Hat Trick of Wins

The early stages have been mostly low-key, both in the action and the level of table talk, but that's not to say that players haven't been aggressive, just that big pots have failed to emerge.

The player who has been most active thus far is John Strzemp III. As the opening round was being completed, Kyle Bowker raised to 60,000 from the button and Strzemp called in the small blind. On the {3-Hearts}

flop, Strzemp then check-raised his foe from 80,000 to 200,000 and Bowker quickly folded.

A few hands later, it was Strzemp who was the preflop aggressor, raising it up to 60,000 from the cutoff. Jason Young called in the big blind. With the flop reading {K-Spades}

, Strzemp took it down with a continuation bet of 100,000.

On the very next hand, it was Matt Giannetti's turn, but he also felt the wrath of Strzemp, the latter reraising Giannetti's early-position preflop raise of 55,000 to 260,000 to take yet another pot.

A solid start from Strzemp, who takes an early chip lead.

Tags: John Strzemp III

2008 World Series of Poker

2008 World Series of Poker

Hat Trick of Wins