It’s Day 3 in the Main Event of the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw. Sadly, as I’m sure you’re all aware, our players representing PAF, Red Kings and Winamax did not make it through to be one of the final 24 participating today.

It has been an EPT roller-coaster for all of our players, with their stacks fluctuating from the very start of Day 1A. There’s been some bad luck, good luck and then of course…the miracles (Finlands, Ville Aspegren’s “runner runner” Full House against a flopped “nut flush” springs to mind!). All the players have thoroughly enjoyed the event despite not making it to the money or making a final table appearance.

There are currently 14 players left battling it out to make the final 8, that will continue the fight for the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw 1st place prize of €367,141…perhaps next time one of those players at the final table, will be from one of our partners!

It’s been yet again another great EPT packed with stars that have come from as far away as Panama and even though the event has ended for our partners, the action at the felt is far from over!

So that’s all from your blogger here in Warsaw. As the young folks out here in Poland would say…”Do Zobaczenia Wkrótce”…

..See you soon!

With less than 2 hours left until Day 2 comes to and end, I hear you all cry in desperation “Blogger! What the fudge is going on?!”. Patience dear readers, for here it comes!

After watching our last remaining player representing Red Kings, Csaba was up against it. Sitting with less than half the average stack, he comes out betting his pocket 9♠ 9♦ . Folded all the way around to Arnaud Mattern, the Frenchman pushes all-in just covering Csaba’s stack. The Hungarian calls. The cards go on their backs Csaba’s 9♠ 9♦ is up against Arnaud’s A♥ T♣ . He’s in the lead…but only just. Can he double up? The dealer unleashes the flop… J♥ Q♠ K♣ . In a moment that can only be summed up as unbelievable, Arnaud had flopped an Ace high straight! The Red Kings player is decimated as his chances have now dropped to less than 3%. It’s an extremely unlucky flop for our man Csaba who now needs runner runner for a Full House or Quads. The turn and river needs to land either 2 Jacks, 2 Queens or 2 Kings…or the board pairs and a 9 comes. The situation hasn’t totally sunk in before the dealer pours out the turn…Q♦ ! Half the job is done! his chances have gone up to almost 10% now. Any 9 or Q will make a Full House. Can the young Red Kings player do what fellow Hungarian, Harry Houdini, became famous for and escape this amazingly tight position? His EPT relies on the river! The dealer tucks the burn card under the pot…”mouths are open wide and all eyes are paying attention”…he then takes the card to the end of the board…”no one is breathing”…could it really happen?…the dealer turns over the river, in what can only be described as antagonisingly slow motion…”blank”! It’s over…it’s all over. The final hope of success from our partners sinks on the river and the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw dream is finished.

Csaba is still in a great mood despite his unfortunate exit and tells me he’s looking forward to the next EPT in Prague. He’s been great all week and it’s only a matter of time before great things happen for him on the EPT circuit.

The blinds are just about to be increased to 1000/2000 with a 200 ante. So there’s not a lot of room for too many loose calls!

Csaba Tóth, the last remaining player from our partners in Day 2, is sitting with around a 31k stack down on table 3. Also on table 3 is France’s Antony Lellouche (who started the day with the 2nd highest chip count), Lellouche’s countryman, Arnaud Mattern and also Swedish ex-footballer, Hans Eskilsson.

Considering Csaba started after the dinner break with 21k, his stack is moving in the right direction. However, he’s sitting with half of the average stack and I can hear his motto continue to ring out through the casino…

Can he create something from his 31k stack? One thing is for sure…he’s going to have to try and conjure up a moment of brilliance! Who knows maybe 221 hands have passed and it’s now time to see “Pocket Rockets” again!

There’s 42 runners left out of the 114 that started Day2 of the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw…and I imagine that they’re all pretty happy that the 1 hour dinner break has just arrived!

Our lone soldier, Csaba Tóth, has around a 21k stack. Having been up to the dizzy heights of a stack in the region of 52k, the Red Kings player hasn’t had the run of fortune that he would’ve liked. There’s a couple of big stacks on his table and he tells me they’re a bit difficult to play against. Csaba tells me that his motto of the day “I need to double up” will have to be used after he’s replenished his energy and concentration during the 1 hour poker solstice.

The blinds are going to be 800/1600 with a 200 ante. The average stack currently sits around 50k. With it going to cost about 4k a lap after the break, I’m all for Csaba’s motto coming into force!!

NEWS JUST IN!!

Shortly before the break Red Kings player Toni Ojala glanced down to see “Cowboys” waving back at him. Some pre-flop action ensued and the friendly Finn was all in against PokerStars professional, Alexander Kravchenko. Toni flips over his K♠ K♦ and Alex shows 6♠ 6♥ . Toni’s 80% ahead…nice position to be in! The flop fires out “blank blank blank”. Tonai os now over 90% favourite to take this pot. A beautiful place to be…until the turn. The dealer shows a streak of evil and hands Alex a 6♦ ! Alex now has a set of 6’s…the hand of the devil! Soul destroying for Toni. He’s right up against it now. There’s 2 Kings left in the deck and if the Red Kings player doesn’t hit one, his chase for EPT glory is over. The river is turned over painfully slow to all those cheering for Toni…”blank”. It’s all over.

That leaves the young Hungarian Csaba Tóth flying solo with a 33k stack. The break is just about over and the blinds will be a hefty 500/1000 with a 100 ante. There’s only 61 people left…

…Insane action here at Day 2!!

“Oh Dear!”…as I’m sure Captain Edward Smith of the Titanic said just before he spotted “that” iceberg.

There’s 69 people left and the blinds are at 400/800 ante 100. Vanessa Thobert, holding position over PokerStars professional Dario Minieri, was just involved in some action! The blinds are 400/800 ante 100 and there was a pre-flop bet up to 3k. The action moves around to Winamax’s online qualifier and she pushes all-in for around 6k. Everyone folds in turn and the bettor calls the other 3k. The cards hit the deck. The young French lady is holding pocket tens T♣ T♥ and her opponent holds A♦ K♠ . That makes her close to a 60% chance to take down the pot! The flop is is shown some dalylight and comes up “blank”…”blank”…”blank”. She’s in great shape now and is up to 75% favourite. The dealer opens up the turn… K♠ ! Disaster strikes!! The miracle turn has left her in a real bad shape! It’s down to finding one of the two tens left from the remaining 30 cards now resting in the dealers hand! Only 2 outs…can she hit one?…the river comes in slow motion…”blank”…there’s no ten to be seen anywhere!. Vanessa’s PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw dream evaporates.

