Over 33% Off All Academies

The next Academy takes place at the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London on Saturday, August 20. The topic will be Poker in the Modern World with Alex Rousso, World Heads-Up Champion Nik Persaud and Blue Belt and recent iPoker $200K GTD winner Kevin Williams.

With the new month comes a new approach to Black Belt Poker Academies. The most notable change is the price; Academies were already a steal at £150, but we've decided to take it a step further by slashing over 33% off the entry fee.

At just £99, attendees can now hear from veteran pros such as Neil Channing and Richard Ashby, as well as UKIPT Champions Sam Razavi and Jamie Burland, for a bargain-bucket price and still have plenty of change left over to put their newly acquired skills into practice.

After garnering feedback, we've also opted to modify the structure of the Academies with a higher concentration of workshops and hand analysis. Players form a wide spectrum of skill level, so we'll be increasing the coach-to-student ratio and improving streaming so that players can be efficiently grouped and receive mentoring based on their own level of knowledge.

"Poker players are always looking for value," commented 2008 Irish Open Champion Neil Channing. "Well, this is about as plus EV as you can get. We're still offering the full six hours of training, but for less than a £100. It's a marvellous offer."

Poker scribe and Academy host Alex Rousso explained: "We want to bring more players, be more inclusive and have more intensive workshops... and it's going to be at a cheaper price. What are you waiting for?"

Poker is a constantly changing game and keeping up with the latest developments is hard work. Our expert tutors will make simple some of the cutting-edge tools and techniques to help you win money online. Attending couldn't be easier with numerous payment options available, including using Spending Points to purchase your ticket - check out our promotions page for all the details.

What's more, if you would like to attend future Academies, then you can take advantage of our five for four offer: for just £400, you can secure your seat in five Black Belt Poker Academies for less than the price of four. The subsequent Academy has already been set: Cash is King with Neil Channing, Sam Razavi and Alex Rousso on Saturday, September 3.

For more information, check out the site, or drop us a line at training@blackbeltpoker.com.

Vegas Prize Fund Pays Out $9.2K!

The 2011 World Series of Poker was a mixed bag for Black Belt Poker; although a torrid run of bad beats and cold cards left some of our players without a cash, we were graced with three final tables courtesy of Richard Ashby's double and Warren Wooldridge's memorable third place finish.

For the members of the Vegas Prize Fund, however, there's no doubt that this was a lucrative Series.

Earlier in the year, we served up an unbeatable offer: earn or maintain Orange Belt or above in the months of May and June and receive a free share of the Vegas 11's WSOP winnings for five pre-selected tournaments.

For many, this was merely business as usual, and a free slice of the Vegas pie; for others, it was an opportunity to test the Belt-Up Rewards system and taste the many benefits of playing with Black Belt Poker.

In all, our sponsored pros enjoyed the following cashes, 3% of which was destined for the Vegas Prize Fund.

Event 43: Adam Latimer -- $2,815 (260th)
Event 54: Jerome Bradpiece -- $3,088 (184th)
Event 54: Kevin Williams -- $6,012 (78th)
Event 54: Warren Wooldridge -- $288,946 (3rd)

In addition, WSOP Warrior Master League winner Hasmukh Khodiyara donated 1% of his winnings before cashing twice:

Event #54 -- $2,347 (338th)
Event #56 -- $18,346 (34th)

Black Belt Poker therefore locked up a juicy $300,861 into the vault, $9,232.76 of which made its way into the Vegas Prize Fund.

In all, 127 eligible Black Belt Poker players have each earned $72.70 from the comfort of their own armchair.

If you are one of those 127, then claiming your prize couldn't be easier: simply log in to the community and click the link at the foot of our Vegas Prize Fund page before Sunday, August 14. We'll then credit your Black Belt Poker account either on or before Friday, 19 August.

We're constantly looking for reasons to give our players money. Only two months ago, our four 'Slice of the Action' Orange Belt Freeroll winners won in excess of $16,000 thanks to Sam Razavi who took down UKIPT Cork for €46,710.

Check out our promotions page and Belt-Up Rewards System to find out why you should be playing at Black Belt Poker.

News - Elementary, My Dean Watson

Last Tuesday, 52 runners picked $5+0.50 out of their pockets and converged to the Black Belt Poker cardroom at 7.30pm for the penultimate outing of League X.

Leg 7 witnessed the usual thrills, spills and competitive, but friendly edge that has become a trademark of the BBP League. After all was said and done, a Yellow Belt emerged victorious.

Dean 'LAYERCAKE35' Watson didn't perform so well in Leg 6 and exited in 47th place. However, the man from Milton Keynes bounced back this week to claim the $83.20 first prize, 77 points, and the sweet satisfaction of taking down a League leg. The win has helped Dean leapfrog from 14th into 4th in the overall standings and he now has a total of 344 points.

Second place went to Brian 'brigal19' Gallagher, who won $57.20 and 69 points. The Orange Belt was 13th prior to Tuesday night, but now he's in 6th place in the standings with 340 points.

Fellow Orange Belt Jason 'Elysiumjay' Layland claimed third place, bagging $35.10 and 65 points in the process. He is now in 30th place with 217 points.

1st LAYERCAKE35 -- $83.20
2nd brigal19 -- $57.20
3rd Elysiumjay -- $35.10
4th stevegw -- $26.00
5th insider66666 -- $19.50
6th losbert40 -- $15.60
7th ourkidsid -- $13.00
8th bagpussrules -- $10.40

For the past two weeks, a certain Blue Belt has been leading the way in League X... no doubt eager to win our unique prize of scripting and acting out his very own poker fantasy alongside Black Belts Neil Channing, Richard Ashby and Sam Razavi.

Tom 'Werrrrd' Drew was on fire earlier in the league. He is yet to taste victory in League X, but the Blue Belt has enjoyed four consecutive top 10 finishes. I was beginning to wonder whether he was human. Last week, however, he stumbled out in 26th place, putting my mind to rest. This week, he managed another middling finish, exiting in 29th for 24 points. Despite those hiccups, he still sits in a comfy position with 420 points at the top of the table.

The seat for second place in the overall standings has changed occupants. Zoe 'ZoeRiZZ0' Orton-Jay finished 19th in Leg 7 to win 34 points. The Yellow Belt, and winner of Leg 2, now has 369 points and a chance to still knock 'Werrrrd' off of his perch to become our first ever female league champion.

Leg 1 winner Mark 'russellhansen' Brassington has dropped to third in the standings after only being able to muster up a 40th place finish for 13 points this week.

