Justin Smith Catching Up

With around 13,500 in the pot and the board reading [Jc5d2d], the player in the big blind checks, as does the player under the gun.  An early position player bets 4,500 and Justin Smith counts out around 20,000 chips before calling.  The player in the big blind folds, then the under the gun player calls.

The turn brings the [7h] and all three players check. The river is the [4s] and the under the gun player checks again.  The middle position player bets 11,500, Smith calls, and the player under the gun folds.

Smith’s opponent turns over [9s9h] for a pair of nines, and Smith takes the pot with [Jd8d] for a pair of jacks.

Even though Justin Smith registered midway through Level 8 action, he is already at nearly twice the average stack.  Smith has a history of success at Bellagio, finishing third at Bellagio Cup in Season VIII and finishing runner-up to Moritz Kranich at the same event in Season IX.

Justin Smith – 145,000