Tuesday 29 November 2011

Players' Party pics

The ParadisePoker players' party headed to Carpe Diem on Saturday, November 26th and our Main Event entrants were treated to VIP service in one of Barcelona's hottest venues.

Enjoying free entry, free drinks, our own VIP space - plus the company of the ParadisePoker girls - is hardly a challenge, so a good night was all but guaranteed!

Of course there will be another instalment of the players' party in Prague come January so hit the qualifiers folks or you'll miss some seriously good times on the ParadisePoker Tour.



Viewing on a smartphone? Visit our Players' Party Web Album to see the pics.

Monday 28 November 2011

Santiago speaks

Click here for more winner pics
The PP blog had a word with our newly crowned PPT champion in the moments after his victory at the Gran Casino Barcelona and here's what he had to say...

How does it feel to be crowned ParadisePoker Tour Barcelona champion?
It’s a great feeling to have won. It’s the first title I’ve won and having come close one other time, this is just perfect.

You made a deal at heads-up for €25,000 each, but the trophy looked important to you both judging by the way you played.
100% winning the trophy really meant a lot – more than the money to be honest. For sure.

So how does this compare with your poker achievements so far?
This is definitely up there with my best moments in poker. I cashed for almost the same in an APPT event but this feels really great.

At the end of Day 1 you were our chip leader, so what are you memories of that?
I had a big hand when I flopped a set vs top pair top kicker. We went all-in on the flop for around 300 big blinds so that put me over 100,000 in chips. I made a couple of moves and got up to 150,000 but everything was going my way. Even when I didn't have the cards they folded so everything went great.

Day 2 was a little more challenging though...
I had a much rougher day on Day 2 because although I went up to 260,000 I then lost a big pot. On the bubble I only had 60,000 but I doubled up two or three times and ended up on around 540,000.

What about Day 3 and the final table?
I had a couple of bad beats early on the final table, like when Marga [Gonzalez] flopped quads with 6s against my 8s in the first hand. I had a very tough decision with 8s again but eventually I started making my hands and the day went great.

You made a deal for €25,000 each even though you were a 1,000,000 chips behind.
Heads-up I kind of knew I was going to make it but I had to make a deal for €25,000 each because the money is important. There was a €12,500 difference between first and second so it was a good deal I think and it all came good in the end.

Nanev was such a dominant chip leader for so long - was there ever a point where you thought you might not catch him?
When we were three-handed I only had about 1,000,000 but I started to chip up, stole some pots and I just felt like I was going to win it. He had a million more than me when we made it to heads-up but I felt like I had an edge that made us more even. I wasn't sure I was going to take it, but I was very confident. I've not had that much experience playing heads-up but I definitely felt I had an edge over him from the way we were playing.

Soriano claims the PPT crown

QJ was the winning hand for Santiago
Santiago Soriano is PPT Barcelona champion for Season 3 after finally finding the killer touch in his closely contested duel with Rumen Nanev.

The pair had been cancelling each other out since making a deal for €25,000 a piece, but both showed their desire to win the trophy by playing some good poker.

In the end Nanev made a crying call for all his chips with an open-ended straight draw and lost out to the overcards and gutshot of Soriano - who spiked top pair to seal the deal.

Our long-time chip leader from Bulgaria had 6♥7♥ when it went in, with his rival flipping Q♣J♥ on a 4♥8♣9♠ flop. The turn brought the 8♦ and the river was that decisive Q♠.

Congratulations to Santiago on his success. The PP blog had a quick chat with the champ - as well as our runner-up - and will post the interviews tomorrow. We'll also be posting pics from Saturday night's fun at Carpe Diem, so be sure to check back or follow us on Twitter for updates.

Sparring partners

Our heads-up battle has seen limited action since those burst of all-ins, as Rumen Nanev and Santiago Soriano trade blows yet come out even.

The biggest hand of the last 20 minutes was won by Nanev, who picked off a bluff with A♦9♥ on a 4♦3♥K♦ - J♥ - A♥ board. 

Soriano has been anything but outdone, however, winning a series of smaller pots with his relentless aggression, but the duo have struggled to land that knockout blow.

Tables turning

Having agreed a deal, the inevitable fireworks saw our heads-up duo get the chips in the middle. Rumen Nanev showed K♠8♣ vs the A♦9♥ of Santiago Soriano.

Two aces on the flop quickly ended the bout, turning the chip count upside down and giving the native player a 2-to-1 advantage.

UPDATE - And the pendulum swings back Nanev's way. The chips went in a few hands later and this time the Bulgarian turned over J♥10:spades; to crush the J♣ 9♦ of Soriano. A 10 on the flop made it safe.

