Thursday, 28th March 2024 20:32
Home / Uncategorized / PCA 2015: Roger Teska keeps it short – and this time we don’t mean the drinks

Everybody loves a bad guy and so when news reached PokerStars Blog this morning that a man named Roger Teska had registered at the start of Day 2 at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, there was a crackle of anticipation for the fireworks display that might follow.

One imagines the excitement was matched at the bar in the Imperial Ballroom, whose waiters and waitresses have only just recovered from the work-out Teska gave them this time last year.

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Roger Teska: Last year’s model

In case anyone might have forgotten, Teska was the player whose run to 20th in this tournament was lubricated liberally by Bloody Mary. He was half pantomime villain and half advert for the dangers of drink: snarling and hiccuping his way through four days of play, flipping the bird to television cameras, refusing to play ball with tournament reporters and providing a one-man chorus of “Cocktails!” that lasted from sunrise to well beyond sunset. (We spent a round with him last year, so click through to refresh your memories.)

Teska had to serve a one-round penalty for some of these antics, which he spent on a lonely prowl around the empty end of the ballroom, supping on another drink. But, in his defence, Teska’s etiquette to his opponents and dealers was OK and he still seemed to be able to play a pretty solid game. He only departed courtesy of a bad beat at the hands of Madis Muur.

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Roger Teska: Wandering alone last year

However, here’s the bad news for fans expecting a repeat: Teska is already out of the tournament this time around. His 2015 event lasted little more than one level. Half of his chips had been sacrificed by the time he was located this afternoon in the middle of the left side of the tournament room, and I watched the ten minutes before his exit at the hands of Canada’s Josue Sauvageau.

Teska did not have a drink. Perhaps that was his problem. Instead, his only real crime was too much texting and forgetting to put in his big blind when it was his turn to ante up. He sat slouched in his chair, talking to somebody on his phone, and at one point flashed its camera around the table to show a Teska’s eye view of proceedings.

But if he looked a little frustrated, then it was subsequently borne out by his actions at the table: getting his stack in as a three bet from the big blind after Sauvageau raised from the small. Sauvageau snapped off Teska’s shove, holding A♣ Q♦ and Teska’s K♦ 2♥ couldn’t catch up. A board of 5♥ 4♥ 7♣ Jâ™  Q♥ sealed his fate – and sent back to their barracks the army of emergency bar staff which was motoring its way to Atlantis.

Teska stood up and peeled off his sweatshirt, handing it to Brandon Steven. (It seemed to be a temporary loan.) He then wandered slowly out of the door and along the corridor, nobody in pursuit. Where it was long and incident-filled last year, it was little more than a whimper this time around.

He does leave one question behind, however: What the hell will we do with all this tomato juice?

Follow all the action from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure on PokerStars Blog. Everything from the Main Event is on the Main Event page and on EPT Live.

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