Event #62: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event Day 1a | 2013 World Series of Poker

07-07-2013 00:08 UTC-8

Day 1a of the 2013 WSOP Main Event Concludes; Panesis Leads the Way

donpeters

Level 5 : 200/400, 50 ante

The first day of the 2013 World Series of Poker Main Event has come to a close, and what a way to kick off the greatest event on the face of the planet. Nearly 1,000 players took to action today, but it was Evan Panesis finishing on top of them all with 190,975 in chips. A couple hundred or so hit the rail before day's end, and official chip counts will be posted once received.

Day 1a is often known as the smallest and least star-studded of the starting days, but there were plenty of big names out in the field nonetheless. Arguably the most important player in the field today was the reigning champion Greg Merson, who delivered the "shuffle up and deal" speech before jumping in his seat for his title defense. Merson went on to finish with 81,650, giving him a very healthy stack moving forward.

Other notables in the field today were Joe Cada, Pius Heinz, Olivier Busquet, Brian Rast, Justin Bonomo, Elio Fox and Ivan Demidov, just to name a few. Heinz, the 2011 WSOP Main Event champion, was eliminated on the day when his opponent had rivered a Broadway straight against his trip sevens.

Things moved along nice and smooth in the event with not too much craziness happening, but then in the last level of the night, an insane five-way all-in pot went down on Table 443 in the Amazon Room that resulted in Mac Sohrabi winning a big main pot, Yurel Eminogla scooping a nice side pot, and the three other players being eliminated. You can read about that hand here. As if that wasn't enough fun in the final level, a three-way all-in clash was won by Brendan Flaherty over in the Orange Section of the room.

The advancing players will reconvene with those that survive from Day 1b for a joint Day 2 on Tuesday at 12 p.m. In the meantime, get some rest and come right back here tomorrow for more coverage from the 2013 WSOP Main Event right here on PokerNews. For now, we'll leave you with Lynn Gilmartin who had an exclusive invitation to the unveiling of the 2013 WSOP Main Event bracelet, valued at a whopping $500,000:

Tags: Brendan Flaherty Brian Rast Elio Fox Evan Panesis Greg Merson Ivan Demidov Joe Cada Justin Bonomo Mac Sohrabi Olivier Busquet Yurel Eminogla

07-06-2013 23:17 UTC-8

Justice is Blind

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[user253757]

Level 5 : 200/400, 50 ante

We just heard the tell tale signs of a bad beat in progress, as one player screamed out in exultation in one moment, before crying out in anguish when the river card fell.

Brendan Flaherty, meanwhile, shot out of his chair in unadulterated joy, pumping his fist and knocking his chair over as he celebrated what has to be one of the more improbable victories of the day.

According to multiple sources at the table, the drama began when a short-stacked player moved all in over the top of a 1,000 opening raise, putting his last 7,000 at risk. Another player decided to isolate in position, and he reraised all in for 20,000, putting the action on Flaherty.

The boisterous Flaherty checked his cards and snapped off with a call, putting the majority of his own chips at risk in the process. With three players all in for their tournament lives, we arrived to see the most of the players at the table stand as one, expecting to witness a momentous showdown of premium hands.

Short-Stack Raiser:
Isolation Raiser:
Flaherty:

While both of his opponents showed up with the goods, Flaherty went to war with a cap gun against two cannons. The dealer burned and turned one card, before revealing the players' destinies with the flash of three board cards.

Flop:

The short-stacked player had survived the flop, and his pocket pair was in the lead in its race against the overcards. Flaherty, meanwhile, was left grasping for straws, as his ragged hand failed to connect in any meaningful way.

Turn:

With a third spade on board, the ace-queen added a slew of additional outs, while Flaherty's slim draw was drawn and quartered, leaving him with only non-spade tens, eights, and threes as potential saviors.

River:

Just like that, a blind squirrel found his nut in the form of a backdoor straight, while two players were eliminated from the Main Event in particularly brutal fashion.

For his part, Flaherty explained that he misread his hand, thinking he held rather than a three-gap unsuited connector. Despite this lapse in vision, Flaherty can now see a seat at Day 2 on the horizon, as he has built a healthy stack with just thirty minutes to play here tonight.

"Can I just go home now?," Flaherty wondered aloud, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had nearly stamped that ticket just minutes before.

Player	Chips	Progress
Brendan Flaherty	103,500 103,500	103,500

Tags: Brendan Flaherty

07-06-2013 23:11 UTC-8

Five-Way All-In Pot Shipped To Sohrabi; Three Players Eliminated

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donpeters

Level 5 : 200/400, 50 ante

Wow!

What. A. Hand.

An innocent raise from a player under the gun to 1,100 started the action over on Table 443 in the Purple Section of the Amazon Room before play folded over to a player in middle position. That player moved all in for 11,700. Right behind the shove, Mac Sohrabi was in the hijack seat and reraised all in for 23,100. Then, the player on the button called all in for 16,550 before action slid over to Yucel Eminoglu in the big blind.

Eminogla tanked and tanked, before eventually getting the clock called on him by not one, but two others at his table. After about 30 seconds, he shoved a giant stack of T5,000 chips into the middle, having all players in the hand well covered. As if four players weren't enough excitement for this pot, the original raiser from under the gun snap-called and created a five-way all-in pot!