Soriano eliminates Kovacs to go heads-up

Deal struck, we play for €3,500 more
Santiago Soriano will take on the juggernaut that is Rumen Nanev after the Spaniard knocked out Jozsef Kovacs in 3rd place.

Kovacs had raised and called the aggressive Soriano's three-bet pre-flop before it all went in on a 2♠5♦7♣ flop.

The last native player quickly flipped his Aces and with the sight of it, Jozsef took a deep breath and rolled 8♠7&hearts. The turn and river handed the Hungarian no help, falling J♥ - 6♠.

He does claim a €15,000 prize, however, and leaves the remaining pair to fight it out for the remaining cash - and of course the PPT Barcelona trophy.

UPDATE - Nanev and Soriano have cut a deal for €25,000 each, meaning they will play for the €3,500 left in the pot.

Zarazaga next on the hitlist

Can anyone stop Nanev?
We're down to three players as executioner-in-chief Rumen Nanev added Pablo Zarazaga to his lengthy list of victims.

Predictably another pre-flop all-in, Nanev had his man dominated, holding A♥10♦ vs J♠10♠.

The board improve neither player - 69K-5-7 - and meant Ace high was good for Nanev.

Zarazaga had slowed down considerably in the last hour or two, pushing him to the brink as the blinds ate away at his stack. He wins €11,500 for 4th.

Nanev now has around 4,000,000 - more than two thirds of the total chips - and is looking all but unstoppable right now.

Prize pool reminder - 1st - €33,000; 2nd - €20,500; 3rd - €15,000.

Marga's run stops short of victory

Marga Gonzalez has been quite the story at PPT Barcelona - becoming the first woman to make a Main Event final table - but will not complete the fairytale triumph this time.

Low on chips and in need of a double up, it was little surprise to see her chips in the middle - and the equally stricken Santiago Soriano had a tough time deciding whether to call.

He decided to put his chips at risk with A♣4♠ and though he was some way behind Marga's 10s, the flop duly delivered  the A♥ to end the Gonzalez run.

Our first lady collects €9,000 for her sterling effort.

Sunday 27 November 2011

Galindo out in 6th for €6,800

Another Nanev victim - Jose Galindo
The mountain that is Rumen Nanev's chip stack just keeps on growing and now he has just four opponents standing in his way after knocking out Jose Galindo.

Nanev had already bullied Marga Gonzalez out of some more chips by the time Galindo shoved utg for around 356,000.

The Bulgarian came back over the top to isolate his opponent and showed J♦J♥ to severly hamper the chances of Galindo's K♠J♠.

The dealer delivered 9♥6♥8♦ on the flop, A♥ on the turn and 9♣ on the river to send Jose home with €6,800.

Prize pool reminder - 1st - €33,000; 2nd - €20,500; 3rd - €15,000; 4th - €11,500; 5th - €9,000.

Latest chip counts

We're just returning from a short break now so let's get an update on how the players' stacks measure up.

Rumen Nanev retains his dominant position, while three players are in need of a double up, including Marga Gonzalez and Santiago Soriano.

Rough Chip Count
Rumen Nanev - 2,400,000

Jozsef Kovacs - 970,000
Jose Galindo - 800,000
Pablo Zarazaga - 530,000
Santiago Soriano - 470,000
Marga González - 400,000 

UPDATE - Soriano got just what he needed in the last few moments, doubling through at the expense of Jose Galindo

The latter had gone all-in in a blind battle and Santiago made the call with A♠4&hearts. That held up against Galindo's K♥Q♣ so the two swap positions.

Nanev claims another scalp

€5,300 and 7th-place for Garcia
Jorge Garcia is our 7th-place finisher here in Barcelona as despite doubling up earlier, he was caught cold by chip leader Rumen Nanev in another pre-flop battle.

Garcia had raised it up from the button, only to be forced to make a decision for his tournament life when Nanev 3-bet, and it proved a costly one in the end.

Once the chips were in the centre, Garcia flipped A♥9♥ - a hand crushed by Nanev's A♦K♣. The board offered him no help, coming J♦6♣2♠ - 4♥ - 8♠ to send him home with €5,300.

Prize pool reminder - 1st - €33,000; 2nd - €20,500; 3rd - €15,000; 4th - €11,500; 5th - €9,000; 6th - €6,800.

Rise of Galindo

Jose Galindo has been in the ascendancy at the final table of the PPT Main Event, doubling up and then winning further big duels with the likes of Rumen Nanev and Santiago Soriano.

