Last night in the bar in the Day 1A debrief members of the PokerStars Blog were discussing a system of quickly rating players. Not a star rating, that would be based on fame and results, but a 1-5 or A-E notation for quick reference and classification.
1 or A would be attached to top tier players, those that are short odds in any field and consistently make final tables. 2 or B would be for good players, the second tier that are yet to truly prove themselves but look like they’re winning players. 3 or C would be for the majority of the field, those that ultimately need to run good to make the money, while 4 or D would be those that we know are dead money, fish or unthinking spew monkeys. The final rating, 5 or E, is for those that we are yet to rate and look difficult to do so. Does their early stacking up mean they have talent or have they run hot for a level? Was their all-in call with two pair good or did it mean they’re liable to stack off a little light?
At table 25 we have players of all five categories, Team PokerStars Pro Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom, last year’s third-place finisher John Eames and the reigning EPT Online Qualifier of the Year Martin Jacobson certainly fall in the group 1A category, but we’ll leave you to decide where their colleagues belong.
Table 25 (and career live winnings)
Seat one: David Kristiansen ($4,837)
Seat two: Omar Adel ($5,655)
Seat three: Oscra Kroon ($123,889)
Seat four: Viktor Blom, Team PokerStars Pro ($1,323,829)
Seat five: Igor Pihela ($0)
Seat six: John Eames ($1,467,380)
Seat seven: Victor Ilyukhin ($146,331)
Seat eight: Martin Jacobson ($2,749,212)
There has been little movement among these stacks in the opening salvos of level 1 with the sharks keen to limit their expose when easier chips still circulate.
Hand one: Eames opens to 300 from middle position, long-haired Kroon folds in the big blind.
Hand two: Adel, resplendent in matching grey tracksuit and socks, raises his button, Blom passes in the big blind.
Hand three: Adel opens again, this time from the cut-off, to 275 and takes the blinds.
Hand four: Blom opens his button for 300 and Eames fold in the big blind.
Hand five: Adel opens again, this time for 250, and Eames calls from the small blind. Ilyukhin, a slim version of Clerks director Kevin Smith, passes in the big blind. Eames check-calls 550 on the 9â™ 2♦ 4â™ flop. Both players check the 2â™ turn. Eames leads the 5â™ river for 1,225 and takes the pot. Adel’s profit from the raise-and-takes more than gone.
Hand six: Eames raises to 250 from the button, Jacobson passes in the big blind.
Hand seven: Kristiansen gets a walk in the big blind.
Hand eight: Blom opens to 300 from early position and Adel calls in the big blind. Adel check-calls a 400 continuation bet on a 2♦ Q♦ 2♥ flop. Both players check the 5♦ turn before Adel leads 1,325 into the 4♣ river. Blom instantly folds.
Hand nine: Pihela limps in early position and Eames, in the next seat along, attempts to isolate with a raise to 400. The action reaches Jacobson in the cut-off who re-raises to 1,000. Both players fold, Pihela more quickly than Eames.
Hand ten: Pihela tries limping again, this time under-the-gun. No raise from the table as Kroon makes up the small blind and Blom checks his option in the big blind. Kroon leads 200 into the 10♠9♥ J♦ flop, Blom passes but Pihela makes the call. Both check the 3♦ turn before Kroon pings a single 500 chip into the 9♣ river. Pihela passes.
Blom, Jacobson and Eames at your starting table? Welcome to EPT Copenhagen.
And in case you thought you thought you knew how this was going to play out, think again. Pihela has all but knocked out Jacobson over betting the river and getting a call. Jacobson down to 1,200.
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