PartyPoker Big Game – Day 1 – Live updates

19.00

I sense the odd bevoir has been consumed as Tony G punches the air to his entrance music: Queens ‘Bicycle’. If that wasn’t enough of horse flogging, we were treated to a visual performance as Mr G rode an actual bicycle to the table.

The reason for adding the G to the game was the eviction of poor Simon Munz, who exits stage left around £30,000 down. It was a close call in the end, as with two players remaining, Munz was tied with Andrew Feldman, but then both Channing and Laak put the youngster out of his misery, Laak even offering a reason on his card: “Not enough chips.” Then again, he also wrote, “Hello mum.”

18.44

If Simon Munz doesn’t wake up with two black eyes tomorrow morning I think he’ll be surprised as he’s been beaten black and blue today. With the board reading , Munz bet £900 into a four-way pot with and Neil Channing called with . Naturally, the hit the river, and Munz bet his flush, 2,100 making its way over the line. Channing casually dropped a raise to 10,100 over the line, putting the decision back on Munz for the rest of his stack. When you’re stuck, these hands are auto-calls, but Munz showed his class by finding a fold to leave himself with £5,025.

Even the hand prior, Munz’s timing was worse than a broken watch, the youngster leading into an flop with . On this occasion, however, all three aces were out there, and with Channing calling with , which, incidentally, he limped preflop, Phil Laak bumped it up to £2,650 with . David Viffer had an easy fold with , and so did Munz, but what was probably most remarkable about this hand was that Channing folded quicker than anyone, either showcasing his psychic powers or possessing so much knowledge on his neighbour’s game that he just knew he was behind.

The bottom line after these two hands, however, is that with a deficit of £24,950, Munz is the only losing player at the table.

18.14

Ah, the classic versus , all in preflop. You’re always seeing it. Here, of course, it was a result of the seven-deuce rule, Neil Channing’s odds increasing upon receiving poker’s worst holding, and after doing the maths, decided to make the call. He will have been mighty relieved to find his cards live, Laak vulnerable with , but surprised to be ahead. By the board he was so ahead he scooped the pot, while Channing dropped £9,100 to see him dip back into the black.

Seat 1: Sam Trickett — £50,525 (+£30,525)
Seat 2: Andrew Feldman — £22,300 (+£2,300)
Seat 3: Ellis Reuben — £25,925 (+5,925)
Seat 4: James Mitchell — £12,175 (+£2,175)
Seat 5: David Viffer — £66,625 (+16,625)
Seat 6: Simon Munz — £9,250 (-£20,750)
Seat 7: Neil Channing — £24,040 (-£5,935)
Seat 8: Phil Laak — £18,775 (-£1,175)

18.00

As someone not accustomed to reporting on high stakes cash games, I’m surprised by the amount of multi-way pots you see preflop, especially when someone has raised it up. The last hand saw five players, seeing the flop, David Viffer lighting the first firework with a raise an under-the-gun raise of £300. Neil Channing ( ) and Phil Laak ( ) called, as did Ellis Reuben ( ) and James Mitchell ( ) in the small and big blind respectively.

The vindicated Reuben somewhat, but also gave Mitchell and Channing top pair. Despite this, the hand was checked around, only for Reuben to take a stab with his draw on the turn. Both top pair hands called.
The river gave Mitchell a backdoor straight, and after Reuben conceded with a check, the recent Irish Open winner led for £2,650. Channing folded, and although he paused for a second or two, so did Reuben.

17.45

If Simon Munz doesn’t wake up with two black eyes tomorrow morning I think he’ll be surprised as he’s been beaten black and blue today. With the board reading , Munz bet £900 into a four-way pot and Neil Channing called with . Naturally, the hit the river, and Munz bet his flush, 2,100 making its way over the line. Channing casually dropped a raise to 10,100 over the line, putting the decision back on Munz for the rest of his stack. When you’re stuck, these hands are auto-calls, but Munz showed his class by finding a fold to leave himself with £5,025.

Even the hand prior, Munz’s timing was worse than a broken watch, the youngster leading into an flop with . On this occasion, however, all three aces were out there, and with Channing calling with , which, incidentally, he limped preflop, Phil Laak bumped it up to £2,650 with . David Viffer had an easy fold with , and so did Munz, but what was probably most remarkable about this hand was that Channing folded quicker than anyone, either showcasing his psychic powers or possessing so much knowledge on his neighbour’s game that he just knew he was behind.

The bottom line after these two hands, however, is that with a deficit of £24,950, Munz is the only losing player at the table.

17.39

Simon Munz is now stuck for £20,000, his remaining chips going in with versus the of David Viffer on a flop. An turn and river was of no use, and Munz hit the felt once more. However, he remains unperturbed, and has bought back in for another £10,000. Third time lucky, perhaps.

17.28

The curse of seven-deuce struck again as three players reached a flop, David Viffer liking his chances of bleeding the table of £500 with versus the of Simon Munz and of Sam Trickett. Armed with second pair, Trickett led out for £1,100, which Viffer – getting more than enough odds to continue with the hand – called.

Check, check on the turn, but Trickett came out firing on the river, turning his hand into a bluff with a bet of £1,750. But little did he know that he was ahead, and as Viffer made a raise to £8,000, Trickett was left with the trickiest of decisions. But after dwelling for longer than Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’, Trickett decided that a bluff was well within Viffer’s range and made the brave call, Viffer opting not to show his seven-deuce and just sliding them face-down across the felt like captured criminals. Trickett, meanwhile, wore a smile that would take a crowbar and tub of Vaseline to remove, but rightly so as he is now the big winner at the table with £34,875.

17.19

The seven-deuce stipulations continues to spark fun and frolics, even when it’s nowhere in sight. In fact, Phil Laak just won a pot with a deuce, and offered players to buy out by showing just the deuce. I think Sam Tricket took the bet, but if this move is going to work on a wider scale then Laak is going to have to consider balancing his seven-deuce ranges and make the same offer when he does have it.

A few hands prior, Simon Munz and Neil Channing got it in with and respectivel, the board coming an eventful to chop it up. Munz still struggling, though, with just over £5,000.

17.04

As expected, we’ve lost Oscar Prado, to be swiftly replaced by Ellis Reuben. Known as the Reubenator in poker circles, Reuben is a huge cash player on the London scene, and is likely to find the stakes a lot more comfortable than his predecessor. It is then of no surprise that he’s bought in for the maximum of £20,000.

On the first hand back after the break, Viffer checked on all three streets of a board, Neil Channing playing it safe with , and Andrew Feldman deciding not to value bet a which he raised preflop. Viffer revealed his hand rather sheepishly and triggered a raised eyebrow from both opponents.

In more important news, Sam Trickett is studying the menu like it’s an A-Level exam and currently deciding between the sausage sandwich or Caesar salad. Hopefully he’ll make the wise choice and continue the trend of grease over good health.

16.53

Scores on the doors:

Seat 1: Sam Trickett — £48,850 (+£28,850)
Seat 2: Andrew Feldman — £17,325 (-£2,675)
Seat 3: Oscar Pardo — £4,225 (-£750)
Seat 4: James Mitchell — £9,400 (-£550)
Seat 5: David Viffer — £66,025 (+16,025)
Seat 6: Simon Munz — £3,650 (-£16,350)
Seat 7: Neil Channing — £38,790 (+£8,790)
Seat 8: Phil Laak — £15,600 (-£4,400)

16.41

Flabbers were gasted as Oscar Prado folded hand after hand after hand, but it has recently emerged that he won his seat via a freeroll rather than buying directly in, and, as a result, intended to play zero hands in order to leave with as much of the £5,000 he started with as possible.
Of course, this is a sensible decision for someone with a modest bankroll and little experience, but doesn’t make the best TV, which is why I believe he may not be returning after the current break. It does bring extra amusement, however, to Sam Trickett’s seven-deuce hand which ended up costing Prado over 10 percent of his stack. “That almost killed him,” smiled Jesse May. Nevertheless, Prado has the last laugh as he’s achieved his objective and left today with a profit, a more than respectable £4,225.

