Chris Cronin opened the action from middle position with a raise to 90,000 and was called only by Joe Kuether in the small blind. The flop came and Kuether check-raised a bet worth 140,000 to 300,000 total. Without much hesitation, Cronin said, "Six-fifty" and placed 650,000 chips across the betting line. Kuether thought for a few minutes before letting go of his hand.
Wow. That was a big hand. Action folded around to Ty Spires, who made it 125,000 to go. It folded to Chris Bratene in the small blind, who went all in for 300,000. Chris Cronin was next to act, and after taking a peak at his cards, announced all in himself! It came back to Spires, and he wasted little time in calling! Cronin had both Spires and Bratene covered, and when the cards were tabled, Cronin was out in front.
Cronin:
Spires:
Bartene:
There was an ace in the window for Spires, as the flop came out . Bratene also caught a piece of the flop, getting middle pair, but would need more to survive the hand. The on the turn changed nothing, but the on the river changed everything. Cronin caught his two outer, eliminated both Spires and Bratene. IN addition to the double knockout, Cronin took the chip lead in the process!
In a battle of the blinds, Freddy Deeb limped in in the small blind, and Joe Kuether checked his option. The flop came , and Deeb checked to Kuether, who fired out 35,000. Deeb responded with a check raise to 100,000, but Kuether wasn't budging, as he made the call after a minute of thought. The turn came the , and Deeb fired at it once again, this time for 150,000. Again, Kuether thought for about a minute before putting in the call.
Both players checked when the hit the river, and Deeb showed for a pair of fours. It was no good though, as Kuether tabled for top pair. After the hand, Kuether now has 2 million, while Deeb is back down to 625,000.
Freddy Deeb spent some time towards the bottom of the pack earlier but he has managed to rebound nicely. He was just in the big blind when action folded to Chris Cronin. The two saw a cheap flop and the dealer spread out . Both players checked.
The turn was the which pushed the action a little bit. Cronin checked to Deeb who bet 75,000 and Cronin called. The river was the and Cronin check-called again, this time 250,000. Deeb tabled and his opponent quickly mucked his hand.
Chris Cronin raised to 75,000 in middle position, and Ty Spires was the only caller in the big blind. The flop came down , and Spires checked called a bet of 112,000 from Cronin. The turn came the , and both players checked. The river brought the , and Spires led out for 150,000. Cronin responded by going all in, and Spires laid his hand down.
On the next hand, Cronin raises to 70,000, and again, Spires was the only caller. The board ran out , with both players checking until the river. There, Spires check called a bet of 100,000 from Cronin, who revealed for a straight. Spires mucked, and just like that, he is now on the short stack, while Cronin has 1.3 million.