Event #42: Razz

In what appears to be a year of thirds at the World Series of Poker 2021, Bradley Ruben has earned his third career WSOP gold bracelet in Event #42: $1,500 Razz for $99,188. He defeated a final table including Charles Sinn, Yuri Dzivielevski, David "ODB" Baker, and Matt Grapenthien. He conquered a field of 311 entrants on his way to victory.

Ruben's first bracelet came in 2020 when he won the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha GGPoker Online Event #63 for $220,160, while his second came earlier this year when he won the WSOP Online Event #21: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha for $69,148. This victory represents Ruben's first bracelet captured on the live felt, as well as his first victory not in Pot-Limit Omaha.

Event #42: $1,500 Razz Final Table Results

Razz Natural?

Ruben claimed victory in the tournament despite saying it was probably only his third ever live Razz tournament. One of those was in 2017, when he finished third in this very event. While he said he has played some Razz and other mixed games online, he recognized his achievement is special.

"My theory is, if you play a game that you haven't played much before, it's more enjoyable. You're kind of like a kid, you're in awe of it. That's helped me a lot in this tournament, and the one I got third in, in 2017."

Ruben the Comeback Kid; Sinn Falls Just Short

Ruben's path to the title was far from easy, as he spent a lot of the day on a short stack chasing Sinn, who held the chip lead most of the day.

"I think I had like 300K in chips, and I just ran like God pretty much from then on, doubled up a couple of times, so it's really just running good at the end."

While skill is obviously a factor, in a game like Razz, timely card-catching is crucial, and Ruben had no reservations in saying he caught more than his fair share at key points of the final table.

"It's a lot of it. Getting big hands, a lot of times equities run close, so it's who catches better. But it's also a lot about picking your spots and waiting and being patient when you're short-stacked and getting it in okay, so there's a skill in that, but a lot of it is catching.

As mentioned, Sinn's aggressive style propelled him into heads-up play, as the rest of the final table fell throughout the day. A pair of key back-to-back hands rendered Matt Grapenthien short, and he ended up finishing in third place for $41,758, while Yuri Dzivielevski (4th place - $29,089), and David "ODB" Baker (5th place - $20,732), rounded out the top five.

As for Ruben, we can expect to see him in the $10,000 Razz Championship in a couple of weeks, but for now, he'll be jumping into Event #45: $10,000 8-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha, the game in which he won his first two bracelets in WSOP online events. That said, neither of these games is where his ultimate motivation lies for bracelet number four.

"I've always had the motivation, like after winning the first one, I wanted to win a second one to legitimize it, and then I'm like all right, I've gotta win a third one, and I need to win my first live one, so I always had that motivation, and I'll keep finding ways to motivate myself. I haven't won a Hold'em one, so that's next."

Congratulations to Bradley Ruben on his victory, and best of luck on his quest for bracelet number four.

That brings an end to our coverage of Event #42: $1,500 Razz. Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage of all the World Series of Poker Action from the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

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Bradley Ruben raised, and Charles Sinn called to see fourth street.

Charles Sinn:     /     
Bradley Ruben:     /     

Sinn called on fourth street, before check-raising on fifth. Ruben then called two more bets and turned over his 7-6-5-4-A, only to see Sinn's winning 6-5-3-2-A to cut into the chip lead.

Bradley Ruben	4,275,000	-1,925,000
Charles Sinn	3,500,000	2,000,000

Bradley Ruben and Charles Sinn have exchanged pots over the last several hands, with Ruben maintaining his chip advantage.

Bradley Ruben	5,575,000	-625,000
Charles Sinn	2,200,000	700,000

After three bets each went in on third street, Charles Sinn got the last of his chips in on fifth versus Bradley Ruben, with both players holding relatively ugly boards.

Charles Sinn:   /   
Bradley Ruben:   /   

Sinn's draw was better than Ruben's but neither improved on sixth street as Sinn paired his nine and Ruben made trip tens.

