WSOP Tournament of Champions

These players are taking small ball to a new level. In the last hand, Huck Seed limped his small blind, and Howard Lederer checked. It went check-check as usual on the   flop. The turn was the  , and Seed checked. This time, Lederer bet a whopping one big blind. Seed called the 10,000. The river was the  , and Seed checked again. Lederer checked behind, showing   for jacks and eights with an ace to take the pot.

Huck Seed raised to 25,000, and Howard Lederer 6xed to 150,000. That was enough to take it down.

Howard Lederer limped in the small blind and Johnny Chan checked his option in the big. The flop rolled out    . Lederer led for 15,000 and Chan called. On the   turn, Lederer fired again, this time with 42,000 in his cannon, and Chan let it go. Lederer showed    for the open-ended straight flush draw.

Huck Seed raised to 25,000 on the button and Howard Lederer made the call from the small blind. The       board was checked right up to the river where Lederer took a stab for 41,000. After a brief dwell, Seed made the fold.

Johnny Chan raised on the button, and from the small blind, Huck Seed moved all in. Howard Lederer folded his big blind, and Chan announced a call. The crowd got to his feet as Chan had put himself at risk and wasn't in great shape.

Chan:  

Seed:  

The   flop didn't help Chan, but suddenly with the   on the turn, Chan's rail went insane. They quieted for a moment to sweat the   on the river, but it was safe for Chan, and they went back to cheering. Johnny doubled up to 360,000, leaving Seed with just under 100,000.

Howard Lederer limped from the small blind, and Johnny Chan checked to get to the   flop. Lederer checked it, and Chan bet 25,000. Lederer check-raised him to 100,000, and Chan gave it up.

Moments later, Johnny Chan raised to 22,000 from the button and Howard Lederer announced all-in from the big blind for 201,000 more. After a brief tank, Chan threw in his hand into the muck.

Howard Lederer raised from the button, Johnny Chan called from the small blind, and Huck Seed folded his big.

Both players checked the     flop, but Chan was less hospitable on the   turn, leading out for 16,000. Lederer called.

On the   river, both players checked, allowing Chan to pick up the pot with "the nut no pair", as the T.D. called it,   , although Chan was quick to point out that he had a pair of aces.

Lederer, meanwhile, had been counterfeited with   .

Barry Greenstein raised to 15,000, and Howard Lederer called from the big blind. The flop came  , and all the chips went into the middle. Greenstein was all in for 115,500 with   for both straight and flush draws. Lederer showed   for top pair and needed to dodge a slew of outs to knock out the Bear. The turn brought the   which looked good for Lederer, but in reality, two pair only took one out from Greenstein. The river was a flash of red, and the audience murmured, but it was the  , not the right card to rescue Greenstein on the river this time. He signed a copy of his book and handed it to Lederer, then left quietly for his exit interviews.

After returning from dinner as the short stack, Lederer is now the big chip leader with 340,000.

Action folded to Howard Lederer in the small blind, and he limped in. Joe Hachem checked his option in the big, and they were heads up to an   flop. Lederer bet out 7,000, and Hachem called. Lederer fired another 16,000 after the   turn. Once again, Hachem made the call. The river brought the  , and this time, Lederer bet 45,000. Hachem took his time to contemplate such a serious bet, and the room went silent except for the sound of fireworks going off outside. Eventually, Hachem came up with a call. Lederer showed   for the rivered second-nut flush to take down the pot. He's all the way up to 185,000 now, while Hachem is down to 110,000.