$5,000 Main Event Day 1a | 2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas

01-08-2017 16:31 UTC-4

Metaal Looks to Hit the Deck

Chad Holloway

Level 4 : 150/300, 50 ante

The Netherlands' Govert Metaal raised to 750 from the hijack and the player in the small blind called. Uruguay's Alejandro Betschart Deck came along from the big blind and three players took a flop of .

Metaal bet 1,200 after both his opponents checked, and only Deck called to see the turn. Deck turned right around and led out for 3,000, and Metaal released.

Player	Chips	Progress
Govert Metaal	20,300

Tags: Govert Metaal Alejandro Betschart Deck

01-08-2017 16:28 UTC-4

Everything Went Wrong for Wong - Two Flopped Straights No Good

Webjoker

Level 4 : 150/300, 50 ante

As we entered the massive tournament room we walked into Wesley Wong who we had seen sitting down not too long ago. He, still with a smile on his face, told us what had happened.

In the first hand, he got involved with and flopped well on with two hearts. His opponent checked and Wong bet 1,400. His opponent check-raised to 4,000 and Wong called. The hit the turn and his opponent bet 7,000. Wong called again and saw his opponent check on the river. Wong bet 8,600 and his rival called with for the turned flush.

That straight proved no good and neither would his second one.

This time there was a raise and three calls before Wong over called from the button with off suit. A player in the blinds called as well and the flop came giving Wong the straight. A player in middle position bet 1,400 and Wong raised to 4,000. Action folded back to the initial bettor and he called. The on the turn made for a second flush draw and Wong shoved for 13,000 after his opponent checked. His competitor called with and send Wong packing after the on the river paired the board.

Out. All in with JT vs 88 on 789Assdd. River 9. #PSCBahamas
— Wesley Wong (@weswong8)

Player	Chips	Progress
Wesley Wong	Busted

Tags: Wesley Wong

01-08-2017 16:27 UTC-4

Updated Chip Counts

mnuwwarah

Level 4 : 150/300, 50 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
David Eldridge	42,000	12,000
Dan Shak	41,800	11,800
Michael Gagliano	41,000	12,000
Jessica Dawley	30,000
Natasha Mercier	30,000
Jason Mercier	30,000
Justin Bonomo	25,400
Olivier Busquet	23,000	-7,000
Mike Leah	17,000	9,400

Level: 4

Blinds: 150/300

Ante: 50

01-08-2017 16:08 UTC-4

Short Stay for Aldridge, Courtesy of Hart

mnuwwarah

Level 3 : 100/200, 25 ante

Ken Aldridge shoved his last 4,150 in from early position. Action folded to Kevin Hart on the button.

"Two short men with short stacks," he mused. "I'm going to call."

It left Hart with just a few thousand back, but the blinds mucked.

Aldridge:
Hart:

"I feel it," Hart declared, as the dealer spread a flop of . "That's me."

Sure enough, the turn was a , giving Hart an unbeatable flush and leaving Aldridge busted.

Player	Chips	Progress
Kevin Hart	11,500	500
Ken Aldridge	Busted

Tags: Ken Aldridge Kevin Hart

01-08-2017 16:08 UTC-4

Kevin Hart Doubles and Gives Some Back

ElleSriracha

Level 3 : 100/200, 25 ante

Kevin Hart lost a large chunk of his stack early on but has been grinding back.

Hart was seen stacking chips after he got more than a full double up with . The board read , and as Hart raked in the pot he exclaimed, "I told you all to back off. I'm sick of it!"

In the very next hand Hart said, "Careful guys. I'm on a heater!". A player in middle position raised to 525, and another player in middle position three-bet to 1,300. Hart said, "You just don't listen. I told you I'm on a heater. I'm gonna call" as he tossed in chips to make the call from the hijack. Marius Moczygemba was in the cutoff and called, as did the original raiser in middle position.

The flop came , and the first player in middle position checked. The next player in middle position bet 1,500 and action was back on Hart. He said, "Man, this hand is tricky. It's hard to play" as he raised to 5,000. Moczygemba snap-called, and both players in middle position folded. Hart quickly exclaimed, "Now that's scary!"

The turn was the and Hart checked. Moczygemba reached into his stack but opted to check back.

The river was the and Hart checked again. Moczygemba bet 5,000 and Hart immediately said, "You haven't played a single hand since you've sat down. Not a single one! Do you have a full house? Man, that hand is stronger than steroids" as he tossed his cards into the muck.

Player	Chips	Progress
Marius Moczygemba	45,000	45,000
Kevin Hart	17,000	6,000

Tags: Kevin Hart Marius Moczygemba

01-08-2017 16:04 UTC-4

An Orbit w/ Four-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner Robert Mizrachi

Chad Holloway

Level 3 : 100/200, 25 ante

Robert Mizrachi is no stranger to the Bahamas. In 2013, he finished 12th in the PCA Main Event for $95,000, and three years before that he placed 22nd for $75,000. In 2007, when Ryan Daut won what was then the WPT PCA, Mizrachi finished fourth for $409,703. Clearly he knows how to navigate a tough field.

