Dietrich Fast: Smiling the entire strategy to the top
The opening day of the EPT13 Malta festival started slowly, but true to form gradually warmed up before ending in a frenzy.
With a 6pm start time to the curtain-raising €10,000 single re-entry event, and registration remaining open throughout all eight levels (and two more tomorrow), players had the luxurious of flying into Malta today, taking a shower, having a nap, then playing.
Ben Heath, who was at the 11:40am flight out of London this morning, looked as if it would have taken the leisurely path to the highest of the counts when bagging and tagging started at around 12:30am this morning. But although his 142,600 looked to be the biggest--and was reported as such--tournament organisers noticed that Dietrich Fast had signed for 147,300. SOMEWHAT more.
Ben Heath: Pipped to the lead by Fast
So it was that Fast, a German player who lives in Austria, pipped Heath who, in turn, pipped Anthony Zinno. Zinno has 140,400. (The starting stack was 50,000.)
Zinno had also taken it easy. He didn't arrive until about Level 5 or 6, but knocked out Steve O'Dwyer when he turned a collection of kings and was on cruise control since that time. O'Dwyer, who won the €10,000 single-day event here last year, were the chip leader at one point, but he can now decide whether to re-enter tomorrow.
Charlie Carrel was also briefly out in front. He eliminated Stephen Chidwick early on. But Carrel was scale back and Chidwick re-entered. There have been five re-entries a number of the 50 entries total we've seen so far.
So, to repeat, registration remains open until the top of the second one level tomorrow, that's Level 10 of the tournament. After that, levels become one-hour long. Everyone will hope to soon be in Fast company.
Here's the highest ten.
| Dietrich Fast | Germany | 147300 | |
| Ben Heath | UK | 142600 | |
| Anthony Zinno | USA | 140400 | |
| Patrick Leonard | UK | 118000 | |
| Orpen Kisacikoglu | UK | Re-Entered on Day 1 | 117500 |
| Oleksii Khoroshenin | Ukraine | 112600 | |
| Ole Schemion | Germany | 106500 | |
| Dan Shak | USA | 104300 | |
| Nick Petrangelo | USA | 102600 | |
| Senh Ung | UK | 91300 |
Head to the chip-count page for the whole list. Scroll through below for the entire action from today.
12:45am: Heath heads ZinnoLevel 8 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
That's it. They're bagging. Ben Heath is the leader, with 142,600. He's just sooner than Anthony Zinno, who has 140,000. We'll wrap it up properly in a moment. Stay here.
12:40am: Six more handsLevel 8 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
They have stopped the clock and are playing six more hands.
12:30am: Houri and Thorel sticking aroundLevel 8 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
Nick Petrangelo ruefully shook his head after popping out third best in an odd hand. There has been about 40,000 within the pot already and 4 players involved. They were on the turn with the board showing 4♣A♣7♦9♥.
Yehoram Houri was all-in, but there has been no side pot yet. The opposite players were Sylvain Loosli, Petrangelo and Jean-Noel Thorel.
Thorel checked, as did Loosli. Petrangelo bet 12,000. Thorel, with only 15,400 behind, called and Loosli let his hand go.
The river was the 6♣ and Thorel checked. Petrangelo bet 3,000 and Thorel then raised all-in, for 3,400 total. Petrangelo obviously called and showed 7♠7♥. Thorel tabled his J♣8♣ and, having hit a straight, was guaranteed the side pot at least.
But that was all he was getting. Houri had K♣7♣ and took the most important chunk.
12:25am: Divergent fortunes for two-bullet menLevel 8 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
Two players on their second bullets -- Stephen Chidwick and Jean-Noel Thorel -- played pots on neighbouring tables on the very same time. One in every of them won, one among them lost.
Chidwick first: He raised to 2,000 from mid-position and Dietrich Fast three-bet to 5,200 from his left. It folded back to Chidwick and he called for a Q♦8♥5♥ flop. Chidwick checked.
Fast bet 3,000 and Chidwick shoved, pushing about 15,000 over the road in total. Fast quickly folded.
