[user4144]
Lee Watts
Amateur Lee Watts, who qualified via an online freeroll, is the unfortunate bubbleboy and leaves with nothing (Hey, I feel like Anne Robinson saying that).
At the moment, it's exceedingly difficult to accrue hand details as the press aren't allowed near the table and nothing is being announced. However, I did manage a quick postmortem word with the Sunderland man.
"I went out with A-K. Jason Ho had 7-5 and made a straight," reported Watts.
[user46298]
Jason Ho and Peter Gould
A gambling Jason Ho got involved with Josh Gould (who held) on a board holding . The club draw wasn't, in the end, something he was after, and the turn and river came an emphatic giving Josh a few more chips to play with.
Pretty much straight afterwards, however, Jason Ho made it 5,000 to go preflop. Neighbour Peter Gould wasted no time in re-raising to 16,000, and everyone else getting out of the way, Ho called.
Flop:
Jason Ho bet out 15k (that's just three chips now that they've reorganised the stacks). Perhaps acting first was an advantage, for Gould Senior went into the tank behind his impenetrable shades and eventually folded his hand.
[user4144]
Peter Gould
Still riding high in second place is Peter Gould. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe Peter is a successful property investor of some sort. What I do know, however, is that Peter has been on the verge of a big win for quite a while.
Partaking in various tournaments both sides of the pond, Peter is a regular on the circuit and has suffered from 'so near, yet so far' -syndrome in major comps such as the 2006 EPT Grand Final, The Caribbean Poker Classic and several WSOP events.
Although famed for his vast array of brightly coloured shirts, Peter is far from the table jester and an intimidating opponent on any final table. He is fearless, aggressive and not scared by playing a big pot - the perfect tools for winning a major comp.
Perhaps today will see him bring home his biggest triumph thus far.
[user4144]
Your bloggers were sent into a spiral of confusion earlier today as we gradually, and following a full chip count which inevitably bamboozled us, realised that the colour of the chips now represented different values.
As such, the chip values are now as follows:
Black = 100
White = 500
Red = 1000
Blue = 5000
Argh! Blues were 1k yesterday and reds 2k. Oh my poor head. :-(
[user46298]
Patrik Selin
Patrik Selin just moved all-in preflop on the small blind, for around 35,000, with three potential opponents who all took their time in deciding they didn't want to risk that much after all.... First off, big blind Josh Gould gave it a bit of a dwell, then passed to cutoff Jason Ho - another pass - then finally there was just button Peter Gould to get through. He'd already committed what looked like 8,500, and genuinely looked like he was ready to give somebody a spin...but it turned out that somebody was more likely Ho and not the shoving Selin, and he too passed. Not a bad pot with no flop - like when cats sit on the top of a fence and win territory by just staring at each other instead of actually fighting.
Incidentally, the TV set is firing on all cylinders, with some extremely bright spotlights which swing around crazily after every hand is played. Out into the audience, swooping over the table, round and round the carpet and walls like the inside of a pub disco on Saturday night. They come in dazzling white, blue and red, and when the latter two are played together over the table, it looks like the finalists have all been pulled over for speeding by the cops.
[user4144]
Roy Houghton
After Darren Woods' penultimate hand, there were a few suggestions of collusion, predominantly from Peter Gould, who had made it to the river with Woods and Ho.
Apparently, word on the grapevine is that Ho was declaring his hand and influencing the other players. The actual word used by Tournament Director Roy Houghton was 'incitement'.
"Let's stop messing about," demands Roy. "Just make your decisions and get on with the game. It's not fair on the other players."
For me, the message was clear, mess with the Houghton at your peril!
[user4144]
Darren Woods
After being re-raised off a hand by Jason Ho on a board of , the sober-compared-to-yesterday Darren Woods was left with just the one blue chip worth 5k, which jumped into the pot the very next hand like a leaping salmon.
There were two callers in father and son combo Peter and Josh Gould, who proceeded to check down the board. Although Darren had a pair, it was the lowest kind, and Peter's for top pair was more than enough to take the pot and send Darren home in 8th.
[user4144]
Dieter Dijkstra Illustrates Tension
As we move into the second half of the level, the players have yet to shift into second gear, many raises, but nobody brave enough to join the party.
The last seven hands have all come to an abrupt end prior to any flop. Darren Woods and Jason Ho both took turns in taking the blinds, whist Patrik Selin and Dieter Dijkstra have resorted to all-ins, the latter pushing after Lee Watts had flat called in front of him.
Maybe it's the effect of the 'lights, camera, action', but play seems a little more stagnant today with nobody willing to make any cavalier moves. In fact, as a popular British sports commentator once said, "“The atmosphere is so tense, if Elvis walked in with a portion of chips, you could hear the vinegar sizzle on them.”
![[user4144]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
) on a 
board holding 
. The club draw wasn't, in the end, something he was after, and the turn and river came an emphatic 
giving Josh a few more chips to play with.
, the sober-compared-to-yesterday Darren Woods was left with just the one blue chip worth 5k, which jumped into the pot the very next hand like a leaping salmon.
for top pair was more than enough to take the pot and send Darren home in 8th.
