You wouldn't think they were playing for a bracelet here (not to mention all that money) as the mood here at the final table is quite positive.
Mike Schwartz informs Jason Young that he's handing him a second consecutive birthday present by giving him a walk in the big blind. Then a couple of hands later, he raises Monahan's big blind and shows pocket ducks after Monahan folds.
Schwartz raises under the gun to steal the blinds.
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Monahan raises to 150,000 from the button, but is called by Schwartz in the big blind. Schwartz bets out 175,000 on the and Monahan folds. He's pretty short now, down to around 350,000.
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Now it's Strzemp's turn to steal the blinds, with a raise to 175,000 under the gun.
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Some action here: Schwartz limps in under the gun, Monahan makes up the blind, and big blind Strzemp raises 150,000. To which Schwartz reraises another 800,000. Monahan insta-folds, and with an expression that says, "Yikes!" Strzemp folds too.
Although losing the odd minor pot, Jason Young is still your current chip leader with 4,600,000. The last hand he played saw him limp-raise Mike Schwartz's preflop raise from the big bind to a total of 400,000. Schwartz reluctantly folded, showing an ace in the process.
John Strzemp has upped his stack to around 2 million -- Jason Young raised under the gun to 115,000, and Strzemp made it 300,000 from the small blind. After some deliberation, Young passed, and the pot went to Strzemp.
Jason Young raises from the button, taking down the hefty blinds and antes.
Next hand, he raises from the cutoff, and this time finds a caller in Michael Schwartz on the big blind. Schwartz bets out 150,000 on the flop and Young threads the six 25,000 chips thoughtfully for a while before calling. The turn is the and Schwartz bets out 200,000. Young quickly folds.
John Strzemp takes down two consecutive post-break pots.
First he took the blinds uncontested with a button raise of 175,000.
Then, he raised again preflop, this time from the button and for 150,000, before being called by Jason Young. Strzemp took it down with a continue bet of 150,000 on the flop.