The players are now on a 45-minute "dinner" break.
The players are now on a 45-minute "dinner" break.
Level: 6
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 200
The Winter Olympics in Sochi kicked off today, and Team USA will be out in full force hoping to bring home more gold medals than there are gold bracelets in several years’ worth of World Series of Poker editions. Many athletes competing at the Winter Games have worked hard to position themselves for Olympic glory, but they also enjoy competition outside of their respective sports, including playing poker.
Three of the Team USA Olympians — David Wise, Katie Uhlaender, and Nick Goepper — are a few of America’s best hopes for bringing home gold medals, and they aren’t shy about sharing their enthusiasm the game of poker. To them, poker may not require much physical athleticism, but it does require the same mental toughness that has helped push them to the forefront of their individual Olympic sports.
In a recent feature article on PokerNews, author Michael Friedman talked with Wise, Uhlaender, and Goepper. You can read the article by clicking here.
On the ![]()
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flop, Martin Finger checked, and Mike Watson bet 6,000. Finger made the call, and the dealer brought the
out on the turn. Finger checked, and Watson bet 15,000. Finger gave it up, and Watson won the pot.
From the cutoff seat, Philipp Gruissem raised to 4,500. Phil Ivey reraised on the button to 12,000, then action folded to Antonio Esfandiari in the big blind. Esfandiari thought about it for a minute, then folded. Gruissem made the call.
On the ![]()
![]()
flop, Gruissem checked. Ivey bet 12,000, and that was good enough to take the pot as Gruissem folded his hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
340,000
44,000
|
44,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
335,000
115,000
|
115,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
260,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
246,000
31,000
|
31,000 |
|
|
235,000
128,000
|
128,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
215,000
24,000
|
24,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
190,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
165,000
63,000
|
63,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
150,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
115,000
3,000
|
3,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
105,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
103,000
9,000
|
9,000 |
|
|
100,000 | |
|
|
68,000
72,000
|
72,000 |
|
|
||
The field is up to 53 entries, which has smashed the previous record of 38 coming from 2011. There are currently 36 players remaining, with the registration and reentry period remaining open until the start of Day 2.
The tournament staff just announced that nine levels will be played out today.
Level: 7
Blinds: 1,500/3,000
Ante: 300
Paul Newey was all in on the ![]()
![]()
![]()
board against John Juanda. Newey had the goods with the ![]()
for a Broadway straight. Juanda had the ![]()
.
The river completed the board with the
to give Newey the double to 156,000 in chips. Juanda was clipped back to 78,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
156,000
53,000
|
53,000 |
|
|
78,000 | |
|
|
||
Phil Ivey opened from early-middle position, and Antonio Esfandiari reraised to 15,600. Ivey called, and the flop came down ![]()
![]()
. Ivey checked, and Esfandiari fired 18,200. Ivey gave it up, and Esfandiari won the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
365,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
156,000
34,000
|
34,000 |
|
|
||