Gregory Kolo was seen exiting the table with his K♣Q♠J♥10♣ still face up. The board read K♦5♥4♦Q♣5♠, and Chino Rheem was pulling in the pot with Q♦J♦5♣2♣.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,530,000
670,000
|
670,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
After a preflop betting war, Scott Ball got it all in against John Richards, who covered.
Scott Ball: A♠A♥10♥2♦
John Richards: A♣K♠J♦7♠
The flop of K♥6♣8♣ gave Richards some two pair outs, but the runout of 2♥3♠ failed to get him there and Ball scored the double with his aces.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,290,000
280,000
|
280,000 |
|
705,000
505,000
|
505,000 |
|
||
Javier Zarco opened 50,000 in early position and only Jaspal Brar made the call from the big blind.
No bets went in on the J♥3♥2♣7♥A♥ run out, and Brar tabled Q♠J♠8♥7♦ for two pair to drag the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
660,000
34,000
|
34,000 |
|
|
||
|
186,000
119,000
|
119,000 |
The $25K Fantasy league is off to a hot start with seven of the 19 teams over 100 points as of June 4. Most of those were thanks to a handful of draftees hitting field bonuses in Event #5: $1,000 Mystery Millions, which attracted 18,409 entrants and became the sixth-largest poker tournament of all time.
PokerNews has been tracking $25K Fantasy players in our live updates, and has even made it simple to follow the action by tagging all players with a $25K Fantasy badge. That allows you to utilize our chip count filter option to follow only those players (just tick the $25K Fantasy badge); what’s more, each blog will have a “$25K Fantasy” tab that if you click all you will see are hands played by $25K Fantasy players.
As a result, we can capture some of the biggest, best, and most game-changing hands involving the $25K Fantasy roster. Here are five from the first week of action in the 2024 WSOP.
James Chen opened 40,000 under the gun and Christopher Frank defended his big blind.
The dealer fanned a flop of 7♥6♦2♥, and Frank check-called a continuation bet of 40,000.
Both players checked the A♣ turn to see the J♥ on the river.
Frank checked once more before Chen fired 76,000. Frank went into the tank for a little over a minute before slamming some chips across the line to make the call.
Chen flashed 10♣10♠ and Frank pulled in the pot with two pair as he tabled A♦10♦7♣3♠.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
625,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
||
|
160,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
|
|
||
Life Outside Poker is a new podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.
For the sixth episode, Connor spoke with longtime poker pro and coach Faraz Jaka, who was fresh off a runner-up finish in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship. Jaka talked about running up a six-figure bankroll in college, going broke and moving down stakes, battling back from a debilitating back injury to win his first bracelet in 2023 and running deep in this year's $25,000 Heads-Up Championship.
Jaka also talked about his site Jaka Coaching, discussed what makes a good poker coach and offered advice for players looking to grind the WSOP this summer.
The Life Outside Poker podcast is available on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio. You can also watch the interview with Faraz Jaka by heading to the PokerNews YouTube channel.
On a heads-up flop of 6♣A♦2♣, Ruomeng Dong checked, Michael Hahn bet 59,000, and Dong called.
The turn was the 9♣ which brought in the flush, and both players decided to check and went to the river 7♠.
Dong then led for 125,000 and Hahn thought about it for a good while before he tossed out a call.
Dong shrugged and showed 6♠2♦ for a flopped two pair, but then Hahn tabled A♠Q♠9♥9♦ for a turned set of nines to take down the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,030,000
420,000
|
420,000 |
|
890,000
230,000
|
230,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,932,000
133,000
|
133,000 |
|
||
|
1,790,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
||
|
1,600,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
1,570,000
26,000
|
26,000 |
|
1,480,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
|
|
||
|
1,470,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
||
|
1,430,000
440,000
|
440,000 |
|
1,395,000
595,000
|
595,000 |
|
1,300,000
739,000
|
739,000 |
|
1,300,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
|
1,210,000
433,000
|
433,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,180,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
1,120,000
140,000
|
140,000 |
|
1,075,000
415,000
|
415,000 |
|
1,040,000
160,000
|
160,000 |
|
955,000
190,000
|
190,000 |
|
864,000
41,000
|
41,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
860,000
130,000
|
130,000 |
|
800,000
195,000
|
195,000 |
|
|
||
|
740,000
512,000
|
512,000 |
|
680,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
|
670,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
|
|
650,000 | |
|
|
||
|
640,000
260,000
|
260,000 |
|
|
626,000
39,000
|
39,000 |
|
|
||
Level: 20
Blinds: 8,000/16,000
Ante: 16,000
Players are on a 15-minute break.
