The Poker Thread

Baron Flies to the Rail

Jamie Brown and Paul Baron got all of the money in preflop while both holding some baby pocket pairs. Brown held against Baron's . The board ran out , eliminating Baron from the tournament.

A Little November Nine Reunion

Peter Eastgate was just moved over to Blue 38 when his initial table broke, a move that reunited him with his fellow 2008 November Niner Dennis Phillips. Rounding out the lineup are two-time bracelet winner J.C. Tran and 2005 Main Event champion Joe Hachem -- which leaves us wondering... why isn't this the featured table? A small pot just developed between Phillips and Eastgate, Phillips making it 42,000 to go from middle position and Eastgate making the call from the cutoff. The flop came down . Phillips led out for 85,000 and Eastgate gave it up. With that hand, Phillips is up to 1.1 million while Eastgate slipped to 820,000.

Champ Vs. Champ

2008 WSOP Main Event champ Peter Eastgate raised to 44,000 from under the gun, and the table folded back around to 2005 WSOP Main Event champ Joe Hachem who called from the big blind. The flop came , and both players checked. The turn was the . Hachem bet 40,000, and Eastgate made the call. The river was the . This time Hachem fired out a bet of 120,000, and Eastgate again called. Hachem showed for the flopped set and turned boat, and Eastgate mucked. That hand takes Hachem up to 800,000, while Eastgate now has 555,000.

An Apple a Day

Moments after grabbing an apple from his favorite old couple on the rail, Phil Ivey returned to his seat for his small blind. Ryan Hart raised to 41,000 from under the gun. Herbie Gelman called from the next position, Sarne Lightman called from middle position, and Anh Van Nguyen called from the cutoff seat. Phil Ivey was in the small blind and raised to 180,000 with apple in hand. Only Nguyen made the call. The flop brought the and Ivey led for 250,000. Nguyen tanked for a moment before looking at Ivey. Ivey was giving his famous blank stare and then took a big chunk out of his apple. Nguyen then called. The turn was the . Ivey took a moment and went to make a bet with his remaining chips. He was going to bet with orange T5,000 chips as that's all he had left, but realized he was going to need two hands to do so. Not wanting to put his apple on the table, Ivey clenched is between his teeth and slid out a bet of 330,000 with two hands. Nguyen made the fold and Ivey raked in the pot. Ivey is now up to 1.7 million.

Gurevich Bests ElkY

From early position, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier raised to 47,000. Alex Gurevich flat-called from the hijack seat before everyone else folded. The flop came down . ElkY fired 67,000 and Gurevich called after a minute of thought. The turn brought the , pairing the board. This didn't slow the Frenchman down, as ElkY bet 111,000. Gurevich made the call after another minute of thought. The river produced the . ElkY fired again for 167,000. Gurevich made the call. ElkY tabled , but Gurevich showed for trip sevens. Gurevich scooped the pot and is now on 1.05 million. ElkY dropped to 770,000.

Cook Can't Do What, Exactly?

A huge pot just went down on Blue #30. It was raised preflop from early position by Fernando Gordo to 56,000. Bertrand Grospellier, Scott Cook and Don Tran all called the raise, creating a 4-way pot with more than 225,000 chips in it before a single community card came down. The flop was . Gordo, the preflop raiser, had to act first. He bet 155,000 and got calls from Grospellier and Cook both. Only Tran folded. The turn paired the board. Gordo fired another 250,000 into the middle. Again Grospellier and Cook both called, creating a gigantic pot of almost 1.5 million chips heading into the river . Gordo, perhaps sensing something amiss, finally slowed down. He checked. Grospellier also checked, bringing the action to Cook. "I can't do it," Cook said after a few moments. He also checked, taking us to showdown. Gordo: - two pair, aces and threes Grospellier: - two pair, aces and threes Cook: - a full house, fives ful of threes Cook dragged the pot to increase his count to about 3 million.

ElkY Goes the Way of the Dodo

A very short-stacked Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier never fully recovered from that three-way pot where Scott Cook "just couldn't do it". He got his last chips in preflop with the same hand he held in the three-way pot, . This time Scott Sitron woke up with . Grospellier couldn't find an ace on a board of . Neither could the dealer, so he pushed to the pot to Sitron, leaving Grospellier busto.

