Jim Mastorakos raised to 150,000 from the button and Steve Charles called. The flop was . Charles bet 300,000, Mastorakos moved all in and Charles called. Mastorakos turned up for the nut flush draw, while Charles tabled for top pair. The turn was the , the river was the , and after a quick count by the dealer to confirm that Charles had Mastorakos covered, he was declared the winner, taking home $16,615. Mastorakos earned $12,050 for his runner-up finish.
Congratulations to Steve Charles, who battled back after having his stack crippled to less than a big blind to win Event #1 of the Poker News Cup!
Jim Mastorakos limped in on the button and Charles checked from the big blind. The flop was and both players checked. The turn was the . Charles checked, Mastorakos bet 100,000 and Charles called. The river was the . Charles bet 200,000 and Mastorakos called. Charles turned over , Mastorakos mucked and Charles dragged the pot.
After the hand, Charles was up to 925,000 while Mastorakos slipped to 700,000.
Steve Charles limped in on the button and Jim Mastorakos checked his option from the big blind. The flop was. Mastorakos bet 100,000 and Charles called. The turn was the . Mastorakos fired out another 100,000 and Charles called again. The river was the . For the third time, Mastorakos bet 100,000 but this time, Charles folded and Mastorakos dragged the pot.
Thus far, Mastorakos and Charles have been playing small-pot poker with a hand rarely getting past the flop. A pre-flop raise and a bet on the flop so far has been enough to take the pot.