Alex Livingston: XxXx/5♥J♠A♦9♦/Xx
Brian Yoon: XxXx/8♣Q♥4♦9♠/Xx
Scott Seiver: XxXx/2♠9♥ - folded
Brian Yoon bet on fourth street before Alex Livingston raised. Scott Seiver folded, but Yoon stuck around to fifth.
Livingston bet again and Yoon called. Livingston put out another bet on sixth and Yoon called to seventh, where Livingston bet once more.
Yoon now folded as Livingston took the pot.
"That fold I made was from outer space. I had rolled up jacks," Seiver said following the hand.
Livingston and Yoon then tangled in another pot, this time in Limit Hold'em.
Yoon defended his big blind from a preflop open by Livingston as the flop came 4♦8♦K♥. Livingston continued with a bet and Yoon called.
The turn came the 4♥ and Yoon now led out. Livingston called and Yoon checked the Q♦ river.
Livingston fired some more chips at the pot as Yoon began tanking. "I want to fold but everything tells me to call. So clear," Yoon said before he eventually did lay down his hand.
Mike Gorodinsky three-bet from the cutoff and Carol Fuchs called in the big blind, as did Alex Livingston under the gun.
All three players checked the 10♥8♥8♦ flop before Livingston bet on the Q♠ turn. Only Gorodinsky called.
The river came the 7♥ and Livingston led out with another bet. Gorodinsky quickly called and Livingston turned over Q♦4♥3♥2♦ for the running flush to win the pot.
Brian Yoon: XxXx/4x10x3x2x/Xx
Alex Livingston: XxXx/6xQx7x9x/Xx
Scott Seiver: XxXx/AxKxAxJx - folded
Scott Seiver completed on third street and was called by Brian Yoon before Alex Livingston raised. Both Seiver and Yoon called.
Yoon opened the betting on fourth street and both opponents called. Yoon bet again on fifth and Livingston and Seiver stuck around to sixth.
A bet by Yoon this time chased away Seiver, but Livingston called to seventh where he faced another bet as Yoon left just two chips remaining. Livingston called again and showed 5x3xAx for a 7-6-5-3-A.
Yoon, though, had made a 7-6-4 as he won the pot to come back from near extinction in the tournament.
"Welcome back to the game, Mr. Yoon," Livingston told him after the hand.
Alex Livingston: 6x4x3x/Ax9x7x5x
Brad Ruben: XxXxXx/7x2xJx7x
Brad Ruben raised Alex Livingston's completion and the Canadian called to see fourth street.
Ruben drew better and took the betting lead which got a call from Livingston. The lead switched on fifth, with Livingston now leading out, but this didn't dissuade Ruben who raised Livingston and then got a call.
On sixth street with Ruben pairing, Livingston bet again and got a call.
Livingston then checked seventh and Ruben checked back. Livingston showed a six-five, which was more than enough for the win as the pot was pushed his way as Ruben sent his cards to the muck.
Shortly after this hand, the duo battled again in a quick rematch that also saw Livingston win when Ruben bricked out on fourth and fifth and was forced to fold to bets from Livingston.
Seven players remain after Carol Fuchs managed to earn a small double-up in Stud Hi-Lo through Scott Seiver on the final hand of the night.
She and the six others will return to the WSOP mothership at 4 p.m. Monday for the streamed finish on PokerGO that starts at 5 p.m. on a one-hour delay.
Stay close to PokerNews for a complete recap of the day's action.
The chips were flying, the wine was flowing, and the hats were sparkling on a wild Day 3 of Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E Championship at the 2023 World Series of Poker.
When the bottles were all empty and the night had ended, Mike Gorodinsky ended up leading the seven remaining players, who will return on June 26 at 4:00 p.m. local time. Gorodinsky won a massive three-way stud hi-lo pot with kings over nines to climb near 3,000,000 and bagged up 3,695,000 for the event’s final day. The two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner already has a banner hanging up in the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas celebrating his 2015 Player of the Year award; he now has a chance to win one of the most prestigious titles on the WSOP calendar.
Alex Livingston fell down to 650,000 after losing that pot to Gorodinsky but rebounded in the final level to finish in second place with 2,160,000. Brad Ruben, a four-time bracelet winner, all in the last three years, is in third place with 1,930,000. Ruben accumulated much of his big stack when he won a stud hand against Brian Yoon with a buried deuce for trips.
End of Day 3 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Bets
1
Mike Gorodinsky
United States
3,695,000
23
2
Alex Livingston
Canada
2,160,000
14
3
Brad Ruben
United States
1,930,000
12
4
Brian Yoon
United States
1,445,000
9
5
Scott Seiver
United States
990,000
6
6
Carol Fuchs
United States
515,000
3
7
Christopher Claassen
United States
265,000
2
Yoon, the start-of-day chip leader, earned a near-double up off Livingston in razz near the end of the night to finish with 1,445,000. The five-time bracelet winner has already been in the winner’s circle in the 2023 WSOP, winning the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship, and tomorrow has a chance to become just the 21st player in WSOP history with six gold bracelets.
Scott Seiver built up a chip-leading stack at the start of the nine-handed unofficial final table but fell back to 990,000. The night, though, only got worse for Seiver right at the end. After losing the final pot of Day 3 to Carol Fuchs, Seiver crumpled up one of his cards and tossed it into the middle of the table. The tournament floor approached him and gave him a one-round penalty to start tomorrow’s play, much to his consternation and loud disagreement.
Fuchs (515,000) and Christopher Claassen (265,000) are the short stacks when the final table resumes on the main feature table inside the Horseshoe Event Center. The final table will be streamed on a one-hour delay by PokerGO.
Final Table Payouts
Place
Player
Prize
1
$422,747
2
$261,278
3
$187,406
4
$136,649
5
$101,319
6
$76,412
7
$58,633
8
Esther Taylor
$45,789
Just 17 players remained out of a starting field of 185 when Day 3 began at 2 p.m. today. John Racener (17th), Nick Guagenti (16th), and Connor Drinan (12th) were among those who fell short of the final table. Phil Hellmuth built his stack up above 1,000,000 with his eyes on bracelet No. 17 but lost a number of pots amidst a stream of profanity before busting in 11th place to Livingston in razz.
Phil Hellmuth
Once the nine-handed final table was reached with the elimination of David “Bakes” Baker in 10th, the atmosphere among the remaining players became lively and jovial. Craig Chait brought some bottles of wine for the table; Esther Taylor, who left the stage along with her shiny sequin fedora in eighth place, returned with glasses as the table shared a toast.
The tension, though, will only rise tomorrow with the bracelet within tantalizing reach of each of the seven remaining players. The action picks up on Level 24, with 80,000-160,000 limits. Each player is already guaranteed $58,633 but will have their sights firmly on the $422,747 first prize and coveted gold jewelry.
Come back tomorrow as PokerNews covers the race to the title and provides updates until there is one new mixed-game master at the WSOP.
