Friday, 29th March 2024 00:14
Home / Uncategorized / Eureka Poker Tour Nova Gorica: Day 2, level 9, 10, 11 & 12 updates (blinds 800-1,600, ante 200)
eureka-poker-tour-thumb.jpg

6.25pm: Break time
Players are now on a 10 minute break. You’ll find level 13 updates in a new post here.

6.15pm: More chip counts
There are currently 43 players left in, here are a few more chip counts.

Sasa Stancic – 79,000
Michal Kadziela – 54,000
Mitch Johnson – 55,000
Ye Yichuan – 19,200
Luca Formisano 107,000
Antonio Dieguez Rodriguez 106,000
Pavel Berka – 74,000.

6pm: Some chip counts
Here’s a few chip counts from my last lap of the room.

Richard Bomba – 53,000
Alexandru Popovici – 121,000
Alain Medesan – 104,000
Filip Bedzinski – 69,000
Tadeas Kozdon – 74,000
Miha Staric – 133.000
Goran Mandic – OUT
Michal Maryska – OUT

5.50pm: Igor him at your peril
Igor Ioncar is now right up with the chip leaders after winning a massive pot with pocket jacks and eliminating two players who both held [A][Q]. He now has 165,000.

5.35pm: Bogdan busts by bluffing
Chip leader at the start of the day – Bogdan Nicolae – is out. He lost his stack bluffing with queen high against Dorde Jovanovic who had [A][J] on a jack high board. With that elimination Jovanovic has a huge stack of around 180,000 and is the chip leader.

Libor Behro is also going well and has around 134,000.

eureka poker tour nova gorica_day 2_dorde_jovanovic.jpg

Dorde Jovanovic

5.20pm: State of play
Currently 55 players are still in the main event. Average stack is 57,545.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 800-1,600 ante 200

5.10pm: Bavec Busted
Daniel Bavec – who presents the Champions League coverage in Slovenia – is out. No details I’m afraid but he was short on chips and someone else is occupying the seat that was once his.

eureka poker tour nova gorica_day 2_daniel_bavec.jpg

It’s an early bath for Bavec

5pm: Sasa scoops six way pot
Six, yes six players saw a flop of 5♦ 5♥ 8♣ in an un-raised pot. A bet of 3,500 on the flop from Sasa Stancic saw the other five players fold like cheap suitcases.

4.50pm: Gutsy from Goran
From under-the-gun Goran Mandic made it 2,600 to play and both blinds called. So three way to a flop of 7♣ A♠ 4♦ , both blinds checked and Mandic c-bet 3,600 from his stack of around 18,000. Both blinds folded and Mandic casually showed 7♦ 2♦ as he took the pot.

4.40pm: Staric surges into lead
Miha Staric – who started the day second in chips – is now chip leader and looks to have around 130,000. Previous chip leader Bogdan Nicolae has slipped to about 88,000, his chips seemingly going to a few players with tablemates Filip Bedzinski (82,800) and Sasa Stancic (77,000) both well stacked.

Elsewhere Tadeas Kozdon has joined the six figure club as he has a stack of around 103,000 and Alain Medesan is back up to around 82,000.

eureka poker tour nova gorica_day 2_miha_staric.jpg

Miha Staric

4.25pm: Back in their seats
The players are back in their seats, they’ll be a maximum of 10 levels today as they try and play down to the final table of eight.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 600-1,200 ante 100

4.10pm: Break time
The 67 remaining players are now on their first 10 minute break of the day

3.55pm: Chip counts
Scores on the door for the following are:

Bogdan Nicolae – 120,000
Luca Formisano – 85,300
Filip Bedzinski – 77,400
Angelo Falletta – 48,000
Richard Bomba – 57,000
Alain Medesan – 26,300
Michal Maryka – 27,000
Mitch Johnson – 53,000
Daniel Bevac – 27,300
Michal Kadziela – 78,200
Ye Yichaun – 38,000
Goran Mandic – 39,300

70 players remain, average stack is 45,214, you can find chip counts of selected players on the chip counts page.

eureka poker tour nova gorica_day 2_mitch_johnson.jpg

Mitch Johnson

3.35pm: Chip leader applying the pressure
The chip leader Bogdan Nicolae is not one to sit on a lead, he’s involved in plenty of pots and using the big stack like an axe.

In a recent hand he raised to 2,300 from under-the-gun and only the big blind – Michal Maryska – called. The flop was 7â™  4â™  8♦ and Maryska elected to lead out, firing a bet of 3.800. After some conteplation Nicolae made it 9,800 to go.

