LIVE EVENTS

After 14 grueling 30-minute levels, Day 1C of the $500 + $50 Playground 500 has officially concluded. This was the last Day 1 flight for this event, meaning that tomorrow Day 2 will begin at noon sharp!

Of today’s 106 entries (including 21 re-entries) only 24 remain, and the player with the best finish on Day 1C was Frederic Cossette, who managed to maintain his lead over the last three levels and bagged an impressive 640,000 chips. Indeed, his total was the highest of the Day 1 flights, both online and off. Congratulations! To view the full list of qualifying players and their respective chip stacks, consult the results section.

Below are pictures of some of the players that ended Day 1C with the biggest stacks, all of whom will battle it out for the $100,000 guaranteed prize pool (Frederic Cossette not pictured). Tomorrow’s contest will consist of ten 45-minute levels and begin in level 15, where the blinds are 3,000 / 6,000.

Good luck to all the players, we’ll see you at the tables!

Since we last checked in with him, Tu Kham Tran’s fortunes have taken a toll for the worse. The former chip leader has been a tough competitor all night, but he now has less than 150,000 in his stack. That downward trend continued in the latest, and he lost a significant – perhaps fatal – amount of chips to his neighbor to the left, Bryan Fequet.

When we joined the hand the flop had already been dealt and there looked to be approximately 35,000 chips in the middle. Bryan raised it to 10,500, chasing the only other player, Kevin Bergeron, from the hand. But Tu called, and the river was dealt a .

The action was to Tu, who thought about it for a while then abruptly pushed his last stack of red chips (each valued at 5,000) into the middle. It looked to be about 80,000, but the dealer didn’t even have time to count and announce the amount when Bryan tossed in a chip, indicating a call. Tu flipped over an , but his straight couldn’t compete with Bryan’s flush. Tu simply hadn’t put Bryan on the flush draw, and it cost him.

While we were writing and uploading this post, Tu was eliminated. Better luck next time!

After the third break, the $500 + $50 Playground 500 Day 1C has a new chip leader (although some of the usual suspects still remain near the top of the group). Holding an impressive 349,000 chips is Frederic Cossette. Well done!

We are down to just 35 players from a field of 106 entries, and with a full 90 minutes left to play there is still plenty of action left. Good luck to all!

Playing with the chip leader at your table can sometimes be difficult, as they often use their stacks to bully players out of otherwise playable hands, or force others to risk their tournament lives at inopportune moments.

In this case, Joseph Kennedy faced off against chip leader Tu Kham Tran, but he was able to weather the storm, making a great call under pressure. Try as he might, Tu couldn’t crack Kennedy’s calm by putting him all in with an aggressive shove on the river, helping Joseph double up.

The hand began with a couple of limpers calling the blinds, but the stakes were raised when Joseph made it 10,000 to go. Surprisingly, he found four callers, all of whom saw a flop. The table checked around to Joseph who bet 25,000. Tu called, but no one else was keen to tangle.

Both remaining players checked the turn, but when Joseph checked after seeing the river, Tu sensed he could push him out with a shove. He was almost right. After thinking for a couple of hard minutes, Joseph called, risking his last 60,000 chips, flipping over his .

When Tu mucked his cards the table congratulated Joseph on his excellent call. Although Tu’s stack is still considerable, Joseph is in a now in a much stronger position to make the final push towards Day 2, not to mention the confidence boost that usually accompanies a gutsy call.

Just after the official close of the registration period we saw a flurry of activity resulting in seven quick eliminations, leaving us with just 54 players. One of those eliminated was Peter Sass, and he was sent on his way by Andy D’Alessandro.

The hand began with five players, all calling a 3,500 chip preflop raise from Ronald Lei. But after the flop came down Peter opened with a bet of 10,000 which chased Ronald away, and Andy’s raise to 25,000 made it a two man race. Peter called and was down to his last 15,000. He may have thought he was ahead at this point, but it turned out not to be the case.

