With the Empire Casino packed to the rafters from the hustle and bustle of the Friday night crowd, Sorel Mizzi and Erik Friberg saw a cheap flop.
After Mizzi had called a bet of 20,000, Friberg fired out again on the turn, this time to the tune of 60,000. Mizzi glanced back down at his cards before announcing, "Raise," and pushing two columns of 100,000 over the line. Friberg called all in, and we had a showdown.
With Friberg's up against , the Swede had his nose in front but was looking to avoid any spade, a deuce, a king, or a five (don't quote me on that, it's late). Much to the delight of the Mizzilites on the rail, two of those outs were rolled into one as the dealer duly dealt out a clinical on the river.
Eric Dalby raised to 32,000 from the small blind and Erik Friberg called from the big blind. The flop was . Dalby checked, Friberg bet 45,000 and Dalby called. The turn was the and both players checked. The river was the . Dalby bet 61,000 and Friberg gave up his hand.
With that pot, Dalby is now on 915,000 in chips, while Friberg has fallen to 190,000.
As a result of his recent double-through, Eric Dalby currently boasts a stack of 647,000 and has now become a genuine contender for bracelet gold in this £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha freezeout. It's remarkable to see a man of his experience and seasoning still able to perform at such a high level, and at the ripe old age of 78, there aren't too many people in the building who can bend the ear of Doyle Brunson and utilize the phrase, "Back in my day, son..."
He may be the oldest player at the table, but Eric Dalby just proved he can mix it with the young guns by doubling up off Theo Jorgensen. With the board reading , Jorgensen led out for 96,000, Dalby pushed all in for around 300,000 and Jorgensen made the call.
Jorgensen =
Dalby =
The turn and river were both blanks and Dalby, armed with his 50 years of poker experience, lives to fight another day.
Erik Friberg completed the small blind and Sorel Mizzi checked his option. The flop was . Friberg checked, Mizzi bet 20,000 and Friberg called. The turn was the . Friberg bet 60,000, Mizzi raised to 120,000 and Friberg called. The river was the . Friberg checked, Mizzi made a pot-sized bet and Friberg gave up his hand.
"Yes!" said Mizzi triumphantly as he fanned out his , a near-total bluff that earned him a sizeable pot and left Friberg on only 175,000 in chips.
As we break for dinner, Theo Jorgensen holds nearly 60 percent of the chips in play and has a 2.9-to-1 chip lead on Sorel Mizzi, who sits in second position.
Theo Jorgensen 1,944,000
Sorel Mizzi 667,000
Erik Friberg 420,000
Eric Dalby 267,000
On the final hand before the scheduled dinner break, Theo Jorgensen raised it up to 40,000 preflop and Erik Friberg made the call from the small blind. The two players then proceeded to check down a board with Jorgensen's triumphing over the Swede's .