That leaves Csaba and Toni of Red Kings the only survivors so far. Csaba has around 11,5k and is sitting over on table 9 with France’s Arnaud Mattern and EPT Leaderboard sensation and PokerStars professional, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier of France. Toni is still sitting down at table 1 with about 12,5k in chips alongside PokerStars professionals, Isabelle Mercier and Katja Thater. The break isn’t too far away now…Will there be any more upsets? Cross those fingers…the madness continues!!

The first hour has passed and the blinds and initial action has pounded out the short stacks. Out of the 114 players that started the day, there’s only 78 left!! With a player being eliminated every 2 minutes on average, have our players escaped the the EPT Warsaw blood bath?!…

…Kinda.

Winamax player, Philippe Taupin moved his 8k stack all-in with K♣ T♣ and was called by the button who was holding A♥ A♠ . The flop blanked out! Up against it, the Frenchman was needing a miracle runner runner to stay alive. The turn comes up “blank” and leaves Philippe drawing dead going into the river. Speaking to him, he was still really happy and in great spirits despite having just being eliminated. What a nice guy!

Fellow Frenchman and Winamax player, Bruno De Bari found himself in a tough spot over on table 2. With a bet of 1,725 in late position, Bruno on the big blind (with only 1,200 left) calls the all-in. Bruno shows his “Snowmen” 8♣ 8♦ and the raiser shows A♠ K♠ . The flop lands… A♣ Q♠ 4♥ . He’s needing another “Snowman, or it’s over! Can he be the Zinidine Zidane of poker and show us an amazing moment?…no… Q♦ . It’s down to the river to save Bruno from becoming the next victim of the EPT. The river lands…K♣ . He’s out!

Sweden’s Red Kings player, Molle, over on table 1 made a move with A♣ 9♠ against an early limper, only to be called. The chips were all pushed in eventually and the limper showed 6♥ 6♣ . There was no help for Molle from the poker gods and the 6’s held up. Molle’s out too!! He seemed in a happy enough mood though and the smile that had been with him all week, was still there!

It’s incredibly fast paced here and the action down on the floor is nothing short of mental! You don’t want to miss anything…so don’t go anywhere!!

We’re 15 minutes in to Day 2 of the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw!

There’s 114 runners today all out for the 1st place prize of €367,141. The 6 players from our partners are all refreshed and on their tables trying to create a stack.

The French Winamax trio are as follows. Bruno De Bari (10k chip stack) is sitting down on table 2 seat 7, Philippe Taupin seated at table 8 seat 2 and Vanessa Thobert started on table 12. However, she’s recently just been moved to table 14 alongside Ireland’s Alan Smurfit and Germany’s PokerStar professional, Katja Thater. Red Kings players, Csaba Tóth, Toni Ojala and Jonas Molander’s EPT title bid’s are underway also. Csaba is sitting over on table 12 seat 7, and Molle and Toni are down at table 1 in seats 3 and 4 respectively (Molle was just recently moved from table 3 where Dario Minieri was seated). Table 1 looks to be an interesting one, as joining Toni and Molle, we have Patrick Mårtensson of Sweden, Michael Keiner of Germany and Canadian PokerStars professional, Isabelle Mercier. Perhaps going to be a tough table for our boys

The blinds have started off at 300/600 ante 75, which means it’ll cost about 1500 a lap! There’s going to be a lot of casualties in the first hour. Can the Winamax and Red Kings crew survive the initial torrent of the day?

It’s going to be action packed and extremely fast, so you might want to cancel any plans you have for this afternoon and grab a coffee! Remember to use that F5 button!!

Did any more players fall at the final hurdle of Day 1B?…

…yes…but the 3 remaining Red Kings players are through to Day 2 of the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw!

58 players were eliminated today, leaving 60 moving on through to Day 2. Toni Ojala leads the Red Kings field with 12,975. The young Hungarian, Csaba Tóth, takes with him 11,600 in chips and Jonas Molander carries 7,700 with him. All the players look relieved that the day is finally over and I’m sure sleep will be high on the priority list. Toni mentioned to me just as he vanished into the elevator, that he was straight off to bed!

Toni, Csaba and Molle will be joined tomorrow by the Winamax online qualifiers from Day 1A, Bruno De Bari, Philippe Taupin and Vanessa Thobert. That makes a preliminary field of 114 players going into Day 2. With the players of our partners all sitting under the average stack, which is just shy of 20k, there will have to be moments of magic and the odd conjuring of a miracle to improve their stacks and help them make it safely through to Day 3.

Only 24 places are paid from the €1,172,973 prize pool with 1st place taking home a wallet busting €367,141! Will any of our players make it to the money? Will one of them take 1st place prize? Will the blogger manage to sleep with all the excitement of tomorrow looming? Only time will tell.

In 14 hours, Day 2 of the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw will begin…so sleep tight…tomorrow could be a marathon session!

(The following post should be hummed to the 1986 hit by Europe…The Final Countdown)

The 3rd and final break of the day has just ended and the 3 remaining Red Kings Players are still in the chase for EPT glory!

Csaba Tóth is now up to 14k. Nice work considering he was down as little as 5,5k at one point! Molle has informed me that he’s grinding away and currently has a stack worth about 10k. No matter where the EPT is…it’s always about the grind! Toni is having a cold period over on table 3 and is down to 7k in chips.

After speaking to Csaba and Toni during the break, they’ve told me that they won’t be disappointed when this final level of Day 1B is over. It appears they’re just looking to get through the winter front that has attached itself to the Red Kings’s players cards. The blinds are up to 200/400 with antes of 50. That’s about 1k per lap. Can they grind it out for the last hour? With this level being a clinical period of the day, no one is safe!

69 players left…and counting…

Day 1B claims another scalp!

Sweden’s Ramzi Jelassi has gone! Prior to his departure he doubled up PokerStars Professional, Dario Minieri. A few hands later, he moved his remaining 3k stack all-in with J♥ T♣ into a flop of clubs up against France’s Remy Andre Biechel who was holding top pair A♥ J♦ . The turn and river never helped out and Ramzi was the first Red Kings player out!

Toni has an 11k stack, Csaba is now up to around 9k in chips and Molle has about 7,5k in his possession.

There’s 2 levels of blinds remaining and 76 players left! Put the phone off the hook…It’s beginning to get serious now!

…or as the English speaking community would say “UPDATE!” It’s now time for the dinner break and the players are enjoying the well deserved break from the pressures of the day.

Ramzi has around 19k in chips and is still mixing it up with Dario Minieri, Patrick Mårtenson and Indian PokerStars player Aditya Agarwal. Toni is not seeing to much action over on table 3 and in possession of about a 9k stack. Molle has been moved over to table 8 and sits between PokerStars professionals Isabelle Mercier and Katja Thater and has a stack around 10k. Csaba’s wishes have been granted and he’s now over on table 7 with Germany’s Max Bracht and Sweden’s Micke Norinder with a stack of about 5,5k.

Just before the break, PAF’s online qualifier Ville Aspegren (seated over on table 10 alongside WSOPE PLO winner, Theo Jørgensen) peered down to see his suited A♠ Q♠ . Having raised to 650, there was only one caller. The flop arrived 2♠ J♠ T♥ and the Finn moved his remaining 2k stack all-in. He was quickly called and his opponent showed his “Bullets” A♣ A♦ . It’s almost a coin toss at this point, with the Ville only slightly behind. The turn drops…”blank” and Ville’s down to about 27% chance of staying in the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw. He needs any King or any Spade to keep him alive and to continue his roller-coaster Day 1B. Not since “Rocky” took on “Apollo Creed” can I remember a better point of tension. The river is hastily thrown out onto the felt…”blank”. Ville Aspegren’s EPT Warsaw dream is over! Only a few hands before, he was all-in on the flop and managed to hit a miracle runner runner full house! That’s only a 3% chance of taking the pot against his opponents nut flush! Not to be this time though. He mentions it was a great experience and still has a twinkle in his eye!

The first casualty form our partners players has been taken, but 4 Red Kings member are left! 85 players from the starting field of 118 remain. The players will soon be back from their dinner break and the action will once again heat up! With only 3 levels of play left for the day, there will be no slowing down, no taking it easy and no mercy! “Fear does not exist in this dojo!”…(ok, we’re not in a dojo, but you get the idea!)

The 1st break has now ended and the players have left the bar (Ahem…I mean the “rest area”) and have returned to the felt for level 3 of the blinds.

Ramzi Jelassi has inflated his stack up to 17k and informs me that his table could be a dangerous one! Patrick Mårtenson and Dario Minieri are known to make aggressive plays, throw in Ramzi and you have the table where it all happens! Finlands Toni Ojala is sitting with around 14k and tells me things are going “ok”…so modest! Jonas Molander (Molle) has around a stack of 10k over on table 7. Rounding up the Red Kings players, Hungarian Csaba Tóth has a stack just under starting amount and tells me he can’t wait for his table to break. PAF’s Ville Aspegren, managed to increase his stack up to 6k thanks to some aggressive play just before the break! After talking to him on the way back from the bar (I mean “rest area”) he seems much more relaxed and looking forward to the rest of the day.

There’s 110 players left from the 118 that started and the blinds now up to 100/200, it won’t be long before Day 1B takes more victims!

Things are going well for the Red Kings players with Ramzi heading the field with around 16k. Patrick Mårtenson and Dario Minieri are also plus, so that definitely is the action table. “Molle” is up to about 14k in chips over on table 7 as seems to be going along nicely. Toni Ojala is also plus, with about 12k. Csaba Tóth is still sitting with around his starting stack. The PAF player, Ville Aspegren, was down to about 1500 in chips a moment ago before making a move.

“Under The Gun” raised to 200, with one caller action was round to the Finn who was sitting on the button. He moves all in for 1550, “Under The Gun” raises to 4200 trying to isolate the pot. This works and the middle caller folds. The cards are on their backs. His opponent show Q♠ Q♥ , Ville shows K♦ K♠ . The flop is then spread out… 2♥ 3♠ A♠ . After dodging all the possible outs against him on the flop, he’s a massive 90% to take down the pot. The turns is pulled… 5♥ . With his opponent needing one of the 2 remaining Queens, all is looking well. Time for the river… 6♣ . The “Cowboys” hold out and Ville increases his stack to 3,3k.

It’s fast on the floor and the blinds are now up to 50/100. There’s action coming from every angle! Keep hitting F5 to refresh your page, as believe me, you don’t want to miss anything!

With Day 1B of the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw 30 minutes old, I hear you all ask “Where are they? What’s going on?”…It’s ok, I have it all under control!

PAF player, Ville Aspegren, is tucked in nicely over on table 10 seat 7. Hungarian, Csaba Tóth, is over on table 14 seat 7 which has already taken it’s first EPT Warsaw victim of Day 1B! Jonas Molander is placed at table 7 in the first seat alongside fellow Swede, Micke Norinder. Toni is looking comfortable down on table 3 seat 2. And finally, Ramzi Jelassi is planted on table 6 seat one alongside his countryman, Patrik Mårtenson and a few seats along sits PokerStars Pro player, Dario Minieri. Sure to be the action table of the day!

As you can see, it should be a very interesting day!

Here we are on Day 1B of the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw!

Today we have Finland’s Ville Aspegren here representing PAF. It’s his first EPT Main Event appearance and he’s looking forward to it! He told me he’s a little nervous, but hopes to do well and hold his own against some of the stars of the poker world. Also in good spirits, are the Red Kings team! There’s 4 of them and they’re all gunning for the EPT title here in Poland! You’ll no doubt remember Csaba Tóth and Toni Ojala from the EPT in Budapest. Joining them at the felt this time are EPT Veterans Ramzi Jelassi and Jonas Molander. The field promises to be a strong one with a lot of world class players taking part today, so there’s going to be some great action today!

The players have a starting stack of 10k and blinds starting at 25/50 with 1 hour levels. There’s will be a 15 minute break after the 2nd and 6th level, with the players being treated to a nice 1 hour dinner break after level 4.

Keep your finger on the refresh button…today is going to be hot!

Well, the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw Day 1A has now come to an end…”aaww”. However, tomorrow Day 1B begins…”Yay!”. Out of the initial field of 99, only 53 are left. Jean-Mathieu Torre was the only casualty from the team of 4 Winamax qualifiers, leaving the remaining three safely through to Day 2 on Monday!

Bruno De Bari ends the day with the exact amount of chips he started with and takes his 10k in chips safely into Day 2.  Philippe Taupin is closely behind with a stack of 9,800 and Vanessa Thobert will return on Monday with 6125. The players are happy, no doubt thanks to the fact they’ll be having tomorrow off (unlike your hard working blogger!) and I expect that they’ll use it to relax after the gruelling day they’ve gone through today!

