After some preflop back-and-forth, a player moved all in and Michael Palti called to put him at risk.
Opponent: A♠4♠
Michael Palti: A♦J♠
Palti was already in the lead with his superior kicker, and the runout of 7♠2♣7♦J♥K♠ only improved him to score the knockout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
77,000
77,000
|
77,000 |
Xuming Qi raised to 2,500 from early position and the player in middle position three-bet to 7,500. The player in late position then moved all in for close to 12,000. It folded back around to Qi, who reshoved for 30,000, putting himself at risk, and middle position called.
Late position: A♣J♥ 
Xuming Qi: 8♠8♦
Middle position: A♠Q♥
The board ran out 7♦4♥10♥5♦K♦ and Qi's pair of eights held to scoop both the main and side pots.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
75,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
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.
In the ninth episode, Connor speaks with poker streamer and reality TV star Kevin Martin, who opened up about his experience on the hit GGPoker show Game of Gold and gave some insight into his upcoming appearance on The Amazing Race Canada, which Martin told PokerNews will be the "final chapter" of his reality TV career.
Martin also talked about get cast for Big Brother Canada when he was 22, winning Big Brother Season 5, the traits that make for a good reality TV contestant, the early days of poker streaming, prop bets with Dan "Jungleman" Cates and the evolution of poker content creation.
The Life Outside Poker podcast is available on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio. You can also watch the interview with Kevin Martin by heading to the PokerNews YouTube channel.
Just before the break, the button moved all in for a small stack, and got a single call from Grant Yarbrough in the big blind.
Button: K♥3♥
Grant Yarbrough: A♥4♥
The button was looking for some improvement, but the dealer placed 2x8x9x7x9x and nothing changed for either player.
The single ace was good enough to secure Yarbrough the pot and the button was knocked out.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
43,500
12,500
|
12,500 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
178,000
178,000
|
178,000 |
|
|
156,000 | |
|
135,000
72,000
|
72,000 |
|
|
57,000
18,000
|
18,000 |
|
|
48,500 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
|
15,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Michael Tieu was seen dragging in a sizable pot after having knocked out one of his opponents with a full house.
With cards still face up at showdown and the board reading 9♠K♠8♥2♦9♣, Tieu tabled K♦9♦ for nines full of kings, besting his opponent's two pair with K♥5♥.
The next hand, Tieu called his opponent down with pocket sevens on a paired board. At showdown, his opponent flipped over pocket sixes, and Tieu's stack increased further.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
131,000
131,000
|
131,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
33,000
33,000
|
33,000 |
Just before the break, two players were heads up on the river with a J♥7♥K♦9♦5♥ board. Grant Yarbrough bet around 30,000 from under the gun into a similar sized pot.
Action was on Matej Gorba from the cutoff, who took some time before making the call. As Gorba made the call, Yarbrough said, "You win. why don't you fold?" before he had even seen Gorba's cards.
Gorba showed A♦A♠ and said "I almost folded," as Yarbrough turned over 9x10x.
Gorba sat with a healthy stack after the pot and Yarbrough was left with around starting stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
73,000
73,000
|
73,000 |
|
|
31,000
31,000
|
31,000 |
Level: 9
Blinds: 600/1,200
Ante: 1,200
In 2003, the game of poker changed forever after Chris Moneymaker topped a field of 839 players to win the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $2.5 million. By doing so, the Moneymaker effect ignited the “Poker Boom,” which saw the tournament field triple the following year.
The 2004 Main Event was the last to be held at the birthplace of the WSOP – Binion’s Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas. The venue was packed to the rafters with 2,576 players entering that year’s tournament, and with the ESPN cameras capturing all the action several poker players made a name for themselves that year including young guns David Williams and Josh Arieh, while 1995 WSOP Main Event champ Dan Harrington made history by following up his third-place finish in the 2003 WSOP Main Event by placing fourth in 2004 for $1.5 million.
However, when the dust settled it was a patent attorney from Connecticut by the name of Greg Raymer winning the whole thing for a smooth $5 million and a gold bracelet. While attempting to defend his title in 2005, which doubled from the year prior by attracting 5,619 players, Raymer proved his win was no fluke by making another deep run, ultimately falling in 25th place for $304,680.
It’s been 20 years since Raymer’s victory, but he hasn’t slowed down as he’s continued to play poker all across the globe. In recognition of Raymer’s anniversary, PokerNews caught up with the champ, who will be at the 2024 WSOP!
