No clowning around, it's down to business for Krusty and friends

The PPT blog went looking for trouble ;-) and we ran into three kings, as we met a trio of Spanish players all keen to take the Madrid tournament by storm.

Oscar "La Pua" Blanco has enjoyed some six-figure cashes of late and amongst his friends at least, has been labelled Spain's best poker player. Quite the honour, but Oscar downplayed his big reputation by suggesting it was a cash, not tournaments, that was his forte...

Also joining the PPT blog was another recognisable face - or should that be voice - in Nacho "Krusty" Guerra (he's named after the Simpson's very own clown for a reason!) and the accomplished Javier Etaya.

Here's what they had to say.

PPT: Hi guys, how are you feeling today – confident?
NG: We’re feeling really confident, that’s why we came.
OB: We play in tournaments like this every week against fields even bigger than this one, so we always fancy our chances.
PPT: So how do you adjust to big fields of this size?
JE: I try to play the same; I just concentrate on playing my best, accumulating chips and making final tables.
PPT: Does that involve playing aggressive or do you prefer to sit tight for a while?
OB: It depends on the table; I’d adjust my strategy according to how they play.
PPT: Do you think you’ll recognise any of the players in the tournament today?
NG: No it’s impossible when there’s 180 players coming into the tournament from Paradise Poker.
PPT: Does that make it more exciting – to play against people you don’t know?
NG: It makes it easier! (laughs) No seriously it depends on the players and you never know.
PPT: Well good luck!