Vertes Eliminates Two Opponents and Takes Over the Chip Lead

Jeffrey Vertes has been on an incredible roll, crushing at his table and already sitting on the big stack before the hand.

Vertes raised from the cutoff to 35,000, and Daniel Malka in the small blind three-bet to 105,000. Vertes quickly raised, putting Malka all-in for about 370,000 total. Malka thought for a long time and looked very uncomfortable with his decision, but ultimately decided to put in a call.

Daniel Malka: K♥10♣ All in
Jeffrey Vertes: Q♠Q♣

The flop 6♠2♠Q♦ gave Vertes top set and all but sealed Malka’s fate. The turn 6♥ had Malka drawing dead, and the inconsequential river was the A♦.

Just a couple of hands later, action folded to Vertes in the small blind. Rene Lazaro was sitting in the big blind with just over 200,000 in chips. Vertes moved all-in. After inquiring about the payout jump and learning he made the jump to 83rd place, Lazaro called.

Rene Lazaro: K♠Q♣ All in
Jeffrey Vertes: A♠10♠

The flop kept Vertes ahead, it was 4♣J♥A♦. The turn K♦ gave Lazaro some additional outs, but the Q♦ ended his run, with Vertes’s straight beating his two pair.