Klein Surges to Day 1b Lead; Raymer Bags in Third
After Day 1b of Mid-States Poker Tour bestbet Jacksonville, the Day 2 field is set and Jeff Klein will go in as the overall leader with 400,000. Notable as that is, a far bigger name in the poker world looms as a major threat to capture the crown on Sunday; 2004 Main Event champ Greg Raymer bagged 266,500, the third-biggest count of the night. Forty players advanced from Day 1b out of 236 total.
Raymer fired on Day 1a but found no success, busting relatively early and choosing to pack it in and regroup for Day 1b. That proved a wise decision, as Raymer stayed patient for most of the day before he finally started running hot after the dinner break, when we noted him with 174,000 during Level 11 (600/1,200/200). Shortly after that, Raymer added a considerable chunk to his stack in a battle with the active Thad McNulty.
Raymer called McNulty's middle-position open from the cutoff, and the two saw 
flop. McNulty continuation-bet 5,200 and Raymer called. McNulty then slowed down as a three-flush came with the 
, check-calling 10,000. He came out firing again on the 
river with 16,000, to which Raymer responded with a small raise to 37,000. McNulty called, and Raymer showed him 
for a winning flush, while McNulty mucked 
face-up.
Klein also dragged a monster pot late. He bet 20,000 from the big blind during Level 13 (1,000/2,000/300) against a player in the small blind, who shoved all in for 49,900 more on the 
flop. Klein made the call with 
, and his unfortunate opponent had flopped aces up with 
.
"What a sick hand," the player said after he bricked the last two streets.
Klein had 220,000 at that point, so he must have won another massive pot or two during the last level to solidify the chip lead and a $2,000 bonus.
Joining Klein and Raymer for in making it through were Rod Rodrigue (301,000), Hal Lewis (238,000), Andrew Dykeman (220,000), Jim Boone (106,500), Glenn Strickland (105,500), and Ryan Dykhouse (67,000).
Strickland's advancement came with a $500 bounty, gained at the expense of Matt Kirby's tournament life. Others who joined Kirby on the rail during the course of play included "East Coast" Mike Ross, Joseph Dichiaro, Adam Lamphere, and Eddy Mroczkowski.
The survivors will link up with the 31 from Day 1a to make a 71-player Day 2 field that will begin play at 11 a.m. local time on Sunday. More live coverage will be right here on PokerNews, so come back and see who pockets more than $100,000.