EPT Barcelona: Early casualties

Vultures and reporters share a lot in common -- it would be difficult to contest that they're not pretty much the same thing -- and an innate attraction to carnage and carrion is probably their most pronounced similarity.

So it was that I, and nine or ten others, gathered around Ryan Jones's table as the cards hit the air for the first time this morning. The United States player, who cashed in W-Dollars on PokerStars to buy his seat here, had the lowest chip stack of everyone, and was shaping up for a fairly certain first-round push.

And push he did when it was folded to him on the button. Ole Brandborg, in the big blind, insta-called. Brandborg has 10-10, Jones showed K-8 and there was much sharpening of talons and pencils.

But, behold, not only a king on the flop, but also an eight, leaving Brandborg looking for one of the two remaining tens to send Jones out. Neither materialised, and Jones lived to fight another few hands, at least.

Daniel Stern, another W-Dollars player, was not so fortunate. Despite holding the chip lead after day two, the American was also short-stacked coming into today and shoved from the big blind, over the top of a middle position raiser. Stern had K-Q, his opponent 8-8 and there was no help for the overcards. Stern was first out today.

Following him hastily to the rail was Phil Starrs, from Scotland. The PokerStars player won his seat here when he took down an APAT event on the site. But his A-9d was beaten by the J-8d of Bjorn-Erik Glenne. All this was on TV as well.

So, within the first half hour, it's two down, 48 to go until the final table. We'll have all the details here.