Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier and a third player took a flop of . Seidel and Mercier checked in that order before the next player fired 2,100. Seidel threw in a raise to 6,000 and Mercier folded. Seidel's opponent then moved all in for 23,300. After a minute of thought, Seidel said, "Ok, you got it," and tossed his hand away. He was left with 43,000 in his stack.
There appears to be an unusual post-prandial slump in progress. Usually the return after eating leads to shorter stacks taking the plunge or some snooze-related mistakes which create conflicts, but looking round the remaining tables there's hardly a hole card seeing the light of day face up.
So instead, here are some examples of what people at the table are doing as a sideline to the tournament itself:
Andy Bloch and Toby Lewis have iPads, which appear to have infinite battery life and are apparently (according to another source)used for watching one's own Twitter feeds or wrestling videos.
Allen Cunningham is playing phone-based chess.
Isabelle Mercier is writing what looks like postcards ("London is lovely, apart from the rain. Today I check-raised John Cernuto. Wish you were here...).
Two other people had kindle electronic books open through the early levels.
It makes one wonder what stage of the tournament is interesting/important enough to just play it as one's sole occupation. It's true early on Day One is slow going, with lots of potential for folding and sitting there, or playing pots which benefit stacks only slightly, however; I would be there will be no such distractions come Day Two.
Jason Mercier final tabled this event year, eventually falling in fourth place and taking home £267,267. This year, a run to the final table doesn't look to be the favorite, but it is early on. Mercier has had somewhat of a glum look on his face for most of the day since getting up to about 50,000 earlier.
On this hand, he limped under the gun and the next player raised to 1,400. Mercier called and the two saw a flop of . Mercier check-called a bet of 2,500 from his opponent before the peeled off on fourth street. Mercier checked and his opponent set him all in after looking at his stack size. Mercier has just under 17,000 left in his stack and went into the tank for a long while. Eventually, he gave it up and was left shaking his head.
Andy Bloch was last seen being harangued in the bar by an intoxicated local with little knowledge about the game. Bloch was nodding politely, despite having just bitten the dust.
That elusive bracelet will have to wait another year.
Over at the end of the balcony is a table tougher than a two-dollar steak, EPT Vilamoura Champion Toby Lewis joined by Alexander Kravchenko, John Juanda and Chris Ferguson, all of whom have 11 bracelets between them.
Also sharing the felt is Allen 'Chainsaw' Kessler. He's currently discussing the structure of the heads-up final with his neighbours, suggesting it's too generous and could potentially see the battle continue until the very early hours. "It could take 20 hours to complete," he claimed.
[user46298]
Phil Hellmuth high-fives rail of Lady GaGas (not really)
A preflop situation which looked as though it was almost certainly going to snowball into an all-in and call situation didn't just now, and Phil Hellmuth has a few more to play with. He moved all in over the top of Robert Tanita whose last raise had been to 6,500, and there was 8,200 spread in front of him as he sat in traditional hands-clasped stillness waiting to see what, if anything, would call him. Finally, after a very long pause, Tanita opted for the pass, showing . Hellmuth gains without further risk of elimination and is back over 20k.
From under the gun, Jason Mercier raised to 925. The player in the cutoff seat called and the two saw the flop coem . Action was checked to see the fall on the turn. Action was checked again and the fell on the river. Both players checked again and Mercier's won the pot.
I just caught the tail end of a board, Hellmuth leading out for 2,950 and his neighbour making the call. The action halted on Filippo Candio who ummed and ahhed before joining the party.
"," announced Hellmuth.
Candio showed and the other player disposed of his hand.
Hellmuth mumbled under his breath before chucking his cards into the middle.
"I was in the small blind," defended Candio.
"It's OK," replied Hellmuth, "I would have played your hand too. I'm just aggravated, that's all."
Whilst an "aggravated" Hellmuth drops to 23,500, a triumphant Candio is now one of the chip leaders with around 80,000.
![[user4144]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
. Juanda showed 
.
flop favoured the Team Full Tilt Pro, before the 
turn and 
river sealed the deal to keep him alive.
. Seidel and Mercier checked in that order before the next player fired 2,100. Seidel threw in a raise to 6,000 and Mercier folded. Seidel's opponent then moved all in for 23,300. After a minute of thought, Seidel said, "Ok, you got it," and tossed his hand away. He was left with 43,000 in his stack.
. Mercier check-called a bet of 2,500 from his opponent before the 
peeled off on fourth street. Mercier checked and his opponent set him all in after looking at his stack size. Mercier has just under 17,000 left in his stack and went into the tank for a long while. Eventually, he gave it up and was left shaking his head.
. Action was checked to see the 
fall on the turn. Action was checked again and the 
won the pot.
board, Hellmuth leading out for 2,950 and his neighbour making the call. The action halted on Filippo Candio who ummed and ahhed before joining the party.
," announced Hellmuth.