Playground Poker

The last hand played at table 58 before the players were dispersed to other tables was a solid one for Medhat Ramzy. After George Lagos limped in with a bet of 300, Curt Kohlberg raised to 1,500.  Lonnie Hallett, Medhat and George all called.

The dealer laid down the flop . Medhat immediately bet 7,500. Both Curt and Lonnie folded, and George, reduced to a small stack, was forced to go all in to cover the bet. Both players laid down their cards. Medhat was holding , and George’s cards were .

The turn was dealt . George stood up when the river revealed . Medhat won the hand with two pair.

It’s looking like there may be some tremendous added value in the $5,000,000 guaranteed WPT Montreal Main Event. As play begins in the final level of the final Day 1, there are only 627 entries. This tournament does allow new entries on Day 2, which will get underway on Thursday November 1 at 12:00pm. Players can enter or re-enter until the beginning of level 11 – in other words, until 2:15pm tomorrow.

Blinds will start on Day 2 at 400/800 with an 800 chip big blind ante – and with a starting stack of 40,000 chips, that means new Day 2 entries will start with 50bb.

See you tomorrow!

As we enter the enter the final 60-minute level of the day, we have had a total of 364 entries (with 53 re-entries) so far, 238 of which are still at the tables in search of a berth on Day 2.

At table 17, where our Main Event Day 1C chip leader, Nghi Van Tran, is sitting, Macradij Yacoubian was pushed to the limit. Andrew Macdonald, another big stack in the Main Event, raised to 1,300, preflop. After everyone else at the table threw in their cards, Macradij, the big blind, called.

The flop was dealt . Macradij bet 3,000 and Andrew called. The turn was revealed , and both players checked.  When the river was flipped , Andrew looked over at Macradij’s stack and bet 15,000. The bet gave Macradij reason to pause. He had to go all in to cover. After debating, Macradij finally pushed his chips towards the pot, and stood up.

Andrew turned and Macradij won the pot with two pair. He was holding .

Mid-way through level 7 we noticed a large pot brewing as we toured the tables.

The hand not yet completed, the board showed with with only two players left in the hand, Sergei Gurin and Alex Foxen.

We learned after the hand that Sergei c-bet 3,500 on the flop, and Alex just called.

On the turn Sergei bet 7,000, and again Alex made the call, at which point a  came down on the river.

This time Sergei checked. Alex tossed in 26,700. Sergei thought about it for a while, then came in over the top with a shove all in. Alex seemed shocked at first, but after a few minutes he decided to make the call.

Alex:

Sergei:

Alex’s jack-high flush trumped Sergei’s pair of Kings, and enlarged Alex’s stack quite a bit. In fact, although he only arrived at 5:30pm (just before the dinner break), it is likely that this hand catapulted Alex into the chip lead, with a stack approaching 200,000. And all this after less than an hour of table time! Sometimes it pays to show up later in the day!

This proves the value of the Main Event’s all-day registration, providing players with the flexibility to join the action at their own pace. And keep in mind, registration is still open on Day 2 up to the end of level 2!

After six 60-minute levels we have a new chip leader, Nghi Van Tran. While our leaderboard is made up exclusively of players who have amassed over 130,000 chips, the needle hasn’t moved very much in the last few hours, indicating that the field is still very competitive.

Registration is now up to 351 entries (including 46 re-entries) and 258 players left in the action.