16.22

It hasn’t been a good day for Simon Munz. On a flop, he led out for £700. Channing passed , but Sam Trickett made the call, his pot odds with enough to draw to the gutshot. The turn came a , and Munz led out again, throwing what I believe was £1,500 onto the felt. Trickett, however, saw this as his opportunity to strike, and duly made it £9,000. Munz seemed tempted, but after a long dwell eventually made the fold and the seven-deuce scooped the pot. The other players were overjoyed as they handed Trickett £500 each.

A few hands later, Munz thought he’d finally hit gold with {Tc] hitting a straight on a , but little did he know that Neil Channing was freerolling to a flush with . The chips flew in on a turn, and although I’m sure Munz expected the worst, the river came a blank to save him from overturning the table and storming out of the room.

15.53

Just as I was highlighting David Viffer’s downhill slide, suggesting that it was likely to continue, it suddenly ground to halt as he felted Simon Munz in a £20,475 pot. I didn’t catch all the action, but all the monies went in on a board, Viffer’s flop in search of divine intervention against the of Munz. The Poker Gods were listening though, and with a river, Viffer stole the pot. “Chips!” requested Munz.

15.43

PartyPoker have introduced a new stipulation which enables players to vote off other members of the game in a unique Big Brother style eviction. Newcomers are exempt, as is the most aggressive player at the table (usually David Viffer). The last victim of this brutal process was Bodo Sbrzesny.

15.31

David Viffer must have doused himself in baby oil during the break as he’s sliding downhill so fast that he is now the biggest loser on the table. His last accident occurred in a remarkable pot with James Mitchell and Simon Munz.

With Mitchell raising from the cut-off with , Viffer called on the button with , as did Munz in the big blind with .

The flop offered more action than a date with the Devilfish, the dealer flipping a mouth-watering onto the felt to give Munz the flush, Viffer the straight, and Mitchell the nut flush and straight draw.

Munz checked, Mitchell continuation bet £775 and Viffer raised to £2,200. Munz, obviously not expected to be facing both a bet and a raise, dwelt momentarily, before bumping it up to 5,200, virtually flagging his hand but hoping he found action nonetheless.

Mitchell didn’t bite, but Viffer did, all the chips hitting the middle in a jiffy. However, it was bad news for the American, as he was drawing dead before the turn, which I don’t think even left the deck.

Viffer now really starting to struggle with a loss of £11,450.

15.00

Unknown entity Oscar Pardo replaced Dan Fleyshman in seat three meaning we’re back to full strength. Win/loss in brackets.

Seat 1: Sam Trickett — £35,550 (+£15,575)
Seat 2: Andrew Feldman — £19,325 (-£625)
Seat 3: Oscar Pardo — £5,100 (+£150)
Seat 4: James Mitchell — £12,675 (+£2,775)
Seat 5: David Viffer — £48,000 (-£1,800)
Seat 6: Simon Munz — £8,275 (-£1,075)
Seat 7: Neil Channing — £52,365 (+£22,365)
Seat 8: Phil Laak — £11,650 (-£8,350)

We also saw Laak pick up the PokerNews pot by moving all in preflop with the mighty , one of the best hands in poker. Razz, that is.

14.42

Interesting dynamics at the table now with the introduction of Simon Munz and James Mitchell. In contrast to, say, Neil Channing, who sometimes prefers a limp, the two youngsters are adopting a strict raise-or-fold mentality and their wider ranges are resulting in some bigger pots preflop. It was because of this that Phil Laak was able to get £4,900 in preflop, doubling up against Munz’s on an ensuing board. Meanwhile, Mitchell clashed with Munz, four-betting with after Munz had squeezed before checking down a dangerous board. “I’m surprised Munz didn’t bet out at some point,” observed Matt Broughton in the commentary booth.

14.32

Phil Laak may look like a burglar with his black top and woolly hat, but he’s been stealing nobody’s chip today. On the last hand, three players reached the turn of board where Simon Munz led out for £825 with and Neil Channing called with . Laak, however, had turned a monster draw with and, armed with a little bit of fold equity, decided to raise to 5,175. Without too much hesitation, Munz came in for a few pennies more and Channing ducked out of the way.

After Laak made the obligatory call, and the suggestion to run it twice was rejected, the river was dealt. Laak was a 34 percent dog, but 0 percent by the end as a arrived on the river to award Munz the pot.

14.16

Right off the bat we’ve been treated to a fascinating hand, David Viffer once again in the thick of the action once again. Things truly got interesting on the flop, Viffer spiking two pair with and leading out for £800. Phil Laak called/floated with , as did Sam Trickett with .

A turn was the money card for Trickett, who turned aggressor with a bet of 2,250. Unfazed, Viffer poured 6,500 across the line and Trickett made the call.

The river filled a potential open-ended straight draw, but Trickett decided it was best to bet out, this time leading for £2,300, a small bet that made me wonder if he was trying to induce a bluff that he’d call, or a raise from a set that would enable him to fold. In the end, Viffer fulfilled neither premise, raising to 6,000 with an inferior hand.

Trickett seemed wary at first, but the pots odds were too good to resist and he made the call.

14.02

It was rather an extended dinner break in the end, but we’re now back, and as Dan Fleyshman decides to exit stage left, recent Irish Open Champion James Mitchell has entered the fray. A few moments of TV delayage and we should be shuffling up and dealing very soon.

13.04

The stacks, whilst we await the players’ return:

Seat 1: Sam Trickett — £20,275
Seat 2: Andrew Feldman — £17,475
Seat 3: Dan Fleyshman — £12,675
Seat 4: Bodo Sbrzesny — £34,075
Seat 5: David Viffer — £65,875
Seat 6: Simon Munz — £7,925
Seat 7: Neil Channing — £53,265
Seat 8: Phil Laak — £12,950

12.30

In what felt like an episode of Pop Idol, presenter Tatyana ran through the line-up, saying who was “safe” and who wasn’t. David Viffer and Dan Fleyshman voted for themselves (“I have to go to work,” claimed the latter with a smile), but in the end it was Bodo Sbrzesny who was escorted out, despite sitting on a £34,075 stack. “You’re too good came the shouts,” with a smirk, but they may have been right as Sbrzesny has perhaps been the most impressive performer in this season’s Big Game, regardless of the notoriety of the competition.

With Sbrzesny sent outside to meet the crowd and endure a probing with Davina McCall, we are now on a well-deserved 30 minute break.

12.20

We haven’t seen too much four-betting so far today, but Bodo Sbrzesny certainly isn’t in the mood for lying down. Having raised it up from the button with , Viffer flat called in the small blind with , but newcomer Simon Munz was less hospitable, three-betting from the big blind. Without too much hesitation, and with the nonchalance of the Fonz picking up a date, Sbrzesny put in another raise, and Munz lay it down.

And on that note, it’s vote time, with Feldman, Viffer and Munz exempt. Current favourite in the commentary room to hit the deck is Sbrzesny.

11.55

With Channing making that last marginal call, he is now your biggest winner at the table with a £25,715 profit, Sbrzesny lying in second with £19,325. At the other end of the spectrum, that early felting, plus the departure of Luke Schwartz, has meant Dan Fleyshman is now the biggest loser with negative £13,900.

Meanwhile, we have a new pretender to the throne, Simon Munz entering the fray with a spring in his step and looking to overthrow King Channing.

11.54

The seven-deuce rule continues to cause more misery and dismay than my former season tickets at Villa Park, David Viffer the player this time unable to resist its lure. I joined the action on the turn of an board, Viffer taking a stab of £2,300 with . Channing made the call with , but on the river, faced an even trickier decision as Viffer fired out £4,000.

