A middle-position player raised to 300 and David Singer made the call from the big blind. The flop was . Singer led out for 750 and the MP player called. The turn was the and both players checked. The river was the . Singer bet 2,000 and his opponent called.
Singer rolled over for the flush and picked up a nice pot to start the day.
John Kalmar is a name that would sound familiar to most poker fans out there but perhaps you can't quite place where you've heard it. Well if you think back to last year's WSOP Main Event and the final table then you'd be able to picture a entertaining British guy mixing it up with Lee Watkinson, Tuan Lam and Jerry Yang for the ultimate prize in poker.
Last year Kalmar actually didn't want to play the Main Event, and planned to leave early to go back to England, but managed to win a seat in the last mega-satellite to gain his Main Event seat and went on to finish fifth for over $1.25 million.
Since last year's result, John has had only a few small WPT cashes but is back again this year to try for back-to-back final tables and the chance to go a few places better. John will be a player to watch throughout today's play.
The under-the-gun player raised to 200 and Larry Flynt called from middle position. The flop came and Flynt called a bet of 500 from his opponent.
The hit the turn and it was checked to Flynt. He bet 1,000 and got a quick call. When the river fell the , Flynt's opponent led out for 3,000. Flynt raised to 8,000 and the under-the-gun player moved all in. Flynt made the call and the players showed:
Flynt:
Opponent:
His opponent showed Broadway and Flynt's straight was second best. He was left with just 2,200 chips after the hand.
On a flop of the small blind led out for 300 and Mike Sexton called. When the turn came the , the small blind fired again for 1,000 and Sexton shot him a look before making the call. The on the river brought another 1,000 bet from the small blind and Sexton called.
The small blind showed , Sexton showed and they chopped the pot.
With the board showing all the money went in the middle and John Strzemp revealed for a turned set of kings and eliminated a player from today's event. He's now up to 35,400.
The flop was out and reading as . The small blind player checked to the preflop aggressor, Bryan Devonshire, who bet 450 before seeing it raised up to 2,000.
Devonshire made the call and the turn came , to which the small blind player check-called a 3,425 bet. The river came and once again the small blind player check-called a bet from Devonshire, this time for 6,625.
Devonshire tabled for the flush and his opponent mucked. He's up to 32,000 already.
Steve Wong is not happy after quickly learning about one of the WSOP tournament rules. Wong was standing near his seat when the cards were being dealt. The tournament rules stipulate that you must be within reach of your chair when the dealer finishes dealing all cards or else your hand is declared dead. Wong was upset at the ruling as he was standing very close to where his chair was, but the dealer enforced the rule and Wong's hand was pulled into the muck.
In a battle of the blinds, on a flop of , the small blind raises to 450 and Sabyl Landrum calls. The turn is and the SB checks. Landrum bets 1,000 and the SB raises to 3,300. Landrum calls.
The river is and the SB bets 6,000. Landrum goes into the tank and eventually calls, showing to the opponent's . She's up to 30,000.
We pick up the action on the flop in a hand between Sam Farha and an unknown player. There is about 900 in the pot already, and the board shows .
With Farha in position, he sees his opponent bet out 650 chips and makes the call. The turn comes the . The bettor checks, and Farha comes out with a bet of 2,500. The player announces, "Raise," and makes it 6,500 to play. Farha calls.
The river brings the . Check to Farha again, and he moves all in for a little less than 14,000 chips. His opponent goes into the tank for a few minutes before making the all-in call, putting himself at risk of elimination. He flips over , but it's no good against Farha and his . With his full house, the pro and his unlit cigarette notch an early knockout, chipping up to 42,000.
On a flop of Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier followed up his preflop raise with a continuation bet of 650 from the button. The player in the small blind made the call. They saw a turn of and it was checked to Grospellier who fired out another 1,125. The small blind then moved all in and Grospellier was forced to lay down his hand.
Grospellier has found it tough in the early goings today and is now down to 10,200 chips.