The Eureka Poker Tour is kicking off its sixth season at the King's Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic with 22 action-packed events from Mar. 2-8, 2016.
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Calvin Anderson is widely considered one of the best poker players around. In this video, we get inside the mind of Calvin during an interesting hand of the PCA.
According to a report from The Day, the win is good news for the tribe, which operates a casino in Connecticut, because in the past couple of years it failed to win licenses in New York and Pennsylvania, as well as near Boston.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority revealed nearly a year ago that it was competing for one of three South Korean casino licenses up for grabs. Roughly three dozen groups eventually indicated their interest, though only a handful ended up formally applying to a license.
The tribe partnered with a South Korean building supplies company and the Incheon International Airport Corp., the latter of which owns the site for the casino.
The first phase of the casino, dubbed “Project Inspire,” will come at a price tag of $1.6 billion and should be open by 2020. The plan is to finish the complex by 2040.
Social media, and especially Twitch lately, is the best way to get in touch with Team Pro Online members. There is no better way for asking someone a question as you get your answer right away. And it's not in some sort of a text form. You can actually see and hear the player answering. Of course, some of you guys like to put us on the spot with some...interesting stuff...but that just makes everything even more super-duper exciting, right? Kappa Kappa.
I got asked a myriad of questions during my livestream ramblings in the last year or so, but the most asked one by far is "How do you get in Team Pro Online?" One would think that in situations like this, the way it goes is, "Don't call us, we'll call you." But that is actually not the case here. Every year during the Team Pro Online week, Supernovas have a chance of filling out an application to become a member of our team. And you know what? It's that time of the year again!
This is exactly how I've got that Red Spade displayed by my name on the tables. I filled out an application and was chosen among 500 other online grinders. I play Limit Hold'em, and PokerStars didn't have an ambassador for this niche variant at that point.It also helped that my country Slovenia wasn't represented yet, so there was definitely some luck involved. Even though I could have filled out an application in the years before, I didn't do it. But I did send one that particular year. What has changed from one year to another, you might ask? Nothing really. I just decided, well...I guess this is going to sounds as cliché as possible...there was nothing to lose, but everything to gain. Here I am today.
I know I'm no Tolkien and this might not be the most interesting story you're going to hear during the week, but it's still mine, and I don't mind talking about it, even though I've told it many times during the Twitch livestreams. I've been member of Team Pro Online for two years now, and this is without a doubt the most exciting period of my poker career. All fellow members are also great people to work with, and it's definitely a privilege to be part of the team. So if you are Supernova, do not miss this amazing opportunity during the Team Pro Online week. Send in that application. Remember - there's nothing to lose, everything to gain!
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/coreysteel111
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From a whopping field of 993, they reached the final eight-handed table with about an hour left to play last night in the France Poker Series Monaco Main Event that has helped kick off the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final festival.
Before play concluded we lost one -- Michael Ferrari -- in eighth, meaning seven will return to decide who will become the next FPS Monaco Main Event champion. Here's a little more about each of the final tablists:
Seat 1: Joseph Mouawad (USA) -- 3,220,000
Married with three children, Joseph Mouawad is a real estate developer originally from Beirut who first began playing poker nearly 15 years ago.
He currently plays about three EPT festivals per year, and brings to the final table the most impressive résumé of tour success highlighted by his win in the EPT London Main Event back in Season 4, earning him a handsome £611,520 first prize. His most recent cash on the tour saw him final table a €2,200 NLHE event at EPT10 Barcelona where he finished eighth.
Seat 2: Gilles Silbernagel (France) -- 3,890,000
The lone Frenchman making the final table, 43-year-old Gilles Silbernagel is also a father a three and a businessman who has enjoyed success playing tournament poker.
Considering himself an amateur, he nonetheless has collected several cashes in various events in Europe over the last several years, the biggest coming from winning a €330 NLHE Estrellas event at EPT10 Barcelona where he topped a field of 469 to earn a €30,780 first prize. After two levels he was down to just 2,000 from the starting stack of 25,000, and now Silbernagel sits in third position among the final seven.
Seat 3: Sergio Braga (Brazil) -- 840,000
A live cash game specialist, the 49-year-old Sergio Braga's prefered games are pot-limit Omaha and seven-card stud. In fact, he's already tasted success this week in Monaco by winning Event #15, the €500 limit seven-card stud event.
The Brazilian has earned numerous cashes and made many final tables on both the LAPT and BSOP, with a runner-up finish in a BSOP event in 2013 earning him his biggest career score equivalent to just over $60,000. He has hopes of spinning what is currently the short stack up today, perhaps to win as a birthday present to himself as he turns 50 in two days.
