After an all-in bet of 215,000 from a player on the button, Thomas Laviano looked him up with his , but was dismayed to find see the button roll over .
According to the PokerNews Poker Odds Calculator, the rockets were a 92% to 7% favorite over the dominated ace-high hand, and Laviano appeared resigned to his fate as he awaited the flop's verdict.
Flop:
Poker can often be the cruelest of games, a fact the three cards above illustrate perfectly. Aces had been cracked in particularly brutal fashion, and when the turn and river blanked off, Laviano was lucky to push his stack over the 550,000 mark.
As relayed to us, Andy Hwang opened from UTG+1 to 16,000 and was called by Chris Hunichen in middle position and Lizzy Harrison on the button.
The flop fell and Hwang checked to Hunichen who bet 30,000. Harrison shoved for 107,000, Hwang folded, and Hunichen called with . Harrison led with , but the turn fell to give Hunichen Broadway. The river was no help to Harrison and she is eliminated.
Dan Kelly raised to 16,000 from the button, and when Travis Johnson three-bet to 27,000, Kelly came along.
The flop brought the to the table and Johnson continued for 33,000, a wager which Kelly elected to match. After the dropped on the turn, both players tapped the table and we were off to fifth street.
River:
Johnson continued his aggressive line with a bet of 52,000, and Kelly went into the tank for a bit, before ultimately sliding a stack of calling chips forward and tabling the for a rivered pair. Johnson did not look amused by the development, as Kelly's busted draw managed to makes something of itself, and his hand was soon sent unceremoniously to the muck.
With the eliminations coming fast and furious early on Day 3, we caught the tail end of Andrew Greenblatt's bustout hand.
He held the against Gary Friedlander's , and with the flop reading , Greenblatt was in bad shape. When the turn brought a to the board, Greenblatt was given a short lifeline, and he called out for another queen to materialize.
River:
Paint came on fifth street, but Friedlander's trip nines retained their lead, sending Greenblatt to the cashier's cage along with the dozens of other players who have busted already.
After Budwey Salhab bumped it up to 18,000 from under the gun, Kane Kalas three-bet to 41,000 from the cutoff. Vinh Pham came along from late position, and Salhab elected to retreat by mucking his hand.
The flop fell and Vinh Pham knuckled the table and checked to Kalas, who obliged with a 42,000 continuation bet. When Pham sprung his trap with a check-raise shove, moving his 121,000 into the middle, Kalas was priced in and made the call.
Showdown:
Pham:
Kalas:
Pham had flopped his set and played the hand perfectly to leave Kalas virtually drawing dead. The sealed the deal on the turn, and Pham improved his standing to a respectable 349,000, while Kane fell to 233,000.
When we heard the familiar announcement of all-in on Table # 360, it was followed by the less likely sight of two more players shipping their stacks over the top. As the three players revealed their holdings, it as clear another cooler situation had occurred.
Showdown:
Nicholas Decktor-Korn:
Nick Decker:
Ronald Bell:
Pocket pairs all around, and with his cowboys Decktor-Korn was in a beautiful position to score a triple-up, while knocking out his doppleganger to boot.
Drama took a backseat when the flop fell , as Decktor-Korn secured a virtual lock on the hand with top set, and the on the turn for quads was just for show.
Decktor-Korn now sits with an above average stack, and is primed to make a push here on Day 3 of the "Millionaire Maker" tournament.
After waiting all day for his chance to play for a million dollar prize, Jeremiah Vinsant was unfortunate enough to pick up on the first deal of the day. It was unfortunate because Travis Johnson woke up with , and with both players sitting under the 200,000 chip mark, the pocket pairs promptly pushed their stacks into the middle.
A flop of was a swing and miss for Vinsant, but the on the turn provided a glimmer of hope, and he halfheartedly called for a deuce to hit the board for a chopped pot.
The arrived on the river, however, and Vinsant's 142,000 chips were absorbed into Johnson's stack