After a player in early position opened for 600, Ken Payne called from the button and Mike Ermie came along from the big blind to make it three-way action to the flop. Ermie was first to act and led out for 900, which prompted the original raiser to fold. Payne opted to make the call and the two watched the appear on the turn.
Ermie bet again, this time 2,500, and again Payne just called. When the completed the board on the river, Ermie fired out 6,000 and Payne insta-mucked.
With PokerNews proudly delivering coverage throughout Season 5 of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT), we thought new readers following the coverage could use a quick primer on the live blog's set-up and structure.
The red tabs on the screen allow you to navigate between PokerNews' live blogging coverage - which includes hand recaps, player interviews, chip count updates, photos and all the rest - and the site's other extremely useful features.
If you prefer to simply scan the chip counts to see how your favorite players are faring, clicking the red tab titled "Chip Counts" will take you to a list screen with updated chip counts for the players we have information for. Those using the MyStack app from the table can always add their counts to this page through their smartphones, so if you don't see who you're searching for in the counts, have them download MyStack and update their progress as the day continues.
The “Player Updates" tab is next, and this tool allows you to see how notable players and top pros have been faring lately, with arrows showing if they have been climbing or falling in the counts.
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Combining the "Live Reporting" coverage PokerNews strives to provide with these three tabs is the best way to enjoy our continued coverage of the MSPT, because you can follow along in the way you prefer. If you like the stories emerging from the event, stick with the "Live Reporting" tab to read all about the goings on here from the floor. If chip count tracking is what you prefer, the "Chip Counts" tab is the perfect way to track the tournament. When you're only interested in a particular player's progress, the "Player Updates" tab will keep you're coverage centralized. And if you just like seeing your favorite players do their thing, the "Photo Gallery" tab takes you on a visual tour of the tournament as it happens.
We walked up to a board of , with quite a few chips in the middle, Matt Solomon with a huge stack pushed all in and Denny Robinson contemplating the call. Robinson did eventually make the call and his was cruelly crushed by the pocket jacks of Solomon. Solomon crossed the 100K threshold while Robinson is down to 24,000.
With 6,275 in the pot and a flop of , the two players in the blinds checked to Justin Rice, who bet 3,500 from the under-the-gun position. Jason Smith then raised to 8,500 from middle position, the blinds folded, and Rice called the additional 5,000.
After the dealer burned and turned the , Rice checked and Smith wasted little time in betting out 6,700. It did the trick as Rice snap-folded his cards.
Action folded to a player in the cutoff and he opened for 2,000. The button and small blind both folded, and then Mike Holm defended from the big. When the flop fell , Holm checked and the cutoff continued for 3,000. Holm responded with a check-raise to 9,000, and his opponent thought long and hard before releasing his hand.
"You show me, I'll show you," Holm offered. The cutoff did not show, but Holm couldn't resist and tabled the .
Meanwhile, Bruce “The Hammer” Swart has been eliminated from the tournament.
Denny Robinson is continuing to get involved in big pots. We walked up to a three-way pot with 11,000 in the middle preflop. After a flop of , Robinson bet 4,000 and Roger Isaac moved all in for 15,675. The third player folded and Robinson made the call. Isaac had flopped a set of fours and was ahead of Robinson's .
Isaac dodged the two outs as the board finished with . In the last level and a half, Robinson has yo-yoed from over 50,000 to near starting stack, then back up to over 50,000 and now down to 34,000.
Last August, Elliott Hebden finished sixth in this event. He no doubt had high hopes of another deep run, but they were just cut short due to a nasty river.
We missed the hand as it unfolded, but we learned after the fact Hebden had gotten the last of his chips all in preflop holding the and was racing against the of Mike Ermie.
A jack on the flop gave Hebden a pair and made him a massive favorite to double, but then the spiked on the river to send him packing. Whether or not he opts to rebuy either today or tomorrow remains to be seen.
flop. Ermie was first to act and led out for 900, which prompted the original raiser to fold. Payne opted to make the call and the two watched the 
appear on the turn.
completed the board on the river, Ermie fired out 6,000 and Payne insta-mucked.
![[user269680]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, with quite a few chips in the middle, Matt Solomon with a huge stack pushed all in and Denny Robinson contemplating the call. Robinson did eventually make the call and his 
, the two players in the blinds checked to Justin Rice, who bet 3,500 from the under-the-gun position. Jason Smith then raised to 8,500 from middle position, the blinds folded, and Rice called the additional 5,000.
, Rice checked and Smith wasted little time in betting out 6,700. It did the trick as Rice snap-folded his cards.
.
, Robinson bet 4,000 and Roger Isaac moved all in for 15,675. The third player folded and Robinson made the call. Isaac had flopped a set of fours and was ahead of Robinson's 
. In the last level and a half, Robinson has yo-yoed from over 50,000 to near starting stack, then back up to over 50,000 and now down to 34,000.
spiked on the river to send him packing. Whether or not he opts to rebuy either today or tomorrow remains to be seen.