So, directly to Thorel. He raised to 2,400 from under the gun and Sylvain Loosli called at the button. The flop came 4♣Q♣5♠ and Thorel checked. Loosli bet 3,000 and Thorel called.
The A♣ came at the turn and Thorel check-called Loosli's bet of 7,500. Then after the 7♣ came at the river, Thorel check-call-mucked after Loosli bet 12,000 and showed J♣8♣.
12:05am: Aldemir straightens out SchemionLevel 8 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
Koray Aldemir and Ole Schemion were on the turn. The four board cards were the 9♦A♥Q♦K♦ and Aldemir checked. Schemion desired to bet and for some time he wondered how much. Then he just moved all in, for roughly 48,000.
Aldemir called instantly and Schemion said, "You win, I SUPPOSE". His A♣9♣ looked good at the flop, but not such a lot after the turn. He was against Aldemir's J♠T♥.
Schemion still had outs to the entire house, however the river was a blank and that was that. Aldemir's stack was 21,200, so Schemion still has about 25 big blinds.
12:05am: Zinno races into the leadLevel 8 - Blinds 500/1,000 (100 ante)
"Hey buddy, nice of you to return to the tournament." This was Max Silver's ironic rub-down of Anthony Zinno, who sat down very late tonight but has just knocked out Steve O'Dwyer in what's likely the largest pot of the tournament to this point. It gives Zinno greater than 160,000 and the chip lead.
I saw almost none of it, beyond O'Dwyer realising that he was almost about covered by Zinno's stack even if he was emphatically covered by Zinno's hand. His pocket kings had turned a set.
O'Dwyer, who was chip-leader himself not goodbye ago, is now heading out the door, but Zinno is in business very quickly.
Felix Stephensen and Jason Wheeler went out within about three minutes of O'Dwyer busting too.
12:05am: Thorel finds acesLevel 7 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
Conventional wisdom is that you simply don't give anyone on the poker table any information that they haven't paid for. But you simply get aces once in a while, so there is not any harm in proudly showing them now and again.
That's Jean-Noel Thorel's philosophy, at least, and he just showed his A♠A♦ even after Sylvain Loosli folded at the flop.
Loosli opened to 2,000 from under the gun and Thorel three-bet to 5,100 from the cutoff. Loosli was the one one that called they usually saw the 7♠J♦J♠ emerge. Loosli checked, Thorel bet 5,100 and Loosli tossed his hand.
Thorel tossed his too, but face up into the center in order that everyone could see the bullets.
That's the last hand of that level and they are now going into Level 8, the last of the day.
11:55pm: Fifty and countingLevel 7 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
There have now been 50 entries into this one, and there'll likely be a whole bunch more by the point registration closes after two levels of play tomorrow. The hot arrivals include:
Oleksii Khoreshenin, Benjamin Pollak, Ramin Hajiyev, Anthony Zinno and a welcome return for Ole Schemion. We've not seen him in a while.
11:45pm: Two Silver bulletsLevel 7 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
Max Silver is on his second bullet. He recently wandered clear of Table 2, only to re-emerge pretty hastily on Table 6. "Second?" Felix Stephenson asked, and Silver confirmed the bad news. "Is that your second?" Viacheslav Buldygin asked about three minutes later, having not heard the unique query and inadvertently rubbing some salt within the Silver wound.
Max Silver
11:40pm: Troyanovskiy won't be squeezedLevel 7 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
I'm sure Mrs Troyanovskiy can escape with it, but Viacheslav Buldygin just learned that Vladimir Troyanovskiy doesn't love to be squeezed.
Vladimir Troyanovskiy: Don't squeeze
This hand started when Pierre Neuville opened to 2,000 from the button and Troyanovskiy called from the small blind. Buldygin three-bet to 7,900 from the massive blind and although Neuville got out of the way, Troyanovskiy said that he was all-in, committing 55,000-ish. That was greater than Buldygin had and he wasn't able to risk it. He folded.