Phillips v. Eastgate

Dennis Phillips raised to 65,000 from middle position, and both Peter Eastgate (button) and Frank Rusnak (big blind) came along to the flop. It showed up , and the first two players checked. Eastgate continued out with a bet of 105,000, Rusnak folded, and Phillips put in the call to see another card. The turn revealed the , drawing another check from Phillips. Eastgate fired again, 175,000 this time, and Phillips quickly check-raised all in with a covering stack. Eastgate frowned and sent his cards sliding back into the muck. It's a great sight to watch these two 2008 finalists duking it out on the featured table, and it should make for some excellent television as well.

Benyamine Eliminated with Cracked Aces

We have a new chip leader, courtesy of the elimination of one member of the old guard. We didn't see the preflop action, but it appears that David Benyamine may have made a small raise from the big blind that was called only by Darvin Moon in the small blind. We picked up the action on the flop, where Moon led into Benyamine with a bet. Benyamine raised; Moon reraised an additional 200,000 above Benyamine's raise. That put the action back to Benyamine, who put in another raise of an additional 300,000 chips. Finally Moon just called. The turn was the . Benyamine had 800,000 chips behind. Moon elected to put him all in. Benyamine called with the best starting hand but he had been outflopped by Moon's , a set of treys. The river bricked to end Benyamine's run. Moon is the new chip leader with roughly 5.7 million chips.

Joe Hachem Eliminated

First into the pot, Joe Hachem moved all in for his last 117,000 little chips. The bet came around the table to Billy Kopp, and he messily flicked in the calling chips. Nobody else wanted any action, and it was heads up for Hachem's tournament life.
Showdown
Hachem: Kopp: The flop was a beautiful miss for Hachem as it rolled out . A buzz of murmurs swept through the featured table arena as the realization kicked in that Hachem was live to any club, any king, or either of his own overcards. The turn was the which was a relative blank, but it did add another two outs for the at-risk World Champ. The crowd once again rose to life as the entire room seemed to be pulling for an out card to hit. River: . Talk about a swing and a miss. Kopp's little pair of fours somehow held up to make the winning two pair. With that, the gregarious Joe Hachem shook hands with his table, wished them all luck, and made his way off to the interview booth.

Here Comes Ivey

From middle position, Bob Whalen stuck in a raise to 75,000. Alex Jalali made the call in position, and Phil Ivey elected to reraise from the small blind. After cutting out a stack of chips, Ivey instead moved all in for his entire stack of about 1.8 million. Whalen called all in for 699,000, and that was enough to get Jalali out of the way and put Whalen heads up with Ivey for his tournament life.
Showdown
Whalen: Ivey: Things weren't looking good for Whalen, and they wouldn't get any better, holding Ivey's overpair and sending Whalen off with about 100 players left. After raking in that pot, Ivey has worked his stack up to a very dangerous 2,680,000. Look out, Main Event.

Four-Bet Phillips

Thai Tran raised it up from the cutoff seat, putting out what looked like 68,000 chips. Next door, Billy Kopp three-bet it up to 225,000 from the button. Next to act was Dennis Phillips, and he had that look in his eye. After about a minute-long staredown in the direction of his two opponents, Phillips four-bet raised it to 700,000 straight. Tran quickly folded, and Kopp followed suit, sending more than 300,000 uncontested chips over to Phillips. That's the second time he has put in a preflop four-bet here at this featured table, and it's benefitted him to the tune of more than a half-million chips.

Phillips Kicks Tran

We pick up the action on a flop showing . Heads up, Thai Tran checked and called a bet of 100,000 from Dennis Phillips. The turn card came the , and both men checked. On the river, the drew another check from Tran. Phillips slowly bet 200,000, and Tran instantly called. Phillips showed down , and Tran tabled . Split pot? Not on Dennis Phillips' watch. His five kicker plays, earning him the pot and an extra 300,000+ chips.

Ivey on the Move!

Before the flop, Hac Dang opened with a raise to 80,000. Halfway around the table, Phil Ivey three-bet it up to 260,000 with postition. Dang then moved all in for about 620,000, and Ivey quietly made the call to put him at risk of elimination.
Showdown
Dang: Ivey: You know the rest of the story. The flop rolled out , drawing a huge reaction from the cheering squad assembled on the ledge. The and that filled out the board did nothing to save Dang, and he's been sent to the rail courtesy of Ivey's two-out jack. With that knockout, Phil is all the way up to 3,260,000.