1st Werrrrd -- 420
2nd ZoeRiZZ0 -- 369
3rd russellhansen -- 356
4th LAYERCAKE35 -- 344
5th TopMossley -- 342
6th brigal19 -- 340
7th bagpussrules -- 337
8th 1080Sniper -- 336
9th UliKoko -- 335
10th RykanShadow -- 333

11th sceaga2 -- 326
12th thehingster -- 323
13th mork1971 -- 303
14th BoatDrink -- 301
15th stevegw -- 296
16th tristiano -- 289
17th nakgeela4 -- 280
18th losbert40 -- 270
19th RedKiteBlackBelt -- 268
20th insider66666 -- 265

An hour later, 15 players entered the $15+1.50 Deepstack Mulligan. Before Sean 'Snotterz' Fennessey left for Vegas to play in the WSOP Main Event (via the WSOP Main Event Mega Satellite), the Orange Belt won this tournament. Now he's back, he's gone and done it again!

1st Snotterz -- $112.50
2nd Ourkid888 -- $67.50
3rd CareybearBBP -- $45.00

With the finishing line in sight, players will have different motives for participating in Leg 8. Some will have their eyes on improving or maintaining their current positions. Some may just want to have a bit of fun before the league is over. Others, however, might want to derail Werrrrd's plans of league glory. If you're one of those people, please note that if Tom Drew is crowned champion after next week's final leg, he will become our first two-time league champion!

So, can Werrrrd hang on for one more week? Or will he fall at the last hurdle? Join us next week on Black Belt Poker for the final leg of League X!

To download the software, simply click here and follow the step-by-step process provided.

thehingster Binks Leg 6

Some of you may be enjoying the sunshine of Vegas, but here in London we've been graced by grey clouds and sporadic showers over the past few days. Typical. Yesterday wasn't much better either, but at least something came to the rescue at 7.30pm to brighten up our day.

Last night, Leg 6 of League X commenced in the BBP cardroom. 54 players entered the $5+0.50 tournament, one of whom was Andrew 'thehingster' Hingston. The Yellow Belt finished first and walked away with $86.40 and 79 points for his efforts. That victory has propelled him from 20th spot to 10th in the overall standings. He now has 290 points.

Coming in second was Andy 'RedKiteBlackBelt' Brisland, who bagged $59.40 and 71 points. The League IV champ, who went AWOL for the past two legs, is now 22nd in the table with a total of 232 points.

Fresh from cashing in the WSOP $10,000 Main Event, David 'bh0yw0nder' Docherty is now back on British soil and followed up his recent success by finishing third last night. The Blue Belt won $36.50 and 67 points in his first League X outing to date. He currently sits in the unthreatening position of 82nd.

1st thehingster -- $86.40
2nd RedKiteBlackBelt -- $59.40
3rd bh0yw0nder -- $36.45
4th TopMossley -- $27.00
5th PatchesOHoolohan -- $20.25
6th sceaga2 -- $16.20
7th stevegw -- $13.50
8th nickhem1 -- $10.80

After Leg 6, the top three positions in the league are still being held by the same players.

Unable to keep his run of good form going, Blue Belt Tom 'Werrrrd' Drew stuttered this week and exited in 26th place for 30 points. Despite that, he still leads the way with 396 points! At least we know he's human now.

Mark 'russellhansen' Brassington wasn't able to capitalise on Werrrrd's slip-up and remains in second place. The Yellow Belt, who couldn't improve on last week's 22nd place finish, exited in 46th place this time, picking up 10 points. He now has a total of 343 points.

Third placed Zoe 'ZoeRiZZ0' Orton-Jay performed much better than last week. In Leg 5 she picked up only 16 points after finishing 35th. This week, she secured 11th place for 44 points. Her combined total is 335 points.

1st Werrrrd -- 396 points
2nd russellhansen -- 343 points
3rd ZoeRiZZ0 -- 335 points
4th TopMossley -- 305 points
5th 1080Sniper -- 305 points
6th RykanShadow -- 301 points
7th sceaga2 -- 300 points
8th UliKoko -- 297 points
9th mork1971 -- 292 points
10th thehingster -- 290 points

11th bagpussrules -- 288 points
12th BoatDrink -- 284 points
13th brigal19 -- 271 points
14th LAYERCAKE35 -- 267 points
15th tristiano -- 260 points
16th FlopTheNuts77 -- 254 points
17th eixip50 -- 237 points
18th KGB386 -- 236 points
19th adgolf -- 235 points
20th stevegw -- 235 points

An hour later, the $15+1.50 Deepstack Mulligan attracted seven runners. Brian 'Cranfield' Cunningham claimed the spoils.

1st Cranfield -- $105.00
2nd ourkidsid
3rd russellhansen

There are two legs of League X to go and you still have time to make an impact on the final standings. The winner of League X will be whisked away to a secret location to act out their own scripted poker fantasy alongside Black Belts Neil Channing, Richard Ashby and Sam Razavi.

To download the software, simply click here and follow the step-by-step process provided.

O'Dea & Holden Make November Nine

On July 7, 2011, the third largest tournament in poker history kicked off, as a soon-to-be field of 6,865 commenced their journey through the $10,000 WSOP Main Event mindfield in the hopes of realising their dreams and snapping up bracelet gold.

As has been the tradition since 2008, the route to victory is a two-step process, with the first goal being to become one of nine last men standing, who will then return in four months time to battle for the honour of having their picture adorn the Amazon Room walls.

After a near two weeks of blood, sweat and tears, our November Nine finally emerged from the smoke, all guaranteed a minimum payout of $782,115 and a permanent spotlight beaming above their heads for the remainder of the year. And what an eclectic bunch; no fewer than six nations represented with Martin Staszko of the Czech Republic leading the way with a whopping 40,175,000.

Thankfully, the United Kingdom are represented once again after an unwelcome hiatus last year, Sam Holden of Canterbury, England looking to go one better than Julian Gardner in 2002 and become his country's first ever WSOP Champion. However, he's facing a steeper incline than his opponents, echoing the position of James Akenhead two years prior as the short stack of the table with 12,375,000.

A student turned full-time poker pro, 22-year old Sam made his first trip to Vegas last September, but this was his debut at the World Series of Poker. His prior tournament experience has been predominately in UKIPTs, winning a side event in Newcastle and finishing 12th in the Edinburgh Main Event. Meanwhile, he has also been playing on Black Belt Poker, reaching as high as Green Belt in the Belt-Up Rewards system.

Commencing Day 8 with 4,740,000, Sam was near the bottom of the pack, but enjoyed a lucrative start when he doubled through Ben Lamb with A-J verses A-8. He then eliminated Ryan Lenaghan with A-Q versus A-8 to surpass the ten million mark before an uncontested four-bet shove gave him enough chips to eek into the final ten in eighth place with 12,925,000.

As expected, the bubble would prove a lengthy process and despite starting fifth in chips, it would be American Jason Hewitt who would feel its splash doubling up both Matt Giannetti and Badih Bounahra, before being out-flipped with 3-3 versus K-J on a Q-T-7-A-K board.