11:30pm: Heath and Kozlov joustingLevel 7 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
Ben Heath and Martin Kozlov are the massive stacks on Table 5, and so they just danced across the potential for enjoying a large pot. Within the end, Heath backed down and lost just a small amount.
Heath opened to 2,000 from under the gun and Kozlov, within the cutoff, three-bet to 6,000. Heath called. The flop came K♠2♣2♦ and Heath check-called Kozlov's bet of 3,200.
The 3♣ came at the turn and Heath checked again. Kozlov bet 9,500 and Heath let him have it, maintaining a stack of about 140,000. Kozlov has about 90,000.
Martin Kozlov
11:25pm: Neuville moving upLevel 7 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
Pierre Neuville is at the up again and an entire new table of players are learning that he genuinely has some game. Neuville was one in all three players at a flop of 5♠6♣8♣ and Neuville, who was within the small blind pre-flop, checked. Felix Stephenson, within the cutoff, checked too after which Connor Drinan, at the button bet 3,000.
It didn't take too long for Neuville to search out a check-raise. He made it 8,000. Stephenson respected this move from a fellow former November Niner, and Drinan folded too. Neuville has about 105,000 now.
11:15pm: Penultimate levelLevel 7 - Blinds 400/800 (100 ante)
They're now into Level 7, the second-last of this opening day.
11pm: Drinan loses the minimumLevel 6 - Blinds 300/600 (100 ante)
Connor Drinan and Pierre Neuville just played an incredibly small pot, with Drinan wriggling clear of a grim flop for his pocket kings.
There wasn't much within the middle pre-flop, probably simply enough to symbolize a raise from Drinan in early position and a decision from Neuville to his left. The flop then appeared: A♣2♣A♥. Drinan bet 2,000 and Neuville called.
The 5♣ came at the turn and Drinan checked. Neuville bet 3,000 and Drinan called, seeing the T♦ at the river. Drinan checked and Neuville checked behind.
Drinan turned over his K♠K♥ which was now second-best to Neuville's A♠J♥.
10:50pm: Seiver finishes off ThorelLevel 6 - Blinds 300/600 (100 ante)
Jean-Noel Thorel turned to his massage therapist and said, "Finish." The rationale: he had just committed the last of his chips with a board reading Q♣Q♦A♦9♠8♦ and Scott Seiver, the person he was up against, had turned over his K♣Q♥. Thorel showed his A♣4♠, which was not ok. Seiver stacked up 61,000.
Thorel told the massage therapist that he could be coming back, just once he had returned to the cage with another €10,000. She then checked with the tournament supervisor whether Thorel can be returning to his old seat.
"No," the tournament supervisor said, before adding, "however it is feasible". This can be a re-entry, this means that players draw a brand new seat assignment in the event that they buy back into action. And that meant it was technically possible for Thorel to get the similar one he had just left.
But, five minutes, later, it was clear that wasn't happening. Thorel shuffled back into the room and the massage therapist needed to move her bag of stuff over the opposite side of the room beside Thorel's new seat.
10:40pm: Troyanovskiy profits from CarrelLevel 6 - Blinds 300/600 (100 ante)
You'll notice from the chip-counts below that Charlie Carrel's flying start has come to a bit a grinding halt. The person who seems to have prospered most as Carrel has dwindled back to his starting stack is Vladimir Troyanovskiy.
They were concerned about a contemporary pot where it appeared like Carrel bet the flop of K♥Q♠9♣ after which three-bet after Troyanovskiy raised. Troyanovskiy called, taking them to the 2♣ at the turn.
There was exactly 41,200 within the pot at this stage, but not more went in as they checked that deuce, then also checked the 3♦ river. Carrel's 9♦T♦ lost out to Troyanovskiy's K♦T♥.
10:31pm: Wheeler stuck within the last levelLevel 6 - Blinds 300/600 (100 ante)
"Thirteen-fifty," Jason Wheeler said, throwing out two orange chips, worth 1,000 apiece but stating his intended bet very clearly. One problem: there are no 25-denomination chips left, so getting change was going to be difficult.
