Three Thoughts on Day 1a

As we walk between the tables in the huge tournament room at Casino Barcelona, it’s not always possible to bring you huge hands clashing and fancy three-street bluffs. So here’s three nuggets to keep you going:

1. It’s not all iPads and smartphones these days. A few players have brought a good old fashioned book. Przemyslaw Piotrowski, for one, was spotted with Nikos Kazantzakis’s novel Zorba the Greek under his chair.

2. According to a tweet from Barny Boatman, “The word for 'range' is 'range', pronounced 'ran-gay'. Now you can explain your dodgy calls in Spanish, too.”

3. Do not try to bluff Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier. He will soul read you and call you down with ace high.