James Cavanaugh Eliminated in 11th Place ($8,225)
Oct 15, '14
Zaher Samaan and James Cavanaugh got all their chips in preflop and Cavanaugh was flipping for his tournament life.
Cavanaugh showed Q
Q
and was up against Samaan’s A
10.
Big slick prevailed when the board came 95A
23 and Cavanaugh hit the rail. Cavanaugh earned $8,225 for finishing 11th while Samaan chipped up to about 3.3 million.
Player Tags: Zaher Samaan, James Cavanaugh
Short Doubles
Oct 15, '14
Cody Shedd raised to 65,000 from the cutoff and Zaher Samaan moved all-in for 405,000 from the button.
The blinds folded and Shedd called.
Samaan was at-risk but he had Shedd’s AJ dominated with AK. The 2J6 flop put Shedd in the lead but then a K came on the river to give Samaan the double up.
Moments later, Douglas Suyemoto moved all-in for 200,000 and Andy Wang called. A flip ensued when Suyemoto showed 33 to Wang’s AK.
The board ran 5Q4Q8 and Suyemoto doubled to about 400,000 while Wang dropped to 800,000.
Player Tags: Andy Wang, Zaher Samaan, Cody Shedd, Douglas Suyemoto
Allyn Shulman Takes A Hit, Doubles Up Next Hand
Oct 15, '14
Zaher Samaan moved all in for 247,000 and Allyn Shulman shoved her stack in behind him. It folded around and Shulman revealed the AK, which was dominating Samaan’s K8.
The board ran out 983710 however, pairing Samaan’s eight and doubling him up to more than 500,000.
Shulman was left with 114,000, which she moved in on the next hand with pocket threes. Cody Shedd called her with the Q8, and Shulman’s hand held up this time to see her double up to more than 250,000.
Player Tags: Zaher Samaan
Zaher Samaan Eliminated in 3rd Place ($56,510)
Oct 15, '14
Amit Makhija raised to 425,000 from the button and Zaher Samaan moved all in for 1.9 million from the small blind. Shan Jing took some time in the tank before folding from the big blind and Makhija called.
Makhija was behind with his QJ against Samaan’s A7. The flop and turn kept Samaan in the lead as the dealer peeled off a board of K535, but the J fell on the river and Makhija made the best hand to scoop the pot.
Samaan was eliminated to leave Makhija heads-up with Jing for the title.
Player Tags: Amit Makhija, Zaher Samaan
Josh Hale Eliminated in 5th Place ($32,765)
Oct 15, '14
Josh Hale moved all-in for 1.5 million from the button and Zaher Samaan tanked from the big blind. A while later, Samaan counted out the chips for a call. Then, after a few more minutes of thought, Samaan called.
Hale turned over A5 and Samaan had him dominated with A10.
The board ran 6K66K and players chopped the pot.
The following hand, Hale moved all-in again for 1.6 million. This time Shan Jing called instantly from the big blind.
Hale had J10 and Jing showed AK.
The 2103 flop put Hale in the lead but then an A came on the turn to give Jing a pair of aces.
A 7 completed the board and the final table shrank for the first time in nearly two-and-a-half hours.
Hale was eliminated in 5th place and won $32,765.
Player Tags: Zaher Samaan, Shan Jing
Zaher Samaan Doubles Through Shan Jing
Oct 15, '14
Josh Hale raised to 200,000 under-the-gun before Zaher Samaan moved all in for 1.3 million from the button. Shan Jing was next to act in the small blind and went into the tank. After a few moments in the tank, Jing re-shoved all in for 5.8 million. Hale quickly mucked his hand and the cards were turned up.
Samaan tabled A10 and needed to find an ace against Samaan’s KK. The flop was A65 and Samaan vaulted into the lead. The turn was the J and the river was the 8 to give Samaan a double up.
Samaan doubles up to 2.9 million while Jing slid to 4.5 million.
Player Tags: Zaher Samaan, Shan Jing
A Pair of Big Pairs
Oct 15, '14
When big pairs clash preflop, they’re often hard to fold. In this case though, Amit Makhija was able to let his pocket jacks go.
Adam Volen raised to 205,000 from under-the-gun with KK and Zaher Samaan called from the hijack with A10..
Makhija was on the button re-raised to 610,000 with JJ.
Volen moved all-in for 4.2 million, Samaan folded and Makhija tanked. Makhija thought, looked at his jacks and thought some more.
Eventually, Makhija decided to let his hand go and Volen took the pot.
Volen’s stack rose to 5.2 million while Makhija got away with 6 million still in his stack.
Player Tags: Amit Makhija, Zaher Samaan, Adam Volen
Zaher Samaan moved all in from the hijack for 550,000 and Pete Hengsakul moved all in for 2,265,000 on the button.
On a flop of Q
J
6
A
against the pocket eights of Live At The Bike commentator Nichoel Jurgens.
Fireworks were indeed in the making. A short stacked Zaher Samaan moved all-in preflop with the 10
William Zaiss came into the day in third chip position, but he took a number of hits early in the final table. He laid down the J