Day 2A continues to proceed at a frenetic pace. After losing over 200 players during the first two-hour level, and over 100 since then, only 700 of the 1,037 players who started today are left. They are supposed to play five levels today with a projected finishing time of 2 a.m., but things could get complicated if too many players bust out early. The money bubble can’t be reached until after the field is combined on Thursday.
With so much happening so quickly it’s hard to concentrate on any one table so I have been on the move, jumping from one exciting moment to the next. Perhaps the sickest lineup I came across was the table that seated Jason Lester, Billy Baxter, and Keith Sexton. It’s rare to see two pros at the same table in this amateur-heavy field; three is unheard of. Even more remarkable, these three all got involved in the same hand, but after Baxter raised 10k from middle position Lester and Sexton both folded.
The craziest hand I have seen today (or just about any other day) occurred on table 35. One guy moved all in with pocket sevens and he got called by Steve Seidman who was holding pocket tens. The dealer screwed up and spread a four-card flop: 2
6
7K
. The player who had flopped a set of sevens was both ecstatic and terrified at the same time. The two players argued over what should be done. Finally, the floor was called over and settled the matter. When a four-card flop gets dealt by accident, the cards get shuffled back into the deck and a new flop gets dealt. The guy with pocket sevens was livid… until the flop came 7K9! He had flopped a set once again and it was nearly the same flop as before! Now it was Seidman’s turn to bitch… until the board finished with two clubs. His 10 gave him a winning flush. Crazy hand.
A hand nearly as dramatic took place moments later a few tables away. After a player raised before the flop, Lasse Aspen reraised to 15k and got called. Last night I played against Aspen in a cash game and I came away extremely impressed. I watched him call an all-in bluff when there was an ace and a flush on board. All Aspen had was pocket queens, but they were good enough to win the massive pot. This kid isn’t very old, but he is a very good poker player. No one’s heard of him here yet because he’s Norwegian and I bet he’s not much older than 21. I am predicting that he will go very deep in this tournament and if he keeps playing poker he should have an excellent career.
On a hand that propelled Aspen near the top of the leader board he reraised his opponent to 15k before the flop. The flop came KK10. Aspen bet 18k and his opponent called. The turn was the Q. Aspen bet 40k and got called. The A fell on the river. Lasse moved all in and his opponent folded. I guess he was trying to make it look like he was bluffing, trying to steal the massive pot, but he wasn’t. He showed his opponent his A-K.
