With a number of short stacks in the field, and a lot of larger stacks looking to bust them, pre-flop action is often fast and wild. At a recent hand in Amazon Orange, we saw an under-the-gun raise, followed by two flat calls, then a reraise all-in by the small blind for 10,300. The big blind called for less, and the original raiser, who had both all-in players covered, called as well. Both other players folded, and the live players turned up their cards. The small blind held , the under-the-gun raiser showed , and the big blind tabled . The board failed to improve any hand. The small blind's pocket king's held up, and the big blind made his way to the exit.
We caught the action with the flop reading and Kane Kalas in the small blind. After leading out for 3,700, an opponent in the big blind came along.
The turn brought the to the table, inducing Kalas to fire away once again, this time with a 17,900 bet. His opponent called once more, and we were off to the river.
When the fell to the felt, Kalas fired a third barrel for 18,400 and sent his opponent deep into the tank. Three minutes of silent concentration passed before the clock was finally called, but before the floorman could arrive and begin counting down, the player quickly decided to call.
Kalas tabled the and his opponent could not produce a superior holding. With the win, Kalas has stormed to the top of Day 2's chip counts with an enormous stack of almost 150,000 chips.
After a multiway limped pot brought a flop of to the felt, William Prieto checkraised all-in for his last 12,500 chips, and was called by one player.
Showdown:
Prieto:
Opponent:
Prieto had flopped bottom two pair in a rags to riches story, but as is often the danger with bottom two, his opponent had him crushed with top two. Prieto stood and walked away from the table, perhaps anticipating his imminent exit.
Turn:
Just like that, Prieto's gin card had arrived, and his full house took an unlikely lead in the hand. With a harmless on the river, Prieto reclaimed his seat with a replenished stack of over 30,000 chips to play with.
PokerNews' own Chad Holloway won the first gold bracelet of the 2013 World Series of Poker, so naturally the crew breaks down the event and the amazing atmosphere in the Mothership. Holloway himself then joins the crew to talk about some key hands before heading to the ceremony to accept his bracelet.
We caught up with Dan Kelly in a hand on the turn. With about 12,000 in the pot and board that read , Kelly led out for 9,500. His lone opponent thought for a few moments before folding, and Kelly took the pot. He has been steadily adding to his stack and is now up to about 70,000 in chips.
Aaron Massey was on the wrong end of a cooler, as his trips lost to a full house. We came to the table during the showdown. Massey had in front of him, and his opponent held , while the board showed . Massey, who had started the day with over 36,000, just barely had his opponent covered and is now left with only 1200 in chips.
The first hand had Rupert Elder raise to 2,200 from early position. The button called the bet but the big blind wanted to raise it up. He made it 10,000 more to go. Elder not wanting the action to be over preflop made it another 11,000 to go for a total of 21,000. The button folded and the big blind thought before calling.
They saw a flop of . We thought there was going to be action but yet there was none as both players checked to the turn. On the turn of the The gentleman in seat 10 led out for 20,000. This put Elder in the tank.
After pondering Elder went all in for 40,000 total. This prompted Elder's opponent to fold and gave Elder a big pot.
Elder went right back to work leading out again preflop for 2,200. This time there were no re-raises and the button and small blind called.
The flop of led to Elder betting again for 4,100. Both his opponents called. The turn went check all around on the , and the river finished with the .
This time it was checked to the button who bet out 10,000. Elder was the only one to call and was disappointed to see his opponent flip up the for a rivered straight. Elder is sitting pretty with 95,000.
A flop of inspired a spirited round of betting that eventually saw three players declare themselves all-in. One of the players at risk for his tournament life was Aaron Scheff, an amateur playing in his first WSOP tournament.
Showdown:
White:
Scheff:
Opponent # 3:
White, who calls himself "Zar-Dog," had his opponent's crushed with middle set against identical top pair hands, and it would take the last Queen in the deck to arrive, along with an ace or three, for his set to be cracked.
No such luck arrived on the turn or river for Scheff and the other player, and both made their exits from the tournament floor.
Scheff stopped by to let us know how much he enjoyed his first WSOP event, noting that he made it to the last 700+ players in one of the biggest tournaments ever held. He also made sure to note that his experience was one of "extreme pain," either from the Rio's notoriously uncomfortable tourney chairs, or the fate of his final hand.
, the under-the-gun raiser showed 
, and the big blind tabled 
. The board failed to improve any hand. The small blind's pocket king's held up, and the big blind made his way to the exit.
and Kane Kalas in the small blind. After leading out for 3,700, an opponent in the big blind came along.
to the table, inducing Kalas to fire away once again, this time with a 17,900 bet. His opponent called once more, and we were off to the river.
fell to the felt, Kalas fired a third barrel for 18,400 and sent his opponent deep into the tank. Three minutes of silent concentration passed before the clock was finally called, but before the floorman could arrive and begin counting down, the player quickly decided to call.
and his opponent could not produce a superior holding. With the win, Kalas has stormed to the top of Day 2's chip counts with an enormous stack of almost 150,000 chips.
to the felt, William Prieto checkraised all-in for his last 12,500 chips, and was called by one player.
on the river, Prieto reclaimed his seat with a replenished stack of over 30,000 chips to play with.
in front of him, and his opponent held 
. Massey, who had started the day with over 36,000, just barely had his opponent covered and is now left with only 1200 in chips.
The gentleman in seat 10 led out for 20,000. This put Elder in the tank.
led to Elder betting again for 4,100. Both his opponents called. The turn went check all around on the 
for a rivered straight. Elder is sitting pretty with 95,000.
inspired a spirited round of betting that eventually saw three players declare themselves all-in. One of the players at risk for his tournament life was Aaron Scheff, an amateur playing in his first WSOP tournament.
