Event #24: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em

JD McNamara raised to 280,000 from the small blind, and Jeff Tebben called. The flop fell  , and both players checked. The turn was another king, the  , and Tebben bet out 350,000. McNamara just called to see the   on the river. This time, Tebben checked, and McNamara fired 325,000. Tebben paused and asked for a count of McNamara's stack before check-raising all in. McNamara called quickly with his last 1.3 million and showed  . But his jacks were no good in the face of Tebben's   for trip kings. With that, McNamara was eliminated in second place, just missing his first bracelet but picking up a hefty $310,248.

Jeff Tebben raised to 250,000, and JD McNamara called. After the   flop, McNamara check-called a 300,000 bet. They both checked the   on the turn and the   on the river. McNamara showed   for second pair on the flop, but Tebben had him with   for a flopped top pair. McNamara was down to 2.4 million after the hand.

One hand after timing out, Kiet Tran sat back in and limped from the small blind. Jeff Tebben raised an additional 250,000 from the big blind. Then after some thought, Tran moved all in for 2,775,000 more. Tebben confidently called the aggressive move and was instantly pleased with his decision.

Showdown

Tran:  

Tebben:  

The entire rail was on its feet, and Tebben and McNamara's friends were all pulling for the nines to hold. The   flop was a little dicey for Tebben, adding a flush draw to Tran's over card. The   on the turn and   on the river both bricked for Tran, and he was sent home in third place. At the beginning of the day, Tran said he wanted to improve on his previous largest cash, $110,000. He more than doubled that with his $223,665 win here.

Answer: Not a very exciting hand.

Jeff Tebben limped from the small blind, and JD McNamara checked his option. Both players checked all three streets of an   board. Tebben showed   and took it down with king-high.

JD McNamara raised to 240,000 from the small blind, and Kiet Tran called. The both checked the   flop, and McNamara checked again after the   on the turn. Tran bet 225,000, and McNamara called. It was back to check-check when the river brought the  , and McNamara took it down with  . After the hand, Tran was one big blind ahead of McNamara with 3.35 million to 3.3 million.

Denis Murphy raised to 190,000 under the gun, and Jeff Tebben called on the button. The flop came  , and Murphy bet 320,000. Tebben called to see the   on the turn. This time, Murphy moved all in, and Tebben snap-called. Turns out that Murphy had shoved a street too late, running straight into Tebben's   for a wheel. Murphy held   and needed to hit a club on the river to survive. But instead, the river was the  , and Murphy was forced to follow Cai out the door in fourth place. For his efforts, Murphy gets $162,568 - more than enough to cover his trip from Ireland.

This time, Jeff Tebben made it 225,000 to go under the gun, and JD McNamara shipped for 1.7 million from the cutoff. Tebben called and showed  . And McNamara turned over  . The board came  , and the dealer got to practice his pot chopping skills again.

On the first hand back from dinner, Denis Murphy limped from the small blind, and Jeff Tebben checked his big to see the   flop. Both players checked. After the   on the turn, Murphy bet 140,000, and Tebben folded.

Denis Murphy raised to 140,000 in the cutoff, and Kiet Tran added another 195,000 to the bet from the big blind. Then Murphy moved all in for another 1,285,000. Tran began his usual trip into the tank, but Murphy wasn't willing to sit around through half of his break. He called the clock on Tran without waiting very long, and finally, Tran folded   face up.

The final five are scheduled to go on a 60-minute dinner break when this level ends in ten minutes. Jeff Tebben is trying to convince the group to shorten or postpone dinner, and the TD has said that if Tebben can get everyone to agree, they'll change it. We'll keep you posted.