While many of the players at the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event final table could be considered pros, only one was considered an established pro, one who had been around long enough and played in enough venues to be considered such. Chino Rheem was his name, and many pros had gathered in the stands of the Penn and Teller theater to watch the November Nine and cheer for Rheem.
In this hand Rheem went up against one of the hottest poker players in the world, Ivan Demidov, to see who might be going home. Chino started off with big slick:
and moved all in. Ivan did not wait very long, having chino out chipped and holding a pocket pair, to call the $2.7 million he needed. Ivan was holding:
and looked for the flop to support him.
The Flop was:
supporting Ivan more than Chino. It was looking scary for the pro, but he stood stoic, steadying himself for what seemed an inevitable bust out.
The Turn however, came to the rescue. The turn card was the:
and just like that Chino was way out ahead. It wasn’t over, however, as any six or another nine could give it back to Ivan.
The River came down:
however, leaving Chino in the lead and the winner of the pot. With this the pros breathed a collective sigh of relief, and some of them cheered their poster boy, while Ivan calmly shipped the pot over to Rheem.
