Hands #8-12: Hellmuth Launches Into a Tantrum

Chad Holloway

Level 16 : 1,500/3,000, 500 ante

Hand #8: Yu Kurita raised to 7,500 under the gun and won the pot.

Hand #9: Phil Hellmuth raised to 11,000 from the cutoff and then called when Alex Antonios three-bet to 28,500 from the button. Hellmuth checked the flop, but then woke up with a check-raise to 50,000 after Antonios bet 23,500. Antonios made the call and then called a big bet of 77,000 from Hellmuth on the turn. Both players followed that up by checking the river.

Hellmuth tabled the , but it was no good as Antonios had turned a pair with the . Hellmuth shot out of his chair in disbelief, claiming that he'd been studying his opponent for days and was waiting for such a spot.

"It doesn't make sense to me. How bad can you play?" Hellmuth said while chastising Antonios for calling his check-raise on the flop. This type of banter continued for the better part of five minutes.

Hand #10: Three players saw a flop of and Steven Zhou checked from the big blind. Antonios bet 8,500 from the cutoff, Michael Tran folded from the button, and Zhou called. When the appeared on the turn, Zhou bet 20,000, Tran called, and the completed the board on the river.

Zhou check-called a bet of 28,500 but mucked when Antonios tabled the for two pair.

Hand #11: Zhou raised to 7,000 from the small blind and Hellmuth folded the big.

Hand #12: Zhou raised to 7,000 from the button, Antonios called from the big blind, and it was heads-up action to the flop. Antonios checked and then folded when Zhou bet 7,500.