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WSOP 2016: Ladouceur will have to wait for another day

It's going to happen someday. Mark--nay, Marc--our words. At some point, Marc-Andre Ladouceur is going to make the final table of the World Series of Poker. It seems like destiny, and there were at least a few people who believed it would happen this year.

In 2011, Ladouceur placed 63rd out of 6,865 players. In 2013, he finished 13th out of 6,352. Later that year, he played the WSOP-E Main Event and finished 29th out of 375. He cashed in the WSOP Main Event last year, too.

It feels like it's bound to happen sometime soon, right?

Nevertheless, it won't be this year.

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As play winds toward the penultimate day of play for the summer, Ladouceur has fallen in 139th place. He earned $49,108, which is fine but cold comfort for a man who has his eyes so firmly set on the prize.

Ladouceur was the last among the PokerStars red spade brigade in the WSOP Main Event. His 139th place was the best among the PokerStars cashers who included Aditya Agarwal (621st--$18,714), Liv Boeree (528th--$22,648), Jason Somerville (320th--$32,130), and Jennifer Shahade (204th--$42,285).

While a disappointing end for them all, they aren't alone in their early finishes. PCA champ John Dibella, 2004 WSOP champion Greg Raymer, and other luminaries like Brandon Adams, Melanie Weisner, Dan Heimiller, Scott Montgomery, Todd Brunson, and Johnny Chan have all busted this evening.

While that ends the hope of a PokerStars spade in the November Nine, it doesn't end the potential for an amazing couple of days. At this hour, Dan Colman, James Obst, Max Silver, Tom Marchese, Per Linde, Kenny Hallaert, Vladimir Geshkenbein, and the irrepressible William Kassouf all have big stacks.

Regardless, we offer our sincere congratudolences to Ladouceur, a man who will someday make the November Nine. Indeed...Marc our words.


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is the PokerStars Head of Blogging. Follow him on Twitter: @BradWillis. WSOP photos by PokerPhotoArchive.com.



WSOP 2016: Collision course ends Shahade's run

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The world's richest dance floor

There is a dance people do. It happens in corridors and casinos. It happens festivals and fairgrounds. It happens anywhere too many people are in too small a space.

You know how it works. You see him coming. He sees you coming. You both want to be polite, but there is no structure to the crowd, and neither of you know which way is out of the way. So you step right, and he steps in front of you. So you step left, and he responds in kind. Eventually, one of you must take the initiative and decide for you both how you're going to avoid colliding.

Sometimes that works. Sometimes you end up in a chest-to-chest collision that maybe you could've avoided, or maybe not. Fate doesn't give a damn about you, and sometimes it just likes the laugh of watching you look like an idiot.

These kinds of collisions and dances happened every day of the World Series of Poker when the hallways outside were packed with throngs of distracted people in a hurry. Sometimes there were apologies. Sometimes there were just muttered expletives. It's the way crowds work.

Now we've reached the stage of the WSOP Main Event where only a couple hundred people remain. The hallways are easy to navigate. The real trouble is inside the Amazon Room where the dances and donnybrooks are happening at the tables.

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You can watch it happen as the nerves start to ratchet up. A player looks at his hand and chooses his path while someone across the table does the same. Before long, they are locked in this seated version of the hallway dance. One player insists on a path, and insists on being in the way. Unless one concedes, the collision happens, and each time they clash it can mean the end of the road for one or the other. It's the nature of poker tournaments. They are built on the idea that people are too stubborn, distracted, or otherwise mean to get out of the way.

That's where things stand here on Day 5 of the Main Event. Each passing minute offers another chance at a collision. We watch Marc-Andre Ladouceur and Jennifer Shahade, the last of PokerStars' official representatives in the field, and neither looks particularly happy about their day thus far.

"Eh, I'm still in," Shahade says looking down at a stack that is only 1/3 of the chip average.

Meanwhile, Ladouceur isn't looking much more pleased, despite having a stack much closer to the average. He takes the time to take a photo with a fan, but it's clear he'd rather be the guy who has enough chips to buy up all the little chips before the color-up.

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Marc-Andre Ladouceur

It would take only a 15-minute break to color up the chips, and just slightly more than that to end Shahade's day.

Just after she got back from break, she had one of those unavoidable collisions. She had aces. She ran them into queens. The board ran out a heart flush for her opponent. And that was it. She placed 204th for $42,285.

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Jennifer Shahade

While Shahade is among the latest victims of this silly dance we call poker, she will not be the last today. Before the chip bags come out, there will likely be fewer than 80 people left in the WSOP Main Event. That will only leave Sunday and Monday to play before we figure out which of these people will go to the big dance in November.




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is the PokerStars Head of Blogging. Follow him on Twitter: @BradWillis. WSOP photos by PokerPhotoArchive.com.




WSOP 2016: William Kassouf: The king of speech play seen and heard deep on Day 5

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William Kassouf: Easy to spot despite the camouflage

It has come to the time in this tournament when the ESPN cameras are sweeping along media row, catching nothing so much as a blur of illuminated apples on laptop lids with crooked spectres hunched the other side. "Content" must be thin on the ground. This is not just any old media, but the "poker media". A sorry bunch indeed.

But, yes, cameras are now swarming through the World Series of Poker Main Event tournament room. The content hunt is on. On the three feature tables, which are now separated from the remainder of the tournament room by a rail of advertisements and a channel of spectators, it means a silence has descended. But out in the field, the presence of a camera can bring dormant species to life.

