Event #77: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship Day 1 | 2025 World Series of Poker

06-30-2025 15:25 UTC-8

Hughes' Chips Get Chopped

Frank Visser

Level 4

Ante: 200
Bring In: 300
Completion: 1,000
Limits: 1,000-2,000

Esther Taylor: A♥10♦2♥/10♠K♠8♦6♠
Karl Tretter: 9♠3♥3♣/8♣2♦6♣A♠
Ryan Hughes: XxXx/8♠10♣6♦4♦ - folded on sixth street

Esther Taylor bet on fifth street, and saw Karl Tretter and Ryan Hughes call. Tretter gained the betting lead on sixth street and led out. Hughes mucked his cards before Taylor tossed in a call.

Taylor called a final bet by Hughes on seventh street, and her pair of tens was high enough to get half the pot against Tretter's eight-low.

Player	Chips	Progress
Esther Taylor	67,800 900	900

Ryan Hughes	49,100 12,200	12,200

Karl Tretter	38,000 11,300	11,300

Tags: Esther Taylor Karl Tretter Ryan Hughes

06-30-2025 15:28 UTC-8

Shack-Harris Has Aces in the Hole to Take From Leonard

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

David Salituro

Level 4

Ante: 200
Bring In: 300
Completion: 1,000
Limits: 1,000-2,000

Brandon Shack-Harris: XxXx/5♥2♥4♣K♦/Xx
Patrick Leonard: XxXx/7♦4♦6♠Q♦/Xx

Brandon Shack-Harris, Patrick Leonard, Max Hoffman, and Yueqi Zhu went four-handed to fifth street when Shack-Harris bet. Leonard then raised to chase away Hoffman and Zhu, while Shack-Harris called.

Leonard bet on sixth and Shack-Harris called. Shack-Harris then bet on seventh and Leonard called.

Shack-Harris turned over A♦A♠5♣ for aces and fives, and Leonard mucked.

Player	Chips	Progress
Brandon Shack-Harris	80,000 5,000	5,000

Max Hoffman	70,000 5,600	5,600
Yueqi Zhu	60,000 7,700	7,700

Patrick Leonard	40,000 12,200	12,200

Tags: Brandon Shack-Harris Max Hoffman Patrick Leonard Yueqi Zhu

06-30-2025 15:37 UTC-8

Nikiforov, Li Chop Up Xu

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

David Salituro

Level 4

Ante: 200
Bring In: 300
Completion: 1,000
Limits: 1,000-2,000

Ilya Nikiforov: XxXx/K♦A♣J♦10♦/Xx
Yingui Li: XxXx/4♠5♥3♣9♣/Xx
Qiang Xu: XxXx/Q♥9♠A♠3♠/Xx

Yingui Li bet on fifth street and Qiang Xu and Ilya Nikiforov called.

Nikoforov then bet on sixth and Li raised. Xu and Nikiforov called to seventh, where Li bet again. Only Nikiforov called this time.

Nikiforov turned over J♣7♦8♦ for a flush, while Li had 8♣7♠6♦ for a straight and a low to chop the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Yingui Li	65,000 65,000	65,000

Qiang Xu	45,000 18,100	18,100

Ilya Nikiforov	40,000 1,000	1,000

Tags: Ilya Nikiforov Qiang Xu Yingui Li

06-30-2025 15:38 UTC-8

Buchalter Ships Big With Quads

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 4

Ante: 200
Bring In: 300
Completion: 1,000
Limits: 1,000-2,000

Viktor Blom: XxXx/7♥6♠7♣7♠/Xx
Yehuda Buchalter: 4♥4♦3♦/4♣5♥3♥4♠
John Monnette: XxXx/9♥K♥A♥2♦/Xx - folded on seventh street
Nicolas Barthe: XxXx/2♣K♣8♣5♠/Xx - folded on seventh street

Four-way, the action checked to John Monnette on fifth street. He tossed in a bet with three hearts showing, seeing Nicolas Barthe, Viktor Blom, and Yehuda Buchalter all call.

Blom made open trips on sixth street and led out. Once again, all three opponents called. Blom bet again on seventh street, but this time Buchalter raised.

Monnette weighed his options for a bit before folding his cards, and Barthe quickly mucked as well. Blom called off, but he too mucked his hand when Buchalter showed four fours for the winning hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Yehuda Buchalter	92,000 32,000	32,000
John Monnette	77,000 11,400	11,400

Viktor Blom	65,500 7,200	7,200
Nicolas Barthe	60,000 13,900	13,900
Xixiang Luo	4,000 13,200	13,200

Tags: John Monnette Nicolas Barthe Viktor Blom Yehuda Buchalter

06-30-2025 15:41 UTC-8

Hopping In as Luo First to Exit

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 4

Ante: 200
Bring In: 300
Completion: 1,000
Limits: 1,000-2,000

Player	Chips	Progress
Lawrence Brandt	60,000 60,000	60,000

Brad Ruben	60,000 60,000	60,000

Koji Fujimoto	60,000 60,000	60,000
Roland Israelashvili	60,000 60,000	60,000

Brian Tate	60,000 60,000	60,000
Nikolay Ponomarev	60,000 60,000	60,000
Anthony Zinno	60,000 60,000	60,000

