Howard Swains reports on Day 4 of the World Cup of Poker



Welcome back to Barcelona for day three of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker. There are two heats planned for today which, by the time they're done, will have decided the line up for tomorrow's final.

At 3.30pm, representatives of teams Iceland, Ireland, Romania, Germany, Canada, United States, Mexico and Portugal will play the latest heat, worth 15 points for its winner, 12 for its runner-up, all the way down to one point for first out.

And at 9.30pm, we'll be off again, where there will likely still be everything to play for.

Overnight, the standings looked like this:

Romania - 36 points
Canada - 32 points
Ireland - 23 points
Iceland - 18 points
Germany - 17 points
USA - 16 points
Portugal - 13 points
Mexico - 7 points

and although it's looking bleak for Mexico, they are by no means out of it. The top four teams qualify for the final and back-to-back victories could send them through. This is poker, and much stranger things have happened.

Meanwhile Romania and Canada might look comfortable at the top of the pile, but they still have the added cash incentives to play for in these heats. There's a bonus $5,000 to a heat winner in addition to the points; $3,000 for the runner up and $2,000 for third place. That's not to be sniffed at.

Check back here throughout the day for latest updates. There will be chips flying, flags waving, proud chanting and some poker. We'll keep you posted all the way.