Guy Laliberté has bought back in and now seats in between Paul Phua and Talal Shakerchi over on table 11.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
5,000,000
5,000,000
|
5,000,000 |
![[user253725]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
There was about 250,000 already in the pot on the flop, and two players involved in the hand. After the flop came down 
, Rick Salomon checked from the hijack, and Mark Teltscher bet 140,000. Salomon called.
Both players checked the 
on the turn and the river was the 
. Salomon led out for 325,000. Teltscher thought for a minute, then tossed out the chips to call.
"Flush," Salomon announced as the tabled 
. Teltscher tapped the table, then mucked his cards.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
4,800,000
310,000
|
310,000 |
|
||
|
4,750,000
-250,000
|
-250,000 |
Elton Tsang, moved to Guy Laliberté's former seat on the feature table, opened with a raise to 50,000 from the cutoff. Small blind Patrick Madden reraised to 170,000 and Tsang called.
Both of them checked on 
and the 
hit the turn. Madden tossed in two 100,000-chips and Tsang called.
It went check-check on the 
river and neither player was eager to show their cards.
"One pair,... small" Madden said.
"Oohh, that's not good enough" answered Tsang.
After some hesitation, the two of them both showed their cards. Madden tabled 
and Tsang showed 
.
"One more bet and you would've had it" Tsang smiled.
"But I made a pair" Madden answered.
Bob Safai, smiling at Madden, said: "So that's what you've been doing, huh?"
Level: 4
Blinds: 12,000/24,000
Ante: 4,000
In a number of ways, this isn't like any other poker tournament but in plenty of ways it is. The fundamental rules still apply, of course, the blinds go up and at the beginning, they are relatively low compared to the stacks in play. That all means that as per normal the early stages of a tournament feature a ton of small pots rather than heavy action.
This is neatly illustrated in small pots won at different tables by Bobby Baldwin and James Bord. In the first, I picked up the action to see the 1978 WSOP Champion raising to 100,000 on the button, a bet that was called by Anatoly Gurtovoy. The board ran 
and a bet of 300,000 from Baldwin on the river was good enough to earn him the pot.
Meanwhile, on Table 7 James Bord was heads-up against Zuo Wang in a pot that had reached the turn. A 
board was on the felt and Wang bet 133,000. Bord, who's been getting a massage throughout this tournament, asked for a count and then called. The river was checked through in lightning fashion and Bord's 
was the winner.
Sean Dempsey raised to 55,000 from the button. James Bord called in the small blind, and Cary Katz called from the big blind.
The flop fell 
. Both blinds checked, and Dempsey continued for 80,000. Only Bord called.
The came on the turn and Bord checked again. Dempsey bet 200,000. Bord thought for about two minutes, then slid his cards to the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
5,900,000
900,000
|
900,000 |
|
||
We picked up the action on a flop of 
and Bob Safai checked. Seated under the gun, Patrick Madden made a bet of 75,000. Gurtovoy raised to 150,000 and Safai got out of the way. Madden called.
Madden checked on the turn and Gurtovoy bet 300,000. Gurtovoy check-raised to 1 million and Gurtovoy answered with a three-bet to 2.4 million. Madden called instantly.
The river 
saw Madden check again. Gurtovoy bet 1 million and Madden tanked for a bit before he called. Gurtovoy showed 
and Madden mucked.
The next hand, Gurtovoy open raised again and Madden called from the big blind. Madden check-called Gurtovoy's 100,000 continuation bet on 
but check-folded to the 300,000 bet on the 
turn. Gurtovoy showed 
for another flopped diamond flush.
"Wow, what are the odds!" Elton Tsang said.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
9,000,000
3,300,000
|
3,300,000 |
|
3,340,000
-3,660,000
|
-3,660,000 |
Talal Shakerchi raised to 60,000 from middle position and Kamer Alyanakyan called from the button. The flop came 
and Shakerchi continued for 75,000. Alyanakyan then raised to 240,000 and Shakerchi called.
Both players checked the on the turn, and the 
fell on the river. Shakerchi bet 327,000. Alyanakyan tanked for about a minute, then called.
Shakerchi showed for two pair, jacks and nines, and Alyanakyan slid his cards to the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
4,650,000
-350,000
|
-350,000 |
Dan Shak raised to 55,000 from under the gun, and Yaqi Sun called from the small blind. The flop fell and Sun checked. Shak continued for 125,000. Sun then check-raised to 350,000 and Shak called.
Sun checked when the 
came on the turn. Shak bet 600,000 and Sun called.
The river was the 
and Sun checked again. Shak bet 1,500,000. Sun thought a minute, then folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
6,700,000
1,315,000
|
1,315,000 |