Channing put his man through more torture than a Saw actor, the Vic stalwart umming and aahing for what seemed like an age, his chips lingering in his fingers as he hovered his hand gingerly over the felt. Viffer, meanwhile, remained completely motionless, wearing an expression as if he’d just woken up from the world’s worst hangover. But whilst his poker face was admirable in its lack of motion, it was academic in the end as Channing still made the call. Viffer was not a happy bunny, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he played the upcoming hands even with even more volatility than before.

11.40

The torment continues for Luke Schwartz as he stumbles upon pocket aces and earns just a few hundred pounds – as always seems to be the case when you’re stuck. Meanwhile, Phil Laak just turned quad deuces on an ace high board, Neil Channing refusing to bite with pocket nines and the Unabomber picking up the minimum.

Lots of big hands – but rarely in the same hand!

11.35

Dan Fleyshman and David Viffer had clashed before, but this time it was Fleysman who had the flush draw, in search of a fifth diamond against Viffer’s . All the money went in on a flop, Fleysman check-raising Viffer’s bet of £1,100 all in for £9,800. Laak was able to get away from , but Viffer made the inevitable call.

As before, they opted to run it twice, the first hand coming a dramatic and to prove just how sadistic those Poker Gods can be. But karma reared its head on the second outing, a turn followed by a river chopping it up at the death.

For a moment there, it looked like Viffer’s incredible form was braced to continue, but could that river be a turn of fortune?

11.23

234 hands have passed – as well as numerous masseuses – and the resulting counts are as follows:

Seat 1: Sam Trickett — £15,350
Seat 2: Andrew Feldman — £17,625
Seat 3: Dan Fleyshman — £8,600
Seat 4: Bodo Sbrzesny — £36,060
Seat 5: David Viffer — £71,975
Seat 6: Luke Schwartz — £17,225
Seat 7: Neil Channing — £45,640
Seat 8: Phil Laak — £18,350

11.04

At 11am in the morning, some of the players are really starting to look fatigued, Neil Channing and Luke Schwartz in particular. Even in the commentary booth, Jesse May is cackling maniacally by my side, the effect of his legal drugs finally beginning to wear off as his mind wanders and he asks James Mitchell the under/over on how many people at the table think they’re the best. “Well Luke does, and definitely Viffer too,” came the response. “Maybe Laak is humble, he might think he’s only second best.”

One player who is maybe proving he has the stamina for the job is David Viffer. Having called a button raise of £500 from Andrew Feldman, Viffer check-raised a bet of 1,100 on a flop to 4,100 with . Feldman had middle pair with , but decided not continue with the hand.

10.50

If you would like to join McFeldman in the game, then don’t forget, folks, that there’s a 300 pounds triple-chance satellite tonight here at Les A with one seat up for grabs. The action kicks of at 8.30pm, so get there by 8pm to guarantee your place in the comp.

10.34

We haven’t heard much from Dan Fleyshman thus far, but he’s just seen all his money hit the centre of the felt. It was David Viffer who kick-started the action (who else?), raising it up to £300 with from early position. Everybody but Luke Schwartz and Justin Bonomo made the call, most players with marginal hands except for Neil Channing ( ) and Fleyshman ( ).

On the queen high, two heart flop, Viffer bet £1,100 with his flush draw, only for Fleyshman to announce all in for £10,160 before the action had reached him. The table stepped out of the way, and the decision was left with Viffer. James Mitchell, who is now perched in the commentary booth, suggested he had the odds to call, but that it of course depended on whether he thought his ace was live.

The possibility of the live bullet and inferior draws – and also the fact that he’s winning in the game – is what may have triggered the call, but either way, Viffer smiled and trickled the necessary chips across the line.

“Run it twice” was the call, but it made little difference to Fleyshman in the end, the first ‘run’ giving Viffer a flush on the turn and the second delivering an ace from space on the river. Fleyshman stacked; Viffer the assassin yet again.

10.24

Just as I was completing my last post, I caught the end of an encounter between Messieurs Channing and Laak. I joined the action on the turn, Channing’s bet of £1,200 on a board being raised to £3,600 by Laak’s . Channing had the goods, though, with , and after sneakily flat calling the raise, led out for £6,700 on the river. Laak dwelt up like Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’, but after saving face, relinquished his hand.

Channing is now back in profit with £1,575, and one of only three winning players currently seated at the table.

10.03

Justin Bonomo is the next to hit the bricks, to be replaced by Andrew Fedlman who arrives to the odd combination of rudeboy music and kilt around waist. “Nice legs,” complimented Eddie Hearn as McFeldman took his seat.

It didn’t take long for Feldman to play a hand, reaching a three-way flop with . However, no early madness here from the Red Pro, Channing’s bet with swiftly taking the pot.

10.00

Bodo Sbrzesny appears to be the in form man at the moment as he’s now the big winner in the game after just one hour with a profit of £22,050. From my opening two hours watching the game, I’ve barely seen him put a foot (or hand, for that matter) wrong.

After double-barrelling Neil Channing (Channing just happened to be floating with ace high), Sbrzesny found himself tangled in an intriguing hand with Justin Bonomo. On a flop, Bonomo made a surprise check-raise with (which, incidentally, managed to push out Phil Laak’s ), before betting £4,500 on the turn. But on this occasion, Bonomo’s timing was off, Sbrzesny making an immediate raise with to pick up the pot.

Bonomo doesn’t look happy, and could be the next departure from the table.

09.45

A wise man once said, “If you can beat a bluff, then you must call Viffer.” Unfortunately, that theory would come back to haunt Justin Bonomo as he became a victim of both the seven-deuce stipulation, and the unpredictable enigma that is David Viffer.

Reaching a three-way flop, Bonomo led out for 500 with , and although Bodo Sbrzesny side-stepped out of the way, Viffer raised to 3,000 with trip fours ( I believe), which Bonomo called.

On the turn, Bonomo called a bet of £4,000. “He’s going to call it off with seven-deuce!” cried Jesse May (obviously, not in earshot of the players) as the dealer reached for the top of the deck. River… , and after Bonomo checked, Viffer bet £9,000. Bonomo’s shoulders dropped, but after much mulling – likely regretting his previous comment – he made the call, only to be told the bad news.

09.31

Torture for Luke Schwartz on the last hand as he writhes in his seat like a three-legged ferret. The question was asked on the turn of a board, Bodo Sbrzesny betting out 7,400 into a 8,750 pot with having been the aggressor on the flop.

Schwartz seemed in state of indecision with , torn between the maths and halving his stack, the rest of which could likely find its way down to the felt if he were to miss. But these decisions are always easier when you’re fresh-faced and not facing an even bigger increase on your losses, and after sizing up his options, Schwartz decided to lay it down and wait for another spot.

A bit of needle from Sbrzesny, and then Justin Bonomo (perhaps believing Schwartz is on the verge of cracking and titling off his stack), and the next hand was dealt.

The online phenomenon now down almost £35,000, and wearing the expression of a disgruntled mother-in-law.

09.22

With Haxton heading back to the hotel for 40 winks, some fresh blood been injected into the game in the form of unknown entity Dan Fleyshman who has sat down with £15,000. Meanwhile, Sam Trickett has topped up to the same amount, meaning current stacks are as follows:

Sam Trickett — £14,250
Justin Bonomo — £26,460
Dan Fleyshman — £15,760
Bodo Sbrzesny — £19,350
David Viffer — £44,010
Luke Schwartz — £19,675
Neil Channing — £22,900
Phil Laak — £23,725

09.10

When I first started in the game, I was told, “Never play with a deuce in your hand.” Whilst that was, of course, baloney, and the familiar advice of a supposedly wily veteran who likes to give himself set rules, it may not have been a bad message for the last two hands.

