In the late stages of level 8, the action is becoming more and more aggressive, building big stacks for some players and sending others to the rail. A hand that just played out on table 61 showed these dynamics at work.
With the blinds at 500/1K, a small three-way pot escalated quickly. It started as a limped pot. The first player to act on the 
flop, Chrispother Kwan, saw an opportunity to add to his stack and moved all in for 10.3K. Despite betting more than double the pot, he picked up a call from the next player, Elaine Rawn, before the action got to Karim Abdelhamid. Abdelhamid put in a raise to 29.3K, putting Rawn in a tough spot. Her call of Kwan’s all in showed strength, but Abdelhamid’s raise threw everything into question. After spending a while in the tank, Rawn decided to fold so hands could be tabled. It was 
for Kwan, against Abdelhamid’s 
. The turn brought the 
and with it, some hope for Kwan as a chop became more likely, however, the 
on the river improved Abdelhamid’s hand and gave him two pairs, enough to take down the starting-stack-sized pot.
Play continues in level 9 with 97 players remaining.
