A player in middle position made it 250 preflop and managed to get a caller in the player on his immediate left, Ben Lamb. No one else was willing to pay the toll to see a flop, so they were heads up.
The dealer then spread out a flop and the middle position player bet 350 and Lamb quickly made the call. With the on the turn Lamb again called a bet from his opponent, this time for 650. The was not going to slow down Lamb's opponent who again bet, this time 1,100. Lamb made the call. Lamb's opponent then flipped over for a pair of aces, Lamb couldn't counter and mucked his cards.
Day 1b of the World Series of Poker Main Event has brought a slew of Team PokerStar Pros out to start their journey to the final table. These pros include John Duthie, Eugene Katchalov, Nacho Barbero, Richard Toth, Andre Akkari, Gualter Salles, Martin Hruby, Dario Minieri, and Maxim Lykov. Also in the field is Friend of PokerStars Pierre Neuville.
We have just kicked off the day and are currently in our first level of play with blinds at
50/100 for the first two hours of the day. Duthie and Katchalov have been the first two players to build their chips above the 30,000 starting stack. Katchalov won a bracelet earlier this series when he shipped the Event #5: $1,500 Seven Card Stud.
Other Team PokerStar Pros in the Day 1b field who have won gold bracelets this year are Andre Akkari who won Event #43: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em and Maxim Lykov who won Event #54: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em.
Check out all the latest updates and most current chip counts right here on PokerNews for coverage throughout the day. You can also keep track of all Team PokerStars Pros on the PokerStars blog.
We caught up with the action on an flop where Anthony Yeh checked and a player bet 500. Anton Ionel came in with a raise to 1,100 but Yeh answered with a re-raise to 3,700. The player who made it 500 folded and Ionel called.
On the turn, Yeh fired a bet of 5,700 which Ionel called. The hit the river and Yeh made it 7,600. Ionel raised all in and Yeh called with for a flopped set. Unfortunately for him, Ionel had for Broadway to cripple Yeh who was eliminated shortly after.
With the board reading , Maxim Lykov bet out 1,425 into a pot of about 2,000 against his lone opponent. His opponent tossed out one orange chip, worth 5,000, and announced a raise. Lykov pondered for about two full minutes before making the call.
The river brought the and Lykov tanked once again. Eventually Lykov checked and his opponent pushed out 3,700. Lykov made the call and his opponent flipped over for a rivered straight. Lykov dropped his hand in the muck and is now sitting with about 19,000 in chips.
After losing a large amount of his stack in prior hands, Ashton Griffin just got a much needed double up. With the board already showing the Griffin bet out 3,225 from under the gun and the button tanked for a bit before calling. The river was the and Griffin moved all in for his last 6,000 chips. The button called but mucked his hand when Griffin revealed his for a set of jacks.
After the hand Griffin's stack was back up to a much more manageable 25,000.
Brock Parker raised to 275 in middle position and was three-bet by the cutoff to 750. Parker made the call and checked on the flop. The cutoff led out with a bet of 800 but was met with a check-raise to 2,250 from Parker. The cutoff made the call and Parker fired 3,175 on the turn. The bet was enough to get the players to fold as Parker raked in the pot.
We managed to catch up to Table 286 just in time to watch Mikhail Smirnov limp in from under the gun. Action folded to Eugene Katchalov in the small blind who completed, the big blind then opted to check.
On a flop all players checked. With the turn Katchalov started the action with a check, the big blind followed and knuckled as well, and Smirnov threw out a bet of 300. Katchalov called and the big blind folded. The river brought another check from Katchalov, and a bet of 700 from Smirnov. Katchalov quickly called and Smirnov flipped over for a pair of aces. Katchalov mucked and Smirnov raked in the pot.
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi check-called a bet from Michael Kilker with the board reading . The turn was the , Grinder check-called 800, and the river was the .
Grinder checked, Kilker checked behind, and Mizrachi opened up for a king-high flush. The river trap failed, but Mizrachi was still able to chip up a bit.
We caught up on the flop where Allen Cunningham bet 500 in middle position and Martin Hruby called in the hijack. On the flop, Cunningham bet 600 but this time Hruby folded.
Cunningham came in 581st in last year’s main event but hasn’t really had any huge scores on the tournament circuit the past few years. If Cunningham can make another final table in this event like he did in 2006 where he famously came 4th when Jamie Gold won though, that would certainly get him back on track.
flop and the middle position player bet 350 and Lamb quickly made the call. With the 
on the turn Lamb again called a bet from his opponent, this time for 650. The 
was not going to slow down Lamb's opponent who again bet, this time 1,100. Lamb made the call. Lamb's opponent then flipped over 
for a pair of aces, Lamb couldn't counter and mucked his cards.
flop where Anthony Yeh checked and a player bet 500. Anton Ionel came in with a raise to 1,100 but Yeh answered with a re-raise to 3,700. The player who made it 500 folded and Ionel called.
turn, Yeh fired a bet of 5,700 which Ionel called. The 
hit the river and Yeh made it 7,600. Ionel raised all in and Yeh called with 
for Broadway to cripple Yeh who was eliminated shortly after.
, Maxim Lykov bet out 1,425 into a pot of about 2,000 against his lone opponent. His opponent tossed out one orange chip, worth 5,000, and announced a raise. Lykov pondered for about two full minutes before making the call.
and Lykov tanked once again. Eventually Lykov checked and his opponent pushed out 3,700. Lykov made the call and his opponent flipped over 
for a rivered straight. Lykov dropped his hand in the muck and is now sitting with about 19,000 in chips.
Griffin bet out 3,225 from under the gun and the button tanked for a bit before calling. The river was the 
and Griffin moved all in for his last 6,000 chips. The button called but mucked his hand when Griffin revealed his 
for a set of jacks.
flop. The cutoff led out with a bet of 800 but was met with a check-raise to 2,250 from Parker. The cutoff made the call and Parker fired 3,175 on the 
turn. The bet was enough to get the players to fold as Parker raked in the pot.
flop all players checked. With the 
turn Katchalov started the action with a check, the big blind followed and knuckled as well, and Smirnov threw out a bet of 300. Katchalov called and the big blind folded. The 
for a pair of aces. Katchalov mucked and Smirnov raked in the pot.
, Grinder check-called 800, and the river was the 
.
flop where Allen Cunningham bet 500 in middle position and Martin Hruby called in the hijack. On the 