Tomorrow we’ll be following the action involving players from Red Kings and PAF. It’ll be the same structure as today with blinds starting off at 25/50 and the starting stack of 10k in chips. The word on the street is, that their will be between 150 and 200 runners tomorrow, so the action will be more intense and thrilling showdowns are expected. With players such as William Thorson, Dario Minieri and Isabelle Mercier (too name but a few) great play is guaranteed.

If you’re one of the few readers who can contain your excitement, then try and grab a few hours sleep, because tomorrow promises to be full of EPT drama, passion and determination.

Set your alarms early as the the cards hit the felt at 14:00 local time!

“Wait…Will there be 4 Winamax players there? It could happen!”…

…no, it won’t happen. Disaster has struck for Jean-Mathieu. Having once been the owner of a 27k stack, the French Winamax player was involved in a few pots that didn’t quite go his way. Eventually pushing all in preflop with A♣ 4♣ only to be called by the table big stack, he was behind after his opponent flipped over his A♥ J♠ . The flop drew a blank, followed by the turn…and as you may have already guessed, the river showed no help. Jean-Mathieu’s first EPT ended after around 6 hours of play. He seemed to still be in high spirits and mentioned that he’ll be at future EPT’s this season.

So we have 3 Winamax players left, Vannesa Thobert holds around 10,5k in chips and appears to also be enjoying her first EPT Main Event. I haven’t seen her without her smile so far! Philippe Taupin has now been moved again to table 2 and took with him around 10k in chips. Bruno De Bari is holding on over on table 5 with about 7,5k in chips and still seems chirpy.

With 63 players left and the blinds up to 200/400 ante 50, it’s going to cost the players about 1k per lap! Our French Qualifiers will no doubt be thinking about this and I’m sure that there will be moves of all shapes and sizes coming in from our players. If they want to make it to Day 2…action will be needed! It’s getting more tense in the tournament and the concentration levels are beginning to loosen up. Can they build on the knowledge they’ve gained so far through the day and inflate their stacks? It’s going to be a pressure filled finish to the day…so don’t go anywhere!

There’s no real change in the chip stacks regarding the Winamax players, as all 4 of them continue the waiting game. Philippe Taupin has managed to pushed his stack up to about 10,5k on table 8. He’s 2 seats along from Norwegian star Johnny Lodden, but seems to be holding his own. The blinds are about to be jumped up to 200/400 so a lot of chip movement is inevitable.

A third of the field has now been eliminated, leaving 66 EPT hopefuls chasing for a final table appearance. Will there be a Winamax player there? Wait…Will there be 4 Winamax players there? It could happen!

The players have been blessed with a dinner break and have used it to re-fuel themselves and get a well deserved solace from the pressures of Day 1A at the PokerStars.com EPT Warsaw.

Your blogger on the other hand, has been hard at it! All 4 of the Winamax players are safely through the halfway point! Jean-Mathieu’s stack has seen more action…unfortunately, not to his benefit, as his stack has now decreased to around about 19k. Vanessa Thobert on the same table, is just behind with about 16k in chips. Over on table 5, Bruno De Bari has suffered a set back and is down to just under the starting stack. Philippe Taupin has now been moved over to table 8 and has taken his 9k stack with him, hopefully he left the cold cards at table 10 and will now be on fire! Time will tell.

The blinds are now beginning to rise with 100/200 being asked for and 81 players now remain. Some players are beginning to feel the pace, so expect that number to drop! There are some tired faces out there already…will the the 4 French players have the stamina to make it through to Day 2? With the blinds beginning to increase and the patience of players being tested…the casualties are about to rise…

I know you’re all wondering who has what…so here’s it is!

All is going well on table 2 for Jean-Mathieu Torre, as he has increased his stack up to a whopping 27k! The gods of poker were listening to silent prayers during the break, as Bruno De Bari now has a tidy stack of 16k. Vanessa Thobert is also handling herself fine over on table 2 and has inflated her stack up to 14k. Philippe Taupin is still going through the motions and currently has around 8,5k in chips. The blinds are at 75/150 and there’s only 89 players left!

For these 4 Winamax players the PokerStars EPT Warsaw dream continues to lives on…

The first break of the day has now ended and all 4 of the Winamax qualifiers are safely through!

Jean-Mathieu Torre has had a great start and is now currently sitting with around a 21k stack and appears to have control of table 2. Philippe Taupin over on table 10, is sitting with around 9k. Back on table 2, Vaness Thobert’s stack has been chipped away to 8k. Finally, Bruno De Bari on table 5 also has around 8k. During the break I managed to get a few words with Bruno. Now before I go any further, let me inform you that I do not speak French and Bruno was speaking in French. From what I gather, it’s been a bit cold over on table 5 for him and he’s not getting in on too much action. That’s roughly what I surmised from our chat (although he could have been easily telling me to have a shave and get a haircut) so let’s hope the poker gods wander over to Bruno and start showering him with some decent cards.

It’s a slow paced day so far, with only 3 players eliminated from the field of 99 and the average chip count only a shaving over the starting stack. Be assured though, action is around the corner…I can feel it!

The first blind level has come and passed and our 4 Winamax players are going steady, all currently floating around their starting stack of 10k. Jean Mathieu has increased his chip count slightly, but other than that, all appears to be going to plan and the dream of winning the PokerStars EPT Warsaw is still on track for each of our French players.

The first casualty fell about 20 minutes ago when there was a flurry of all-in action before the flop was even a thought. A♠ A♦ against K♥ K♦ looked all too familiar. The age old battle of “Bullets” against “Cowboys” seemed like it was destined to finish in the usual manner in which these showdowns go…until the K♠ on the turn threw up a nice twist for the player who was packing up his tent and preparing to move camp. No Ace showed on the river and the EPT Warsaw took it’s first victim.

With 99 players starting Day 1A, the 4 players from Winamax are in tucked nicely in the small field, there’s only one question to ask…can they continue their steady start to the day?

…As they say here in Warsaw, which just so happens to be the next stop in the European Poker Tour’s fifth season! With a buy in of 20,000 PLN + 1000 PLN there’s a nice prize pool up for grabs in the PokerStars EPT Warsaw!

