David Benyamine has taken a seat here at the start of Level 3, and has been active from the get-go. Just now he limped in from middle position and the button followed suit. The blinds came along as well, then all four checked the flop. The turn brought the and when it checked to Benyamine he bet 300. The button folded, the small blind called, the big blind pushed all in for his last 1,300 in play, Benyamine called the reraise, and the small blind committed the last of his available chips, too.
SB
BB
Benyamine
"I am not safe," said the big blind with a smile. "You are not safe," agreed Benyamine, eyeing his nut low plus diamond flush draw. The BB had the SB's club flush draw to worry about as well, although he might've drawn a higher straight, too. The river was the , though, meaning Benyamine won the low half of the pot, and his two opponents split the high half with their identical straights.
Benyamine has about 2,700 already, with both 1,500 add-ons behind.
We came into a pot where Mike Matusow moved all in on a flop of and was called by Chris Bjorin.
Matusow showed for aces full and Bjorin showed for the same thing. All the aces in the deck were accounted for, and after the turn all the dueces were as well. The turn killed any low outs for Bjorin, and after the meaningless on the river, the two chopped it up.
Matusow is short but alive with 2,600 and Bjorin is still around starting stack
Three-time WSOP bracelet winner and The Theory of Poker author David Sklansky is here. He currently has used both of his add-on chips and sits with about 3,300 with which to play. One of the beauties of the WSOP, of course, is how newcomers and amateurs can sit down with bracelet winners and long-time established pros and compete on a level playing field.
Unsurprisingly, Sklansky and his tablemates are currently engaged in a series of trivia-slash-quiz-bowl-type challenges, the latest coming from a player sitting across the table from Sklansky. "What percentage of 7-foot tall American-born men between the ages of 20 and 30 are playing in the NBA?" he asked.
The table thought a moment, then Sklansky had an answer. "I'll tell you one thing, it's a lot higher than the percentage of 6-foot men!" The table laughed, and the fellow proposing the question offered a statistic that made it sound like a surprisingly high percentage indeed.
"That shows a flaw in that sport..." continued Sklansky. Luckily there's no such "flaw" here, as anyone -- tall and short, expert and novice -- can play at the World Series of Poker.
In the middle of one hand, a player getting a massage challenged another to bet on who was going to win the hand. "Okay, who is going to win?" said the other. "The guy in with the blue glasses," came the reply. "But he folded already!" "Doesn't matter... he folded a winner, ask him after."
When the hand was over they did ask Mr. Blue Glasses what he had folded, but he declined to say. "Look at him, he doesn't want to admit he folded a winner!" said the prop-bettor.
About that time a second massage therapist was passing by, and he immediately flagged her down. "Can I get a massage?" he asked, his question provoking laughter as he was already getting one.
Unsure because he was already being taken care of, the player insisted he wanted two at once, and soon he had his wish.
During the last level of registration, it is not uncommon for us to see a barrage of big name players sitting down together so start their Day 1. New tables are forming and we have already seen some tough players and we are sure there will be more to come before the end of the level
Nenad Medic has arrived, taking a seat right between Tom Dwan on his left and Bill Chen on his right. Medic has one WSOP bracelet and Chen two, while Dwan continues to seek his first.
"Bracelet bets this year?" Medic asked Dwan. "Not as many as last," came the reply, and Dwan proceeded to explain that he still has some two- and three-year bets ongoing. "Had a sweat yet?" asked Medic. "Fifth in the $10K H.O.R.S.E.," answered Dwan, referring to his final table appearance in Event No. 37. "Had 25% of the chips in play," he added, a what-might-have-been tone in his voice.
As Dwan spoke a hand was dealt in which a player raised from middle position to 525, and Dwan called from the big blind. The flop came , and Dwan bet the pot -- 1,125 -- leaving himself just a few chips behind. His opponent folded, and Dwan's quest for that first bracelet continues for now, though perhaps not for long as he sits with less than 2,000 and no add-ons left.
![[user38338]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
flop. The turn brought the 
and when it checked to Benyamine he bet 300. The button folded, the small blind called, the big blind pushed all in for his last 1,300 in play, Benyamine called the reraise, and the small blind committed the last of his available chips, too.
, though, meaning Benyamine won the low half of the pot, and his two opponents split the high half with their identical straights.
and was called by Chris Bjorin.
for aces full and Bjorin showed 
for the same thing. All the aces in the deck were accounted for, and after the turn 
all the dueces were as well. The turn killed any low outs for Bjorin, and after the meaningless 
on the river, the two chopped it up.
