In five of the initial six hands, the player who raised first pre-flop took down the pot uncontested. On Hand #3, Chau Giang and Jacobo Fernandez saw the flop. Fernandez bet out and Giang folded.
Hand #9: JC Tran raised 180K pre-flop and Jacobo Fernandez called. The flop was and both players checked. When the fell on the turn, Fernandez bet out 230K. Tran called. The river was . Fernandez checked and Tran bet 300K. Fernandez went into the tank for a few minutes before he called. Tran flipped over for a pair of Aces, while Fernandez showed for second pair.
The first half hour of play featured limited action from the table. There was only one hand that went to the river and was shown down. The pre-flop aggressor has been picking up pots through the first 15 hands or so with 180K or so being the standard raise. JC Tran increased the chip lead to over $4 million. Chau Giang has slipped to 990K.
At the 2006 WPT L.A. Poker Classic, a new record was set on the number of hands played before the first elimination. That number was 80 hands. It took nearly four hours before the first player busted out.
Hand #21: In another battle of the blinds, Jacobo Fernandez raised pre-flop to 180K. Chau Giang moved all in and Fernandez folded as he flashed 8-7o. Giang showed K-10.