We have 9 players from our partners participating in this weeks EPT and 4 of those begin in less than 15 minutes! That’s right…Day 1A is just about to begin! Let me introduce you to the runners and riders.

Today is purely all about Winamax with the 4 participants all hailing from France. Vanessa Thobert, Bruno De Bari, Philippe Taupin and Jean-Mathieu Torre will all be aiming to waltz through Day 1A and possibly take with them, a healthier stack to Main Event Day 2. So to those players I say “Bonne Chance”.

There’s going to be an abundance of emotions today and no doubt, with the pressure so high, there’s going to be plenty of drama! There will be smiles of jubilation, frowns of despair…and probably tears before bed time!

So be sure to hold your breath until the first post with the action reports comes in…which won’t be long now!

Well, with all of the Ongame network players now eliminated our time here at the PokerStars.com EPT Budapest is almost over *sniff sniff*.

It’s been a great tournament for some of our players and no doubt, also a great experience…even for our EPT veterans! But with all good things…there has to come an end. It’s been an action packed 4 days in Hungary’s capital city, filled with the drama, excitement and disappointment that goes hand in hand with the EPT. The Main Event started straight away with excitement and continued to rise until climaxing this afternoon when Pantelis Pavlis of Poker.gr was eliminated in the cruelest of fashions. It was a hard pill to swallow at the time, but looking back now…the man from Greece qualified for $30 and is taking home just over $10,800 for nearly 3 days of poker. That’s about $617 per hour! Speaking to him this afternoon once the initial shock had blown over, the smile from Pantelis that we had seen all week, had returned. The memory of his EPT will live with him for quite some time and I would imagine he’ll be telling tales of miracle turns, life saving rivers…and of course…THAT flop.

It’s been a thoroughly enjoyable tournament and will continue tomorrow with the final 8 players chasing the first place prize of €595,839. However, for us (get your tissues out) the story ends here. It’s been wonderful keeping you all up to date on the action and I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have. Perhaps our paths will cross again one day…

…but for now, “Viszlát!”

With the last post of the Ongame Zone blog explaining the meteoric rise of Pantelis Pavlis in Day 3 of the PokerStars.com EPT Budapest, this post is somewhat different.

Having reached the dizzy heights of a 410k stack, actions began to slow down for the Greek and the rush seemed to be drawing to an end. When out of the blue, all hell broke loose.

“Under the gun” Albert Iversen bet 12,5k. Action was folded around to Pantelis. The Poker.gr player thought for a while before moving his “table bending” stack of 334k into middle isolating play. Action had now returned to Iversen. After an eternity of thinking and deliberating, the young Danish player made the call. The buzz goes out and the media swoop in to see the action. This is a major, MAJOR pot with a total amount of 680k up for grabs. The biggest of the tournament so far. Tension was immense (to say the least). Showdown. The cards are on their back and Iversen shows Q♥ Q♠ Pantelis then shows…A♠ A♦ . Wooohooo!! Pantelis gives a relieved but nervous smile. The blogger nearly has a heart attack!! Everybody gasps and stares in amazement. I can only imagine that the amount of adrenaline running through the Greek’s veins was of ridiculous proportions. Iversen looks onward in dismay. Pantelis has almost an 82% chance of winning the jaw-dropping pot. Iversen is in a bad way. The initial frenzy has dissipated and the dealer unleashes the flop…Q♦ K♦ 7♣ . Nightmare!! Iversen flops a set! An amazing stroke of luck for Iversen, a deadly blow to the EPT dreams of Pantelis. His odds have plummeted to 14%! To survive, he’ll need a “runner runner” or an Ace. So that’s any 10 and Jack or any 2 diamonds in succession…or an Ace. Everyone is still astounded by the hand when the turn is dealt…8♠ . The runner runner calculations are all thrown away and the Greek is down to hitting one of the 2 Aces remaining. An extremely tough request. Pantelis looks distraught and for very good reason! Is it too much to ask to hit this 4% chance and remain in the EPT? The pot is so huge, the winner will be in a very, very dominating position. The dealer burns a card…”can Pantelis rise like a phoenix?”…he takes the river out to the end of the table…”can there be an Ace on the other side of that card?”…he flips it over in World Record slow motion…7♠ . The EPT dream is over and there will be no fairytale story involving from the man from Greece. He’s knocked out in 25th position taking home €8,512. Although he’s understandably disappointed, his $30 buy-in on Poker.gr has paid out nicely. Finishing 25th from a field of 532 players is an astonishing feat for the online qualifier participating in his first EPT Main Event. My congratulations go out to him!

Well, it’s been a roller coaster ride of emotions and excitement, all making for an astonishing EPT involving all of the Ongame Network players who participated. We’ve seen bad hands, great hands and down right scary hands. There’s been some real quality play and there’s been play from another planet.

With the last hand of Pantelis in mind, I think it’s quite fitting to leave you with a quote from poker legend and 10 time World Series of Poker winner, Doyle Brunson…

…”sometimes you’re the statue…and sometimes you’re the pigeon”.

Just a quick update…as drama reared it’s head again!!

Pantelis Pavlis just called a bet of over 40k preflop against beginning of the day chip leader, Albert Iversen. The flop lands Q♠ A♠ 2♠ and the Greek player goes all-in after a moments thought. Iversen takes some time to think about it and eventually folds. Pantelis collects the pot and shows Iversen his 7♠ 8♠ making an Ace high flush. How’s that for a flop?

There are now 27 players left and the average stack is just shy of 200k. Our man Pantelis is having a total blinder!! In about 90 minutes, he has risen from his starting stack of 59k up to about 410k!! He’s playing out of his skin and doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon! The quality of poker he’s playing is coming at the perfect time and is a real pleasure to watch. It’s so exciting I may have to change my pants!!

Don’t go anywhere and keep refreshing the page!!

So far 11 people have been eliminated…not our Pantelis Pavlis though! He’s having an absolutely storming start to Day 3. Starting with 59k he’s managed to increase his stack to a beautiful 206k!! A hand of note was the Greek’s A♣ 9♥ against another players 6♠ 5♦ . Already ahead, the Greek hit an Ace on the flop, followed by another one on the turn, resulting in his opponent drawing dead. Pantelis has been all-in more times than I’ve blinked! Every time he’s come up trumps!

With 31 players left and the averages stack now up to 170k, The poker.gr man is in great shape and will be taking home at least €8,512! The fairytale story is now on the cards and the explosive start to the day doesn’t look like slowing or calming down.

