We ran into Jack Salter, runner up in this event here last year for €765,000, and he was kind enough to tell us the details on his bust out hand.
Salter opened for 2,900 from early position and the player on the button made the call. Pierre Neuville in the big blind came along as well and the three of them saw a flop of .
Neuville and Salter checked to the player on the button and a bet of 3,300 followed. Neuville made the call, and Salter check-raised to 13,100. The button folded, Neuville made the call.
The hit the turn and Neuville bet out 17,000, Salter called.
With a on the river the board was now complete and Neuville checked. Salter moved all in for less than the pot and Neuville snap called with the for a turned flush. Salter had and had to make his exit.
Matias Ruzzi and Charlie Carrel just got involved in a couple of pots together. In the first, Ruzzi called Carrel's open to 3,500 along with the big blind, and then called Carrel's 5,500 continuation bet on the flop of .
Carrel checked the turn card of the and Ruzzi pounced upon it, sliding a pot-sized bet of 27,500 into the middle. The player in the big blind folded and Carrel called.
The river cards was the and it was checked down. Carrel tabled for a flush, but Ruzzi held for a higher flush.
A couple of hands later, it was Carrel's turn to raise Ruzzi's open, raising to 5,500 and then betting 11,500 on a flop of . Ruzzi however re-raised to 11,500. Carrel called. The turn card was the , which both players checked, and Carrel check-called a 10,000 bet on the river card of .
Ruzzi tabled and the Brit, visibly frustrated, mucked his cards.
We found the dealer counting down a double up for Mike "Timex" McDonald on a board of . McDonald had in front of him and looked to have dodged a handful of outs against an opponent holding .
Scott Davies raised to 2,500 in an early position just before the new level, and Xavier Detournel reraised to 7,500 from the big blind. Davies shoved for about 30,000, and Detournel quickly called.
Davies:
Detournel:
Detournel got a pair on the flop but still trailed the kings, and the turn ended the suspense.
When we got to the table Selbst was facing a suspicious looking bet of just 1,200 from Georgios Zisimopoulos into a pot of over 25,000. The board read and Selbst was considering her options.
She slowly reached and moved one of her stacks into the middle. Zisimopoulos asked for a count. The raise was 19,700, leaving Selbst with roughly the same amount behind.
The Greek went deep into the tank, shuffling each colour of chips in turn. There was no obvious attempts to extract information from Selbst; no eye contact, no deep invasive questions, just Zisimopoulos looking between Selbst's bet and the board.
"Jack-Nine of diamonds?" he finally asked, a hand that would have given Selbst a flush draw on the flop, but would have rivered a straight.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he called. Selbst tabled for two-pair and it was good.
Zisimopoulos still has a large chipstack in the Salle des Etoiles, with Selbst recovering from doubling up Oliver Price earlier
A short-stacked Andrey Demidov moved all in for 16,500 from the cutoff and Igor Kurganov called from the button. The blinds both folded and the cards were turned up.
Demidov:
Kurganov:
Demidov was looking to dodge an ace or any other such nonsense, and that's just what he did as the board ran out a safe .
Dan Smith isn't the most unique name, in fact it's a rather common name. In the poker world most people you'll talk to will think of Dan "KingDan" Smith (the super high roller from the states who once won three €5,000 events here at the Grand Final in one festival) when you mention it.
But there's another Daniel "Dan" Smith out there, and that one is pretty good at poker as well. Daniel Smith from England (but living in Monaco) won a big event in Cannes for €88,000 September last year and has amassed a total of $121,926 in live tournament earnings so far.
That Daniel Smith is currently one of the bigger stacks in the room, having worked up his stack from 80,000 to 150,000 in the three levels we've played so far today. And it's not like he's sitting at the softest of tables, with Martin Jacobson, Ami Barer, Brian Roberts and Dzmitry Urbanovich as his opponents it's in fact one of the tougher ones in the room.
Smith just clashed with Polish wonder kid Dzmitry Urbanovich in a hand where Urbanovich opened to 2,600 and Smith called from the small blind. Both players checked the flop and the popped up on the turn. Smith bet out 2,200 and, as we've seen so many times before by now, Urbanovich raised it up to 6,800. Smith made the call. The hit the river and Smith checked. Urbanovich thought for just a bit before checking behind. Smith rolled his eyes a little bit and showed for a rivered full house, Urbanovich mucked.
Daniel Smith is the 2nd most successful Daniel Smith in the world if we're looking at poker results. Even if Daniel Smith wins this tournament for just over a million, he won't come near Dan Smith's $8,904,933 in live tournament earnings. But you got to start somewhere, right?