button in SafariStraight Flush Over Full House on Soft Bubble of WSOP Main Event
A wild hand unfolded late on Day 3 of this year's WSOP Main Event as two players clashed with a straight flush against a full house on the soft bubble of poker's World Championship.
WSOP bracelet winner and Canadian pro Jason James found himself on the winning end of the cooler, though he may have been left wondering if he could have extracted more value from Amarender Puri after the remarkable showdown played out on the streamed feature table.
And, as if that wasn't enough drama, James was then on the receiving end of a brutal bad beat in the very next hand. Check out the action below.
Straight Flush Over Boat on the Turn
James opened to 14,000 with K♠10♠ and 364,000 behind, and Puri called with J♣9♣ from his stack of 536,000. The rest of the table folded.
With 43,000 in the middle, the dealer spread a J♥J♠Q♠ flop, giving Puri trip jacks and James an open-ended straight flush draw. James checked, Puri bet 16,000, and James called.
The 9♠ turn was the all-action card of the deck. Puri improved to a full house, while James made a straight flush. Both players opted to slow-play their monsters with two quick checks.
The 10♥ river changed nothing. James slid out a bet of 50,000, and Puri paused before saying, "Should have raised," as he tossed in a calling chip. He was relieved he hadn't, however, as James tabled the straight flush and Puri rapped the table in disbelief, having avoided losing a huge chunk of his stack on the soft bubble of the $10,000 tournament.
As the table laughed about the hand, Puri added: "Wow! I was about to just click it to 100k."
No Luck for James
After perhaps feeling he should have been paid more for the previous hand, James had no such luck as he ran into a bad beat the very next one.
Steven Stanton, in the small blind, raised to 28,000 with K♥Q♥ from his stack of 156,000. In the big blind, James looked down at A♣Q♠ and three-bet to 159,000, effectively putting Stanton all in. Stanton called.
Stanton asked for hearts and got them, as the 9♥2♥2♦ flop left James ahead but gave Stanton 12 outs. James dodged them on the 3♠ turn, but the 5♥ river completed Stanton's flush.
The 324,000 pot was pushed Stanton's way, all but assuring him a place among Thursday morning's cashers, while James was left to ponder two huge hands televised back-to-back on the soft bubble.
Still, after finishing 14th in this very event in 2024 for $450,400, James knows better than most the highs, lows, and swings required for a deep run in the WSOP Main Event.