About 4 days ago I promised you there would be drama…you can be sure of one more thing, there’s still a massive amount of that stuff left!

We’re just moments away from the beginning of Day 3 of the PokerStars.com EPT Budapest!!

That man, Pantelis Pavlis, begins the day with 59k in chips on table one. The blinds are a humongous 2500/5000 ante 500, which is seriously going to affect the Poker.gr’s strategy. He informs me that there will be no “limping”. It’s a simple all in or fold situation! He’s on the same table as the chip leader (who has 442k!!) so there are plenty of chips on the table. With the average stack at around 127k, Pantelis is in 34th position from the 42 remaining. He’s guaranteed €6,384…not bad considering he qualified online for $30!!

The Greek is relaxed and in great spirits and with his wife watching on, will there be a fairytale ending to the day? It’s going to be fast, furious and action packed! Keep that finger on refresh…

In my previous blog I posed the question “Can Pantelis make it to Day 3?”…the answer will follow shortly.

So the bubble has come and passed. With somewhere around 20k in chips Pantelis makes a move all-in…and there’s a caller (there always is!). The Greek shows K♠ Q♠ whilst the caller shows A♠ K♥ . Nightmare, he’s behind! Is the 27% chance of winning the hand enough or is the the end of the road? The flop is cracked open… 8♥ 5♣ 2♦ . Things are beginning to look bleak, his chances just dropped to 12%. He really needs to hit something to stay in the tournament. Out comes the turn… Q♠ . Amazing!! Queen on the turn!! All of a sudden he’s 94% to win…if he can just dodge an Ace. The river is flipped over…(prayers begin, no Ace…no Ace…no Ace)…8♠ . The life saving Queen on the turn is enough. Pantelis pulls in the 45k pot.

The roller coaster ride of all-ins continues a few hands later. The button goes all-in for around 25k, Pantelis calls. The cards go on their backs. The “button” has T♠ J♦ and our man 6♠ 6♥ . The flop is released… Q♦ J♠ 8♠ . Bad news for Pantelis. The turn is out… 2♦ . He needs one of the two 6’s left in the deck. The river is popped open… 5♣ . No good. He loses more than a handful of chips, but still has enough to pick and choose his next all-in move.

Some time passes and a few hands down the line, Small Blind moves all-in preflop. The Poker.gr player then calls taking himself all-in. It’s do or die time! Showdown. Small Blind holds K♦ Q♠ and Pantelis holds A♠ 2♣ . The flop is unleashed and is a total “blank” for both players. The turn also comes out as a complete “blank” resulting in no draws for either player. If Pantelis can dodge a King or a Queen, he’ll double up. The river’s out…no King or Queen in sight! The 69k pot is sent over to the Greek with only a few hands left of the marathon Day 2!

So, to answer “that” question…”Yes, Pantelis CAN make it to Day 3 and Pantelis DID make it to Day 3!” Quite an impressive EPT he’s currently having! He finished the day in 34th position with 59k in chips. The average stack amongst the 42 players remaining is 127k. Going into Day 3 tomorrow will be a bit of an uphill struggle considering the blinds will be at level 17. It’s a mighty 2500/5000 and an ante of 500. That works out to almost 12k a lap!! However, the tables are all accustomed to constant all-in situations, so providing the Greek can pick up a hand and use it well, there’s still a very real chance of a seat at the Final Table on Saturday.

Readers, I advise you all to get a good nights sleep and set your alarms, because tomorrow is going to be hectic! The action will be thick and fast with the short stacks trying to hold on for dear life and doubling up attempts aplenty. There’s going to be emotions packed to the ceiling and tensions will be higher!! In fact, I’m so excited…I just might not sleep! Lets hope Pantelis gets a few Z’s though, because with any luck…he’s got a long day ahead of him tomorrow!!

Poker.gr player Pantelis continues to hold out for an actual hand he could use, in the meantime his 35k stack dwindles away thanks to the constant antes and the fact that the blinds are a little on the large side!

Just moments ago there were 57 players left in the EPT Budapest. Here it was. Finally, the infamous “bubble” had arrived. Hand by hand action was now in play, which was great for Pantelis as his hands were now hypothermic! After 3 players had survived all-in situations, the 4th all-in wasn’t so fortunate for one player. He left the PokerStars.com EPT Budapest in what has to be THE most painful position to be eliminated in, one spot from the money. Truly a sad moment for that player…BUT GREAT FOR PANTELIS!!!

This means that the man from Greece will leave the tournament with at least €5,320! He’s still short stacked and not at all in a good way, but at least the added pressure of going home empty handed has now passed!

All thoughts now have a different perspective. Can Pantelis make it to Day 3?

Just a quick update from the felt folks.

Pantelis seems to have fallen on some cold cards, as his stack has shrunk to around about 45k. The blinds are now 1500/3000 ante 300. The average stack is 88.7k and there are 60 players left. Remember 56th places paid! So the Poker.gr player is amazingly close to the money and I’m amazingly close to a breakdown!

The blinds will be raised soon costing the players a huge 2000/4000 ante 400. That’s 9600 a lap!! As you can imagine, the players suffering from “short stack” ailment will have to create some magic to stay involved and make it through to Day 3 of the PokerStars.com EPT Budapest.

Nerves of steel are needed right now…and of course, a pretty decent hand would be too bad either!

Well, as soon as I walk onto the poker room floor, that drama and excitement you hear me speak of strikes again.

Down on table 4 seat 6, sits the Greek player Pantelis Pavlis. Just as i arrive at the table, I see there’s been a little preflop action involving 2 players. One of them…our man from Greece. The flop has just landed 3♣ 4♣ 5♠ . Action begins with the relatively short stacked Pantelis. “All-in” he declares whilst pushing around 35k into pot. His opponent, sitting on the button, calls the all-in and shows his “ducks” 2♠ 2♣ . Pantelis shows his “sail boats” 4♠ 4♥ . Pantelis is way out in front with a 70% advantage. Holding their breath, the turn is shown 9♠ . This has now increased the Greeks odds of winning the pot to over 81%. All he has to do is dodge an Ace or a 6. Just about everyone now has eyes on the dealer. The dream of the EPT Budapest is about to end for one of these players. The dealer begins. The burn card is tucked under the pot, the river is taken to the end of the community cards…the dealer turns it over in painfully slow motion… 7♠ . Pantelis cleans up!! The other player is eliminated and Pantelis has around 71k and some change sitting in front of him. Awesome job…awesome poker!!

