Friday, 29th March 2024 06:01
Home / Uncategorized / EPT Berlin: Day 1A, levels 3 and 4 live updates (100-200)
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4.50pm: Break
We’ve shot through four levels already, and are now on a 15 minute break. — SY.

4.45pm: 140 words
You can keep tabs on Vicky Coren’s progress, 140 characters at a time, via her twitter account @VictoriaCoren. Or you can settle for our wordy recreations here on the blog. Read to the end of this sentence to discover that she’s up to 36,000 after a hand against Sebastian Homann.

Coren opened from the cut-off, for 1,100. Homann was on the button and raised to 3,500. Coren called. The flop came 8♠ 7♥ 2♠ . Both checked for a 8♣ turn card. Another 5,000 which Homann called.

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Vicky Coren looking left earlier today

The river card 4â™  . Coren checked. Then Homann made a comedy bet, 25, which Coren, not quite sure what the hell was going on, called, replacing it with a 100 when it was pointed out to Homann that 100 was the minimum.

He turned over 7♦ 5♦ looking glad this hand was over. Coren showed pocket jacks. — SB.

4.40pm Teng gone
Andrew Teng, who finished 12th at EPT Copenhagen last month, is out. He was seen leaving the tournament room asking some mates what they wanted to do now. — SY.

4.35pm: Vlad the aggressor
Vlad Zguba must have had something special for breakfast. He’s normally a quiet sort of player, who never appears to play many pots. But today he’s seemingly involved in loads. On this one Marko Batanjac limped for 300, Vicky Coren then raised it up to 1,100, Zguba called, as did Arnaud Mattern and Batanjac.

The flop was Q♣ J♥ 2â™  . Batanjac checked, Coren made it 2,500, Zguba called, but Mattern fired it up to 6,125. Batanjac and Coren both folded, but Zguba was going nowhere – call. Both then checked down the A♣ turn and the 8â™  river – and Zguba tabled K♣ Q♥ which was good enough for the pot. That took him back up to 34,000. — SY.

4.30pm: Straight flush? Nope
Four players were still involved with four cards out: 7♥ 3♥ 4♥ 6♥ , “interesting” one might say. Sebastian Panny bet a nominal amount and only Erol Kankoc called. The river was 2♥ and now Panny bet 10,000. At that precise moment the dealer announced: “Seat free on table 26!” indicating the vacant seat three to a passing member of the floor staff. “Is that him or me you mean?” dead-panned Kankoc.

He had less than 10,000 in his stack, so a call here was for his tournament life. But he did emerge with that call, seeing Panny’s A♥ J♣ for the ace-high (but not the nut) flush.

Kankoc beat the table and mucked. His seat was indeed now free. He was out. — HS

4.25pm: When is a raiser’s flop not a raiser’s flop?
Ricardo Sousa raised to 750 from the cut off and the King of Side Events Martin Kabrhel called from the button. They were heads up to a flop of Aâ™  A♣ Q♦ – a raiser’s flop if ever there was one – but Sousa checked and Kabrhel sensed his moment, betting 1,100. Sousa called.

The turn was 4â™  and Sousa checked again. Kabrhel bet 4,125 and that persuaded the original raiser to fold. They both still have chips. — HS

4.20pm: Game, set and match for Graf
Lars Graf has been eliminated by fellow German Daniel Drescher. Graf moved all-in for around 11,000 on the turn of a 8♥ A♥ Qâ™  2♣ board. Dresher made the call with Aâ™  8â™  for two-pair. Graf tapped the table and revealed A♦ 9♦ and headed out of the room when the river came 6♥ . — MC

4.15pm: We had a party
Oh yes. There were some sore heads around today, and this helps to explain why…


Watch EPT Berlin 2010: Welcome Party on PokerStars.tv

4.10pm: Bansi charge
Praz Bansi first came to the poker world’s attention when he won a bracelet in a $1,000 event at the World Series back in 2006. Talking to him that night I asked him how much the bracelet meant to him. He’d replied that every time he looked at his bracelet he couldn’t stop smiling. I misheard him and thought he’d said crying. His friends laughed. He hasn’t forgiven me since.

