Dominik Nitsche came back from the last break with 60,000, but after a rough level and a half, he was down to his last 12,500. Action folded to the small blind, who put Nitsche all in, and he quickly called with . Hew was up against the small blind's and maintained his lead on the board. After that hand, Nitsche was up to 26,000.
He folded his small blind to get the button. Antonin Teisseire opened to 2,200 in early position, and another player in middle position called. Action on him, Nitsche looked down at his cards and paused. "Squeeze!" shouted Teisseire. Without missing a beat, Nitsche said, "I'm all in." Teisseire threw up his hands in exasperation. Not what he wanted. Teisseire folded quickly. The caller took a few minutes to arrive at the same decision, sending another 6,000 in Nitsche's direction.
Joel Benzinou opened the pot with a raise to 2,300 from middle position. Jean-Jacques Mars re-raised to 6,200 from the small blind and the player in the big blind instantly went all in for 13,300. Benzinou folded and Mars called immediately.
Big Blind:
Mars:
The board ran out , giving Mars the better pair and upping his stack to about 70,000.
We just witnessed an interesting three-hand sequence over at Table 8. Not to give away too much of the plot before we get started, but for a bit of foreshadowing we'll say all three hands began and ended similarly. Oh, and there was a twist at the end.
The first one began with Marc Inizan raising to 2,300 (from early position). It folded around to Peuriere Christophe in the big blind who set out a large reraise, prompting a fold from Inizan. Hand to Christophe.
The second began with Inizan raising to 2,300 (from UTG+1). It folded around to Christophe in the small blind who reraised to 10,500, prompting a fold from the big blind and Inizan. Hand to Christophe.
The third began with Inizan raising to 2,300 (from under the gun). This time Inizan's short-stacked neighbor reraised to 7,000, then it folded to Christophe who called from the button. The blinds got out, and Inizan folded, too.
The flop came , and Christophe's opponent pushed out his remaining 7,500. Christophe made the call, and his opponent quickly tabled his for a set of jacks. Christophe's shoulders slumped a bit as he showed his .
Remember, though... these hands all end similarly. And don't forget about the twist!
The turn was the , changing nothing. But the river brought the -- and an "oooh!" from the table. Hand to Christophe.
That sequence ends with one elimination, Inizan sitting with about 22,000, and Christophe motoring up over 70,000.
What a hand. Alana Pariente raised preflop, then bet the flop and turn of a board that ran out . There was over 25,000 in the pot by the river, when she fired a 17,500-chip final barrel. That sent her opponent into the tank for several minutes. Tournament Director Matt Savage joined the crowd watching the action, noting that you could make every possible hand on that board. You could play the board, have one pair, two pair, three of a kind, a straight, a flush, a full house, or a straight flush.
It was Pariente's hapless opponent's job to figure out which of those options she had. He stared her down, but she stayed stone-faced until another player called the clock. Then she started talking to him in French. Whatever she said worked, because he folded. Pariente kept her hands frozen for a moment, thinking about whether to show or not. Finally, she couldn't resist, flipping over . She's up to 100,000 now and proud of it. Her opponent is bright red and steaming with his 35,000.
The board read and had about 10,000 in it. Surinder Sunar bet 6,200 and Damien Rony thought for about thirty seconds before bumping it to 16,200. Sunar folded pretty quickly and gave the pot to Rony.
Sunar: Down to about 26,000
Rony: Up to about 41,000
Two players -- Damien Rony and Nicolas Levi -- had spent a couple of streets betting, thus bringing them to the turn. The board showed , and with much deliberation Rony checked, then Levi checked behind.
The river brought the . Rony again checked -- without hesitation, this time -- and Levi pushed out a bet of 2,000. Rony then sprung into action, counting out some chips, then tossing forward a single 10,000 chip. "9,000," he said, indicating his raise.
Levi shrugged and indicated he was folding, pushing his cards forward. Rony then showed his hand -- . That prompted Levi to grab his cards and table them as well -- . Both laughed loudly, seeing that Rony's modest hand was in fact best.
Rony now has about 34,000, while Levi still appears to enjoy the Day 1a chip lead with his stack of 166,000.
He raised from the cutoff and Nicolas Levi called from the big blind. The flop came down and both checked, landing the on the turn. Levi took a stab at the pot and Gomes called. The hit the river and Levi bet 35,000, more than what Gomes had remaining. After a few moments, Gomes called for the remainder of his stack and saw Levi table .
Gomes was beat, but per casino rules had to show his hand, which turned out to be .
Levi is nearing the 200,000 mark as Level 9 comes to a close.
Dominik Nitsche opened with a raise to 1,350 and the table folded around to the player on the button who called. Both blinds released.
The flop came , and Nitsche rapidly fired out 2,200. His opponent thought just a moment, then called. The turn was the , and again Nitsche acted quickly, this time betting 4,600. When his opponent slid his cards back and forth in front of him, Nitsche started to reach forward as though perhaps thinking that he had drawn a fold. He hadn't, however, and after a full minute of contemplation, his opponent made the call.
The river brought the . This time Nitsche set out two pink (5,000) chips, announcing a bet of 9,700 while leaving himself just over 20,000 behind. His opponent again tanked, then finally let it go.
![[user140525]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. Hew was up against the small blind's 
and maintained his lead on the 
board. After that hand, Nitsche was up to 26,000.
, giving Mars the better pair and upping his stack to about 70,000.
, and Christophe's opponent pushed out his remaining 7,500. Christophe made the call, and his opponent quickly tabled his 
, changing nothing. But the river brought the 
-- and an "oooh!" from the table. Hand to Christophe.
, and with much deliberation Rony checked, then Levi checked behind.
. Both laughed loudly, seeing that Rony's modest hand was in fact best.
and both checked, landing the 
.