“What? The blogger is posting again so soon?…This can’t be good”

Well actually, “things” aren’t exactly brilliant. With the blinds so high and the tables beginning to become volatile, I thought that perhaps I could treat the readers of the Ongame Zone more frequent up to date information. I know, I know…I didn’t have to, but hey…I’m that kinda person!

Due to the high blinds of 1000/2000 and ante’s of 200 the chips move furiously around the table. Poker.gr’s Pantelis Pavlis has had his stack chopped into since play resumed and now has around 38k in chips. There are 72 players left now seated on 9 tables. The average stack has now risen to a whopping 72,9k!!

The next level (level 14) is on it’s way and will be 1200/2400 ante 300. This will be dangerous for Pantelis’s stack with each lap costing him 6300 in chips!! Only 16 more players until the money…so start crossing those fingers!!

Moments after play had resumed, more drama unfolded here at the PokerStar.com EPT Budapest. “Oh dear blogger, tell us…pleeeease!” I hear you cry. And tell you I shall!

Scandic Bookmakers player, Danny Rasmussen, looked down at the felt to see the delight of “Big Slick” looking back at him. Danny bets 3500 and there’s a re-raise to 10k! Danny ponders for a moment and heaves the remaining 32k stack all-in. He’s immediately called. The Dane show his off suit A♦ K♠ . His opponent shows of his “bullets” A♣ A♥ . He’s gonna need help. Please be aware that I’m now going to explain the flop, turn and river in one word…”blank”. Preflop he has less than a 7% chance of winning the hand and the entire board blanks out for Danny and the poker gods simply ignore his silent prayers for help. Danny’s EPT Budapest dreams are over.

Toni Ojala of Red Kings sitting over on table 12 has been short stacked the entire day and tells me that he’s gone all-in at least 15 times today. After a lot of blind stealing from Toni, he makes a move all-in again, with K♥ Q♠ …this time he’s called. His opponent shows A♣ Q♦ Ac Qd . Disaster strikes! With 25% of winning, silent prayers are said. The flop is thrown open with an abundance of useless cards for Toni. The turn is similar to the flop and hasn’t giving Toni any draws. We’re down to the river. 3 Kings in the deck, The Finn only needs one, only 6% chance of hitting it. The river is opened…”blank”. Toni is sent out the tournament about 40 places from the money. Understandably, he seems a little disappointed. In the London EPT Toni came in the money in 40th position, but it wasn’t to be this time.

With Greece’s Pantelis Pavlis flying the flag for Poker.gr, there’s still a possible 4 hours of play left. He’s currently sitting with around 70k in chips and still appears to be relaxed and quite fresh. Just before the well needed break came, Pantelis had a stack of around 82k. Unfortunately, a “little bluff” on his part was caught, resulting in the drop down to 70k. It also has to be noted that he still has that big smile of his!! The average stack is 62,6k and there are 85 players remaining. The blinds are now up to an “stack attacking” 800/1600 with ante’s now up to 200. Another 29 players need to be eliminated before the top 56 players begin to earn some pocket money!

With Pantelis so close to the money it sets up an exciting 2nd half for Day 2. Will the gods of poker be kind to him? I hope so…

With the first 2 volatile hours over, there are only 120 people left from the 182 that started the day!

Unfortunately for Red Kings player Jesper Höög, the EPT Budapest dream is over. With some action happening in earlier positions, Jesper makes a move all in for 31,200 into a pot already around the 7k mark. Everyone folds with the exception of one player sitting to Jespers right. He doesn’t take long in calling and shows his A♥ K♠ . Jesper flips over his suited 8♦ 5♦ . The flop arrives 3♠ 2♣ T♠ . The flush draw is non-existent. Still hope for the runner runner straight. The turn is comes Q♣ . The runner runner straight also leaves the equation. All down to hitting an 8 or a 5 on the river. The river lands a 6♥ and the life saving river I spoke of earlier doesn’t show it’s face. Jesper says he enjoyed it though even if it is disappointing to leave at this stage after all his good work from yesterday.

So, 3 players remain. Pantelis Pavlis of Poker.gr is sitting infront of a beautiful stack of 71k. Very tasty indeed. He infomms me that his table isn’t that difficult and there’s no rough play. Perfect!! Danny Rasmussen has accumulated 35k in chips and tells me of his Ace high flush. Checking into the flop with his A♥ K♠ , he’s pleased to see it arrive 3♥ 5♥ K♥ . Both players check the flop. The turn lands a 2♣ and Danny bets out 4k. He’s called and the river is whipped out (Not the life saving river I mentioned, but a nice one all the same!). 4♥ Danny bets out his Ace high flush with 5k and is called. The only 2 hands that can beat his are 2♥ 6♥ or 6♥ 7♥ . Unbelievably, his opponent has…neither!! Danny takes the healthy pot and marches on. Finland and Red Kings player Toni Ojala is sitting with around 14k. He says there’ not a whole lot of action happening and when he finally does catch a hand and bets it, people just fold!

The average stack is about 45k and the blinds are now up to a giant 600/1200 including the obligatory ante. Only 64 people left to be eliminated before the money arrives! It’s so exciting I just might faint!

Day 2 of the PokerStars.com EPT Budapest has just begun and promises to be a day packed with shocking “flops”, unheard of “turns” and no doubt, a few life saving “rivers”.

With 182 players making it through to Day 2 from a field of 532 (making it the biggest poker tournament ever to take place in Hungary) they’ll be battling it out for a share of the €2,128,000 prize pool. I’m guaranteeing that there will be an abundance of emotions bouncing off the walls here in the Sofitel Hotel next to the Las Vegas Casino!

Leading the charge for Poker.gr is Pantelis Pavlis in 34th position with 45,100, who appears relaxed and refreshed after enjoying his day off yesterday. Danish Scandic Bookmakers player, Danny Rasmussen, is in 84th place with 26,200 and is looking ready for action also thanks to his relaxing day away from the EPT. Our 2 Red Kings players Jesper Höög and Toni Ojala have 20,300 and 15,700 respectively, with Jesper in 115th and Toni in 136th. Jesper did manage to sleep, however he mentioned that it was difficult as he was a bit “pumped up” about going into Day 2. Toni Ojala on the other hand is feeling a little under the weather and had a temperature of 38.1 last night! He’s not had the best of nights, as sleeping was a pretty tough experience. He’s downed a bunch of pills and is hoping they do the trick.

