He knew the tournament was going to shut down once the day’s starting field of 1,037 was trimmed to 350. And he knew there were 351 left. But he also knew his stack was getting short at $33,000, with the average player having more than $100,000. Ace-queen is a good hand to try to double up on and give yourself a better chance in Day 3.

So he took a chance and went all in. Unfortunately, an opponent called with pocket fives, and Ord failed to improve his hand.

At that point, he said, “you’ve got to pick a hand and try to double up. It was a race and I lost it. What are you gonna do?

“It’s a great field. You’ve got the best players in the world here. You do your best and try to hope your hands hold up sometimes. But you run into bad luck sometimes. That’s just cards.”

Ord, who won a seat at the main event by winning a tournament in Atlantic City, was comforted by the arrival of his wife earlier in the evening.

“She’s waiting for me upstairs, thinking I was going to survive today because I had $100,000 about three hours ago,” he said. “I just had a few bad hands.”

One of those hands was pocket queens, which happened to run into pocket kings. Sometimes poker is all about timing. But despite the tough luck, Ord had an optimistic view, and said he would return next year if he can qualify again.

“It’s awesome. It’s the best experience,” he said. “I mean it’s a dream come true. I wish I could’ve lasted until the cash, but you can’t play scared. You’ve got to play tough and play the hands the way they’re supposed to be played. …  You can’t wait around for aces forever.”

Even had Ord survived the evening, he would have been far from a guarantee to make money.

Wednesday’s field (Day 2B) should be slightly larger than Tuesday’s. That group will play until just after midnight, and whoever is still alive at that time will join the 350 from Tuesday night on Day 3 on Thursday. The top 620 players will cash.

Ord won’t be paying attention to the race to paydirt, though. He’ll be decompressing from the tournament, he and his wife visiting friends in the area and enjoying the city.

Past champs head to the rail
Two more former main event champions were eliminated Tuesday as Joseph Hachem (2005) and Dan Harrington (1995) both headed for the rail. Both of them were out-kicked, as Hachem’s ace-8 lost to ace-queen, and Harrington’s ace-queen were beaten by ace-king.

Among the other notables to be eliminated were Barry Greenstein and last year’s runner-up Paul Wasicka.

However, Huck Seed, the 1996 main event champion and holder of four bracelets, was in fine shape, advancing to Day 3 with $280,000. Scotty Nguyen, the 1998 champ, also survived with $74,000.

Although other celebrities have struggled (Brad Garrett, Ray Romano, Shannon Elizabeth, Jennifer Tilly and Montel Williams are all gone), actor Tobey Maguire moved on with $150,000.

Dangerous games
Who said poker isn’t a physical game? Tony Lee of Laguna Hills, Calif., found out that it can be late Tuesday night, injuring himself during a big hand against Keith Littlewood from Sheffield, England.

Lee put himself all in with ace-jack, and was called by Littlewood’s ace-king. Lee got lucky and took the lead when a jack came on the flop.

But a king came on the turn, putting Littlewood back in front. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Lee hollered when the king hit.

Slide show Card sharks Take a visual tour of the sights at the World Series of Poker’s main event. more photos

But on the river, the rollercoaster ride swung back Lee’s way when another jack came to help him stay alive. Elated as he was, Lee jumped in the air with a shout of “unbelievable!” But when he landed he twisted his ankle.

“I literally broke an ankle,” Lee said as he hobbled his way back into his chair.

Despite the emotional ride that the hand put them on, both Littlewood and Lee were good sports, content to move onto Day 3. Littlewood even went so far as to break into song for the ESPN cameras, giving the crowd his version of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”

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