After more than 1,000 players sat down to begin this Day 1, the expectation was to hit the money bubble sometime tomorrow, but unusually steady stream of players busting out throughout the last few hours has left the remaining 150+ runners tantalizingly close to a WSOP cash.
A total of 117 players will make the money in this event, min-cashing for $2,618, and at the moment just 153 still have chips in play. With more than a full level left to play before we bag and tag for the evening, there is an outside chance that the money bubble may be reached tonight, which would be rare occurrence for such a large field and a three-day event.
The game of Pot-Limit Omaha is known for its wild swings though, and today may just be an example of the extreme variance associated with this increasingly popular poker variant.
We came across a big hand over at Table 17 when Jeremy Ausmus and an unknown player in the big blind engaged in battle on a flop. The big blind ended up being all in, and with about 20,000 on the line, the hands were tabled.
Ausmus:
Big Blind:
The big blind had a pair of jacks while Ausmus, who recently finished in eighth place in the World Series of Poker National Championship, had a pair of sixes and a flush draw. The turn gave the big blind a bigger lead with two pair, but the river hit Ausmus with trips.
Ausmus sent his opponent to the rail and chipped up to 40,000 in the process.
Meanwhile, WSOP bracelet winner Ken Aldridge has been eliminated from the tournament.
With the board reading , Doug Lee moved all-in and put Marvin Rettenmaier to a test for most of the German pro's chips. An opponent was still left to act, making Rettenmaier's decision even tougher, but eventually he elected to make the call.
The third opponent quickly called as well, rolling over for a straight on the turn, which put him on level footing with Lee and his .
Rettenmaier could only shake his head in response, unable to produce a superior holding. His stack took a major hit, while Lee chipped up by chopping the pot.
Ben Tollerene Has Had a Tumultuous Day 1 to Say the Least
After the unusual situation involving his missing stack was resolved, online sicko Ben Tollerene has patiently put those chips to use, but an opponent's suckout in what was a great spot for Tollerene just cost him a chunk of change.
We caught the action with the board reading , and Tollerene facing a slightly less than pot-sized bet of 3,200, which he eventually called after a minute of thought.
On the river, both players tapped the table, and Tollerene quickly announced "jack-six" for two pair.
"I got lucky..." his opponent said sheepishly, while turning over the for a rivered Broadway straight. He had been running a substandard two pair against Tollerene's jacks and sixes, but found gin on fifth street.
Tollerene could only squint at the board while squeezing his cards a bit tighter, before rearranging the player's four cards to show how badly he was beaten on the turn.
"This hand was looking really good for me right here," he said, while moving the opponent's to align with their counterparts on the board.
Despite the bad beat, Tollerene's smile never faded, and he appears to truly enjoy competing here at the WSOP after crushing the world's elite online players for the last few years.
A short-stacked Brett Richey got all in preflop holding the and was out in front of Uzair Mulla's . While Richey got it in good, the flop was disaster as it gave Mulla two pair. The turn improved Mulla to a full house and left Richey in need of an ace on the river, but it was not meant to be as the useless peeled off.
Action folded around to Matt Affleck on the button and he raised to 3,500, which constituted half his stack. Micah Smith then three-bet it from the small blind, the big folded and Affleck called off.
Affleck:
Smith:
The table admired Affleck's hand, and it was looking even better on the flop when he hit top pair. The dealer quickly ran out the turn and river prompting Affleck to legitimately ask, "Did I win?"
The answer was no as Smith had spiked a third seven on the turn to steal the pot. With that, a disappointed Affleck hit the rail.
Likewise, Ludovic Lacay was eliminated in 120th place, which means we're just two away from the money.
We're down to 118 players, and that means the money bubble is in full effect. Given WSOP rules, we'll play until it's burst. Hand-for-hand play is now underway.
flop. The big blind ended up being all in, and with about 20,000 on the line, the hands were tabled.
turn gave the big blind a bigger lead with two pair, but the 
river hit Ausmus with trips.
, Doug Lee moved all-in and put Marvin Rettenmaier to a test for most of the German pro's chips. An opponent was still left to act, making Rettenmaier's decision even tougher, but eventually he elected to make the call.
for a straight on the turn, which put him on level footing with Lee and his 
.
for a rivered Broadway straight. He had been running a substandard two pair against Tollerene's jacks and sixes, but found gin on fifth street.
. While Richey got it in good, the 
flop was disaster as it gave Mulla two pair. The 
peeled off.
![[user116926]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop when he hit top pair. The dealer quickly ran out the 
