Timoshenko Check-Raises River to Claim Early Lead
Holding the button, Cody limped in for 20,000 and Timoshenko checked to bring a flop of 
. Timoshenko checked and called a bet of 25,000 by Cody.
Fourth street was the 
and Timoshenko checked once again, prompting Cody to fire 65,000 in to the middle. Timoshenko came along and the river fell 
.
Timoshenko checked for a third time and stared intently at the Brit, who responded by betting 145,000 chips. As is his style, Timoshenko was very deliberate and thought things over for a minute or so before deciding to raise to 435,000.
This move clearly surprised Cody and he sipped from a bottle of water while contemplating his next move. The pot contained 800,000 chips at this point and Cody was reluctant to surrender such a large prize this early in the contest. Eventually Cody mucked his hand, however, and Timoshenko staked himself to an early advantage.