The dealer rounded it down, stating the bet was 1,300, and when action folded round to Chi Zhang, he doubled checked it was exactly 1,300 he was asked to pay. "In my head, it's thirteen-fifty," Wheeler said as he gave him the eye-ball. Zhang called.
The flop came 3♥3♠9♥ and Zhang checked. Wheeler bet 1,500 and Zhang called.
The 9♦ came at the turn, they usually both checked. They weren't much concerned about the Q♥ at the river either. They both checked again. Wheeler showed A♦8♥ and Zhang showed A♠8♠ and that one fizzled right out right into a chop.
10:30pm: Some stacksLevel 6 - Blinds 300/600 (100 ante)
If I remember rightly, Steve O'Dwyer nursed a brief stack for far of the deep stages of this tournament last season, only emerging late to assert the title. He's going about his title defence in markedly different fashion this time around and presently has the chip lead. Listed here are some stacks:
Steve O'Dwyer - 145,000Martin Kozlov - 120,000Martin Finger - 95,000Vladimir Troyanovskiy - 90,000Ben Heath - 80,000Patrick Leonard - 75,000Dietrich Fast - 75,000Connor Drinan - 71,000Charlie Carrel - 55,000
10:10pm: Break timeLevel 5 - Blinds 250/500 (100 ante)
This wasn't at the original schedule, but they're taking a 20-minute break now and are colouring up the 25 value chips. They'll get back to play straight through Levels 6-8 after which wrap up for the day.
9:50pm: Check, check, check, check, check, etcLevel 5 - Blinds 250/500 (100 ante)
Get ready for many checking.
Pierre Neuville opened to 1,200 from under the gun and Vladimir Troyanovskiy, his old sparring partner, called from one seat along. Connor Drinan, within the big blind, also called, and people three saw a flop of Q♣6♣4♣. Drinan checked.
Neuville checked his cards. Then checked. And Troyanovskiy checked behind. They saw the 8♣ at the turn. Drinan checked. Neuville checked. Then Troyanovskiy did the double-check: first checking his cards, then tapping the table to check.
The 8♦ came at the river and Drinan checked. Neuville checked. Troyanovskiy checked. Drinan turned over J♦J♥. It seems that his loss of card check was something of a tell. He knew he did not have a club because he had two red jacks.
Connor Drinan
Surprising because it may sound, neither Neuville nor Troyanovskiy had a club either and the jacks were good.
9:40pm: Heath four-betLevel 5 - Blinds 250/500 (100 ante)
Dario Sammartino opened to 1,000 from the hijack and no sooner was a three-bet to 4,000 available in the market from his neighbour than Ben Heath, at the button, had made it 8,500. That four-bet was good. Charlie Carrel, who's Heath's friend and (at one point, I think, his flatmate) continues to be leading the tournament, but Heath has had an excellent start too. His stack is almost double what he sat down with today.
Ben Heath
9:25pm: Level upLevel 5 - Blinds 250/500 (100 ante)
We're over the hump, individuals who. was the last hand of Level 4 and we're into Level 5 now.
9:25pm: Betting big at the river is the brand new blackLevel 4 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
Martin Kozlov opened to 850 from under the gun and ensnared the 2 blinds in his villainous dealings. Both Ben Heath (SB) and Govert Metaal (BB) joined in.
They all checked the K♦9♦8♣ flop, then Heath bet 1,350 on the 3♦ turn. Metaal raised to 3,900 and Kozlov called. Who would have thought that three may well be so interesting? Heath folded.
The 8♥ came at the river and Metaal checked. Kozlov bet 16,000 and the most recent chunky river bet got the job done again.
9:20pm: Neuville doesn't impress TroyanovskiyLevel 4 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
Action passed the entire method to Pierre Neuville within the small blind and he raised to 1,100. If Vladimir Troyanovskiy was impressed with that, he decided to hide it really well. He threw out a contemptuous call.
The flop came 2♥7♣T♥ and Neuville bet 1,325. Troyanovskiy called. That took them to the J♠ turn, which they checked, and the 3♦ river, which additionally they checked.
