Less Chatty This Time

Under the gun, Phil Hellmuth's middle-aged nemesis from a few hands ago opened with a raise to 875. Action passed all the way to Mr. Hellmuth on the button, and he slid in a re-raise to 2,375. His opponent came along, and the dealer spread out a flop of {5-Spades}

. Both players checked, and the river brought the {Q-Spades}

. After a check in front of him, Hellmuth elected to make a small bet of 800. His opponent intended to call, but he mistakenly included one of the blue T1,000 chips for a total bet of 1,300. The floorperson ruled that he must make a raise to 1,600, and Hellmuth called the extra bet.

The river came the {10-Hearts}

, and Hellmuth fired another 2,500. His opponent would spend another several minutes in the tank, trying to engage the Brat in some casual chat. Hellmuth was having none of it this time though, sitting with his jacket zipped to his face and hiding silently behind his sunglasses with his chin resting on his fists.

Finally, his opponent folded, mumbling something about having a better hand. "You had a better hand?" asked Hellmuth, indignant. He flashed {A-Hearts}