William Kassouf is out in that field, sitting with around 4.2 million in chips, and if these camera crews are serious about getting themselves some content, they should deploy a full roving team to follow Kassouf's every move.

It's difficult to believe Kassouf needs introduction anymore, but there are still some people out there who haven't stood within 50 yards of him. Anyone ever within that radius will know this Brit: He's the guy who managed to get Vanessa Selbst to tilt off her chips to him at EPT London, and who has become a minor YouTube sensation thanks to his speech play at poker tournaments.



"You've got to enjoy it," Kassouf says during a break in play. "Speech play is a big part of my game. I don't just do it for the cameras, I'm doing it on the outer tables, any table, any player. I do it to get information from my opponents. I think there's a lot to gain from speech play."

william_kassouf_portrait_wsop_2016.jpgDespite having had only three hours sleep last night, and no breakfast, Kassouf says he is "buzzing" today, and is in very familiar voice. In between taking pauses to check his Facebook and Twitter page, where messages of support are pouring in, he is engaging every player at his table in conversation--if they're willing. Tony Gregg is largely stoic and silent, but Louise Francoeur and Jason Les are chatting along.

"It's not everyone's cup of tea," Kassouf says. "People don't like to give away tells. But the way I look at it, if I'm not asking the questions of my opponents, if I'm not speaking to them, then I'm not going to get the extra information that I want for myself."

He adds: "How you play poker depends on your personality. I'm a sociable, outgoing guy, always having a good laugh. Some people might not approve of my speech play but there's no malice involved. I don't come to berate any players, insult anyone, so if anyone thinks of it that way, they've got it totally wrong."

The televised hands against Selbst have brought Kassouf some notoriety across the UK and even to the United States. "When I come to Vegas, people say, 'Hey, you're the guy who tilted Vanessa Selbst. Good job, man, good job.' A lot of Americans relate to the Vanessa hand because they've seen it on YouTube. It's got 1 million views on YouTube, so a lot of Americans relate to it."

The world may end up seeing a lot more of Kassouf if his tournament continues as it has over the past few days. Despite the chatter, Kassouf says he is fixed on making a deep run and atoning for previous disappointment.

"It's going great here," he said. "I thought, 'This is the one.' I've come here to win. Vegas. The biggest poker arena in the world. World Series of Poker Main Event. It doesn't get bigger than this. I thought, this is my year. I wanted to make up for a few years ago when I actually made Day 4 but didn't cash...I lost to a one-outer half an hour before the money, but I'm certainly making up for it now."

There are strange times in the United Kingdom at the moment, with an uncertain political landscape and a currency reacting in shock to some recent upheavals. It means it's expensive in Las Vegas for a tourist from Britain--but only if you see the United States as a place to lose money. Kassouf does not.

"I've believed in myself from the start when I thought I'd buy in for ten thousand dollars like a boss, even with the pound/dollar rate being really bad," he says. "It's costing me nearly an extra thousand pounds to buy in this year compared with last year. But the way I look at it is that I came here to win. So if I win, I take dollars home and my dollars are worth a lot more in pounds. I've come this far."

On his rail stands his friend Alex from the Grosvenor Victoria Casino in London, where Kassouf plies his trade at home. "If he wins, it would be great for poker," Alex said. "He is number one. Nobody does it like him."

Kassouf politely asked not to be bokked--"It's just day five. We're not day 7 yet"--but allowed himself to ponder how a deep run will be greeted back home.

"Hopefully I'm going to do it for the Brits," he said. "Everyone's rooting for me back home in the UK. They're going crazy. It would be sick. It would be sick. I'd love it."

The unedited Kassouf

I talked to William Kassouf for four minutes at the first break in play today. Actually, that's not true. I asked him one question -- whether he now gets recognised in poker rooms -- and he talked to me. Here's what he said:

They do, all over the UK. They've known me for a few years and they know me more now, when I go round the circuits to EPTs, etc. When I come to Vegas, people say, "Hey, you're the guy who tilted Vanessa Selbst. Good job, man, good job." A lot of Americans relate to the Vanessa hand because they've seen it on YouTube. It's got 1 million views on YouTube, so a lot of Americans relate to it. It's got a lot of exposure online. It was a good situation at EPT London, twice, in back-to-back years against Vanessa. I've got nothing against her myself. I think she's a fantastic player, superb player, but I think she let the speech play and banter get under her skin in a six-day tournament and busted. That's what made for good TV. Because it was her. It was me being the local guy who qualified for £500 instead of £5,000.

I've got quite a few videos on YouTube, Facebook, having banter and that. I just enjoy playing poker. It's going great here. I thought, 'This is the one.' I've come here to win. Vegas. The biggest poker arena in the world. World Series of Poker Main Event. It doesn't get bigger than this. I thought, this is my year. I wanted to make up for a few years ago when I actually made Day 4 but didn't cash. That was back in the day when it was $19,500 for a min-cash, rather than what it is now, paying out 15 percent of the field, for $15K. That was pretty brutal. I lost to a one-outer half an hour before the money, but I'm certainly making up for it now.

