James Calderaro called from under the gun, Artem Babakhanyan raised to 360,000 from the cutoff, Alexey Rybin called from the small blind, as did Bryce Yockey from the big, and Calderaro called as well.
The four players saw a flop of , and Rybin checked. Yockey bet 470,000, Calderaro and Babakhanyan both folded, and Rybin check-raised the pot. Yockey folded fairly quickly, and Rybin took the chips.
The two minor hands prior brought plenty of entertainment in table chat when Alexey Rybin said, "Always raise," to James Calderaro, prompting Esther Taylor to shoot back an, "Always call," in the direction of Rybin. This caused chuckles all around the table, and even the always-serious Artem Babakhanyan cracked a smile.
Then, Dario Sammartino limped in, and Rybin min-raised to 160,000. James Calderaro, in the big blind, smiled over to Rybin, who said with a dry voice in Russian accent, "You say always call, so I raise." Calderaro called, and Sammartino raised the pot to 680,000.
"What can I do?" Rybin asked and folded half a minute later. Calderaro added, "I am not going to fold. I will finish him off," and raised the pot to see Sammartino call all in for around 1,400,000.
Dario Sammartino:
James Calderaro:
Calderaro announced the cards to his rail, who then asked for the . Calderaro replied, "He has diamonds," so his rail asked for the instead, which Calderaro had in his hand.
The flop fell , and Calderaro found his ace, but Sammartino was alive with a flush draw. The Italian added a second flush draw on the turn, and Calderaro's rail asked for a black three. The river was the , and Sammartino was eliminated in sixth place for $197,007.
Artem Babakhanyan raised to 250,000 from under the gun, Alexey Rybin called from the cutoff, and Dario Sammartino called from the big blind.
The flop came down , and Sammartino checked to Babakhanyan, who continued for 400,000. Rybin called, Sammartino folded, and both players proceeded to check the turn and river.
Babakhanyan showed only , while Rybin tabled for the ace-high flush to win the pot.
From under the gun, Dan Smith raised the pot to 280,000, and Alexey Rybin called in the hijack.
On the flop, Smith took some time before announcing a pot-sized continuation bet with very few chips behind. Rybin moved all in, and Smith called.
Dan Smith:
Alexey Rybin:
Smith immediately showed his cards, while Rybin rolled them over one after the other. Smith was in desperate shape and needed running aces or spades to avoid elimination, and he was left drawing dead on the turn. That made the river a mere formality, and Smith had to settle for seventh place and a payday of $146,961 after finishing third in this very event one year ago.
All remaining players are guaranteed at least $197,007 for their efforts.
James Calderaro raised to 225,000 from under the gun, and Bryce Yockey, in the big blind, was the only caller.
The flop came , and both players checked. The turn brought the , Yockey bet 200,000, and Calderaro called. The river was the , and Yockey checked. Calderaro bet 400,000, and Yockey folded.
Dario Sammartino limped from under the gun, as did Artem Babakhanyan from one seat over and Alexey Rybin on the button. Bryce Yockey called in the small blind, and James Calderaro came along from the big blind.
On a flop of , Calderaro bet 200,000, and Sammartino raised the pot to 1,000,000. Once it folded back to Calderaro, he said, "That's for all your chips man," then folded the face-up. Sammartino briefly flashed his cards, and they were exposed after for the full table to see; the Italian had for queens and a flush draw.
James Calderaro limped from under the gun, Dario Sammartino limped from the next seat over, Ben Tollerene limped from the button, Alexey Rybin completed the small blind, and Bryce Yockey raised to 480,000 from the big blind. Calderaro and Sammartino folded, and Tollerene and Rybin called.
The flop came down . Rybin checked, Yockey shoved for about 1,570,000, Tollerene called all in for roughly 1,060,000, and Rybin folded.
Yockey:
Tollerene:
The turn and river completed the board, giving Yockey an ace-high flush to eliminate Tollerene in eighth place.
James Calderaro raised to 225,000 from middle position, Artem Babakhanyan called from the hijack, and Alexey Rybin called from the big blind.
The flop came , and all three players checked. The turn brought the , and Rybin checked. Calderaro bet 280,000, Babakhanyan folded, and Rybin called. The fell on the river, and Rybin checked. Calderaro bet once more, 600,000 this time, and Rybin folded.
Esther Taylor limped in from the hijack, Bryce Yockey rasied to 320,000 from the small blind, and Taylor called. The flop came down , and Yockey bet 425,000. Taylor folded, giving Yockey the pot.