Having raised it up preflop with , David Viffer continuation bet a flop for £1,000, only to receive a call from Bodo Sbrzesny who held . The turn didn’t seem to change much, but Sbrzesny reached for chips out of position, making what many would consider to be an amateur move.

Viffer seemed to be oblivious to the gesture, however (or, perhaps, believed it to be a reverse tell), as after his bet of £2,200 was called, he conceded the hand on the river and checked it down. Sbrzesny checked behind and second pair was enough to take the pot.

A hand or two later, Sam Trickett tangled with Viffer – who remains firmly fixed to every hand – with on a flop. Viffer called with and we saw an turn where Trickett bet again, this time £1,200. Viffer, proving how tricky he can be, just flat called, which may have been why Trickett decided to take yet another stab on the river, leading out for £3,400 to leave himself with less than £5,000 behind. Viffer raised, and quicker than a jet propelled whippet, Trickett made the fold.

Viffer continuing to cause his opponents more headaches than a badly behaved teenager.

09.07

A wise man once said, “If you can beat a bluff, then you must call Viffer.” Unfortunately, that theory would come back to haunt Justin Bonomo as he became a victim of both the seven-deuce stipulation, and the unpredictable enigma that is David Viffer.

Reaching a three-way flop, Bonomo led out for 500 with , and although Bodo Sbrzesny side-stepped out of the way, Viffer raised to 3,000 with trip fours ( I believe), which Bonomo called.

On the turn, Bonomo called a bet of £4,000. “He’s going to call it off with seven-deuce!” cried Jesse May (obviously, not in earshot of the players) as the dealer reached for the top of the deck. River… , and after Bonomo checked, Viffer bet £9,000. Bonomo’s shoulders dropped, but after much mulling – likely regretting his previous comment – he made the call, only to be told the bad news.

08.49

It’s amazing what effect the PokerNews hand has on the players, luring them in like an exotic belly dancer with a carrot. The victim to its charms this time around was Neil Channing, who after taking a stab at the pot, found himself pushed off the hand by neighbour Phil Laak, who spotted an opportunity to take advantage of a vulnerable situation with just Qh-6s. Channing, who grimaced like a gurning champion, seemed to have his suspicions, but nevertheless gave it up and ended up losing 2,800 to pick up an additional £1,000.

Meanwhile, Issac Haxton, who, with his NHS frames, reminds me of the geek, quiet, but talented member of an indie band, has decided to suck his losses (£3-4,000 I believe) and call it a day.

08.35

Our commentary team may be battling on like they’d been delivered a pay increase, but there’s been a changing of the guards in the blogging quarters, yours truly scrambling through the kitchens and to my new home for the next 12 hours on the corner of table.

But before I’d barely unravelled my mouse, there was a action at the tables, perhaps suggesting that this event has thus bar been a thrilling encounter and would have been glued to my seat for hours to come. I could only hope.

The hand is question seem to get heated on the turn of a a flop, Andrew Feldman alerting my immediate attention by sadistically suggesting that a king on the turn would be an epic card. The turn was, of course, the , and the Catherine Wheel was lit, all the chips flying into the middle with Luke Schwartz making the final call with to David Viffer’s for the straight.

They agreed to play it twice, but it made little difference beyond prolong the agony, a followed by the stacking the online whiz and providing even more meat to the American’s stack. Schwartz could only place his hands on his pork-pie hatted head and request a rebuy, tired, but unhesitant in reaching out for a huge wad of cash.

Could be a fun-filled day…

08.11

So with the sun risen (not that you’d know it in the glowing red surroundings of Les Ambassadeurs), the current table stocked with players who are down (apart from Jason Bonomo, Channing and Trickett (just)) – I leave you in the reporting hands of Adam ‘Snoopy’ Goulding who’ll be doing the day shift along with this excellent selection of live and online pros who are all in it for the long haul. Kudos has to also go to Jesse May, who’s going for the 48 hours straight commentating, by the way, armed only with some proplus, instant coffee sachets and throat sweets! Play continues…

08.00

Viffer leads, Schwartz doesn’t follow… After a quiet spell, Luke Schwartz perks up enough to re-raise Viffer with the preflop – he’s called by another one of these big-card-little-card-suited-combos which have generated some big pots between the two of them one way or another – this time. The flop comes and at the same instant as Viffer leads out for £2k or so, Schwartz’s cards hit the muck.

07.55

It’s been nearly half a day’s straight play from these players (or a couple of them at least) – and we may be facing some more voluntary retirements (or breaks) from a couple more in the near future. Pretty much guaranteed, Neil Channing and Viffer aren’t going to be among them yet, the stamina coming through and counting for a lot as the hours and days tick by. “These youngsters,” says Jesse May in response to the visibly fading Bonomo and Haxton – “What are they eating?”

Just now Bodo Sbrzesny got out of the way of his first full house, with Phil Laak flopping a set with his , checking it, but betting £500 on the turn with the board now a more dangerous . Sbrzesny with the made the call but wasn’t interested in the pairing river, or the big bet from Laak. I understand from the commentary that Bodo told him, “I’d fold a flush for you there…” but as they were saying, it would have been interesting to see the on the river instead!

07.46

Our commentary team may be battling on like they’d been delivered a pay increase, but there’s been a changing of the guards in the blogging quarters, yours truly scrambling through the kitchens and to my new home for the next 12 hours on the corner of table.

But before I’d barely unravelled my mouse, there was a action at the tables, perhaps suggesting that this event has thus bar been a thrilling encounter and would have been glued to my seat for hours to come. I could only hope.

The hand is question seem to get heated on the turn of a a flop, Andrew Feldman alerting my immediate attention by sadistically suggesting that a king on the turn would be an epic card. The turn was, of course, the , and the Catherine Wheel was lit, all the chips flying into the middle with Luke Schwartz making the final call with to David Viffer’s for the straight.

They agreed to play it twice, but it made little difference beyond prolong the agony, a followed by the stacking the online whiz and providing even more meat to the American’s stack. Schwartz could only place his hands on his pork-pie hatted head and request a rebuy, tired, but unhesitant in reaching out for a huge wad of cash.

Could be a fun-filled day…

07.37

“Why do I think I’m winning – is it because I’m a fish?” So says Phil Laak who just got involved with straddle-poster Viffer, who re-raised Laak with , called fairly sharpish by Laak with . The flop brought a quick bet out from Viffer, called by Laak, as did the turn. These weren’t slow calls, either – Laak only slowed down when the third barrel – this time £6,000 came from Viffer on the river, which had in fact made his backdoor flush. After questioning his possibly piscine nature, Laak laid down his hand, though.

07.30

He likes big butts and he cannot lie - Bodo Sbrzesny’s Sir Mix-a-Lot intro couldn’t have been predicted and starts his game with a smile. He’s bought in for £5,000, which looks a little short on this table – but Robert Williamson just turned a little (comparatively) into a lot, and Bodo Sbrzesny’s had the experience now to maybe follow in those footsteps.

Straight away Sam Trickett with gets to the river vs. an in-position Isaac Haxton, who missed his draw (with ), the board standing – Trickett takes it with a £2,600 bet into a pot of just over £4k.

Play continues with this lineup:

Seat 1: Sam Trickett – £11,425
Seat 2: Justin Bonomo – £27,600
Seat 3: Isaac Haxton – £16,605
Seat 4: Bodo Sbrzesny – £5,000
Seat 5: David Viffer – £15,000
Seat 6: Luke Schwartz – £26,500
Seat 7: Neil Channing – £29,250
Seat 8: Phil Laak – £20,525

07.01

Eviction Notice! All the players now name the one they’re voting off… showing the hole card cams their decision.

And with a couple of recent additions (immunity is on for Trickett and Laak as they’re so new, for Viffer for the Aggression Factor – again) it ends up being Luke Schwartz and Robert Williamson in a pure tie with three votes each!

