Event #25: $5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Christopher George raised from the cutoff and Danny Fuhs called from the button. Brian Hastings decided to tag along from the big blind and the three went to the flop.

They looked down as the dealer spread out    . Hastings checked and George led out with a bet. Fuhs called and Hastings left the two to duke it out.

The turn was the   and George bet once more. Fuhs called and the river brought the  . Geroge cut out one last bet and after a bit of thinking, Fuhs decided to let it go. George showed    for quad kings before raking in the pot.

Christopher George	1,160,000	130,000
Danny Fuhs	365,000	-165,000

Robert Mizrachi completed his small blind and Brian Hastings raise from the big blind. Mizrachi called.

The flop brought     and Mizrachi checked. Hastings fired off a bet and Mizrachi stuck around. When the   hit the turn, Mizrachi took the lead with a bet. Hastings came right over the top though with a raise. Mizrachi three-bet and Hastings called.

The action went check-check on the river once the   hit the felt. Hastings rolled over      for a an ace-high flush and was able to drag in the pot. Hastings now has about 1.32 million in chips.

Brian Hastings	1,320,000	260,000
Robert Mizrachi	510,000	-140,000

Brian Hastings opened with a raise from UTG+1 and Arthur Kargen called all in from the cutoff. Danny Fuhs called from the big blind and the three players took a flop.

The dealer fanned     and both Fuhs and Hastings checked it down. They did the same as the   turned and one last time when the   rivered.

Hastings showed      for a heart flush and Fuhs mucked his cards. Kargen showed      to the table before it was picked up and tossed into the muck. Kargen was eliminated in 6th place and will collect $55,423 in tournament winnings.

Brian Hastings	985,000	-138,000
Arthur Kargen	0	-63,000

Last year, Brian Hastings earned his first WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em event. Hastings also has two previous cashes in Omaha Hi-Low 8-or-Better events, finishing 16th in the $5,000 buy-in last year and 37th in the $1,500 buy-in just last week. With previous success in Omaha tournaments, it's no surprise that Hastings sits near the top of the leaderboard at the final table of this event. PokerNews' Pamela Maldonado spoke with Hastings during the break.

In May you cashed mostly in no-limit Hold'em events online but have had more success at the World Series of Poker with Omaha events. Which game do you prefer and do you prefer live or online?

I think these days I like playing mixed games more than I like playing hold'em. I've just played so much no-limit hold'em in my life that it's become repetitive. I've probably played a couple million hands in just hold'em so right now I prefer mixed games. The other games are just newer and fresher and additionally I generally other players are worse at those games. You know, they are just games that people have spent as much time learning compared to no-limit hold'em. There is a lot of strategy content for no limit: training sites, books, and forums. There's significantly less on mixed games. It's the kind of thing where few people put in a lot of work off the tables, therefore not too many people know how to play at optimum level.

You have a pretty stacked table. How comfortable do you feel playing against some of the toughest competitors?

I feel very, very comfortable. I've played a lot of cash games with Rob Mizrachi back in Florida. He's a very good player but there aren't really any issues there. Otherwise, I feel pretty good about myself against the field.

Do you think an amateur winning the event is more or less impactful than a professional winning?

It depends what event. It's a cooler story that gets more attention if Phil Ivey wins three bracelets than if three different amateurs win one bracelet. It depends on the situation, the event, and who it is. Either way, both can be good for the game.

Prior to this hand, Ryan Lenaghan lost a sizable pot to prior Hastings after Hastings made Broadway against him.

In this hand, Lenaghan called all in from under the gun and Arthur Kargen raised from the next seat over. Brian Hastings called from the small blind and Christopher George called from the big blind.

Four players took a flop of     and Hastings led with a bet. George folded and Kargen called. The   hit the turn and both players checked to see the   complete the board. Hastings fired another bet and this time Kargen folded.

Hastings showed      for a straight and the nut low. Lenaghan tabled      before the cards were picked up and placed into the muck. Hastings was able to scoop and eliminate Lenaghan from play.

Brian Hastings	625,000	13,000
Ryan Lenaghan	0	-110,000

Bart Hanson raised from the cutoff only to find Christopher George three-bet from the small blind. Hanson called and the flop came    . George led and Hanson raised all in. George called the bet.

The turn was the   and the river the  , ensuring that Hanson would be our 9th place finisher, a victim of George's deuces full of kings.

Christopher George	1,185,000	235,000
Bart Hanson	0	-208,000

Danny Fuhs raised from the cutoff and received calls from Robert Mizrachi on the button and Brian Hastings in the big blind. The flop came     and Hastings checked. Fuhs continued out and Mizrachi raised. Hastings called only to have Fuhs come back over the top with three bets. Mizrachi folded his cards and Hastings called.

Hastings checked after the   turned and Fuhs fired once again. Hastings called and the   hit the river. Hastings check-called one more bet and Fuhs tabled      for trip nines and a sixty-four which was good enough for the scoop.

Danny Fuhs	680,000	220,000
Brian Hastings	350,000	-12,000

Brian Hasings opened with an early position raise and Jeff Lisandro three-bet from the cutoff. Viacheslav Zhukov called from the button and Hastings called as well.

The flop brought     and all three players checked. They did the same on the   turn and three more knuckles rapped the table as the   finished the board.

Hastings showed      for queens and sixes and Zhukov showed the same with     . Lisandro mucked his hand which allowed Zhukov and Hastings to chop the pot.

Jeff Lisandro

47,000

-158,000