Play has resumed following the second break of the day. There are now 39 players remaining from 71 entries as play continues 6-handed. The last few levels were characterized by increasingly aggressive play as the disparity between the big and small stacks grew significantly.

There are now a handful of players in the field who have managed to build their stacks well beyond our current average of roughly 30,000. Two players – Brent McCue and Chen Turjeman – lead the way by a healthy margin and are playing stacks of more than double the current average.

The field has been quickly reduced to 47 players, following the first break of the day, and the tables are being adjusted for 6-handed play.

The Mix Max format lets players play more and more hands throughout the day as the tables are continuously adjusted according to the size of the field. The time has come for the players to change gears and adjust their ranges so expect the aggression level to step up a notch as play continues 6-handed.

When the buzzer sounded to announced the end of the late registration period and the first break of the day, 71 players had entered the running and 59 remained with chips in play. At this stage, the tables have just been adjusted to 6-handed in the first step of the Mix Max structure.

While a number of players jumped out to fast starts this afternoon, no player has managed to run up a dominant stack. At the break, there were three players with stacks close to or above 30,000 chips.

There are now over 1,000,000 chips in play in the Mix Max, thanks to a strong early turnout. The fast start to the March Power Weekend bodes well for the rest of the events on the docket- the Playground 200 starts tonight with Day 1A, followed by tomorrow’s Deepstack Turbo, Sunday’s 50/50 Bounty, before we wrap up with the Survivor and the 6-Max Bounty on Monday. The Playground 200 will run throughout the weekend and there are several satellites for the upcoming MILLIONS event so there are lots of options for players of all levels.

With a few minutes remaining in the late registration period, there could be a few more players joining the field before the players return from their first break of the day.

As we enter our third level of play, registration continues to tick up as a steady pace, with 56 entries so far. The late registration period is open for another 45 minutes so there’s still plenty of time to get in on the action.

Here’s a look at the field:

The cards are now in the air for the first event of the March Power Weekend! We are kicking things off today with a $70 + $10 NL Hold’em Mix Max. Offering a $5,000 guaranteed prize pool, this one-day tournament will put players to the test as the number of players per table will vary according to the size of the field.

In case you’re not familiar with the format, here’s how it breaks down: When there are over 100 players in the field, the action will be 10-handed. The number of players per table will then be reduced throughout the day; it will drop to 8-handed when 96 or less remain, 6-handed when 60 or less remain and finally 4-handed when 24 or less remain. The final five players will make it to the final table. Adjusting to the dynamics of each table poses an interesting challenge, and the players will have to figure out how and when to change gears to take advantage of the format and maximize their chances at a piece of the $5,000 guaranteed prize pool.

Good luck to all!