Joao Simao raised to 800 from middle position, the small blind called, and the big blind called, as well.
The flop came and the small blind bet 2,000. The big blind folded, Simao raised to 7,000, and the small blind called.
The turn brought the , the small blind bet 7,000, and Simao called.
The fell on the river and the small blind bet again, 22,000 this time. Simao called and quickly tabled for a flopped set of fives. The small blind mucked and the dealer pushed the pot to Simao.
Massimo De Mario opened with a raise to 700 from the cutoff. Mike Watson called from the big blind.
The flop came down and Watson checked over to De Mario. De Mario put out a bet of 600 which Watson called.
Watson checked again when the turn came the . De Mario made it 1,400 and Watson called once more.
The river was the and both players checked. Watson showed his but it was no good. De Mario was holding for a rivered straight and that earned him the pot.
The board read , there was a substantial pot of about 8,200 already brewing, and the player in the small blind bet 6,000 into his lone opponent, Luc Greenwood, who was on the button. Greenwood moved what looked like 35,000 into the middle, putting his opponent to a decision for the remainder of his stack. He went into the tank for over a minute before he ultimately folded and Greenwood took the pot.
Joseph Cheong opened with a raise to 500 from the button. Next to act was Christian Harder who reraised, making it 1,800 from the small blind. Cheong called.
The flop came down and Harder checked over to Cheong. Cheong bet 2,100 and after some thought, Harder called.
On the turn, both players checked to see the on the river. Harder checked for a third time. Cheong put out a bet of 5,000 and Harder looked as if he might fold quickly, readying his hand to throw away. He then brought it back, checked his cards, and thought for roughly two minutes before folding. Cheong took down the pot and was able to recover some chips.
A player opened with a raise to 500 from early position. Action folded to Kinson Cheung who was on the button. He called. Felipe Ramos was in the small blind and he three-bet, making it 2,500 to go. Only Cheung called.
The flop came down and Ramos led out, betting 1,500. Cheung thought for a bit, then called.
On the turn, Ramos continued betting, this time making it 5,200. Cheung called once more.
The river was the and Ramos thought for a bit, then decided to check his option. Cheung thought for a while himself, then he moved all in for roughly 23,500, a bit more than Ramos had behind.
Eventually, Ramos started talking to Cheung, trying to figure out what he was holding.
"You don't have a lot of sevens," Ramos said. "You have more fives, like ace-five."
"I could have ace-seven," Cheung responded.
"Ace-seven would be a really bad call on the turn," Ramos said. "And you're a good player."
"It would've been a really bad call preflop," Cheung said jokingly, which earned a laugh from Ramos and some others.
Ramos eventually decided to fold, but held onto his cards. Cheung went to show, but didn't. Ramos asked if he would, but Cheung shook his head.
"Come on, one time," Ramos said, showing his . Cheung turned up his and that's all he would show Ramos. "Later then," Ramos requested.
While many here know Team Pokerstars Pros Kevin Martin and Fatima Moreira de Melo for their poker prowess, they are also known for both having competed and won reality television show competitions.
Last year, Martin took down Big Brother Canada - Season 5, taking home the $100,000 first place prize. Moreira de Melo won Expeditie Robinson, the Dutch version of Survivor, in 2012. Christophe De Meulder, another poker player, also competed in that season along with Moreira de Melo, finishing as the runner-up.
Today the two are seated at the same table and must battle it out in a different type of competition. They will have to put to work not only the skills they used to win on reality television but their poker skills as well.
At the table, the two bantered over different strategies that they used to win, Martin discussing how he used romance as a tactic to earn his victory in Big Brother. Moreira de Melo mentioned that she was never at risk of being voted off her island, and when she was, she had earned her self-immunity.