The most nerve-wracking moment, however, was endured by Giannetti: with Ben Lamb three-betting Pius Heinz's open of 1.1 million to 3.1 million, Giannetti shoved 8.4 million with Js-Jc and was called by Lamb's Kh-9s. The Th-6d-3h flop seemed safe enough, but the 7h turn gave him the sweat of his life. Nevertheless, the As river was a blank and he doubled through. After heading in as the short stack, he ended in third with 24,750,000.

Sam, meanwhile, proved that despite his tender years, he was as fearless as they come, nonchalantly soaking up the gleam of the camera lens and never allowing the gravity of the occasion to get the better of him. Over the four hours, he kept a relatively low profile, getting an early three-bet push through and a further squeeze to survive the most expensive bubble in poker.

Crossing the Irish Sea, Dublin will have been going bananas yesterday as Eoghan O'Dea also made the November Nine, ending proceedings second in chips with 33,925,000. He started the bubble as chip leader with 41,600,000, but slipped into second after a few three-bets went awry. Regardless, he's still in great shape, and will be well-supported come November when he vies to echo Noel Furlong's achievement from 1999.

On this particular O'Dea, Sam and Eoghan knew when to Holden. We wish them both the best of luck on their return trip to Vegas.

The final chips counts for the November Nine are:

Martin Staszko (Czech Republic) -- 40,175,000
Eoghan O'Dea (Ireland) -- 33,925,000
Matt Giannetti (United States) -- 24,750,000
Phil Collins (United States)-- 23,875,000
Ben Lamb (United States) -- 20,875,000
Badih Bounahra (Belize) -- 19,700,000
Pius Heinz (Germany) -- 16,425,000
Anton Makievskyi (Ukraine) -- 13,825,000
Samuel Holden (United Kingdom) -- 12,375,000

Schedule/Results page...
Live coverage/updates...

Reports:

Vegas 11: Operation Bracelet
Interview: Ashby Going for Bracelet #2
Richard Ashby Finishes Fourth in Event #11
Two Blue Belts; Two Cashes
3 Yellow Belts Win $13K Packages
Ashby Denited Hattrick in $10K PLO
Ladies Saga; Orange Belt Cashes
Three of a Kind; Wooldridge Hits WSOP Final
Warren Wooldridge Finishes Third in Event #54
Day 1C: The Magnificent Seven
Day 1D: Five Alive
Day 2A: Last Level Massacre
Day 2B: Another Five Survive
Day 3: Three Is the Magic Number
Day 4: Last Man Standing
Day 5: Less Is Moore

Galleries:

Vegas 11 - Meet the Team
Meet the Mansion
BBP/WSOP in Pictures
WSOP Event #54 in Pictures
WSOP Main Event in Pictures

Vegas 11 Interviews:

Richard Ashby
Jerome Bradpiece
Adam Latimer
Warren Wooldridge
Jamie Burland
Kevin Williams
David Docherty
Nik Persaud
Sam Razavi

Vegas Cherry Articles:

Hugo Martin
Jamie Burland
Kevin Williams
Barny Boatman

Blogs:

A Happy Median - Snoopy
No Novacaine; It Dulls the Senses - Neil Channing
TiLT, Clowns & A Small High
Moving House is Stressful - Warren Wooldridge
Unjust Action - Adam Latimer
Form - Kevin Williams
Lucky Number Seven - Snoopy
Colemas, Cork & Changing at O'Hare
Starting High - Richard Ashby
Keeping the Faith - David Docherty
Escape from L.V - Snoopy
Who's the Boss? - Neil Channing
Snoopy - It's About Time
And Now, The End Is Near

Other WSOP Content:

Vegas, Baby - Jerome Bradpiece
Vegas: Advice from the Pros
Paint It Black - Part One: Wassup With WSOP?
Cashing In; Where to Play Cash in Vegas - Sam Razavi
Snoopy's Top 10 Las Vegas Tips
For the Love of Ivey
Cody, Perrins & The UK Upsurge
Chufty Makes Second Final Table
Paint It Black - Part Two: The Wait to Regulate
Interview - Jared Tendler
Vegas 11 - Live WSOP Coverage
The Variance of Vegas
Moorman Talks Numbers
How to Approach the WSOP Main Event
The Standard of the Main Event
The Guy We Love to Hate
Interview: JP Kelly
Interview: Sam Holden
Interview: Eoghan O'Dea

Day 5: Less Is Moore

Last month, iPoker hosted a mega satellite for the $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event with an incredible 30 guaranteed seats up for grabs. In the end, just 586 stumped up the $500+35 buy-in fee, meaning that there was an overlay of almost $100,000.

If that wasn't enough to stop you going out for the evening, we offered a mouth-watering offer exclusive to Black Belt Poker players: if you qualified through the satellite and cashed in the Main Event, we'd buy you into next year's event, absolutely free.

Greg 'Porjas' Moore did exactly that.

Married with one daughter, Greg Moore is a poker dealer from Sutton who's likely seen more hands than Doyle and Hellmuth combined. Despite spending most of his time watching hands, that night, he was receiving them, as he became one of three Black Belt Poker qualifiers to earn entry into the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

A few weeks on, and Greg was the last man standing in the biggest poker event of the year, cashing alongside Vegas 11 members Jamie Burland and David Docherty, before becoming the only player to progress into Day 5. After a hard-fought battle, he fell on the final level of the day, cashing in 157th place for $54,851.

Greg entered the final day with 305,000, just over half the average and with 378 remaining. Sandwiched between November Niner Joseph Cheong and former Poker Million runner-up Eoghan O'Dea, Greg was in for a tough day, but it initially appeared as though the Poker Gods were smiling upon him as he doubled up with T-T versus A-K after being cold-four bet behind.

Life would become even rosier soon after as a short stack pushed all in for 200,000 and Greg once again looked down at T-T. He quickly made the call and duly survived a raggy board against A-9 suited. After being as quiet as a nun in a library for the opening couple of levels, Greg suddenly found himself up to 600,000 and in with a great shot of making it through yet another day.

Unfortunately, Greg's fortune made an unwelcome U-turn, and after losing a pot with A-9 versus Q-J on a K-T-x-A-x board (he check-called bets of 40,000 and 125,000 on the turn and river), the cards dried up and the blinds caught up. Eventually, he found himself down to just 10 big blinds and in desperate need of another double-through.

With the blinds at 10,000 and 20,000, Greg played his final hand of the 2011 WSOP, moving all in for around 10 big blinds with Ad-Jd and being looked up by As-Ts. The Qh-Qs-Td flop was a heartbreaker, and despite the deceptive flush draw on the Qd turn, Greg was left drawing to an ace from space or a king of diamonds for the Royal Flush. Neither arrived on the 9c river, and Greg's incredible journey had come to an abrupt end.

