As aggressive he is on billiard tables, Alex Pagulayan knows that in this kind of felt, he'd rather stick to form than flash to survive Day 1A.

First, he saw a flop of , turn and river against Lee Hale. But when the latter went all-in after the final card, Pagulayan chose to fold and muck to survive this one.

And then on the next hand, Pagulayan's 500 pre-flop bet was answered by an opponent's healthy three-bet re-raise. Pagulayan grudgingly called.

Both players checked after the flop and turn but on the river it was his opponent's turn to put the pressure on the pool master. Pagulayan grudgingly folded.