Seat 4: Pablo Gordillo (Spain) -- 7,005,000
At age 20 and sitting with just over 7 million chips, Pablo Gordillo is both the youngest of the remaining players and the one with the most chips to start the final day of play. A finance student from León, Spain, Gordillo has put his studies on hold for now as he pursues what is fast becoming a successful career in poker.
Gordillo won his way into this event via a $215 satellite on PokerStars, where he can often be found playing NLHE tournaments and PLO cash games. Despite his young age, he's already notched some significant tournament cashes, including a fourth-place finish in the EPT10 Vienna Main Event earning him €262,150. He made another EPT Main Event final table in London earlier this season as well, ultimately finishing eighth.
Seat 5: Michael Ferrari (USA) -- finished 8th
Michael Ferrari entered the official final table as the short stack with eight left, and ultimately was knocked out for a €16,750 cash. A commercial real estate developer from San Francisco, California, Ferrari was here playing his first overseas tournament.
Ferrari had notched just a couple of tournament cashes previously, the best coming for winning a $400 Deep Stack Extravaganza event at the Venetian in 2012 where he topped 661 to earn $50,268. It was a tournament he hadn't even necessarily planned to play, but had been in Las Vegas for a wedding and not being able to play a WSOP event decided to take a shot. Besides poker, Ferrari's hobbies include motorcycles.
Seat 6: Luca Moschitta (Italy) -- 1,655,000
The 25-year-old Luca Moschitta has the distinction of having back in 2009 become the youngest SuperNova Elite at age 19. He continues to play a high volume of high-stakes sit-n-gos on PokerStars.it as a member of Team PokerStars Online, and following the path of his fellow countryman Dario Minieri has bought a couple of Porsches with his FPPs.
Moschitta has become a regular on the live circuit as well where he plays along with his girlfriend, Sofia Lovgren. His largest previous live result was for winning the IPT Main Event in Saint Vincent in 2013, a €180,000 score.
Seat 7: Manuel Martinez (Spain) -- 3,950,000
Manuel Martinez is a 27-year-old Spanish poker pro currently residing in London. A cash game specialist for the last five years, he enjoys tournaments as well occasionally.
Martinez final tabled the Estrellas Main Event in Madrid in 2012, finishing fifth for his largest live score of €24,300. He'll exceed that amount should he manage to outlast one other player and make it into the top six today.
Seat 8: Sebastian Supper (Germany) -- 3,520,000
A 29-year-old student from Munich, Sebastian Supper is an amateur who has been playing poker for six years. He qualified online for just €30 to play this event.
Supper has collected a few cashes in Europe previously, the largest coming after finishing third in a 188-player event in Pardubice in the Czech Republic, good for the equivalent of almost $8,500. Supper studies chemistry and geography, with plans eventually to become a professor.
When the final seven return today, here is what they'll be playing for:
1st: €177,000
2nd: €107,500
3rd: €75,400
4th: €56,600
5th: €43,800
6th: €32,700
7th: €23,500
Play begins at 12:30 p.m. Central European Time -- that's six hours ahead of Eastern time, and three hours ahead of GMT. They'll be on the feature table in the main tournament room here at the Monte Carlo Bay Resort and Hotel, with cards-up coverage starting on a one hour delay at 1:30 p.m. locally. That's when we'll pick up our start-to-finish coverage here as well. Join us then to see who beomes the next FPS Monaco Main Event champion.
To get all the latest news, chip counts and payouts, don't forget to download the EPT App on both Android or IOS.
Martin Harris is Freelance Contributor to the PokerStars Blog.
MicroMillions Event #87 was a specialty for the series as only the second Fixed Limit Hold'em tournament on the schedule. It takes a certain breed of poker player to enjoy playing Fixed Limit Hold'em. A lot of older players grew up with the game but it's becoming popular with more and more grinders. The big bet game pulls in a lot of math savvy players and decreases the edge against strictly no limit players.
The $3.30 buy-in tournament drew 5,669 players for a $17,007 prizepool and $2,596 to the winner. The turbo structure kept the players moving at a brisk pace and the limit betting gave players plenty of chances to chase their draws. The played down to the last two tables in just three hours and punkiis showed some of the dangers in the game.
punkiis was drawing thin with [5d][5s] on a [Js][Jh][2s] flop against trip Jacks but ImSoGood was unable to push him out of the hand before the two-outter hit on the turn. The hand propelled punkiss (temporarily) to the top of the field but both would make the final table.
The final table began with all of the players in the danger zone; only one participant had more than 20 big blinds. Or in the parlance of limit poker players, everyone had less than 10 big bets other than the chipleader. That left little room for movement and the final table was one of the quickest outside a hyper turbo, lasting only 24 total hands and producing three knockouts in the first 10 hands.