For his first World Series, Greg's performance was incredible, surviving 97.7% of a 6,865 field and leaving Vegas with his meatiest payday to date. Prior to this, his biggest result was £657 two years ago in a £200 event. This was slightly more, and Greg could cross the Atlantic knowing that he'd officially defeated Vegas.

Today marked the end for Black Belt Poker's WSOP venture. It's been two months of ups and downs, with cold cards and bad beats saved by the occasional moment of magic. Overall, we took away $734,962, with the two shining moments being Richard Ashby's consecutive final tables, and Warren Wooldridge's third place finish in Event #54. We didn't get the gold, but we came mighty close.

The final Main Event results were as follows:

Alex Rousso -- eliminated on Day 2A
Ben Meredith -- eliminated on Day 3
David Docherty -- eliminated on Day 4 (424th, $27,103)
Gareth Alder -- eliminated on Day 2A
Greg Moore -- eliminated on Day 5 (157th, $54,851)
Hasmukh Khodiyara -- eliminated on Day 3
Jamie Burland -- eliminated on Day 4 (525th, $23,876)
Jeremy Rickard -- eliminated on Day 3
Jerome Bradpiece -- eliminated on Day 2A
Kevin Williams -- eliminated on Day 2A
Neil Channing -- eliminated on Day 3
Nik Persaud -- eliminated on Day 3
Owen Robinson - eliminated on Day 1D
Sam Razavi -- eliminated on Day 3
Sean Fennessey -- eliminated on Day 3
Tristan McDonald -- eliminated on Day 2A

Schedule/Results page...
Live coverage/updates...

Reports:

Vegas 11: Operation Bracelet
Interview: Ashby Going for Bracelet #2
Richard Ashby Finishes Fourth in Event #11
Two Blue Belts; Two Cashes
3 Yellow Belts Win $13K Packages
Ashby Denited Hattrick in $10K PLO
Ladies Saga; Orange Belt Cashes
Three of a Kind; Wooldridge Hits WSOP Final
Warren Wooldridge Finishes Third in Event #54
Day 1C: The Magnificent Seven
Day 1D: Five Alive
Day 2A: Last Level Massacre
Day 2B: Another Five Survive
Day 3: Three Is the Magic Number
Day 4: Last Man Standing

Galleries:

Vegas 11 - Meet the Team
Meet the Mansion
BBP/WSOP in Pictures
WSOP Event #54 in Pictures
WSOP Main Event in Pictures

Vegas 11 Interviews:

Richard Ashby
Jerome Bradpiece
Adam Latimer
Warren Wooldridge
Jamie Burland
Kevin Williams
David Docherty
Nik Persaud
Sam Razavi

Vegas Cherry Articles:

Hugo Martin
Jamie Burland
Kevin Williams
Barny Boatman

Blogs:

A Happy Median - Snoopy
No Novacaine; It Dulls the Senses - Neil Channing
TiLT, Clowns & A Small High
Moving House is Stressful - Warren Wooldridge
Unjust Action - Adam Latimer
Form - Kevin Williams
Lucky Number Seven - Snoopy
Colemas, Cork & Changing at O'Hare
Starting High - Richard Ashby
Keeping the Faith - David Docherty
Escape from L.V - Snoopy
Who's the Boss? - Neil Channing
Snoopy - It's About Time

Other WSOP Content:

Vegas, Baby - Jerome Bradpiece
Vegas: Advice from the Pros
Paint It Black - Part One: Wassup With WSOP?
Cashing In; Where to Play Cash in Vegas - Sam Razavi
Snoopy's Top 10 Las Vegas Tips
For the Love of Ivey
Cody, Perrins & The UK Upsurge
Chufty Makes Second Final Table
Paint It Black - Part Two: The Wait to Regulate
Interview - Jared Tendler
Vegas 11 - Live WSOP Coverage
The Variance of Vegas
Moorman Talks Numbers
How to Approach the WSOP Main Event
The Standard of the Main Event
The Guy We Love to Hate
Interview: JP Kelly

Day 4: Last Man Standing

At the start of day 4, Greg Moore was one of three Black Belt Poker survivors from the 6,865 field, and one of 852 players looking to eek into the money and take away a minimum of $19,359. For Greg, that money jump was worth even more, as he would also secure his entry into next year's Main Event courtesy of Black Belt Poker.

Coming into the day with an above average 286,500 and just 159 away from the money, Greg comfortably made it into the money. With hand-for-hand in operation, we entered that bizarre bubble period that is unique to the World Series of Poker: a room full of super tight exit holes, Jack Effel threatening players with penalties as they continue to leave their seats like overexcited children on Christmas Eve, and the surreal sight of seeing a domino of dealers stand from their seats.

Immediately following six hands of squeaky bum time, the words "all-in and a call" rattled through the Amazon Room and a lengthy queue for the cashier desk began snaking its way down the corridor. One man joining the line was Jamie Burland. Having finished Day 1 with less than his starting stack, ended Day 2 with precisely his starting stack, and concluded Day 3 with a modest 103,500, he performed remarkably well to come away with some bacon, showing the patience of a chess master and a never-say-die attitude that would have made Rocky look like a wimp.

Unfortunately, it couldn't quite last, and after dwindling down to just one 25,000 chip, he found T-7 unable to topple A-Q despite improving to two pair on a 7-A-Q-J-T board. It was a bizarre hand, Jamie failing to announce raise and later calling the clock in the side pot. Nevertheless, the end result would have been the same, and he took home $23,876 for his troubles.

David Docherty soon followed. He'd been up and down like a seesaw on forward wind, but was ultimately desaddled by a couple of cowboys. With his open to 17,000 three-bet to 31,000 and shoved on for 200,000, David decided to make the call with A-K of diamonds, but was unlucky to run into kings and queens. The good news is that he spiked his bullet on the turn; the bad news is that a king had already hit the flop. $27,103 for 424th place was his consolatory prize.

This, of course, meant that Greg was the last man standing, guaranteed $30,974 and the opportunity of becoming a member of the November Nine. His journey wasn't easy, however; along the way, he doubled through with K-J versus A-Q, and A-9 versus T-T. The bottom line, however, is that he's survived to Day 5 and will be returning with 305,000.

Greg's already sorted out his summer hols for next year; can he add a six-figure sum to the spending balance? Find out tomorrow, only on Black Belt Poker. 378 remain including JP Kelly, Ben Lamb, Allen Cunningham, Sorel Mizzi and Daniel Negreanu. Manoj Viswanathan is the chip leader with 2,115,000.

Follow the updates here from 12pm Vegas time...

