Table 35 is a fairly representative table in the tournament – some local regs, a few people from out of town, and mostly average stacks. We followed the table for about an orbit starting towards the end of level 2 and through half of level 3. There was nothing particularly notable in this passage of play except that despite the limped pots and generally passive play, the player in Seat 9 managed to increase his stack by over 10K chips.
Hand 1
UTG+2 calls 150, the cutoff raised to 600, BB calls, and UTG+2 calls. Three players to the flop.
The flop was 
. The first two to act both checked, the cutoff bet 600 then the BB reraised to 1600 and both remaining players folded.
Hand 2
The BB was away from his chair as the hand started, so his hand was killed (the event is following TDA rules). Two early position callers, then the hijack raised to 700. The player on the button and the BB called and the initial limper folded. The flop came out 
. The players checked around and saw the turn, 
. On the turn it went check check, the button then made a small bet to 1100 and both opponents folded.
Hand 3
There were three limpers and then the BB checked, taking them to the flop, which came out 
. The first two players checked, the button bet 1000 and there was one caller. The turn came out 
and the early position player checked to the button who bet 3000, which was called. The river was the 
and the action was check-bet-fold. The button on seat 9 took it without a showdown.
Hand 4
Another limped pot, 4-way this time. The board ran out 
and no one made a play for the pot and A-high won the hand.
Hand 5
A 5-way limped pot led to a flop of . On the flop the UTG player bets 150 and gets 3 callers. The turn was the 
. It checked around to the button who bet 500 and all 3 players called. On the river 
it checked around and seat 10 won the hand with his 9, giving him a straight on the turn (which seemed obvious to all involved).
Hand 6
Seat 9 in early position raised to 525 and got 2 callers. The flop came out 
which didn’t seem to hit anyone and the action was checked around. The turn was the 
which provoked Seat 9 to bet 1025. Seat 10 folded and the big blind called. The river was the 
, both players checked at Seat 9 won the pot with pocket jacks.
Play continued in that vein. Nothing particularly exciting happened, and at least one skilled player didn’t play a single hand in the orbit but it’s still very early in the tournament, and clearly the players at Table 35 are interested in chipping up carefully rather than making a big risky move.