Table Talk

Andrew Lichtenberger: "If I wear my hat backwards, will it make me look like a badass?" Phil Ivey: "... Nothing you do will make you look badass."

Hanson Races Out of Here

From the button, Brennan Hanson raised to 76,000. Jamie Brown was in the big blind and after the small blind folded, he moved all in for over one million chips. Hanson only had about 700,000 to start the hand and made the call. Hanson held and was in a race against Brown's two overcards -- . The flop came down , putting Brown in the lead. The turn was no help to Hanson when the fell. The river was the and that didn't help either. Hanson was eliminated from the tournament while Brown moved to nearly two million in chips.

Esfandiari Lays Down the Law

Jamie Robbins raised to 80,000 from late position and Antonio Esfandiari called on the button. In the big blind, Bobby Law reraised all in for 666,000. Robbins folded, but Esfandiari made the call. Alper Sar looked at Esfandiari and said, "I feel it!" "Yeah, I feel it too!" Esfandiari agreed. "I misread my hand though, I thought I had two kings," he went on to say, rolling over . Law tabled and looked like he was going to double up in dominating fashion. "It's time to do what I do best," said Esfandiari as the dealer was about to spread the flop. The flop then came down , flopping Antonio the nuts. "Is there a queen in the deck one time?" asked Law. The turn brought the , no help for Law. The final card off was the and that did it. Law was eliminated on the hand by Esfandiari.

Phillips' Five-Bet Shove

Thai Tran opened the pot with a smallish raise to 70,000. Dennis Phillips was two seats over, and he put in a reraise to 180,000. Steve Sanders came in with the call, and the action was back around on Tran. He cut out a big stack of chips -- too many to call with -- and stuck in a healthy reraise to 605,000. That play sent Phillips deep into the tank, and he would take several minutes to act. When he did finally make make his move, it was a big one. He announced, "All in," committing his final 1,950,000. Sanders would reluctantly fold his hand away, and Tran would take his time deciding as well. Finally, he too let his cards go, and Phillips picks up an uncontested pot worth more than 1,000,000 chips. That hand marks the third time Phillips has four- or five-bet here at the featured table. He's taken down the pot each time, and it's been worth well over 1.5 million to his stack. This latest five-bet bumps him all the way up to the 3,000,000-chip mark!

Rockets to the Moon

Darvin Moon open-limped from early position before Christopher Bach raised to 175,000. Jamie Brown then reraised to 375,000 from the button. Action folded back over to Moon and he reraised to one million. Bach ducked out of the way, but Brown went into the tank. After a solid two minutes, he announced that he was all in with his remaining 1.4 million. Moon quickly called. Moon showed against Brown's . The board ran out and no help for Brown. He was eliminated from the tournament as Moon shot up to 7.5 million in chips.

Esfandiari Busts Ismay

Antonio Esfandiari raised preflop and then called a reraise from Wesley Ismay. The flop came down and Esfandiari bet 400,000. Ismay called. The turn was the and Esfandiari led for 700,000. Ismay moved all in for over two million total. Esfandiari made the call. Esfandiari tabled and Ismay held just queen high with . The river was the and Ismay was sent to the rail. Esfandiari now has a little over 5.6 million chips.

We'll Have a New Champion; Eastgate Out

Billy Kopp came in with a raise to 105,000 from early position, and Dennis Phillips made the call in the next seat over. Action came around to Peter Eastgate in the small blind, and he moved all in for 445,000 total. Both Kopp and Phillips eventually called to put Eastgate at risk. The board ran out with the two live players check-checking it all the way down. Phillips missed everything, and Eastgate tabled for top two. It was no good though; Kopp showed up , having rivered the winning four-flush. That's the end of the road for defending champion Peter Eastgate. He put on a great show, and he seemed to have the support of the masses as he made his second consecutive deep run, but he just couldn't get anything going today. His quest for a legendary back-to-back championship will come up about 75 places short.

