Phil Ivey raised to 800 from the cutoff seat and the button called as did the small blind. After the flop came down 
, action checked to Ivey and he bet 1,600. Both his opponents folded and the "Ivey, Ivey, Ivey!" cheers roared from behind him.
"Sweet," said Ivey with a smile as he scooped the pot.
![[user4144]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
With a player raising in mid to late position, George Danzer and the big blind called leading to a 
flop. The big blind checked, the preflop raiser c-bet 2,000, Danzer called and the big blind stepped out of the way.
On the 
turn, Danzer check-called 4,000, before being faced with a bet of 6,000 on the 
river. After dwelling for longer than Rodin's "The Thinker", the PokerStars Team Pro made the fold.
Danzer down to 34,000.
With adout 15,000 chips in the middle, Julian Foussard fired 15,000 into Allen Cunningham. Cunningham tanked for a while as the ESPN cameras rolled before making the call. The river brought the 
to pair the board and Foussard checked. Cunningham checked behind.
Foussard tabled the 
for kings and fours with an ace and Cunningham mucked. Foussard's now up to 167,000 in chips while Cunningham dropped to 58,000.
Eddy Sabat was just now playing a hand at his rather cacophonous table.
Layne Flack and Shawn Sheikhan on either side of him provide plenty of chatter. But a player across the table had out his iPad as well and was playing somewhat loudly a funky rhythmic groove for all to enjoy-slash-endure. The Tournament Director had to come over to ask the player to turn the music down, much to the chagrin of Flack and Sheikhan.
Meanwhile, Sabat found himself involved in a battle over a sizable pot with an opponent. He'd called a turn bet from his foe with the board showing 
. The river then came the 
, and Sabat's opponent fired another bet of 5,125, leaving himself not so much behind.
Sabat thought about it then called, and his opponent showed 
for the rivered pair of queens. Sabat mucked. "Gross," he exhaled.
"Nothin' like putting your tournament on the line with the old queen-high!" chirped Flack, enjoying the scene. Sabat now has 45,000.
With 2,200 chips in the pot, the flop read 
and Team PokerStars Pro Hevad Khan was all in for about 8,000 chips.
The player in the cutoff seat called and table pocket sixes. Khan showed 
.
The turn card was a and the river brought the magical for Khan, is now up to 18,200 chips.
Seat 4 raised to 900 from early position and action was on 97-year-old Jack Ury. "900," said the dealer.
"How much," replied Ury.
"900," helped the gentleman next to Ury, "He doesn't hear too good."
"I don't walk too good either," Ury said as he made the call. The flop came down 
and Seat 4 bet 1,100. Ury mucked and is still sitting with around 32,000.
With the board reading 
, Steve "MrSmokey1" Billirakis was faced with a 8,400-chip bet from an opponent in the small blind. He called.
The on the river paired the board and Billirakis' opponent led for 13,200. Billirakis tanked for a bit before moving all in, forcing his opponent to go deep into the tank. Over five minutes passed by before his opponent released his cards, prompting the dealer to ship Billirakis the pot.
Billirakis is back over six digits with that hand, sitting at 106,000 chips.
There was a straight on board -- 
-- and about 12,000 in the middle.
Jason Mercier sat with his familiar backwards cap, head lowered, and 11,800 chips spilled in front of him. His opponent sat brooding for a couple of minutes as the other players watched, and a cameraman recorded all.
Finally with some anguish Mercier's opponent made the call. Mercier quickly tabled his cards. "Seven-high straight," said the dealer at the sight of his . Mercier gathered the chips. He's now moved up to 115,000.
The flop read 
when John "ZT Cattle" Alm got all his chips in against Andrew Chen. Bit of a cooler, really.
Alm: 
for trips
Chen: for a full house
Alm's friends at the rail were calling for a queen. The turn was a disappointment for them...
Turn: 
...But they must have loved the river.
River: giving Alm the bigger boat.
Alm doubled up to 39,000. The luckless Chen dropped to 43,000.
I've seen players pull a muscle trying to get back to their seat in time for a hand, and sometimes even exit the tournament for their efforts. On this occasion, however, Melissa Hayden's late charge was worth the extra stretch.
"I was trying to hold his hand," smiled Audley Harrison as Hayden arrived just in the nick of time. Something told me that the dealer wouldn't have been able to resist. Upon returning, Hayden duly announced raise and threw in 1,100 from UTG+1. Harrison and the big blind both called, although the latter counted out chips for a raise before opting to tread cautiously.
On the 
flop, all three players tapped the table, but come the 
turn, Hayden took it down with a bet of 3,500. "I should have raised preflop," confessed with the big blind with a sign. "I wish you had," replied Hayden.
Hayden now on 26,000.
