Ronald Minnis limped in from middle position before Jeremy Eyer made it 310,000 on his direct left. Minnis called.
Minnis then led out for 260,000 on the 9♣6♥5♦ flop and was called. Minnis then check-folded after Eyer fired out a bet on the Q♦ river.
The following hand, Ivan Galinec opened to 200,000 from the cutoff and Nozomu Shimizu defended his big blind.
Shimizu check-called for 150,000 on the J♥7♦4♦ flop before the A♠ turn and 3♠ river checked through to showdown. Shimizu tabled his A♥5♦ for a pair of aces and his opponent mucked.
Jesse Lonis committed most of his 1,115,000 stack from under the gun, leaving just a few chips behind. James Vecchio called off his 920,000 stack from the button. Felipe Ramos and Jeremy Eyer folded in the blinds, and the cards were tabled.
James Vecchio: 10♠10♦
Jesse Lonis: 9♦9♥
Vecchio had the better pair and left Lonis on fumes after his tens held on the J♣7♦5♥4♥A♥ runout.
The following hand, Lonis was forced all in from the big blind. Nozomu Shimizu opened to 205,000 first to act and Felipe Ramos called from the button.
Action checked through to showdown for the final board to read A♥9♠4♣4♥2♦.
Lonis tabled Q♠3♥ for queen-high, Ramos had pocket sevens, but Shimizu had the winner with his Kx9x, which was good for a pair of nines.
Shimizu collected the pot to move above 4,000,000 in chips while busting Lonis on the unofficial final table bubble.
Jinho Hong opened to 210,000 from the cutoff and action folded to Shiva Dudani in the small blind, who three-bet to 660,000. It was folded back to Hong, who made the call.
Dudani continued for 525,000 on the 10♦9♣6♠ flop and Hong pondered a bit before announcing he was all in for 1,340,000 total. Dudani looked a bit pained, but landed on a call after getting a count.
Jinho Hong: A♣A♦
Shiva Dudani: J♠J♦
Hong was well ahead with his aces, but the J♣ turn got a collective gasp from the table as Dudani pulled ahead with a set of jacks on the turn.
Hong wouldn't be denied, however, as a A♥ drilled the river to give Hong the winning set of aces for a full double up.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 7 at 2 p.m., Event 20: $1,500 Badugi will get underway at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7, but if you don't know how to play, fear not as we've put together this primer to get you up to speed and ready to compete.
Badugi is a four-card triple draw lowball poker variant that isn’t as well-known as other games, but those who learn and play it often characterize it as a fun alternative poker game filled with action.
A lot of players enjoy Badugi because it has a fairly simple objective and, because the format and goal differ from many other variants, there are different strategies employed.
Although the exact origin of the game is unknown, many believe it originated in South Korea in the latter half of the 20th century, while others claim it was popularized in Canada in the 1980s where it was called “Off Suit Lowball”.
The name allegedly comes from the Korean word baduk or badug which refers to a black and white pattern, with badugi a common name for a black and white spotted dog. The board game Go was called baduk in Korean.