Faraz Jaka was dealt , and he came in raising to 435,000. Around in the big blind, Mark Drover peeked down at and took a few seconds' pause. When he did act, it was to reraise all in for 3.44 million total, and Jaka snap-called to flip a coin for the knockout.
The crowd came to life again as supporters of both men yelled the cards they wanted at the dealer. "Jack ball, jack ball, jack ball," Drover was rooting, but the flop was a big, dry desert. The turn was a miss too, and Drover was drawing dead to six outs.
River:
That, too, is a miss for Drover, and he's been parted with all his chips. His PCA Main Event run comes to an end in fifth place, and that's good for nearly a half-million dollars in consolation money.
Jaka, on the other hand, has also ticked across the ten-million-chip mark.
Xuan Liu raised to 500,000 from the small blind with and Kyle Julius called from the big blind with .
The flop came down and Liu 575,000. Julius took him time before calling, landing the on the turn. Liu stared at the board intently for about a full minute before she checked. Julius bet a tiny 355,000, but it was enough to get Liu to fold quickly.
Faraz Jaka opened to 430,000 from the cutoff with and Kyle Julius defended his big blind with .
Julius check-called 350,000 from Jaka on the flop. Each checked the turn and when the river fell, Julius bet 400,000. Jaka spent a good minute deliberating before calling, losing the pot to Julius' superior pair.
Aces! Kyle Julius found under the gun, and he opened to 400,000. John Dibella was dealt in the big blind, and he couldn't know that he was stepping into a big trap when he reraised to 1 million straight. When it came back around to Julius, he spoke up: "What's the minimum raise?" he asked. The dealer told him he had to add another 600,000 to make another raise, and Julius stacked up the 1.6 million and slid it across the line. Dibella made the call, and off they went to the flop.
Fortunately for Dibella, he missed. The dealer spread out , and a quarter-pot bet of 850,000 was easily enough for Julius to take down the pot.
The graphics say that John Dibella has 4.075 million left, but even from another room entirely we can tell that he's got at least 5.5 million still. Julius, on the other hand, is back up over 8 million.
Kyle Julius raised the minimum with in his hand, and John Dibella defended his big blind to see a heads-up flop with .
The was a fantastic start for Dibella, and he checked to the raiser. Julius checked it back, though, and the hit fourth street. Now Dibella led out with 250,000 of his own chips, and Julius made the call to see the last card.
It was the , giving Dibella a straight flush! He stacked up another bet and pushed 750,000 across the line, and Julius needed a soak in the tank. It looked like he wanted to call, but he got a bad vibe from his opponent, and the calm-looking Dibella finally coaxed an unwanted fold from his opponent.
From where we're sitting, it looks like Julius got away pretty cheaply on that fun hand.
Xuan Liu raised to 400,000 in the cutoff with and Faraz Jaka defended his big blind with .
Jaka checked the flop and Liu bet 275,000. Jaka called, the hit the turn, and Jaka checked again. Liu took her time before betting 775,000, but Jaka was right there to quickly call.
The hit the river and Jaka checked for a third time. Liu bet 1,300,000, but Jaka got away from his pair.