Georges St-Pierre, or "GSP" as he is often known, makes a living by knocking people out. The 31-year-old is considered by many to be the greatest welterweight fighter in the world right now, and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet. He is currently in the midst of recovering from an ACL injury that is sidelining him for 10 months, so he came to the Rio today to try to knock out some more people, only this time on the felt.
St-Pierre holds an impressive 22-2 record in the Octagon with his only losses coming to Matt Hughes by submission and Matt Serra by TKO. He later went on to avenge both of those losses, defeating Hughes twice and knocking out Serra just one year after their first fight. Before his injury late last year, St-Pierre was riding a nine-fight win streak.
St-Pierre currently holds the UFC Welterweight title. While he's injured, Carlos Condit holds the Interim title. These two will face off on November 17, 2012 for the undisputed title. But until then, St-Pierre is enjoying some time at the poker table. He started us off today by saying the greatest words in poker, "Shuffle up and deal!"
When asked how much poker he's played, GSP said "I'm new to the game. It's just a hobby of mine and I recently discovered it. I like it a lot, but I still have a lot to learn."
When speaking of the similarities between fighting and poker, GSP commented, "Yeah there are definitely a few similarities, but I think the biggest one for me is controlling your emotions. When you are at the table you have to be calm and leave your ego behind, and it's just like that when you are fighting."
Kristy Arnett caught up with GSP to chat a bit and you can check out that video below.
PokerNews will be sure to keep our eye on St-Pierre as he tries to earn himself another title while knocking out anyone who stands in his way, without using his fists of course.
Among the side stories for this event was the Onnit Labs Last Sticker Standing Contest in which players sporting the Onnit sticker were competing against one another for a cash prize.
The Main Event is underway, and some who have entered the $10,000 buy-in event will be participating in the Onnit Labs Last Sticker Standing Contest. All of those with Onnit stickers will be competing against one another as well as the rest of the field, as the last one to be eliminated will earn a nifty $5,000 prize for his or her efforts.
It's not too often on day 1 of the main event that we see more then one familiar face at a starting table. You can find two, but usually, three is the limit. Well over here in the orange section, we found five familiar faces. It goes as follows.
Seat 1: Craig Bergeron- Bergeron has over 1 million in lifetime earnings in live play, including a 4th place at the WPT event in Hollywood, Florida in April. That finish netted him over $210,000. He also has a circuit ring, and a WSOP final table in 2010.
Seat 3: Roland Israelashvili: If this name doesn't sound familiar, it may be because you know him as simply Roland Isra. Israelashvili took 5th place in the $50,000 Players Championship last month, just the latest of several big cashes for him. Israelashvili won a circuit Main Event in 2010, and has cashed 25 times at the WSOP.
Seat 5: Ray Henson: Henson became known to the poker world when he finished 12th in the 2007 Main Event for just under $500,000, but Henson was well known in the Los Angeles Poker community before that. Since then, Henson has been a main stay here at the WSOP and the WPT, recently finishing 7th at the Main Event at the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino last year.
Seat 8: Matthias De Meulder- De Meulder is a Team Pokerstars Pro, and the Belgian pro has been a regular on the European Poker Tour for the past few years. De Meulder biggest results were a 10th place finish at the Main Event in Barcelona last year, and winning a 1,500 Euro buy in prelim event in Deauville earlier this year for 136,000 Euros.
Seat 9: Christopher George: - George has 10 WSOP cashes in the last three years, including a 126th in the 2010 Main Event. He's also cashed twice in the $10,000 Stud Hi/Lo Championship, and has registered three cashes in this year's World Series.
Brian Rast was just involved in a decent-sized hand involving himself and two opponents, the trio having build a pot of 8,700 before the flop.
The first three community cards came , and the player in the big blind led with a bet of 3,200. A late position player then raised to 6,700, to which Rast responded with a reraise of his own to 10,400 total.
The big blind tanked for quite a while before folding, then the late position player quickly announced he was reraising all in, and Rast folded.
A player raised to 500 from middle position only to have Justin Bonomo three-bet to 1,500 from the button. Bonomo's opponent called and the two were off to the flop.
The dealer pounded the table and made appear. Bonomo's opponent check-called a 1,500 bet and the turn brought the . Another check came from Bonomo's opponent prompting Bonomo to bet one more time. This time the magic number was 4,300 and a call was once again received.
Fifth street paired the board once again with the and a third check put the action on Bonomo. Bonomo's final bet was 10,800 and his opponent called. Bonomo showed for aces full of jacks and scooped up the pot, putting him at 43,000.
The player in the hijack seat opened for 500 and found one caller in Martin Staszko directly behind him in the cutoff for a heads-up pot.
The flop came and Staszko's opponent fired an 800 c-bet into the middle. Staszko called to see a turn, which brought the . Both players then proceeded to check the turn and the river.
The player in the hijack reluctantly tabled and Staszko flipped over for two pair, which was good enough to scoop the pot.
A player sitting under the gun raised to 500, and it folded around to Jordan Rich who called from the big blind. The flop came . Rich checked, his opponent bet 1,000, and Rich called. The turn was the . Rich checked again, the UTG player bet 1,500 this time, and Rich called once more.
The river brought the and a third check from Rich, and after hesitating his opponent checked as well before turning over his for two pair, at the sight of which Rich mucked.
Not long after that hand, Rich was involved in another hand from middle position versus an opponent on the button. Following a flop, Rich bet 2,100, his opponent raised to 5,000, Rich made it 9,100, and his opponent called. Both checked the turn, then when the river brought the , Rich bet 8,000 and his opponent called immediately.
Rich's opponent in this one turned over for a flopped two pair, and Rich mucked, now down to 8,000.
With about 4,500 in the middle and the board showing , Jeff Lisandro checked and his opponent in late position bet 2,650.
Rather than his characteristic hat, Lisandro is wearing a white WSOP hooded sweat jacket today, hood up and covering all but his face. He peered out at his opponent from the small opening, then called the bet.
The river brought the , and Lisandro tapped the felt. His opponent then plucked out 6,200 worth of chips and set them forward, taking a sip from his coffee afterwards. Lisandro immediately tossed out three orange (5,000) chips for a check-raise to 15,000, and with a gulp his opponent quickly pushed his cards dealerward.
, and the player in the big blind led with a bet of 3,200. A late position player then raised to 6,700, to which Rast responded with a reraise of his own to 10,400 total.
appear. Bonomo's opponent check-called a 1,500 bet and the turn brought the 
. Another check came from Bonomo's opponent prompting Bonomo to bet one more time. This time the magic number was 4,300 and a call was once again received.
and a third check put the action on Bonomo. Bonomo's final bet was 10,800 and his opponent called. Bonomo showed 
for aces full of jacks and scooped up the pot, putting him at 43,000.
river.
and Staszko flipped over 
for two pair, which was good enough to scoop the pot.
. Rich checked, his opponent bet 1,000, and Rich called. The turn was the 
. Rich checked again, the UTG player bet 1,500 this time, and Rich called once more.
for two pair, at the sight of which Rich mucked.
flop, Rich bet 2,100, his opponent raised to 5,000, Rich made it 9,100, and his opponent called. Both checked the 
for a flopped two pair, and Rich mucked, now down to 8,000.
, Jeff Lisandro checked and his opponent in late position bet 2,650.
, and Lisandro tapped the felt. His opponent then plucked out 6,200 worth of chips and set them forward, taking a sip from his coffee afterwards. Lisandro immediately tossed out three orange (5,000) chips for a check-raise to 15,000, and with a gulp his opponent quickly pushed his cards dealerward.
