The sleeper straddle was on for $10,000, and Bobby Baldwin made it $20,000 to go from the blinds. Rick Salomon called from the sleeper straddle, and both checked the , bringing a . Both put in $35,000 on the turn, though we couldn't see who fired first. On the river, Baldwin bet $60,000 and got a fold.
"The Owl" is now up to $1.2 million, good for a profit of about $200,000.
Rick Salomon was down heaps at the start of the game but has continued his loose-aggressive ways and his style is starting to earn him some pots without showdown. In one recent hand, he opened to $6,300 and got three-bet to $15,000 by Bill Perkins. The flop brought , and Salomon checked. Perkins bet $15,000, and Salomon fired off a raise to around $60,000, which got a quick folded from Perkins.
Rick Salomon has been putting on what's known as a "sleeper straddle" in some of the pots. The sleeper straddle can be pulled back if there is action in front of Salomon, but if it folds to him, it becomes a live straddle and he gets the last preflop action. According to the talk at the table, Salomon is known to put on the sleeper straddle in many Hollywood games.
Bill Klein hasn't had much success thus far but he just opened to $4,000 and called a reraise to $15,000 from Al DeCarolis. Klein check-called $25,000 on the flop, and both checked the , bringing a . Klein bet $58,000 and took down the pot.
Jean-Robert Bellande opened for $17,000 and got calls from Al DeCarolis (button) and Brandon Steven (small blind). Everyone checked the flop, and the board was when it got checked to DeCarolis again. He bet $40,000, getting a fold from Steven. Bellande loaded up his big chips and put out enough to make DeCarolis risk his stack if he wanted to continue, a raise of roughly $130,000.
DeCarolis snap-called with the , and he initially said he wanted to run it once against Bellande's . Bellande convinced him to run it twice, but the and were both bricks, and DeCarolis scooped a pot of just under $400,000. Bellande is now stuck a bit with a stack of $900,000.
Bill Perkins opened to $5,000 and got calls from Bobby Baldwin, John Morgan on the button, and straddler Al DeCarolis. The flop came , and Morgan led into the field for $16,000. Only Perkins called. The board paired with the , and both checked. Morgan went with a much smaller bet of $15,000 on the river, only about a third of the pot. Perkins called and said something about Morgan bluffing.
"I never bluff," Morgan declared, showing and taking the pot with a straight.
Morgan has nearly $700,000 now, good for about a $100,000 profit.
With Jean-Robert Bellande putting on a third straddle to $4,800, Rick Salomon raised to $15,000 in the small blind. Bill Perkins called from the mandatory straddle, and Bellande called as well. The flop came , and Salomon bet $20,000. That got rid of nobody, and the turn brought the . Action checked to Bellande, who bet $50,000. Salomon called, and Perkins looked like he was going to at least call, if not raise, before he mucked. Salomon checked the , and Bellande blasted out what looked like around $160,000 into the pot that contained over $200,000. Salomon gave it up.
Along with the mandatory straddle, one recent pot featured a straddle to $2,400 and another straddle to $4,800 by Rick Salomon. Bill Perkins opened for $10,000, and Bobby Baldwin made it $55,000 to go. He took down the pot.
Jean-Robert Bellande raised to $4,000 and got three-bet to $17,000 by Bill Klein. Rick Salomon cold-called on the button, and Bellande continued as well, seeing a flop. Klein bet $15,000 after Bellande checked, and only Salomon called. Klein checked the turn and called $35,000 from Salomon. He checked the river, and Salomon fired $80,000. Klein mucked, and Salomon took the pot.