Dermot Blain and Fabrice Soulier were sat talking amongst themselves, laughing, smiling and generally enjoying their time here in Deauville. That was until Blain opened to 250 from the button and Soulier three-bet to 625 from the small blind, at that point there was an eerie silence.
The flop saw Soulier bet 400 and Blain call. The slowed down Soulier who checked and Blain checked behind. Soulier reverted back to betting when the landed on the river, making it 675 to play. Blain took a peak at his cards before sending them to the muck.
Vodka-loving Russian Vladimir Geshkenbein has just bought into the EPT Deauville main event and will no doubt be consuming several large vodka and bitter lemon drinks over the next few hours.
It's a relatively serene scene in the poker room today, with players gathered around 50 tables at present in most cases quietly battling for small pots. The entire front half of the room is full, while the back quadrants have likewise become populated by players, dealers, and the soft riffling of chips.
We're past the halfway mark of the first 75-minute level of the day, and the big board is showing the total number of entrants for Day 1b creeping up near the 450-player mark. That's well above the 307 who came out on Sunday, although the overall total appears as though it will come up shy of the 889 who participated in the EPT Deauville Main Event last year.
Late registration remains open through the end of Level 2.
Former EPT champion and tour regular, Kevin MacPhee, is off to a great start after doubling up and eliminating a player.
There was a raise and a call from Brahim Oubella before MacPhee three-bet to 1,100 from the big blind. The initial raiser called before Oubella four-bet to 2,600. MacPhee responded with a five-bet to 6,600. Only Oubella called to the flop where he faced a 5,075 bet. He had a little more than 21,000 left and into the middle they went.
“Do you really have jacks or tens?” asked MacPhee. “I call, I call.” He continued.
MacPhee opened and seemed relieved to see the appear from his Oubella’s hand. The board got a bit sweaty on the turn but the river was a safe .
Steve O'Dwyer is somewhat of a regular on the European poker circuit so it is no surprise to find him participating in the EPT Deauville main event. He is seated on Table 4 where he has already added to his starting stack.
Jean Philippe Roosens opened the betting with a raise to 250 from middle position. A couple of players folded before Ronan Monfort (cutoff) and O'Dwyer (small blind) called.
The dealer placed the flop onto the felt and the action passed around to Monfort who bet 475. O'Dwyer called and Roosens got out of the firing line and folded.
O'Dwyer then lead for 1,300 chips upon the arrival of the on the turn and was quickly called by Monfort. The dealer put the into play while Monfort stared down O'Dwyer. Despite having Monfort's eyes burning a hole in his head, O'Dwyer pulled the trigger again and made it 3,700 to play. Monfort looked like he was going to call, but after a recheck of his cards, he let his hand go.
Glen Cymbaluk is easy to find in this vast tournament room, his snake skin Crocodile Dundee hat and his mirrored sunglasses helping him to stand out from the crowd. He will be hoping his poker skills make him stand out from the crowd.
Cymbaluk just won a nice little pot to get his Day 1b up and running. Cymbaluk opened to 300 from the cutoff and the button called. Gordon Huntley called from the big blind making it three-handed to the flop.
The action checked to the button who tried to buy the pot with a 675 bet. The bet was only called by Cymbaluk. Both active players checked the turn but when the made an appearance on the river, Cymbaluk took down the pot with an 800 chip bet.
flop saw Soulier bet 400 and Blain call. The 
slowed down Soulier who checked and Blain checked behind. Soulier reverted back to betting when the 
landed on the river, making it 675 to play. Blain took a peak at his cards before sending them to the muck.
flop where he faced a 5,075 bet. He had a little more than 21,000 left and into the middle they went.
and seemed relieved to see the 
appear from his Oubella’s hand. The board got a bit sweaty on the 
turn but the river was a safe 
.
flop onto the felt and the action passed around to Monfort who bet 475. O'Dwyer called and Roosens got out of the firing line and folded.
into play while Monfort stared down O'Dwyer. Despite having Monfort's eyes burning a hole in his head, O'Dwyer pulled the trigger again and made it 3,700 to play. Monfort looked like he was going to call, but after a recheck of his cards, he let his hand go.
flop.
turn but when the 
made an appearance on the river, Cymbaluk took down the pot with an 800 chip bet.