There was a rumour that the tie is broken here by the new player coming in – who in this case happens to be Bodo Sbrezny but in fact, it’s broken on their aggression factor in the previous segment – and the winner there is Luke Schwartz, who stays on while Robert Williamson III heads out, for now…

06.54

This game is going to test the decision-making capabilities of everyone – especially those who’ve let it be known that they’re up for the full, nonstop 48 hours. Just now two of them, Viffer and Channing, got involved in a hand which ended up taking a good long while and giving Channing’s stack a bit of a facelift. His patience, and flat calling with good hands, finally got him somewhere (with a little help from a two-outer…)

So here’s how it happened – Viffer took the initiative preflop, as we’ve come to expect, on the button – although he actually held , and Channing flat called in the small blind with , enticing Robert Williamson in too with K-J. The flop looked like it could take off – , but all three players checked. The still managed to be below both overpairs, and this time Channing led out, called by Viffer only on the button. The river was the ! Now Channing led £1,400, raised by Viffer to £3,600. Now slowly, calmly, Channing made it £8,600. The final decision to call came only after a tortured-looking dwell and left Viffer once again perhaps in need of a chip top-up.

06.30

Trickett Tries it against Robert Williamson III, but it doesn’t work out, in a medium-sized hand in which his pocket Nines missed the flop, but he double barrelled it anyway, as the hit the turn. Williamson, with called twice, before betting the brick river and getting a swift fold from Trickett.

Also trying it, at the wrong time against Luke Schwartz, was Neil Channing, who came over the top of Schwartz (who was on the button) to the tune of £1,225 – this is the first move like this we’ve seen tonight, but Schwartz had and wasn’t going anywhere. He just flatted, and Neil had a go (£1,600) betting out with his on the Queen-high flop, but when Schwartz made the call it was sort of all over and checked to the river.

Also trying it, with total success, is Isaac Haxton, who looks as though sleep might be sorely tempting, but just proved that his eye is still on the ball. The ball in this case being yet another raise from Viffer, a threebet from Trickett, and in his hand. He thought for a moment, before executing the fourbet to £2,800 which was rewarded with instant passing (they had and respectively).

06.19

No Slow Go for Bonomo – who flopped a full house with in position, and duly bet when the came and it was checked to him. Luke Schwartz, who’d checked his was poised to tumble downwards in chips, check-calling Bonomo on all three streets to see it on the river.

Meanwhile, Phil Laak has finally appeared, looking perky in a way which can’t fail to emphasise the growing sleepiness of some of these contenders.

Seat 1: Sam Trickett – £13,400
Seat 2: Justin Bonomo – £19,425
Seat 3: Isaac Haxton – £16,450
Seat 4: Robert Williamson III – £26,550
Seat 5: David Viffer – £12,525
Seat 6: Luke Schwartz – £32,825
Seat 7: Neil Channing – £17,925
Seat 8: Phil Laak – £20,000

06.06

Well the final seat is still empty – maybe we jumped the gun – but it’s definitely going to have a player in it before long. And it’s probably going to be Laak.

Either way, Robert Williamson III has been filling time by picking up Kings three times in the blind or straddle, failing to get action the first couple (also I seem to remember some action-less Aces along the way), not losing composure, but finally getting the full double up from the third pair of Cowboys. He wasn’t coy, even with a pretty tight image, and having bought in for £5,000, about three-betting Viffer with these Kings, and finally Viffer went for the fourbet with . Gleefully, the £5,300 in front of Viffer became an all-in £8k or so, which was sighingly called, run twice, and shipped to RW3.

05.54

The line-up evolves… It seems the game’s other big winner Laurence Grondin is getting ready to call it a night. An unknown quantity who pretty much remained so, it appears, to her table, Grondin is calmly retreating with around £20k in profit. Who will take her place?

As Jesse May says, “It’s started to get so late it’s early,” so now those who’ve either rotated their sleeping habits so they’re fresh as daisies at 6am (unlikely) or been up railing waiting to get their teeth into the game (very likely) will be joining in at this most hardcore of playing times.

The answer to the seat six-taker is… Phil Laak!

05.43

Big hands aplenty visible to the hole card cameras, but little action for their owners (Grondin and Williamson III, I’ll give you a hint). The pace of the game has definitely moved from cheetah to small dog, but it’s not quite at the sloth or coral stage yet.

Small pots (without premiums, or major pot growth) in the last 20 mins for Grondin and Viffer, small yawns coming from the Haxton corner.

That’s the Trickett – Sam has just played his first hand, faced his first problematic decision, and made his first good call against Viffer. Picking up Trickett raised to £200 preflop, which was upped on the button to £600 by Viffer with the . A call. Heads up to the flop, and Trickett check-called. The turn saw both players check, while the river brought a third check from Trickett and a bet of £2,400 from Viffer. A dwell later, and he threw in the call, getting a muck from Viffer and probably feeling more confident now he’s up from his starting £10k having experienced the pressure Viffer’s been putting on everyone and come out the other side richer.

05.17

He spins you right round, baby right round, like a record baby, round round round round. The entrance music for Mr. Trickett has briefly perked up the table, and it’s interesting to speculate on what those who haven’t come across him online or live yet might be thinking about him. Capable, fresh and sitting with £10k, Trickett is a good addition to the table. Who’s playing what at 5:30 this morning?

Seat 1: Sam Trickett – £10,000
Seat 2: Justin Bonomo – £17,375
Seat 3: Isaac Haxton – £16,825
Seat 4: Robert Williamson III – £7,225
Seat 5: David Viffer – £31,425
Seat 6: Luke Schwartz – £38,050
Seat 7: Neil Channing – £18,650
Seat 8: Laurence Grondin – £31,175

05.10

Tilly Button do Us Part… Having announced that she’s off now, racked up her chips and got a vibrant drink (apparently made of lemongrass, kiwi, ginger and lime), Jennifer Tilly has decided to just play through the blinds to her final hand on the button. Perhaps this might change the way others play these couple of hands against her? Either way, barring last-minute drama she’s leaving the table with around £33,000 in profit, the best result so far.

She was actually involved in all her final hands, none of which got to showdown or changed the standings round the table.

Who’s the new recruit? Our money’s on Sam Trickett…

04.57

Jesse May’s Musings: “A round of straddles would really liven up the table now. Like a round of Sambucas.” It’s still not even hour 10 here at the Big Game, so there’s still time for the multiple straddles to start up (like last time), but his point is that the action level seen earlier hasn’t been sustained lately. It’s not that there aren’t interesting situations, but the big pots have become a little fewer and further between.

A couple of recent pots have been multiway limped – one saw a flop of fourway with a bunch of random raggish (but universally suited, in all four suits!) cards in the hands of Neil Channing, Robert Williamson III, Justin Bonomo and David ‘Viffer’ Peat. Although this totally smacked Williamson’s , it checked round on the flop before his £200 bet took it down on the turn.

Then…

Channing raised with only to find the unpredictable Laurence Grondin making it £750 to go with . Bonomo picked up and made the call, which brought in Luke Schwartz with and a reluctant Channing.

The flop: . Schwartz bet out, pretty fast, a chunky £3,100, which if Grondin had had the overpair may have made it interesting – but everyone, including Channing, passed immediately, leaving Schwartz with a bit of a lemon-sucking expression.

04.35

The Viffer/Schwartz heads up big-pot combo here on the Big Game is so common it should have one keyword to denote it, like Vwartz, or Schwiffer. The most recent instalment was hugely reminiscent of the pot earlier today where Schwartz picked up Aces (now ) and re-raised Viffer in position who called with a suited Q-3 (in this new hand it was ).

The flop: , not ideal for Aces, but Schwartz called a £1,200 bet.
The turn: on which Viffer bet out once again – Schwartz calling the £2,800.
The river: . Now Viffer followed it up with a bet of £9k. This situation saw Schwartz call the big river bet with Aces which were no good the last time, but this time after a head-in-hands consider, during which he said something about wishing he had the two Jacks for the blockers, he popped in the cash and was rewarded with a muck! Schwartz turns his fortunes around, scrapes into profit, and wins the latest instalment.

