From under the gun, Martin Finger raised to 1,200. Andrew Robl called from the hijack seat, John Juanda called in the cutoff seat, and Dan Shak called from the big blind.
On the flop, action checked through to Robl. He bet 3,000, and Juanda and Shak folded. Finger called.
The turn was the to pair the board. Finger checked, and Robl checked back.
The river completed the board with the , and Finger led for 5,500. Robl tanked for a couple long minutes, then called with the to beat Finger's .
Jason Pritchard seems to be the dark horse of the tournament thus far, with numerous spectators on the rail wondering who exactly the guy in the sunglasses is.
Pritchard isn't your typical high roller. He hails from Sydney, so he's essentially playing on his home turf, and has just over today's buy-in in lifetime earnings ($105,684 to be exact). His best score to date was back in the 2010 Aussie Millions Poker Championship Main Event when he finished in 29th place for A$40,000.
In a recent hand, Jason Mercier opened for 1,200 from the hijack only to have Pritchard three-bet to 3,100 from the button. Igor Kurganov then opted for a four-bet to 9,000 from the small blind, Mercier folded, and Pritchard called, bringing about a flop of . Kurganov continued for 8,000, Pritchard called, and the dealer burned and turned the .
Again Kurganov bet, this time 18,000, and Pritchard took his time before conceding the hand.
Action folded around to Philipp Gruissem on the button and he opened for 800. Jason Mercier folded the small blind, but Winfred Yu, who has a beautiful woman right behind him sweating the action from the rail, opted to push back from the big blind to the tune of 2,000.
Gruissem made the call and then took his time before calling a bet of 3,100 from Yu on the flop. The latter then slowed down with a check on the turn, and Gruissem seized the opportunity to bet 5,500. It got the job done as Yu relinquished the hand and went to his supporter on the rail for consolation.
Hansen's book of choice. Pic courtesy of Amazon.com.
We saw Gus Hansen intently focused on a book instead of the poker action, and we couldn't help but wonder what he's reading. A quick over-the-shoulder look revealed that he's reading Bridge at the Edge by Boye Brogeland and David Bird.
Here's how Amazon describes the said book: "A fascinating 'over-the-shoulder' look at top-level bridge. While describing almost 200 deals that he played in World and European Championships, one of the world's best players discusses bidding and card play, as well as his approach to the mental side of the game. A fascinating glimpse into the thought processes of a champion bridge player, as well as a look at state-of-the-art bidding methods, some of which are described here for the first time."
It seems Mr. Hansen is more focused on improving his bridge game at the moment than keeping up with what's happening at his table.
The stacks are deep, and there hasn't been much action here in the first level. However, we did catch a decent one between high rollers Mike "SirWatts" Watson and Vanessa Selbst.
In the hand, Selbst opened for 1,000 from the hijack only to have Watson three-bet to 3,300 from the small blind. Selbst called, the flop fell , and Watson continued for 3,000. Selbst called, and then wound up calling a bet of 6,600 on the turn. When the completed the board on the river, Watson took his time before betting 14,400, which proved enough to take down the pot as Selbst casually tossed her cards to the muck.
flop, action checked through to Robl. He bet 3,000, and Juanda and Shak folded. Finger called.
to pair the board. Finger checked, and Robl checked back.
, and Finger led for 5,500. Robl tanked for a couple long minutes, then called with the 
to beat Finger's 
.
. Kurganov continued for 8,000, Pritchard called, and the dealer burned and turned the 
.
flop. The latter then slowed down with a check on the 
turn, and Gruissem seized the opportunity to bet 5,500. It got the job done as Yu relinquished the hand and went to his supporter on the rail for consolation.
, and Juanda checked again. Bloom stayed on the gas with a bet of 3,100. Juanda wasted little time in making the call.
, and Juanda checked. Bloom bet 9,000, and Juanda folded right away.
, and Watson continued for 3,000. Selbst called, and then wound up calling a bet of 6,600 on the 
turn. When the 
