Cards are in the air with 160 players on day 1b...

Down two flights, turn right into the casino, around the first bunch of tables, down a small gangway, down four steps, turn left past two tables and you run into table one. Here sit Polish player Dariusz Paszkewicz as well as Henri Boutboul, Ed de Haas, Joris Jaspers and Alexis Portal.

Alexia is new to the tour this season, better known in her native France as a television actress; she has on an Alice Cooper t-shirt. Yesterday it was KISS. As Alexia and Polish rocker Michel Wisniewski proved on day1a, the glam rock spirit is alive and well on the EPT.

But it’s Pole Dariusz tearing up the stage in these opening exchanges, as big Ed de Haas found out. It all started when the Dutchman put his sunglasses on ready to play a hand...

K-Q-3 on the flop.

A bet form Dariusz, which Ed calls. The turn brings a nine. Ed picks off some chips with his big hands, flipping them together a few times. It’s hard to see how much there is back there – his hands cover his stack and his cards - but suddenly 3,700 fires out.

Dariusz, in black cap and black sunglasses, shows little emotion at this and goes on with his tooth-pick chewing; a glass of water in front of him stuffed full with six slices of orange.

He calls. The river is a queen.

Ed checks his cards again and gently taps the table. Dariusz already has his 4,500 bet stacked and ready and almost hands it to the dealer - the kind of spontaneity that would cause anyone to remove glasses, headphones and audibly sigh, taking a few minutes to re-evaluate the whole scene. Dariusz continues working the tooth pick in the side of his mouth. Ed calls...

Pocket kings for Dariusz. That does it. Ed watches in slight pain. He looks again and again, but there’s no change. It’s a big pot for the pole that leaves de Hass with just a few hundred with a little over half an hour played.

***

Elsewhere the distinguished figure of Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer, complete with Panama hat, is back up the stairs, along the gangway and among the bunch of tables near the casino entrance. He spoke to the video blog team before play began...