04.15

A flop which could have spelled d-a-n-g-e-r for Neil Channing didn’t develop too far, after a case Jack brought a fabulous flop for p/f flat caller Laurence Grondin. She held , vs. Channing’s on a flop (third player Viffer had rags which lost interest here). It looked like she simply called the flop, while the turn was checked round. The relatively small pot was now bumped on the river by a cautious Neil Channing – £1,100 – and Grondin just called on the button. She showed her hand and was rewarded with both the pot and a low, “Wooowwwww,” from Channing.

03.56

Ten minute break – for a quick espresso, or to finish dinner (in the case of more than one player). The big leaders remain Jennifer Tilly (up £33,525) and Laurence Grondin (up £17,825) while no one else is showing anywhere near their profit. A bad couple of hours have left Luke Schwartz at the bottom of the pack -£12,625, with Viffer down (only) £9,450.

The stacks in play (not to be confused with the P&L of the players):

Seat 1: Jennifer Tilly – £48,475
Seat 2: Justin Bonomo – £19,575
Seat 3: Isaac Haxton – £19,775
Seat 4: Robert Williamson III – £6,825
Seat 5: David Viffer – £40,550
Seat 6: Luke Schwartz – £22,375
Seat 7: Neil Channing – £18,475
Seat 8: Laurence Grondin – £27,800

03.36

£1k Pokernews Pot! For anyone who doesn’t know what that means – at random-appearing intervals over the course of the night, a gift to the players in the form of £1,000 is thrown onto the felt for them to fight over like wolves over a KFC bucket. This pot didn’t get off the ground, although it was still fairly entertaining, as after a limp, a raise and a call, Jennifer Tilly put her foot down and repopped it with , taking the bets and the extra prize.

03.30

Isaac Haxton had a good old go at getting Jennifer Tilly off top pair top kicker a short while ago; in position with it all kicked off on a flop. She wasn’t in the mood to take what I think was a fourbet on the flop (on the button) as a signal to let go, even from Haxton who’s not been involved in too many situations like this tonight at all. He may have got a big old stack in with better, but he had worse, and released with minimum fuss.

A few hands later and an of his own took the rare preflop pot down for Haxton – neither Viffer with K-J off nor Bonomo with A-9 suited wanted to give him a spin for £1,100 out of position.

03.22

Momentum is with Grondin and Tilly once again (they’re at the top of the winner leaderboard so far), the former making a river bluff to get rid of Isaac Haxton in one hand, and the latter now playing £47,075, having bought in only for her original £20k! The next biggest stack is still Viffer with £36,750, but he’s in for £50k – Tilly’s now able to bully when she feels she has a good spot for it, and her chips aren’t standing still. New commentator Andrew Feldman has changed his opinion of how he initially expected the female 25% of the table to be playing, having watched them in action for an hour or so, and she’s also ordered fish and chips for dinner which is dwarfed by her chips.

02.56

Scores on the doors, before a couple of interesting hands…

Seat 1: Jennifer Tilly – £35,850
Seat 2: Justin Bonomo – £20,000
Seat 3: Isaac Haxton – £25,025
Seat 4: Robert Williamson III – £8,600
Seat 5: David Viffer – £46,225
Seat 6: Luke Schwartz – £20,500
Seat 7: Neil Channing – £19,375
Seat 8: Laurence Grondin – £27,275

The last few hands have brought threeway flops to whet the appetite of all players, and briefly bring the danger of huge pots:

E.g: Viffer holds , Neil Channing and Isaac Haxton in position . The flop brings , Viffer bets out £500 from the small blind and receives two calls. The turn brings the , the flush for Channing, and a bet of £1,200 from Viffer in the small blind. Channing just calls, but loses his customer when the river pairs with an action killing and he bets £2,800 when he finally gets a reluctant check. Fold.

Further e.g: Justin Bonomo plays his first hand, raising to £200 preflop. Robert Williamson III just flats with , and that lures in Neil Channing with his . Just like last time, breath could quite reasonably be held when the flop came – but those fireworks it suggested were doused by passing rain, as it were – after Bonomo bet out £500, called by Williamson, Channing’s raise brought two quick folds.

02.35

Dusty ‘Leatherass’ Schmidt – You Are the Weakest Link, Goodbye. The players have cast their votes and with four, Schmidt takes the exit biscuit. Tough to be sent off when stuck, really, plus they’re doing it in that X-factor way, “Isaac, you’re in the bottom two…” etc. After wringing the max tension out of it, out he goes in a tough way and is replaced by Justin Bonomo, who in turn is replaced by Andrew Feldman on the commentary mic.

02.34

Schwartz and Viffer clash again, with Viffer’s goal to get back to even at the expense of his left-hand-side neighbour. Schwartz raised under the gun, and Viffer defended in the big blind. The flop looked like it could see more action than it got, considering Schwartz had Aces with the , and Viffer – it was . What actually happened was that Viffer check-called a standard bet. And again, he check-called (£750) on the turn when he hit his flush on the . Now the river – and with so much history between them it wasn’t a huge surprise that he now check-raised the river, from £2,250 to £8,000. The last time he did this, it was with total air but the call here cost Schwartz another big pot. He flicked the Aces a couple of times in the direction of Viffer, who’s now almost playing the stack of chips he’s paid for over the evening.

02.15

Huge Pot Reinvigorates Viffer, Stings Schwartz! Having just bought back in, Viffer showed that these chips (worth real Pounds Sterling, every one) weren’t going to gather any more dust than their predecessors.

He just took down a nearly £40k pot vs. Luke Schwartz, with the majority of the action steaming full-tilt ahead on the turn when they were heads-up on a board. The turn had brought two pair for the out-of-position Viffer’s , which meant that now when he check-raised Schwartz to £6k (from £2.5k) he had a whole bunch more than the last time he’d made this sort of bet. This time, though, Schwartz made a stand with the pure bluffing - pushing forward a stack equalling £18,000! This effectively would double Viffer… who blinked like he’d had a bright light shone in his eyes, made a sound like, “Weuuurgh,” but called anyway. He must have been delighted to see his opponent’s hand, and with that, he’s back up to a big stack and will be making the table uncomfortable.

Jesse May: “We have just reached my favourite part of the game – everyone’s rattled!”

01.50

Ladies’ Night here at the Big Game; while Dusty ‘Leatherass’ Schmidt resignedly and calmly tops up his stack to the tune of another £5,000, both Jennifer Tilly and Laurence Grondin have been gambling with theirs, weilding their chips without fear of their opponents. Having played an unexpected vs. Isaac Haxton and hitting some invisible-looking rivered trips with the Nine (although he was not to pay off in the end), she went on to smack a Ten-high flop with . Keeping it slow until the turn, she checked first to act, and Schmidt bet £700, called by Viffer with pocket Eights, but no one wanted to call when she made it £3,000 promptly.

Meanwhile Jennifer Tilly pushes Viffer off the best hand, something that hasn’t been going on a lot tonight, by triple-barrelling with out of position while the board came out … … . Neil Channing had previously given up on his up’n'down draw, and Viffer passed his to her £2,500 river bet. He’s now bought in again, bringing his total buy-in to £50k, but he’s not letting his stack lose its ability to threaten by letting it dwindle down.

And now for something completely different, overheard from the commentators whom I have to say are quite a bit of fun to listen to unedited:

Bonomo’s After-Midnight Insight “It’s hard to win at Limit Hold’em when you have one of your cards face-up.”

