A player raised to 4,500 and got one caller before Maksim Gorbacs three-bet to 19,000 from the small blind. The initial raiser was the only caller, and he called 8,000 from Gorbacs on the flop.
The turn was the and Gorbacs bet 26,000. Again his opponent called. Gorbacs shoved the river, with his opponent having around 57,000 behind.
"You really have the aces?" his opponent asked, using a time bank before calling. Gorbacs showed for two pair, out-kicking his opponent who was forced to show .
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A player opened to 5,500 and was called by Reinaldo Pinedo on the button. The flop was and the player continued for 7,000. Pinedo raised to 21,000 and his opponent used a time bank before calling.
The turn was the and the player check-called 25,000 from Pinedo.
The river was the and it checked to Pinedo who bet enough to put his opponent all in. He eventually folded, with Pinedo flashing for jack-high and taking down the pot.
Tournament officials have drawn for the number of hands before players bag up for Day 2. There will be four more hands before the end of the day's play.
There was another exciting day of poker at the 888poker LIVE Madrid Main Event with 131 players entering on Day 1b and just 61 advancing. This brings the total number of entries to 237 with two more flights to come.
Day 1c gets underway on Saturday at 17:00 before the Turbo Day 1d starting at 12:00 on Sunday. The field combines at 17:30 on Sunday for Day 2, with late registration and unlimited re-entry available for one more level.
Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts
Rank
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Ian Simpson
United Kingdom
556,000
185
2
Matteo Ferrara
Italy
468,000
156
3
Marcus Normark
Sweden 402,000
134
4
Fabio Gutierrez
Spain
373,000
124
5
Oscar Gironella
Portugal
358,500
120
6
Ruben Lopez Ruiz
Spain
355,500
119
7
Beltran Garcia
Spain
350,000
117
8
Nico Giuri
Spain
339,000
113
9
Philip Hollederer
Germany
318,000
106
10
Omar Del Pino
Spain
309,500
103
There was plenty of action early on in the Day 1b field, with 888poker Ambassador Ian Simpson quickly running up a stack and vying for the chip lead. He would eventually bag XXX, good enough for the chip lead.
"I just played brilliantly," he joked with PokerNews shortly after bagging. "No but seriously I never really had to bluff all day, and when that happens it tends to be a good day."
However, there was less luck for fellow 888poker Ambassador Alexandre Mantovani.
Mantovani joined the field after the dinner break and was seated at the same table as Simpson, but failed to pick up any traction and would fall short of Day 2.
888poker LIVE Bucharest 2022 Main Event champion Slaven Popov was also eliminated on Day 1b along with Kees van Brugge, Carmen Zainescu, Jaime Sanchez and Jan-Mickael Kesanen.
Day 1c of the 888poker LIVE Madrid Main Event gets underway on Saturday at 17:00 local time with eleven more 45-minute levels scheduled. Stay tuned to PokerNews for all the action from the Casino Gran Via.