Last level of Day 1b begins at WSOPE Main Event

Last level of Day 1b begins at WSOPE Main Event

Friday, 24 September 2010

I noticed a depressing thing when I was counting out the 5ps and 10ps in my pockets to scrape together enough change for a Red Bull (had £1.07, got two Boosts instead) and realised – I used to play with James Mitchell three years ago, in pub tournaments around London. Since then he’s won the Irish Open for €600,000 and now he’s among the leaders at the WSOPE Main Event. I’m counting small change... go figure.

Anyway, the blinds are now 250/500/50 and players are filling seats once more for the last ninety minutes of play. Amusingly, as I left the building for energy drink acquisition, I heard a bloke (not a man, a definite ‘bloke’) telling another: “I mean, whaddoIdo? Am I aht of ordah? Are they aht of ordah? Is she aht of ordah? I don’ fahkin’ know, but...” I returned, 15 minutes later, to see the two in the same spot with the same bloke saying: “I just know I ain’t the one oo’s fahked up ‘ere, they are bang aht of ordah...”

A quick count tells us Antonio Esfandiari has taken the chip lead from Viktor Blom. His 150,000ish stack could challenge Nicolas Levi by the end of Day 1b but a lot can happen in 90 minutes. His mate Phil Laak joins the six-figure club on 105,000 or so. Defending champion Barry Shulman is close with about 95,000 on the felt next to the diminishing stack of Gus Hansen, who no doubt can’t wait to get his last 22,000 in and play out the Heads Up High Roller final match.

Oh, and Phil Ivey touched me. Based on my theory that poker talent is transferrable via osmosis I should be good to enter the EPT London next week... or simply hit up the Stud cash games. That run, surely, somewhere?

With that, cards are in the air again and we’re ready for the final level of the night. Should be a good one.



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