Poker, like many aspects of life, takes a combination of skill, timing, and luck.  Vivek “psyduck” Rajkumar put the three together a little over a week ago to win the World Poker Tour event at the Borgata and take the top prize of $1.4 million.  Today’s World Series of Poker Europe Main Event field is full of players trying to work the same magic as Vivek had going across the ocean in Atlantic City.

Rajkumar himself is back at the tables, hoping to parlay his hot streak into another huge score.  The large buyin here (equivalent to $20,000) has brought out the heavy hitters from the live and online poker worlds, but satellites have also put some lesser known faces into the crowd.

With today being the larger of the two starting days (final numbers still coming as late registration is being held open for a while longer) the players are even more spread out around the casino with random tables put about anywhere a few square feet of open space can be found.  There has been some frustration from the last minute arrivals trying to scurry to their tables to get in the action without missing many hands.  The tables are numbered in a fashion that must make sense to someone, but who that person is nobody seems to know.  The order goes something like this: 7-2-13-3-9-6 for one area and 1-21-7-4-18 for another and on and on.  With the help of floor staff the players have mostly found their seats though and the tables went from being half full to pretty much being filled.

Now that all the seats are taken it will be up to the players to start emptying them back out.  The action seems a little slower in the early going today than yesterday, but with only an hour of play as a sample size it is too early to pass judgment.  Alex “AJKHoosier1″ Kamberis avoided an all in by folding the nut straight on a board that put three diamonds out on the river making a flush possible.

Stephen “stevie4444″ Chidwick is one of the players off to a good start.  He is off in one of the corner tables located by itself and not getting much attention.  Chidwick has accumulated some chips early on, looking to have around 30k in front of him.  Also at his table is Jason “JCarver” Somerville.

• September 28, 2008 -- Feature Table, Queen’s Kings Overthrown
• September 28, 2008 -- Win With The Queen High
• September 28, 2008 -- Early BustOuts
• October 24, 2009 -- Somerville Falls Short; Final 27 In The Money