Waxman Can't Get Away From It

Under the gun, Matt Waxman raised to 20,000, and he was called in three places to make it a four-handed flop. It came out {3-Spades} {J-Spades} {9-Clubs} , and Waxman continued out with 45,000. He was able to shake two players loose, but Shawn Buchanan called to see the fourth card.

It was the {3-Diamonds} , and Buchanan called another bet of 82,000. That brought them to the river {5-Diamonds} , and Waxman wasn't slowing down now. He doubled the bet and fired 164,000 at the pot. After just a moment, Buchanan announced that he was all in, and Waxman slipped his earphones off to make sure.

"What did he say? Shove?" That was essentially it, and the move sent Waxman spiraling deep into the tank. He lowered his head into his hands and scratched the back of his neck for a while, then knelt on his chair and stared up at the sky. Then he put his head back in his hands and shook it back and forth. He had 276,000 chips left in his stack, and it would be a long while before he decided what to do.

"Nines full, eh bro?" he asked at one point. No reaction from Buchanan, so Waxman turned his attention to himself. "Why would I want to bet the river?" he asked rhetorically. "I should have just check-folded." Next, he turned back to his Buchanan and asked, "How much is it going to cost me to see this hand if I muck?" Buchanan didn't respond, so he tried again. "How much? Gimme a number. Any number."

Buchanan piped up now, answering, "No number. I don't know."

Someone at the table called the clock on Waxman, and he was clearly in agony over the decision as the time ticked off. "Bucky," he said. "You're putting me in a sick spot here." He shook his head and continued, "You have to have nines full here. Or jacks full." Then a second later, he added, "Or quads..."

Waxman stood all the way up now, and he held his arms behind his head as he studied the situation diligently.

Standing across from Waxman, Jack Effel began to count down the final ten seconds of Waxman's tournament life. When the count reached "4", Waxman announced the call. If it's any consolation, he had assessed the situation correctly, but that was bad news for his chips.

Buchanan tabled his {3-Hearts} {3-Clubs} , and Waxman rainbow-mucked and scowled his disapproval. He was mumbling to himself as he paced away, and his deep Main Event run has come up just short of Day 4.