Balsiger and Thomas Battle
We just had a big, tense hand happen over at the secondary feature table, the last one before the dinner break.
Jacob Balsiger opened for 400,000 from the hijack seat, then Russell Thomas reraised from the button for 1,050,000. Both blinds folded, and Balsiger sat peering across the table, his eyes moving up and down from Thomas to his stack. Finally he made the call.
The flop came monotone — 
— and Balsiger quickly checked. Thomas didn't wait too long before betting 1.2 million, and Balsiger thought a short while before carving out the chips to call.
The turn was the 
, putting a fourth spade on the board. Balsiger checked again, and after about a half-minute pause Thomas bet 1.6 million. Balsiger sat motionless for two minutes, then raised to 3.2 million. A minute more passed, and Thomas called.
The river brought the 
. Balsiger didn't wait too long before pushing out stacks of lavender chips for a bet of 3 million. After thinking a short while longer, Thomas pushed his cards to the dealer.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,730,000
3,930,000
|
3,930,000 |
|
15,350,000
-5,550,000
|
-5,550,000 |