Poker tournaments almost never take place in what non poker people would call the morning. Noon is about the earliest we ever kick off, and when a poker clock shows “AM” it is almost always the early hours.
Nevertheless the first two levels of any day is what we consider “morning” – and morning habits are universal. That means energy and activity, which in a poker context means chips flying into the pot and players streaking out the door.
Last night 207 players bagged up chips and in the first 90 minutes of this “morning” 32 of them have gone broke. As players filed away for their first break of the day, there were only 175 of them to clog the hallways and line up for the bathroom. That means that “only” 15 more players will need to bust and we are in the money.
Early fallers today include two of the biggest hitters: neither Theo Jorgensen nor Sebastian Ruthenberg could last the opening exchanges.
But another of Europe’s very best, Ilari Sahamies, has enjoyed quite the opposite fortunes. Sahamies is up to 945,000 and is on fire this week.
This would seem as good a time as any to follow up something we wrote earlier about Sahamies, when the brilliant Finn was crushing the Super High Roller event. In that earlier post, we mentioned that Sahamies had promised his girlfriend that he would not drink more than twice a week – a nugget of information that we have since been told is wrong.
The truth is, Sahamies has promised his girlfriend Elina that he will come home at least twice a week. PokerStars Blog apologises to the defamed and regrets the error.
Thing is, if and when Sahamies does return to his Helsinki home, and in whatever state of sobriety, he seems certain to be clutching a massive amount of money. The Finnish press are reporting that they have never seen him in a better mood than he is this week, and all press are reporting that they have never seen him play better poker.
Looking at his stack this morning, Sahamies even allowed himself a moment of self-reflection. He said that cashing in back-to-back live tournaments was rare.
“I think I will celebrate,” he said.
*****
PokerStars qualifier update:
Neither of our two PokerStars qualifiers from the opening flights managed to make it into the money. Both Paul Williams and Mark Suddes perished yesterday. But the garrison of qualifiers remains well populated and includes the two guys below.
On the left is Michael Johnson on the right is Eddie Tabas. Both are looking good for the money.
Video update:
