Nicholas Seiken and Craig Varnell both won a bracelet this summer and they met in a pot. We caught the action on the flop where they paid 1,500 apiece on the before they checked the turn. Seiken then fired 5,000 into 5,550 on the river and Varnell gave up.
Sam Chartier was on the button, calling 900 on the flop. He was up against a player in the small blind who fired another 2,200 when the turn landed. The river card was the and the small blind slowed down, checking. Chartier tossed in 3,000 and his opponent let it go.
There was a substantial pot already brewing and the flop was out when we got to the table. The under-the-gun player had just committed the last of his stack against two opponents: Ryan Leng in the big blind and recent PLO GIANT runner-up Pete Arroyos in the small blind. The dealer was in the process of verifying the bets and creating the side pot. When the chips had settled, there was about 4,200 in the side pot and 6,500 in the main pot.
The hit the turn and Arroyos shoved for what looked like 9,000. Leng called with a covering stack and all three players tabled their hands.
Ryan Leng:
Pete Arroyos:
Under the gun:
Arroyos had the advantage with aces up and both of his opponents needed to improve to win. The final card was the which gave Leng trip jacks, so he took the pot to stack both Arroyos and the under-the-gun player.
On the flop of , Fahredin Mustafov checked from under the gun and then shoved for 4,600 over a 1,300-bet from the cutoff. Mustafov received a call and found himself in tremendously good shape as his was crushing his rival's . The turn and river locked a double for the Bulgarian.
With about 1,500 chips in the pot and the board reading , action checked to the button and he bet 600. Matt Stout check-raised to 3,075 from the hijack and, after brief consideration, the button called.
The hit the turn and Stout announced "pot," putting himself all in for 4,125. The button went into the tank.
"The good news is it's PLO," said the button.
"The bad news is it's PLO," Stout replied.
After a bit more banter, the button called to put Stout at risk.
Matt Stout:
Button:
Stout had the lead with top pair, a flush draw, and an open-ended straight draw, while his opponent had little hope of winning the pot. The final card was the which gave both players a seven-high straight, so they chopped the pot.
Max Silver has been shredding his table so far. Midway through the third level of play, Silver has already amassed over 70,000 in chips. He recently knocked out one of his short-stacked opponents when they got the money in with Silver holding the . Silver hit an ace on the flop and a queen on the river and magnetized some more chips with the top two pair while the other hand was mucked before we could spot it.