The Rise of Berko
Scott Berko amassed a gigantic stack in two hands at the tail end of the previous level, and he stopped by the PokerNews desk to tell how it happened.
In the first hand, Berko raised to 35,000 from under the gun with 7♠6♠ and the big blind called. The flop came down K♠5♠4♥ with a combo draw for Berko. The big blind checked and Berko continuation-bet for 50,000. The big blind called and the 2♠ turn was dealt.
Berko now bet another 90,000 with his flush after a check from the big blind. Berko then faced a big check-raise to 395,000, which he just flat-called.
The Q♣ river fell and the big blind now jammed, covering Berko's stack of 850,000 chips. Berko allegedly tanked for nearly six minutes before ultimately putting in the call. The big blind showed A♠5♥ for a big bluff and Berko's flush scooped a pot to rocket him over the three million mark.
Not much later, Berko was in the big blind himself and faced a raise to 50,000 from the same player, who sat in the small blind this time. Berko called and the flop fell Q♠10♠3♦.
The small blind continued for 110,000 and Berko called. The Q♣ turn saw the big blind bet another 260,000, leaving around 500,000 behind. Berko jammed all in with the covering stack and the small blind called.
Small blind: J♠9♠
Scott Berko: 3♠3♣
Berko had flopped a set and turned a full house, while the small blind only had two outs to a straight flush. Neither of them arrived on the 4♦ river and Berko eliminated his rival and shot up a stack of 4,000,000 chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
4,050,000
2,800,000
|
2,800,000 |