You've got to enjoy it. Speech play is a big part of my game. I don't just do it for the cameras, I'm doing it on the outer tables, any table, any player. I do it to get information from my opponents. I think there's a lot to gain from speech play. It's not everyone's cup of tea, people don't like to give away tells. But the way I look at it, if I'm not asking the questions of my opponents, if I'm not speaking to them, then I'm not going to get the extra information that I want, myself. For me personally, with the speech play, I seem to get more information from my opponents whether they're strong, whether they're confident, what kind of holding they have, whether they want me to call or raise, why they're betting so much, why they're checking, are they trying to bluff me here, are they trying to trap. By engaging in conversation, I think I get more reads and more tells from my opponents. And it's more the psychological aspect of the game. That's what I enjoy, not the gamble, all in and call and winning coin flips, because I seem to run really bad in coin flips. But yeah, playing the whole psychological aspect of the game, post-flop, getting into my opponent's mind and reading them for what they have and trying to psyche them out, effectively, give them the speech effectively when I want them to call, and vice-versa. Represent the nuts when I've got nothing, and when I've got nothing, represent the nuts.

There's a long way to go, but it's been a good start to the day and hopefully I'm going to do it for the Brits. Everyone's rooting for me back home in the UK. They're going crazy. It would be sick. It would be sick. I'd love it. But I've believed in myself from the start when I thought I'd buy in for ten thousand dollars like a boss, even with the pound/dollar rate being really bad. It's costing me nearly an extra thousand pounds to buy in this year compared with last year. But the way I look at it is that I came here to win. So if I win, I take dollars home and my dollars are worth a lot more in pounds. I've come this far.

How you play poker depends on your personality. I'm a sociable, outgoing guy, always having a good laugh. Some people might not approve of my speech play but there's no malice involved. I don't come to berate any players, insult anyone, so if anyone thinks of it that way, they've got it totally wrong. Some people don't appreciate it, they don't like it, it gets under their skin, they tilt and they donk their chips off to me. That's their prerogative. But as far as I'm concerned, I'm doing nothing wrong, playing within the rules, keeping poker fun, enjoying the game. I'm getting the added benefit of getting reads from my opponents from doing it, so it's not just for show. I've been successful over the years with a lot of speech play. It's good for me, it's good for the game, and hopefully I'll spin it up and it'll be great for the game if I do reach the final table.

I've only had three hours sleep. I'm buzzing. I don't eat breakfast, I don't do breakfast. I'm used to going to sleep 6 or 7 in the morning and waking up 1 in the afternoon, as poker players do. I've been going to sleep here 5 or 6 in the morning, I went to bed at quarter past six this morning, and I was up a few hours later. Three hours sleep, no breakfast. I'm buzzing."


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WSOP photos by PokerPhotoArchive.com.



WSOP Main Event: The plot thickens

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We're making a TV show

Returning to the Convention Center of the Rio All Suites Hotel this morning it was clear that the World Series of Poker is coming to a close. The Pavilion Room is deserted, the Brasilia is not long for the world and the merchants in the hallways are packing up their wares.

This is the great poker paradox. On the surface it feels like the things are fizzling out, yet this is the time that it is growing ever more thrilling.

Of the 6,737 players who started this tournament a week ago, only 251 remain. They are now guaranteed at least $42,285 apiece, but there won't be a single one of them who hasn't double-checked the full payout schedule and allowed their eyes to linger for a while at the top. It's $8 million for the champion, and won't they all know that.

The identity of the winner won't be known until November, so it's a long way still to go. Today the plan is to play for five or six levels (to be determined by the rate of eliminations), before further attrition on Sunday and then a race to the final table on Monday. Absolutely every pot means something now, and with the full television stage now in operation--two side tables beside the central feature table, ringed by bleachers--the pressure will reach its peak.

When we left you last night, the invitation was to choose your own adventure as the tournament plays into its deep stages. A couple of the plot-lines have twisted out of shape and one or two others have now had their pages torn out entirely.

Jason Somerville will not be winning the 2016 WSOOP Main Event. He was knocked out late last night, in 320th place. But both Jennifer Shahade and Marc-Andre Ladouceur continue to fly the PokerStars flag, returning with 976,000 and 1.245 million, respectively. Both are a little lower than average, but may want to remember the departed Somerville's "Run It Up" mantra.

Two former WSOP Main Event champions are still in this one. Although Ryan Riess departed, Greg Raymer (992,000) and Johnny Chan (968,000) continue the hunt for another world title.

There's still a whole clutch of online bosses still proving they can play with real cards and chips. Shaun Deeb, James Obst, Tom Middleton, Griffin Benger, Ami Barer, Tony Gregg, Chris Klodnicki, Per Linde and many others are involved still.

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James Obst

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Tom Middleton

Of our behind-the-scenes heroes, only Kenny Hallaert remains. Victor Saumont was one of the last players to be eliminated before the klaxon sounded yesterday, ending his movie-worthy spin-up. But the new schedule for the Belgian Poker Championship will still have to wait while Hallaert shepherds his 1.684 million stack.

This may yet become the year we crown our first female champion in the Main Event, and the players left all have great form. Melanie Weisner has been a top-level grinder for several years; Maria Ho has been the last woman standing twice before in the Main Event, and Gaelle Baumann came 10th in this event a few years ago. That's the closest any woman has come to the November Nine since the concept was introduced.

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Melanie Weisner

There is, of course, one other potential storyline--the one that has proved the most durable over the years. We could be about to discover a new poker star, a man or woman who has flown under the radar until this point but is about to emerge in the most dramatic fashion possible.

Only time--specifically the next three days--will tell.


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WSOP photos by PokerPhotoArchive.com.



WSOP 2016: Pick your storyline as Main Event heads to Day 5

The bonhomie is almost off-putting. Two men in an elevator, trapped for a moment in a conversation about their futures, both still alive in the biggest tourney in the world and knowing that one or both of them could be exiled before midnight. But there they are, commiserating about the slings and arrows, the twists and turns, and all the hell they might soon face. They wish each other good luck, and they are sincere about it. Both knows they need good fortune, and they will take its wishes from anyone, even a man who hopes to kill him.

