Just had an interesting situation come up over at Jason Somerville's table. With the board showing , Somerville bet 350 into a pot of roughly 1,200. When his opponent called, Somerville immediately put his cards in the muck, his bluff having been picked off.
Then Somerville's opponent attempted to muck his cards, and Somerville asked whether or not his opponent had to show. The discussion continued for a bit, with Somerville finally asking that the floor come over to make a ruling.
Somerville ultimately was sorry he'd pursued the matter. After the floor came over, it was determined Somerville was himself subject to a one-hand penalty for having put his cards in the muck without showing them -- in other words, if he hadn't have asked about his opponent showing his cards, Somerville wouldn't have been penalized himself.
Somerville spent his hand off sharing the story with Jason Mercier, playing at a nearby table.
The blinds may be small here in the early going, but that's not preventing some from getting all those 3,000 chips in at the earliest opportunity.
As we near the end of the first level, Dana Kellstrom -- who finished 620th in the Main Event last year -- was the beneficiary of one such hand. Preflop betting saw Kellstrom get most of his stack in the middle, and all of his opponent's. When all was said and done, Kellstrom's pocket queens held up against his foe's pocket tens.
With the board showing and a modest pot having already developed, a short-stacked player sitting in the big blind checked, J.C. Tran bet 250 from the button, and his opponent check-raised all in for 750 total. Tran thought a beat, then made the call.
His opponent showed for a set. "Returning the favor," chimed another player, suggesting perhaps Tran was giving back some chips he'd taken from his tablemate earlier.
Like any MMA fighter, Randy Couture clearly desires action. Within the first 20 minutes of play today, such a desire had resulted in his stack being reduced to just 1,100 from the starting 3,000.
Couture was back in the thick of things just now. A player under the gun raised to 125, two called, then Couture pushed out his lone yellow 1,000-chip to make the call from the hijack seat. He was given change, the others folded, and the flop came . All four checked.
The turn brought the . The original raiser checked, the player to his left bet 425, and only Couture stuck around. The river then brought the and a check from Couture's foe. The fighter picked up his last 550 and put it in the middle, and after a bit of a think his opponent called.
Couture showed for two pair, and his opponent mucked. A big grin of relief from Couture followed as he dragged the pot. He's back up over 2,400.
Wow, $1,000 doesn't last very long here in the Pavilion Room.
We didn't get the name of the unfortunate bustee who got his whole stack in with pocket kings, but the gent holding the pocket aces was one James Sweeney. "Seat open on nine..." the dealer trailed off as Mr. Pocket Kings headed towards, presumably, anyone who would listen to his tale of woe. Sweeney meanwhile looks to be just about chip leader on 6,000.
Scattered among the 1,600 or so hopefuls who have made it into the Pavilion Room for shuffle-up-and-deal o'clock are a few well-known faces from across the pond.
Representing the UK, former Irish Open champion Neil Channing and young up-and-comer James Keys are getting stuck in. From Belgium, we have 2008 PLH bracelet winner Davidi Kitai, and from just across the border in France, his buddy Nicolas "Hat Pimp" Levi. Andreas Hoivold, whom you might remember from High Stakes Poker, is flying the flag for Norway, and Greece is represented by young Georgios Kapalas who finalled at EPT Barcelona last season.
All this, and we fully expect a bunch of still slightly jetlagged Europlayers to stumble dazedly in before the first break.
Everyone is starting here in the Pavilion Room today, the square-footage of which is roughly equivalent to that of an American football field. Meanwhile, the Amazon Room was empty as the first hands were dealt, although there are tables available over there should they be needed. Registration for this event remains open through the first two one-hour levels today.
A quick pass through one quadrant of the room reveals a few familiar faces. J.C. Tran is here, sporting his familiar Yankees cap. So are Nick Binger, Amnon Filippi, Brian Rast, Sorel Mizzi, Jeff Shulman, and John Harris.
MMA fighter and participant in today's event, Randy Couture, was invited to deliver the traditional call to arms today. After noting he hoped to gather some chips himself, he instructed the dealers to "Shuffle up and deal" -- and we're playing poker.
, Somerville bet 350 into a pot of roughly 1,200. When his opponent called, Somerville immediately put his cards in the muck, his bluff having been picked off.
and a modest pot having already developed, a short-stacked player sitting in the big blind checked, J.C. Tran bet 250 from the button, and his opponent check-raised all in for 750 total. Tran thought a beat, then made the call.
for a set. "Returning the favor," chimed another player, suggesting perhaps Tran was giving back some chips he'd taken from his tablemate earlier.
. The original raiser checked, the player to his left bet 425, and only Couture stuck around. The river then brought the 
for two pair, and his opponent mucked. A big grin of relief from Couture followed as he dragged the pot. He's back up over 2,400.