Neuville turned over 7♦5♠ and Troyanovskiy was still not impressed. But he was beaten and mucked.
9:15pm: Finger's queens are goodLevel 4 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
Martin Finger raised to 800 from the button and Davidi Kitai called within the big blind. It was just those two to peer the flop of 3♦9♠5♠. Kitai checked and Finger bet 2,000. Kitai called, taking them to the 7♠ at the turn.
Kitai took over the betting lead and pushed 4,200 forward. Finger called, after which they saw the 9♥ at the river. Both players slowed right down and, after the double check, Kitai opened A♦8♠. Finger's Q♠Q♦ was never behind.
Martin Finger
9:05pm: Zhang firingLevel 4 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
In truth, this is not probably the most fascinating update ever however it may well be worth mentioning. Chi Zhang just won back-to-back pots with some aggression. The primary came when he opened to 1,000 from under the gun and Jason Wheeler three-bet to 2,500 one seat along. After the remainder of the table folded, Zhang four-bet to 7,800 and that got it done.
Soon after, Zhang check-raised Senh Ung on a flop of K♦6♠7♠ and that was adequate too.
8:50pm: Finger bets bigLevel 4 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
Three players were at a flop of A♣T♦9♦. Martin Finger, one in every of them, bet 3,000 and Davidi Kitai, another one among them, raised to 8,200. Brian Altman, the last of the trio, called. Finger called too. (Finger would has been within the small blind, Kitai was in mid-position and Altman was at the button.
The K♠ came at the turn and all three players checked, which took them to the 2♠ at the river. Altman stared fiercely at Finger, but he was unflustered as he bet 28,000.
Kitai was the primary player to look highly suspicious and took a long, very long time before folding. Then the suspicion fell to Altman, who also took an even long while before tossing his cards away too.
8:45pm: Loosli-ing upLevel 4 - Blinds 200/400 (50 ante)
Sylvain Loosli was among a clutch of players who joined us in the course of the break. He's now within the field with Davidi Kitai and Jean-Noel Thorel. Stephen Chidwick has become the primary player to re-enter after that collision with Charlie Carrel.
Carrel, by the way, is chip leader these days with about 130,000. Nobody else even has enough chips to make a stack of 20.
8:20pm: Break timeLevel 3 - Blinds 150/300 (50 ante)
And that is the end of Level 3. Players are going for a 20-minute break.
8:15pm: Change of scheduleLevel 3 - Blinds 150/300 (50 ante)
The plans for this evening have changed. We're now playing only eight levels tonight and can therefore wrap at around 1am.
8pm: Carrel backs into flush to bust ChidwickLevel 3 - Blinds 150/300 (50 ante)
Stephen Chidwick's first bullet has just ricocheted into his own heart. It took a hefty deflection off his countryman Charlie Carrel along the way in which because the latter went runner-runner into the nuts.
Pierre Neuville started it, raising to 700 from under the gun. Vladimir Troyanovskiy, one seat to his left, called after which Carrel called within the bring to an end. Chidwick, within the big blind, was apparently priced in and he called too.
So, four of them checked out the flop of 7♦8♥2♠ and Chidwick, Neuville and Troyanovskiy all checked. Carrel, sensing an opportunity, bet 2,000 and only Chidwick called.
The Q♠ came at the turn and Chidwick checked again. Carrel now bet 7,000. Chidwick called.
The 3♠ came at the river and Chidwick checked. Carrel bet 28,000 and Chidwick quickly announced he was all-in. Carrel didn't stay up for a count. He snap-called and turned over A♠6♠. Chidwick said, "Nice hand" and pushed his remaining chips over the road and headed out.
Neuville said that he had two spades--the J♠T♠--so he had a lucky escape.
7:50pm: Usual suspectsLevel 3 - Blinds 150/300 (50 ante)
Some more familiar faces have arrived: Vladimir Troyanovskiy and Dario Sammartino have taken their seats.