Final Table chip counts:
Seat 1: evgeny5sorry (2,603,126 in chips)
Seat 2: Valya98 (8,600,948 in chips)
Seat 3: ImSoSuper (1,356,274 in chips)
Seat 4: punkiis (6,935,135 in chips)
Seat 5: singul4rity (1,618,693 in chips)
Seat 6: Ksuysha75 (7,230,824 in chips)
Blinds: 200k/400k Limits: 400k/800k
Valya98 runs into rockets, eliminated in 6th
punkiis showed a willingness to gamble on his way to the final table but didn't need to hit a miracle to talk out the first player. punkiis opened for a raise under the gun and only Valya98 came along from the small blind to the [As][5h][3d] flop.
It took all four bets to get the chips in the middle and Valya98 was probably happy to do it with [Ah][Jc] top pair but hopes were dashed quickly when punkiis tabled [Ad][Ac] for top set. Instead of a glimmer of hope, Valya98 was left drawing dead to the useless [9h] turn and [2d] river to be the first out in 6th for $255.
ImSoSuper not so good, eliminated in 5th
punkiis took a few hands off before getting into it once again. ImSoSuper opened for a raise and punkiis put in a second bet enough to cover ImSoSuper, who called with [Ks][Qd].
punkiis was holding Aces this time, but his [Kh][Kc] was his second premium starter in just a few hands. ImSoSuper needed a good flop to have a chance but missed the [9c][8h][7h] flop completely and punkiis had another opponent drawing dead before the river after the [4d] turn. ImSoSuper picked a solid hand to take a stand but ran into a monster to go out in 5th place for $482.
evgeny5sorry not apologetic, eliminated in 4th
The 10th hand of the final table, and the 2nd consecutive all-in, saw evgeny5sorry all-in from the big blind for just 134k more than the small blind. punkiis and singul4rity both folded before Ksuysha75 threw out a tiny call from the small blind.
evgeny5sorry has a playable [8h][7c] but got unlucky to not have two live cards as Ksuysha75 tabled [Qc][7h]. evgeny5sorry needed a lot of help but didn't get it when the flop came [Kh][Th][2h] then missed the [Kd] turn. The [Qs] river supplied a knockout in back-to-back hands to send evgeny5sorry out of the tournament in 4th place for $807.
singul4rity undefined, eliminated in 3rd
There was a moment when it looked like their might be deal negotiations about to begin but punkiis quickly shot the thought down. singul4rity opened from the small blind and Ksuysha75 raised from the big.
The flop came [Qd][9h][9s] and singul4rity checked called a bet from Ksuysha75 before the [6d] turn. singul4rity led out this time and Ksuysha75 flatted to the [Td] river. singul4rity checked called all-in to show [Qs][5s] for flopped two pair but saw Ksuysha75 show [Kh][Js] for the rivered gutshot. singul4rity was short the entire way but couldn't hang on, getting knocked out in 3rd place for $1,318.
Ksuysha75 limits damage to win Event #87
punkiis (13,792,357 in chips)
Ksuysha75 (14,552,643 in chips)
That knockout hand provided Ksuysha75 with a slight chiplead but there was a big swing on the first hand of heads up play. Both players capped the betting preflop before the [Ah][As][8c] flop and then capped it once again to the [9h] turn. They both stayed aggressive and capped the betting again before the [5s] river. Ksuysha75 put out a bet and punkiis finally slowed down with just a call.
Ksuysha75 showed down [Ad][Kc] for trip Aces and a 21,600,000 pot.
punkiis was able to stage a mini-comeback with two doubles but finally took a shot for less than a raise with [Jh][6s] with Ksuysha75 holding [Kc][Qs]. The [8h][4s][2d][3h][Ah] board ran completely clean for Ksuysha75 to knock out punkiis in 2nd for $1,828 leaving Ksuysha75 as the newest MicroMillions champion.
MicroMillions-087: $3.30 FL Hold'em [6-Max, Turbo]
Entrants: 5,669
Prize pool: $17,007
Places paid: 720
1. Ksuysha75 (Russia) $2,596.09
2. punkiis (Sweden) $1,828.25
3. singul4rity (Austria) $1,318.04
4. evgeny5sorry (Russia) $807.83
5. ImSoSuper (Portugal) $482.14
6. Valya98 (Russia) $255.10
* This in an archive on level 13-18 updates of the UKIPT Main Event, live updates are here.
* CLICK HERE FOR LATEST CHIP COUNTS
* LIVE UPDATES of the €25,000 High Roller can be found here.
* Day 2 of the UKIPT Main Event - we're in the money!
