John Racener is best known for his second-place finish in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event, when he came runner-up to Jonathan Duhamel. He has since posted a number of strong finishes at the WSOP, including two top-three finishes in the Stud Hi-Lo Championship, but that first bracelet has continued to elude him.
After two days of play in Event #17: $10,000 Dealers Choice 6-Handed Championship, Racener is in prime position to get that first piece of gold wrist-wear. He bagged 1,124,000 to finish as the chip leader as just 10 of 102 runners remain in the event.
It was early monster pots in the big-bet games that keyed Racener's rise. He tangled with Jake Abdalla early on in a pot-limit 2-7 triple draw hand that saw the players get stacks in before the final pull. Neither wanted a card, and Abdalla turned over an eight-seven. Racener also had an eight-seven, and each player's next card was a five. However, Abdalla's hand finished with a four-deuce while Racener had a three-deuce.
Then, Racener busted fellow big stack Jared Bleznick in a no-limit hold'em pot that saw the players see the flop after Racener three-bet. They got it in on the turn with both having flush draws, but Bleznicks' seven-four was no match for Racener's ace-king which was also good for top two. Bleznick did have an open-ended straight draw but missed on the river.
Fan favorite Mike Matusow also remains in the hunt, bagging 295,000, good for seventh place. He is seeking his fifth gold bracelet and first since 2013, when he won $5,000 Stud Hi-Lo.
The money bubble also burst on Day 2, with Matt Glantz the unfortunate player walking away empty-handed. It took a lengthy period of hand-for-hand bubble play to get there though, and it resulted in Level 16 being played for two hours, meaning the players only ended up playing nine levels instead of the planned 10.
Todd Brunson and Lyle Berman were the most well-known players receiving payouts so far, while Daniel Negreanu, Rob Mizrachi and start-of-day leader Ray Dehkharghani busted outside the paid places.
The tournament gets rolling again Saturday at 2 p.m. to see a champion crowned who will take home $273,962.
Seat Assignments for Day 3
| Room | Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|
| Brasilia | 700 | 1 | James Obst | Australia | 260,000 |
| Brasilia | 700 | 2 | Mike Matusow | United States | 295,000 |
| Brasilia | 700 | 3 | Ben Yu | United States | 163,000 |
| Brasilia | 700 | 5 | Schuyler Thornton | United States | 366,500 |
| Brasilia | 700 | 6 | Chris Klodnicki | United States | 856,000 |
| | | | | | |
| Brasilia | 704 | 1 | Viacheslav Zhukov | Russian Federation | 700,500 |
| Brasilia | 704 | 2 | Dennis Eichhorn | United States | 782,500 |
| Brasilia | 704 | 3 | Eric Crain | United States | 358,000 |
| Brasilia | 704 | 5 | John Racener | United States | 1,124,000 |
| Brasilia | 704 | 6 | Shawn Buchanan | Canada | 185,500 |
Tags:
John RacenerMike Matusow
flop, Buchanan jammed for 57,000.
and the river a 
, so Buchanan scooped.
and Hang bet 12,000 with Crain calling.
and Hang was eliminated in 11th place for a $18,880 payday.
. Mike Matusow checked, Ben Yu potted all in for 45,500, and Thornton called.
and Yu doubled with his straight.
to see Obst river the nut flush to scoop the entire pot and move his stack to 250,000 while Matusow dropped to 320,000 in chips.