The limit hold'em round concluded with three no-flop hands and two that went to fifth street.
In one of the latter two, Sebastian Saffari raised the button and Scott Abrams defended the big blind. Abrams then check-called bets after the flop and turn. The river brought the and a leading bet from Abrams, and Saffari let his hand go.
The other hand in which all five community cards were involved also began with a Saffari raise (from the cutoff), a three-bet from Abrams (small blind), then a four-bet from Christopher George (big blind). Both Saffari and Abrams called the four-bet, and the three players saw the flop come .
It checked to George who bet, Saffari raised, Abrams folded, and George called. The turn brought the and a check-call by George of another Saffari bet.
The river was the , and this time both players checked. George tabled for queens, and Saffari mucked.
The last hand of the level was the first of the limit hold'em round. Christopher George opened from the cutoff, Sebastian Saffari three-bet from the small blind, and George called. The flop came , and when Saffari led out, George let his hand go.
In what was the only significant hand of the razz round, we picked up with the action on fourth street. Sebastian Saffari check-called a bet from Scott Abrams on this street and both players checked fifth. Saffari led out on both sixth and seventh. Abrams went into the tank on seventh but eventually decided to toss out a call. Saffari tabled for a wheel and was able to drag in the pot.
Six more relatively quiet hands marked the no-limit hold'em round as the final five players continue to cycle through the 10 games.
The first NLHE hand saw Scott Abrams raise to 15,000 from the cutoff, Brandon Wong three-bet to 50,000 from the small blind, and Abrams fold.
The next was a limped pot between Sebastian Saffari and Philip Sternheimer playing in the blinds. Sternhemier fired on an all-spade flop — — and took the pot.
Saffari then button-raised to 12,000 and got one call from Abrams in the big blind. The flop came . Abrams checked, Saffari bet 11,000, and Abrams folded.
Then Abrams opened for 16,000 from the small blind and Christopher George called from a seat over. The flop came , and Abrams bet 19,000, good enough to win the pot.
The round then ended quietly with a couple more raise-and-take hands.
In what was the final hand of a rather uneventful round of stud-8, Sebastian Saffari brought in and Scott Abrams completed. Christopher George called and Saffari stuck around.
Abrams checked on fourth street and George fired out a bet. Saffari called and Abrams called as well. George was first to act on fifth and checked his option. This time it was Saffari who led out and Abrams called once more. Geroge stayed the course and Saffari paired up his sevens on sixth. He led out once again and received two callers.
Saffari led out one last time on seventh and Abrams mucked his hand. George tossed out a raise and Saffari called.
"Straight to the seven," said George, fanning .
Saffari looked stunned as he flashed for two pair and an eight-low. George was able to scoop up this massive pot and now sits on about 630,000 in chips.
The game switched to pot-limit Omaha, and the pattern of playing six hands of each variant will continue as long as the final table lasts.
The half-dozen hands of the first PLO round of the final table passed without much incident.
The first three were raise-and-take hands with no flop. The next saw Sebastian Saffari raise his button, Scott Abrams defend his big blind, then a continuation bet from Saffari on a flop earn him the pot.
The next hand saw Brandon Wong opening from under the gun and Christopher George calling from the big blind, and again a c-bet on the flop — this one — was enough for the preflop raiser to take it down.
And the last hand of the round went much like the previous two, with Philip Sternheimer raising from the cutoff and Abrams calling from the button, the flop coming , and a Sternheimer bet earning him the pot.