Alex Rousso -- eliminated on Day 2A
Ben Meredith -- eliminated on Day 3
David Docherty -- eliminated on Day 4
Gareth Alder -- eliminated on Day 2A
Greg Moore -- 305,0500
Hasmukh Khodiyara -- eliminated on Day 3
Jamie Burland -- eliminated on Day 4
Jeremy Rickard -- eliminated on Day 3
Jerome Bradpiece -- eliminated on Day 2A
Kevin Williams -- eliminated on Day 2A
Neil Channing -- eliminated on Day 3
Nik Persaud -- eliminated on Day 3
Owen Robinson - eliminated on Day 1D
Sam Razavi -- eliminated on Day 3
Sean Fennessey -- eliminated on Day 3
Tristan McDonald -- eliminated on Day 2A

Schedule/Results page...
Live coverage/updates...

Day 3: Three Is the Magic Number

During this morning's car journey over to the Rio, we surmised that, on average, three of our ten remaining Black Belt Poker soldiers would live to fight another day.

Well, we had an average day.

As the final whistle sounded, three BBP logos remained visible, and they belonged to Jamie Burland, David Docherty and online qualifier Greg Moore.

Greg finished the day with the most chips, his 286,500 comfortably above the 241,725 average and making him odds on to make the money and earn free entry into next year's $10,000 Main Event, courtesy of Black Belt Poker.

He started the day in tough company with high stakes pro Justin Bonomo two seats to his right, although Greg would ultimately come out on top. Greg reached a three-way Tc-7c-4c flop with the young online pro, and after it checked around, all the monies went in on the Jd turn, Bonomo drawing dead with J-T versus Greg's Jc-Js. This was a crucial pot for Greg that elevated him close to 300,000, whilst Bonomo would never truly recover and exited soon after.

Perhaps the happiest bunny, however, is Jamie Burland, who ended Day 1 with his starting stack, finished Day 2 with precisely his starting stack, but concluded Day 3 with more than his starting stack - 103,500 to be exact. The UKIPT Brighton Champion never had an all-in showdown, but managed to grind his way up to the century mark by carefully selecting his spots and picking up pots uncontested.

David, meanwhile, was on a full blown roller coaster ride. Initially dipping down to 100,000 after running K-K into A-A, and A-T into a short-stack's A-K, he refound his form after flat-calling a raise with A-K, and calling an all-in squeeze for 70,000. The aggressor tabled T-9 suited. Despite a buttock-clenching K-8-7 flop, the turn and river bricked out and enabled David to bag up a respectable 143,500.

Of course, three survivors meant there were seven casualties, the first of whom was Jeremy Rickard, who was one of 30 players to win entry via iPoker's Mega satellite. He departed on only the second hand of the day, A-K unable to improve against Q-Q. Nik Persaud was perhaps even quicker; he departed so sharply that nobody was on hand to witness his exit.

Fellow short-stack Neil Channing followed despite getting his 14,400 up to 40,000. He lost out with A-Q versus A-T when a second ten reared its head through the window. He was joined on the rail by UKIPT Cork Champion Sam Razavi - Q-Q no match for K-K in a chunky 210,000 pot. "Mexico it is," he smiled. "Might squeeze in LAPT Brazil as a consolation." It's a tough life, but someone's got to live it.

After Hasmukh Khodiyara hit the deck (A-7 versus 8-8), Ben Meredith became involved in a whopping 350,000 pot. A short-stack shoved for 54,000 from under the gun and Ben reshoved one seat down with Q-Q. Everything was peachy until another player reached for chips and moved all in too! He had A-K, the short stack 7-7 and the board dealt a cowboy on the turn. To say Ben was gutted would be like saying Villa fans were mildly disappointed to see Alex McLeish take the helm.

The final man to be stretched out of the Amazon Room was satellite qualifier Sean Fennessey, who, like Greg and Jeremy, was participating in his first Main Event to date. With the closing moments looming and flights booked for the following day, he decided to gamble by pushing all in from late position with J-9. He received a call from A-K, but was unable to spike one of his six outs and was free to pack his bags for his return journey home.

All ten players put in a fine performance to make Day 3, but when the dust had settled and the smoke cleared, only three will be returning for Day 4 with a chance of leaving with some booty in the palm of their hands. From an initial field of 6,865 (the third biggest live tournament in history), 1,864 commenced Day 3, and 852 emerged from the other side. As such, we're just 159 places away from the money.

Join us tomorrow to see if the three Black Belt Poker players can avoid the splash of one of the biggest bubbles in poker.

Follow the updates here from 12pm Vegas time...

Alex Rousso -- eliminated on Day 2A
Ben Meredith -- eliminated on Day 3
David Docherty -- 143,500
Gareth Alder -- eliminated on Day 2A
Greg Moore -- 286,500
Hasmukh Khodiyara -- eliminated on Day 3
Jamie Burland -- 103,500
Jeremy Rickard -- eliminated on Day 3
Jerome Bradpiece -- eliminated on Day 2A
Kevin Williams -- eliminated on Day 2A
Neil Channing -- eliminated on Day 3
Nik Persaud -- eliminated on Day 3
Owen Robinson - eliminated on Day 1D
Sam Razavi -- eliminated on Day 3
Sean Fennessey -- eliminated on Day 3
Tristan McDonald -- eliminated on Day 2A

Schedule/Results page...
Live coverage/updates...

Reports:

Vegas 11: Operation Bracelet
Interview: Ashby Going for Bracelet #2
Richard Ashby Finishes Fourth in Event #11
Two Blue Belts; Two Cashes
3 Yellow Belts Win $13K Packages
Ashby Denited Hattrick in $10K PLO
Ladies Saga; Orange Belt Cashes
Three of a Kind; Wooldridge Hits WSOP Final
Warren Wooldridge Finishes Third in Event #54
Day 1C: The Magnificent Seven
Day 1D: Five Alive
Day 2A - Last Level Massacre
Day 2B - Another Five Survive

Galleries:

Vegas 11 - Meet the Team
Meet the Mansion
BBP/WSOP in Pictures
WSOP Event #54 in Pictures

Vegas 11 Interviews:

Richard Ashby
Jerome Bradpiece
Adam Latimer
Warren Wooldridge
Jamie Burland
Kevin Williams
David Docherty
Nik Persaud
Sam Razavi

Vegas Cherry Articles:

Hugo Martin
Jamie Burland
Kevin Williams
Barny Boatman

Blogs:

A Happy Median - Snoopy
No Novacaine; It Dulls the Senses - Neil Channing
TiLT, Clowns & A Small High
Moving House is Stressful - Warren Wooldridge
Unjust Action - Adam Latimer
Form - Kevin Williams
Lucky Number Seven - Snoopy
Colemas, Cork & Changing at O'Hare
Starting High - Richard Ashby
Keeping the Faith - David Docherty
Escape from L.V - Snoopy
Who's the Boss? - Neil Channing
Snoopy - It's About Time

