We just caught noted professional Blair Rodman walking by, presumably to take his seat as a late registrant in the tournament, and he quickly glanced at the TV screens overhead to assess the day's progress. After seeing that the starting field of nearly 2,200 runners has already been cut in half, in just four levels of play, Rodman broke into a grin that spoke volumes.
Many of poker's premiere players utilize the late registration process, or simply arrive during the third or fourth levels, to allow the amateur-heavy field some time to shrink. Rodman and the scores of other pros who are just now sitting down to play have already defeated half of the field without ever picking up a chip, and from the smile on Rodman's face as he passed, that was precisely the plan all along.
They have just released the final number of entrants in this event: 2192, which is down over 300 from the previous low of 2500 in this type of event. In a series where several events have crushed the previous record for entrants, it is interesting to see such a "small" field for this tournament.
We noticed Tom Dwan talking to his good buddy Peter Jetten in the Pavilion and were wondering why he wasn't sitting at his table. Apparently he had just busted and on his way back to the H.O.R.S.E. event.
A player raised to 375 from under-the-gun and another player in middle position three-bet all-in for his last 2,000. Josh Field looked down and saw the prettiest sight in poker: . He made the easy call and the original bettor quickly got out of the way.
The all-in player showed down and found himself crushed by Field's aces. The flop fell and the opponent had paired his queen, but was still trialing badly in the hand. After the came on the turn, the opponent stood up to acknowledge his defeat and prepared to depart the table.
River:
The reverse-jinx had worked to perfection and the player yelled in triumph after he spiked his miracle card on the river. The loss dropped Field to a little over 10,000 in chips, which is still a healthy stack midway through the first day of action.
We caught up with the action on a flop, where Justin "Boosted J" Smith fired a bet of 1,200 from the cutoff. His lone opponent shoved all-in from the small for a little over 3k and Smith called, only to see he was in bad shape.
Smith:
Opponent:
Smith would need to pair his cards to claim the pot, but the turn and river bricked, knocking Smith down to just 3,000.
After two players limped into the pot, Dean McIver raised to 900 and watched a fourth player shove all-in for 3,500. The first limper decided to make his stand and made the call, putting his 3,400 stack at risk. McIver couldn't resist the pot odds he was being laid and called to put both players at risk.
Showdown:
McIver:
Opponent # 1:
Opponent # 2:
The Australian professional was in bad shape with his underpair, but he was not fazed and calmly directed the dealer "How about a nine of clubs?"
The dealer burned and turned, spreading a flop of across the felt. McIver's wish had been delivered on cue and he vaulted into the lead with a flopped set of nines. The turn and and river came and respectively, giving McIver the double-knockout and the pot.
Just a few hands later, we watched as McIver check-called a series of bets by an opponent with the board reading . On the river, McIver led out for 2,500 and showed down his after being called. His opponent mucked his cards and then told McIver "I had king-high, I swear to God...I just wanted to impress the massage girl in case you were on a bluff."
After these two fortunate hands, McIver now sits with a little over 18,000 chips, double the average stack at this stage in the tournament.
We caught up just as the dealer was scooping up the cards. It appeared that Chad Brown got all-in holding on an ace-high board, which was good enough to double him to 12,500.
We caught up on a hand involving John "The Razor" Phan and one opponent. Phan raised to 600 from the cutoff and the big blind decided to come along, bringing a flop of to the table.
The big blind checked and Phan fired a bet of 800 into the pot. After thinking it over for a minute or so, the big blind made the call and the arrived on the turn. After another check to him, Phan bet 1,500 and the big blind went into the tank again, pausing for three minutes or so before eventually releasing his hand.
Before the cards touched the muck, Phan playfully grabbed them and slid them back to his opponent. He intimated that he wanted the hand to continue and that he would accept a discount on his 1,500 bet. The big blind player re-capped his cards and the dealer appeared ready to let the hand go on, but the opponent folded again while Phan laughed and collected the pot.
![[user197301]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. He made the easy call and the original bettor quickly got out of the way.
and found himself crushed by Field's aces. The flop fell 
and the opponent had paired his queen, but was still trialing badly in the hand. After the 
came on the turn, the opponent stood up to acknowledge his defeat and prepared to depart the table.
flop, where Justin "Boosted J" Smith fired a bet of 1,200 from the cutoff. His lone opponent shoved all-in from the small for a little over 3k and Smith called, only to see he was in bad shape.
river bricked, knocking Smith down to just 3,000.
across the felt. McIver's wish had been delivered on cue and he vaulted into the lead with a flopped set of nines. The turn and and river came 
and 
respectively, giving McIver the double-knockout and the pot.
. On the river, McIver led out for 2,500 and showed down his 
to the table.
arrived on the turn. After another check to him, Phan bet 1,500 and the big blind went into the tank again, pausing for three minutes or so before eventually releasing his hand.