01.35

01.33

Viffer avoids the Vote: And how. He’s just not relenting with the preflop aggression, but is relieving himself of a good few chips in spite of it. A couple of examples: He fourbet Luke Schwartz with preflop, and although it had looked like a good time to re-raise with his , Schwartz didn’t want anything more to do with it. About five minutes later and the exact same scenario re-presents itself. Viffer limped the small blind with , big blind Schwartz raised with . The re-raise this time came fast and very large – over £10k went in from small blind Viffer and again Schwartz released.

But it all came back to him on the river of a following hand. The board stood and Schwartz, with bet just over £3k (wish I could say the pot size, but I missed this one. It wasn’t over the pot, at any rate.) Viffer from the small blind, now check-raised to £8k. Schwartz considered – out loud – the likely hands Viffer could bet now, and although he didn’t look entirely comfortable, worked his way down Consideration Boulevard and came out on Call Road. It won him the pot – Viffer could only table .

01.15

Schmidt Dusts off c.£4k… With the , which were outflopped by button caller Neil Channing’s . The flop of saw just a flat call of £400 from Channing, same on the turn (£1,200), and again on the river (£2,200). That brings the judo-suited Black Belt Poker Player back to pretty much dead on the money what he bought in for back at 8pm. Schmidt now under £5k and decisively the shortest stack, although all bets are still off regarding how we’re going to end up, nearly two days from now.

01.02

Leaders and Losers The rollercoaster of this cash game has only seen one player get off so far, Paul Marrow at -£15k, and the player in the runner-up down spot (don’t think that phrase pops up too regularly) is Viffer with -£10,350. On the flip side, it’s Laurence Grondin in the lead with +£15,325, with Isaac Haxton in second place, up around £8,000.

A couple of small pots this hour, one seeing Jennifer Tilly hit trips with her , and got an extra £1k on the river (which featured three hearts as well) from Viffer with his pocket Sixes. Also one for a big blind Luke Schwartz whose made two pair on the river but only took a small pot from opponents Isaac Haxton and Viffer, who were both happy to join the turn-river checking party as the board panned out .

News in from Jesse May, who gets the bet amounts displayed in handy number form on special screens, but isn’t actually in the sumptuously decorated red room with the players: “I think I’ve finally figured out how much the different colour chips are worth. It’s taken me a while.”

00.45

Hour Four at the Big Brother Table… Talk swirls around the Eviction coming up in the Diary Room.* The player with the highest aggression factor will be immune from being booted off the Big Game when Eviction Hour rolls around – but one of these guys and gals will be making room for one of the players desperate to get off the waiting list and on the felt. There can be little doubt that Viffer is going to be the one with immunity here – who will vote tactically, or remove someone peskily tight? Either way this is pretty innovative and we’re looking forward to seeing what happens.

*There is no diary room. Kara Scott occasionally gets to talk to people though.

00.20

The players have been enjoying a 20 minute break, some sandwiches (which I saw disappearing down a hall, followed, but failed to catch up with) and a chat about the hands they’ve been playing against each other so far. News travels fast, and everyone with an iphone already knows most of the major action’s secrets – plus they’re not shy about discussing things in person in the breaks.

The last hand to drive the commentary booth wild involved a hitherto quiet Neil Channing, Viffer, and steady winner in the game Laurence Grondin – although Robert Williamson with some cagey pocket Queens could have featured more highly if things had panned out differently. Anyhow the flop of hit Channing pretty squarely with his , and he bet, hoping that some of those in position (I’m thinking mainly of Viffer here) might involve themselves a little more. No joy, and the pot stayed, like one of those match-head carvings, amazingly small as the turn came the and it checked around. This isn’t the really surprising part – it’s that Grondin had also hit two pair on the flop with her and also was waiting for some betting further round the table…

The river was the , and Channing now made a bet, but passed immediately when Grondin raised. Emerging out of the update room, Channing had already heard about this without the benefit of internet or TV – and expressed disbelief that she’d actually been bluffing the straight card when probably confident about her disguised hand. Of course, I’d like to ask her about it herself, but I couldn’t see her during the break to go and get a second opinion. Either way this one is pretty much guaranteed to make the TV cut.

23.54

It’s not just the players on the feature table feeling the tension – Tony G (on the list, one imagines) is already reducing his stress levels with a head massage while playing heads up on the side.

23.40

Williamson III = IV-Bettor Quickly after his intro to the game, Robert Williamson III picked up , probably delighted by the interest three other players had in the pot after an initial raise, and even more so when Dusty Schmidt picked a bad time to squeeze with and found Williamson III getting his whole buyin – £5,000 – in the middle. Facing a further £3,500+, Schmidt let it go, asked for a rebuy of £5k and the game continues…

Seat 1: Jennifer Tilly – £19,125
Seat 2: Dusty Schmidt – £9,525
Seat 3: Isaac Haxton – £29,150
Seat 4: Robert Williamson III – £6,350
Seat 5: David Viffer – £29,375
Seat 6: Luke Schwartz – £26,375
Seat 7: Neil Channing – £16,250
Seat 8: Laurence Grondin – £24,850

23.28

Jennifer Tilly, after starting this cash game off with a couple of all-in situations and big pots played, took a bit of a back seat in the last half hour, but jumped back into the driving seat, or at least returned to the racetrack in the last few hands. First off she took on Viffer with – which turned out to cost her three called bets as Viffer’s hit two pair on the flop. Event though a third heart hit the turn, and Tilly bet, he wasn’t dissuaded – nor on the river. She could only watch as he made the call and scooped the pot, after a mid-sized river think about it, while she sat expressionlessly waiting.

The very next hand her inferior was up against Luke Schwartz’s – and this hand was over so fast that I barely saw the third raggy flop card before her cards were in the muck (possibly out of turn!). Schwartz may have been one of the players everyone expected to play a lot of hands, but he has been neither vocal nor loose in these first few hours. If he’s intending to play the full two days, he’s the only one who’s been properly pacing himself. He’s picked few spots, but good ones, as it turns out – most recently check-raising Viffer on a nine-high flop with , which picked up a solid £4k.

Back to Jennifer Tilly, though, and with a couple of small suited cards she was once again battling Viffer, who held on a flop of . Once again, she bet out and Viffer called. A second came on the turn, and she now bet half pot, once again called. Echoes of that first hand might have been rattling round their heads, but she didn’t bet the river this time, enabling Viffer to check behind and hand over the pot without further ado, or money heading in there.

23.06

Seat Open? Viffer and Marrow gamble it up pre – and the former stacks the latter as somehow around £10k gets in with pocket Sevens vs. A-Q! An Ace on the flop sealed the deal and Paul Marrow gets up from the table – to be replaced by Robert Williamson III!

23.01

“I’ve been wrong with guesses with Viffer before, so I guess I have to stop making them…” says Justin Bonomo, as an interesting hand plays out for around 10 minutes in this, hour number 3 of 48. They were heads up on a flop, and Viffer check-raised button Haxton (from £1,400 to £4,500). Haxton thought for a good while before making the call. The turn brought the , and a check from Viffer. Slow deliberation preceded an interesting £2,500 bet from Haxton, which prompted a second check-raise from Viffer, this time to £6,925. Haxton now took another think-break while both players probably racked their brains as to what the other had – and they would probably not have guessed each other’s cards at this point. In the end Haxton raised Viffer’s last chips (much less than his last bet) and he put them in…

Viffer:
Haxton:

The Jack river was inconsequential, sending the most active player at the table bust – until a rack of chips can be summoned to the table (word is that Viffer had the intention of taking on all 48 hours of this cash game).

22.45

Viffer Fluffs Bluff Enough to Buffer Grondin! Composed Quebec national Laurence Grondin just won a full double through from David ‘Viffer’ Peat, having turned the nuts with on a board. Not to know he was fairly keen on this too (holding ), she check-raised his £500 bet here on the turn (to around £1,200 – apologies, small numbers on our little monitors). Either way, he very quickly slid in just under £6k (half her stack) and then faced an immediate move-in. So much had flown in on the turn that he made the call after the minimum dwell, only to hand out a full £12,175 immediately as he was drawing dead.

