Davood
Davood Mehrmand, apparently not content with the ruckus at this table yesterday that involved warnings for him and two other players over allegedly showing cards and/or aggressive behaviour, is now getting upset with Ayaz Mahmood.
Mehrmand's issue appears to be the frequency of Mahmood's raises. "Every hand you raise," complains Mehrmand. "Then raise me back and see if I have a hand," retorts Mahmood. Davood folds 3-5 offsuit in the big blind.
Trevor Lawson has busted out to Amato Galasso. Incredibly short-stacked, he called all in from the big blind to an utg raise from Galasso, and was live, but it was not to be.
Lawson:
Galasso:
Board:
Lawson is a goner, and Galasso, who started the day on just 4,700, is up to 72,000.
Neil Channing limped in, and Noam Freedman raised to 18,000. Jeff Sluzinski reraised enough from the big blind to put Freedman all in; Channing got out of the way, and Freedman called.
Freedman:
Sluzinski:
Board: a very exciting
Meaning that Sluzinski doubles up to 140,000, while Freedman may not be long for this tournament with just 2,500 to his name.
Von Halle during more stressful times
Masseuses in poker are a relatively recent trend, but one player in particular who has enjoyed their introduction into the modern game is Jan Von Halle. If my observations are correct, Von Halle has been receiving a massage since the start of the day, and appears to have no intentions of stopping. It seems to be serving him well, though, as his stack has increased over recent times to a formidable 155,000. My only worry is that when he leaves for the dinner break, his body will just flop to the floor in one big gloop of Von Halle as a result of all the massaging.
Eugene Todd has doubled up to 64,000. He reraised to 26,000 after an 8,000 raise from Keith Greer preflop, and then threw his last 6,000 in on the flop -- which, as it turned out, was a good one for him.
Down to 2,500 after doubling up Jeff Sluzinski, Noam Freedman was all in on the big blind. Sluzinski limped in, and the two of them turned over their cards. Freedman was dominating:
Blake Steep has been eliminated from today's event. Robert Cheung raised it up to 11,000 preflop, Steep pushed in for 12,500 and Cheung made the inevitable call.
Showing Q-J in the hole, Cheung will have been relieved to be coin-flipping, and subsequently elated by the T-J-8 flop, the five turn and three river failing to fulfill any of Steep's last-ditch hopes.
Michael Binger raised to 11,000 from mid-position and Al Adler called from the big blind. Both checked the flop, only for Binger to check-call 15,000 on the turn. Binger himself then led out on the river, this time for 18,000, which was good enough to take the pot.
Play has now slowed down somewhat, perhaps due to the pending increase in monies, or maybe simply because players are looking to make it to the dinner break. Either way, the tension has increased with players looking very focused indeed.