We've seen a few preflop all-ins on both of the feature tables here of late as we approach the money bubble.
On the main table, Karina Jett just opened with a raise to 15,000, and an opponent shoved all in for 43,500 behind her. It folded back around and Jett considered for a minute or more before letting her hand go. Probably a good thing for her, as her opponent showed . Jett has about 185,000 at the moment.
On the secondary feature table, we've seen Gavin Smith open-push all in three times so far, getting no callers each time.
"That's respect!" he chimed after the last instance. "Or no hands," he added with a grin.
After a player raised to 12,000, Christian Harder three-bet from the big blind to 36,500. His opponent flatted, not wanting to put himself at risk but not willing to give up yet. Taking this cautiously in this precarious spot, they checked down the board. Charder's opponent tabled , but Harder's mighty had flopped a pair and held to win the hand. He's up to 420,000 and looking completely relaxed and in control after a five-hour massage.
Our Dutch friends alerted us to an enormous pot won by Martijn Schirp.
It folded around to the gent in the small blind, who just limped in. Schirp raised to 11,000 from the big, and his opponent called.
They saw a flop and the small blind checked. Schirp bet 15,000, the small blind called, and they saw the turn.
The turn was the and the small blind check-called 37,500 from Schirp this time. They were at the river.
The river came the and this time the small blind checked. Schirp tanked up for a while before betting what looked like 88,000. His opponent called and turned over - but Schirp turned over for a full house, and upped his stack to 1.12 million.
Dan Harrington was sitting with 83,000 when he was folded to in the cutoff, opening for 13,000. The player in the button re-raised to 37,000 and Harrington said "You can have this one" before folding.
Harrington was left with just 70,000 chips afterwards, remarking that poker is "A tough way to make a living."
Unlike most, I quite enjoy the bubble: the highs, the lows, and seeing people sweat for 20 grand. It's the current period I don't like - when the drama of the bubble has yet to quite arrive, but play has slowed down nonetheless.
As such, there aren't too many hands occurring. I did spot a lady almost kissing the dealer after doubling through her short stack with tens versus nines, but apart from that, little of note, just short stacks hanging on, and big stacks looking to take advantage.
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi has recovered somewhat after having been short-stacked earlier in the afternoon.
Just now he was involved in a hand in which he was in middle position and up against a player in the big blind. With the pot at about 45,000 and the board showing , his opponent fired a bet of 25,000, to which Mizrachi responded with a hefty reraise -- a tall stack of yellows (1000) topped by about eight oranges (5000). Before the chips could be counted out, Mizrachi's opponent released his hand.
Mizrachi has about 180,000 at present -- a good deal less than the current average (about 275,000), but plenty more than he had earlier today.
Of the 792 remaining players, only ten are women. That represents only a scant 1.2% of the remaining field. Of those ten, four are well-known professionals-- WSOP bracelet winner and NAPT Mohegan Sun champion Vanessa Selbst, Poker After Dark champ and WSOP final tablist Karina Jett, Bodog pro Evelyn Ng and Lauren Kling, who cashed in two NLHE events earlier in the series and made a deep run at the L.A. Poker Classic main event.
We arrived on a completed board that read . Mori Eskandani's opponent bet 24,000 and Eskandani's raised to 64,000. His opponent called and mucked upon seeing Eskandani's .
Eskandani's is now sitting with about 420,000 chips.
Three players saw a flop of including Court Harrington, Damien Rony and Charlie Hook. Harrington and Rony checked, Hook bet 13,500, Rony called and Harrington folded.
Both players checked the on the turn, and after the rivered Rony reached for chips initiating a snap-muck from Hook. The dealer was very confused and did not know whether or not Rony had to open his hand.
"I mean I want to see the hand," Harrington said. "But I'm pretty sure he doesn't have to show."
"He reached for chips," Steve Billirakis chimed it. "It's a bet. Muck your hand."
A floorperson was called over and almost immediately ruled that Rony had to show his hand.
"He's the winner, he has to show," the floorperson announced.
Mutiny broke out at the table. It seemed as if every player, including the ones who lost the pot, believed that Rony had the right to muck his hand. Upon the floorperson's request though, Rony opened his hand revealing .
![[user140525]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
board. Charder's opponent tabled 
, but Harder's mighty 
had flopped a pair and held to win the hand. He's up to 420,000 and looking completely relaxed and in control after a five-hour massage.
flop and the small blind checked. Schirp bet 15,000, the small blind called, and they saw the turn.
and the small blind check-called 37,500 from Schirp this time. They were at the river.
and this time the small blind checked. Schirp tanked up for a while before betting what looked like 88,000. His opponent called and turned over 
- but Schirp turned over 
for a full house, and upped his stack to 1.12 million.
, and Jason DeWitt made the call with 
and the covering stack.
, his opponent fired a bet of 25,000, to which Mizrachi responded with a hefty reraise -- a tall stack of yellows (1000) topped by about eight oranges (5000). Before the chips could be counted out, Mizrachi's opponent released his hand.
.
including Court Harrington, Damien Rony and Charlie Hook. Harrington and Rony checked, Hook bet 13,500, Rony called and Harrington folded.
on the turn, and after the 
.