We understand that Mike Matusow and Perry Friedman got themselves involved in what must have been an extremely difficult challenge - a silence last-longer, with the first one to speak owing the other $5,000.
After not very long at all, though, Friedman allowed Matusow to buy out for $200 as he was clearly suffering. Friedman showed us the note that Matusow had passed him. It read (spelling mistakes corrected so as to make it intelligible to the casual reader):
"Let's off this bet, it's costing us equity at this table."
When you register on time for a tournament, you're subject to the luck of the table draw. Sometimes you wind up with an easier table, and sometimes you wind up with a tougher table. When you register late, you're almost always guaranteed to be at a table of pros. Blue 282 is the prefect example. David Bach, Toto Leonidas, Michael Binger, Max Pescatori and Tom Dwan are all clustered around it, right on the rail in perfect view of the spectators. The lone bright spot for the players at the table is that they'll be among the first players to be roken to new seats -- asusuming they survive that long.
We now have 27 tables in operation in the Blue Section of the Amazon Room for this tournament, and there are a fair number of PokerStars Team Pros trying their hand at this split-pot game. Representing the team, in no particular order, are George Danzer (Germany), Daniel Negreanu (Canada), Johannes Steindl (Austria), Alex Kravchenko (Russia), Greg Raymer (USA), Michael Keiner (Germany), George Lind (Team Online), Ville Wahlbeck (Nordics), Dario Minieri (Italy), and Barry Greenstein (USA). We expect that the last wave of late registrations may drag in one or two more Team Pros.
To date in this WSOP, no Team Pro has won a bracelet, but they do have several final tables among them. It would seem to be only a matter of time before one cracks the winner's circle.
In split-pot games, players are generally instructed to leave their bets in front of their cards once the action is heads-up. This makes it easier to split the pot later if it's a chop. Where confusion usually arises is if one player is quartered, or in multi-way pots where one player is all in on an early street.
These pot-splitting situations aren't easy for anyone (player or dealer), and everyone has a different way that they feel is the best way for splitting these pots. We recently saw Men Nguyn standing at Table 299, instructing a dealer how he should split a pot in which Allen Kessler had been quartered by another player. It produced a fair amount of confusion, both for the dealer and for Kessler.
To be fair, most dealers aren't used to dealing split-pot games, and certainly not a big-bet split-pot game like PLO8.
We found Pat Pezzin all in for 3,225 on the flop with two callers who checked down the turn and river. Pezzin's set of tens were good for the high, and the player with got the low while the gent with just looked a bit unhappy.
Pezzin moved up to 5,300 plus all three rebuy chips.
Rob Hollink was already all in with two rebuy chips behind when we arrived on the turn of the board. Robin Keston bet pot - or 10,900 to you and me. His opponent called, while Hollink looked increasingly unwell.
Keston and the third player checked the river and Keston turned up for a full house and the nut low, good enough for three quarters of the pot. His opponent's nut low was only good for a quarter, Hollink mucked and rebought for 4,000, and Keston moved up to around 30,000 with no rebuy chips.
Apparently, it's Greg Raymer's birthday. Joe Hachem (not in this event - yet?) secured a microphone from the floor staff and encouraged the Amazon Room to wish Raymer a happy birthday. We'd characterize the response as "tepid and polite".
![[user46392]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
for the high
flop with two callers who checked down the 
turn and 
river. Pezzin's set of tens were good for the high, and the player with 
board. Robin Keston bet pot - or 10,900 to you and me. His opponent called, while Hollink looked increasingly unwell.
river and Keston turned up 
for a full house and the nut low, good enough for three quarters of the pot. His opponent's nut low was only good for a quarter, Hollink mucked and rebought for 4,000, and Keston moved up to around 30,000 with no rebuy chips.