In one of the first hands back from break, WSOP bracelet winner Eric "basebadly" Baldwin got involved in a big hand with Avinash Kataria.
When we arrived at the table, Kataria had 6,600 laid out in front of him in the big blind and Baldwin had popped it to 14,200 from the cutoff. Kataria, who had the bigger stack, thought for a few moments before announcing that he was all in, and Baldwin sort of shrugged before calling off for right around 50,000.
Baldwin:
Kataria:
Baldwin was in a dominating spot and primed to double to 100,000. The flop was safe enough for Baldwin, and so was the turn. All Baldwin had to do was dodge a queen on the river, but then the dealer delivered a dagger through his heart by burning and putting out the . Baldwin seemed a bit shell-shocked, but eventually tossed forward his chips, wished the table luck, and then took his leave from the 2014 WSOP Main Event.
Steven McNally checked on a flop of , Christopher Sensoli tossed out 1,500 on his direct left, and James Obst raised to 5,100. McNally folded, and Sensoli tank-called.
The turn was the and both players checked, then the completed the board. Sensoli casually flipped out an orange T5,000 chip, Obst quickly called, and Sensoli announced that he had two pair: .
Dutch Boyd opened with a raise to 1,300, and John Juanda reraised to 3,750 in position. Action folded back to Boyd, and he called to see the flop come down . After Boyd checked, Juanda bet 2,200. Boyd check-raised to put Juanda all in, and Juanda folded.
Prior to the break, Justin Lunin-Pack raised to 1,125 in early position, Seyed Edalat three-bet to 4,000 on his direct left, and a player on the button called. Brian Ballentine then four-bet to 14,900 out of the big blind, Lunin-Pack five-bet to what looked like 43,125 — he haphazardly threw a stack of oranges and yellows forward — and Edalat called all in.
The player on the button folded, and Ballentine committed the remainder of his stack.
Lunin-Pack:
Edalat:
Ballentine:
Lunin-Pack was in good shape to win an additional 60,000 or so and push his stack over 200,000, but the poked through the window to give both of his opponents a superior pair. It was followed by the and the , however, giving him an open-ended straight draw.
The turn was the , pairing the board, and a meaningless completed the board. Lunin-Pack's two opponents doubled, while he dropped down to 150,000 chips.
The clock has expired on Level 6 here on Day 2c of the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event. That means it's time for the first 20-minute break of the day.
For those just joining us, here's a look at some of the highlights from the first two hours of play:
While you wait for play to resume, check out this video in which Faraz Jaka talks about his strategy in the early stages of the World Series of Poker Main Event:
The World Series of Poker brings together poker players from all over the world, including top athletes and celebrities. This year, the WSOP Main Event was glistened by stars such as world-class footballer Gerard Piqué, future NBA hall of famer Paul Pierce, star NFL defensive lineman Richard Seymour, Australian cricket legend Shane Warne, and the UFC's Martin Kampmann.
With $10,000 and a dream, any normal person has the chance to lock horns on the felt with these top athletes. You may not be able to beat them in their respective sport, but anything can happen at the poker table.
In this recent feature article by Kim Yuhl, the top athletes playing in this year's Main Event give their thoughts about poker, the WSOP, and more.