Hand #4: Thayer Rasmussen won the pot with a raise to 40,000 from early position.
Hand #5: Dave D'Alesandro opened to 45,000 in middle position and won the pot.
Hand #6: Bob Bounahra raised to 45,000 in early position and Rasmussen called. Rasmussen bet the turn with the board having come after both players checked the flop, and Rasmussen won the pot.
Hand #7: D'Alesandro opened to 45,000, and Billy Horan shoved. D'Alesandro called after everyone else folded.
D'Alesandro:
Horan:
It was red aces versus black aces, and D'Alesandro was the one to flop the freeroll when the dealer spread . The turn intensified the sweat, and the river brought the , completing D'Alesandro's flush and sending Horan out in brutal fashion.
Hand #15: Jeff Gross opened from the cutoff and took the pot.
Hand #16: Dominik Nitsche raised to 48,000 under the gun, and Dave D'Alesandro called. D'Alesandro check-folded to 60,000 on the flop.
Hand #17: Thayer Rasmussen raised to 50,000 and won the pot.
Hand #18: Jeff Gross raised to 58,000 before tanking and folding to a shove of 257,000 from Eric Milas.
Hand #19: Dominik Nitsche raised on the button and the blinds quickly folded.
Hand #20: Nitsche raised to 48,000, and Rasmussen defended his big blind. Nitsche took the pot with a bet of 52,000 on the flop.
Hand #21: D'Alesandro raised to 52,000, and Milas shoved for 367,000 in the big blind. D'Alesandro called.
D'Alesandro:
Milas:
The flop came , giving Milas a straight draw but D'Alesandro a flush draw. The turn increased Milas' outs, and his rail began yelling for a king. The river filled D'Alesandro's flush though, and Milas busted out.
Hand #41: Dominik Nitsche opened for 60,000 and took down the pot.
Hand #42: Thayer Rasmussen opened to 60,000 in the cutoff and won the pot.
Hand #43: Bob Bounahra raised to 70,000 in the cutoff and was called by Nitsche in the small blind. Nitsche and Bounahra each checked the flop, and Nitsche check-folded to 80,000 on the turn.
Hand #45: Bounahra opened for 65,000 and was flatted by Nitsche. Jeff Gross pushed all in from the blinds for 360,000, and Bounahra thought for about a minute before releasing his hand. Nitsche quickly called.
Nitsche:
Gross:
The so-called "Professional Best Friend" was once more all in for his tournament life, and the flop came . A turn brought a flush draw and amplified cheering from the friends of PBF. A harmlessly paired the board though, and Gross will collect sixth-place money.
Hand #110: Dominik Nitsche opened to 100,000 before folding once more to a shove from Zachary Gruneberg in the blinds.
Hand #111: Thayer Rasmussen shipped all-in from the small blind and Bob Bounahra folded.
Hand #112: Gruneberg opened for 105,000 in the cutoff and won.
Hand #113: Rasmussen jammed it in from the cutoff. Dominik Nitsche peeked down at his cards and called.
Nitsche:
Rasmussen:
Both players had similar equities, and that stayed true after the flop gave Rasmussen a flush draw. The dealer placed the on the felt, leaving "THAY3R" down to his last card needing an ace, king, or heart that wasn't . The river gave Nitsche a boat, and Rasmussen shook hands with his opponents before exiting.
Hand 150: It was a raise to 125,000 and take it for Dave D'Alesandro.
Hand 151: After Dominik Nitsche made it 120,000, Zach Gruneberg pushed all in.
"How much is it? Five-hundred something?" asked Nitsche.
"Five-hundred even," said Gruneberg.
"I'm calling," added Nitsche, turning over . Gruneberg was ahead with , but with the crowd yelling that king-queen never loses, the flop came to give Nitsche the lead.
The turn was the brick-like and after the river made Nitsche two pair, Gruneberg was gone.
Hand #271: Dominik Nitsche opened to 200,000 and took the pot.
Hand #272: Dave D'Alesandro raised to 200,000 and got called. Nitsche bet 250,000 on the river with the board reading , and D'Alesandro called and was shown .
