James 'Royal Flush' Dempsey is experiencing the highs and lows of poker as he doubles up to around 4k before doubling down to zip. Luckily for the young online pro, James still had that magic yellow chip waiting for him as he requested his second batch of chips.
Both hands were brisk affairs, and both all-in jobbies. First James survived an all-in with vs. the of Nicky Jelicka which improved, but not by enough on a board.
Soon after, James' joy turned to chagrin as his button raise with Pocket Ladies ran into the Big Slick of Dave Colclough, El Blondie perhaps being inspired by a certain Barry Greenstein publication as he hit a crucial 'Ace on the River'.
Not one to show his emotions at the table, El Blondie remained cool, but I'm sure he was jumping up and down inside like a kid being told school was closed for the year.
Mel Judah
Hand 1: Darren Woods seems to want in on the Chat Action (especially as Tony G seems to have gone on an extended and unscheduled break, leaving his chips on the table)...he's been needling Roland de Wolfe and just won a pot which was significant in size to a short stack like he is currently. On a flop of Darren Woods checked it to de Wolfe, who bet 1,800 into the pot of 3,500. A lengthy think, and Woods called him. The turn brought the and a quick check from both of them. Suddenly, as the dealer went to burn and turn for the river, Woods flung his remaining 3,100 in - blind - for the river. Roland was having none of it, and tossed his hand in the muck. Woods said, "So weak?" and when he was told an Ace was good, couldn't seem to resist flipping the in his hand which had turned a rather pleasing gutshot straight.
Hand 2: Threeway to the flop - big blind Mel Judah, cutoff Roy Brindley and button Maria Demetriou. Roy was the bettor (300) as the emerged, but both players called him. The on the turn saw no action at all, but the river brought a bet of 700 from first to act Judah, raised sharpish by Roy the Boy to 2,100. Maria got out of the way, but Mel Judah called pretty quickly with , his second pair ahead of The Boy's .
Roland de Wolfe
Well, we didn't have to wait long for these raging bulls of poker to lock horns again, the banter harder to control than a kangaroo on a trampoline.
Again it was Roland getting the better of Tony, doubling up with vs. the Aussie's .
I didn't quite catch the action, but when I joined, cards were on their backs with the board reading .
Oh yeah, and there was the small matter of Roland announcing "Call BMX, it's bike time soon!"
With a blank hitting the river, Tony's formerly chunky stack was depleted to less than 10k as the circa 24k pot went sailing over to a jubilant Roland.
Not one to miss a needling opportunity when it comes to his nemesis, Roland added, "I'm going to take everything you have"... to the amusement of the table.
I have an eerie feeling tingling down the back of my spine that revenge will be mighty sweet for Mr. G who appears to have momentarily left the table to cool down.
Algimanto Hermenegildas
Algimanto Hermenegildas is on the rail, after moving all in preflop (for 2,500) on the button, after a couple of players had limped in for 200. After dwelling on behalf of all three limpers, Dan Carter made the call with his , finding his opponent had pushed with .
The flop was potentially interesting: , but no further hearts came to improve over Carter's flopped set, and the Kid knocked out his good-natured opponent.
"Battle of the egos!" exclaims Roy Brindley. "In the red corner, we have Roland de Wolfe, and in the blue, there's Tony G."
And whether you agree with Roy's statement or not, you can't argue that Tony and Roland aren't two of the most entertaining players in poker, both super aggressive and highly fun viewing, to boot.
Their latest encounter did little to falsify this, Roland calling a bet on a flop before checking the turn.
"You flushing?" asks Tony.
A brief smile is the only response.
Tony then throws out 2k as if it's peanuts.
Meanwhile, Roland sits upright, scratches his head and contemplates his next move, which, perhaps to the surprise of Tony, is another flat call.
The river brings the and Roland swiftly checks.
"You feel bad," inquires a confident Aussie. "How much have you got left?"
Roland fans out his chips to reveal circa 8k.
After a moment's pause, Tony reluctantly checks, only to dip his head when Roland reveals .
"I wasn't as far behind as you thought," adds Tony, showing an Eight.
"You're such a fish," he continues. "Is that all you do, call?"
"This is too easy," replies Roland. "We might as well play with the cards face-up."
With that, we were on to the next hand, but although the banter appeared friendly enough, I fear the needle could eventually get to Tony. Let's see how he responds.
Lee Watts
If ever there were a David and Goliath clash, then it would perhaps be between Dave Colclough and little known Lee Watts.
Currently sharing a table with the established, seasoned pro, Lee is a generator technician who works at big music events such as Glastonbury and the V Festivals.
Today's tournament is a major experience for Lee, who qualified online last weekend and is more used to playing smaller stake tournaments.
When I asked if he was a local, the response was rather contrasting, "Sunderland" being the unexpected answer.
Win or lose, Lee is sure to have the time of his life and is destined to have more than his fair share of anecdotes to tell his mates when he returns to the North.
Matt Dale ever-so-briefly held the position of chip leader with over 22k, before doubling up two short stacks - Gary Jones (whose found against them preflop) and then almost immediately afterwards Patrik Selin, who gave Mr. Dale his "First proper race!" with against .
Matt hit the on the flop, but this didn't stop the next cards falling being giving his opponent a double through.
Richard Wheatley
Enjoying a half-time chat with Brian Prescott, Richard Wheatley and the wonderfully named Jeff Buffenbarger, the latter two retold a hand in which they both held K-5. The flop had come 5-7-3 only for all the money to go hurtling in like a wasp on Red Bull on the 5 turn. K-5 vs. K-5, chop chop.
"Apart from that, I haven't really seen much action," said Michigan Jeff.
He wasn't too dejected though, he was too busy enjoying his curry.
James Dempsey
A few of the players are complaining about cold cards, one of those being James 'Royal Flush' Dempsey.
Predominantly an online tournament player, James has emerged as a real threat on the circuit this year and is a regular at his local Rendez Vous Casino in Brighton where he holds an impressive set of results.
Here, however, he's about as happy as a penguin in a microwave, his stack slowly heading in an undesired direction with just 1,900 in chips.
He's not too down though, stating that his second chance was still intact and that he'd made a gallant move against a "Scandinavian opponent", re-raising his European friend pre-flop with A-9 before check-raising (and winning) on a 6-6-7 flop.
button in Safari
vs. the 
of Nicky Jelicka which improved, but not by enough on a 
board.
Darren Woods checked it to de Wolfe, who bet 1,800 into the pot of 3,500. A lengthy think, and Woods called him. The turn brought the 
and a quick check from both of them. Suddenly, as the dealer went to burn and turn for the river, Woods flung his remaining 3,100 in - blind - for the 
river. Roland was having none of it, and tossed his hand in the muck. Woods said, "So weak?" and when he was told an Ace was good, couldn't seem to resist flipping the 
in his hand which had turned a rather pleasing gutshot straight.
emerged, but both players called him. The 
on the turn saw no action at all, but the 
, his second pair ahead of The Boy's 
vs. the Aussie's 
.
, finding his opponent had pushed with 
.
.
found 
on the flop, but this didn't stop the next cards falling being 
giving his opponent a double through.
