Ross Boatman got his whole stack in preflop against former chip leader Kevin Boudreau, and when his stack came out again it was twice as big as before.
Boudreau:
Boatman:
Board:
Presumably the bit of his hand that Boatman liked was the two kings, which as it happened were trailing behind Boudreau's aces preflop. But in the end it was the other two cards in his hand that played, and his two pair by the end of the board was good to secure a double up to 45,000. Boudreau dipped to 192,000, well down from his earlier high point of 310,000.
Johan Rensink, wearing his Dutch national pride on both sleeves and indeed his back in the form of a bright orange jacket, is up to almost 70,000 after knocking out Stephen Ladpwsky when his turned a straight.
Christian Harder raised to 4,500 after one early limper, and John Juanda flatted on the button. The big blind also joined to see the flop fall . It checked around, then checked to Juanda again on the turn. He wasn't about to check the button twice, making it 11,500 instead. Only Charder made the call. The river brought the , which Charder checked again. "That is not a good card for me," Juanda said, opting to check behind. Charder tabled for trip aces, and Juanda couldn't beat it.
Charder has been on a roll since dinner break and is up to 125,000. With 49,000, Juanda's got work to do if he wants to make it to the money.
David Colclough had his whole stack in the middle preflop, while Ran Azor and Ali Aljenabi were fighting for a side pot. The flop fell , and Azor bet Aljenabi out to get to showdown with Colclough.
Colclough:
Azor:
It hadn't exactly been a helpful flop for Colclough, and the turn and river were no improvement. Azor rivered a boat, and Colclough was disposed of. Azor is up to 160,000.
The board read when Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis got the last of his chips in. He was up against Justin "Boosted J" Smith.
Veldhuis: for two pair, aces and fours, king kicker
Smith: for two pair, aces and fours, ten kicker - but also a flush draw and an inside straight draw
River: a harmless
Veldhuis doubled to a somewhat more manageable but still below-average 64,000. Smith remained a little above average on 95,000.
We arrived just in time to see Joe Serock double up to around 64,000. We didn't catch the action, or indeed his opponent's cards, but Serock was all smiles as his flush on a board was good to take the pot.
Matt Glantz raised to 5,000 in early position, and on the button, Benny Spindler called. From the big blind, Mike Matusow raised the pot, 21,000. Glantz called quickly, but Spindler took his time to fold. "Good luck, Mikey," Glantz said. "One of us is going to have a lot of chips."
The flop came down , and Matusow moved his whole stack out in front of him. It was 52,000 for Glantz to call, and he did so without hesitation. "I hope you don't have diamonds," Matusow said they tabled the cards.
Matusow: for aces with backdoor draws
Glantz: for second pair and straight draws
The on the turn was exactly what Glantz needed, giving him the lead with a jack-high straight. The river didn't change anything, and Matusow's aces were no good. Glantz wasn't as sure as Mike that he had him covered, but after everything was counted, Matusow was left with nothing.
"I had you on the ten, jack, queen," Matusow said.
"That would have worked too," responded Glantz. He's up to 175,000.
We arrived to see a flop out and Jason Mercier (hijack) betting out 9,200 which was, if not exactly pot, then fairly near it. The player in the cutoff folded, but "Miami" John Cernuto on the button made it another 13,200 to go, with just 10,000 behind. After just the briefest of dwells, Mercier folded.
Cernuto upped his stack to 55,000. Mercier was in absolutely no trouble after that, on 130,000.
Back from dinner, and time to get things going. One in two of these guys will make the money, and then it's only a short (ok, not so short) hop from there to the final table.
![[user46392]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
turned a straight.
. It checked around, then checked to Juanda again on the 
turn. He wasn't about to check the button twice, making it 11,500 instead. Only Charder made the call. The river brought the 
for trip aces, and Juanda couldn't beat it.
turn and 
river were no improvement. Azor rivered a boat, and Colclough was disposed of. Azor is up to 160,000.
when Team PokerStars Pro Lex Veldhuis got the last of his chips in. He was up against Justin "Boosted J" Smith.
for two pair, aces and fours, king kicker
board was good to take the pot.
, and Matusow moved his whole stack out in front of him. It was 52,000 for Glantz to call, and he did so without hesitation. "I hope you don't have diamonds," Matusow said they tabled the cards.
for aces with backdoor draws
flop out and Jason Mercier (hijack) betting out 9,200 which was, if not exactly pot, then fairly near it. The player in the cutoff folded, but "Miami" John Cernuto on the button made it another 13,200 to go, with just 10,000 behind. After just the briefest of dwells, Mercier folded.