22.30

Leatherass vs. Haxton… If you were expecting a huge confrontation between Dusty Schmidt ( ) and Isaac Haxton ( ) on a flop, you will be disappointed – or intrigued – as Haxton simply check-called the £500 bet by Schmidt. On the turn, out-of-position Haxton checked again, followed by a check behind from his opponent. The pairing river prompted a third check from Haxton, and a small £500 bet from Schmidt. While Haxton’s eyebrows contorted like drunk caterpillars commentator Justin Bonomo put his commentary career on the line if Haxton passed here – but his place in the booth was safe as his decision was simply to call and muck when he saw Schmidt’s full house.

With a name like Leatherass, it appears the impression of the players who haven’t come across him live before is a solid, tight, professional, whose online success could translate to 48 hours of calmly-considered profitable poker against a pretty unpredictable lineup. But you never know – just because a player hasn’t been active doesn’t mean some of these gents will give any sort of respect. Back before the last break it was Haxton’s first raise (on the button, no less) after a flurry of action, and Viffer swiftly moved in, with A-2 offsuit! That took that one, but it hasn’t been plain sailing for him recently…

22.05

Viffer finally felts someone – Paul Marrow, whose happily follows Viffer’s into the pot (total £11,775) on a flop of . Having placed his foot on the gas from hand one, he finally ran Marrow off the winding mountain road with top pair vs. top two and there’s been a break for rebuying (Marrow, possibly), getting another pink martini-esque cocktail (Jennifer Tilly), or just stretching the legs and catching the breath for everyone else.

So far, although these totals might not be 100%, our screens are showing the stacks as follows at this point:

Seat 1: Jennifer Tilly – £18,625
Seat 2: Dusty Schmidt – £10,475
Seat 3: Isaac Haxton – £20,775
Seat 4: Paul Marrow – £5,000
Seat 5: David Viffer – £24,97519,525
Seat 6: Luke Schwartz – £19,525
Seat 7: Neil Channing – £18,575
Seat 8: Laurence Grondin – £11,975

21.54

Grondin Out a Profit? Laurence Grondin, uninvolved with the first batch of hands, has suddenly taken centre stage with a big double up (and following double down) of her own. The illustrated lady, a hitherto unrecognised but well-respected player in the tough online mid-stakes games, just took on Paul Marrow whom she suspected of something amiss, perhaps, preflop, making it £3,000 to go (from £800) with . Marrow made the call with the speculative , but caught a flush draw on the flop… perhaps surprisingly the money didn’t fly in here, with Grondin betting out and Marrow making the call. Immediately her remaining £3,825 went in on the turn, and pretty sharpish Marrow folded, surprising the commentators and probably his opponent as well.

Soon thereafter, she dropped right back to square one (there’s more of this than a game of Snakes and Ladders here at Les Ambassadeurs tonight) finding when Jennifer Tilly had the . It all got in the middle, providing a super-sweat for Tilly on the turn with the board .. but the safe-as-houses river bumped her back to around £20k.

21.46

Check out the introductory video below of the players – plus the Mystery Masked Man…

21.44

Prize-Winning Marrow Riddled with Bullets… What a couple of hands for the glam-suited Paul Marrow. Back-to-back pocket Aces – the first time finding Viffer re-raising him with but the real payoff coming from Jennifer Tilly’s . Finding herself facing yet another huge bet and accompanying decision, she did get it in and the board blanked off knocking her right back to pretty much her starting stack. If you looked at the early P&L table, it really looks like only a couple of hands between a couple of players might have moved a couple of chips, but in fact there have been all-ins and big pots galore…

The second pair of Aces for Marrow found Jennifer Tilly again with a hand – and although he hadn’t made a big reraise (£4,200 total pre in this case) without Aces so far, she eventually made the call after a lot of conversation – mainly with herself. She passed on the flop though after he instantly moved what remained of his £10k stack in.

21.22

Viffer Table Captain while Possible Replacement Sailors Battle through Satellite

Did you know that there’s a sort of spin up side event taking place just off camera? Several players have brought their less-than-£20k over to Les Ambassadeurs with the intention of upping it to a buy-in to the cash game itself! Some faces both new on the scene and relatively established may well be making their way into the game as it progresses through its two days thanks to this satellite, which could shake up the lineup with a randomiser or two…

Meanwhile Viffer has passed, I think, just once preflop since the game began (and this to a Dusty Schmidt raise with – even though the flop on that one came Schmidt gave this one to preflop re-popper Luke Schwartz, whose – and bet there – took it down). Schwartz has been involved in only a couple of pots – predictably vs. Viffer just a few minutes ago when he folded on the river to a big bet with the board reading . That time his pocket Sevens were in poor shape against the aggressive Peat’s , but really the fireworks between Viffer and everyone else started with the first deal and haven’t stopped.

21.00

20.54

Lights, Camera, ACTION! First two hands explode on to the table, prompting Bonomo to say, “I don’t know what’s going on here – the cameras have everyone acting crazy?!” All the initial action is in the hands of Viffer, Jennifer Tilly and Paul Marrow.

Let’s just say the first hand saw a very unconventional hand from Viffer taking on the more staid Big Slick of Paul Marrow, but even the eyebrow-raising first pot was just a warmup for hand #2. Marrow was again involved, with David ‘Viffer’ Peat re-raising with and picking up both Marrow (holding ) and a flat-calling Jennifer Tilly with .

The flop: . Viffer bet £500, and Tilly made it £1,500! Flat from Marrow with the straight draw. Threeway to the turn: . Now Viffer bet a chunky £3k! Too much for Marrow, but Tilly made the call. The river was pretty interesting – Viffer quickly moved all-in, and now the pressure was on Tilly to call for her whole stack on the second hand of the game! A lot of consideration later, and she finally gave it up – shown the Nine for her troubles.

With her foot still on the gas, she picks up pocket Jacks the next hand, and this time yet again confronts David Peat, whose was by far the best hand he’s played so far, and one he was taking all the way to a preflop all-in. She made the call this time, and her race quickly became one-horse, as she flopped a third Jack and found Viffer drawing dead on the turn. Plenty of excitement ensued (I’m pretty sure I heard her shout, “GENIUS!” through the headphones of the commentators) and the game rolls on!

20.31

Here we go! The eight players take their seats… Jennifer Tilly, giving Les Ambassadeurs a run for its money in the glitz stakes, sparkling nearly as much as Paul Marrow’s silver suit… Luke Schwartz gets the biggest reaction (any audience noise = good audience noise, presumably) to his arms-raised entrance, and Neil Channing’s music choice of ‘Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want’ by the Smiths wins the Party Poker Blog Most Leftfield Yet Somehow Compelling Music prize. Viffer, Schmidt, Grondin and Haxton too are ready to go and any minute now the first chips will hit the felt. Top notch commentating team Jesse May and Justin Bonomo are poised and ready, and this is guaranteed to be a fascinating mix of players and table talk, on and off the felt.

19.55

The players are gathering, the glamorous Mayfair stage is set, and the coffee machines are surely getting a last-minute tune-up as hardcore cash players prepare to embark on 48 hours of live poker. So here’s the starting lineup, eager as greyhounds to chase the railbound rabbit of the five figures in cash sitting in front of each and every one of their opponents:

Seat 1: Jennifer Tilly – £20,000
Seat 2: Dusty Schmidt – £20,000
Seat 3: Isaac Haxton – £20,000
Seat 4: Paul Marrow – £10,000
Seat 5: David Viffer – £20,000
Seat 6: Luke Schwartz – £20,000
Seat 7: Neil Channing – £20,000
Seat 8: Laurence Grondin – £10,000

It’s going to be a seated marathon, so get ready for the action which is due to commence in around a quarter of an hour – 8pm UK time…