Watson and Herm Tangling

The first few hands between Mike Watson and Mark Herm have seen each player draw blood.

First, the two played a limped pot and saw the flop come , with Watson check-calling a 24,000 bet to see the fall on the turn. Watson then check-called a bet of 42,000 and both tapped the table on the river. Watson rolled over for the second nut flush draw and a rivered pair, but Watson had him pipped with the for the nut flush draw and a better pair.

Watson rebounded by four-betting to 275,000 on the next hand of note, coming over the top of Herm's 125,000 three-bet to force a fold.

Soon afterward, Watson struck again with a three-bet to 135,000 after Herm raised his button to 50,000. Once again, the pressure play worked to perfection.

Finally, Herm evened things up when the two saw a flop of and Watson fired out for a 100,000 wager. Herm flatted and the turn fell , prompting both players to check. The river card was the to pair the board, and Watson tapped the table once more to prompt a big bet of 310,000 by Herm. Watson couldn't stand the heat and soon his hand hit the muck, sending a sizable pot across the table to Herm.