That’s also evidenced by his four World Series of Poker gold bracelets. His first came in the 2007 WSOP when he won Event #50: $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha for $768,889, and the next came seven years later in the 2014 WSOP Event #41: $1,00 Dealer’s Choice for $147,092. In 2015, he won Event #3: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo for $251,022, and then this past summer won Event #3: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship or $242,662. That’s three bracelets in three years, a rare occurrence in the poker world. Entering 2017, Robert has $6,144,673 in live tournament earnings.

With such an accomplished player in the field, we decided to spend an entire orbit observing the pro in action. Here's what we witnessed.

Hand #1 (Middle Position): Mizrachi opened for 450 and the player in the cutoff called. Michael Lipman did the same from the button, and then the player in the small blind three-bet to 1,500. Mizrachi called, as did the other two players, and the flop came down .

The small blind checked, Mizrachi bet 2,650, and the cutoff folded. Lipman called, the small blind folded, and the appeared on the turn. Mizrachi bet 8,000, which put Lipman to the test. Eventually Lipman folded with 6,600 behind and Mizrachi took down the pot.

Hand #2 (UTG+2): The under-the-gun player raised to 550 and Mizrachi folded.

Hand #3 (UTG+1): The under-the-gun player folded and so did Mizrachi.

Hand #4 (Under the Gun): Mizrachi folded.

Hand #5 (Big Blind): Michael Lipman opened for 500 from early position and the player on the button popped it to 1,000. Sam Greenwood then four-bet to 4,000, Mizrachi folded, and Lipman jammed his short stack. The button folded and Greenwood called.

Greenwood:
Lipman:

It was a flip, but Greenwood failed to hold as an ace spiked on the river to give Lipman the double. Greenwood was knocked down to 28,000.

Hand #6 (Small Blind): A player raised to 500, four players called including Mizrachi, and then everyone folded when the player in the big blind three-bet to 4,200.

Hand #7 (Button): A player in middle position raised to 575 and Mizrachi called. The two players in the blinds called and four players took a flop of . Four checks later, the peeled off on the turn, which they all checked yet again. When the completed the board on the river, the small blind bet 1,000 and everyone else, including Mizrachi, folded.

Hand #8 (Cutoff): A player in middle position raised to 50 and Mizrachi three-bet to 1,500. The big blind called, as did the original raiser, and the flop fell . The big blind checked, the middle-position player bet 2,375, and both Mizrachi and the big blind folded.

Hand #9 (Hijack): Mizrachi folded after a middle-position player had raised to 350.

Player	Chips	Progress
Robert Mizrachi	34,000	4,000

Tags: Robert Mizrachi Michael Lipman

01-08-2017 16:02 UTC-4

Dimmig Has Heaps, Garcia Short

mnuwwarah

Level 3 : 100/200, 25 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
Jonathan Dimmig	72,000	42,000
Timothy Adams	30,000
Roland Israelashvili	30,000
Ivan Luca	30,000
Tony Ruberto	24,000
Sergio Garcia	9,500	-18,500

01-08-2017 15:44 UTC-4

"There's a Rebuy Right?"

Chad Holloway

Level 3 : 100/200, 25 ante

Kevin Hart in earlier PokerStars Championship Bahamas action.

On a flop, Russia's Stanislav Miroshkin checked from the big blind and Hollywood actor Kevin Hart did the same from under the gun. Walter Oaquim then bet 650 from middle position, both his opponents called, and the paired the board on the turn.

All three players checked, the completed the board on the river, and Miroshkin bet 1,625.

"Geez Louise, what did he bet?" asked Hart, who then woke up with a raise to 1,600. Oaquim ditched his hand and Miroshkin eyed his opponent.

"Bullying the table," Hart joked. "There's a rebuy right?"

Eventually Miroshkin called and Hart confidently tabled the for trips. Much to his surprise, it was no good as Miroshkin held a straight with the .

"What took you so long?" Hart asked incredulously. "You should've shoved, you get it all."

Player	Chips	Progress
Kevin Hart	11,000	-17,000

Tags: Kevin Hart Stanislav Miroshkin Walter Oaquim

01-08-2017 15:42 UTC-4

Mateos Misses

mnuwwarah

Level 3 : 100/200, 25 ante

Adrian Mateos bet 2,000 from middle position on a board of . Paul Newey made it 4,500 to go from the hijack and a third player folded out of the big blind after some thought. Mateos quickly called, and the river was a . Check-check and Mateos tabled for a whiffed combo draw. Newey had and took the pot with top pair.

Player	Chips	Progress
Adrian Mateos	26,600	-3,400
Paul Newey	26,300	-3,700

Tags: Adrian Mateos Paul Newey