In a recent hand, there was 825 in the pot and a board reading when a player in early position bet 525 and Saul called. The river saw the early-position player fire out 775, and it did the trick as Saul opted to fold. Saul, who has cashed in all of his lammers, is currently sitting with 2,525.
Meanwhile, Saul's fellow WSOP Circuit grinder Ryan Lenaghan has been eliminated from the tournament.
Daniel Negreanu Warily Eyeing Carlos Mortensen Across the Table
Every WSOP tournament with hundreds of tables in play invariably produces a pairing of poker pros who are extremely familiar with one another's game, and today at Table #81 Red, Daniel Negreanu and Carlos Mortensen are competing to become the table captain.
The man known as the Matador took the early lead in that regard, winning a decent pot and absorbing some of Negreanu's stack in the process.
After Negreanu opened for 100 from under the gun, Mortensen three-bet to 450, getting two callers in addition to Kid Poker.
On the flop of , Negreanu checked to the raiser, and Mortensen obliged with a c-bet for 850. This was good enough to force folds from his three opponents, and minutes after taking his seat the 2001 WSOP Main Event Champion has started to build his stack.
For those new to the game of Omaha, or those who might need a refresher, here's a tutorial of the game courtesy of PokerNews' Rules Section.
The one glaring difference between Omaha poker and Texas hold'em is that players receive four hole cards in Omaha rather than two. In order to produce a winning hand, a player must you use two cards from his hand, but can only use two cards. Like Texas hold'em, Omaha is a game of community cards with a flop, turn and river, and the betting rounds play the same.
Omaha high is a fast-action poker variation and is one of the favorite poker variations for high-stakes players. Due to the wider range of hands that can be made in Omaha as opposed to Texas hold'em, players of Omaha tend to look to make the nuts much more often than not. Other hands are much more susceptible to losing.
In Texas hold'em, a hand that has made the second, third or fourth nuts is often a very powerful holding, nut in Omaha there is a greater chance your hand is no good and you must proceed with extended caution. Let's take a look of an example of this.
The hero has on a board of . Although this is the second best hand with a jack-high straight, any combination of in your opponent's hand would complete a higher, king-high straight and defeat you. Given that a single opponent holds four cards in Omaha as opposed to two in Texas hold'em, the probability is higher than the villain has the nut straight.
Another example would be holding the on a board of . Yes, you have a set of nines, which would be a pretty holding in Texas hold'em, but there are several hands that could defeat you here and in Omaha, it's much more likely one of your opponents is holding such a hand. First of all, there are two sets higher than yours with a set of kings or a set of queens available. Then, there is a straight possible if a player holds . Furthermore, any two diamonds in an opponent's hand would make a flush.
Due to the nature of so many better hands, an opponent may just be calling your bets with a set of kings or queens as they may fear a straight or flush, so even if you are not facing any immediate aggression, you could still be beat so proceed with caution.
We saw longtime pro Huck Seed call a bet of 500 with the flop reading , perhaps floating the draw heavy board in hopes of taking the pot down if the board bricked out.
When the came on the turn, both players tapped the table, and the fell on the river.
Sure enough, with no fifth diamond arrving on board, and his hesitant opponent checking once again, Seed fired out a bet of 500 and took the pot down with ease.
Tristan Wade is no stranger to pot-limit Omaha. In fact, he place third in this very event last year for $102,690. Wade is back in action and looking to improve upon that finish in this year's tournament.
In recent hand, four players took a flop of and players in the small blind and middle position checked to Wade, who bet 100. The cutoff called, as did the middle-position player, and it was three-way action to the . After a check, Wade bet 250 and only the cutoff came along for the ride. Wade opted to slow down on the river and then quickly chucked his cards to the muck after the cutoff bet 650. The cutoff then showed the for a full house.
Wade has 1,425 sitting in front of him plus two rebuy lammers worth 1,500 apiece.
Pro Bryan Devonshire is a veteran of the tournament poker circuit, with an impressive résumé spanning a number of years, and several notable wins on the WSOP Circuit and other major venues. With that said, he certainly knows his way around the technicalities of a poker table's intricate system of rules and regulations.
Although the WSOP prohibits players from using their smartphones, iPads, or other devices while engaged in a hand, Devo has found a way to stay connected until the last possible moment. By only clicking his device off right before the fourth card of every deal is distributed, Devonshire has assured himself a few extra moments of technological diversion, but one especially strict dealer was having none of it.
Devonshire's table recently had to have the floor arbitrate a minor dispute between the pro and the man pitching the cards, who believed that all devices must be put away when the first card is dealt.
The normally laid back and gregarious Devonshire was a bit perturbed at the delay in the action, but after the floor affirmed his belief in the three-card-off rule, he returned his focus to the game at hand.
As is typical in the game of Pot-Limit Omaha, players are getting their chips in the middle quite willingly as the first level of play unfolds, and German player Florian Surkamp is glad they are.
We watched Surkamp, whose large stack suggested he had already doubled in a previous hand, get it all-in against no less than three opponents.
Showdown:
Surkamp:
Opponent #1:
Opponent #2:
Opponent #3:
Surkamp was in good shape with pocket kings over pocket queens, as both of the other queens were out of play, while none of his opponents held an ace.
The flop came , and suddenly it was Surkamp's lowly deuce that gave him a commanding lead in the hand, and the turn () and river () left him with trips, and a massive pot pushed his way.
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when a player in early position bet 525 and Saul called. The 
river saw the early-position player fire out 775, and it did the trick as Saul opted to fold. Saul, who has cashed in all of his lammers, is currently sitting with 2,525.
, Negreanu checked to the raiser, and Mortensen obliged with a c-bet for 850. This was good enough to force folds from his three opponents, and minutes after taking his seat the 2001 WSOP Main Event Champion has started to build his stack.
. Although this is the second best hand with a jack-high straight, any combination of 
in your opponent's hand would complete a higher, king-high straight and defeat you. Given that a single opponent holds four cards in Omaha as opposed to two in Texas hold'em, the probability is higher than the villain has the nut straight.
. Yes, you have a set of nines, which would be a pretty holding in Texas hold'em, but there are several hands that could defeat you here and in Omaha, it's much more likely one of your opponents is holding such a hand. First of all, there are two sets higher than yours with a set of kings or a set of queens available. Then, there is a straight possible if a player holds . Furthermore, any two diamonds in an opponent's hand would make a flush.
, perhaps floating the draw heavy board in hopes of taking the pot down if the board bricked out.
fell on the river.
, and suddenly it was Surkamp's lowly deuce that gave him a commanding lead in the hand, and the turn (
) and river (
