On the turn of a board, Joe Hachem bet 30,000 into a pot of close to 100,000, and Dan Smith made a big raise behind him. Hachem ended up all in for 143,000, and he was ahead as the cards were shown down:
Hachem:
Smith:
Hachem's top pair had him as the favorite to double, but he needed to fade the kings and clubs left in the deck in order to avoid being shown the door.
River:
That's safe, and two pair give Hachem another double. It moves him all the way back up to 375,000, and he appears to have pipped back ahead of Smith with that pot.
When we picked up the action, there was already a big pot piled in the middle of the table before the flop, and Mikhail Smirnov had another 200,000 chips out in front of his stack as a reraise. The decision was on Joe Hachem, and he had less than 180,000 chips left, so he was contemplating a call for his tournament life. Hachem used up his final Time Bank chip, and he sat pondering for as long as he could. The final ten seconds were announced as the dealer pressed the Start button on the timer.
Ten seconds later, the alarm sounded, and Hachem's hand was dead. He spent a few seconds smirking and chatting with Smirnov before showing his cards to the camera one last time and pitching them into the muck.
For all that Joe Hachem has accomplished in his poker career �� 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event champion, World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic winner and over $11 million in live tournament winnings �� he's never cashed in Australia for more than A$64,800. Hachem has been long awaiting a breakout performance, so to speak, in his own country and this could very well be the one. He's already locked up A$330,000 at the minimum and has his eyes set on a lot more.
We all know everyone likes free money. We also know that if you're following along with our coverage that you enjoy poker. Thanks to our great friends at PartyPoker, you can now get some of both with the "Exclusive $50 FREE with NO DEPOSIT & $50 Reload Bonus" offer.
New PartyPoker players just sign up using the PokerNews links to qualify for our Exclusive PartyPoker $50 Free Promotion. Real cash �� NO deposit required!
Then, deposit and enter code "PN50FREE" to take advantage of our NEW $50 reload bonus.
From the button, Dan Smith raised to 27,000. Joe Hachem reraised all in for 75,000 from the big blind and Smith made the call.
Smith:
Hachem:
The flop came down and Smith took the lead. Hachem's fans upstairs in Studio 3 cheered for Hachem to get some help on the turn and he found it when the landed to give him a better pair.
The river completed the board with the and Hachem secured the double up.
Dan Smith opened to 28,000, and Tony G announced, "Pot." When it came back to Smith, he re-potted, and all of Tony G's chips ended up in the middle. When the cards were turned over, the news was not at all good.
Showdown
Tony G:
Smith:
Smith had the dominating ace, and the flop kept him well in front. The turn opened up another four outs for Tony G as he added a gutshot straight draw to his list of Ways to Survive. It was not to be, though. The river was the blank , and that's the end of the road for The G and his unicycle. He'll add AU$ 242,000 to his cycling fund, and the field has been reduced to three.
Smith should be up around 700,000 now, and that's about as close as we can estimate it from afar.