Event 34 - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Day 1 | 2009 World Series of Poker

06-16-2009 06:48 UTC-12

Getting Close

Shamus

We are about 15 minutes from the start of Event No. 34, a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tourney. Players are starting to arrive at the tables to show dealers their registration cards and photo IDs. There are presently 1,600 registered for the event, but that number will surely rise over the next couple of hours. Back in a few.

Level: 1

Blinds: 25/50

Ante: 0

06-16-2009 07:03 UTC-12

Shuffle Up and Deal

Shamus

Cards are in the air.

Players start with 4,500 chips. Ten one-hour levels will be played today, with a dinner break after Level 6.

06-16-2009 07:13 UTC-12

Chips and (Empty) Chairs

Shamus

Most tables have seven, eight, or nine players sitting around them, though there are quite a few open seats here at the very start of today's event, meaning a there are a few tables here and there playing three- and four-handed.

06-16-2009 07:21 UTC-12

Overpair Overplayed

Shamus

We've seen our first player hit the rail. Three players saw a flop come Q-x-2. It checked to the button who bet, then the player in first position check-raised all in. The third player reraised all in, and the button got out of the way.

The initial all-in raiser turned over pocket kings, while his opponent, who had him covered showed pocket deuces for the flopped set. The turn and river bricked out, and one player's day has ended after just a few hands.

06-16-2009 07:28 UTC-12

Hope That's Decaf

Shamus

The table had folded around to Dutch Boyd in the cutoff. He grabbed a blue (100) and green (25) chip, and was holding them out in his right hand when the player in the big blind -- the coffee he'd ordered having just arrived -- turned to the table and surprisingly announced "Raise" and tossed out a bet of 250.

The out-of-turn bet caused Boyd to stop and reconsider. He replaced his chips and slid his cards to the dealer. The other players folded as well.

Tags: Dutch Boyd

06-16-2009 07:39 UTC-12

Early Adversity for Alex

Shamus

Alex Jacob raised to 125 from middle position, and only the small blind came along. The flop came {10-Hearts}

. The SB checked, Jacob continued with a bet of 200, and his opponent called. Both checked the {A-Clubs}

on the turn.

The river was the {8-Hearts}

, and this time the player in the small blind led out with a bet of 500. Jacob considered for ten seconds or so, then let it go. Jacob is down to 2,100.

Tags: Alex Jacob

06-16-2009 07:48 UTC-12

"They're Everywhere"

Shamus

So said a tournament official, referring to the various locations players have been seated for today's event. The total number of registrants has just hit the 2,000-player mark, and continues to rise.

Players are located here in the Amazon room as well as down the hall in both the Brasilia and Miranda rooms.

06-16-2009 07:54 UTC-12

Do They Want Action or Not?

Shamus

Seeing a lot of limping and checking here in the early going. Recently saw a player make a raise to 100 from middle position, and it folded back to the small blind. "Is that a raise?" asked the SB. "A min-raise," said the player in the big blind. "He wants my action bad," he added.

The SB folded, the BB called, and the flop came {7-Clubs}

. The big blind checked, and the min-raiser continued with a bet of 200. "You look too serious," said his opponent as he folded.

06-16-2009 08:00 UTC-12

Who's Here?

Shamus

We've spotted Hevad Khan, Marco Traniello, David Sklansky, David Singer, and Roland de Wolfe here in the Amazon Room.

Over in the Brasilia are sitting Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Erik Lindgren, Josh Cranfill, Chad Batista, and Paul Wasicka.

And in the Miranda are Liv Boeree, Shannon Elizabeth, Nikolay Edvakov, Rob Hollink, T.J. Cloutier, Jeff Madsen, Miami John Cernuto, Allen Cunningham, Jason Mercier, Allen Kessler, and Kathy Liebert.