Vanessa Selbst Has Doubled Her Starting Stack Here on Day 1
Vanessa Selbst has raised before the flop, and her opponent pushed back with an all-in wager for roughly 8,000.
Selbst quickly called and rolled over , but by the look on her face it appeared she feared the worst. Her opponent tabled the , however, and Selbst was racing to add a decent chunk to her stack.
"I got this," said the all-in player, even as the flop came . "I still got this..."
The turn brought the , and the player's voice rose a bit, as he pondered the board pair possibilities that might have given him the win, saying "I got this now..."
River:
Selbst had it instead, and by winning this early race, she has more than doubled her stack midway through the first day of play.
Phil Hellmuth (Seen Here in Earlier WSOP Play) Dropped an Early Pot After His Late Arrival
After his customary late arrival Phil Hellmuth immediately got in on the action, but after losing the last hand, he may miss the opportunities to pad his stack provided by those earlier levels.
We saw Hellmuth splash a handful of chips into the pot while showing down the , which must have looked pretty good on the board.
His opponent tabled the for a rivered flush, and despite momentarily clenching as if to stand and shout, Hellmuth calmly slid his cards into the muck and refocused on his iPad.
Joe Hachem (Seen Here Playing an Earlier WSOP Event) is Feeling Right at Home Here at the Rio
Joe Hachem accomplished every poker player's ultimate dream under this very roof. While the final two days of his 2005 Main Event championship were held at Binion's Horseshoe Casino, he played his way there through nearly a week of grueling competition right here at the Rio.
Back again to play against on the WSOP's most skilled fields, Hachem is glad to be home.
We saw a crowd develop around the affable Aussie's table, and we found Hachem all in for his last 18,250 holding .
His unfortunate opponent had been coolered with his , and when the final board ran out , the sugar was passed to Hachem yet again.
With the final field tallied in at 516 players, the total generated prize pool was $2,425,200. The top 54 spots will be paid out, with 54th place earning $9,240 for the cash. The top spot will be worth $606,317 and the World Series of Poker gold bracelet.
With the World Series of Poker's big buy-in events attracting poker's elite to play under one roof, two of the game's now ubiquitous symbols have taken over the Brasilia Room.
The Beats by Dre high-end headphones preferred by so many regular circuit grinders are being worn by at least a third of the field, with the players forgoing table talk in favor of tunes.
There are also a dozen massage therapy specialists plying their trade throughout the tournament floor, with women clad in white T-shirts applying some targeted pressure to the backs, shoulders, legs, and necks of several poker pros.
With the $5,000 buy-in limiting this event to those with heavy bankrolls, it's only understandable that the players here today are in search of some much needed relaxation, as they compete against their highly skilled peers from the pro ranks.
Daniel Negreanu has always been revered for his uncanny ability to read opponents as if their hands were face up, but even"Kid Poker" couldn't sniff out the set on the last hand.
The final board read , and Negreanu's opponent had checked the action. Sensing weakness, or perhaps going for a value bet, Negreanu decided to stick a bet of approximately 3,700 into the middle.
"A pair of sevens," was Negreanu's announcement when his opponent called. "Oh, three nines?"
The other player had tabled his , and with a befuddled expression still on his face, Negreanu sent his cards into the muck.
Kelly was in on the action once again on a recent hand, and although he did not come away a winner, he proved that he can't lose this summer either.
The flop showed and Kelly had bet 600 into an unknown opponent, who raised it up to 1,500. Kelly called, and both players checked the on the turn. When the completed the board on the river, Kelly's opponent fired 1,500 forward, and Kelly quickly looked him up.
The player rolled over , and Kelly asked "queens?" while peering across the table. He then flipped up the and the pot was promptly chopped up.
TJ Cloutier (Seen Here in Earlier WSOP Competition)
With the Brasilia Room filled to the brim with several of poker's young guns, two of the game's founding fathers are duking it out at the same table.
World Series of Poker icon T.J. Cloutier and Full Tilt Poker computer programmer Steve Brecher recently played a small pot, with Brecher raising preflop and taking it down with a c-bet, but their conversation understandably focused on the age discrepancy between themselves and the field.
"I bet big and pushed him off, so I showed the deuce-seven offsuit for no pair," said Cloutier, speaking of a prior incident in which a younger player dared to disrespect the living legend. "Told him, 'Listen here whippersnapper, I've forgotten more about poker than you'll ever know...' After that the kid never said another word."
Don Nguyen (Seen Here on Day 3 of his $10,000 Heads-Up Run)
After making a deep run through Event #16 ($10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em) earlier in this 2013 World Series of Poker, where he finished in 2nd place to Mark Radoja, Don Nguyen is here today trying his hand in yet another big buy-in event.
Unfortunately for Nguyen, he was unable to recapture the magic of his heads-up run in a recent hand, dropping nearly half of his starting stack in the process.
We caught the action on the flop, with the board reading , and Ron Minnis with a bet of 700 in front of him. Nguyen thought things over for a moment, before calling to see the arrive on the turn. Minnis immediately led out again, this time for 1,000, and again Nguyen called.
On the river, Minnis rolled a bet of 4,000 into the pot, and Nguyen went into the tank, counting his stack and looking across the table with a quizzical expression.
"You can fold," said Minnis, leaning back in his chair. "You're making my heart pump over here."
With this apparent tell motivating him, Nguyen elected to look Minnis up, but he quickly mucked when he saw the for a full house on the river.
Welcome back for another day at the 44th annual World Series of Poker. Today's noon event is Event #32: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em (Six Handed), and it is set to be one of the most exciting events of the summer. All the top no-limit hold'em wizards, whether it be online or live, tournament or cash, will be out in the mix, and one can expect an absolutely start-studded field of competitors.
Last year, Greg Merson defeated a field of 474 players to win the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em (Six Handed) event for $1,136,197, but there was no $5,000 version on the schedule. Little did we all know that at the time, Merson's victory was just the beginning as he went on to win the WSOP Main Event for $8,531,853 and capture Player of the Year.
The cards are set to be in the air at 12 p.m. local Las Vegas time, so be sure to stick around for the action. In the meantime, let's see what's on tap for June 18 from PokerNews' very own Sarah Grant.
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, but by the look on her face it appeared she feared the worst. Her opponent tabled the 
, however, and Selbst was racing to add a decent chunk to her stack.
. "I still got this..."
, and the player's voice rose a bit, as he pondered the board pair possibilities that might have given him the win, saying "I got this now..."
, which must have looked pretty good on the 
board.
for a rivered flush, and despite momentarily clenching as if to stand and shout, Hellmuth calmly slid his cards into the muck and refocused on his iPad.
, the sugar was passed to Hachem yet again.
, and Negreanu's opponent had checked the action. Sensing weakness, or perhaps going for a value bet, Negreanu decided to stick a bet of approximately 3,700 into the middle.
, and with a befuddled expression still on his face, Negreanu sent his cards into the muck.
and Kelly had bet 600 into an unknown opponent, who raised it up to 1,500. Kelly called, and both players checked the 
and the pot was promptly chopped up.
arrive on the turn. Minnis immediately led out again, this time for 1,000, and again Nguyen called.
river, Minnis rolled a bet of 4,000 into the pot, and Nguyen went into the tank, counting his stack and looking across the table with a quizzical expression.
for a full house on the river.