7:35pm: Neuville gets some backLevel 3 - Blinds 150/300 (50 ante)
On almost the following hand after the slight aberration described below, Pierre Neuville got his chips back in a hand against Brian Altman. Neuville opened from under the gun and Altman three-bet to 1,800 from a few seats along. Neuville called. The flop came 8♥Q♦9♠ and Neuville check-called Altman's bet of 1,400. Then Neuville fired 4,000 on the 4♣ turn and, after requesting a count of Neuville's stack, Altman folded.
Altman and Neuville
7:30pm: Into Level 3Level 3 - Blinds 150/300 (50 ante)
We glide into Level 3, where blinds are actually 150/300 and the ante doubles. They are going to take a 10-minute break on the end of this level. We've now had 31 entries.
7:25pm: Petrangelo keeps cool after ruling interrupts handLevel 2 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
Three players were at a flop. Govert Metaal (UTG), Pierre Neuville (hijack) and Nick Petrangelo were the 2♠9♦3♦. Metaal checked, then Neuville bet 375.
Petrangelo then raised to 1,025 and after a brief pause, Neuville pulled back his bet and counted out a choice. However the problem: it wasn't his turn to behave. Metaal was still pondering his decision.
Metaal eventually called, and that did put action back on Neuville. He motioned that he will need to fold. Petrangelo, among others on the table, said he couldn't. He had intended to name before Metaal's call and was now required to follow through as Metaal had not changed the action.
"I haven't any choice?" Neuville wondered aloud.
"Floor!" the dealer said.
The tournament supervisor came to visit and listened because the dealer precisely and accurately described what had happened and confirmed that, yes, Neuville needed to call. "I WILL NOT do the rest"? he said.
Pierre Neuville: Searching for options
Petrangelo said: "YOU CAN MOST LIKELY call and muck", knowing full well that that was not essentially the most attractive option.
So Neuville called and the saw the 8♥ at the turn. Metaal and Neuville both checked and Petrangelo bet 3,800. Metaal called an that allowed Neuville to get out of ways. The 8♠ came at the river.
Both players now checked and Metaal tabled T♥9♥. Petrangelo's A♣9♣ was good. Probably lucky for everybody that Neuville did not have an eight.
7:15pm: Messrs Drinan and WheelerLevel 2 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
Connor Drinan and Jason Wheeler at the moment are on this event. We're as much as 28 now.
7pm: Master and pupilLevel 2 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
"How funny is that this"? Dan Shak said. The solution: quite funny. The seat to Shak's left on Table 1 has now been occupied by Scott Seiver, who was recently employed by Shak as knowledgeable coach for Shak's appearance on the €1m Big One for One Drop in Monaco.
It's fair to mention that they need to really know one another's game--although I'm assuming Shak goes to need a reimbursement if Seiver starts pulling some tricks this week that weren't a part of the coaching package.
6:55pm: Hatzakortzian departsLevel 2 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
We have just edged into Level 2, although the blinds remain the similar. Edward Hatzakortzian barely saw any of it. The primary man to sit has become the primary man to hit the rail too.
A brief stay for Edward Hatzakortzian
6:45pm: Defending championsLevel 1 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
The latest batch of newcomers includes Dan Shak, Brian Altman, Martin Kozlov and Stefan Jedlicka. Also Steve O'Dwyer, who won this equivalent event last time in Malta, is back in action. He's joined by Nick Petrangelo, who won it last time in Barcelona. They're both defending champions, in a single way or another.
6:35pm: Metaal's kings prevailLevel 1 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
On the topic of giant pots, Edward Hatzakortzian also isn't messing around. He was the primary man to take a seat today and is definitely keen to look numerous flops for his money.
Just recently he was in a hand with Govert Metaal and the latter bet 1,200 on the flop of 8♥Q♦3♦. Hatzakortzian raised to 4,000 and Metaal called. The A♥ came at the turn and Metaal checked to the raiser. However, he called Hatzakortzian's bet of 6,000.
They both checked the 3♥ river and Metaal showed K♦K♥. Hatzakortzian's Q♥4♣ were beaten. I AM NOT sure of the pre-flop action, but am assuming Metaal had raised from the cutoff and Hatzakortzian called the button.
