Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better
Day 2 Completed
2025 World Series of Poker
Event #69: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better
Day: 2
Event Info
2025 World Series of Poker
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Buy-in
$1,500
Prize Pool
$816,413
Entries
615
Level
34
Limits
0 / 0
Ante
0
Entries
132
Players Left
11
Players Left 1 / 615
Filter
Level 25
Ante: 10,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
In Event #69: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 Or Better at the 2025 World Series of Poker, held at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, play began with 132 players who made Day 2, and they were playing for a prize pool of $816,413, with the first prize being $153,487, and of course, the coveted WSOP gold bracelet. There were quite a few bracelet winners in the field to start the day, including Mary Jones, Tom Koral, Robert Mizrachi and Jeff Madsen.
The bubble loomed as play began. 1996 WSOP Main Event Huck Seed was all in on the bubble and managed to win the pot. The bubble was burst shortly after when Kyle Miholich lost to the straight of Koji Fujimoto.
Notable names who finished inside the money were David "Bakes" Baker, Mark Gregorich, Frederik Brink, Jake Schwartz and Allen Kessler.
Seed was a big story throughout the day. He managed to stay alive a number of times when he was all in, including this one just after the bubble. He currently sits in eighth place among the 11 players that are heading into Day 3.
Apart from winning the main event, Seed has three other bracelets. His last bracelet was in 2003, so it's been a long time coming for him. That bracelet and his one just prior to that were in Razz, so he is no stranger to stud variants of poker.
Ending the day second in chips is Blaz Zerjav. You may recognize the name if you've been following the 2025 WSOP, as Zerjav was the winner of Event #22: $25,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed. The game type and buy-in may be completely different, but Zerjav has demonstrated the ability to play Stud 8 throughout the event, including in this hand.
The chip leader to end play for the night is Jay Kerbel. Kerbel went on a massive heater towards the end of the night, being the first player to cross the three-million chip mark.
Here's the entire list of players and their chip counts after play concluded for the night:
End of Day Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jay Kerbel | United States | 3,525,000 |
| 2 | Blaz Zerjav | Slovenia | 2,515,000 |
| 3 | Aaron Lugibihl | Canada | 2,350,000 |
| 4 | David Lin | United States | 2,200,000 |
| 5 | Michal Frejka | United States | 1,925,000 |
| 6 | Sergei Tolkachov | United States | 830,000 |
| 7 | Michelle Konig | United States | 720,000 |
| 8 | Huck Seed | United States | 635,000 |
| 9 | John Comeau | United States | 330,000 |
| 10 | Denis Strebkov | Russian Federation | 320,000 |
| 11 | Vasu Amarapu | United States | 160,000 |
Play will resume on June 27 at 1:00 p.m. local time at Level 26, with the ante starting at 15,000, the bring-in at 20,000, 60,000 for a completion, and 60,000/120,000 limits. The remaining 11 players will play down to a winner, so be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for updates from this tournament, and every bracelet event at the 2025 WSOP.
Level 25
Ante: 10,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
| Casino | Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event center | Gold 645 | 2 | Aaron Lugibihl | Canada | 2,350,000 | 20 |
| Event center | Gold 645 | 3 | John Comeau | United States | 330,000 | 3 |
| Event center | Gold 645 | 4 | Michal Frejka | United States | 1,925,000 | 16 |
| Event center | Gold 645 | 7 | Blaz Zerjav | Slovenia | 2,515,000 | 21 |
| Event center | Gold 645 | 8 | Sergei Tolkachov | United States | 830,000 | 7 |
| Event center | Gold 646 | 1 | David Lin | United States | 2,200,000 | 18 |
| Event center | Gold 646 | 2 | Jay Kerbel | United States | 3,525,000 | 29 |
| Event center | Gold 646 | 3 | Michelle Konig | United States | 720,000 | 6 |
| Event center | Gold 646 | 4 | Huck Seed | United States | 635,000 | 5 |
| Event center | Gold 646 | 6 | Vasu Amarapu | United States | 160,000 | 1 |
| Event center | Gold 646 | 7 | Denis Strebkov | Russia | 320,000 | 3 |
Level 25
Ante: 10,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
The 11 remaining players have bagged up for the night and will return at 1 p.m. tomorrow to play out the rest of the tournament.
