Looking down at , Evan Panesis moved all in for 59,500 first into the pot. Jesse Hale folded his small blind, but once again John McDonald looked to have a tough decision in the big. After taking a minute or two to consider, he finally made the call, putting "MacDaddy34"'s tournament life in danger.
Showdown:
Panesis:
McDonald:
The flop was no fun for the at-risk Panesis, as the dealer spread out . McDonald was vaulted into the lead with his bottom two pair, and Panesis would need to come from behind to stay alive.
The turn brought a breath of life as the peeled off. And then lightning struck the river; the filled out the board, improving Panesis to the winning triple kings.
With that, "MacDaddy34" has doubled his way up close to 140,000. "That's how you win tournaments!" he said with a smirk.
Action folded around to Joaquin Sosa in the small blind, and he announced a raise to 20,000, sliding a nice, tall stack of orange chips into the middle. Jesse Hale was in the big blind and looked down at his hole cards before announcing a reraise. He placed the 20,000 out for the call and then raised 50,000 more to make it 70,000 total. Sosa wasted little time in cocking back and firing his entire stack into the middle for about 145,000 total. Hale quickly called.
Showdown:
Sosa:
Hale:
What hand combinations for a blind versus blind battle! "So sick! So sick!" exclaimed Sosa as he awaited his fate.
The dealer ran out the first three cards: . No help for Sosa. The turn brought the , but not the paint Sosa was looking for. Neither player held a spade either so the flush wouldn't be an issue going to the river.
The river was the and that would be it for Sosa. He was eliminated in 5th place, taking home just under $22,000 for his efforts.
In a heads-up pot between Evan Panesis and Joaquin Sosa, the two men watched the flop come out . Panesis moved all in, and Sosa quickly called, putting his own tournament life in jeopardy.
Showdown:
Panesis:
Sosa:
All in but ahead, Sosa had two more cards to sweat. The turn and river came and , improving him to the winning flush. With that, Joaquin Sosa doubles through the young pro, up close to 150,000 now.
Action folded to Ari "BodogAri" Engel on the button and he made another big raise to 61,000. Joaquin Sosa folded out of the small blind and then Jesse Hale put Engel all in from the big blind. Engel was well committed and made the call.
Showdown:
Engel:
Hale:
The two gentlemen shook hands and wished each other luck before any of the community cards were laid out.
The first three cards were the , making things a lot worse for Engel. The turn sealed it up when the hit the felt and as the fell on the river, Engel shook hands with his opponents and wished them luck.
In a good-natured way, Jesse Hale is getting a little bit frustrated with the pace of play down at the other end of the table. The two internet kids, Evan Panesis and Ari Engel, are both deliberate players who like to take their time considering each action.
Moments ago, it was "MacDaddy34" considering a bet for several minutes. Hale stood from his seat, came over to our table and said, "What the f*ck?! They sure like to stare 'em down!"
When he returned to the table, Panesis was still considering. When he finally let his hand go, Hale couldn't help himself. "Jesus! I thought you internet guys would have auto-fold on. Check/fold any, come on!"
Ari "BodogAri" Engel has tried raising a few pots to between two and a half to three times the amount of the big blind, but finds it hard to take down a pot when he does so. Either an opponent will shove over top of him, or take down the pot post flop.
To combat this, Engel's opted to raise a few pots to around ten times the big blind, forcing everyone else to really wake up with a hand. When he's done this, Engel has taken down the blinds and antes preflop.
John McDonald and Dennis Meierotto limped in from early position before Joaquin Sosa completed out of the small blind. "This is the weakest play I've made all day," commented Jesse Hale as he checked his option in the big blind.
The flop came down and action checked to Meierotto. He bet 8,000 and Sosa and Hale both folded before McDonald made the call.
The turn came the and both McDonald and Meierotto checked.
The river was the and McDonald checked again. Meierotto fired out 20,000 and was quickly called by McDonald. Almost as quickly as McDonald called, Meierotto rolled over for quads kings.
The table folded around to the button, and Jeff Banghart moved all in for his final 38,000 chips. Jesse Hale quickly folded from the small blind, but John McDonald appeared to be considering a difficult call.
Banghart began to banter with McDonald as he pondered. "Come on, stick it in there. I wanna double up or go home. Come on, let's gamble one time. I want you to call me, I can tell you that right now."
"All right, you're my friend," admitted McDonald. He then obliged Banghart by matching the additional 32,000, putting the pro's tournament life on the line.
Showdown:
Banghart:
McDonald:
With Banghart standing to await his fate, the dealer ran out the board: . The at-risk player had plenty of chances, but he could not catch up. After a fine couple weeks here in Council Bluffs, Jeff Banghart's series has come to a close. He'll pick up more than $15,000 for his seventh-place finish here in the Championship.