2:26 p.m Steve Sung has just raised pot to 105k.  This is 3/4th of his starting stack.  Action was passed to Marco in the big blind.  He thought for awhile before calling.  I’m surprised he didn’t just move in…the flop is Q109 and Marco bet enough to put Steve all in. He called.  Steve has AAK9 for an overpair and gutshot but Marco has flopped a set of Q’s.  Steve’s out in 9th place.  I’m kind of surprised Marco called in that spot preflop against a short-stack; it was a big gamble for ½ of his stack.

2:32 p.m. Marco is mixing it up again, this time against Tommy Ly.  The common perception is that Tommy has been incredibly lucky to get to this point; someone said he plays it like a holdem player playing PLO.  That makes sense since he already has 2 holdem final tables this WSOP.  Marco has moved up close to 3rd place now.

2:44 p.m. Robert limped in, doyle limped, and Patrik raised pot. Robert called and Doyle laid the hammer down with a repot.  Patrik went into the tank before mucking and Robert mucked.  As Doyle scooped in his second pot in a row, it became clear that this is definitely a Doyle-friendly crowd.

2:55 p.m. Jonas Flug-Entin was just elimianted in 8th place when he held K8XX on a 1088 board but his opponent had A8XX.  Flug-Entin

2:56 p.m. TD Sam just referred to fellow TD Charlie "the fat one."  NH, sir.

3:01 p.m. Steven Ladowsky just doubled up.

2. Steve Sung has quietly proven himself to be one of the better all-around players in the game.
The first time I met Steve he was playing a late night Chinese Poker game with Nam Le, JC Tran, and Danny Wong in Reno.  Steve has several final table appearances in the last six months, including two $100k+ cashes in December.  He placed 12th and 23rd in the main events at Foxwoods and Mandalay Bay, with an elite eight appearance in the Mirage Heads-up event in between. Steve's game seems to closely resemble Nam's, but he might actually be the best all-around player of the four (at least currently). 

Steve has already made a final table in the $1,500 7-Card Stud event this summer, placing third.  Today, he will be one of the players standing in Doyle's way at the $10,000 PLO final table.  He's entering play as the short-stack, but you can never count out this quiet and unassuming pro because of his strength: patience.

3. Robert may be the best player of the Mizrachi brothers
Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi has definitely earned the respect of his peers with back-to-back WPT victories last season.  Youngest brother Eric has yet to break through.  But Robert (like Sung), has quietly had a great career as a professional poker player.  To the casual observer, Robert may still be in Mike's shadow, but no one on the tour thinks so.  Robert has a number of big scores (including two cashes in the $500k range) in no-limit holdem,  but his mixed-game ability has turned the heads of more than a few people.

He already has four cashes this summer including Omaha 8OB and Omaha 8OB/Stud 8OB.  He made both the $2,500 and $5,000 HORSE final tables.  He's now at his third final table of the series.  He has just over 1m chips and will begin play in 2nd place in the $10,000 PLO World Championship. 

4. Michael Craig has played his way to another final table
Michael has not played in many events, but now has three cashes and two final tables under his belt.  He is an incredible student of the game, and it looks like his work on the Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide has paid off.  After finishing seventh in the $1,500 Mixed Holdem event, I'm sure Michael will be fighting it out until the very end in the $1,000 SHOE.

Eric Froehlich just ran his stack to over 110k when he won a three-way pot holding the K10 on a QJ5910 board.  EFro has one cash this series, and is hoping to make it three bracelets in his first three years.  That would be an incredible accomplishment in fields this size.  I look foward to a recap blog from EFro at the end of the day.

Thomas Wahlroos is hanging in around 50k but has not quite been able to get his feet underneath him in the last couple of levels.  Doyle Brunson, Max Pescatori, and chip leader James Gorham all remain.

Doyle will have the pressure on him as Phil Hellmuth is quickly closing in on his 11th bracelet...