Event #10: $1,650 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event

It folded around to Albert Winchester who raised to 62,000 on the button, and Roland Israelashvili came along from the big blind. The flop came    , and both checked. The turn brought the  . Israelashvili checked, Winchester bet 100,000, and Israelashvili called. The river then brought the  . Israelashvili checked again, and after a lot of deliberation Winchester pushed out 302,000. Israelashvili instantly called, and even before he showed his hand Winchester had already tossed his away. Made to show a winner, Israelashvili turned over   . As we head to the break, Israelashvili has pushed up around 1.2 million while Winchester is down to short-stack status with about 350,000. We'll have fresh counts on everyone in just a few.

After a couple of folds, John Andress tossed his cards from the cutoff to the dealer as well, acting out of turn ahead of Patrick Houchins. Houchins checked his cards, then announced he was all in. Jerry Van Strydonck, on the button, asked for a count. "551" said Houchins. A quick look at his stacks added up to 550,000, then everyone saw the single orange (1,000) chip Houchins was twirling between his fingers. After a couple of minutes, Strydonck finally folded. Jeff Rowland folded, too, then Albert Winchester checked his cards in the big blind. "Call," he said instantly. "Oh no," said Houchins when the cards were tabled. He had   , but Winchester had woken up with   . "Nobody was supposed to call that," said Houchins, leaning back as though preparing for defeat. The flop came     and the turn  , causing Houchins to slump a little more. Then came the river…  ! "Yes!" said Houchins, who then walked several feet from the table to say "BOOM!" It was definitely an occasion for monosyllables. Houchins returned to the table to stack about 1.15 million -- he's back to an average stack now. Meanwhile that hit leaves a stoic Winchester with about 625,000.

Roland Israelashvili raised to 85,000 from the hijack seat, and it folded to Patrick Houchins in the small blind who announced he was all in. A quick count showed the reraise was to 249,000 total. John Andress in the big blind folded, then Israelashvili tanked for a while before calling. Houchins flipped over his    and Rowland   . "Thanks," said Houchins with a wry grin. "For trying to double me up, anyway." The     flop was nerve-wracking for Houchins, and the   turn didn't help the matter. But the   fell on the river, giving Houchins the hand and a double-up to about 520,000. Israelashvili slips to 485,000. "I had like 50 outs," said Israelashvili a little later. "Not quite 50, Roland" answered the tournament director. "You hit a one-outer!" he grinned.

Action folded to Patrick Houchins in middle position who open-shoved his last 150,000 chips. Jerry Van Strydonck flatted in the cutoff and the action behind folded. [b]Showdown[/b] Houchins:   Strydonck:   The flop came down   giving Houchins four extra outs to a straight. The   turned giving him a leading pair of fives, but Strydonck could still win with a king or chop with a deuce. The   on the river was a brick however and Houchins doubled to nearly 400,000 chips.

Some huge action on just the second hand of play, the last of Level 26. Patrick Houchins opened the hand with a raise from early position, and it folded back around to Brian Ali in the big blind who three-bet. Houchins called, and the flop came    . Ali bet 100,000, and Houchins instantly set out chips to make it 300,000. Ali immediately called. The turn brought the   and a check from Ali. Houchins, again acting without hesitation, pushed out 400,000 this time, and Ali didn't wait long before calling. The river was the  . "All in," said Ali quietly. Houchins sat back in his chair. "This is sick!" he said, going briefly into the tank. After about 20 seconds he emerged to make the call. Ali tabled    for the flush, and Houchins disgustedly showed his    for trip jacks. "Call 400 for a backdoor flush?" asked Houchins incredulously. "Shoulda went all in on the turn," answered Ali. "Whatever," was Houchins' reply. Suddenly Ali has become the overwhelming chip leader, with about 2.8 million, while Houchins dramatically plunges to just 210,000.

Cards are in the air! There are just five minutes left in Level 26.

Day 3 of the 2011 World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event here at Caesars Atlantic City resumes at 2 p.m. today, and we are down to the final nine. Patrick Houchins of Annapolis, Maryland is the chip leader with 1.62 million, but Brian Ali (1.38 million), Jerry "DontBluffMePLZZ" Van Strydonck (1.177 million) and Albert "vtlaxer09" Winchester (1.034 million) are biting at his heels. Roland Israelashvili won this event last year and enters the final table with the second shortest stack. With a couple of double ups, we could be looking at a repeat performance. Here's a look at the entire table: [table] *Seat | Name | Hometown | Count* Seat 1 | Albert Winchester| Fallas Church, VA | 1,034,000 Seat 2 | Ellis Frazier | Troy, VA | 956,000 Seat 3 | Roland Israelashvili | New York, NY | 645,000 Seat 4 | Brian Ali | Brooklyn, NY | 1,380,000 Seat 5 | Joe Caffrey | Silverton, NJ | 759,000 Seat 6 | Patrick Houchins | Annapolis, MD | 1,621,000 Seat 7 | John Andress | Doylestown, PA | 808,000 Seat 8 | Jerry Van Strydonck | Arlington, VA | 1,177,000 Seat 9 | Jeff Rowland | Indianapolis, IN | 438,000 [/table] Cards will be in the air in about 20 minutes, so keep it locked for blow-by-blow updates of the final table!