The bubble phase is always tense at any poker tournament, especially when there’s at least a five-figure sum waiting for you in one of the richest live poker tournaments of all time.
Whether you’re an amateur on a fabled Cinderella run or a seasoned veteran like a WSOP Main Event champion, decisions can be difficult, especially when you’re on the smaller stack.
As players stand on the cusp of the hand-to-hand phase of the 2023 WPT World Championship, Joe Hachem Pocket kings were dealt in second position and he faced a raise under the gun.
What happens next? Watch it below or read on to find out what happened.
The hand
Under the gun, chip leader at the table Ben White came with an increase to 40,000 holdings A♠A♣. Hachem 3-bet to 120,000 with that K♣K♥ to his left, holding 385,000 behind him and Bianco was thrown back.
“Oh my God, oh no,” commenters Henry Kilbane And Ashley Frank sounded unanimously.
As the American showed off his acting skills, Hachem playfully chirped to get him to fold, only to be answered with a four-bet shove just seconds later. Hachem’s face quickly turned sour and after a minute he decided to let it go.
“Are you kidding me?” Kilbane said incredulously. Bianco indicated to Hachem that he would show when the Australian champion appeared, and Hachem obeyed, flashing the cowboys.
“You’re sick, man,” Bianco praised him as he put down the blades. “You had more time chips, you should have waited!” he chuckled. The rest of the table just looked stunned and disbelieving as Bianco collected the pot.
Shortly thereafter, the bubble burst – with cracked aces, no less – guaranteeing all remaining players, including Hachem, at least $18,700.
Who are the confirmed players for the $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop?
“Beriuzy”, a man of his word, jumps into the pool
The poker players were captivated by the action WPT live stream And of course the hand caused waves among poker fans. Popular poker streamer Ryan “Beriuzy” Chamas was among the thousands who watched the event at the same time.
While Hachem was in the tank, “Beriuzy” confidently said that he would jump into the water if Hachem gave up his hand.
True to his word, Chamas followed suit and soon jumped into one of the spacious (and ice-cold) pools over in Sin City, fully clothed and with all the trimmings.
Follow live updates from the WPT World Championship at WPT.com
Yori Epskamp
Senior Content Manager
A former professional poker player with a background in sports marketing and journalism. Yori has been part of PokerNews since 2016 and leads the content team.
