Diamonds Save Martinez

Shamus

Level 22 : 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante

After struggling through the first couple of levels today, Massimiliano Martinez was down to just 204,000 when he just now open-shoved from the button. Dan O'Brien, sitting in the small blind, leaned forward to check out what kind of stack Mauro Stivoli was sporting in the big blind (about 450,000), then called the raise. Stivoli checked his hand and folded, and the pair tabled their cards.

O'Brien {9-Clubs} {9-Spades}
Martinez {7-Diamonds} {5-Diamonds}

Martinez appeared to be in a tough spot. Then came the flop -- {A-Diamonds} {6-Diamonds} {10-Diamonds} -- prompting an audible reaction from the rail at the sight of Martinez' flopped flush. The {K-Spades} on the turn made the {4-Spades} river a bit of meaningless trivia, and Martinez had doubled back to about 420,000. O'Brien, meanwhile, still has a good-natured grin and a stack of 386,000.