Every poker player knows that if Texas Hold'em presents dozens of different possibilities to consider on every street, Omaha amplifies the variance exponentially.
We watched a hand go down recently that showed just how far apart Hold'em and Omaha really are.
With the flop showing , one player had raised the pot, and his opponent called while appearing poised to go all-in on the subsequent street.
On the turn, however, he check-folded to an all-in pot bet, turning his face-up while tossing them in the muck.
With middle set, an extremely powerful hand in Hold'em, this player didn't even have a decision on his hands, knowing that the on the turn most likely delivered a straight or a flush, dooming his set of ladies to second-best status.
Players are now on their second 20-minute break of the day. During this time players must redeem any unused rebuy lammers. Registration will be closed at the end of this break.
While you wait for players to return, check out Daniel Negreanu sharing some Pot-Limit Omaha tips for beginners:
ESPN’s coverage of the 2013 World Series of Poker, from the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, will air every Tuesday from July 23 through November 5, with the exception of September 3 & 10. The WSOP will air on Tuesday nights in two-hour blocks from 9:00 ET to 11:00 PM ET.
To kick off the programming schedule this year, the inaugural World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific Main Event final table will air on Tuesday, July 23, at 9 p.m. ET. WSOP Main Event coverage begins on August 6 at 9 p.m. ET.
Norman Chad and Lon McEachern will call the action.
We happened upon Steve O'Dwyer's table just in time to see the dealer pushing him a lot of chips. All we know is that O'Dwyer held the on a board reading . O'Dwyer doubled on the hand and indicated that it was the third time today that he's hit quads.
Meanwhile, one man who isn't running well today is Daniel Negreanu, who was eliminated from the tournament on the first hand of Level 5.
Phil Hellmuth (Seen Here in Earlier WSOP Play) Has Finally Arrived
Upholding his tradition of arriving to WSOP events at the last possible moment, Phil Hellmuth has just taken his seat to begin Day 1 with four levels of play already in the books.
While other players have already moved their stacks into the five-figure realm, Hellmuth has the original 4,500 starting stack to work with, which is good for 22.5 big blinds at the moment.
Although this strategy of forgoing a tournament's early stages is debatable, what is beyond dispute is Hellmuth's dominance over WSOP competition, and with a record-setting 13 gold bracelets to his credit already, nobody can question the "Poker Brat" and his remarkable ability to run a stack up in a hurry.
The official numbers are in. Today's tournament drew 1,021 players — 51 more than last year — and has created a prize pol of $1,378,350. That will be distributed to the top 117 finishers with $279,431 going to first.
Joe Hachem (Seen Here in Earlier WSOP Play) is Still Here As Day 1 Rolls On
With his back to the Brasilia Room's Bronze section, which is currently being broken down as players are eliminated from the field, 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Hachem was unable to see the Pot-Limit Omaha carnage unfolding behind him.
When Hachem finally noticed that all of the tables behind him were empty, he expressed disbelief that ten tables, and a hundred players, could have been broken in just four levels.
"There's no way we're going that fast, is there?" he asked his tablemates, still shocked that the field of nearly 1,000 runners had already been halved halfway through the first day of play.
For a player like Hachem, who is so accustomed to holding stacks of chips throughout most tournaments he enters, perhaps the thought of being felted so fast is foreign to him. With a healthy stack of 12,500 at the moment, Hachem does not appear to be in any danger of an early exit, although he may want to check with his brother Anthony Hachem, who was among the waves of players to be eliminated during the first level of play.
Erick Lindgren Has Joined the Exodus Out of the Brasilia Room
Two of poker's first generation of stars have recently been felted, and with the four levels of late registration recently concluded, they were replaced by members of poker's current crop of stars.
Erick Lindgren and Marcel Luske have both hit the rail, while Marvin Rettenmaier and Matt Marafioti have both been spotted manning the original starting stack after the now standard late-reg.
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, one player had raised the pot, and his opponent called while appearing poised to go all-in on the subsequent street.
turn, however, he check-folded to an all-in pot bet, turning his 
face-up while tossing them in the muck.
on a board reading 
. O'Dwyer doubled on the hand and indicated that it was the third time today that he's hit quads.