An was dealt on the turn, and after Peter checked, Andy shoved with his significantly larger stack, forcing Peter to follow suit. Indeed, he was a bit surprised Peter didn’t take the initiative and do so himself, seeing as he was most certainly pot-committed. Andy turned over his trip jacks and Peter his two pair. He needed a diamond to take the hand, but unfortunately for him he didn’t get it.

Good luck to the rest of the crowd as they make their way to the end of the night.

After eight levels of play we have a new chip leader, Tu Kham Tran. Holding almost quadruple the chip average of 82,000, Tu has a comfortable lead, far outpacing his rivals for the moment. Can he stay up top in the final stretch? We’ll see!

Also, registration is now officially closed. Day 1C ended up having a total of 106 entries, including 21 re-entries. Of that number, only 61 currently remain at their seats. Good luck to all our participants as they make their push to the end of level 14, and a birth in tomorrow’s Day 2 action, starting at noon.

As the clock ticks closer to 11:30pm, the window of opportunity to take part in the $500 + $50 Playground 500 slowly closes. Late registration closes in exactly 30 minutes, so if you are on the fence about joining the action, now is the time to act if you want to take a shot at the guaranteed $100,000 prize pool. With the chip average sitting at only 71,000, anyone entering the contest now (with 50,000 chips) is only one or two winning hands away from catching up to the pack.

With 99 entries made into tonight’s flight, you could be lucky number 100 – come one down!

After two hours of play we have arrived at the first break. On top of the pile is Shaan Siddiqui with 140,000 chips, roughly triple the chip average of 53,000. His willingness to play early and often is paying off in the early goings.

At the moment there are 73 players still at the tables, and just over two hours remain until registration officially closes for this event. So if you’re one of those players that likes to show up later on, now is the perfect time to get down to Playground to test your skills against those already in the room. With a starting stack of 50,000, any player joining the fray will not find themselves too far behind.

Come on down!

When we joined the hand the board was already showing . There were approximately 10,000 chips in the pot and only three players left in the hand. After seeing two checks from his opponents, Stefan Siveski made a pot-sized bet of 8,750.

Gaetano Di Maria, next to act, agonized over his decision. With only about 12,000 chips left in front of him he had to make a chioce: go for it, or play it safe. He went for it. The other player in the hand quickly folded.

A came down on the river, making the flush possible. Although Gaetano was already committed no matter what, the smile on his face as he shoved with his remaining 4,000 was not what Stefan wanted to see. Stefan reluctantly called with his two pair, but it wasn’t enough to stop Gaetano’s nut flush.

The odds rarely make chasing flushes a profitable long-term strategy, but in this case it worked out!

On table 23 the action seems to be a little looser, with some players tossing out 5,000 chip bets more casually than at the other tables over the last few hands. That was the case just now as Inayet Sheriff faced off against Shaan Siddiqui.

With the blinds at 200/400, Inayet raised it to 2,000 from late position and Shaan made it 5,500 to go from the cut-off. That escalation chased everyone else from the table, but Inayet was happy to call.

Flop:

Inayet was first to act and checked, but quickly called Shaan’s 2,500 bet. A came on the turn, and this time Inayet bet 4,000. The quick calls and breezy raises were a sign of danger for Shaan, and he let the hand go. Sometimes it’s best to be cautious in the early going…

We’re only halfway through level two, but there are already more than 50 players at their seats, all of them focused and ready for action. See below for some photos of our competitors in the early goings.

It may have been a balmy day in Montreal, but it’s nice and cool inside at Playground Poker Club this evening. Tonight is the final Day 1 flight of the $500 + $50 Playground 500, and the last chance for players to take a shot at the guaranteed $100,000 prize pool in this July Power Weekend. With only 25 players qualified for Day 2 so far, it can be anyone’s game.

As it was in the last three flights, players will start off with 50,000 chips and will play through 14 30-minute levels of nine-handed action. Only those players with chips in still in front of them at the end of the evening will qualify for Day 2, which kicks off tomorrow, Saturday July 20th at noon. With unlimited re-entries available until the beginning of the ninth level of play, new (or returning) competitors can take their seat until 11:30pm tonight.

Good luck to everyone. Cards are in the air!