Ruben revealed his seventh street card first for the sweat, picking up a jack to make      .

Sinn needed any non-pairing card jack or better and drew a   to make       and double up to 1.5 million chips.

Bradley Ruben	6,200,000	-925,000
Charles Sinn	1,500,000	850,000

Charles Sinn got to heads-up play with a very aggressive style, but a recent hand has put him in trouble versus Bradley Ruben.

Charles Sinn:   /    
Bradley Ruben:   /    

After Sinn bet fifth street and got called by Ruben, Sinn continued firing on sixth despite picking up a   and Ruben a  . Ruben raised Sinn's bet, and Sinn folded.

Ruben now has over 75 percent of the chips in play.

Bradley Ruben	6,000,000	485,000
Charles Sinn	1,700,000	-485,000

On third street, Matt Grapenthien completed from his short stack and Charles Sinn raised to put him all-in. Grapenthien called.

Matt Grapenthien:   /    / 
Charles Sinn:   /    / 

Despite starting with one-two-three, Grapenthien continued to catch cards horribly and was drawing dead by sixth street.

Sinn and Bradley Ruben have taken an unscheduled 15-minute break before beginning heads-up play.

Bradley Ruben	5,515,000	-210,000
Charles Sinn	2,185,000	385,000
Matt Grapenthien	0	-600,000

After the three remaining players sat near even in chips, a pair of back-to-back hands have put Matt Grapenthien on the short stack.

First, versus Charles Sinn with boards reading:

Matt Grapenthien:   /    
Charles Sinn:   /     

Grapenthien called bets from Sinn on fourth and fifth streets. Bradley Ruben, who had also called a bet on fourth, folded on fifth.

On sixth street, Sinn continued to improve against Grapenthien, who was forced to fold to another bet.

On the following hand, Grapenthien faced off against just Ruben.

By sixth street, their boards read:

Matt Grapenthien:   /    
Bradley Ruben:   /    

Grapenthien bet on fourth street with his eight-seven and was called by Ruben, who took the betting lead on fifth and sixth streets after improving his board on both streets.

Grapenthien called on fifth, but folded on sixth after catching the queen, leaving himself with half of what he had in chips just two hands before.

Bradley Ruben	3,400,000	500,000
Charles Sinn	3,100,000	625,000
Matt Grapenthien	1,200,000	-1,200,000

After winning a series of smaller pots, Bradley Ruben battled with Charles Sinn to seventh street.

Bradley Ruben:     /     
Charles Sinn:     /     

Ruben called a pair of bets before leading out on sixth street, earning a call from Sinn. Both players checked seventh, and Ruben said "Ten" as he turned over 10-8-5-4-3 to scoop the pot and take over the chip lead.

Bradley Ruben	2,900,000	2,050,000
Charles Sinn	2,475,000	-950,000
Matt Grapenthien	2,400,000	-1,100,000

Yuri Dzivielevski got the last of his stack in against Charles Sinn.

On fourth street it was a fair fight with their boards reading,

Yuri Dzivielevsi:     
Charles Sinn:     

Dzivielevski picked up a subsequent pair of kings and Sinn made       for the winner, eliminating Dzivielevski in 4th place,

Charles Sinn	3,400,000	200,000
Yuri Dzivielevski	0	-585,000

A large pot just developed between Matt Grapenthien and Yuri Dzivielevski that has Grapenthien contending for the chip lead and Dzivieleski on a short stack.

Matt Grapenthien:   /    
Yuri Dzivielevski:   /    

Action opened with Grapenthien completing with a  , then calling a raise by Dzivielevski.

Dzivieleski took the lead on fourth street as both players showed    on the board, with Grapenthien calling. Grapenthien then took over the betting lead on fifth and sixth with Dzivielevski calling on fifth, but then folding sixth to leave himself with just under three and a half big bets.

Matt Grapenthien	3,000,000	910,000
Yuri Dzivielevski	675,000	-655,000