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We got to the table with a board of 
displayed in the centre and 2,425 splashed around the side. The two people contesting the hand were Lucille Cailly and Jack Ellwood. Cailly had checked to Ellwood on the river and Ellwood had bet 1,325 and Cailly was in the tank. The Frenchwomen eventually found the call, and what a good call it was, and enough to take down the pot.
Cailly: 
Ellwood: 
The board read 
when we arrived, and Nicolo Calia (cutoff) was betting 11,000 into a 12,000 pot. On the button, Jeremy Nock tanked up for some time, head in hands.
"Sick," he said eventually, then amended this to, "Sick fold," indicating that he was unlikely to make the call. He mumbled various things, including, "Jacks," "Kings," and, "Maybe ace-king," before folding 
up. Sure enough, Calia showed him 
for the bigger flopped set, and the vindicated Nock declared, "I only lost 3k!" to the table.
Calia is at 39,000.
Here are a few hands featuring Team Pokerstars Pro Christophe De Meulder.
In the first hand we arrive at the table with 1,850 in the pot and 
on the flop. De Meulder makes it 775 to play and Alain Taieb calls. The turn is the 
and De Meulder checks to his opponent who moves all-in for 4,575 stopping De Meulder in his tracks.
"Why did you go all-in? Why didn't you just bet?" The Belgian says.
It was a rhetorical question and De Meulder eventually called with 
. Taieb took down the pot with 
for two pair.
"If you would have just bet I would have folded." Said De Meulder.
That hand knocked De Meulder down to 22,000 but he was straight into action in the following hand.
Team Pokerstars Sportstar Fatima Moreira de Melo, made it 775 to play and received two callers in the shape of Ali Ahmad and De Meulder. The flop was 
and de Melo bet 1,200 and Ahmad called. De Meulder was next to play and he counted out a raised and squeezed the pot up to 3,550 forcing both players to fold. The only hand we got to see was that of Ahmad who held 
for a gut-shot.
Possible impending disaster for Dutch poker fans - we're not sure how it happened, but Netherlandish poker legend Rob Hollink is down to a lacklustre 8,500.
Nicolas Babel is the huge new chip leader with about 155,000. Details are unclear about how he managed to amass such a lead but he won one big pot with kings and managed to make quad queens against a straight in another.
We are fast approaching the end of level 4. This is the midway point of Day 1a or to borrow a phrase from soccer, it is half time.
One person playing today who usually looks forward to half time more than most is former French National Soccer coach Raymond Domenech. Domenech is sat on 23,000 and does not look like a happy man. Perhaps he will throw some cups of tea over the players during the break - just like old times?
"I need to stop talking about it," said Praz Bansi over the fact he has never even cashed in an EPT. "You know 'The Grinder' thought he was cursed at the World Series and look at the year he just had...I just need to keep grinding."
Soon after Bansi was check-raising a 1,050 bet to 3,100 on a 
flop to pick up another pot, still a long way to go.
Mihai Manole, still residing on the Table Of Doom, is up to 37,000 after calling a roughly 3,000 bet from Alexander Korsik on the river of a 
board. Korsik turned over 
for a rivered two pair, but Manole was holding for trips and took the pot.
Half the day is done.
Level: 5
Blinds: 150/300
Ante: 25
