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Over the years, we’ve captured memorable hands, many of which have become a part of poker history. In this column, we will bring you some of the biggest hands from last week's Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) 2022 Iowa State Poker Championship at Riverside Casino.
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Jordison Another Victim of Bekavac
It was a massive Day 1a for four-time MSPT winner and defending champ Dan Bekavac, who in 2020 was embroiled in a payout scandal at the Midway Poker Tour. Bekavac bagged 1.183 million, the largest Day 1 chip lead in MSPT history.
No one could stop Bekavac, who won pot after pot via bold bluffs, sheer aggression, and being on the right end of coolers. For instance, in Level 12 (1,500/2,500/2,500) when Angela Jordison was trending in the right direction, winning pots and making her way up the leaderboard. Then, the tournament director moved her to a new table to balance. She sat on the left of Bekavac.
One of the first hands she played was in the small blind against a button raise from Bekavac. Jordison reraised from the small blind and the two players each got about 200,000 in before the flop with Jordison at risk.
Angela Jordison: kx
In the ultimate cooler, Bekavac had the best of it. He found insurance by hitting another ace for a set while Jordison was unimproved and eliminated. Fortunately for her, Jordison got the last laugh as she re-entered the tournament and went on to finish in fifth place for $46,458 while Bekavac busted in 14th place for $11,378.
Quinn Makes Quads, Sinks a Boat
Also on Day 1a, it was Level 5 (300/500/500) when Shawn Quinn saw his opponent limp preflop and he raised it up, which his opponent called.
The flop came k♣️
Both players checked when the q♦️
The river fell the 9♥️. Both players traded raises until all the chips were in the middle.
Quinn turned over q♣️q♠️ for quads, his opponent showed the unexpected k♥️k♠️ for the slowplayed kings that turned into top full house.
"Where's my bad beat [jackpot]?" asked the stunned opponent.
Fielder's Choice is to Flop a Set
On Day 1b, it was Level 14 (2,000/4,000/4,000) when David McKim raised from under the gun and found four callers to head to a flop in a swelling pot.
The dealer flopped j♥️k♠️8♦️ and McKim continued with a bet of 35,000. Just on his left, a player moved all in for 76,000. Action folded to Jeff Fielder on the button who also moved all in, his stack at 95,000.
McKim didn't seem to love it, but he did make the call.
Opponent: k♥️q♣️
Jeff Fielder: 8♠️8♣️
David McKim:♦️ak♣️
Fielder had his opponents right where he wanted them. The board ran out clean with no drama and Fielder scooped it all to jump into a top spot on the leaderboard.
River Pair Good Enough for Holloway to Bluff-Catch
In Level 5 (300/500/500) on Saturday's Day 1c flight, action picked up on the turn in a heads-up pot. PokerNews' own Chad Holloway was in position in the cutoff and looking at a board of 2♦️4♠️6♣️a♥️.
With about 4,000 in the pot, the big blind checked to Holloway, who decided to check behind.
The river fell the 7♥️. After the turn checked through, the big blind decided to lead for 2,600. Holloway elected to make the call.
"Queen high," said the big blind.
That wasn't good, as Holloway showed 10♦️7♦️ for the winner.
Anderson Makes Quads and Gets Paid
Also on Day 1c, albeit in Level 8 (500/1,000/1,000), Nick Anderson opened to 1,800 and picked up two callers, the small blind and the big blind.
The flop showed up j♦️5♣️5♠️ and all three players checked.
On the j♣️ turn, the small blind shoved for about 20,000, the big blind folded, and Anderson called immediately.
Small blind: ♦️a9♣️
Nick Anderson: 5♥️5♦️
Anderson flopped quads and had his opponent drawing dead. The 3♥️ made it official and he took it down.
Misstep Costs Bekavac Piles, Trost Collects
On Day 2 with approximately 28 players remaining, it was Level 21 (10,000/20,000/20,000) when Dean Swailes opened to 65,000 from early position and Bekavac made the call on the button. Craig Trost three-bet from the big blind to 270,000.
Swailes thought for a while but decided to let it go. Bekavac back-raised all in for about 920,000 effective, which Trost snap-called.
Craig Trost: a♣️k♣️
Dan Bekavac: a♥️10♦️
Trost was in great shape to get the huge double on the j♠️9♠️6♦️ flop. The 8♥️ hit the turn, because there's always a sweat. The river fell the j♣️ to complete the board, give Trost the big double, and cost Bekavac a large portion of his stack.
That hand proved a real game changer as Trost went on to win the tournament for $180,145.