* Top 151 players get paid, payouts can be viewed here
6:52: Dinner break
The players are on a 75-minute dinner break.
6:48pm :Doke's gone broke
Dara O'Kearney had the chance of tripling up, but it wasn't meant to be, and he left in 75th place, earning €2,220.
He moved all in for 105,000 from early/mid position and was called by both blinds, Sadan Turker and Kevin Pascal Barden. The [8s][as][5h] was checked before Turker check-folded to a 125,000 bet from Barden on the [js] turn.
O'Kearney: [kc][jc] for second pair
Barden: [ad][jd] for two pair.
The river was the [7h] and O'Kearney went off to collect his tenth cash. -- MC
strong>6:40pm: 25K to play
Level 18 - Blinds 4,000-8,000 (1,000 ante)
This isn't the only tournament in town, the €25,000 High Roller started today and has attracted the usual slew of world class players like Jason Mercier, Mike McDonald and Steve O'Dwyer. Live updates of that event can be feasted on here.
6:35pm: Big stacks
Level 18 - Blinds 4,000-8,000 (1,000 ante)
As we approach the dinner break the average stack is a shade under 310,000. The players below have more than that though, they all have at least half a million.
| Name | Country | Status | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Owen | UK | PokerStars qualifier | 850000 |
| Vladimir Velikov | Bulgaria | 700000 | |
| Adalsteinn Karlsson | Iceland | PokerStars player | 660000 |
| Kevin Pascal Barden | Germany | PokerStars qualifier | 660000 |
| Jason Ward | Ireland | PokerStars player | 640000 |
| Wei Li | Ireland | 570000 | |
| James Akenhead | UK | 570000 | |
| Jelcides Monteiro | Luxembourg | 560000 | |
| Daniel Carter | UK | 540000 | |
| Toby Joyce | Ireland | PokerStars player | 500000 |
| Eysteinn Einarsson | Iceland | PokerStars player | 500000 |
| David Clarkson | UK | PokerStars qualifier | 500000 |
| Quentin Dellis | Belgium | 500000 |
6:30pm: Sixes give Clarkson a 500K stack
Level 18 - Blinds 4,000-8,000 (1,000 ante)
It's not often you get it in post-flop with a pair of sixes in a huge pot and find yourself ahead, but that's what just happened to David Clarkson.
He's had an up and down day but it's just gone up again as he eliminated Jose Lopez Tapia in a large pot. I missed the pre-flop action but Tapia bet the [2c][5c][6h] flop, Clarkson raised to 55,000, Tapia moved all in for an effective 200,000 or so and Clarkson snap called.
Clarkson: [7c][6c]
Tapia: [5s][4s]
Neither the [Th] turn of the [Ac] river improved Tapia's hand and Clarkson just had him covered. -NW
David Clarkson, 500,000
6:25pm: Jack the lad Poulengeris
Antonis Poulengeris, who chopped the Sunday Million in 20015, has managed to stay alive by finding a way to wriggle out of a dominating situation.
He three-bet all in for 63,000 from the hijack after Krzysztof Gluszko had opened to 18,000 rom under the gun. The Polish player snap called when the action was back on him.
Gluszko: [ac][kh]
Poulengeris: [kc][jc]
Poulengeris asked for clubs but had to settle for a jack as the board ran [js][7d][8h][2s][9s]. -- MC
6:20pm: Field talent thins as 81 remain
The remaining 81 players will be happy to see the back of Jeff Madsen, Charlie Carrel and Dermot Blain, who all recently departed. --MC
6:08pm: Chen gets slightly more than a double up
Level 18 - Blinds 4,000-8,000 (1,000 ante)
Andrew Chen is a man who gets a lot but get its quietly. He needed to get some here in the Main Event and he did. You wouldn't know about it though so we'll tell you.
There was a preflop three way all in between Chen, Michael Mathieu and Jeffrey Brouwer. Mathieu was down to only an ante, Chen had 58,000 and Brouwer dropped to 305,000 after he lost the hand.
Mathieu: [9][6]
Brouwer: [as][6h]
Chen: [7s][7h]
The board ran [ks][4h][2h][jd][3c] to see the sevens hold up. -- MC
6pm: Starter for ten
Level 18 - Blinds 4,000-8,000 (1,000 ante)
Congratulations to Dara O'Kearney on his tenth UKIPT Main Event cash. Hat tip to his sidekick David Lappin who tweeted this fact a short time ago. --NW
5:55pm: Big names, short stacks
Level 17 - Blinds 3,000-6,000 (1,000 ante)
There are lots of big names in the field, but a fair few of them are short on chips at the moment:
Padraig O'Neil, 170,000.
