Earlier, Annie Duke dubbed this "The Year of the Kessler". She might have been onto something. On a flop of , RyanKarp shoved all in against Allen Kessler. Kessler put on his soul-reading glasses before calling with just middle pair and no appreciable draw in either direction, . It turned out to be the best hand on the flop, as Karp could only muster a flush draw, . The turn gave Karp a bucketful of outs. He could catch any club to scoop, a 6 to scoop, or an ace to scoop. He could also catch any non-club, non-pairing low card to nab the low half of the pot.
Of course, because this is the Year of the Kessler, the board paired a non-club on the river, . Kessler dragged the whole pot to climb to 160,000 while knocking Karp out in the process.
Just before the break, Leif Force widened his lead on the field by collecting another scalp for his collection. His short-stacked opponent was all in on a flop of with a pair of aces, . Force flopped a set of fives, for an easy call. The turn and river were running deuces, no help for Force's opponent. He's up to 234,000 and another player is busto.
Mike Matusow is busto and he's plenty not happy about the manner in which it happened. Dan Shak opened pre-flop for 7,500, with Matusow calling in position. On a flop of , Shak checked to Matusow, who bet pot. Shak then check-raised with Matusow quickly calling all in.
Shak: , a straight draw
Matusow: , a pair of aces
The turn gave Matusow the nut club draw, blocking some of Shak's straight outs, but the river came to fill Shak's straight without filling Matusow's flush. He's out.
"That's the card you put on the river, dealer? That's the hand I go broke with?" asked a thunderstruck Matusow.
After Matusow left the table, Shak piped up. "The truth is I fold if he pots it pre-flop like he should."
...and this time he doubled up. Mike Matusow raised to 12,000 from the big blind after three players limped into the pot. Bruno Fitoussi was the only caller to a flop of , which Matusow bet dark, 8,200 all in. Fitoussi called with top pair, . Matusow showed his aces, . The turn could have been disaster for Matusow, as it made his low while also improving Fitoussi to two pair, but it also gave Matusow the nut flush. He's up to 50,000.
Annie Duke wont be sleeping on a park bench tonight, but she is busto. She got it in with aces against aces, but Leif Force made a straight with his side cards to take down the whole pot and increase his count to 236,000.
Darryl Fish moved all in for 7,000 from under the gun and was called by Erick Lindgren and Sergey Altbregin. Those two players checked a flop of . Altbregin's bet of 10,000 on the turn folded out Lindgren. He showed down for a set of deuces; Fish opened for a low draw. He got running jacks, and , to make trips but that hand was no good against Altbregin's full house.
As Fish stood up to leave the table, the dealer looked at him. "Are we in the money yet?" the dealer asked, unsure if he needed to call for a payout.
With still three full tables to go to the money, Fish just curtly shook his head. "No," he said. Then he walked off.
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, RyanKarp shoved all in against Allen Kessler. Kessler put on his soul-reading glasses before calling with just middle pair and no appreciable draw in either direction, 
. It turned out to be the best hand on the flop, as Karp could only muster a flush draw, 
. The turn 
gave Karp a bucketful of outs. He could catch any club to scoop, a 6 to scoop, or an ace to scoop. He could also catch any non-club, non-pairing low card to nab the low half of the pot.
. Kessler dragged the whole pot to climb to 160,000 while knocking Karp out in the process.
with a pair of aces, 
for an easy call. The turn and river were running deuces, no help for Force's opponent. He's up to 234,000 and another player is busto.
, a straight draw
, a pair of aces
, which Matusow bet dark, 8,200 all in. Fitoussi called with top pair, 
. The 
. Altbregin's bet of 10,000 on the 
turn folded out Lindgren. He showed down 
