The Champion, the Beast, and the Thief of Hearts

I made my second cash of the WSOP in the 2k PLHE, just squeaking in, but that's not what I'll remember about today. The more important facts:

I played my absolute best today. The best I've ever played I think. I was a short stack basically the entire day and I always had tough good players with lots of chips on my left. I didn't pick up many hands either. Somehow I outlasted 90% of the field. I was all in three times, each one as a huge favorite. I think my short stack play has gone from poor to superb in just one week. I'm still struggling quite a bit as a medium stack.

I played many hours with Joe Hachem, and I felt I usually knew where he was at. In fact most of my chips at my first table came from him, including a monster great read for my tournament life with TT on a board of AQ33. Hachem does play very very well though, and he's a friendly, enjoyable guy.

Far scarier than Hachem was none other than the legend himself, Hung "Beast" La two to my left. The La played savage poker, constantly took down pots with checkraises and reraises, almost never showed down a hand, and scared the living shit out of everyone at the table (including Hachem, who repeatedly lost pots to him and referred to him as "Master".

PiMaster is the chip leader with 22 left going into day two. Literally. Chris Viox.

The hottest girl I've ever seen at a poker table, a jawdropping blonde named Reva Alexander, sat down for a few hands before Hachem dispatched her. She was no match for Chantel McNulty, however, who was capturing hearts and chips at an equal rate en route to a 22nd place finish.