Andrea Benelli had been teaching PokerStars qualifier Michael Aston a lesson or two, hand after hand, the Italian mercilessly re-raising the Englishman's pre-flop bets, forcing him to fold. Then came this hand which saw Aston draw the line...
He had good reason, but Benelli's hand was also strong as well - just not strong enough.
With the same raise, re-raise pattern, Aston moved all-in pre-flop for 87,100. Benelli went into the tank, at one point separating the call from his own mighty stack, before glancing over at Aston who reacted by taking a sip of water. Was this just a Benelli ploy to gauge his opponent's response? Regardless he called, making this a massive pot worth upwards of 170,000.
Andrea Benelli
Ace-queen for Benelli, ace-king for Aston and a board of 8♠-2♥-2♣-2♠-4♣.
Benelli took it well, and there was typical British restraint from Aston who shook Benelli's hand before stacking his new found wealth. The Italian, in pursuit of a third EPT final table this season alone, pegged back now to 60,000. You wouldn't rule him out though.
It's one of the last hands of the level as players depart for a one hour dinner break.
