Adam Grigor battled with high roller Sergio Aido in a huge pot, with a number of raises going in preflop and then a bet and a call of what looked like 3,200 on the flop. Grigor checked from the big blind on the turn and Aido checked back on the button. Action went the same on the river, and Grigor flipped over . Aido couldn't beat it.
The quintessential yellow-garbed Ken Aldridge in the 2013 WSOP.
Image is everything, or so they say. In poker, cultivating a certain image can go a long way in helping players establish themselves in the public eye. Think Charlie Carrel’s multifarious wardrobe or Qui Nguyen’s raccoon hat while winning the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event. Outfits or accessories can often define a player, as they do for Ken Aldridge of Pleasant Garden, North Carolina.
Nicknamed “Teach” for his days teaching the youth of the nation, Aldridge’s poker attire almost always consists of a yellow hat, matching yellow jacket, and a shiny gold bracelet. It’s no regular bracelet though, but rather a coveted WSOP bracelet from 2009 when he topped a field of 1,459 players to win the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event for $428,259, his largest career score.
Aldridge has also finished runner-up to Will “The Thrill” Failla in the 2011 World Poker Tour Legends of Poker Main Event for $365,800, and placed fifth in the 2015 WSOP Event #21: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship for $97,122. All things considered, Teach, who is in action here on Day 1a, has $1,291,179 in live tournament earnings, which puts him 11th on North Carolina’s all-time money list.
If he cashes the Main Event for $12,500 or more, he’ll crack that State’s top ten money list. It’ll also mark his seventh cash here in the Bahamas. His previous best at this stop was a sixth-place finish in the 2013 PCA Event #18: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em for $44,460.
Hrair Janian managed to extricate some value in a hand involving Orpen Kisacikoglu, with a board of giving Janian a big pot with his hand of giving him a set on the turn. While Kisacikoglu has lost some, he was up before the hand, so only drops to 28,500. That table also houses Stephen Chidwick, who is the second-highest British tournament winner behind Sam Trickett.
Mitchell Towner is one of the recreational players who made the trek down to the PokerStars Championship Bahamas. Though he has far less experience than many of his opponents, Towner has a score that's the envy of almost any of them: this past summer, he won the $1,500 Monster Stack at the World Series of Poker for $1,120,196 against a field of nearly 7,000 runners.
Towner told PokerNews after the big win that he barely plays any poker, merely consuming about an hour of poker content a week. He didn't expect to be playing much in the near future but has evidently found time to continue his amateur poker career, and we'll keep track of his progress here on Day 1a of the Main Event.
The tournament started at 11 a.m. sharp this morning, with 109 players sitting down ready for action. That number is sure to increase with people signing up throughout the day as registration remains open till the start of play on Day 2.
Day 1a is traditionally the quieter day of the two starting days. A lot of the (Spin & Go) qualifiers are signed up for Day 1b, which sways a lot of the players buying in to go for Day 1b as well. On top of that, many choose to play 1b because a lot of the high rollers play Day 1a since those players intend to play the $50,000 Single-Day High Roller on Day 1b.
Here's a look at the distribution of players between the two starting days in recent years:
Famed golfer Sergio Garcia is in the house and just took a seat in the Main Event. Garcia fired in a satellite to the Main Event last night, which is when PokerNews caught up with him. Garcia allowed that he has a goal to win a PokerStars spade trophy but admitted his only real poker goal is to have fun at the tables and unwind.
Over at Table 17, action folded to the player on the button and he limped. Dan Shak came along from the small blind, the player in the big checked his option, and three players saw a flop of .
All three players checked, the appeared on the turn, and Shak led out for 300. The player in the big blind released, the button called, and the completed the board on the river. Shak bet again, this time 600, and his opponent paid it off.
Shak tabled the for two pair, and it was good as the player on the button sent his cards to the muck.
Paul Corrigan called a bet of 250 preflop from the big blind and went heads up to a flop of . There, he checked to a c-bet of 600 and made the call. The turn brought a fourth spade on the board with the landing, but again Corrigan check-called a bet, this time of 800 chips.
On the river of , both Corrigan and his opponent checked it down and Corrigan's was good enough to topple .
flop. Grigor checked from the big blind on the 
turn and Aido checked back on the button. Action went the same on the 
river, and Grigor flipped over 
. Aido couldn't beat it.
giving him a set on the turn. While Kisacikoglu has lost some, he was up before the hand, so only drops to 28,500. That table also houses Stephen Chidwick, who is the second-highest British tournament winner behind Sam Trickett.
. Gorey led out for 650 this time, and his opponent thought for a moment before raising to 3,000. Gorey wasted no time and called. 
for a pair of nines. Gorey revealed 
for the a straight to the queen, sending the pot his way.
appeared on the turn, and Shak led out for 300. The player in the big blind released, the button called, and the 
completed the board on the river. Shak bet again, this time 600, and his opponent paid it off.
for two pair, and it was good as the player on the button sent his cards to the muck.
, both Corrigan and his opponent checked it down and Corrigan's 
