Taiwan's Ruei Jiun Liang bet the K♠6♦5♣4♥ turn for 1,500 to get called by Kevin Rand and did so again for 3,900 on the 7♣ river. Despite the four-liner on the board, he got value from K♦J♣ as Rand sent his cards into the muck.
Taiwan's Ruei Jiun Liang bet the K♠6♦5♣4♥ turn for 1,500 to get called by Kevin Rand and did so again for 3,900 on the 7♣ river. Despite the four-liner on the board, he got value from K♦J♣ as Rand sent his cards into the muck.
After Cliff Maloney had made it about 8,000 preflop in the cutoff, Robert Nobles slammed in his stack of 42,800 from the button. Maloney made a quick call, covering his opponent by 5,000 or so.
Robert Nobles: K♥K♦
Cliff Maloney: 9♣7♣
Nobles flopped top set on K♣4♣6♠, but the 2♣ turn made Maloney a flush for a big lead. The 8♦ river did not pair the board, setting Nobles' elimination in stone.
Maloney, meanwhile, slammed the table in celebration as the large pot elevated his stack to nearly six figures.
Heads-up on a flop of 9♠7♠4♥, Chance Kornuth bet 1,500 from the cutoff and Mrityunjay Jha called in the big blind.
The turn was the Q♥ and Jha led out for 4,500. Kornuth called to see the 7♣ river, where Jha bet another 6,500, representing most of Kornuth's remaining stack.
Kornuth stopped to take a sip of his tea before calling as Jha showed 10♥8♥ for a missed straight draw. Kornuth turned over A♠9♥ for two pair to win the pot.
"Chance, if you win this tournament, you owe him at least 10 percent," a tablemate said.
"He'll make the Christmas list for sure," Kornuth replied.
"I've doubled him up three times already," Jha added.
"And I still have half of a starting stack," Kornuth said.
After Mykola Kostyrko checked from the big blind on a flop of 5♦Q♣2♣, Brian Rast put out a bet from early position, with Russell Sartin calling from the hijack. Kostyrko check-raised to 7,300, which only Rast called.
Upon seeing the J♣ turn, Kostyrko paused for a long time before checking the action over to Rast, who checked behind.
The A♠ river got another check from Kostyrko, but Rast bet 12,300. Kostyrko deliberated for a while before ultimately folding and allowing Rast to drag in the pot.
Daisuke Sawayama from the small blind and James Chen from under the gun had created a pot of around 13,000 going into the river with the completed board reading Q♠10♠3♠A♦J♥.
Chen had a bet of 17,000 in front of him before Sawayama just called, which caused quite the confusion once the hands were revealed.
James Chen: K♠J♠
Daisuke Sawayama: A♠6♠
Both players had flopped a flush with Sawayama having the best of it. Sawayama still held the stone-cold nuts on the river, despite just calling the bet from Chen. The entire tabled watched in confusion at the situation, as Chen was the one breathing a sigh of relief after getting off easy with the second nuts.
Craig Waikem raised to 2,000 in the hijack, and Jungsoo Bin answered with a three-bet to 5,000 on the button. Patrick Lyons then four-bet to 15,000 in the big blind, producing a fold from Waikem.
Bin took some time before making the call, and was quickly facing a bet of 50,000 from Lyons on the J♦7♥J♠ flop. Bin slid his cards to the dealer, and Waikem remarked that he folded a jack as Lyons took down the pot.
Hung-Wei Shiue and Mathieu Leglehuir had a tense battle of the button versus the small blind.
The two went to the flop with 13,000 chips in thanks to Shiue's three-bet.
The board fell 6♠5♦Q♣. Shiue bet 4,500 from the button, Leglehuir called.
The turn brought the 5♠, pairing the board. Shiue fired again, this time 6,500. Leglehuir made another call.
The 6♦ on the river paired the board a second time, and Shiue raised the betting level significantly, putting three green chips out for a bet of 75,000.
Leglehuir folded.
Rajdeep Gill made it 1,200 from early position before Paul Staples jammed his last 11,400 in from the next seat. Miguel Gutierrez cold called from the cutoff, forcing everyone else to fold.
Paul Staples: A♠9♠
Miguel Gutierrez: Q♦Q♠
Staples needed some spades or an ace to beat the pocket queens of Gutierrez. The dealer produced a board of J♥J♣4♦4♠6♣, and Staples was out of the Main Event.