Alex Kravchenko and Roland de Wolfe were both down to their last 475 exactly before the following hand took place.
Kravchenko, de Wolfe, and a third player each put two bets (i.e., 300) in before the first draw. All drew two cards. Kravchenko and de Wolfe ended up each putting his last 175 in the middle on this round of betting, along with the third player.
At this point, de Wolfe decided to show his hand, 8-6-5-4-3, announcing he was staying pat from here on out. Both Kravchenko and the other player drew one on the second round, and Kravchenko drew one and the other two on the third round.
Neither managed to catch up to de Wolfe's 8-6, and Kravchenko was eliminated.
"That's why I'm the most entertaining player in the world," said de Wolfe afterwards, alluding to his unorthodox decision to show his hand after the first draw.
Men Nguyen, Tom Schneider, Archie Karas, and a fourth player each paid two bets before the first draw. Nguyen, Schneider, and Karas each drew three, and the other player two.
Nguyen bet from the small blind, Karas folded, and Schneider and the other player called. Nguyen took one card, Schneider two, and the other player one.
All checked. This time Schneider and Nguyen took one, and the other player two.
On the last round of betting, Nguyen checked, Schneider bet, the other player folded, and Nguyen called. Nguyen showed 8-7-5-4-2 and Schneider mucked.
After being down to just 300, Nguyen has battled back to 5,300. Schneider has 4,400. Archie Karas, meanwhile, has just won another hand and is up to 9,500.
There is a player on Blue #4 who has been causing quite a scene through the first two levels of the tournament. He has already received two penalties, one for stalling and one for swearing. He is drinking Guinness and doesn't seem to have a strong grasp on his surroundings or the nuances of 2-7 Triple Draw.
Recently, he tangled with late arrival Tony "G" Guoga. The pot was raised before the draw. He drew two on the first draw, while Tony G stood pat. He checked, then called after Tony G bet.
Both players stood pat after the second draw. Again Tony G bet when the action was checked to him. This time, his opponent tried to move all in. Obviously, this is a limit game, and bet sizes are fixed. The player was not allowed to put all of his chips in the middle.
"This is absurd," he said, drawing laughs from the rest of the table.
Both players stood pat again on the third draw. At this point, Tony G's opponent showed a neighbor his hand, then checked and called when Tony G bet. Tony G showed the second nuts, 7-6-4-3-2. His opponent turned over Q-Q-T-T-9 for two pair.
After the hand was completed, Tony G's opponent was given a two-round penalty for exposing his cards to another player while the hand was still in progress.
Todd Brunson bet, Jimmy "Gobboboy" Fricke raised, Max Pescatori called from the small blind, and Howard Lederer called from the big blind.
Pescatori drew one, and the others each drew two. Lederer bet, and the others called.
On the second draw, each player drew one card. This time Fricke bet, and the others all called.
On the third draw, Fricke stood pat, and the other three each drew one card again. They all checked. Fricke showed 9-7-4-3-2, beating Brunson's 9-7-6-5-4, and the others mucked.
In his first hand upon sitting down, Doyle Brunson ended up getting involved right away.
After some betting before the first draw, Brunson, Alex Jacob, and one other player remained. Brunson stood pat, and the other two each drew one. Brunson bet 150, and both called.
Brunson also stood pat on the second draw, and the others again each took one. Brunson bet again -- 300, this time -- and both again called.
Brunson stood pat on the third draw, too, and both of his opponents again each took one card. Again Brunson bet, Jacob folded, and the other called.
Brunson showed 7-6-4-3-2, the second-best possible hand, and took the pot.
Chip Jett and Marco Traniello have both recently been eliminated. Traniello stood pat on the third draw while his opponent drew one card. His opponent made a seven-six; Traniello mucked, gathered his things, and headed for the exit.
In what surely had to be a defeat as stinging as Italy's defeat in today's Euro 2008 quarterfinal match, Chris Reslock's 76432, the second best possible hand in 2-7 Triple Draw, went down in defeat to Thor Hansen's 75432. Reslock now has about 4,300; Hansen has 7,000.
Trash talking at the poker table isn't always limited to poker. Roland de Wolfe just came over to Dario Minieri to razz him about Italy's loss in the quarterfinals of Euro 2008.
"Italy just has no heart for penalty kicks," said de Wolfe, with his hand over his heart.
"At least we qualified," returned Minieri. "Where did England finish up?"