Hand #273: Nitsche raised to 200,000 and won.
Hand #274: D'Alesandro raised to 200,000 and got called. D'Alesandro eventually won the checked-down pot with king high.
Hand #275: Nitsche raised to 200,000 on the button and won.
Hand #276: D'Alesandro raised to 200,000 then folded to a three-bet to 500,000.
Hand #277: D'Alesandro bet 200,000 on the board, and a hit. D'Alesandro bet 500,000, and Nitsche quickly called. The was a winner for D'Alesandro.
Hand #278: Nitsche got a walk.
Hand #279: Nitsche raised to 200,000 and won the pot.
Hand #280: D'Alesandro raised to 200,000 and won.
Hand #281: Nitsche raised to 200,000 and folded to D'Alesandro's shove.
Hand #282: D'Alesandro shoved an won.
Hand #283: Nitsche limped, an D'Alesandro checked. D'Alesandro check-called 110,000 on the flop, and a led to two checks. A arrived, and D'Alesandro bet 225,000. That was enough to take the pot.
Hand #284: D'Alesandro raised to 200,000 and folded to a shove.
Hand #285: Nitsche raised to 200,000 and won.
Hand #286: The two got it all in preflop.
Nitsche:
D'Alesandro:
Nitsche made a flush on the board.
Hand #287: Nitsche raised on the button and won.
Hand #288: Nitsche called a raise and then took down the pot at showdown with top pair.
Hand #289: Nitsche raised to 200,000 on the button and took it down.
Hand #290: Nitsche got a walk.
Hand #291: Nitsche shoved and won the pot.
Hand #292: D'Alesandro shoved all in on the button and was called.
D'Alesandro:
Nitsche:
Nitsche's preflop all in fortune continued as the flop came , leaving him fading just two outs. The turned, and the players got out of their chairs, clearly expecting the tournament to end. It did exactly that on the river.
Less than a month removed from a win in the 2014 World Series of Poker Circuit National Championship, Dominik Nitsche won his third WSOP gold bracelet, taking down Event 21: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em today.
The day began with 16 players and things moved rather quickly with David Lucchesi, Louis Campbell, Mickey Petersen, Dan Alspach, Eric Shanks, and Erwann Pecheux all busting before they moved 10-handed. Lance Harris then bubbled the official final table and Thayer Rasmussen took a hefty lead nine-handed with Nitsche third in chips.
Englishman David Burt soon ran his short stack and into Jeff Gross’ aces to say goodbye ninth before Billy Horan took a nasty beat to bust eighth, running pocket aces into Dave D’Alesandro’s own aces and cringing as D’Alesandro four-flushed.
D’Alesandro also busted Eric Milas seventh when his tens held against , again making a flush on the river.
Bob Bounahra then started to make a move, grabbing the chip lead without showdown. But it was Nitsche who busted Jeff Gross next, sending Gross home sixth when his queens held against big slick.
Five-handed play took a good couple of levels and the chips were traded around the table before Rasmussen became Nitsche’s next victim, getting in with against Nitsche’s and failing to improve. Zach Gruneberg also fell to the run-good powers of Nitsche, shoving and grimacing as Nitsche called with and got there yet again.
Nitsche would finally lose a hand three-handed, calling with after Bounahra moved in with and D’Alesandro re-shoved with . That hand bounced Bounahra and gave D’Alesandro the heads-up chip lead, but nothing would stop Nitsche tonight.
Through a 92-hand heads up battle, no matter how many times D’Alesandro ground away at Nitsche and had him all in for his tournament life, he managed to double up and stay alive.
Nitsche got almost even getting it in with against D’Alesandro’s and holding.
Then suddenly in the 286th hand, Nitsche took control, getting it all in with against D’Alesandro’s and finding a way to make a heart flush on the river. Crippled, D’Alesandro finally fell when he got it in with queen-high against Nitsche’s king-high and was outdrawn again.
With that, Nitsche took home $335,659 and a WSOP gold bracelet, mercifully ending Event #21.