Thursday, 28th March 2024 15:59
Home / Uncategorized / Aussie Millions Day 5: Avoiding elimination

Reaching the final table of a major poker championship is a great achievement. You’ve slugged it out for days, you’ve climb pay jump after pay jump, and now you’re sitting at the biggest stage in the game to compete for life changing money.

In fact, just getting to the Aussie Millions final table is worth AU$170,000 in prize money, which is nothing to be sneezed at. But here’s where it gets interesting.

With a rest day yesterday, our players have had over 36 hours to think about the various scenarios for this final table. They’ve had time to dream about the AU$1.6 million winner’s prize.

They’ve also considered the possibility of being eliminated first.

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It’s hard to comprehend being disappointed over a payout of AU$170,000, but when you already had that much locked up two days ago, and were a chance to multiple it almost ten times today, then being first out kinda sucks.

That’s probably why our final seven players have been fighting so hard to avoid being remembered as “that guy”. We’re about two hours into play today and have yet to see an elimination.

Scott Seiver came into the final table as the short stack, so he was most at risk. Yet he has been able to survive a few all-in situations to stay alive.

The first would see Seiver’s A♥ J♦ pair a jack to double through Jake Balsiger’s pocket tens.

Seiver’s momentum was halted when Andrew Phaedonos found pocket jacks against Seiver’s K♦ Q♦ . Seiver turned a straight and flush draw, but couldn’t connect as the Aussies found voice on this final table.

Moments later Seiver was at it again with A♦ 5♥ against Sorel Mizzi’s Aâ™  3â™  . It looked like a chopped pot was likely, but Seiver paired a five on the river to double through.

Seiver didn’t stop there. On the final hand before the break Seiver shoved with A♥ K♦ and got action from Balsiger’s Kâ™  Jâ™  . The board bricked out and Seiver had done it again.

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No one wants to be that player. The one that got some TV time but couldn’t increase their pay day. At the moment, Scott Seiver looks to now be in the clear, with the pressure back on Aussie Andrew Phaedonos. At the other end of the scale, Ami Barer and Sorel Mizzi aren’t worried about being next out. They’re our chip leaders and only eyeing the top prize.

Heath “TassieDevil” Chick is a Freelance Contributor for the PokerStars Blog.

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