Since then further glory has come for Bansi in the GUKPT and elsewhere around the world with tournament earnings in excess of $1.7 million. He also went deep at the PCA and still keeps that same look – a baseball cap three sizes too small, perched on his head askew – that he had back in Vegas.

Here though he’s up to 42,000 after finishing on the better end of hand against Anton Morgenstern.

On a flop of 7♠ J♥ 10♣ Bansi made it 700 from the cut off which Morgenstern called from his place in the big blind. The turn brought at 2♥ . Morgenstern checked to Bansi who bet 1,800. Morgenstern then raised, 4,800 now, not enough though to put Bansi off calling.

The river arrived, 10♦ . Morgenstern made it another 7,000. Bansi tipped a waitress bringing drinks, before turning his attention to the matter at hand.

“What do you have?” he asked. It’s a question that often pops up in these moments when it would be best asked pre-flop. “Full house?”

Morgenstern had removed his headphones to hear Bansi but re-plugged them without replying. Resigned, Bansi cried called. Morgenstern insta-mucked before Bansi had to show a card. — SB.

4.05pm: Moving seats
Leo Margets is in the worst position at her table. She’s not conceding any advantage to anyone in particular, but her chair blocks the only entry/exit to the tournament are for those with permission to cross the rope line.

She just played a hand despite all this, calling most of the way against Floris Morang and Gianluca Marcucci.

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Leo Margets

Morang opened for 550 from the cut off and Marcucci called. Margets was in the cut off and called for a 7♥ 6♠ 2♣ flop. All checked that for a 8♣ turn. Morang did the same again but Marcucci, in white plastic framed sunglasses, threw out 550. Again Margets called as did Morang for a river card 5♠ .

Morang checked. Marcucci checked as well. It was up to Margets. She replied with 1,600. Morang folded but S9 fired out a raise to 4,500. Too rich for Margets who forgets this one. Back down to 32,000. – SB.

3.55pm: That’s how they roll in Ulan Bator*
I never expected to be in Berlin going in search of a Mongolian, but having recently found out that we had a representative here in Germany, it was an obligatory quest.

And it didn’t take long to find Batsuren Tserendorj: he was standing up and all in, with 15,500 in front of him. The Swedish PokerStars qualifier Lars Boström had raised pre-flop, making it something like 700, and Tserendorj moved all in.

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Batsuren Tserendorj

Boström folded and showed A♣ . Tserendorj flipped 7♦ 6♠ and then sat down with a smirk.

That’s how they roll in Ulan Bator. Headline (c) Stephen Bartley. — HS

3.50pm: Nuts
After losing what he described as a “sick hand” a little while before Dragan Galic has now doubled-up to 22,500. The turn was already out and the board read 5♥ 2♦ 3â™  4â™  . Galic was heads-up and when his opponent checked to him he bet 3,000. The call came and then his opponent led into him on the 10â™  river to the tune of 2,000. Galic quickly went all in for 8,350 and was called. “Nuts” came from the mouth of Galic as he tabled Aâ™  Q♣ . His opponent had the second nuts with A♥ Kâ™  . –MC

3.47pm: Aces versus kings
Commonly known as “Last woman standing” for her efforts at this year’s main event at the WSOP, Leo Margets is heading in a similar direction right now with a stack at 43,000. She raised from first position and was called by Jan Sorensen in mid-position and the player on the button. The flop came 10♣ 4â™  3♥ and Margets’ 1,000 bet was raised to 2,500 by the Dane. Only Margets called to go to the Jâ™  turn where she check-called a 2,000 bet. She check-called once more on the 7♣ river when Sorensen bet 4,000. Sorensen opened pocket kings but Margets had him beat with pocket aces. The Dane probably lost the minimum on that hand by not re-raising pre-flop. –MC

3.45pm: Aces hold
Priyan de Mel faced a bet of 700 and re-raised to 2,100. Call. On the 7♥ 9♣ 9♥ flop he faced a bet of 2,200 and again bumped it up, this time to 7,200. That was enough to force a fold.

“Did you have a pair?” he asked his opponent. “How high was your pair? Do you want to see my hand?”