It's a good story, no? It's Westley and Inigo Montoya wishing each other luck before going to battle. It's two fighters touching gloves. It's where all good stories begin before the bloodletting begins.

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Featured table in action for the first time in the Main Event

Tonight, we have our pick of good storylines, and so do you. By this time tomorrow, none of these stories may have a chance. Right now, though, with a couple hours left in the day you can play Choose Your Own Adventure.

Another PokerStars Champion

Maybe it's a longshot at this hour, but we're biased and rooting for it anyway. With fewer than 400 players left in the field, there are only three PokerStars patches out there. They belong to Marc-Andre Ladouceur, Jennifer Shahade, and Jason Somerville. Each of them has a storyline of their own. Ladouceur began the day with a top ten stack. Shahade is deeper in the Main Event than she's ever been. Somerville is continuing to prove there are two sides to his personality.

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Jennifer Shahade

While these storylines remain, those of Liv Boeree and Aditya Agarwal ended today. Boeree (who is giving some of her winnings to charity) and Agarwal (whose progress we updated through his entire tourney) both cashed today but fell short of a Day 5 berth.

Another WSOP Champion

After the dinner break today, the first feature table of the Main Event formed, and it was easy to pick. Former champs Greg Raymer and Ryan Riess were both sitting at the same table, and there was no way ESPN was passing up that opportunity. Raymer doubled up within 25 minutes of sitting down to give himself a chance at his deepest run since 2005.

Meanwhile, Johnny Chan sat out in the middle of the room, giving the 2016 WSOP three potential repeat champs.

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Raymer and Riess

Online hero makes good

These days, most of the online heroes are also live heroes, so it's not particularly fair to call a player one or the other. Still, imagine the excitement in the online community if someone like Shaun Deeb, James Obst, Tom Middleton, Tom Marchese, Sorel Mizzi, or Chris Hunichen managed to make the final table of this event. Any of them are capable of a deeper run, and they all have the chips to do it.

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Shaun Deeb and James Obst


Behind-the-scenes guy steps into spotlight

There is a good chance you already know Kenny Hallaert, but you may not know he spends most of his working hours behind the scenes working on the Belgian Poker Challenge. Today, he is working to never have to worry about working again. He spent a good part of the day with the chip lead and still had an above-average stack heading into the last level.

Meanwhile, PokerStars' French blogger and filmmaker Victor Saumont is taking his time in the spotlight after spinning less than $600 into a Main Event entry.

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Victor Saumont

First female champion

It could happen this year. The talent among women in this Main Event has rarely been more pronounced. In addition to Shahade's climb through the field, at one point today two of poker's best, Maria Ho and Melanie Weisner were in the first two spots on the leaderboard. That's not to mention Gaelle Baumann and one of poker's funniest talents, Jamie Kerstetter, who were still in action late tonight. Any of them could win this thing.

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Jamie Kerstetter

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Maria Ho

While all of those stories are in play at the time of publication, anything could change in the next few minutes, and if not then, then by this time tomorrow. For now, think on the possibilities and let us know your favorite by tweeting us on our @PokerStarsBlog account.

After today, there are only three more days of play before we hit the November Nine. There isn't a lot more time for the storylines to change. Play resumes Saturday at noon Vegas time and will run all the way into the early Sunday morning hours. Stick with us for all the behind-the-scenes coverage. Who knows? We may just get a great story out of this one yet.




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is the PokerStars Head of Blogging. Follow him on Twitter: @BradWillis. WSOP photos by PokerPhotoArchive.com.



WSOP 2016: Kenny Hallaert riding, and boosting, the Belgian boom

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Kenny Hallaert: The BPC needs to wait until the WSOP is done

You could have forgiven Kenny Hallaert if he had decided to skip the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas this year. Hallaert is a busy man. Back in his native Belgium, he manages the Belgian Poker Challenge (BPC), a two-stop tour that visits the PokerStars card room at the Grand Casino de Namur as well as a second tournament in Spa. It is sponsored by the biggest online cardroom on the planet.

The latest BPC event wrapped in Spa at the beginning of June, just as the World Series was getting started. The next is due for just after the November Nine plays out--assuming Hallaert ever returns to his day job.

Sitting today at the table behind a 1.6 million stack of chips, Hallaert admitted that he hasn't yet finalised the schedule for the latest event, due to start in Namur on November 25. He is forgoing his office work for a tilt at the $8 million first prize here--and who could blame him. Returning to the Amazon Room today, Hallaert was the tournament chip leader of 800 left.


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He is now no longer at the top of the pack, although remains close to it in more ways than one. His stack is still top 20, but his neighbour Maria Ho became the first in the room to break the 2 million chip mark. She still has the second-largest pile of anyone.

Even before he started managing the BPC, Hallaert was well known in European poker rooms. He has final table appearances on the European Poker Tour, the Master Classics of Poker and the UKIPT under his belt. And he has made a huge success of the BPC. In 2014 in Namur, Hallaert's home casino, 683 runners created a €654,309 prize pool; in 2015, 680 contested €652,800. They are the biggest tournaments ever held in the country.

Remarkably enough, both tournaments were won by the same man: Arne Coulier, who added €101,075 to €113,820 in consecutive years. "Satellites on PokerStars!" Hallaert said as he filled us in on the details of the event, encouraging everyone to join the charge to Belgium.

