Aaron Kanter's suck out ended a great run:(from Phil Helmuth)Then, with 20 players remaining, a huge hand came up between Raymer and Aaron Kanter. With the blinds at $20,000-$40,000 and an ante of $5,000 a player, Raymer opened for $100,000 to go, with Kh-Ks. Kanter called the $100,000 with Qh-Jh, and the flop came down 6d-5s-3h. Raymer bet out $150,000, and, for some reason, Kanter called the bet. At this point not much good could happen for Kanter: he was sitting only 7 percent to win the pot, and a queen or a jack on the turn could encourage him to put all of his money into the pot with only five "outs," as an 8-to-1 underdog (39 losing cards against five winning cards).When the 7h came off on the turn, Raymer bet out $300,000, and Kanter made his move, raising it up $500,000 more ($800,000 total). Kanter was representing a straight, but Raymer wasn't going for it, sensing that Kanter forgot to pay attention to him. Suddenly, Raymer moved all-in, and now Kanter was forced to call the all-in bet of about $950,000 more. Kanter barely looked up at Raymer.Here's a tip: If you're going to make a bluff, you should give yourself a chance to read your opponent. If Kanter had figured out that Raymer was strong, he could have simply called the bet with his flush draw, or even better, folded his hand on the flop.In any case, Kanter was now a 41/2-to-1 underdog — he had eight "outs," to 36 winning cards for Raymer. For roughly $4 million, Kanter hit his flush when the 2h came on the river and went on to finish fourth. That was the end of Raymer (he did have a few chips left), but what a run he had. Last year, he beat 2,500 players, then almost 5,600 more this year. Wow!
Alan Goehring
