Phil Hellmuth opened to 8,000 from under the gun and was called by Paul Tedeschi from the button, Axel Pergolizzi from the small blind, and Andy Frankenberger from the big blind.
The four players saw a flop of fall and it was checked to Hellmuth who bet 20,000. Tedeschi folded and Pergolizzi called. Frankenberger got out of the way and the turned.
Pergolizzi checked a second time and Hellmuth fired 50,000. Pergolizzi called once again.
"Pair the board, dealer!" Hellmuth shouted.
The dealer obliged, as the fell on the river. Pergolizzi checked and Hellmuth moved 100,000 into the middle. Pergolizzi folded his cards and Hellmuth took down the pot.
"Show the bluff," someone chimed in at the table.
"Show the bluff? I've got the nuts," retorted Hellmuth, tabling .
Action folded to Joseph Cheong in the small blind and he put in a raise. Dan Smith was in the big blind and pushed back with a three-bet to 24,000, only to have Cheong four-bet to 69,000. Smith thought for a few moments before five-betting 118,000, and then snap-called off for nearly 300,000 when Cheong six-bet all in.
Showdown
Smith:
Cheong:
It was a classic flip, and the flop made things even more interesting as it gave Cheong a flush draw to go with his overs. As if things couldn't get more exciting, the dealer burned and turned the . "Oh wow," both players said almost in unison. Cheong had made his flush but Smith picked up a set and could still win the pot if the board paired on the river.
Cheong barely had Smith covered, so essentially the next card would determine both of their fates. The dealer burned one last time and put down the . The board did not pair and it would be the last hand Smith would see in the 2012 WSOP Europe Main Event.
Lifeng Chen just took a very big hit after having to fold to a Kyle Julius river raise. Julius was kind enough to give us a quick summary of the hand, and this is what happened.
Julius raised from the button to 6,500 and Chen called from the small blind. The flop brought out and Chen checked to Julius who bet 7,500. Chen raised to 15,000 and Julius called.
On the turn the hit and Chen put out a 27,000-chip bet. Julius called once more.
The river brought the and Chen fired out a hefty bet of 50,000. Julius went into the tank for quite some time, and eventually raised to 120,000. Chen double-checked his cards before kicking them into the muck.
Julius immediately turned over , and showed the table he wasn't afraid to risk a lot of chips on a bluff.
Just before the break, Scott Seiver opened for 5,100 under the gun and cleared the field all the way to last Max Silver, who called in he small blind. Sergey Baburin then opted to move all in from the big blind for 82,400, and Seiver responded by moving all in over the top for approximately 170,000. Silver, who finished in eighth place in this event last year, folded face up.
Showdown
Baburin:
Seiver:
Baburin was dominated, but it wasn't until the flop fell that he stood and collected his things. The turn was of no consequence, while the river improved Seiver to a flush and sent the Frenchman to the rail short of the money.