival was a ten.
flop was dry, though Small's supporters began calling for a diamond. "Three of diamonds," Small requested. The dealer put out a three, but it was not a diamond. Instead, the 
turned. Small began to rise in preparation for his exit, which he made in third place after the 
blanked on the river. Small earned $54,716 for his performance here in Council Bluffs.
flop, and then both players checked the 
turn and 
river. Wait tabled the 
and Small flashed the 
turn gave him some hope by delivering him a flush draw and bumping it up to 25%. The dealer burned one last time and put out the 
.