We caught up just a bit late, so here's what we know. It was a heads-up pot when we walked up to a flop of . It was heads up between Pierre Canali and Pascal LeFrancois, and the betting action on the flop (we missed exactly what it was) put 2,600 chips in the pot going to the turn.
It was the , and LeFrancois put out a bet of 1,700. Canali made a smooth and deliberate call, and the filled out the board on fifth street. Not slowing down, LeFrancois slid out 4,000 chips in one final bet. Canali plucked 4,000 chips from his big stack and tossed them into the pot.
LeFrancois showed up for two pair, but he had been outflopped. Canali's was good for the wheel and the pot, and he's back over 50,000 once again.
I was fortunate enough to watch Brandon Cantu play in the recent World Open, and with access to the hole cards I was able to witness all his crazy plays first-hand.
There are very few players in the game who, at virtually any point, could have any two cards, but Cantu's one of them, and it makes him a highly entertaining player to watch as you never knew what he's going to do next.
In his last hand here today, however, he had the goods, and made a fruitful value bet on the river to extend his stack to circa 65,000 in chips.
It was an unknown player who kick-started the action, his limp under the gun for 300 sparking British WSOP hero James Dempsey to raise to 1,100.
Just one seat along, Cantu asked for a count ("I started the hand with 12,000," came the reply), before nonchalantly throwing in a raise to 3,200. Without any hesitation, under-the-gun made the call to put the pressure back on Dempsey.
Clearly tortured by the decision that lay ahead, Dempsey sank his head into his hands and utilised his season pass in the think tank. Eventually he emerged to fold his hand, leading two a two-way flop of .
Despite the preflop action, the flop and turn were checked down, but Cantu decided to fire out a bet on the river, dropping a red 5,000 chip onto the felt. Despite showing reluctance, his opponent called, before mucking to Cantu's .
As a result of that victory, Cantu is now up to the dizzy heights of 65,000.
...To fail to dislodge Jason Mercier without the best hand. Mercier is already a live tournament veteran having finalled and indeed won an eye-opening number of events for the time he's been playing these (he burst onto the scene in 2008 with an EPT win in San Remo). He also wins today's prize for Most Contorted Facial Expression While Coming to a Decision, for this hand vs. Adam Fletcher:
Caught from the turn with the board reading , Mercier bet 2,600, called by the in-position Fletcher. The river brought a lot, including action - it was the . Mercier bet out again, 4,100, only to find Fletcher raising to 11,000. Now came the deliberation period, during which Mercier's eyebrows underwent some gymnastic moves; whatever he decided during this period, it was right as when he made the call with his it turned out to be good. He's up to 52k while Fletcher is below 25k.
Daniel Cates just doubled up a short stack, spiking a bullet on a flop, but coming up short against . A turn and river made little difference and Cates was knocked back down to 25,000.
A player UTG raised preflop to 800 before Tyler Bonkowski (readers with a very good memory will remember he went very deep in the Irish Open this year before suffering two or three horrific beats to eliminate him) reraised to 2,200. EPT Berlin champion Kevin MacPhee then made it 4,975 which saw the action passed back to Bonkowski who quickly made the call.
The flop came a Gobi-desert dry and Bonkowski checked before folding to a 3,800 bet from his opponent.
As has become equally customary here in Leicester Square as across the Pond in Vegas, Phil Hellmuth has arrived to the sound of music and with a girl on each arm.
This year, Hellmuth treated onlookers (and, perhaps, frustrated heads-up semi-finalists) with a Lady Gaga themed arrival. As the usual flock of media raced over to the entrance with their cameras snapping frantically, Hellmuth waltzed into the arena with several Lady Gaga clad ladies, one of which was singing the lyrics to 'Poker Face' in the most piercing of tones. Meanwhile, a brass band marched behind, playing the tune to the hit single as Hellmuth paraded around the casino as if he were Elvis risen from the dead.
Like an accident on the motorway, it was impossible not to lend him a quick glance as he made his way up the staircase with his string of colourful felines in tow. Most of the rail were laughing to themselves, whilst others, such as Howard Lederer who sits on the neighbouring table, simply looked on with their mouth ajar and a bewildered expression plastered across their face.
"This maybe my best entrance ever," gloated Hellmuth upon taking his seat.
After another 'yoohoo, everybody, please look at me' entrance, something tells me that there might be a few lining up to poke his face.
On the flop of , Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi checked to Bruno Fitoussi and he bet 500. Mizrachi called to see the fall on the turn. Mizrachi checked again and Fitoussi fired another 700. Mizrachi called again.
The river completed the board with the and both players checked. Fitoussi tabled the and Mizrachi mucked his hand.
Mizrachi dropped to 5,300 while Fitoussi increased to 40,200.
MAybe it was the sonorous sounds of a blonde-wigged girl singing "Poker Face" as Phil Hellmuth made his entrance that put James "Flushy" Dempsey off his game or that maybe he just had a wrong read.
Either way Dempsey is down to 10,800 after he check raised a 3,600 bet to 8,600 on the turn of a only to have his opponent push all-in, Dempsey immediately folded as a result.