Badugi
The first five hands of heads-up play were Badugi hands, with four of them either being walks or raise-and-takes.
The exception saw Sebastian Saffari raise from the button, Brandon Wong three-bet, and Saffari call. Both players took two cards on the first draw. Wong checked, Saffari bet, Wong check-raised, and Saffari called.
On the second draw Wong stood pat, Saffari drew one card, Wong bet, and Saffari released his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,746,000 | 76,000 |
|
1,047,000 | 27,000 |
Badugi
Philip Sternheimer raised from the small blind and Brandon Wong called from the big blind. Sternheimer stood pat while Wong took two cards. Sternheimer fired another bet and Wong called. Sternheimer stayed pat and Wong took one card this time.
Sternheimer fired his last 17,000 all in and Wong announced a call. Sternheimer stood pat for the last draw and Wong announced he was drawing one card.
Sternheimer stood up and fanned his cards: 
. He looked down at the felt.
"Oh, f***. I misread my hand," he sighed. "F***."
A surprised Wong tabled 
. He pulled his last card, the 
.
"Oh, I made it anyway," said Wong.
Sternheimer quickly gathered his belongings and left the tournament area. He will take home $87,397 in third-place tournament winnings.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Limit Hold'em
The limit hold'em round saw Philip Sternheimer quickly slip down to about 125,000, then a hand arose in which Brandon Wong raised from the button, Sternheimer three-bet from the big blind, and Wong called.
Sternheimer then bet in the dark before the flop came 
and Wong called. The turn was the 
and Sternheimer bet again (for 60,000), leaving himself but 1,000 behind. Wong raised, Sternheimer called, and Sternheimer showed 
for trip queens and Wong 
. The river was the 
and Sternheimer had doubled.
Before the round was through, however, Sternheimer was back down to just 105,000 after losing a hand to Sebastian Saffari. That one saw Saffari raise the small blind, Sternheimer three-bet from the big blind, then Saffari call.
The flop came 
, and Saffari check-called a Sternheimer bet. Saffari would again check-call after the 
turn and 
river, then he turned over 
for two pair. Sternheimer showed his 
, and was down to just over 100,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,670,000 | -130,000 |
|
|
1,020,000 | 68,000 |
|
|
105,000 | -20,000 |
Razz
Six hands of razz flew by here at the secondary feature, with no hand getting past fifth street. Very few chips were exchanged and the field has moved onto the next game: limit hold'em.
No-Limit Hold'em
Another quiet half-dozen hands went by in the no-limit hold'em round.
The most involved saw a button raise of 32,000 from Sebastian Saffari called by Brandon Wong in the big blind. The flop came . Wong checked, Saffari continued for 26,000, and Wong called. Both players then checked the 
turn and river.
Wong tabled 
, and Saffari mucked.
Stud-8
Six quick hands of seven-card stud saw little action, with the only hand reaching seventh street being the first one.
In that hand it was Sebastian Saffari completing, Philip Sternheimer raising, and Saffari calling. They checked fourth, Saffari check-called a bet from Sternheimer on fifth, then both checked sixth.
Sternheimer: (
) / 
Saffari: () /
On seventh Sternheimer led with a bet and Saffari called, then Sternheimer showed he had 
underneath and Saffari mucked.
Pot-Limit Omaha
The last full round before the break was pot-limit omaha and the round was rather dull. The first five of six hands were over before a flop was even dealt. Some fireworks did occur on the final hand of the round, however. It all began when Sebastian Saffari limped from the small blind. Philip Sternheimer made it 24,000 to go from the big blind and Saffari called.
The dealer put out a flop of 
and Saffari checked.
"Pot," quickly announced Sternheimer.
Saffari called the bet and checked again after the 
hit the turn. Sternheimer checked behind and the two saw the complete the board. Saffari announced 75,000 and Sternheimer buried his face in his hands. He looked up with a dejected look on his face before finally deciding to toss his cards away.
Level: 26
No-Limit Hold'em - Razz - Limit Hold'em - Badugi LIMIT 15,000 30,000 30,000-60,000
Stud - NL 2-7 Draw - Omaha 8 7,000 10,000 30,000 30,000-60,000
PLO (No Ante) - 2-7 Triple Draw - Stud 8 NL/2-7/PLO 4,000 8,000 16,000
Having reached the end of Level 25, players are taking a short five-minute break. Here are their current chip counts:
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,427,000 | 77,000 |
|
|
952,000 | -98,000 |
|
|
411,000 | -19,000 |