Here's what we saw:

Under-the-gun player:
Middle-position shove:
Sohrabi:
Button:
Eminoglu:

The player under the gun snap-called all in for around 40,000 in chips holding the , but it was Sohrabi who held the best hand going into the battle with his pocket queens.

Following a runout on the flop, turn and river of , Sohrabi's queens held strong and he was awarded the main pot. He moved to nearly 100,000. Eminoglu was able to scoop a side pot from the player who held the and move to 150,300 in chips. The other three players were all eliminated.

Player	Chips	Progress
Yucel Eminoglu	150,300 150,300	150,300
Mac Sohrabi	98,000 98,000	98,000

Tags: Mac Sohrabi Yucel Eminoglu

07-06-2013 22:03 UTC-8

Cada Doubles

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Matthew Pitt

Level 5 : 200/400, 50 ante

Former World Series of Poker Main Event champion Joe Cada is up to 21,300 chips after doubling up moments ago.

There were two limps, one in middle position and on on the button, before Cada completed his small blind. Tatiana Barausova checked her option in the big blind, meaning it was four-handed to the flop. The action checked to the button and he led for 4,000. Only Cada called.

The turn was the and Cada checked, the button bet 5,000 and then called when Cada moved all in for an additional 3,000 or so chips.

Cada showed but his opponent mucked before we could see what he had, his cards hitting the muck as the dealer placed the onto the river.

Player	Chips	Progress
Joe Cada	21,300 8,700	8,700

Tags: Joe Cada

07-06-2013 21:30 UTC-8

Break Time; New Chip Leaders Emerging

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[user80015]

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

The remaining players are heading on their final 20-minute break for the day!

The penultimate level of the day started with 2011 WSOP Champion Pius Heinz hitting the rail when his turned trips was rivered by his opponent's Broadway straight. However the major story of the level would be new players surging up the leader board.

Abdulaziz Almashal, Javier Etayo, Kyle Burnside and Jason Manger all found themselves trending upwards while it would be the more notable Lika Gerasimova - partner of 2008 WSOP Main Event final tablist both here and in Europe Ivan Demidov - who would snatch the chip lead at one point as all the players who have flirted with the chip lead sat as following at break:

Manger - 145,500
Erlichman - 142,000
Gerasimova - 124,000
Almashal - 123,500
Burnside, 98,000
Etayo - 82,000

However it would the highly funny Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame that would be one of the players hitting the rail after failing to improve with his against an opponent's . Paul Magriel, Sam Barnhart and David Steicke also found themselves on the rail.

While players are stretching their legs and getting a late snack to power through the final level, head over to our videos page or watch this video with Kristy Arnett and Brian Rast.

07-06-2013 21:23 UTC-8

Mike Matusow, Mayor of Valuetown

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[user253757]

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

With the flop showing , World Series of Poker mainstay Mike "The Mouth" Matusow led out for a bet of 1,500, and his opponent flatted in position.

On the turn, Matusow fired a second barrel for 3,000, and once again his opponent smooth called.

The completed the board on the river, and Matusow emptied the chamber, firing a third barrel for 5,000. When his opponent looked him up, "The Mouth" spoke with his cards, tabling the for a flopped set. Despite the draw heavy board, the other player could not produce a straight nor a flush, and Matusow's set earned him a substantial pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mike Matusow	38,000 5,000	5,000

Tags: Mike Matusow

07-06-2013 21:11 UTC-8

They Called Me Mr. Glantz

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[user253757]

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

With a flop of already fanned across the felt, pro Matt Glantz led out for a bet of 1,800, only to see his opponent reraise all in for his last 10,500.

Holding the for top pair, Glantz made the call, and his opponent revealed the for two overcards.

Turn:
River:

Both fourth and fifth streets brought paint to the board, but the running jacks kept Glantz in front, and he notched an elimination to bolster his chip stack as the first day of the Main Event marches towards its conclusion.

Player	Chips	Progress
Matt Glantz	47,000 -3,000	-3,000

Tags: Main Event Matt Glantz

07-06-2013 20:31 UTC-8

Meet My Better Half

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[user253757]

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

As the runner-up of the 2008 Main Event, Ivan Demidov is no stranger to the WSOP spotlight, but today it is his girlfriend who has taken center stage.

Lika Gerasimova is seated one table over from Demidov, and the pair of Russian pros have been diligently checking on each other's progress throughout the night. Every so often, Gerasimova stands to peer over at her significant other's chip stack, but lately all of the attention has focused on Gerasimova's rapidly expanding chip castle.

Gerasimova has quietly climbed in the chip counts, earning pot after pot with precision applications of preflop aggression. She currently holds about 145,000 in her stack, which puts her at the top of the counts midway through the first day of play.

Player	Chips	Progress
Lika Gerasimova	145,000 145,000	145,000
Ivan Demidov	27,500 -2,500	-2,500

Tags: Ivan Demidov Lika Gerasimova

07-06-2013 20:21 UTC-8

A Silent Mouth

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[user253757]

Level 4 : 150/300, 25 ante

Mike Matusow's Lips Are Sealed Here on Day 1A of the Main Event

We passed by Mike "The Mouth" Matusow's table and noticed the normally animated and excitable player silently playing a pot.

The action, or inaction in this case, occurred when Matusow opened for 750 from late position, receiving two calls from the hijack and the big blind.

The flop fell and both Matusow and the big blind checked to the cutoff, who fired out a bet of 800. Matusow quickly folded without saying a word, and he dipped below the starting stack.