6:35pm: Big pots onlyLevel 1 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
"David, what is wrong"? Dietrich Fast asked of his table-mate David Yan. Yan didn't understand the question, so Fast followed up. "You playing only big pots? You do not watch ESPN and spot Antonio Esfandiari teaching small-ball?"
The line of questioning was not without justification. Yan just played another hand against Xixiang Luo which ended with of venture of 12,800 from Yan, leaving only 15,000 behind. The starting stack was 50,000.
David "Big pot" Yan
I saw only a few details, beyond the large bet at the river and the measly pile of blue 5,000-denomination chips still behind the road. Luo folded, so Yan gathered up a stack toward what he started with again.
6:25pm: Past 20 players nowLevel 1 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
Dietrich Fast, Charlie Carrel, Ben Heath, Adrian Mateos, Maxi Silver and Govert Metaal at the moment are also within the field. It has swelled to 22 and more are arriving, presenting a juggling act for the tournament staff as they open new tables and balance.
6:20pm: Yan and Ung battle earlyLevel 1 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
Senh Ung in sat next to his friend Paul Newey, who's the one buffer between him and David Yan. Newey sat and watched at the side of the remainder of the table because the following curious hand played out.
Ung raised to 500 from the hijack and Yan called within the big blind. They both checked the Q♦5♣T♣ flop after which Yan bet 700 after the 8♦ turn. Ung called. The 5♠ came at the river and Yan bet 5,400. No less than that is what I FEEL he bet. Even though it gave the impression of a corpulent bet for a pot that did not also have 3,000 in it, it really did appear to be that much.
Ung wasn't scared, though. Removed from it. In truth he raised to 12,000 and Yan folded after a minute or so.
6:15pm: Early actionLevel 1 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
Stephen Chidwick has now duly arrived and brought his seat on the table--and he played his first two hands too. The primary occurred when he called 800 from the massive blind after Edward Hatzakortzian raised from the cutoff and the 2 saw a flop of 6♥T♦Q♠. They both checked.
The 5♦ came at the turn and Chidwick check-called a big gamble of what seemed like about 1,700. Then Chidwick check-folded when Hatzakortzian bet 7,000 at the A♠ river.
Chidwick was within the small blind at the next hand and watched action fold to Pierre Neuville at the button. Neuville called, after which called again when Chidwick raised to 1,100. They both checked the 5♠J♣9♠ turn and, I NEED TO confess, I DID NOT see any of what happened after this because attention quickly switched to the opposite table, where the next took place...
6:02pm: Away they goLevel 1 - Blinds 100/200 (25 ante)
And they're off. It is a field probably best described as "cosy" on the moment, with nine players spread over two tables. Actually, there at the moment are 12.
Edward Hatzakortzian was the primary man to sit down down, followed quickly by Patrick Leonard. Then Xixiang Luo joined them, then Senh Ung and Paul Newey, followed by Pierre Neuville.
I can now also see David Yan over there within the distance, and happen to understand that Charlie Carrel, Ben Heath, Adrian Mateos, Sylvain Loosli and Stephen Chidwick also are all in Malta already. (Most of them were at the same flight from London.)
5:30pm: Hello from Malta!
Good afternoon everybody and welcome to Portomaso Casino within the heart of Malta's throbbing party district for the beginning of the EPT Malta festival. That is the penultimate time we will be able to all be convening under the eu Poker Tour's branding, so get yourself over here and play.
Failing that, keep on with us for the approaching two weeks, where we will be able to be covering this packed and hectic tournament schedule. Satellites at the moment are already under way here, however the big events start imminently, kicking off with a €10,000 no limit hold'em affair.
This isn't a High Roller event per se, in that the winner won't get some of the enormous trophies. However the €10,000 buy in is for real, as would be the prizepool, meaning that is possibly best known as a high roller, with a small "h" and "r". It starts at 6pm local time, and they're going to play ten 45-minute levels, with a break after three of them, then after six.
That means we'll be playing into the small hours, but with a single re-entry permitted there'll likely still be the standard frantic action.
Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: European Poker Tour]
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