Josh Arieh: XxXx / 9♠6♠10♥2♥ / Xx
Elior Sion: XxXx / 5♥3♠7♣2♦ / Xx
Elior Sion had already invested a big portion of his short stack by calling bets of Josh Arieh on fifth and sixth street. Arieh also bet seventh and Sion had slightly more than two bets behind as he vaulted out of his chair to start some table chat.
"Really rolled up?" he inquired but received no answer. Sion pondered about his decision for two minutes and sigh-folded.
Kristopher Tong: 9♦9♠ / 3♣5♥Q♦Q♠
Dzmitry Urbanovich: XxXx / 4♥7♣J♦J♠folded on sixth street
With one bet each invested on fifth street, Kristopher Tong then bet sixth street against Dzmitry Urbanovich when he made the superior pair of queens versus jacks. Urbanovich folded and Tong showed him the 9♦9♠ in the hole.
"I really hate this game ... I hate many of the games," Tong said with a grin on the face while raking in the pot.
Down to the last 72,000, Paul Volpe moved all-in out of the small blind and Brian Rast asked for a count before making the call in the big blind.
Both discarded one and turned over their four-card combos.
Paul Volpe: 9x7x3x2x
Brian Rast: 9x8x4x3x
Rast went first and instantly flipped over the 6x as he improved to a made nine-eight. Volpe peeled and had a three across but the 7x paired him up to end his run in 22nd place.
The final 21 players will now be balanced across the last three tables.
James Obst raised to 36,000 on the button and got a call from Matthew Ashton in the big blind.
Ashton drew one card while Obst stood pat. After a check from Ashton, Obst bet 26,000, and after some thought, Ashton called to see Obst's 9x8x7x5x4x, which took the pot while the dealer took Ashton's mucked cards.
The first pot saw a flurry of raises in a hand between Matt Ashton and tournament chip leader James Obst.
Obst raised from the button and was called by Ashton in the big blind. Ashton checked the 10♦5♣A♥ flop over to Obst who put out a bet, prompting Ashton to check-raise. Obst responded by putting in a third bet, which Ashton called.
The turn brought the 10♥, pairing the board and yet another raise, as Obst raised the bet put out by Ashton, with Ashton calling.
A final raise from Ashton on the 4♣ river in the form of a check-raise versus Obst's bet would lead Obst to fold and Ashton to win the pot without a showdown.
The next hand saw Ashton involved again, this time in a four-bet pot against Nacho Barbero, after Ashton three-bet a late position raise from Eric Wasserson on the button and Barbero four-bet from the big blind. Both players would call.
Both Wasserson and Ashton called a continuation-bet from Barbero on a 4♥8♥J♠ flop and Ashton would call again on the turn 6♥ after another bet from Barbero, with Wasserson folding.
The 10♠ went check-check with Barbero showing down A♣K♥ for ace-high and Ashton tabling Q♦10♦ for a rivered pair of tens.
John Monnette opened to 30,000 from under the gun before Marco Johnson three-bet to 100,000 from the cutoff. Ray Dehkharghani then put in a cold four-bet to 275,000 out of the small blind, getting a quick fold from Monnette. Johnson, meanwhile, went deep into the tank as he considered his options.
After a while, he did send his holding into the muck to avoid a potentially massive clash with his opponent, instead taking a small hit to his stack.
After Talal Shakerchi raised in the cutoff, James Obst three-bet in the small blind and Shakerchi quickly called.
The flop came A♥4♠9♣ and Obst bet, which Shakerchi quickly called.
On the A♣ turn, Obst now checked and then faced a bet from Shakerchi. The chip leader went into the tank for about a minute then made the call.
The river brought the 5♣ and after another check from Obst, Shakerchi bet once more. This time he was met with a check-raise from Obst, prompting Shakerchi to quickly fold.
