Thursday, 28th March 2024 19:37
Home / Uncategorized / EPT Deauville: Day 3, level 17 live updates
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3.02pm: Nowakowski downed by Deeb
On a flop of 6â™  4â™  6♦ Henry Nowakowski moved all in for 35,000, leaving Ludovic Lacay and Freddy Deeb a decision. Lacay thought better of it but Deeb called and showed 9♦ 9♣ . That was way behind Nowakowski’s 6♣ 3♣ and the Austrian explained what must have been the pre-flop action by saying: “There was too much money in there. I was getting ten-to-one.” When the turn brought 9♥ , Deeb had now surged into the lead and he said to Nowakowski that he too couldn’t fold with the flop out, despite believing Nowakowski had the six. Both men agreed that each other had done nothing wrong, they shook hands and Nowakowski departed.

3.01pm: All in, all in, all in
It’s a festival of all in poker here in Deauville. Here’s a three-way effort:

Koen De Bakker is all in with J♠ Q♣ . Eric Haber is all in to his left with A♦ Q♠ and Dragan Jovanovic has called them both with 9♠ 9♥ . The flop was blank, coming 4♠ 4♣ 8♥ but the Q♦ on the turn kept the two all ins involved and got Jovanovic yelping. The 6♠ on the river was a blank and Haber, the shortest stack, tripled up; De Bakker won the side pot of about 31,000, and Jovanovic paid them both off.

3pm: Not out yet
A double up for Laurent Polito. On a J♣ 5♥ 7♥ flop he moves all in with 5â™  7â™  for 54,000, called by Pedro Muller with Q♣ J♥ . The turn is 2♣ and river 4â™  , prompting a barely concealed “yeeeeeesa” from the Frenchman.

Thomas Kremser has confirmed that we will play down to 24 or for seven levels today, whatever play reaches first. Currently 95 players remain.

2.55pm: Look at me, look at me
Jacques Guenni, one of those warned by tournament staff earlier to keep the sound levels down, nearly got out of sound control again. He was all in – as he announced loudly – and no-one called. He showed one card and a little bit of Hollywood followed. “See, I was all in with two of clubs,” he said, adding just in case nobody heard, “Yes, the two of clubs.”

On we go.

2.50pm: Here come the bustouts
And relax. Now the tension of the bubble is past, chips are flying in the middle with abandon. Lucille Cailly shoved and got no takers, allowing her to breathe again, but it wasn’t so cheery for Alain Fourmann, who is out. This isn’t exactly conventional play, but it went like this:

Andras Nemeth, with a big stack, made it 9,000 pre-flop and Fourmann, who has less than 100,000 chips, called from the small blind. The flop came K♦ J♣ 6♥ and Nemeth bet 18,000. Fourmann called. The turn was 9♣ and both players checked, and on the river 7♠ Fourmann moved all in for what amounted to not much more than 40,000.

Nemeth insta-called and showed 5♥ 8♥ . He’d filled a runner-runner straight. Fourmann double checked the board and then got his coat. He joins the departed.

Not so Samuel Touil. He is on the up, having just doubled through Davidi Kitai. Touil showed K♣ J♣ on a board of K♠ 10♣ 10♦ 9♣ 4♣ and Kitai lost about half his stack to Touil, who now has about 400,000.

2.45pm: Torment on the bubble
There was a crowd gathering around Frenchman Daniel Millar even before EPT Deauville went hand for hand. Millar was chronically short and every hand that passed was just a step towards his inevitable demise. And he knew it. It came when Millar was on the big blind; 6,000 to pay for that and just 3,500 behind. Peter Eastgate was in the small blind and knew what he’d have to do should the action be folded around to him.

Peter Eastgate doesn’t like the delay at crucial times in poker tournaments any more than us reporters. He made a classy/risky call at EPT London this season to knock out a player in 25th and end a long day three there — “It gives us all an early night,” he said to explain his decision then. And he’s just done it again to keep bubble agony to a minimum here.

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Peter Eastgate and bubble boy Daniel Millar (right)

The pair chatted as they waited for the next deal, like you would with a friend in surgical gowns about to have a serious operation. Once the hand on the other side of the room concluded it time for another deal. The action was indeed folded to Eastgate in the small blind and he called, perhaps leaving Millar with the option of check-folding and eeking out one last hand. But instead Millar threw in his last seven pink chips. Eastgate, who looked like he was being forced into it, called.

Tournament Director Thomas Kremser told both players not to turn over their cards, although Millar almost did, flashing what looked like an ace. No one wanted other tables to be influenced by events here so Millar and Eastgate waited. Everyone with a French accent within a mile then gathered around the table, the fate of their bank balance in Peter Eastgate’s hands – or hand.

Eastgate turned over 4♥ 8â™  to Millar’s Aâ™  3â™  . A handshake and the flop:

4♠ 2♣ 10♦

Eastgate had hit but Millar now had a straight draw. The turn Q♠ made things even more tense, giving Millar a flush draw also. But the 6♣ put end to that.

Flash bulbs recorded the reaction of the room, but Millar, a look of sheer devastation on his face, slipped behind the bank of cameras and away. As players glad handed friends and countryman Millar realised he’d left his coat on his chair and had to return. It was a painful walk but no one noticed him as he collected it. Already forgotten.

2.41pm: Bubble burst
It’s burst, and there are suds all over the face of Daniel Millar. Details to come.

From now on, all players knocked out will win something. Precisely how much will be displayed on the prizewinners page.

2.40pm: Bubble bursting?
Who knows. Not yet at least.