Online poker is regulated in the country and has gone from strength to strength since legislation, boosted by Pierre Neuville becoming the first Belgian to make the WSOP Main Event final table this time last year. Triple Crown winner Davidi Kitai leads the country's money list, but Hallaert would leapfrog him if he finishes in the top three in this tournament.

If that was the case, and Hallaert was returning to Namur after playing the November Nine, it would surely be the place to be in the run-up to EPT Prague. As the man says, "Satellites on PokerStars!"

WSOP photos by PokerPhotoArchive.com.



WSOP 2016: Level-by-level with Aditya Agarwal

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Aditya Agarwal: Survived a grind on Day 3

Aditya Agarwal is playing his 11th World Series of Poker and, having cashed in five of his previous outings, is in confident mood ahead of this year's tournament. It makes Agarwal, the 31-year-old Team PokerStars Pro from India, an obvious candidate for someone to follow closely through his tournament. We're going to attempt to give a close-up insight into a player's journey through the World Series Main Event.

The plan is to talk to Agarwal at every break for what we hope is many days.

DAY FOUR, LEVEL 16
Blinds: 3,000-6,000 (1,000 ANTE)

In conversations with Aditya Agarwal this week, one word has been used perhaps more than any other: "Hopefully." It's certainly been spoken many more times than "aces" (Agarwal has had them once, on Day 1) and "kings" ("I had them once and lost with them," he said.) Instead this has been a masterclass in survival, picking spots and edging into the money--all drifting along a river of hope.

Agarwal returns today with 125,000, which is 21 big blinds for the first 30 minutes as they play the remainder of Level 16. After that, it'll be 4,000-8,000 and it will again be crunch time. Agarwal's only called all-in this week resulted in a double up not far from the money. Now he has cashed, he'll be looking for another double up to take him much deeper--and to allow the online tournament veteran to play his best.

"The table looks good, so hopefully," he said.

Here's Agarwal's Day 4 table:

Seat 1: Endre Sagstuen - 116,000
Seat 2: Fred Goff III - 509,000
Seat 3: Jasthi Kumar - 1,351,000
Seat 4: Jonathan Kosterlitz - 245,000
Seat 5: Jaroslaw Jaskiewicz - 134,000
Seat 6: Yaron Genut Ramatgan - 119,000
Seat 7: Aditya Agarwal - 125,000
Seat 8: Alejandro Anaya - 197,000
Seat 9: Steve Billirakis - 439,000

Hopefully this will continue for another day at least.

DAY THREE, LEVEL 15
Blinds: 2,500-5,000 (500 ANTE)

The grind continues for Aditya Agarwal who finishes the level with 168,000 in chips. "With my stack, I'm pretty handcuffed," he said. "The big stacks aren't going to let me see a flop. You either have chips or you don't at this stage."

Agarwal is not the shortest stack at the table. There is a player with only 33,000, who is running the clock down at most opportunities in a bid to eke into the money. Everybody at the table knows he is doing it, he knows they know, and it's actually a pretty friendly atmosphere over there at the moment despite the difficulty of the situation. There are only 1,015 people left in the tournament, meaning four more will be eliminated and they're in the money.

"I need a break, it's pretty gruelling," Agarwal said, who estimates he saw only 30 hands in the past two hours. "Only five players and then we can start playing again."

DAY THREE, LEVEL 14
Blinds: 2,000-4,000 (500 ANTE)

As the clock ticked towards the end of Level 14, Aditya Agarwal was looking at his phone, updating his Twitter followers on his progress, and pretty much doing everything except playing poker. The reason was that another player with a stack of around 100,000 was in the tank, having opened to 11,000 and then been shoved on by the 520,000-plus stack of Andy Seth. It became pretty clear, with three minutes still on the clock, that this was going to be run down all the way into the break. It's the way the short stacks are now playing.

"Oh yeah, it's gotten so slow now," Agarwal said. At one point during the last level, Agarwal got up to 190,000 but then lost a 40,000-chip pot and sits now with 140,000. "Have to play tight now," he confessed. "The big stacks are so good."

He includes Seth in that bracket, against whom he has played many times online and considers to be a good friend. Agarwal will know that despite their friendship, Seth is hardly going to take it easy on him. And Seth is now on Agarwal's left.

There are 1,161 players still left, which is 50 from the money.

DAY THREE, LEVEL 13
Blinds: 1,500-3,000 (300 ANTE)

When we last caught up with our hero, Aditya Agarwal was at a low point. He was down to 85,000 and needing something to happen. Well, it did. In the middle of the last hour before dinner, Tony Tran, to Agarwal's right, moved all in from the small blind pre-flop, covering Agarwal's 75,000.

Agarwal found A-Q and called. Tran's A-10 didn't cause any dramas.

"A full double up," Agarwal said, adding that he picked up a few small pots after that.

The next step for all players will be the money bubble. That is gradually edging nearer. According to tournament staff, it is estimated to arrive between about 10pm and midnight, which means another long period of stress and strains. "It's going to get slower, I guess," Agarwal said. "It always get slow. People get way more cautious. Others get more aggressive."

Agarwal first cashed at the WSOP Main Event in 2007 and has done so in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015. He said that during that period he hasn't noticed any real change in players' attitude as the cash approaches: once slow, always slow is the gist of it.

