Blinds Up
![[user75032]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Because there hasn't been a single pause for a called all in yet, the timers at each table all went off (more or less) simultaneously. Blinds are up to 200-400 now. Recall that each player started with 25,000 in chips.
2011 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship
NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
2011 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship
Entries
64
Late Arrival, Early Exit for Nguyen
Scotty Nguyen was the last player to arrive on stage for the Clubs Bracket Round of 64 matches. He's also the first player to exit the stage. Trailing in his match against Barry Greenstein, Nguyen called all in on a flop of 
. Nguyen was drawing with a king-high flush draw, 
, against Greenstein's flopped two pair, 
. The turn 
gave Greenstein a full house and left the Prince of Poker drawing dead. Greenstein advances.
Obrestad Bounced
Ayaz Mahmood moved all in on the turn of a board reading 
. Annette Obrestad sat frozen in the tank while Mahmood chomped on his gum and stared off into the distance, trying to look as calm as possible. After a few tense minutes, he called the clock, which only gives players another 30 seconds to make their decisions in this event. Obrestad finally decided on a call, putting herself at risk.
Obrestad: 
for a flush draw
Mahmood: 
for trip aces
The 
river was heartless for Annette, and she and her posse are already out the door. Mahmood is on his way to making a name for himself among the tv-watching set, but he'll have to get through Barry Greenstein in the next round to keep it going.
Signs of Life
Andy Bloch knows a thing or two about getting unlucky heads-up. He found his first taste of it today when he was dealt 
at the same time as short-stacked John Juanda was dealt 
. All the chips were in pre-flop, with the pot pushed to Juanda on a board of 
. He's still trailing Bloch but their match is now much closer.
Breaking News: Pilgrim Loses Flip
Olivier Busquet got it in against Dwyte Pilgrim in about as flippy a flip as you can engineer.
Busquet: 
Pilgrim: 
Pilgrim went from flipping to drawing completely dead on the 
flop. In a scientific count, Pilgrim was declared to have "not a lot of chips, really not very many chips at all."
Alexander No Match for Boeree
Liv Boeree was never behind in her match on the feature table against Jason Alexander. She had Alexander all in once but both players had the same hand, 
. A short time later Alexander was all in again -- with 
against Boeree's 
. Alexander stood up and leaned forward over the rail. Boeree out-flopped him, 
. Alexander was bounced out of the tournament with running treys, 
.
Pilgrim Not a Turkey Yet
Dwyte Pilgrim doubled his short stack when his held against Olivier Busquet's 
. The board ran out 
to keep the match going.
The Dream Becomes Reality: Liv B Adances, Will Face Liv B in Round of 32
When you're in poker media, sometimes you geek out over the tiniest, silliest of things. Right now we're geeking out over a Round of 32 match that will pit Olivia Boeree against Olivier Busquet - Liv B versus Liv B. Busquet finally put down the pesky Dwyte Pilgrim with an all-in battle of Pilgrim's against Busquet's . Busquet flopped a matching 
while Pilgrim caught nothing; he was drawing dead after the turn.
Forrest into the Trees
Ted Forrest moved his short stack all in on an flop, and Jason Mercier called.
Forrest: for an open-ended straight draw
Mercier: 
for a pair of queens
Forrest picked up a flush draw and a smaller pair with the on the turn. But the on the river gave Mercier the better two pair and the win. Forrest booked it off the stage and out of sight before the audience could give him a round of applause. Mercier will play the winner of the match between Andy Bloch and John Juanda.
It Must Be the Socks
As is his wont, Antonio Esfandiari played his first-round match against Nicolas Chouity with his shoes off. Esfandiari's sock choice today is a pair of garish yellow and orange argyle socks.
Behind in the match, Chouity limped his button pre-flop. Esfandiari raised, Chouity re-raised all in and Esfandiari called. Chouity had the best of it with 
against the Magician's . He still had the best after a flop of 
and a turn 
.
"How about a five?" Esfandiari asked the dealer. Naturally, the river was the 
to give Esfandiari a wheel. He eliminated Chouity and will return tomorrow for the Round of 32.
Before departing the stage Esfandiari hugged his dealer.