With his proficiency in the game of Limit Hold'em indisputable at this point, there are plenty of reasons for Bardah to believe that defending his title is a good investment, but to hear him tell it, he had a difficult choice on his hands with the Big One for One Drop being played on the same day.
"Yeah, I was gonna play the Big One," Bardah told his tablemates, tongue planted firmly in cheek. "But you know, I thought defending this thing was kind of important, so I stuffed the $100K in my backpack and headed over here."
Despite having dangerous pro Jeff Shulman seated to his left, Bardah is thriving once again in the limit format, and he has already doubled his starting stack midway through the night.
After his rapid resurrection from the graveyard back to the felt, we will be sure to track William's progress to see if his run good from the previous event continues here tonight.
Fans of the ESPN coverage that has brought the World Series of Poker into living rooms around the world since 2003 may remember the name Hal Lubarsky.
In 2007, Lubarsky became the first legally blind player to compete in the WSOP Main Event, and the following year he achieved a certain level of fame in the poker world via extended television coverage of his Main Event run.
Today, Lubarsky is in the house competing on the WSOP stage yet again, and after a recent hand he is off to a great start.
We saw Lubarksy call a raise of three bets before the flop, with four players heading to the flop. The first player to act checked, and the preflop three-bettor fired away with a c-bet. After listening to his assistant describe the action, Lubarsky quickly tossed a blue T500 tournament chip into the middle for a raise. This cleared the field back to the bettor, who flatted to take the on the turn.
After it was checked to him, Lubarsky bet the turn, and his opponent mucked without further thought. The pot was pushed to Lubarsky, and he is pointed in the right direction here on the first day of play.
With the game of Limit Hold'em defined by the slow and steady nature of the action, we decided to stick around Barry Greenstein's table to watch him play a full orbit.
Hand #1: Greenstein was the big blind in this hand, and he mucked when Sam Grizzle made it three bets over the top of another raiser.
Hand #2: On the small blind this time, Greenstein folded after Grizzle tossed in a raise.
Hand #3: Holding the button, Greenstein surrendered yet again, with Grizzle ramping up the aggression and raising to two bets.
Hand #4: In the cutoff, Greenstein popped Grizzle's raise to three bets, and the two experienced pros played a heads-up pot. On the flop, Greenstein bet and Grizzle flatted. The action repeated on the turn, and both players checked the river. Greenstein rolled over the , but Grizzle had him from the flop onward with his .
Hand #5: Greenstein folded out of the hijack.
Hand #6: Greenstein mucked once again before the flop.
While this orbit may not have been the most exciting, it demonstrates the proper approach to Limit Hold'em tournaments, which are a marathon as opposed to the sprints that No-Limit Hold'em events have evolved into.
[user253757]
The Prize Awaiting the Eventual Victor of Today's $2,500 Limit Hold'em Event
While No-Limit Hold'em has become the trendy variant during the last decade, old timers can remember when world championships were decided in Limit Hold'em events. Today, the World Series of Poker will harken back to those bygone days, as Event #48 ($2,500 Limit Hold'em) will test the player's patience, hand reading ability, and other fundamental aspects of proper poker.
Today we expect Bardah to defend his title, while dozens of dangerous pros try to knock him off. Last year saw notable names like Carlos Mortensen, Andy Bloch, Michael Mizrachi, Annie Duke, Matt Hawrilenko, J.C. Tran, Shaun Deeb, Barry Greenstein, Eli Elezra, Daniel Negreanu, and Phil Ivey reach Day 2, and many of those familiar faces will be in attendance here today. In addition, hundreds of amateurs and recreational players will convene in the Rio's Brasilia Room to try their hand at the slower, yet systematic, game known as Limit Hold'em
Check out the PokerNews daily update video to whet your appetite for today's Limit Hold'em action, and then keep it right here throughout the day for continuous coverage live from the WSOP's famed tournament floor.
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. Pilgrim fired out a bet after one player checked, and he found a single caller.
completed the board on the river, Pilgrim bet out again, and his opponent flatted to head to a showdown.
for quads on the flop, and the powerhouse hand was more than enough to earn the pot.
flop. The first player to act checked, and the preflop three-bettor fired away with a c-bet. After listening to his assistant describe the action, Lubarsky quickly tossed a blue T500 tournament chip into the middle for a raise. This cleared the field back to the bettor, who flatted to take the 
on the turn.
flop, Greenstein bet and Grizzle flatted. The action repeated on the 
turn, and both players checked the 
river. Greenstein rolled over the 
.