Other WSOP Content:

Vegas, Baby - Jerome Bradpiece
Vegas: Advice from the Pros
Paint It Black - Part One: Wassup With WSOP?
Cashing In; Where to Play Cash in Vegas - Sam Razavi
Snoopy's Top 10 Las Vegas Tips
For the Love of Ivey
Cody, Perrins & The UK Upsurge
Chufty Makes Second Final Table
Paint It Black - Part Two: The Wait to Regulate
Interview - Jared Tendler
Vegas 11 - Live WSOP Coverage
The Variance of Vegas
Moorman Talks Numbers
How to Approach the WSOP Main Event
The Standard of the Main Event
The Guy We Love to Hate

TopMossley Topples Leg 5

US hip-hop group De La Soul believed that three was the magic number. However, it isn't always a welcome digit. You've heard them before; three's a crowd, the third wheel, the third party, etc.

For the past two weeks, Dave 'TopMossley' Hulmes has probably been cursing the number himself while lying in bed at night. The Yellow Belt finished third in Legs 3 and 4, and I was beginning to wonder whether he'd achieve a hat-trick by doing the same this week. The thought may have crossed his mind, but then... he went against the grain.

On Tuesday night, the Yellow Belt pocketed $100 and 75 points after besting a field of 50 players to claim Leg 5. The win has also propelled Dave into the top 20 where he currently sits 13th with 242 points.

No prizes for guessing who followed. Yes, it's him again. Tom 'Werrrrd' Drew continued his extraordinary run of good form in League X by claiming second place for $62.50 and 67 points. The Blue Belt is now perched at the top of the overall standings with a total of 366 points!

Last week, Andy 'BoatDrink' Butcher finished second. This week, he fell one place short by coming third. The Yellow Belt received $40, 63 points, and is now in 9th place with 248 points.

1st TopMossley -- $100.00
2nd Werrrrrd -- $62.50
3rd BoatDrink -- $40.00
4th FlopTheNuts77 -- $27.50
5th TeeDeeEye1 -- $20.00
6th thehingster -- $0.00
7th LAYERCAKE35 -- $0.00
8th slickpro -- $0.00

After Leg 5, Tom 'Werrrrd' Drew has now regained top spot from Mark 'russellhansen' Brassington, who could only muster a 22nd place finish this week. The Yellow Belt, who won Leg 1, picked up 29 points and is in second place with 333 points.

Third place remains the same. Yellow Belt and Leg 2 winner ZoeRiZZ0 was unable to improve on her 30th place finish last week, but still holds her position in the standings. She finished 35th, picking up 16 points. She now has a total of 291 points.

1st Werrrrd -- 366 points
2nd russellhansen -- 333 points
3rd ZoeRiZZ0 -- 291 points
4th RykanShadow -- 287 points
5th 1080Sniper -- 286 points
6th LAYERCAKE35 -- 258 points
7th UliKoko -- 257 points
8th bagpussrocks -- 250 points
9th BoatDrink -- 248 points
10th mork1971 -- 246 points

11th brigal19 -- 245 points
12th sceaga2 -- 243 points
13th TopMossley -- 242 points
14th adygolf -- 235 points
15th tristiano -- 228 points
16th KGB386 -- 225 points
17th eixip50 -- 221 points
18th losbert40 -- 214 points
19th FlopTheNuts77 -- 211 points
20th thehingster -- 206 points

Only four people turned up to the $15+1.50 Deepstack Mulligan, which took place an hour later.

1st 99Ranny -- $60.00
2nd JHobbit1
3rd losbert40
4th Cranfield

There are still three legs to go in League X and everything to play for. The winner will be taken to a secret location where they'll get to live out their own scripted poker fantasy alongside Black Belts Neil Channing, Richard Ashby and Sam Razavi.

It may appear as though Blue Belt Tom Drew is starting to pull away from the pack, but he isn't unreachable. Who knows, anything could happen. Join us again next week for Leg 6, same time (7.30pm), same buy-in ($5+0.50), same place... only on Black Belt Poker!

To download the software, simply click here and follow the step-by-step process provided.

Day 2B: Another Five Survive

Inevitably, Day 2 saw an 18 percent increase in numbers from the previous day as 2,490 crammed themselves into the Rio Convention Centre. On this occasion, it was time for the survivors of Day 1B and D to combine for another 10 levels of poker fun and frolics and whatever other delights the Main Event brings.

With five members of the Vegas 11 already through to Day 3, Day 2B played host to our online qualifiers, as well as Brown Belt Nik Persaud, all of whom had emerged from the final starting day with their tournament life in tact.

The success story of the day has to be Sean Fennessey, who is being heavily supported on the Black Belt Poker boards after kindly pledging a percentage of any winnings to the Vegas Prize Fund.

He got off to a frustrating start ("can't hit a set and have lost with kings three times"), but enjoyed a rush of cards at the tail end of the day to bag up an impressive 168,300. The key hand saw his Q-Q hold firm on a 9-Q-x-K two-club board against Ac-Kc, the 9 river giving him the full house.

Fellow qualifier, Jeremy Rickard, meanwhile, endured a frustrating day in which he failed to gain any momentum. He kept his head above water for most of the day, but post-dinner lost the majority of his stack with A-K on a king high board versus a flush draw which got there. He ended proceedings with chip/s and a chair: 13,600.

Greg Moore, meanwhile, was moderately content at the final whistle, despite being forced to endure a rollercoaster day. His stack fluctuated frequently, starting on 57K, rising to 72K, dropping to 27K, then 15K, 28K, 75K, 85K and finally the 67,500 he has now - a kangaroo on a bungee has fewer ups and downs!

Short-stacked, he doubled up twice, the first with T-T versus 7-7, and then the same hand against 4-4, this time making quad tens. At 85,000, he found K-K in the big blind, and duly three-bet a raise of 2,500 to 8,500. His opponent four-bet to 17,500 and Greg flat-called, but, sadly, was dealt a nightmare A-Q-x flop where he opted to check-fold.

Just a few tables down from Greg, sat WSOP superstar Hasmukh Khodiyara. Despite this being his first WSOP (he won a $20,000 package via the WSOP Warrior Master League), Hasmukh has surprised everyone with two cashes, including 34th in a $1,500 event for $18,346. Like Sean, he's also donating to the Vegas Prize Fund.

Orange Belts will be pleased to know that he's playing well, and was unlucky not to end the day with more. At one stage, he boasted 110,000 following a number of hands, one of which saw him extract three streets of value with A-Kh on a A-x-x-K-x four hearts board. However, it didn't last, Hasmukh card dead and unable to hit flops, before eventually zipping up a disappointing, but respectable 70,700.

