The Prize Awaiting the Eventual Victor of Today's $2,500 Limit Hold'em Event
While No-Limit Hold'em has become the trendy variant during the last decade, old timers can remember when world championships were decided in Limit Hold'em events. Today, the World Series of Poker will harken back to those bygone days, as Event #48 ($2,500 Limit Hold'em) will test the player's patience, hand reading ability, and other fundamental aspects of proper poker.
Today we expect Bardah to defend his title, while dozens of dangerous pros try to knock him off. Last year saw notable names like Carlos Mortensen, Andy Bloch, Michael Mizrachi, Annie Duke, Matt Hawrilenko, J.C. Tran, Shaun Deeb, Barry Greenstein, Eli Elezra, Daniel Negreanu, and Phil Ivey reach Day 2, and many of those familiar faces will be in attendance here today. In addition, hundreds of amateurs and recreational players will convene in the Rio's Brasilia Room to try their hand at the slower, yet systematic, game known as Limit Hold'em
Check out the PokerNews daily update video to whet your appetite for today's Limit Hold'em action, and then keep it right here throughout the day for continuous coverage live from the WSOP's famed tournament floor.
With the game of Limit Hold'em defined by the slow and steady nature of the action, we decided to stick around Barry Greenstein's table to watch him play a full orbit.
Hand #1: Greenstein was the big blind in this hand, and he mucked when Sam Grizzle made it three bets over the top of another raiser.
Hand #2: On the small blind this time, Greenstein folded after Grizzle tossed in a raise.
Hand #3: Holding the button, Greenstein surrendered yet again, with Grizzle ramping up the aggression and raising to two bets.
Hand #4: In the cutoff, Greenstein popped Grizzle's raise to three bets, and the two experienced pros played a heads-up pot. On the flop, Greenstein bet and Grizzle flatted. The action repeated on the turn, and both players checked the river. Greenstein rolled over the , but Grizzle had him from the flop onward with his .
Hand #5: Greenstein folded out of the hijack.
Hand #6: Greenstein mucked once again before the flop.
While this orbit may not have been the most exciting, it demonstrates the proper approach to Limit Hold'em tournaments, which are a marathon as opposed to the sprints that No-Limit Hold'em events have evolved into.
Fans of the ESPN coverage that has brought the World Series of Poker into living rooms around the world since 2003 may remember the name Hal Lubarsky.
In 2007, Lubarsky became the first legally blind player to compete in the WSOP Main Event, and the following year he achieved a certain level of fame in the poker world via extended television coverage of his Main Event run.
Today, Lubarsky is in the house competing on the WSOP stage yet again, and after a recent hand he is off to a great start.
We saw Lubarksy call a raise of three bets before the flop, with four players heading to the flop. The first player to act checked, and the preflop three-bettor fired away with a c-bet. After listening to his assistant describe the action, Lubarsky quickly tossed a blue T500 tournament chip into the middle for a raise. This cleared the field back to the bettor, who flatted to take the on the turn.
After it was checked to him, Lubarsky bet the turn, and his opponent mucked without further thought. The pot was pushed to Lubarsky, and he is pointed in the right direction here on the first day of play.
After his rapid resurrection from the graveyard back to the felt, we will be sure to track William's progress to see if his run good from the previous event continues here tonight.
With his proficiency in the game of Limit Hold'em indisputable at this point, there are plenty of reasons for Bardah to believe that defending his title is a good investment, but to hear him tell it, he had a difficult choice on his hands with the Big One for One Drop being played on the same day.
"Yeah, I was gonna play the Big One," Bardah told his tablemates, tongue planted firmly in cheek. "But you know, I thought defending this thing was kind of important, so I stuffed the $100K in my backpack and headed over here."
Despite having dangerous pro Jeff Shulman seated to his left, Bardah is thriving once again in the limit format, and he has already doubled his starting stack midway through the night.
Barry Shulman (Seen Here in Earlier WSOP Play) Has Joined Son Jeff Here on Day 1
With his son Jeff Shulman already spotted among the field, Barry Shulman has made an appearance here on Day 1 of the $2,500 Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event.
Shulman was seen commiserating with Jeff during the last break, and he is currently seated to the left of fellow bracelet winner Michael Moore, after taking the seat formerly occupied by Kenna James.
We just saw Shulman take down a nice pot as well, victimizing fellow pro J.C. Tran in the process.
With the board reading by the turn, Tran called a bet of 400, but Shulman popped it to 800, and the two went to the river () heads up. Tran then checked to Shulman, who claimed the pot with a bet.
After a raise to 500 before the flop, Barry Greenstein called, as did another player for a three-way flop of .
The initial raiser led out for a bet, and Greenstein fired out a raise to fold the third player. The bettor flatted, however, and the turn came .
After a check to him, Greenstein fired away with another bet on fourth street, and once again his opponent came along.
On the river the action repeated, and Greenstein rolled over the for the winner. His frustrated opponent winced when he saw the bad news, and flashed an while angrily mucking his hand. Despite this win, Greenstein is still short-stacked, and he will need to keep making moves if he hopes to advance to the second day of play.
Chris Tryba (Seen Here in an Earlier WSOP Event) Just Doesn't Like Sandwiches
After losing yet another hand to Mark Klecan, apparently after having his top set cracked for the third time tonight, bracelet winner Chris Tryba let loose with a tirade for the ages.
"Cracked my top set three times today!," Tryba roared, loud enough for the entire Brasilia Room to take notice. "I'm being served c--k sandwiches here!"
With this bold declaration gaining the attention of players, railbirds, and tournament officials alike, Tryba soon found himself embroiled in conflict he had not anticipated. The floor quickly arrived to usher Tryba out of the tournament area, and he was assessed a brief penalty for his misconduct.
"What is this, a church?," Tryba asked, his hands shooting up to the heavens as the words spilled forth. "I said hot sandwiches anyway!"
After a discussion with Tryba's tablemates, who magnanimously agreed that his words bore no ill intent, Tryba was allowed to return to the table, and he began the tireless task of nursing his short stack back to health.
flop, Greenstein bet and Grizzle flatted. The action repeated on the 
turn, and both players checked the 
river. Greenstein rolled over the 
.
flop. The first player to act checked, and the preflop three-bettor fired away with a c-bet. After listening to his assistant describe the action, Lubarsky quickly tossed a blue T500 tournament chip into the middle for a raise. This cleared the field back to the bettor, who flatted to take the 
on the turn.
. Pilgrim fired out a bet after one player checked, and he found a single caller.
for quads on the flop, and the powerhouse hand was more than enough to earn the pot.
by the turn, Tran called a bet of 400, but Shulman popped it to 800, and the two went to the river (
) heads up. Tran then checked to Shulman, who claimed the pot with a bet.
.
river the action repeated, and Greenstein rolled over the 
for the winner. His frustrated opponent winced when he saw the bad news, and flashed an 
while angrily mucking his hand. Despite this win, Greenstein is still short-stacked, and he will need to keep making moves if he hopes to advance to the second day of play.
