Dutch pro Ed de Haas is sipping espresso with his pinkie finger raised on high, English style. He’s enjoying the comforts that a stack of 72K affords him as irrelevant hands play out between the others. He sits sandwiched between two Team PokerStars Pros. Two his left Joe Hachem, and two his right Chad Brown.

Chad is the newcomer to the team having played a few EPTs and cashing in two already, including last year in this very room where he finished 33rd in the season three grand final.

Yesterday started well yesterday for the former actor turned poker pro. It continued to get better too, with Chad at one stage sitting with over 60K, before falling back after a pot he had to pull back from. Today, it's back to plan A with 32K.

“I have enough chips right now so I can survive a cold run of cards,” he said. “If I get some, at these levels, they have to hold up now. I had ace-king a couple of times, missed the flops, so had to get rid of them. I got some back with pocket tens. Not a big pot but it keeps me in the 30K range. Nothing substantial so far.”

Whilst Ed de Haas lives in comfort Joe Hachem is at the luxury level on over 120K, a work face of total concentration that was clear all day yesterday too, complete with silver mirrored shades and iPod.

He’s busy stretching out his advantage, raising hands in quick succession, taking pots without so much as a flop card on display and no one seems in any rush to step in his way. One hand does take a few steps further.

There’s an under-the-gun raise in seat four of 2,300. It gets back to Joe in the big blind who wants to see how much the raiser has. Happy with that he performs a methodical push with a stack of blues worth 20K.
His opponent twitches, plays with his chips a bit, breathes, looks at Joe then at the stack of blues, a foreboding position of strength that will cost this guy everything if he chooses to call. Does he want to go home now? Regardless there’s no change on Joe’s face. It’s take it or leave it. A minute passes, then two. He mucks his cards. Joe takes his chips back, up a little more.