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July 5 | 10:30 p.m. ET

The day's roundup (from The Associated Press)

DAY: 3 (Officially known as Day 1C).

BIG NEWS: Several professional rounders at the World Series of Poker say they feel like this could be the year a professional wins the main event amid a crush of amateur and so-so online players.

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The series was once an event for those who make a career out of card playing, but amateurs flooding the tables have made it tougher for professional rounders to come out on top — especially in the main event and other no-limit Texas Hold ’em tournaments.

But things now seem to be swinging the other way, with pros winning 38 of the first 53 world series events, more than seven of every 10.

Three-time bracelet winner Mike “The Mouth” Matusow said he and others feel like a slower tournament structure this year will reward better players, giving professionals more of a chance to shine and end up on top.

Another 1,928 players started the tournament on Saturday, bringing the three-day total to 4,383 entrants. Players have until the end of the second level of play Sunday to register.

STUD OF THE DAY: Poker pro Evelyn Ng won a prop bet playing video game “Guitar Hero” against an official with Web site Pokernews.com. Her prize? The loser fed her grapes and fanned her with a large palm leaf while wearing a toga. Tournament director Jack Effel asked the official to stop the fanning because it was distracting nearby players.

“They were organic, seedless, very sweet,” Ng said of the grapes.

BUSTED OUT: Poker pros Huck Seed, Michael Gracz, Mike Sexton, Gavin Griffin

UP NEXT: Sunday, the fourth and final set of players will begin their main event, and a final count of players will determine the top prize and the number of players who will win money in the tournament.

POKER TALK: Chop. When two or more players finish with the same hand and split the pot between them. In early play Saturday at a table of unknowns, two players chopped a pot with a board showing an ace high straight. Three players had bet modestly into the pot early on, but one folded at the turn when he realized that just a 10 was needed to complete the straight. A 10 came on the river, making the player with the 10 in his hand unhappy because it meant he won 2,200 in chips instead of 4,400.

HE SAID WHAT?: “That’s what I’m talking about. Now we’re going, boys and girls.” — Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, after winning a pot with two pairs, kings and queens, on a board showing queens, a smaller pair and three diamonds, increasing the chances that an opponent had either a flush or a full house.

July 5 | 3:30 a.m. ET

Know when to fold 'em, know when to hold 'em
So you think poker is a game of chance? That if you don't get the cards, you can't win? Well it's time to set you straight.

Of course there is luck involved, just ask anyone who's ever had their aces cracked. And sometimes you can make all the right moves and still lose your stack. But in the long run, the good players always seem to end up on top.

There's a reason for that: The good players make enough savvy plays along the way to survive when the luck goes bad.

Case in point in this blog post from Dani Stern. In it, he details a few key hands at the main event, including two great laydowns and an even more impressive call on the river with nothing but a pair of deuces. Needless to say, he made it past day 1.

Links...

July 4 | 10:30 p.m. ET

The day's roundup (from The Associated Press)

DAY: 2 (Officially known as Day 1B).

BIG NEWS: It takes plenty of confidence and oodles of cash just to play in the World Series of Poker main event, but the world’s best rounders are making things even spicier by raising the stakes against one another.

Tournament officials say Phil Ivey has reportedly wagered millions of dollars on himself winning a bracelet at the series, and the main event is his last chance. He has cashed three times in the series’ 53 events so far, but his highest finish has been ninth.

(Editor's note: word is that in one event that allows rebuys, Ivey rebought into the tournament 18 times in an effort to win a bracelet, to no avail.)

Daniel Negreanu said he doubled up his limit Texas Hold ’em bracelet win earlier this month with a $200,000 bet against Ivey. Barry Greenstein said he won more in side bets than he did in prize money when he finished first and won nearly $158,000 playing seven-card Razz.

An additional 1,158 players entered the tournament on Friday, bringing the total for the first two days to 2,455 entrants. A tournament official said the lower total was expected Friday because of the July Fourth holiday.

STUD OF THE DAY: Erick Lindgren, who started his first day at the main event and earned the player of the year award for the world series. Lindgren cashed in five earlier events and won his first gold bracelet in a mixed Texas Hold ’em event. He also placed third in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, which many poker professionals believe is the test of an all-around card player. His winnings for the series stood at $1,348,528.

“They used to vote on it back in the day,” Lindgren said. “Daniel (Negreanu) and Alan Cunningham also won that award. Anytime you win something those guys won it feels good.”

BUSTED OUT: Poker pros Daniel Negreanu, Ted Forrest, Kenny Tran, Andy Black, Scott Fischman

UP NEXT: Saturday, the third starting group will play 10 hours of poker to prepare for the second round.

POKER TALK: A set: Three of a kind. Daniel Negreanu was eliminated early in the day when his set of sixes couldn’t beat an amateur player who made three nines. Negreanu said after the loss that while it was unfortunate, there was no way he would have folded his sixes against an amateur player.

HE SAID WHAT?: “Even more fun than winning a bracelet is beating a guy like Phil Ivey. ... It makes the stakes higher and its a way to punish Phil, hopefully.” — Erick Lindgren, explaining why he puts extra money at stake against his fellow rounders during the world’s biggest poker tournament.

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