Dermot Blain, 165,000
Dara O'Kearney, 135,000
Patrick Leonard, 115,000
Charlie Carrel, 75,000
Andrew Chen, 65,000
Chris Gordon, 65,000
A few though are prospering, Adam Owen has 550,000, Brett Angell is up to 340,000 and Ben Burnhill, is on 270,000. -- NW
5:50pm: Hutchison gets lucky to keep double dream alive
"I was due to be fair!" commented Dean Hutchison to a tablemate after he came from a dominated position to double up.
He got his last 67,000 in with [as][th] and had a willing customer in the shape of Mathieu Kuhne and his [ad][kc]. The board ran a Scottish flavoured [6h][9h][tc][5h][9d]. Kuhne dropped to 180,000.
Hutchison said he had been struggling since he lost with ace-queen to king-ten for a 200k pot about an hour ago. -- MC
5:45pm: Carter gets 'em
Level 17 - Blinds 3,000-6,000 (1,000 ante)
Double knockout alert!
From the cutoff Jasper Lucas opened to 15,000, Dan Carter smooth called and Matan Elgazar then moved all in for 30,000 from the small blind. Back on Lucas he moved all in for 190,000 and Carter, who was the covering stack, snap called.
Elgazar: [Ad][7d]
Lucas: [Ac][3s]
Carter: [As][Kh]
The [Qs][9h][9s][4c][6s] board kept the dominating ace in front and eliminated two players. -NW
Dan Carter, 450,000
5:20pm: Two more dreams are crushed
Level 17 - Blinds 3,000-6,000 (1,000 ante)
Two more exits to tell you about now:
First to go was Anthony Galloway, he got the last of his chips in with [Kc][Qs] but was dominated by the [Ah][Kd] of Antonis Poulengeris.
Peter Johnson meanwhile had his big slick outdrawn by the [Ac][Jc] of Sadan Turker when the latter turned a flush. - NW
Sadan Turker, 420,000
Antonis Poulengeris, 200,000
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5:15pm: Gora flushes Clarkson
Level 17 - Blinds 3,000-6,000 (1,000 ante)
Jakub Gora moved all-in from early position for 57,000 and David Clarkson made the call.
Gora: [As][Qs]
David Clarkson: [Ac][Qd]
It looked like a chop pot but the [Ks][Kc][9s][Ts][9h] board meant Gora doubled up. -NW
Jakub Gora, 125,500
5:05pm: Bebawi flushed away
Level 17 - Blinds 3,000-6,000 (1,000 ante)
Marc Bebawi found kings, got his chips in good, but they weren't good enough by the river.
He raised to 12,000 from the hijack and was called by the button before Reda Benhaddou squeezed all in for around 140,000. Bebawi had 127,000 and quickly called all in which prompted the button to fold.
Bebawi: [ks][kh]
Benhaddou: [ac][jc]
The board ran [8c][tc][3s][js][qc] to make a flush. -- MC
4:50pm: Top ten stacks
| Name | Country | Status | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casey Kastle | Slovenia | 573000 | |
| Wei Li | Ireland | 570000 | |
| Toby Joyce | Ireland | PokerStars player | 500000 |
| Vladimir Velikov | Bulgaria | 500000 | |
| Eysteinn Einarsson | Iceland | PokerStars player | 500000 |
| Adalsteinn Karlsson | Iceland | PokerStars player | 490000 |
| James Akenhead | UK | 490000 | |
| Heinz Traut | Germany | 475000 | |
| Kevin Pascal Barden | Germany | PokerStars qualifier | 475000 |
| Jelcides Monteiro | Luxembourg | 475000 |
4:45pm: Play resumes
Level 17 - Blinds 3,000-6,000 (1,000 ante)
Two more levels before dinner break.
4:25pm: Break time
Level 16 - Blinds 2,500-5,000 (500 ante)
The players are taking 20 minutes to call home and tell the good news. --MC
4:20pm: Harraghy can't avoid a diamond and busts to Kastle
Level 16 - Blinds 2,500-5,000 (500 ante)
Gerard Harraghy gave a look we've all seen in a millions times in poker tournaments, the one where you know you're just about to get sucked out on.
Harraghy's nemesis was Casey Kastle, who moved up to 525,000 chips. A bunch of chips went in on the flop and the rest went in on the turn with a board reading [8h][5d][kh][jd].
Harraghy opened [ac][ah] and saw that Kastle had [kd][2d] for top pair and flush draw. The river was the [td] to make Kastle's flush. -- MC
4:05pm: Make mine a double?
