Early Action

There's an eerie atmosphere submerging this first level, the noise level close to zero as the hypnotic sound of riffling chips drowns out any hint of a conversation; clearly the players are fully focused at the task at hand.

I didn't catch any major pots on my last venture into the battlefield, but I did see Gunnar Ostebrod increase his stack by a chip or two. With the flop reading 7c-4h-2d, Osterbrod's bet of 600 was swiftly called, before the baby-faced Norwegian scared off his opponent with a 1,050 bet on the Jc turn.

Heading in the other direction, Ricardo Sousa (button) reached the river of an As-5d-Qh-5h-7s board versus a young Finnish opponent (small blind) who led for 500 on the end. Although reluctant, Sousa made the call, but quickly mucked as his neighbour revealed a triumphant Jh-5s for turned trips.