2.25pm: Still on the bubble
Yes, of course we’re still on the hand-for-hand agony of the bubble. So why not take a look at the full and accurate chip counts from the end of level 16 (adjusted for the massive ElkY hand described below). You know where to click.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

2.20pm: Bubble
We are now officially on the bubble with 105 players remaining. Updates will cease until we find that unfortunate soul.

2.15pm: ElkY is mortal after all
With only 107 players left, three off the money, every hand is full of anxiety and tension. But that doesn’t mean big pots aren’t being played. Take this one, featuring ElkY and Andras Stumpf, from Hungary, which earned the latter in the neighbourhood of 200,000 chips.

ElkY opened to 13,500 from the hijack and Stumpf made it 35,000 from the seat to his left. ElkY called and it was just those two to a flop of 8♥ Q♣ Q♥ . Check, check. The turn was K♥ and after ElkY checked, Stumpf made it 42,500, which ElkY called after some deliberation.

The river was 8♦ and suddenly this was one mighty frightening board. ElkY checked, but Stumpf wasn’t done. He bet 105,500, which sent ElkY into the tank. That’s not somewhere he tends to remain for too long, however, unless he has a genuine decision. And when he then started counting out the call, there was every indication that those chips were going in.

A few seconds later he did make the call, to the delight of Stumpf. He showed K♣ Kâ™  for the turned full house and ElkY mucked. That’s a huge swing in Stumpf’s favour.

2.10pm: Mocking birds
There’s a €300 ladies event under way today at the top end of the tournament room. Nearly. Why nearly? Because soon after it started tournament staff announced that under French law they could not exclude men from entering as well.

Three hardy males coughed up the cash and took their seats to loud, but friendly, boos from the ladies. Then, when one of the unfortunate chaps got knocked out soon after, there was a round of cheering from the assembled fairer sex. He took it all in good heart but looked a little sheepish as he wandered out of the room.

2.08pm: Minieri ups
Dario Minieri now sits on top of a healthy pile of chips amounting to 400,000. How did he get those? Details are a little sketchy, but he had K♣ 4♣ on a Q♦ 4♦ K♥ 7♠ 6♠ board. His victim was US PokerStars qualifier Craig Bergeron. But he still has around 500,000 to play with.

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Dario Minieri

2.05pm: Markushevski by half
Team PokerStars Pro Vadim Markushevski, from Belarus, loses a big pot to the UK’s Luke Marsh. On a 2â™  6♦ 4â™  flop, Marsh bet 52,000, called by Markushevski. Both checked the dangerous 2♣ turn, but on the Qâ™  river Marsh bet 115,000, after after a little think Markushevski called. He’ll wish he hadn’t – Marsh turned over K♦ K♣ and that was good for the pot. Markushevski down to around 100,000.

2.02pm: Helppi gives way
Juha Helppi can’t get any momentum today. It’s not for want of trying. On this one he made it 13,000 but faced a re-raise to 32,500 from Andras Stumpf. Fold.

2pm: Teng takes a hit
Andrew Teng takes a big hit. He made it 14,000 and faced a re-raise to 40,000 from Christian Debeil. Teng thought a while before reaching for a pile of blue 10,000 chips – 200,000 in all, and he pushing them over the line for a re-re-raise, enough to cover Debeil. Call.

Teng: Q♠ Q♥
Debeil: K♥ K♠

The board ran 8♦ 4♠ 10♠ 6♥ 5♦ and that was good to double Debeil up to 320,000. Teng drops to 180,000.

1.55pm: Damage to Deeb?
Freddy Deeb opened for 13,000, getting called by Eric Sagne in the small blind and Henry Nowakowski in the big. The flop came A♦ 8♣ Q♦ which all three players checked ahead of a 3♣ on the turn. Sagne made it 18,000 which Nowakowski called but Deeb folded his hand. The 10♥ came on the river. Another 18,000 from Sagne who showed A♥ 8♥ for the pot when Nowakowski called and showed Q♠ 10♠ .

Deeb would be in action again soon enough. Witht he board already showing A♦ K♠ J♥ J♠ 9♠ Deeb, first to act, made it 40,000 to play. It was then that Henri Luc Chapuis in seat one, who was all-in at this stage, turned his cards over out of turn, showing 6♠ 4♠ , before Ludovic Lacay had acted. With 70,000 in the middle Deeb was not pleased, asking Chapuis how he could do such a thing out of turn, knowing it would affect the decision made by Lacay.

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Ludovic Lacay

Chapuis apologised, as Lacay folded. Deeb took the pot with his Aâ™  Qâ™  then smoothed things over with Chapuis who was now out. Lacay admitted to having ace-queen, explaining that Chapuis hadn’t meant it. We play on.

1.50pm: Pagano’s gradual increase
Franck Henri Kalfon raised from early position and Luca Pagano re-raised to 47,000, one seat to his left. Kalfon called and the flop came 3♥ Jâ™  5♣ , which Kalfon checked. Pagano bet 55,000 and Kalfon called, where the turn came Qâ™  . Both players checked that and the river was 10♥ . Kalfon checked and Pagano thought long and hard, saying: “Do you have kings?” Then he checked and showed A♦ Q♥ . Kalfon’s K-J started the hand behind, flopped into the lead, but was out-turned. Pagano took the pot.

1.45pm: Nieberg departs
Matthew Nieberg is out. He shoved with 10♣ 6â™  and was called by A♦ 10â™  . Dominated and in need of a suckout it didn’t come. Nieberg out just before the bubble, a fate he also befell in Vilamoura recently. Soon. He’ll get there soon.

1.40pm: All quiet
Players are back from the break. Blinds up, on we go. Just 113 players remain, 104 get paid.

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Mike McDonald

PokerStars Blog reporting team: Stephen Bartley, Howard Swains and Simon Young

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