Ivey KO's Goulding

Phil Ivey was first in from the button, and he made it 110,000 to skate. In the big blind, Kent Goulding put in a reraise to 325,000, and Ivey called. Heads up, the flop came . Goulding checked, and Ivey fired a big tower of chips at the pot, enough to cover his opponent. Goulding called all in for his last 910,000, at risk for his tournament life.
Showdown
Ivey: Goulding: Goulding was in the lead with top pair, but Ivey's flush draw was live. The turn was a blank though, as the was the wrong color. The river was the right color though, and indeed the right suit. The spiked the board, improving Ivey to the winning flush and sending Goulding out the door. With that win, Ivey is sitting pretty right at the 5,000,000-chip mark. Uh oh.

Akenhead Steers Clear of Ivey

In middle position, Phil Ivey opened with a raise to 110,000. Ryan Fair made the call from the button, but James Akenhead reraised to 390,000. Back on Ivey now, and he put in another raise, making it a total of 990,000. Fair quickly folded, and Akenhead hemmed and hawed and folded as well. More chips for Ivey! He's just approaching 6,000,000 now.

Flakstad Busts

Antonio Esfandiari continues his solid run after just busting another opponent at his table. This time, it was Andreas Flakstad that was the casualty. Flakstad had all of his 850,000 or so in the middle preflop holding pocket tens. Esfandiari held . The board ran out and that would be the end of Flakstad's tournament.

A TV Hand

From the button, Tom Schneider opened with a raise to 110,000. In the small blind, Dennis Phillips announced a reraise, and he made it 310,000 to play. From the big blind, chip leader Darvin Moon four-bet it up to 675,000, drawing a quick fold from Schneider. Phillips wasn't so quick to act though, and he would think things over for several minutes. After cutting down and counting his own stack, he elected to make the call. Heads up then, the flop brought . Phillips slowly checked, and without missing a beat, Moon continued out with a bet of 750,000. Phillips would go for a long soak in the tank this time, clearly agonizing over a difficult decision. There were periods of complete stillness alternated with periods of chit-chat, though the conversation was too soft to hear from the table. Phillips finally asked if Moon would show, and the reply was affirmative. "Really, so you'll show if I fold?" Moon nodded again. Finally, and reluctantly, Phillips open-mucked . True to his word, Moon showed up , drawing a big slap on the felt from Phillips. The two men shook hands and exchanged further pleasantries as the dealer pulled in the cards and pushed the pot to Moon. It was a good flat-call preflop and a good laydown thereafter that will keep Phillips alive though he's been dropped down close to 1,000,000.

Ivey, Ivey, Ivey

Under the gun, Ryan Fair opened with a raise to 100,000. Three players (Phil Ivey, Blair Rodman, and Gabriel Vezina) came along with him to the flop. It showed up , and the action checked four ways. The turn card was the , and the first two players checked. Phil Ivey figured now was a good time for bet of 260,000, and it was good enough to win him the pot right there. From the rail: "Ivey, Ivey, Ivey" Across the rail: "Oy! Oy! Oy! Mr. Ivey is sitting on 6.2 million chips now, breathing down the neck of the chip leader.

All Aboard the Ivey Train

Gabriel Vezina started things off with a raise to 100,000 from middle position. Whether he wanted it or not, he found action from Phil Ivey in the big blind. The two men went heads up to a flop showing , and the action went check-check. The on the turn drew a bet of 150,000 from Ivey, and Vezina put in the call. The last card off the deck was the . Ivey fired again, 350,000 this time, and Vezina sent his cards back to the dealer face-down. He's on 6.5 million now if you're scoring at home.

Phillips Starts on the Wrong Foot

On one of the first hands of the day, Joseph Cada raised to 125,000 from under the gun. He was called by Miika Puumalainen and Dennis Phillips in the big blind. The flop was very coordinated, . Phillips checked to Cada, who made a strong lead of 325,000. That was enough to fold Puumalainen, but not Phillips. He stuck around until the turn , where he check-folded to a bet of 475,000 from Cada. Cada is now sitting behind about 4.1 million chips. Phillips is down to 1.9 million.

Fair Re-Raises Twice

Antonio Esfandiari opened with a raise to 135,000, and Ryan Fair was having none of it. From the next seat over, he re-raised to 365,000. The table slowly folded back around to The Magician, and he put in a third raise to 840,000. Fair wasted little time grabbing for chips, and he made yet another raise, 1,665,000 straight. In concert, the entire featured table arena let out a collective, "Ooooooh." That was the end of the drama though, as Esfandiari shook his head and sent his cards muckward.