Level 16 - Blinds 2,500-5,000 (500 ante)
Four UKIPT champions have made the money here in Dublin, so there's a chance of a double UKIPT winner. Trying their best to make that slim dream a reality are: Kevin Killeen, Thomas Finneran, Dean Hutchison and Brett Angell. -NW
Thomas Finneran, 350,000
Kevin Killeen, 250,000
Brett Angell, 230,000
Dean Hutchison, 160,000
4pm: Did Leonard lie?
Level 16 - Blinds 2,500-5,000 (500 ante)
"I've only looked at one, the good one," said Patrick Leonard a few seconds after he'd moved all in for 55,000. Dimitri Pembroke was in the tank and the Irishman eventually decided to move all in for about 75,000. Everyone else folded and it was time for a showdown:
Leonard: [Ad][Kh]
Pembroke: [Ac][Qs]
The [5h][6c][8c][Jh][6h] board kept Leonard in front and left Pembroke with around 20,000. -NW
Patrick Leonard, 122,500
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3:50pm: Show me the money
Level 16 - Blinds 2,500-5,000 (500 ante)
As per usual there were a steady stream of players heading to the payouts table in the minutes following the bubble bursting.
"Am I the first one out in the money?" asked Russell Wood. He wasn't, that was Regis Burlot. Phil Baker and Andrew Hawksby are also out, both were short on chips on the bubble.
Niko Koop is another faller, his final 60,000 went in with [td][ts] and lost out to Stephane Gabarre's pocket queens. -NW
3:45pm: Gieles busting saves Ambraisse from bubbling
Idris Ambraisse and Pim Gieles both were eliminated on the same hand so shared the €1,710 on offer for 151st place. Ambraisse's exit hand was announced to the room first so had had a few minutes thinking he was the actual bubble boy. Gieles would soon come to the rescue though.
He had three-bet all in for 77,000 after Jelcides Monteiro had opened to 10,000. Call.
Ambraisse: [kc][qc]
Monteiro: [jh][js]
The board ran [2d][th][3c][2h][ad].
Over to the other table and it was similar action in terms of action. Gieles three-bet all in for 70,000 after Daniel Harwood had opened to 12,500. Call.
Gieles: [jc][jh]
Harwood: [kd][kh]
The board ran [3d][3c][7d][qh][9s].
Everyone will leave somewhat happy from here on in after securing a cash, watch them fly out of the door for a while! -- MC
3:30pm: Crilly bubbles as Ambraisse and Gieles split 151st place money
Level 15 - Blinds 2,000-4,000 (500 ante)
One of those situations occurred today where the player two off the money became the bubble after two players, from different tables, busted on the bubble.
A good ten minutes before the two simultaneous all ins, David Crilly had half his stack (8,000) in with the big blind. Alex Difelice raised to 8,000 from the button and Crilly felt he couldn't fold, so called.
Crilly: [kc][5s]
Difelice: [ac][kh]
The board ran [2s][ad][th][ah][5d] to make Difelice trips. -- MC
3:10pm: Just missing out on the money
Level 15 - Blinds 2,000-4,000 (500 ante)
Some of the players who've just missed out on the money include: Nick Galtos, Dominic Mahoney, Ramsey Arjam, Surinder Sunar, Chihao Tsang, Nick Newport, Knut Karnapp and Alban Juen. --NW
3pm: Heinz takes us to (1)57
Level 15 - Blinds 2,000-4,000 (500 ante)
Heinz Traut is doing his best to single handily take everyone into the money here in Dublin. He eliminated two players in quick succession and told the table that he wished it was a bounty tournament.
First he eliminated Marc Radgen who four-bet shoved with pocket tens only to run into Traut's aces.
Then Richard Brinley Codd moved all in for 7,000 with [As][3c], but Traut had him dominated with [Ac][Kc] and held up on the [6c][Qh][Qs][4d][7d] board. --NW
Heinz Traut, 390,000
2:57pm: Bubble oh so close
Level 15 - Blinds 2,000-4,000 (500 ante)
The tournament has almost reached a critical juncture - the bubble time. Tune back in soon to see who will be the last player to leave with nothing. For now, check out the chip count page where, as well as the leaders, a number of notable players have been updated. -- MC
2:45pm: Newport aids Joyce's quest
Level 15 - Blinds 2,000-4,000 (500 ante)
After busting, Nick Newport was kind enough to fill the blog in on the hand that saw him bust, sending Toby Joyce into the lead.
