Eric "E-Fro" Froehlich was on life support just a few minutes ago, when his was beat by a flopped straight, in a hand that the longtime games player took to Twitter to celebrate after losing the minimum.
Just a half hour or so later, however, and Froehlich's stack has been returned to its former health. We saw E-Fro dragging a large pot his way, and with a player departing his table in a hurry, it was clear the two-time WSOP bracelet winner had notched a knockout to pad his stack.
We stuck around to catch Froehlich win a few more small pots, and after dodging elimination earlier in a spot many amateurs would have gladly gone bust, the former Magic the Gathering great has played his regrowth card to perfection, returning from the graveyard after an early clash.
Kevin Vandersmissen, Steven Silverman and Ben Lamb each put 675 in preflop before the dealer rolled out the flop. Vandersmissen and Silverman checked, then Lamb fired 850. Vandersmissen called, and Silverman folded.
The turn was the , and both players checked to see the pair the board on the river. Vandersmissen led with a bet of 2,375, and Lamb called.
Vandersmissen showed the for tens full of nines, and Lamb mucked his hand.
Matt Jarvis, former November Niner and 2011 winner of this event, has been eliminated. He moved all in preflop with the for 1,850 and was called by an opponent holding the . The board ran out , and Jarvis was out the door.
With the first three levels of play in the books here on Day 1, many of the game's top pros are just now taking their seats. Here is a list of some new faces we have recently spotted in the field.
We walked up to a hand where Gavin Smith and an opponent were at the river. The board read , and Smith's opponent bet out 4,225. Smith tanked for a while, counting out his chips before finally making the reluctant call.
Smith showed for a flush, and his opponent said, "Sixes," as he mucked his hand. Smith scooped the roughly 15,000 pot to bring his stack up to around 31,000
With the World Series of Poker's big buy-in events attracting poker's elite to play under one roof, two of the game's now ubiquitous symbols have taken over the Brasilia Room.
The Beats by Dre high-end headphones preferred by so many regular circuit grinders are being worn by at least a third of the field, with the players forgoing table talk in favor of tunes.
There are also a dozen massage therapy specialists plying their trade throughout the tournament floor, with women clad in white T-shirts applying some targeted pressure to the backs, shoulders, legs, and necks of several poker pros.
With the $5,000 buy-in limiting this event to those with heavy bankrolls, it's only understandable that the players here today are in search of some much needed relaxation, as they compete against their highly skilled peers from the pro ranks.
With 457 entrants so far, tables are slowly starting to break from the red section in Brasilia. We will certainly have more entries by the end of level four, but play has resumed at a slower pace in level three. And you know what that means--it's time to shift gears. Stay with PokerNews for all the action to come.
Daniel Negreanu has always been revered for his uncanny ability to read opponents as if their hands were face up, but even"Kid Poker" couldn't sniff out the set on the last hand.
The final board read , and Negreanu's opponent had checked the action. Sensing weakness, or perhaps going for a value bet, Negreanu decided to stick a bet of approximately 3,700 into the middle.
"A pair of sevens," was Negreanu's announcement when his opponent called. "Oh, three nines?"
The other player had tabled his , and with a befuddled expression still on his face, Negreanu sent his cards into the muck.
Kelly was in on the action once again on a recent hand, and although he did not come away a winner, he proved that he can't lose this summer either.
The flop showed and Kelly had bet 600 into an unknown opponent, who raised it up to 1,500. Kelly called, and both players checked the on the turn. When the completed the board on the river, Kelly's opponent fired 1,500 forward, and Kelly quickly looked him up.
The player rolled over , and Kelly asked "queens?" while peering across the table. He then flipped up the and the pot was promptly chopped up.