Ivey Makes a Hero Call

Phil Ivey opened for 135,000 from late position and Christopher Bach called from the big blind. Both players checked the flop. The turn came the and Bach bet 150,000. Ivey made the call. The river was the and Bach fired a second barrel for 360,000. Ivey looked him up. Bach had nothing more than . Ivey's was good and he raked in the pot. He's now up to 7.1 million while Bach fell to 2.2 million.

Tough Break for Phillips

A confusing hand on Blue 6 has resulted in some genuinely bad luck for Dennis Phillips. After two players folded, Phillips limped into the pot. It was then that the players noticed that the first two players had acted out of turn, mistakenly assuming that the big blind was in the 9-seat rather than the 8-seat. The action was backed up to allow the 9-seat to fold. Phillips' limp then also stood. Action proceeded past Phillips with folds all the way to Jeff Duvall, who raised his button to 150,000. That raise folded both blinds. Duvall, not realizing that Phillips had limped into the pot, then mucked his hand with action still pending on Phillips. Phillips couldn't believe his bad luck. Why bad luck, you ask? Only because he had been dealt ! He opened his hand and insisted that he be awarded the whole pot, including the 150,000 raise made by Duvall. The tournament had to be put on a five-minute pause to summon tournament director Jack Effel (who was out of the room) so that Effel could make a decision whether Duvall should have to forfeit all 150,000 chips or only the 50,000 that matched Phillips' original call. After Effel arrived and listened to a report of the action, he told Duvall that, by TDA Rules, if a dealer had killed Duvall's inadvertently, Duvall would be entitled to 100,000 chips back. But because Duvall had mucked his own hand, he had to forfeit all the chips in the pot if Phillips wanted to call. Phillips obviously did.

Enter: Ivey, Exit: Your Chips

With Charlie Elias and Tom Schneider being eliminated off the same table, a new player was moved in. To everyone's delight I'm sure, it was Phil Ivey. Naturally, Ivey raised the first hand he was dealt, making it 150,000 to go. Marc McLaughlin called on the button and Kevin Schaffel called from the big blind. The flop came down . Schaffel checked to Ivey, who bet 300,000. McLaughlin folded, Schaffel folded, and Ivey took down the pot.

Phillips Back in Business

Dennis Phillips has been very active today and his stack has fluctuated quite a bit to match. Sitting with the button, he called a raise to 155,000 made by Ben Lamb. Lamb bet 220,000 on a flop of . It looked like Phillips meant to raise that bet to 525,000 but inadvertently wound up raising to only 475,000. Lamb called. The turn was the . Lamb checked, then called a bet of 675,000. On the river Lamb checked again. Phillips decided to move all in and induced a quick fold to take down the pot. New counts: Phillips - 3.1 million Lamb - 5.5 million.

Ivey Takes a Million off Nargentino

Phil Ivey made a button raise to 150,000 and Luis Nargentino three-bet to 460,000. Ivey came back over the top for 1,160,000 and Nargentino called. Nargentino checked the flop. Ivey bet 1.2 million and Nargentino folded. Ivey has now passed 10 million in chips.

Dennis Phillips Eliminated in 45th Place ($178,857)

It was not a lucky day for Dennis Phillips. He had a mini-disaster earlier when he thought he was going to get some action on his aces but Jeff Duvall mucked. More recently, Phillips raised preflop to 450,000 from the button after Antoine Saout opened for 165,000 and Francois Balmigere called. Phillips' re-raise folded Saout but got the opposite reaction from Balmigere, who moved all in. Phillips called all in for less. Hands please, gentlemen! Balmigere: Phillips: Each player had suited Big Slick, which was a problem for Phillips on a flop of . The turn was a safe card; Phillips just needed to fade spades one more time to remain in the tournament. Alas, the river was the , filling Balmigere's spade flush and knocking Phillips out of the tournament in spectacularly cruel fashion.

Ivey Cracks Ward's Kings

Joseph Ward raised to 205,000 from under the gun, and it folded around to Phil Ivey who called from the small blind. The flop came , and both players checked. The turn brought the , pairing the board. Ivey bet 350,000, and Ward made the call. The river brought the , putting a second pair out there. This time Ivey bet 750,000, and after thinking a bit Ward made the call. Ivey showed for sevens full, and Ward . Ivey moves up to 11.3 million, and Ward is now at 8.8 million.