This sent Maryska – who had perhaps 27,000 back – into the tank for a good few minutes, but he eventually let his hand go.

3.20pm: Antonio Dieguez dented
Antonio Dieguez Rodriguez, runner-up in Prague, is an exuberant character and you usually know If he’s been involved in a major pot. I heard him let out an anguished scream and jogged over to see what had happened and the facts were laid bare on the felt.

Alessandro Caria, who was the small blind held A♣ 10♠ and was all-in for 28,700. Rodriguez, the big blind had A♠ J♣ and the board had run out K♥ 8♠ 4♥ J♦ Q♠ to give Caria a straight. Despite that set back Rodriguez must have had a good start to the day as he still has 40,000, which is a little more than he started the day with.

3.10pm: 75 remain
That means 17 players busted during the opening level of Day 2, that’s one every three and a half minutes. Frantic. Average stack is now 42,200.

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 500-1,000, ante 100

3.05pm: Brutal blind on blind battle
Team PokerStars Online member Grzegorz Mikielewicz has just been eliminated in a frankly brutal hand.

From under-the-gun+1 Daniel Bevac made it 2,500 to play and it folded to Mikielewicz who moved all-in for 22,500 with pocket kings. Unfortunately for him, Miha Staric woke up with pocket aces in the big blind and no king appeared on the board to help him out.

eureka poker tour nova gorica_day 2_gregorz_mikielewicz.jpg

It’s back to the virtual felt for Mikielewicz

3pm: Another one outer
Yesterday Keith Johnson was eliminated by a one outer and current chip leader Bogdan Nicolae just suffered the same fate – apart from the getting eliminated part.

He held A♥ A♦ and Vlado Banicevic, who had around 14,000 to start the hand, had J♣ J♦ . The board of 8♦ 10♥ 5♥ 3♥ meant that Banicevic could only count the J♠ as an out and it duly popped out on the river to double him up. Despite that scratch Nicolae has increased his stack since the start of the day as he has around 120,000.

2.50pm: Chop it up
Down to just 7,000 Milivoj Lekic moved all-in with pocket queens from early position and was looked up by big blind Michal Kadziela who held 5♣ 4♣ . The 7♣ 9♣ 8♥ flop gave Kadziela a boat load of outs and one duly arrived on the 6♦ turn. The river though was the 10♠ putting a straight on board and the pot was chopped.

2.35pm: 85 left
That means in the opening 30 minutes of play seven players have been eliminated.

2.30pm: Sure enough…
It didn’t take long for Table 21 to provide some noteworthy action. From under-the-gun Michal Kadziela raised to 1,600 and it folded to Daniel Bavec who raised to 4,500. Back on Kadziela and he folded showing the A♥ . A shortstacked Gianni Bonetto, who is sat to the left of Bavec, claimed to have folded pocket tens.

2.20pm: One to watch
I’ll be keeping a close eye on table 21 as it contains (in a row from right to left) Michal Kadziela, Ye Yichuan, Grzegorz Mikielewicz and Miha Staric. Also on that table is Daniel Bavec. Stacked.

Elsewhere Michal Maryska has chip leader Bogdan Nicolae to his immediate left and Prague runner-up Antonio Dieguez Rodriguez has Goran Mandic for company.

2.10pm: Two early exits
Paulius Venckauskas, who started the day with just 9,300, was the first exit. Also out is Jaroslav Urabn his Aâ™  2â™  no good against Tadeas Kozdon’s pocket aces.

2.05pm: Cards in the air
Play has started

2pm: Day two set to start
Welcome to day two of the Eureka Poker Tour, Nova Gorica main event. Over the two starting days the 211 entrants have been whittled down to just 92. The plan today is to reduce that number to the final table of eight players, although the first milestone will be reaching the money.

A total of 24 players will take home some kind of financial reward for their efforts ranging from €1,350 to €40,010. Currently in pole position to win the lions share is 22-year old Bogdan Nicolae from Romania. He starts today with 109,300, the only player in the six figure club. At the other end of the scale there are 22 players who start today with less than 20 big blinds, expect a frenetic start then.

eureka poker tour nova gorica_day 2_bogdan_nicolae.jpg

Bogdan Nicolae

PokerStars Blog reporting team at Eureka Poker Tour Nova Gorica: Nick Wright. Photos courtesy of Manuel Kovsca,

Study Poker with Pokerstars Learn, practice with the PokerStars app