DAY THREE, LEVEL 12/13
Blinds: 1,500-3,000 (300 ANTE)

It has been another rough couple of hours for Aditya Agarwal, who is now down to 85,000. Blinds are 1,500-3,000 in Level 13 and will go up to 2,000-4,000 after the dinner break in an hour. "If I want to go deep, I'm going to need some chips," Agarwal said.

He described the previous level as "Not too good", citing a hand he played with pocket kings as the only really interesting skirmish. He said he decided only to call with them pre-flop after an opening raise -- "I had such little chips," he said -- but then checked through a run out of Q-Q-8 on the flop, followed by an ace on the turn. He bet small on the blank river, but lost to A-7.

Tony Tran, to Agarwal's right, has more than 500,000 chips, which is the most at the table. He was responsible for a couple of eliminations, but the new players who came in also only had small stacks. "I'm still OK in table chip position," Agarwal said, noting the size of his opponents' stacks. But, as he says, he could be at a crucial stage by the next break.

DAY THREE, LEVEL 11/12
Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ANTE)

The first section of play today--ie, the time before the first break--was still the regulation two hours, but it bridged two levels. Play ended on Day 2 at the middle of Level 11, so today they have played the end of that level, plus the first hour of Level 12.

It wasn't a great period for Aditya Agarwal, who lost about 30,000 in total. That leaves him with 125,000 at present, but he doesn't seem to be unduly aggrieved. He said he bluffed off a few thousand when he defended the big blind with 2-3 and, after flopping a deuce on an A-2-10 board tried to steal it on the river. But his opponent called with A-Q and that was no contest.

At least 150 players were knocked out in that first period of play today, so the pace is certainly quickening.

DAY THREE, LEVEL 11
Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (300 ANTE)

When we last left Aditya Agarwal, towards the end of Day 2AB, the Team PokerStars Pro from India had 157,000 chips heading into the last hour of the day. When bags came out at the end of the night, he had precisely 157,100--the stack he brings back to the Amazon Room today.

"I'm feeling good, well rested," he said this morning, taking his seat at a new table. He said he spent his day off yesterday sleeping, before hitting the buffet at Caesar's Palace for dinner. Was that a lucky buffet? "Using up the points," he said, brandishing his Total Rewards card.

Agarwal's table today is as follows:

Seat 1 - Rory Brown, Ireland, 107,800
Seat 2 - Frank Peluso, United States, 81,900
Seat 3 - Tony Tran, United States, 215,800
Seat 4 - Aditya Agarwal, India, 157,100
Seat 5 - Michael Guzzardi, United States, 171,300
Seat 6 - David Floyd, United States, 145,000
Seat 7 - Phung Ngo, United States, 111,800
Seat 8 - Adam Geyer, United States, 82,300
Seat 9 - Giuseppe Pizzolato, United States, 122,400

That's a pretty typical line-up for this stage of the tournament. Although there are still some superstars involved, and some pretty mighty stacks, Agarwal is faced with seven relatively unknown players, plus the highly-rated Adam Geyer. Geyer has $2.5 million in tournament earnings and has narrowly missed out on WSOP and WPT titles in the past. He has also been deep twice at the PCA. Although his stack is the second-shortest at the table, it's still 40 big blinds.

Ireland's Rory Brown has some EPT pedigree and has a string of results from both Ireland and the United States; Tony Tran made the top 100 in this tournament last year; and Phung Ngo has a WSOP final table appearance under his belt and made a deep run in this year's Millionaire Maker.

It's probably worth pointing out that recorded live tournament successes are not the only barometer for a player's ability. Agarwal himself has earned $630,000 in live tournaments, but more than $4m online.

Agarwal thinks the money bubble will likely come into view after dinner tonight. That has now become the consensus among players in the room. Stick around to see if he is still there then. The average stack at the start of the day was 154,000 -- almost precisely Agarwal's -- but things could change dramatically over the coming hours.

DAY TWO, LEVEL NINE
Blinds: 600-1,200 (200 ANTE)

During the past level, the first after dinner, Aditya Agarwal hit his high point for the tournament so far of about 180,000 chips. At time of writing, as he and his fellow competitors take their last break of the night, he sits with 157,000. This, folks, is tournament poker, particularly the early days. It's very often just a steady grind.

According to Agarwal, the table has got slightly tougher--Vojech Ruzicka is now the big stack with about 240,000--but is still "pretty good". He said: "I think I can last the night."

That is still three hours away. The organisers have put an extra half level onto the scheduled five levels after the turnout was bigger than expected. "Eleven hours for the Main Event, that's a new one," Agarwal, who has played this tournament 11 times, said.

But we'll leave him to it for the night now and catch up when he returns on Thursday for Day 3. That, at least, is the hope.

aditya_agarwal_wsop_day2.jpg

Aditya Agarwal: The Day 2 version

DAY TWO, LEVEL EIGHT
Blinds: 500-1,000 (100 ANTE)

Aditya Agarwal is heading to dinner with a little more than 100,000 in his stack. He has lost his team-mate Fatima Moreira de Melo from his table--she was eliminated midway through the last level--and has been joined by Vojtech Ruzicka, the Czech pro. Ruzicka is very well known in Europe, having won a High Roller event at EPT Deauville a few years ago (worth $426,907 of his $1.4 million recorded cashes). "He seems good," Agarwal said, even though he admitted not having seen Ruzicka before.

The only significant pot the two of them played ended with Ruzicka taking a slice from Agarwal's stack. Agarwal flopped top pair and bet it, Ruzicka called. They checked the turn and then Ruzicka check-raised the river, by which point he had a flush.

