With registration open all night up to the start of Day 2 some people got a bit over excited about the prospect of there being need of only two more players to take the final field size to more than 1,000. They came, as the over-exciting PokerStars Blog team report.
Brazil's Joao Simao, who finished fourth in chips on Day 1a, opened for 1,700 from the cutoff only to have Max Silver thee-bet to 4,400 from the button. The blinds folded, and Simao pushed back with a four-bet to 10,800. Silver made the call and the duo saw a flop of .
Simao led out for 8,000, Silver called, and the dealer burned and turned the . This time Simao checked, but he woke up with a check-raise to 18,700 after Silver bet 9,200. Silver called and then watched Simao drop in enough on the river to put him at risk.
Silver had 35,200 remaining and hit the tank for a bit before calling off. He knew it was a wise decision immediately as Simao simply shook his head and showed the . Silver tabled the for jacks and sixes and a massive double.
Team PokerStars Pro Dag Palovic is notorious for his 5 high chips stacks. Those small towers already make it easy to count his stack but he's also a regular user of the MyStack app. He updates his stack in the app after every significant pot and thus we know he now has 103,700:
The hand he described we saw from the turn. Brazilian LAPT Punta del Este winner Marcelo da Fonseca had checked on and Palovic had bet 7,500. Da Fonseca, wearing a "ALL IN M. F★CKER" hat and t-shirt" for the occasion, made the call. Despite the firm text on his t-shirt he didn't shove but he check called another 15,000 from Palovic on the river. Palovic showed and took down the sizable pot to get over the 100,000 mark.
Dag Palovic is wearing a t-shirt to promote his book 'Ako sa stať poker pro' ('How to become a poker pro'), the first ever Slovakian poker book by the way. Palovic co wrote the book with 1983 WSOP Champion Tom McEvoy who was just this year indicted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Back on Day 1a we told you that we'd keep an eye on Spain's Sergio Aido, who has been having a heck of a year. Aido made it to Day 2, but he will go no further.
In a recent hand, a preflop raising war resulted in Russia's Andrei Demidov getting his stack of 45,000 all in holding the . Aido had called the shove and was disappointed to discover his was dominated.
The board ran out a clean and Demidov doubled through Aido, who was left with 30,000 after the hand.
With just 4,000 left Darko Stojanovic moved all-in with but let out an disappointed groan when he saw that Andrey Volkov had pocket aces. The board kept the pocket rockets in front, Volkov has around 130,000.
Gaelle Baumann was standing on the rail busy with her phone and told us she had just busted. In dramatic fashion, we might add.
A player in middle position had opened to 2,000 and Baumann had flatted the button with pocket kings because Anaras Alekberovas behind her was "squeezing every hand". This time around the Lithuanian didn't squeeze though, he called from the big blind. On rainbow Alekberovas lead out for 4,000. The initial raiser made the call and Baumann raised it up to 12,000.
She received two calls and the dealer put out the as the turn. After two checks Baumann shoved all in for her remaining 23,000. Alekberovas looked her up showing . Baumann needed a king but wouldn't get one on the river.
Table 32 is another vying for toughest table in the room as it contains David Williams, David Vamplew and Marvin Rettenmaier. That terrifying triumvirate looked on as a hand played out between Milad Oshabian and Georgii Bandura.
It was Oshabian who got the action started he opened to 2,000 from under-the-gun+1, Bandura three-bet to 4,500 from the button, Oshabian four-bet to 8,200 and Badura smooth called.
The flop fell , Oshabian bet 6,000 and Bandura came along to see the fall on the turn. There was no let up from Oshabian, he bet 10,000 and after much thought Bandura called. Both players checked the river, Oshabian showed and it was good.
He was as high at 109,000 at one point, he'd slipped back but with that pot is now up to 73,000 whilst Bandura slips to 132,000.