"I thought I played well," commented Hasmukh. "There were some good players on my table, but luckily they were playing pretty tight. I played Eric Mizrachi, but, apart from that, I didn't come across any famous players."

Nik Persaud endured a similar day to Hasmukh, although finished on a more modest figure. "I was on 110,000 at one point," he reported. "Got a gift from a lady who shipped it all in with Q-J on a K-J-4 board after I'd check-raised with 4-4." Unfortunately, the gifts were discontinued when he lost a big flip with A-K versus 9-9, and ran A-5 into 2-2 on an A-2-9-5-4 board. Nevertheless, he was still alive at closing time with 21,200.

Nik and Jeremy may be struggling, but for all five players to once again dodge the Main Event minefield is a great result and hopefully a sign of things to come. Along with our survivors from Day 2, we now have an incredible 10 players heading into Day 3, all with varying stacks, but still in with a chance of making the November Nine.

To see if any of them can move one step closer, join us tomorrow, Thursday, July 13 for coverage of Day 3, in which we'll be offering updates on both the Vegas 11 members, as well as our online qualifiers.

Schedule/Results page...
Live coverage/updates...

Day 2A - Last Level Massacre

With five players already through to Day 3, and another five testing their luck today in Day 2B, you'd expect morale to be sky high at the Black Belt Poker mansion. However, the journey home felt like a funeral march as the hearse escorted the victims of a last level massacre that left the Vegas 11 licking their collective wounds.

The entire team had, at one stage during the day, surpassed the century mark, but only one returned with six figures next to his name.

Captain Channing had been more active than a Vegas hooker, on top of his game and confident mood, but lost all momentum and endured a nightmare final few levels as his stack continued to plummet. In the final hour, he lost a battle of the blinds with Chance Kornuth who pushed all in for 20 big blinds. On this occasion, jack-high > ace-high and although he managed to quadruple his bowl of rice, Neil bagged up a disappointing 16,400.

As Neil regaled the car with the tale of the tape, Jamie Burland barely said a word from the front seat he'd shotgunned. He'd progressed from his start-of-day stack, but after reaching the dizzy heights of 140,000, you could tell he was devastated to have dropped all the way back down to his tournament starting stack of 30,000. Not even a game of FIFA could soothe the wounds.

Ben Meredith was equally flustered with 54,000: "Worst four hours of live poker I've had a in long time - card dead and missed everything." In the vastness of the Amazon Room, he ended up on a table with best friend Sam Razavi, who was equally dejected, despite his 97,000. After all, he had been as high as 155,000.

Only David Docherty was entitled to smile, playing out of his skin to reach a final count of 224,900. His cap bore the slogan: "Float like a butterfly,"and he followed that mantra to the letter. In one key hand, he flat-called a cold-four-bet with 9d-8d, and then fired 17,600 on the Kd-T-5c after it had been checked to him. The aggressor relenquished his hand and David showed an 8.

Of course, every funeral has to have a daisy-pusher; we had five. The first man to drop was Tristan McDonald. He arrived with a short stack and was unable to out-flip 8-8 with A-J. Then we lost Kevin Williams, who moved all in with 6c-5c on a 2-7c-8-8c board but couldn't improve against A-8. Black Belt Poker Academy Alex Rousso departed at the fina hour, losing most of his stack with kings versus jacks. Then, right at the death, Jerome Bradpiece bit dust, never fully recovering from an earlier 'flip (A-T versus 9-9) and, in his own words, "murdering the rest."

Gareth Alder followed suit. A Green Belt in the Belt-Up Rewards System, he receives monthly 1-1 Enlightenment mentoring sessions, and has been blogging about his progress on the site. Unfortunately, we can't teach him to dodge bad beats as he crashed out with 9-9 versus K-4. It happened the painful way: 4 on the flop... and a 4 on the river.

As Jimmy Greaves once said, "It's a funny ol' game," and at the start of the day, and even the tournament, having five players reach Day 3 in tact would have succeeded expectations. But given the story of the day, nobody was singing a happy song. The bottom line, however, is they're still alive, and as long as you have a chip and a chair, you're still in with a chance of fulfilling the dream.

Chasing that goal today in Day 2B are our qualifiers Sean Fennessey, Greg Moore, Jeremy Rickard and WSOP Warrior Master League winner Hasmukh Khodiyara, as well as World Heads-Up Champion Nik Persaud. If they survive, they'll join the five Vegas 11 members on Thursday for Day 3 when you'll be able to follow their progress via our Vegas tab/page.

Alex Rousso -- eliminated
Ben Meredith -- 54,400
David Docherty -- 224,900
Gareth Alder -- eliminated
Jamie Burland -- 30,000
Jerome Bradpiece -- eliminated
Kevin Williams -- eliminated
Neil Channing -- 14,400
Sam Razavi -- 97,000
Tristan McDonald -- eliminated

Schedule/Results page...

WSOP Content:

Vegas 11: Operation Bracelet
Vegas, Baby - Jerome Bradpiece
Vegas: Advice from the Pros
Paint It Black - Part One: Wassup With WSOP?
Cashing In; Where to Play Cash in Vegas - Sam Razavi
Snoopy's Top 10 Las Vegas Tips
For the Love of Ivey
Interview: Ashby Going for Bracelet #2
Richard Ashby Finishes Fourth in Event #11
Cody, Perrins & The UK Upsurge
Vegas 11 - Meet the Team
Chufty Makes Second Final Table
Paint It Black - Part Two: The Wait to Regulate
Meet the Mansion
Interview - Jared Tendler
Two Blue Belts; Two Cashes
3 Yellow Belts Win $13K Packages
Vegas 11 - Live WSOP Coverage
Ashby Denited Hattrick in $10K PLO
The Variance of Vegas
BBP/WSOP in Pictures
Ladies Saga; Orange Belt Cashes
Three of a Kind; Wooldridge Hits WSOP Final
Warren Wooldridge Finishes Third in Event #54
Moorman Talks Numbers
How to Approach the WSOP Main Event
The Standard of the Main Event
Day 1C: The Magnificent Seven
Day 1D: Five Alive
The Guy We Love to Hate

Vegas 11 Interviews:

Richard Ashby
Jerome Bradpiece
Adam Latimer
Warren Wooldridge
Jamie Burland
Kevin Williams
David Docherty
Nik Persaud

Vegas Cherry Articles:

Hugo Martin
Jamie Burland
Kevin Williams
Barny Boatman

Blogs:

A Happy Median - Snoopy
No Novacaine; It Dulls the Senses - Neil Channing
TiLT, Clowns & A Small High
Moving House is Stressful - Warren Wooldridge
Unjust Action - Adam Latimer
Form - Kevin Williams
Lucky Number Seven - Snoopy
Colemas, Cork & Changing at O'Hare
Starting High - Richard Ashby
Keeping the Faith - David Docherty
Escape from L.V - Snoopy
Who's the Boss? - Neil Channing

Day 1D: Five Alive

Day 1D is traditionally the busiest day of the WSOP Main Event; only two years ago, Harrah's (now, officially, Caesars Entertainment) were doing the unthinkable and turning players away due to lack of space. This year, they had no such intentions as a whopping 2,802 crammed into the Rio for the final leg of the opening heats for an overall field of 6,865.