Although there's been a quite considerable changing of personnel at Agarwal's table both today and on Day 1, he is yet to be responsible for busting anybody. Right now it's back to Palms Place, 90 minutes of relaxation, before returning to 100 BBs.

DAY TWO, LEVEL SEVEN
Blinds: 400-800 (100 ANTE)

"That was a pretty good level," Agarwal said, looking at a stack of chips that now total 130,000. The Team PokerStars Pro from India has increased his overnight stack three-fold within the first two levels today and now is the chip leader at his table.

"It's still super-early," he said. "But right now it's good because they've seen me with a lot of hands and some people are short so they're playing tight. I'm able to open a lot of pots."

With the exception of the set-over-set hand against Fatima Moreira de Melo, detailed earlier, Agarwal has still avoided major confrontation. He has, however, continued a steady climb, which, in this long marathon, is precisely the tactic required.

When players return, they'll be paying a big blind of 1,000, which is likely to put a lot of pressure on the short stacks at Agarwal's table. There's a high chance a few of them will bust, potentially to be replaced by stacks far larger even than his.

Over Agarwal's shoulder, Antonio Esfandiari has more close to 200,000. Grant Levy, on a neighbouring table, has 200,000 well cleared. Meanwhile, according to the official updates, Alvaro Lopez has 350,000.

DAY TWO, LEVEL SIX
Blinds: 300-600 (100 ANTE)

Aditya Agarwal came into Day 2 with a stack of 57,100 and a table that featured his Team PokerStars colleague Fatima Moreira de Melo and the three-time WSOP bracelet winner Dewey Tomko. Brad Willis passed by the table earlier and saw how Agarwal's match up against Moreira de Melo started off (it's safe for work, despite the promise of nudity in the title), and Tomko busted pretty early on.

Other than that, not much has been going on. "The table is playing pretty tight," Agarwal said. "No really big pots." Largely thanks to the set-over-set encounter against Moreira de Melo, Agarwal has built his stack to its high point of 85,000. That puts him in the top three stacks at his table but, obviously, with a long way still to go.

DAY ONE, LEVEL FIVE
Blinds: 250-500 (75 ANTE)

As Day 1B of the $10,000 World Series Main Event draws to its close, our hero for the day Aditya Agarwal sits with 57,000 chips. That's only marginally more than the amount he sat with at 11am today, when things began, and that's the way it goes sometimes. For all its manifold riches or horrific bad beats, very little says "That's poker!" more efficiently than playing 10 hours in the most prestigious tournament on the planet to bag up your starting stack.

That, of course, is the purpose of this experiment: to give a real-life view of a player's progress in an event like this. No one could win the tournament today, but plenty could lose their chance. Of the 1,733 who started Day 1B, about 550 are out. The full numbers will all be revealed first thing tomorrow, but the belief is that about 30 percent of the field will perish on Day 1.

Agarwal described his day as "exhausting" and "way swingy". He said that for obvious reasons he didn't much enjoy the period when he was short-stacked and staring at an early elimination. "It was much better when I got back to starting stack," he said.

Overall, he said he was "pretty happy". And he'll be back on Tuesday for more of the same.

DAY ONE, LEVEL FOUR
Blinds: 200-400 (50 ANTE)

A confession: I was worried about this concept. Aditya Agarwal agreed at the start of play to keep us updated on his tournament progression, but poker can be cruel. The last thing anybody wanted was for his Main Event challenge to fizzle out, particularly with its details being broadcast far and wide. It's very easy to feel responsible on the rail: not only a cooler, but someone prepared to amplify the despair.

But we now have better news than the previous update: Agarwal is back to 53,300, more than his starting stack, after the most eventful level of his day so far.

Returning to 18,000 after the dinner break, he dribbled down to 11,000 not long into Level 4. But he then found Q-J in the big blind and called a late-position raise. He then flopped the world when it came 9-10-K.

They checked the flop, Agarwal bet 2,000 on the turn and shoved the river, finding a willing caller with K-Q. And then not long later he found aces against queens and they got it in pre-flop, doubling him again to the high 40,000s.

"That was good," he said. His distinctive giggle when relating good news is also back.

Remember back in Level 1 when we were talking about his tough table draw? Well, every single one of those vaunted opponents is now out. According to Agarwal, Anton Astapau bluffed it off; Jeremy Ausmus lost less spectacularly, but also hit the rail. Agarwal was not responsible. "Unfortunately," he said.

There's one level left in the day after which the night-long audit can begin. Agarwal is not counting any chickens and said he would "hopefully" agree to continue the story on Day 2. Two more hours and then we'll be there.

aditya_agarwal_wsop2016_day1b.jpg

Aditya Agarwal: Our hero on Day 1

DAY ONE, LEVEL THREE
Blinds: 150-300

There's no way to dress this up: Things have taken a downturn in the last level for Aditya Agarwal. He is heading to his dinner break and leaving only 18,000 chips behind. In truth, he might easily have been out. After finding J-9, you might have thought a board of 9-9-J (two spades) was boom-time, but Barry Schultz was sitting with pocket jacks.

That cost Agarwal a chunk of chips, but it was even worse for Carter Gill. Gill had two spades and made his flush by the river. He was all-in and sent home.

Agarwal is now heading back to Palms Place for his dinner break and to spend some time with his wife. "I'll talk through some hands with some friends," he said. Although how to escape a cooler like that is not really something anyone can do much about.

Schultz is now the table captain, with more than 100,000. Astapau and Ausmus remain, but Gill's seat is empty, meaning they are playing eight handed on that table. Blinds will be 200-400 when they return, which is still 45 big blinds for Agarwal. There will be two more levels after that.