Hunter McClelland	60,000 60,000	60,000
Ariel Mantel	60,000 60,000	60,000
Mark Gregorich	60,000 60,000	60,000
Andrey Zhigalov	60,000 60,000	60,000

Sachin Bhargava	60,000 60,000	60,000
Dan Shak	60,000 60,000	60,000
Ryan Miller	60,000 60,000	60,000

Xixiang Luo	Busted

06-30-2025 15:48 UTC-8

Hastings Shows a Straight as Wallace Shares His Life Experiences

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

David Salituro

Level 4

Ante: 200
Bring In: 300
Completion: 1,000
Limits: 1,000-2,000

Brian Hastings: XxXx/7♥9♦8♦5♠/Xx
Hunter McClelland: XxXx/3♥Q♥4♥8♣/Xx

"I hitchhiked from Detroit to Guatemala once in college. Life-changing experience," Christopher Wallace told his tablemates.

"You know you can take a bus, right?" James Cheung replied.

"Buses are a hassle. Plus, I didn't have money for a bus," Wallace added.

While this conversation was ongoing, Brian Hastings had completed and was called by Hunter McClelland.

Hastings bet on fourth street and McClelland called. Both players then checked on fifth.

Hastings resumed betting on sixth and McClelland called. Hastings bet again on seventh and McClelland once more called.

Hastings showed 7♣6♣5♣ for a straight and McClelland flashed eights and threes as he mucked.

"Making straights in Stud 8 helps a lot. Full houses, too," Mike Matusow chimed in at the end of the hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Brian Hastings	70,000 5,000	5,000

Christopher Wallace	70,000 5,000	5,000

Norman Chad	65,000 8,000	8,000
Mike Matusow	58,000 2,000	2,000

Hunter McClelland	50,000 10,000	10,000

Tags: Brian Hastings Hunter McClelland

06-30-2025 15:48 UTC-8

Ruben Scoops It Three-Way

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 4

Ante: 200
Bring In: 300
Completion: 1,000
Limits: 1,000-2,000

Brad Ruben: J♠4♠4♦/2♦2♣6♥J♣
Gordon Ernst: Q♠5♣3♣/8♣4♣9♦Q♦
Vasu Amarapu: XxXx/J♥4♥5♠10♣/Xx

Brad Ruben fired a bet on fifth street. Gordon Ernst and Vasu Amarapu both called to sixth street, where they called another one of Ruben's bets.

Seventh street then checked to showdown, where Ruben's jacks and fours took the entire pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Brad Ruben	73,000 13,000	13,000

Vasu Amarapu	68,000 4,000	4,000
Gordon Ernst	63,500 6,500	6,500

Tags: Brad Ruben Gordon Ernst Vasu Amarapu

06-30-2025 15:55 UTC-8

"I Love This Game"; Roberts Shows Down Trips to Win a Big Pot

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

David Salituro

Level 4

Ante: 200
Bring In: 300
Completion: 1,000
Limits: 1,000-2,000

Christian Roberts: XxXx/7♥8♥K♥3♠/Xx
Lawrence Brandt: XxXx/J♠8♣6♣J♦/Xx
Arthur Peters: XxXx/5♥10♣5♠10♠/Xx

Christian Roberts bet on fourth street and Lawrence Brandt called. Arthur Peters then raised and Roberts reraised. Brandt made it four bets and both opponents called.

Brandt bet on fifth and Peters and Roberts called. He bet again on sixth and both opponents called down to seventh, where Brandt put out another bet.

Peters folded this time, while Roberts called. Brandt showed 9♣9♠4♦ for jacks and nines, but Roberts had 6♠3♦3♣ for trips to win the big pot.

"I love this game," Roberts said with a chuckle as the dealer pushed him the pile of chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Christian Roberts	80,000 38,400	38,400

Arthur Peters	65,000 2,000	2,000
Lawrence Brandt	45,000 15,000	15,000

Tags: Arthur Peters Christian Roberts Lawrence Brandt

Level: 5

Ante: 300
Bring In: 300
Completion: 1,200
Limits: 1,200-2,400

06-30-2025 15:57 UTC-8

Israelashvili Takes From Table Leader

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

Frank Visser

Level 5

Ante: 300
Bring In: 300
Completion: 1,200
Limits: 1,200-2,400

Roland Israelashivili: 10♣8♣6♦/Q♥8♠7♥Q♦
Qinghai Pan: A♦K♠K♦/Q♠6♣2♠7♦

Roland Israelashivili check-called Qinghai Pan's bets on fourth and fifth street before leading out on sixth street when he paired his door card.

Pan called, and did so too when Israelashvili bet again on seventh street. Israelashvili showed queens and eights, and Pan tabled a lonely pair of kings before he sent them to the muck.

Player	Chips	Progress
Qinghai Pan	90,500 4,500	4,500

Roland Israelashvili	67,000 7,000	7,000

Tags: Qinghai Pan Roland Israelashivili