The full chip counts are listed below; a recap of the day will follow shortly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,525,000
475,000
|
475,000 |
|
||
|
2,515,000
230,000
|
230,000 |
|
||
|
2,350,000
1,125,000
|
1,125,000 |
|
2,200,000
720,000
|
720,000 |
|
1,925,000
900,000
|
900,000 |
|
830,000 | |
|
720,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
635,000
205,000
|
205,000 |
|
||
|
330,000
680,000
|
680,000 |
|
320,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
||
|
160,000
30,000
|
30,000 |
Level 25
Ante: 10,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Hal Rotholz: Q♥2♣/2♠4♠J♠2♥/7♠ 
Blaz Zerjav: A♥7♥4♥/5♥A♣J♦K♥
Sergei Tolkachov: XxXx/8♦3♣6♥9♦/Xx
Hal Rotholz used his option to complete all in. Blaz Zerjav and Sergei Tolkachov called, after which Zerjav created a side pot by betting on fourth street.
Tolkachov called before fifth street checked through. Zerjav bet again on sixth street, and did so too on seventh street, both times being called by Tolkachov.
Zerjav tabled a flush, and Tolkachov sent his cards into the muck. Rotholz showed three deuces but failed to fill up with his last card, eliminating him in the final minutes of Day 2.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,285,000
385,000
|
385,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
830,000
750,000
|
750,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 25
Ante: 10,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
David Lin: Q♣8♠8♥/4♣7♠3♠Q♥
Vasu Amarapu: XxXx/4♦J♠K♦10♠/Xx
David Lin brought in, Vasu Amarapu completed, and Lin called. Amarapu check-raised Lin's bet on fourth street, and Lin called.
Amarapu checked again on fifth street, but this time he just called Lin's bet. Sixth street then checked through to seventh street, where Amarapu checked a final time.
Lin fired a bet, and Amarapu called. Lin tabled queens and eights, and Amarapu took a few moments before tossing his cards into the muck, leaving himself with less than two big bets.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,480,000
255,000
|
255,000 |
|
|
190,000
210,000
|
210,000 |
Level 25
Ante: 10,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Robert Mizrachi: 6♠3♦/8♥2♦10♠6♦/Xx
David Lin: XxXx/8♣9♣5♥ - folded on fifth street
Jay Kerbel: 7♠7♥/Q♥A♠Q♣J♣/A♦
Robert Mizrachi called the bring-in, and so did David Lin. Jay Kerbel then completed, and Mizrachi and Lin both called.
Kerbel bet on fourth street, being called by both opponents. He bet again on fifth street. Mizrachi called again, but Lin folded. Mizrachi's final chips flew in on sixth street.
Mizrachi's low draw bricked on seventh street, and his card did not help him for the high either as he flung it into Kerbel's board. Mizrachi said his goodbyes and left the tournament area to pick up his payout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,000,000
975,000
|
975,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,225,000
375,000
|
375,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 25
Ante: 10,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Timothy Batow: Q♣J♠ / Q♦4♦8♥K♦ / 10♦
Michelle Konig: A♥3♦ / 4♣5♠7♦A♠ / J♣
Robert Mizrachi: XxXx/ 6♦ - folded on third street
David Lin: XxXx/ 7♣ - folded on third street
Robert Mizrachi and David Lin called before Michelle Konig raised and Timothy Batow three bet. Mizrachi and Lin both folded, but Konig called.
Batow bet fourth and was all in, and Konig called. Konig hit a pair of aces on sixth and that was enough to win the hand. Batow finished in 14th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,600,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
|
|
700,000
285,000
|
285,000 |
|
|
200,000
330,000
|
330,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 25
Ante: 10,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
David Lin: 5♠3♥2♠/A♥Q♠4♥9♣
Timothy Batow: A♠A♦/A♣8♣7♥Q♣/J♦
David Lin completed, and Timothy Batow raised. It folded back to Lin, who called.
Lin went on to check-call bets from Batow on fourth, fifth, and sixth street. Lin also checked seventh street, and Batow checked behind after about a minute in the tank.
"Good check," Lin calmly said as he showed a wheel.
"Unbelievable! I started with rolled up aces!" Batow lamented in disbelief.
While the rest of the table complimented his check-back, Batow saw most of his stack being shipped to Lin, being left with only two big bets.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,670,000
1,245,000
|
1,245,000 |
|
|
235,000
450,000
|
450,000 |
Level 25
Ante: 10,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Bring-In: 15,000
Completion: 50,000
Limits: 50,000-100,000
Jay Kerbel: 4♦2♦ / 3♣3♠2♠J♣ / J♠
Denis Strebkov: XxXx / K♥6♦8♦10♦ / Xx
Jay Kerbel was the bring in, but opted to complete. Denis Strebkov raised, and Kerbel called.
When Kerbel took over the lead on fourth, he fired. Strebkov called. This was the pattern until the river.
Kerbel announced "Three pair" and showed his jacks and threes, and that won him the entire pot. Kerbel has carried the momentum for much of the latter stages of play today, as he sits with the chip lead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,025,000
275,000
|
275,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
420,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
|
||
