Split-pot games require strategies not used in NL Hold'em, and they're also fun to play. But they don't seem to be a big hit with the viewing public. Most days the rail is packed with people watching players fight their way to a World Series final table. Today there's just a handful watching, probably because after you watch ten chopped pots, you think you've seen them all.
The players, however, don't seem to mind that there aren't throngs of rabid poker fans breathing down their necks. Omaha Hi-Lo requires concentration, and every face around the four remaining tables looks determined and focused.
Greg Mascio was forced to move all-in before the flop with Q-10-A-10 and was called by A-J-4-5. The other player flopped a Jack ,and Mascio couldn't catch a Queen or a Ten to catch up. He finished in 34th place.
Sitting in the big blind, Peter Costa called a raise from Denis Ethier and they together saw a flop. Ethier bet and Costa called. Costa also called bets after the and the for the rest of his chips. Ethier showed the to scoop the pot and knock out Costa in 32nd place.
Under the gun, Anoput Phimmasone bet and, along with the two blinds, called a raise by Jordan Morgan. The four players saw a flop of and when Morgan bet, Phimmasone was the only caller. After the turned, Phimmasone check-raised Morgan and Morgan called. The river was the . Phimmasone bet, Morgan called, and Phimmasone revealed for the rivered wheel to scoop a huge pot. He currently sits with 190K, while Morgan has slipped to 165,000.
After John Varner showed down a pair of aces on a board that didn't provide for a low hand, Rich Zhu looked long and hard at the board trying to figure out if he might have a way to beat those aces. He peeked again at his cards, tilted his head, looked over the board, thought about it some more. Finally, when the dealer volunteered to help him figure out what he had if he'd flip over his cards, Zhu grinned, shrugged his shoulders, and tossed his cards in the muck.