They got the chips in on the turn when the board [A][8][3][J]. Newport opened ace-jack but Joyce had him crushed with pocket threes. Newport said the pot was worth a massive 350,000. -- MC
2:25pm: Chip leaders
Level 15 - Blinds 2,000-4,000 (500 ante)
As level 15 gets under way these are the chip leaders of the UKIPT Dublin Main Event:
| Name | Country | Status | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toby Joyce | Ireland | PokerStars player | 425,000 |
| David Clarkson | UK | PokerStars qualifier | 400,000 |
| Thomas Boivin | Belgium | 385,000 | |
| Vladimir Velikov | Bulgaria | 382,000 | |
| Adam Owen | UK | PokerStars qualifier | 350,000 |
| Edward Tombs | UK | 346,000 | |
| James Akenhead | UK | 345,000 | |
| Ranno Sootla | Estonia | 300,000 | |
| Olivier Ferrero | France | 300,000 | |
| John Bagnal | Ireland | 300,000 | |
| Stefan Schillhabel | Germany | PokerStars player | 295,000 |
| Jason Ward | Ireland | PokerStars player | 290,000 |
| Simon Nash | UK | PokerStars qualifier | 280,000 |
| Wei Li | Ireland | 270,000 | |
| Marc Foggin | UK | 265,000 | |
| David Pollock | Ireland | PokerStars qualifier | 250,000 |
| Daniel Carter | UK | 250,000 |
2:20pm: Will the bubble burst in this level?
Level 15 - Blinds 2,000-4,000 (500 ante)
The remaining 174 players are now back in their seats and level 15 has just started. With 151 players getting paid it's possible that the bubble will burst this level. --NW
2pm: Out before the first break
Level 14 - Blinds 1,500-3,000 (400 ante)
Day 2 but no cash for: Julien Martini, Scott Margereson, Iain Farrell, William Bennet, Milen Ivanov, Kalidou Sow, Fernando Brito, Ville Haavisto, Alan Smart, Bui Niclassen, Younas Yousaf, Domenico Vivolo, Paul Carr, Daniel Rohrbasser, Jerry Odeen, Kerryjane Craigie, Robert Murphy, Rui Milhomens, Rocco Palumbo, Felix Schlott, George Stoddart, Keith Christie, Ben Smith, Alexandre Rivero, Thiaho Crema De Macedo, Christoph Koehnen, Andrew Colleran, Frank Lillis, Matt Davenport, Daragh Davey, Bart Verbanck, Padraic Cusack and Felipe Boianovsky.
The remaining players are on a 20-minute break. -- MC
1:42pm: Gordon quarter of the way to a million
Level 14 - Blinds 1,500-3,000 (400 ante)
Chris Gordon cracked the aces of Mathieu Philbert to see his stack rise to around 250,000.
The action was multi-way to a [tc][qh][9d] flop but it was on the [2s] turn where Gordon and Philbert got their stacks in. The latter opened aces but was drawing dead to Gordon's flopped straight with [jd][8d]. -- MC
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1:30pm: Oh my god! Kevin killed him
Level 14 - Blinds 1,500-3,000 (400 ante)
Kevin Killeen is the defending UKIPT Dublin champion and he just eliminated William Bennet to climb back to 90,000.
Bennet shoved for around 36,000 from the hi-jack with [Ah][8h] and Killeen isolated all in from the button with [Ad][Td]. The [tc][5h][8d] gave both players a pair, but Killeen's was better. It stayed that way on the [Kc] turn and [Ts] river.
Killeen isn't the only UKIPT champion in the field today, Dean Hutchison and Brett Angell are seated at the same table, whilst Dan Stacey has just been eliminated. -NW
Kevin Killeen, 90,000
Dean Hutchison, 200,000
Brett Angell, 135,000
1:25pm: O'Neill bluff fail
Level 14 - Blinds 1,500-3,000 (400 ante)
Word of advice: be careful when trying to bluff an Estonian. Padraig O'Neill just found that out the hard way.
He was in the big blind and heads up against Ranno Sootla with a [kc][7h][9h] flop showing. Sootla was in second position and bet 8,500 when the Irishman checked to him. O'Neill called and both checked the [8c] turn to see the [as] river appear. O'Neill cut 30,000 from his stack and led with it, sending Sootla into the tank. He took a minute and then separated the calling chips from his stack, stared at his opponent for a while longer and let a smile spread across his face before he tossed the chips in with his [kd][qd], beating O'Neill's [qh][th]. -- MC
Ranno Sootla, 215,000
Padraig O'Neill, 137,000
1:02pm: Tumbling out of the tournament
Level 14 - Blinds 1,500-3,000 (400 ante)
Roughly 40 players exited during the opening hour of play. Sadly for: Stavros Avdoulos, Francesco Delfoco, Jason Tompkins, Georgios Mavroulias, Simon Persson, Robert Wirth, Felipe Ramos, Pascal Frei, Jacek Bozio, Jonathan Concepcion, Nesrine Kourdourli, Daragh Thomas, Vallo Maidla, Julien Rouxel, Manuel Zapf, Sven Matthias, Christopher Kruk, Benjamin Nicault, Robert Beer, Gareth Chantler, Ruben Tack, Philip Hardy, Jonathan Rees, Robert Sampson and John Campbell their tournament is over. --NW
12:55pm: Life of Reilly for Mark
Level 13 - Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)
There's a famous UK radio DJ called Mark Reilly, who's affectionately known by his nickname 'Lard'. The only thing fat about the Mark Reilly in this poker tournament is his chip stack, as he just eliminated Cesar Garcia to win a 110,000 chip pot.
