2009 WSOP Main Event finalist James Akenhead is making a bit of a recovery now after an unhappy last level before dinner.
We found him betting out 2,300 on an flop and after a bit of a dwell-up his opponent Rafal Lubczynsky called. They saw a turn and this time Akenhead bet out 6,000. Another spell in the tank for Lubczynsky, but this time no call when he emerged. The Pole folded, and Akenhead has clawed his way back up to 24,000.
There will now be a 90 minute pause in the action to allow all our remaining runners to enjoy the frankly spectacular Alpine Palace buffet. We intend to join them.
With dinner time rapidly approaching the hungry poker players seem to have taken their foot off the gas a little but chips are still changing hands, just at a lesser pace.
Hand 1
Giuseppe Pantaleo min-raised under the gun to 800 and only Thibaud Zeien in the cutoff made the call. The flop of was greeted with a continuation bet of 1,350 and a fold from Zeien. Pantaleo is now sitting behind 18,000 chips.
Hand 2
John O'Shea is amongst the chip leaders, now armed with 78,000 chips. First in on the button, O'Shea made it 1,000 to play, a price Darius Venckus was prepared to pay from the small blind.
The flop came down , Venckus checked then called O'Shea's bet of 1,025. The on the turn saw Venckus check again but this time he gave up his hand as O'Shea bet 2,300.
Jack Ellwood fired out 4,300 on the flop of against Casey Kastle and got called to see a turn. Ellwood now checked and Kastle bet 5,000 which the English youngster called.
The river was the and Ellwood checked again, Kastle firing out a chunky 15,000. Ellwood looked non-plussed but made the call, Kastle showed but that was no good when faced with his opponent's
The flop read and Sander Benjamins bet 2,100. Aleh Plauski raised to 6,400, but Peter Sturzel now reraised to 11,600. Benjamins quickly got out of their way, Plauski made the call, and they were heads up to the turn.
The turn came down the and Plauski checked. Sturzel now bet a roughly pot-sized 26,000. Plauski tanked up for a while, staring at Sturzel in a frighteningly intense manner, as though lasers might shoot out of his eyes at any moment. Laser beams were in the end not forthcoming, but the call was, and they saw the river.
The river was the and Plauski checked again. Sturzel removed his headphones, and after a moment announced, "Ah, it's enough for me," and checked behind. He turned over for a turned set, and Plauski stared in silence for a little while before showing him for a flopped set.
With that, former chip leader Plauski dropped back down to a still respectable 62,000. Sturzel, already a big stack at the start of the hand after knocking out Ilya Shtokman earlier, is our current chip leader on a massive 130,000.
I managed to catch the very end of a hand involving Hanh Tran and Dominik Nitsche.
Tran checked to Nitsche on a board and the German fired a bet of what looked like it was for around 7,000. Tran quickly called but mucked even quicker when Nitsche turned over for two pair.
James Akenhead currently sits on a stack of 27,000 after winning a hand against Tauno Pajula of Estonia.
Akenhead lost quite a large pot when he turned two pair but his opponent had flopped a set but he's now pulled some of those chips back.
Everyone folded to Akenhead in the hijack seat and he made it 1,000 to play. Only Pajula, seated in the small blind called. The flop came down , Pajula checked then called Akenhead's 1,000 continuation bet. The turn saw the come into play and again Pajula checked. Akenhead spotted no reason for slowing down and placed chips worth 2,500 into the middle of the felt, enough to Pajula to relinquish his hand.
Team PokerStars Pro Ruben Visser has taken a bit of a hit - he's back down to a roughly average 36,000 now.
The board read when we arrived and over 16,000 had found its way into the pot already. Hanh Tran in the big blind position bet out 11,500, driving Visser into the tank for some time. He finally folded, and Tran increased his stack to 62,000, flashing Visser the as he raked in the pot.
![[user46392]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop and after a bit of a dwell-up his opponent Rafal Lubczynsky called. They saw a 
turn and this time Akenhead bet out 6,000. Another spell in the tank for Lubczynsky, but this time no call when he emerged. The Pole folded, and Akenhead has clawed his way back up to 24,000.
was greeted with a continuation bet of 1,350 and a fold from Zeien. Pantaleo is now sitting behind 18,000 chips.
, Venckus checked then called O'Shea's bet of 1,025. The 
on the turn saw Venckus check again but this time he gave up his hand as O'Shea bet 2,300.
turn. Ellwood now checked and Kastle bet 5,000 which the English youngster called.
and Ellwood checked again, Kastle firing out a chunky 15,000. Ellwood looked non-plussed but made the call, Kastle showed 
but that was no good when faced with his opponent's 
and Sander Benjamins bet 2,100. Aleh Plauski raised to 6,400, but Peter Sturzel now reraised to 11,600. Benjamins quickly got out of their way, Plauski made the call, and they were heads up to the turn.
and Plauski checked. Sturzel now bet a roughly pot-sized 26,000. Plauski tanked up for a while, staring at Sturzel in a frighteningly intense manner, as though lasers might shoot out of his eyes at any moment. Laser beams were in the end not forthcoming, but the call was, and they saw the river.
and Plauski checked again. Sturzel removed his headphones, and after a moment announced, "Ah, it's enough for me," and checked behind. He turned over 
for a flopped set.
board and the German fired a bet of what looked like it was for around 7,000. Tran quickly called but mucked even quicker when Nitsche turned over 
for two pair.
when we arrived and over 16,000 had found its way into the pot already. Hanh Tran in the big blind position bet out 11,500, driving Visser into the tank for some time. He finally folded, and Tran increased his stack to 62,000, flashing Visser the