Time, Gentlemen (and Ladies!)

The first two levels have seen some impressive dwells over pots which have been pretty massive considering the starting blinds were just 25/50, and everyone started with 20,000 chips!

Two players have hit the rail - the first within 15 minutes. Young Vincent Diver was the victim of his own set of Aces. He'd raised under the gun, and picked up only the big blind for company to the Ad-Td-5c flop. Feeling quite reasonably that he'd hit this flop rather well, he bet 3/4 pot when it was checked to him, and received a call, and an offsuit 2 on the turn. "I thought he might be on a flush draw, maybe another set," said Vincent when he got raised here - opting just to flat call. The river was something safe-looking like a black Eight, and then it all went nuts - 2k, raised to 7.5k, minraise back, shove, call. His AAA was no good against the offsuit 3-4 of his opponent who'd spiked the perfect gutshot on the turn and got the lot.

On the other side of the room, and a level later, and Helen Saperia gives a full double up to Kim Vernon, leaving herself just 1k to play wth. Time was called on her (possibly by the lady herself, but it had been a good few minutes by this point) as she looked in tortured fashion at a 2c-Ad-Tc-Td board. Her opponent had bet out 5k into a very healthy 11k pot, and she was really in the tank, and it didn't look comfortable. She sat back, hand on forehead, then leaned over the table, talking to herself just a little for good measure...

Finally, "Time! One minute..." She suddenly announced, "All in," and Vernon, with a sort of shrug, put the last of his chips over the line too. He showed AK, now ahead of her A-2 which had flopped two pair but been counterfeited by the second 10. A harmless Jack on the river and Kim Vernon is over 30k.

Also chipped up:

Adam Snoopy Goulding - 35,000
Kevin Williams - 36,000
Antonis Poulengis - 36,500
Richard Wheatley - 28,000
Ross Wood - 27,000
Praz Bansi - 25,300
Dean Sanders - 35,000
Pratik Ghatge - 38,000
Nicholas Stinson - 34,000
Andrea Boschiero - 36,500

Very chipped down (in fact, busto):

James Pilgrim
Paul Marrow
Andy Ward (despite getting dealt Aces four times in the first level!)
Barny Boatman (saw him getting it all in as a short stack with AK vs TT, then watching the board run out 2s-5d-6s...3s...4h to chop it to the general amusement of the table)
William Davies



Hanging on by nails: Jesse May. A lot went in earlier when he too had time called on him after being raised to 11k by Kevin Williams on the river, the board reading 5c-Th-Qh-2d-3h. He'd bet 2k, and was now agonising over putting the rest of his chips on the line - he made the call with a five-high flush, only to be instantly shown the nut flush by Wlliams. Down to less than 1k and overheard recently being urged to shove preflop by his neighbour: "You've got to go all in,"