There was a hectic end to day 1B at the EPT French Open, both in the poker room and the media centre. Players were falling at the same rate as internet connections – and both were failing fast.

While the hope is that this is the last you will hear of the technology issues, the carnage will be sure to continue in the same vein around the tables – 100 players begin but only eight will remain when the lights go out; 40 will get paid. They are fighting for the following prizes:

1 – €480.000 (plus €10,000 buy-in into EPT Grand final in Monte Carlo)
2 – €259.000
3 – €155.300
4 – €118.500
5 – €97.700
6 – €76.800
7 – €60.800
8 – €43.500
9-10 – €26.400
11-12 – €20.800
13-14 – €16.100
15-16 – €11.300
17-24 – €8.800
25-32 – €6.400
33-40 – €4.800

Sitting atop the overnight leaderboard is Jerome Douieb, a PokerStars qualifier from France. He was leading his table a merry dance late last night, showing down some fearless bluffs that were even eliciting applause from those donating the chips. I remember one in particular, when, looking at a flop of five-five-nine, Kristian Ulriksen bet, the player to his left raised and Jerome reached for a stack of yellow 1,000 chips and tossed them into the pot.

Both players agonised before both folded and Jerome turned over pocket sevens to anguished cries from both his adversaries. We’ll catch up with him later for more details – as well as all the action from this crucial second day.

Jerome has 143,000 chips, some 100,000 more than the median stack of 43,400.

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