The blinds are starting at 400/800 with an ante of 100 and the average stack is floating around 29,2k. There are 23 tables with 8 players on each playing for the 1st prize of €595,839! Not bad for 4 days work! However, for those not fortunate enough to get that far, the prize pool stretches out to the 56th place paying €5,320. There will be 8 levels played today, or if 150 players are eliminated leaving 32 playing, the tournament will end for today and resume tomorrow on 4 tables. Just before Day 2 began, I asked Tournament Director, Thomas Kremser, the all important question…”If you were a betting man, what will come first…the 8 levels of play or play stopping at 32 players?”. Thomas goes into a deep think. “It’s a close one…but I’m going to say it’ll go to 8 levels with 37 players left”. Can’t be more accurate than that!

Can the 4 players from our partners make it to the money? Can they go one better and continue into Day 3? Will the excitement and drama push my blood pressure up and over the edge?…

Just to prove how fast the stacks move around in the EPT, within the last level of blinds in Day 1B, 2 Ongame players succumbed to better hands resulting in their demise, subsequently resigning them to elimination from the PokerStar.com EPT Budapest.

First to go was Hungarian Csaba László Tóth of Red Kings. Having accrued a stack of around 24k, Csaba lost about 16k when his pocket Q♠ Q♦ weren’t enough to win the generously sized pot. In the next pot of his involvement, the Hungarian made a move all in for his remaining 8k with K♠ J♦ . There was a caller with pocket 5♠ 5♥ . Already being behind, the 5♦ on the flop didn’t exactly help. There also wasn’t any help on the turn or river and Csaba was out. With 8 minutes left of Day1B and fairly short stacked, Petr Slavik made a move of his own. Betting 2100 preflop, the Czech was then put all-in for his remaining 6k to which he obviously called. The cards saw daylight with Petr showing K♥ Q♠ and his opponent showing A♣ Q♥ he was gonna need some help. Unfortunately for Petr…”help” had already gone home by this time. With the the entire board blanking out, it was home time for the bwin player. Both Csaba and Petr are going to be playing future EPT events. Before leaving, Petr mentioned this was just a warm up for the EPT in Prague on the 9th of December, so remember this name for the future!

Red Kings player, Jesper Höög, goes through to Day 2 tomorrow with a slightly below average chip stack. Unfortunately, the last hand of the night saw his stack drop from around 27k to 20k. Still plenty of chips to play with though. Toni Ojala also of Red Kings is through to Day 2 with a chip count of 15,7k. At one point, the Finnish player was up to 27k. Peering down at his hand… Q♥ Q♠ Toni raised 5k preflop and picked up a caller. The flop came and Toni bet 6k on his over pair. He was then forced to fold on the turn when his opponent had bet too strong for Toni to call.

Today 94 players moved forward to Day 2 tomorrow. That means 192 players in total are through to Day 2, with 4 of them from the Ongame Network! Congratulations to Danny Rasmussen, Pantelis Pavlis, Toni Ojala and Jesper Höög for making it through!

Will any of these Ongame soldiers make it to Day 3 or even to the final table and possibly take home the first prize cheque of €595,839? Readers, tomorrow I’d suggest you wear shorts and t-shirts, turn on the air-conditioning and put a couple of cold ones in the fridge…because it’s going to be hot, hot, HOT!!

WARNING: The following information may too exciting. Parental Advisory is advised.

With the final 2 hours of a grueling Day 1B remaining, all 4 Ongame Network players are still in the hunt for success and glory!!

There has been no real action invloving our players, they each told me. So I presume it really is just a case of grinding away and waiting for that moment to pounce! Red Kings player Csaba now has a comfortable stack around the 23/24k mark. Fellow Red Kings player Jesper has worked himself up to a stack of 17,5k. He informs me that it appears alot of the players are getting tired and he plans to use this to his advantage. Oh to be young again and have all that energy! Petr Slavik the Czech bwin representative pushed his stack up to 16k, improving it a clean 1k from the last break. Red Kings Finnish player Toni Ojala was looking to the gods of poker for a hand…any hand! The final hand before the break, Toni’s plea was answered. “Big Slick” arrives in seat 8 (precisely where Toni is sitting!). There’s an early limper and Toni bets to 1500. Limper calls. The flop is dealt…a rainbow T♠ T♦ J♥. “Limper” checks and Toni throws 2100 into the middle. “Limper” calls. Turn draws a low blank. Now, it gets a bit hazy here as the conversation between Toni and myself is interrupted as play resumes. The turn is played out (check, check I believe), and the river is dealt…another low “blank”. “Limper” checks once more and Toni moves about 6k and some change into the pot with his A♣ K♥. The “Limper” then folds and Toni collects something around a 14k pot. Nice last hand before the break!

The players now have 2 hours left to either survive, make their move, or lead the charge for the EPT. There’s 140 players left with the blinds at 200/400 plus an ante of 50. The average stack is a touch over 19k, so all our players are well placed.

Will the 4 Ongame Network players make it through to Day 2? To find out, keep that mouse pointer over the refresh button, count to 10, then click. Repeat this process until satisfied!

The halfway point of Day 1B has come and and passed. As the blinds are raised to 150/300, the 202 players left in the tournament seemed to enjoy the luxury of the short 15 minute interlude, using this time to recap and retell tales of missed flushes, busted hands and spread the word highlighting who and where the fishes are!

In my last post, the 4 Ongame Network players that started the day were moving along steadily. Making it look easy was Czech, Petr Slavik with a stack of 15k. “So” I hear you ask “How are they doing now?! Are they all still in the chase?! Tell us dear blogger sir, what’s going on?”.

Well…I suppose I should mention that…all 4 players are still in contention for the EPT title! That’s right, halfway through the day and all the players are grinding away to their hearts content! Petr Slavik of bwin is currently sitting on a very useful pile of chips totalling 16,5k. Jesper Höög has continued his rise and now sits with just shy of 14k thanks to the good use of pocket Q♣ Q♠. Fellow Red Kings player Csaba László Tóth, has 9,5k in chips and informs me that he’s now resorting to stealing pots. Good job Csaba, that’s what I like to hear! Tony Ojala has had a slow period with his stack being reduced to around about 9k.

There hasn’t been any major acts of drama from our players involved over the last 2 levels, although I assure you things will heat up during the remainder of Day 1B!!

Until then, let me keep you entertained with a song by Kenny Rogers.

“…You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, Know when to walk away and know when to run…”