DAY ONE, LEVEL TWO
Blinds: 100-200

Without question, the WSOP Main Event is one of the most eagerly anticipated tournaments of the year and players look forward to it for months. But it's also true that there will be long periods when very little happens. It is a long and often tedious grind exchanging nothing much more than the occasional ante.

At the end of the second level on Day 1B, Aditya Argawal has 45,000 chips. It means he has played the past two hours for the net loss of 7,000--a negligible shift. "Uneventful," he said, before upgrading to, "Very uneventful."

Despite (or maybe because of) the talent stacked at the table, there haven't been any significant swings. Jeremy Ausmus has 50,750 and Anton Astapau has 58,000. Only Carter Gill's stack has changed markedly. He is left with 17,500 at the moment, which is still 87 big blinds.

That said, Anthony Zinno is in sight on a neighbouring table. He has a stack of 125,000 already, so there's always the chance for matters to change very quickly.

DAY ONE, LEVEL ONE
Blinds: 75-150

Agarwal was in his seat ahead of play starting at 11am and watched all other seats at his table gradually fill. And it's a tough table: Jeremy Ausmus (a WSOP bracelet winner, with close to $5m in tournament earnings) is to Agarwal's immediate left, while the APPT and LAPT champion Carter Gill is in the four seat.

"I have had softer tables on Day 1," Agarwal said.

aditya_agarwal_jeremy_ausmus_wsop_main_event_day1b.jpg

Aditya Agarwal and Jeremy Ausmus


Time to play yourself: Click here to get a PokerStars account.

He added that he didn't recognise the player who came to sit at seat six, but immediately established that he was a decent opponent. "He seems really good," Agarwal said. "In the Main Event, you can just tell: who seems comfortable, who isn't. He seems really comfortable."

The player in question is Anton Astapau, the Belarussian high roller. One suspects the two have crossed swords many times online, where Agarwal plays as "intervention" or "Adi Agarwal" and is top of the all-time Indian money list.

As you would expect from the opening level, very little changed to Agarwal's starting stack of 50,000 here. He said he got it up to 57,000 at one point, then ran top pair into a turned flush to take it back to 52,000.

It is very early days, but every road starts somewhere.

We'll update this post throughout the day.

WSOP photos by PokerPhotoArchive.com.



Five things to look forward to this weekend on PokerStars

Five things from the world of PokerStars heading into the weekend.

Coverage from WSOP

The bubble burst in the WSOP main event last night, marking the rough midway point as more than 6,700 players try to become a member of the final nine.

It's also the midway point of our own coverage from the Main event, which so far has produced some great writing from our team of Brad Willis and Howard Swains.

Highlights so far include stories about Chris Moneymaker, Jen Shahade, and pretty much everything done on and off the table by Daniel Negreanu.


Daniel Negreanu_2016_wsop_15july16.jpgDaniel Negreanu once more the centre of attention

Their coverage continues through the weekend all the way up to the conclusion of play early next week. Don't miss anything by bookmarking this page with regular updates on Twitter.


Team Pro still in WSOP

And who are the key PokerStars figures to follow over that time?

Well at the close of play last night/this morning (etc. etc.), five Team Pros had reached the money and would be back for Day 4.

Marc-Andre Ladouceur - 1,290,000
Liv Boeree -- 690,000
Jennifer Shahade -- 615,000
Jason Somerville -- 442,000
Aditya Agarwal -- 205,000


marc_andre_ladouceur_wsop_15july16.jpgMarc-Andre Ladouceur among the leaders at the WSOP

As Howard Swains reported, Ladouceur's count is within sight of current leader Kenny Hallaert with 1.7 million, and good for 11th place overall.

Coverage continues on the PokerStars Blog at 12pm PST (8pm UK time).


Micro Millions

MicroMillions is back, the tournament series open to even the smallest of bankrolls and which can turn those nickels and dimes you find down the back of the sofa, in that little tray next to the dashboard, or unclaimed in the vending machine coin dispenser into thousands.

There are 90 tournaments planned for the 12th incarnation of the championship, which begins this Sunday for two weeks on PokerStars.


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The micro-stakes online festival features six events a day with buy-ins from $0.11 to $5.50, except for the $22 No Limit Hold'em Main Event on July 31, which features a $1 million guaranteed prize.

Check out our blog post on the series for details, or go straight to the MicroMillions homepage, which has details on how you can win bonus prizes along the way.


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Sunday majors

There are high stakes in Las Vegas, low stakes online in the Micro Millions, leaves the Sunday Majors to fill that middle bit.

As always there is a full slate of events planned for the weekend, culminating in the Sunday Million, won last week by Luke Schwartz, who collected $130,000 for a good day's work.

It's not all about the Sunday Million, with a long list of weekend events taking place at various buy-ins, to be found in the Tournament Lobby.


$1 million freeroll

As we reported last week PokerStars has announced its second $1 million freeroll, set to take place this Sunday at 12:04 ET.

There's still plenty of time to qualify for the event by completing (let's face it, some pretty simple) challenges. Don't miss out. With $10,000 to the winner, and hundreds of players set to finish in the money, it's a great chance to boost your bankroll.

Read more details about the event here.


Ready to sign up for PokerStars? Click here to get an account.

WSOP Photos by PokerPhotoArchive.com


Stephen Bartley is a staff writer for the PokerStars Blog. Follow him on Twitter: @StephenBartley.