Maybe it's just the sense of occasion but Deauville always provides a shock hand to set the adrenaline rushing in the first half hour of play. Two years ago it was Julian Thew, a then future EPT winner, who busted World Champion and Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer within minutes of the start. Today, the poker gods were in the mood to shake things up again.
First we heard the rumbling noise from table eight. After rushing over to check survey scene, the reasons behind the rumble became clear...
Pocket sevens against pocket aces.
That much was hardly out of the ordinary. But the 9-K-7-A-7 board spoke volumes of the wreckage that was now littering the tournament room. Dutch player Chin Sin Chang was sheepishly explaining his side of things with his sevens, whilst Frenchman Ilan Rouah, wearing a novelty tricolour felt top hat, looked like it had just been proven to him that he didn't exist. He doesn't. He's out.
Meanwhile, on the soon to be TV table, Dario Minieri just made things a little fairer for his table mates, spotting them a 5K advantage. He just lost half of his stack in a mad raising, re-raising hand that saw him table 6-8 off-suit on a board of 2-J-4-5-T; easily beaten by his opponent's pocket sixes.
That's only the first half hour.
