This Amazing Sight at the Big One for One Drop Temporarily Turned Many Poker Pros Into Fans of the Game
The typical scene during a break in World Series of Poker play involves hasty runs to the restroom, a quick trip outside to smoke a cigarette, or frantic calls to backers explaining the situation.
With the Big One for One Drop high-roller event being held just across the hall, many of the players in today's $2,500 Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event had other things on their minds.
We saw a number of pros railing their peers over in the Amazon Room during the recent break, and for a brief moment many of them were simply fans of the game, watching the high-level action with a mix of awe and envy. The sight of bracelet winners like Eric "E-Fro" Froelich craning his neck to see a hand is refreshing indeed, showing that even the best in the game can appreciate a historic occurrence like the Big One for One Drop tournament.
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.
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.
Maria Ho (Seen Here in Earlier WSOP Play) Dropped an Early Pot Here in Day 1
We saw Maria Ho make it three bets before the flop, and two players came along to take a flop of .
Ho led out for a bet, one opponent raised, and the third got out of the way. Ho flatted to see the arrive on the turn, and she slowed down with a check.
After her opponent bet the turn, Ho called and the river came . The action repeated itself on fifth street, but Ho mucked her hand when she saw the tabled by her opponent.
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.
flop, Greenstein bet and Grizzle flatted. The action repeated on the 
turn, and both players checked the 
river. Greenstein rolled over the 
.
.
arrive on the turn, and she slowed down with a check.
. The action repeated itself on fifth street, but Ho mucked her hand when she saw the 
tabled by her opponent.