Half of The Magician's Chips Vanish

With the betting folded around to the blinds, Darvin Moon came in with a raise to 325,000. Antonio Esfandiari was in the big blind, and he came along with the call. The flop came out , and Moon tapped the table. Esfandiari took the opportunity to bet 480,000, but Moon was having none of it. He check-raised to 1,125,000, and Esfandiari went into the tank for a bit. After a couple minutes, he announced a re-raise, making it a total of 2,125,000. Within just a few seconds, Moon announced, "All in," and Esfandiari snap-mucked, shaking his head with a big frown on his face. After that exchange, Esfandiari has plummeted back to 2,900,000, while Moon is up over the 12,000,000-chip mark.

Ivey Picks Up Where He Left Off

Not even the dinner break can slow down Phil Ivey's momentum right now. Joe Ward opened a pot from early position for 260,000 and was called only by Ivey out of the big blind. Both players checked the flop. Ivey checked again on the turn. That check prompted Ward to bet 200,000. Ivey wasted no time in check-raising to 600,000. Ward had to give the check-raise a fair amount of thought. He eventually called to see the hit the river. Ivey led out for a cool million. Ward seemed anguished but couldn't find a fold. He called, then grimaced when Ivey showed for trip nines. With Ward's chips added to Ivey's stack, Ivey now has 14.89 million. Ward is down to 2.1 million.

Esfandiari Moves In

Joseph Cada came in with a late-position raise to 250,000. In the small blind, Darvin Moon made the call, and Antonio Esfandiari moved all in from the big blind. It was an additional 1,740,000 to put him at risk, and Cada quickly folded. Moon wasn't so quick though, and he sat studying and chatting with Esfandiari for a couple minutes. Eventually, he elected to muck, flashing and sending the pot over to The Magician.

Esfandiari Fading

Under the gun, Joseph Cada came in with a raise to 250,000, and the betting folded most of the way around the table. From the button though, Antonio Esfandiari three-bet it up to 805,000. The small blind ducked out, but James Akenhead wasn't going anywhere from the big. After some deep thought, he came over the top of both players with a healthy raise to 2,150,000. Cada quickly folded, and Esfandiari reluctantly let his cards go as well, dropping more than one third of his chip stack with that failed three-bet. He is now the shortest stack in the field with just over 1.5 million in chips.

Ivey in the Tank!

It hasn't been often (or at all, really) that we've seen Phil Ivey take a long time to make a decision today, but he just tanked for several minutes in a multi-way hand. George Caragiorgas opened preflop with a raise to 300,000. Ivey had the button and called before small blind Jamie Robbins and big blind Joe Ward also called. All that action created a four-way pot worth 1.2 million on a flop of . Action checked all the way to Ivey. He bet 600,000 and was called by Robbins before Ward moved all in for 3.195 million. Caragiorgas quickly folded, bringing the action back to Ivey. He went deep into the tank. For several minutes, play stopped as Ivey studied Ward looking for clues as to what to do. His eyes darted back and forth and he could be seen talking to himself, although the words were inaudible. After a few minutes, Ward fiddled with his hand a little bet, double-checking his hand and fiddlng with the lavender chips that were in the middle. Those actions brought a smile to Ivey's face. "What was that all about?" he asked Ward. "I'm playing mind games with you," Ward replied. Ivey's smile widened a bit more. After another 30 seconds he folded his hand. Robbins quickly folded a few seconds later, allowing Ward to drag the pot. Ward is back up to 6 million.

Esfandiari Working His Magic

Francois Balmigere opened the pot with a raise to 250,000, and the action came around to Antonio Esfandiari in the big blind. He made it 700,000 to go, and Balmigere would go into the tank for a spell. After a couple minutes, he announced an all in, and Esfandiari snap-called and instantly flipped over . He was in perfect shape to double up against the of Balmigere. Esfandiari disappeared from the stage to go sit in a spectator's chair as he sweated this board. There wasn't much drama as it was a clean slate for him, coming down . The crowd erupted with the most ambitious celebration so far today as Esfandiari raised his arms in the air and high-fived the crowd. There are even a group of old women who were doing the wavy magicians' voodoo arms thing in the corner of the stage. It's clear everyone in this arena is pulling for Esfandiari, and he now has twice as many chips to work with. Esfandiari - 4,400,000 Balmigere - 730,000