This is a no-limit style game, but that doesn't mean all the pots are huge. The small pots have to be fought over as well. Daniel Negreanu recently took a stab by raising to 800 pre-draw. He was called by Brett Richey from the button. Both players drew one card.
After the draw, Negreanu check-called a bet of 1,600 from Richey. He mucked his hand upon seeing Richey show down 10-7-5-4-2.
We have our first casualty of the evening. Yan Chen was recently crippled down to 3,800 chips. He's now out of the tournament.
Greg Raymer also recently took down an 18,000 pot from Gus Hansen after showing down 10-8-x-x-x. Raymer is up to 37,000 while Hansen is down to about 19,000.
We went back to Erick Lindgren's table to see another big pot developing. The action was against four-ways, with Freddy Deeb drawing first. He threw away four cards. Then Huck Seed also threw away four cards. Greg Mueller took two and Erick Lindgren took one.
After the draw, action checked to Lindgren. He bet 1,600, inducing folds from Deeb and Seed. Mueller, however, responded by raising to 9,725, a raise that won him the pot.
You can all stop holding your breath now... Tom "durrrr" Dwan has arrived and is seated at Table 248 alongside Andy Bloch, Phil Ivey, Ville Wahlbeck and David Grey.
Deuce-to-Seven Draw isn't a game you'll find spread in many places. It's little wonder then that some of the dealers -- who are doing their best and performing admirably -- are having the occasional problem dealing the game.
In a recent hand at Erick Lindgren's table, Huck Seed opened with a raise to 600 that was called by Greg Mueller, Lindgren and Tim Phan. Steve Zolotow, also at the table, pointed out that the dealer didn't burn before dealing Lindgren (first to act) his one draw card.
"You're supposed to burn, and call out how many cards each player takes as you deal them," said Zolotow. "One, Two, Pat, One" he pointed around the table at Lindgren, Phan, Seed and Mueller. Phan was a bit confused as to what was going on -- Lindgren tried to back up one of Phan's draw cards (after giving his own draw card, untouched, as the burn card). Neither Phan nor Lindgren was sure which card was the correct one that Lindgren should have received but both decided they didn't care.
After the draw, Lindgren bet 2,200, folding all other players. Zolotow went off in search of a floor person to request that the dealers be instructed as to proper drawing protocol for this game.
There's still a few empty seats out there on the the tables. One of them is at Dario Alioto's table, where a lonely stack is slowly being blinded off. Alioto recently took a small pot from Nikolay Evdakov. Alioto raised before the draw to 625, drawing a call from Evdakov out of the blinds. Both players drew one card and then checked. Alioto's J-10-6-4-2 beat out Evdakov's ace-high.
Shawn Sheikhan's a bit hot under the collar, although we're not entirely sure why. He's spent the last five minutes complaining vociferously to one of the floor staff. It seems to be about a decision to pull the player in the big blind off of Sheikhan's table to balance out a new table. Sheikhan's table is now playing five-handed and he felt that this was an incorrect decision.
Meanwhile, the air temperature in the Brasilia Room is cool enough that several players put on jackets, sweatshirts and long-sleeve shirts during the break. Doyle Brunson complained, "It's freezing in here!"
Looks like Gus Hansen decided the field was juicy enough, as he just took a seat behind a stack of chips at the Andy Black/Greg Raymer/Billy Baxter "Table of Death."