Although the Vegas 11 played, and survived, Day 1C, Sunday played home to our online qualifiers as well Brown Belt Nik Persaud. former Grader Owen Robinson and WSOP Warrior Master League winner Hasmukh Khodiyara. The three qualifiers were Sean Fennesey, Jeremy Rickard and Greg Moore, all of whom had won entry via the iPoker Mega satellite which created 30 seats and a $100,000 plus overlay.

Echoing the achievements of the Vegas 11, Day 1D was yet another fruitful day for Black Belt Poker as five of the aforementioned players made it through to Day 2, all boasting more than their starting stack. The only casualty was Owen, who got it all in with a pair and a flush draw, but failed to improve.

Out of the qualifiers, it was maths professor Jeremey Rickard who shone brightest; he ended proceedings with a stack of 62,850, whilst Sean Fennesey of Fife, Scotland bagged up 35,200, and former Gutshot dealer Greg Moore 57,600. World Heads-Up Champion Nik Persaud, meanwhile, finished with 54,450.

Hasmukh earned his Main Event seat when he became the Ultimate Warrior, topping the WSOP Warrior Master League to win a Main Event package worth $20,000. Only a few weeks prior, he had attended the Black Belt Poker Academy: How to win your WSOP Main Event seat.

Despite this being his first ever trip to Vegas, not only did he make it through to Day 2 with a respectable 42,250 in chips, but he also cashed in two side events, including an impressive 34th place finish in a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event for $18,346, one percent of which he kindly donated to the Vegas Prize Fund.

Earlier in the week, and before entering the $10,000 battlefield, the qualifiers were invited to the Black Belt Poker luxury mansion. They were then taken to the Horseshoe Casino in Downtown Las Vegas where they tucked into a delicious steak courtesy of Black Belt Poker. Afterwards, Neil pointed out the location of one of his first ever Main Event starting tables (it was, we learned, right in the middle of the casino and next to people playing slot machines) as well as the Hall of Fame and Wall of Champions where Russ Hamilton still returns a smile.

Black Belt Poker have launched out of the blocks like a cheetah being shot out of a cannon, and can boast an incredible 15 players proudly wearing the logo for at least another day. The Vegas 11 contingent are playing Day 2A as I write. To follow their progress, simply check out the Vegas tab and hopefully I'll once again be singing their praises come Day 3.

Alex Rousso -- 67,675
Ben Meredith -- 61,350
David Docherty -- 61,900
Gareth Alder -- 73,600
Greg Moore -- 57,600
Hasmukh Khodiyara -- 42,250
Jamie Burland -- 22,775
Jeremy Rickard -- 62,850
Jerome Bradpiece -- 29,950
Kevin Williams -- 39,775
Neil Channing -- 56,700
Nik Persaud -- 54,450
Owen Robinson - eliminated on Day 1D
Sam Razavi -- 52,125
Sean Fennesey -- 35,200
Tristan McDonald -- 9,575

Schedule/Results page...

Day 1: The Magnificent Seven

After a disappointing turnout for the opening two days, Day 1C of the WSOP Main Event saw an impressive 2,181 salivating poker enthusiasts stump up the $10,000 buy-in fee for a potential two weeks of grinding en route to the November Nine.

Among them were seven Black Belt Poker sponsored pros including Neil Channing, Kevin Williams, Jamie Burland, Ben Meredith, Sam Razavi, David Docherty and Jerome Bradpiece. Also playing was Academy mentor Alex Rousso, Friend of Black Belt Poker Tristan McDonald and Green Belt Gareth Alder who qualified online.

Incredibly, and despite Black Belt Poker's mixed fortunes leading up to the Main Event, everyone survived the opening day.

Out of the Vegas 11, it was David Docherty who prospered the most, bagging up an above-average 61,900. The Scottish pro made two excellent river calls, the second of which saw him raise with Q-Q, before bet-calling a Jh-9c-5c flop and check-calling bets on a Js turn and 8s river.

Perhaps the most fun hand was experienced by Sam Razavi. He flopped a full house with J-J on a J-7-7 flop in a five-way pot with both blinds holding a 7. After trap-calling both a bet and a raise on the flop, Sam got it all in on the K turn against T-7. Thankfully, the flop action folded out a K-J as the K river would have given him a bigger full house. This pushed Sam up to circa 80,000, although he ultimately slipped to 52,125.

At the other end of the spectrum, Jamie Burland grinded out a stack of 22,775 after being dealt a starting table tougher than a two-dollar steak, whilst poor Jerome Bradpiece was the victim of an incorrect ruling and ended with 29,950.

The hand in question saw Jerome get raised with Kc-Jc on a Tc-3-2c-3c board. He threw in one 5,000 chip for the call, but was told by both the dealer and tournament director that it was a raise. His opponent quickly raised again, and following much deliberation, Jerome released his hand only to later learn that he was up against a smaller flush. To add salt into wounds, the tournament director later confessed that he'd made an error. Nevertheless, karma enabled Jerome to double through with A-K versus K-K and he will be returning with 29,950.

Elsewhere, Neil Channing made his first Day 2 of the Series with a highly credible 56,700, Ben Meredith packed up 61,350 and Kevin Williams, who endured a roller coaster of a day after running a straight into a bigger straight and kings into aces (a Q-J-9 flop prevented him from going bust), feels like he's got a million with 39,775.

Black Belt Poker have endured their fair share of beats over the course of the Series, so for every single player to end the day with their tournament life in tact was a splendid achievement, and one that showed just how focused they are on performing to the best of their abilities in the biggest event of the year.

Day 2A sees the survivors from Days 1A and 1C combine, and the team will be determined to jump all the hurdles the Poker Gods have to offer and make it through to Day 3. The action kicks off at 12pm (Vegas time), and you can follow their progress right here on Black Belt Poker via our Vegas tab in the menu.

Jerome Bradpiece -- 29,950
Neil Channing -- 56,700
Ben Meredith -- 61,350
Sam Razavi -- 52,125
David Docherty -- 61,900
Kevin Williams -- 39,775
Jamie Burland -- 22,775
Alex Rousso -- 67,675
Tristan McDonald -- 9,575
Gareth Alder -- 73,600

Schedule/Results page...