[user75032]
The last couple of hands have all been small-ball type of hands. Action is either checking on most streets or ending with either a preflop raise or a single bet on the flop. Expect the same for about an hour (even with increased blinds). We probably won't see much significant movement until Level 25.
[user75032]
Ted Weinstock - 4th Place
A three-way raised pot was the last pot in this tournament for Ted Weinstock. He was in the big blind and elected to call a raise to 100,000 made by Mathieu Jacqmin after Brandon Cantu also raised.
The flop came down . Cantu was first to act and bet pot, 300,000. Weinstock then moved all in for 500,000 before Jacqmin also moved all in, having Weinstock covered. Cantu quickly folded out of the way.
Jacqmin:
Weinstock:
Jacqmin had aces and the nut flush draw and the nut low draw. Weinstock had the nut low draw and a pair of sixes. The turn cinched the high half of the pot for Jacqmin; that left Weinstock looking to chop the low, but he couldn't get there when the river paired sixes, .
[user75032]
Remember what we said about big pots and big swings? Brandon Cantu has gone from last place to first place in the span of just a few hands. Sitting in the big blind, he called a raise to 90,000 made by Mathieu Jacqmin from the button. Cantu opened for 195,000 on a flop of , a bet that Jacqmin raised to 500,000. It seemed that Cantu meant to go all in at that point but announced just a call.
It didn't matter. The rest of Cantu's 135,000 chips were in on the turn. Jacqmin called with , a live four and two pair. Cantu had him beat the low with , a live trey. The river gave Cantu a wheel to scoop the whole pot.
Cantu is up to 1.465 million, while Jacqmin slipped back to 815,000.
[user75032]
Tommy Vedes - 5th Place
Oh boy. Pots are huge now and swings are big -- big enough to knock players out. Mathieu Jacqmin raised to 90,000 preflop and was called by Tommy Vedes from the button. On a flop of , Jacqmin checked to Vedes, who bet 225,000. Jacqmin then check-raised all in and Vedes called.
Jacqmin:
Vedes:
There would be no joy for Vedes. He paired nines with the turn , but missed all of his outs on the river. When the stacks were counted down, Jacqmin just barely had Vedes covered. Vedes was therefore eliminated.
[user75032]
We're playing with blinds of 15,000 and 30,000 now and an average stack of 680,000 chips, or about 23 big blinds. That's really not very many chips at all in this game (since it requires drawing so frequently). Thus even a small rush of winning the blinds a few hands in a row can make a significant change in a player's stack.
Brandon Cantu has taken down four pots in a row to climb out of the Dank Position.
[user75032]
After a bit of a delay in the action, we came back to a thrilling but anti-climactic hand. Tommy Vedes opened for pot (105,000), then called after Brandon Cantu re-potted from the button.
Vedes moved in first on a flop of and Cantu called all in for 135,000 chips. Cantu showed for unimproved aces; Vedes showed for unimproved queens. Of course, as these things go, the turn and river came running low cards, and , to make a qualifying low for Vedes. He therefore salvaged half of the pot and avoided doubling Cantu up.