Former MSPT Player of the Year Mark Hodge and one of today’s regular chip leaders Andy Tran are both near the top of the overall leaderboard, seated next to one another at Table 3. In a recent hand Hodge picked up a nice pot from the Eau Claire native.

We cut to the action already in progress on the flop of , with a pot that has about 20,000 in it already and only the two contenders. Tran, first to act, checks to Hodge who bets 8,000 and Tran calls. The turn brings , and after both players choose to check that card the river brings . This elicits a 25,000 chip wager from Tran. Hodge mulls it over, verifying the bet size, before calling. Tran elects to muck his hand without showing, meaning Hodge need not show his hand either, and scoops the pot.

Hodge now has close to 200,000 in chips, while Tran, despite losing a hefty sum, maintains a six-digit stack as well.