It all went in pre-flop with Garcia holding [9s][9d] and Reilly [Qc][Qh]. A [5c][2h][Th][Ks][4d] board kept Reilly in front and sent Garcia to the rail. --NW
12:45pm: Doke and Gordon happy tweeters
Level 13 - Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)
Chris Gordon and Dara O'Kearney are happily social poker players so far today. -- MC
Good start for day2, up to 180k. #UKIPTDublin #pslive_hippo
— Chris Gordon (@CCG_85) February 12, 2016
Donked my way down to 40k but flipped back to 90k aq > Jj #UKIPTDublin
— Dara O'Kearney (@daraokearney) February 12, 2016
12:40pm: Sykes sent back into retirement
Level 13 - Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)
Former professional poker player and now poker industry folk, Jamie Sykes, has been eliminated.
He told the blog that he lost a 120,000-flip with jacks to ace-king and then got the last of his stack in with [jc][8c] and ran into queens. -- MC
12:30pm: Bozio of a start for Jacek
Level 13 - Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)
Jacek Bozio has had an up and down start that has seen him settle on 15,000, not an ideal resting place.
He three-bet all in for 36,300 with [qs][qd] after an opponent had open shoved for 32,100 with [ac][jd]. The Polish player let out a few expletives after a [4s][2h][3d][5s][8c] board ran out to give his opponent a straight.
The very next hand, Bozio called all in for 3,900 after an opponent had opened to 5,400. Robert Murphy was in the small blind and moved all in to successfully isolate.
Bozio: [qh][7s]
Murphy: [9d][9s]
The first card out was a queen and Bozio seemed happy enough with his 15,000 after the bout of bad luck previously was evened out just a little. -- MC
12:15pm: Rush to the exits
Level 13 - Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)
A dozen players have been eliminated in the opening 15 minutes. Those to have busted include: Thomas Kitt, Andrew Robson, Christian Hanusse, Roberto Carrera, Benjamin Rivera, David Wilkes, Andreas Wuerger, Hak-Hyun Lee, Keith Johnson, Ciaran Heaney, Ankit Ahuja and Wayne O'Donnell.
On his way out the room O'Donnell stopped by the table of a friend and told him his tale of woe. "I had fives against ace-king and he made a flush." --NW
12:10pm: The start time doesn't matter players will still be late
Level 13 - Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)
There's been a lot of grumbling this week over the 10am start time, that's late in the normal world but early in the poker world.
If today has proven anything though whatever the start time is players will always show up late. There were plenty of empty chairs at the start of play and not just from the big stacks who could absorb the hits. We won't name and shame but we saw an empty seat for a player with a sub 55,000 stack as well as some with a 130,000+ stack. --NW
12:02pm: Shuffle up and deal!
Level 13 - Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)
Cards are in the are for day 2.
11:45am: Get ready for moving day
Level 13 - Blinds 1,200-2,400 (300 ante)
Day 2 on the UKIPT is often referred to as moving day and the reason is simple. By the time the day ends we'll have lost around 90% of the players who started the day. We've got 273 players returning today and we guesstimate that by the time level 22 is done, at around 00.15 GMT they'll be somewhere around 30-35 players left in their seats. If that is the case then the average stack will be 800,000 and the chip leader will have about 2,000,000.
So that makes the 352,000 that Stefan Schillhabel has seem quite paltry in comparison, but he's got the most of the players who advanced from Day 1. There's a strong chasing pack though with the likes of: Vladimir Velikov (301,500), Adam Owen (252,900), Marc Foggin (246,900), Thomas Finneran (216,900), Dan Carter (186,600), James Akenhead (182,500), Padraig O'Neil (181,700), Charlie Carrel (157,200), Casey Kastle (140,500) and Jeff Madsen (138,900) lurking.
Whilst all of the EPT champions in the field, and most of the Red Spades, were eliminated on Day 1 Felipe Ramos (78,200) and Chris Gordon (88,700) are back today.
Cards are in the air at noon.
PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at UKIPT5 Dublin: Marc Convey and Nick Wright. Photos by Mickey May. Follow the PokerStars Blog on Twitter: @PokerStarsBlog
