[user46298]
Barry Shulman raises to 55k called by Jason Mercier in the cutoff. Big blind Chris Bjorin thinks about it but declines to see the flop too.
Shulman bets 125k. Mercier passes and another early pot ships to Shulman.
The atmosphere has become quickly intense - you could hear a chip drop as the hands are dealt and played - and there was some encouragement from Jack Effel to applaud when the audience wants to: "Come on, we're meant to be having fun! Support your favourite players! You are allowed to clap, you know."
[user46392]
Jason Mercier made it 48,000 and Markus Ristola called from the button; they went heads up to a flop.
Mercier bet out 54,000 and with barely a pause, Ristola made the call.
The turn came down the and there was a moment of intense staring at the board from the players -- they both checked.
They saw a river and now Mercier counted out a bet of 131,000 from his spindly chip towers, then covered his mouth with his hand as Ristola made a concerned expression and then folded.
"Come on, clap!" said TD Jack Effel, apparently exasperated by the relatively sedate nature of a British early afternoon crowd. We expect things to get a little crazier as the day progresses and the booze intake increases...
[user46298]
Jason Mercier, fresh off the previous pot's victory, raises to 48k the very next hand and wins some blinds. While Daniel Negreanu quizzes him about the pronunciation of his name (the French-sounding 'Mer-see-yay' vs. as announced 'Mer-see-yerr' which seems to fascinate him) Markus Ristola quietly raises to 50k and wins some blinds of his own with no one seeming to notice.
Then back to Mercier raising preflop (it's alternating him-someone-him-someone - this time small blind Antoine Saout makes the call, along with Matt Hawrilenko in the big.
Flop: Check to Mercier, who gives a free turn. Now when Mercier gets a check to him he bets 68k, and is rewarded with two passes and another pot.
One very enthusiastic Jason Mercier fan/friend in the crowd gives him a solo round of applause. It's catching on, just slowly.
[user46392]
Jason Mercier, who seems very awake indeed despite telling us he only got three hours' sleep, raised under the gun -- but this time Antoine Saout reraised from the button. Faced with a decision, Mercier took a moment, and then opted to fold. "Come on Antoine!" shouted a slightly unprofessional member of the French media. But no-one seemed to mind, and we play on.
[user46392]
More comfortabe now
Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier saw a flop, but neither were interested in betting it.
Negreanu liked the turn a little better, it seemed -- he bet out 60,000 and Mercier called, and they moved on to the river. They checked it, and Negreanu turned over a slightly surprising for two pair, while Mercier mucked.
Negreanu is up to 665,000 and no longer our shortest stack; Mercier's stack can't even feel the damage. Mr. Shortie right now is Chris Bjorin on 413,000.
[user46298]
Markus Ristola ships it in on the button over the 50k preflop raise of Praz Bansi on the cutoff, calmly, expressionlessly. No pain; a quick fold from Bansi and a few back for the Finn.
[user46392]
Raisiest Player At The Table Jason Mercier raised, and Markus Ristola called in the hijack. They saw a flop.
Flop:
Mercier, whose ridiculously tall stacks look in danger of falling over every time he dips into them for chips, bet out. Ristola stared very hard at the table for a while, and then raised to 180,000. Mercier checked his hole cards to make sure they hadn't magically turned into two completely different cards, or possibly even to discover what he actually had -- either way, he checked them, dwelled for a little while, and then made the call.
Turn:
Mercier checked, and Ristola promptly moved all in. A quick fold later, and Ristola was up to 965,000. Mercier dropped to a still dominant 3,064,000.
[user46392]
Raisiest Player At The Table Jason Mercier raised, and Markus Ristola called in the hijack. They saw a flop.
Flop:
Mercier, whose ridiculously tall stacks look in danger of falling over every time he dips into them for chips, bet out. Ristola stared very hard at the table for a while, and then raised to 180,000. Mercier checked his hole cards to make sure they hadn't magically turned into two completely different cards, or possibly even to discover what he actually had -- either way, he checked them, dwelled for a little while, and then made the call.
Turn:
Mercier checked, and Ristola promptly moved all in. A quick fold later, and Ristola was up to 965,000. Mercier dropped to a still dominant 3,064,000.
[user46298]
Antoine Saout calls (on the button) a Chris Bjorin mid-position raise. Both players check the flop. The on the turn is checked to Saout too - this time he takes the opportunity to make a bet which wins him the modest-to-middling sized pot.
The next hand, Saout makes it 50k to go in the cutoff, but gets the pesky button making it 150k. This time, the man with the button is Matt Hawrilenko, who with little dwell time from his opponent simply takes it down.
![[user46298]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop too.
flop.
and there was a moment of intense staring at the board from the players -- they both checked.
river and now Mercier counted out a bet of 131,000 from his spindly chip towers, then covered his mouth with his hand as Ristola made a concerned expression and then folded.
Check to Mercier, who gives a free 
turn. Now when Mercier gets a check to him he bets 68k, and is rewarded with two passes and another pot.
Check-check (Negreanu's check more of a slap...)
"That totally sucks!" says Negreanu, which is followed by a 60k bet from Ristola, called fairly quickly.
Now another couple of checks lead to Negreanu's 
flop, but neither were interested in betting it.
for two pair, while Mercier mucked.
flop. The 
on the turn is checked to Saout too - this time he takes the opportunity to make a bet which wins him the modest-to-middling sized pot.