“Yes, please,” was the reply, and de Mel tabled A♥ A♣ . — SY

3.40pm: Vlad aggression
Vlad Zguba, the Team PokerStars Pro from Ukraine, bets 1,000 at a 5â™  5♥ 10â™  flop, gets re-raised to 3,250 – then re-re-raises to 7,000. That takes the pot, and Zguba eases up to 44,000. — SY

3.35pm: As an aside
Vicky Coren has taken to playing Sudoku. A torn out newspaper page has around five of the puzzles on it, and the Team PokerStars Pro is busy finishing them in near-record time. That you might expect from a lady who presents probably the most difficult quiz show in the history of British TV.

Meanwhile, Barny Boatman has moved table. Literally. The space behind him was a little tight so he got the all the other players to lift up the table and shift it along two feet, which was much more to his liking. — SY

3.30pm: Hello Mongolia!
Short of Timbuktu, Narnia and Mordor, we have welcomed players on the EPT from all corners of the globe. Today, however, it might be the first time in Europe that we’ve seen a Mongolian player: Batsuren Tserendorj, also the president of the Mongolian Poker Association. Hello and welcome – hopefully the first of many.

3.20pm: “Flippy. I still have chips.”
Jeff Sarwer likes to play a lot of pots, particularly in the early levels where there’s the most information available for the cheapest price. But a recent skirmish with Carlos Oliveira just cost Sarwer more than half his stack. It went like this.

Sarwer was on the button and Oliveira in the small blind. There was a raise pre-flop and just the two of them saw 8♣ 6♣ 7♠ . Oliveira bet 1,100, Sarwer made it what looked like 8,500 and Oliveira moved all in for 15,200 more.

Sarwer asked for the count, got it, and called very quickly. Oliveira showed 9♠ 9♣ for an over-pair and a straight draw. Sarwer was drawing big too with his Q♣ J♣ .

But the turn and river were blanks, meaning the nines held up. “It was very flippy,” Sarwer said. “I still have chips – about 10K.” — HS

3.10pm: Coren cornered
Vicky Coren just passed on a board of J♣ 3♦ A♣ 7♣ 8♣ against Arnaud Mattern. The Frenchman had been talking Coren either in or out of it for a while but Coren was having none of it, sure she had the best hand on the flop, but convinced she didn’t on the river. — SB.

3.05pm: Killer queens
Barny Boatman opened for 500 in early position. The action was folded round to Russian PokerStars qualifier Andrey Zaichenko in the big blind who raised to 1,700. Boatman raised again making it 3,200 in total and Zaichenko called for a flop of 3♦ 7♠ 2♣ .
Zaichenko checked before Boatman made it an even 5,000 to go on.

“Queens no good?” asked Zaichenko.

“You have queens?” replied Boatman, raising his eyebrows once or twice. Eventually Zaichenko passed.

“Are you sure you had queens?” said Boatman, one last time, showing his own Qâ™  . — SB.

2.50pm: Love thy neighbor or not
The Ten Commandments and poker have never been a good fit. Seeing as the game is all about deception it was always out of the question really. Dutchman Paul Berende has been ignoring them to good effect and there’s no love lost between him and his neighbor right now as two pots in a row went to Berende at the expense of the said neighbor.

Firstly Berende treated his neighbor’s under-the-gun limp with a raise to 700. He made the call but check-folded to a 1,125 bet on the Jâ™  4♦ 9â™  flop.

The next hand Berende made it 500 to go from first position and was only called by his neighbor from the big blind to see a Aâ™  A♥ 9♥ flop. Once more a Berende bet took this one down. His opponent didn’t seem to happy about losing back-to-back pots if his glare was anything to go by. –MC

2.40pm: Back they come
The first break of the day is over. Two levels down and another seven to go (plus 90 minute dinner break).

Big movers after two levels:
Ruslan Prydryk, 78,000
Martin Kabrhel, 62,000

Big losers after two levels:
Jan Skampa, out

While we wait for players to take their seats, here’s a picture of Team PokerStars Pro Vicky Coren, chosen completely at random (honest) from the dozens taken already today by camera genius Neil Stoddart… — SY

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PokerStars Blog reporting team: Stephen Bartley (who has shaved off his beard for the first time in years, and now looks 20 years younger), Marc Convey, Howard Swains (who couldn’t grow a beard even if he tried) and Simon Young, who, as usual, is sporting the four-day stubble of a vagrant.

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