We witnessed a hand recently that, in our humble estimation, captured perfectly what the Seniors Championship is really all about.
After the flop fell , Jim Thompson called the all-in of a women sitting in the next seat. Thompson tabled his for top pair, top kicker and the nut flush draw to boot. The women held for two-pair and it was up to the dealer to decide both player's fates.
When the arrived on the turn, Thompson had made his flush and was sitting pretty. The on the turn was a brick for his opponent and she was eliminated from contention.
While the flush over two-pair confrontation was not a rarity in poker terms, what happened next was. Thompson immediately stood up after the hand was over and went to shake the fallen player's hand, even giving her a hug when it was all said and done. Both he and the women were sincere in their offerings of "good game" and "good luck to you," and in a modern poker world which has become increasingly cutthroat, this display of old fashioned sportsmanship was refreshing to say the least.
Defending Seniors Champ Harold Angle Falls On Day 1
We missed the action but caught Harold Angle all-in with his against the held by Mary Ann Trumbull. The final board was scrambled by the dealer before we could record it, but according to Trumbull the flop came followed by two cards she couldn't remember.
Harold Angle fought valiantly to defend his title of Seniors Champion, but in the end his short-stack was added to a competitors, one with her sights set on accomplishing what Angle did just one year ago.
Harold Angle has been going through big swings of fortune lately. After doubling up with aces, we caught up just as Angle was all-in against a lone opponent.
Angle:
Opponent:
The board ran out , leaving Angle with a superior two-pair and doubling him up to a still-short 2,900.
Harold Angle moved all in preflop for his remaining 550 chips after only looking at one card. The player in the big blind called without looking at either card. When it came to show down Angle flipped over his first card and slowly pulled away the top card to reveal another ace! The table and the crowd on the rail went crazy.
During our latest walk around the room, we noticed one stack of chips looming larger than the rest. Rick Schroeder has climbed to over 42,000 as play resumes and he is one of the Day 1 chip leaders.
We will keep an eye on Schroeder as the Day winds down to see if keeps things going in the right direction.
Amarillo Slim is conspicuously missing from his table, however, his chips are still there and are slowly being anted and blinded off. Extended dinner break? Only time will tell.
In a scene reminiscent of the scooter convention held earlier, a crowd of seniors has begun to congregate near the PokerNews reporting desk. The topic of conversation this time around is the TV screen hanging above the tournament floor. With the prizepool and payout information now being shown, the players are fervently discussing the issue of the money bubble, with many apparently prepared to start folding their way to a WSOP cash.
Despite the last payout of 396th place being displayed on a running loop, some of the seniors is the vicinity seem to be a bit confused. We just overheard one women who was steadfast in her conviction that money bubble was close at hand. Despite other players trying to inform her of the correct number, she repeatedly stated with conviction "They're paying 900 places, it said so right there on the television screen."
With a gold bracelet still at stake, not to mention the 1st place prize of $557,435, we sincerely hope the cloud of confusion will be lifted before the cards are back in the air.
, Jim Thompson called the all-in of a women sitting in the next seat. Thompson tabled his 
for top pair, top kicker and the nut flush draw to boot. The women held 
for two-pair and it was up to the dealer to decide both player's fates.
arrived on the turn, Thompson had made his flush and was sitting pretty. The 
on the turn was a brick for his opponent and she was eliminated from contention.
, leaving Angle with a superior two-pair and doubling him up to a still-short 2,900.
