Suravin delights in cracked Aces

Vladislav Suravin rose above the mortal chip stacks in the room following a dramatic couple of hours, cracking Aces to fire him back among the leaders.

The Russian (pictured) has certainly seen some action today, but none more so than the hand which caused his to cry out in jubilation, turning heads throughout the Concord Card Casino.

Three limpers had made the pot attractive to Suravin's 56o, and even with a raise behind, two further calls made it too enticing not to continue.

The move certainly paid off, as having flopped two pair on a 5♥6&spadesQ♦ board, he got it all-in against a slow-played pair of Aces and cheered his hand on to victory.

"I started the day second in chips and have been up as high as 270,000, but I lost two big hands to put me back at the average," he told the PPT blog only a short time before his big hand.

"I won with QQ vs 99 when we ended up all in on a 6-7-8 flop. It didn't last long though, as I lost with both AQ and AK in quick succession.

"I hit top pair top kicker on the turn with my AQ, but managed to lay it down on the river and my opponent showed two pair, while the big slick ran into Aces.

"Obviously I'm going to try and build my stack up again by keeping to my tight-aggressive game," added the Russian player at the last break, "There are at least three really big stacks on my table so I can't play too loose, especially as some of them call with a wide range."