Yuri Dzivielevski had just sat down for his first hand after he registered and opened the cutoff to 700, which both blinds called.
The small blind drew one, the big blind drew three, and Dzivielevski took one.
The action checked to Dzivielevski who bet 3,500 into a pot of 2,600. The small blind tossed in the call and Dzivielevski tabled 9x8x5x3x2x which was good to drag a sizeable pot on his first hand.
Heather Alcorn had raised in middle positon and was called by Nick Guagenti in the big blind, who drew three cards. Alcorn only needed one and bet 1,500 after Guagenti checked.
Guagenti then quickly folded and the pot was awarded to Alcorn. After the hand, Alcorn stated she had a pair of fives, with Guagenti replying he had paired up as well.
Life Outside Poker is a new podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.
In the eighth episode, Connor speaks with legendary UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer in an exclusive in-depth interview after Buffer's deep run in the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $50,000 High Roller. Buffer, a longtime poker player, finished in eighth place for a career-best $212,423 after kicking off Day 3 with his trademark "it's time" introduction.
Buffer talked about finding his long-lost half-brother, Michael Buffer, and becoming his manager, the early days of the UFC, the similarities between poker and martial arts, his relationships with Joe Rogan and Dana White, playing poker with Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio and the time he injured himself in a poker tournament before announcing the biggest UFC fight in history.
The player under the gun raised to 600 and the button three-bet to 1,800. Naoya Kihara then four-bet to 6,300 in the big blind, which only the button called.
Kihara drew one before his opponent stood pat. Kihara looked at his new card and promptly jammed all in, covering the 14,000 chips the button had remaining.
The button spent a good while in the tank, trying to get information out of Kihara. However, eventually he released his cards as the pot was shipped to Kihara.
Meanwhile, Jon Turner was seen entering the tournament area looking for his seat.
Joshua Heinzl raise to 600 under the gun and was called by a player in the cutoff, as well as the big blind. The big blind drew three cards, while Heinzl and the cutoff both drew one.
The big blind then checked to Heinzl, who fired a bet of 900. The cutoff called before the big blind got out of the way, after which Heinzl tabled 10x8x5x4x2x for the winning hand.
James Tilton had raised in the cutoff before facing a three-bet to 1,700 from the player in the big blind. Tilton called and stood pat after the big blind had done so first.
The players then both checked and the big blind tabled 10x9x8x4x3x for a ten-nine. Tilton played the better ten-nine with 10x9x7x6x3x, however, and raked in the chips.