First he defended his big blind to Nanev's button raise and after some thought on the J♥3♣Q♥ flop, he check-raised the Bulgarian's 55,000 c-bet all-in.

The call eventually followed and Nanev showed Q9 vs the K10 - and open-ended straight draw - of Galindo. A nine on the turn was sufficient to swing the hand in Galindo's favour.

He was soon sparring once more, this time with Soriano, raising 41,000 pre-flop and c-betting for 55,000 when it came J♥3♣Q♥. The ever-aggressive Santiago raised to 123,000 but was forced to fold when his compatriot came back over the top all-in.

He now has around 800,000 chips.

Marga trebles up, sends Gontarczyk to the rail

Rafal Gontarczyk wins €4,450 for 8th
Marga Gonzalez is a woman on a mission. Not content with being our first female player on the PPT Main Event final table, she is rapidly becoming a contender after trebling through.

This time it was Rafal Gontarczyk and Pablo Zarazaga in her path, but neither man could keep her from trebling up - and it cost the former his tournament life.

The Pole had shoved over the top of Zarazaga's raise of 25,000 and Gonzalez quickly followed suit. After tanking for a few minutes, Pablo also made the call and we went three-way to a 5♠4♦5♦ flop.

With Marga cheering for low cards, the deck could hardly not oblige our only lady, bringing 2♥ on the turn and 10♠ on the river to ensure her victory. "Come on!" she exclaimed.

Gontarczyk wins €4,450 for his 8th-place finish, as well as 20 points for some delighted Fantasy Poker owners.

Prize pool reminder - 1st - €33,000; 2nd - €20,500; 3rd - €15,000; 4th - €11,500; 5th - €9,000; 6th - €6,800; 7th - €5,300.

Gil first out of the final; 9th pays €3,850

We have our first casualty of the final table after the short stack of Pascual Gil came unstuck in battle with Santiago Soriano.

Santiago has certainly showed no fear to race for chips thus far and with Gil's 185,000 chips whittled down by the blind and antes, he called his rival's pre-flop all-in with Q♣4♠.

Gil showed A♣6♦ for a narrow advantage, but having hit the J♦6♠2♦ flop, the dread Q♥ arrived on the turn to cost him his shot at glory.


Prize pool reminder - 1st - €33,000; 2nd - €20,500; 3rd - €15,000; 4th - €11,500; 5th - €9,000; 6th - €6,800; 7th - €5,300; 8th - €4,450


Final table starts with a bang

The first hand of the final table has already produced some drama as our Marga Gonzalez doubled up with quads no less!

She had found herself in a tight spot against Santiago Soriano, as he had 8♥8♦ to trump her 6♥6♠ - but the flop came 6♦6♣2♣ to turn the hand on its head.

That leaves Marga on just over 300,000, still some way short of the 648,000 average, but still alive and more dangerous now.

Obligatory final table photo!

Chips counted, seats drawn...

First Lady - Marga is the first woman to make a PPT ME final
Dinner break will now stretch until 10pm but in the meantime, we have the seat draw and chip counts ahead of our final table.

Rumen Nanev commands a truly monstrous stack but as we've seen in past PPTs, it guarantees little at the final table.

There are a number of short stacks however, with the average close to 650,000 and half the remaining field having a third or less of that.

Congratulations should go to the shortest of those, however, as Marga Gonzalez becomes the first woman to grace the ParadisePoker Tour Main Event final table.

History made, here's the chip count/seat draw:

Seat 1: PASCUAL GIL (SPAIN) - 185,000
Seat 2: JORGE GARCIA (SPAIN) - 282,000
Seat 3: MARGA GONZALEZ (SPAIN) - 152,000
Seat 4: RUMEN NANEV  (BULGARIA) - 2,286,000
Seat 5: PABLO ZARAZAGA (SPAIN) - 757,000
Seat 6: JOZSEF KOVACS (HUNGARY) - 972,000
Seat 7: JOSE GALINDO (SPAIN) - 241,000
Seat 8: SANTIAGO SORIANO RAMOS (SPAIN) - 751,000
Seat 9: RAFAL GONTARCZYK (POLAND) - 215,000

Brutal end takes us to final table

Marcos Paneque felt the full force of poker's cruel streak as he suffered a brutal end to his dreams of winning the ParadisePoker Tour Barcelona Main Event.

The Spaniard tangled with Rumen Nanev in a monster hand that spilled over into a 15-minute break - and sadly for him Nanev's hot streak paid dividends once again.

Paneque has raised from middle position and Nanev three-bet from the small blind. Undeterred, the native player shipped 160,000 into the middle and after some thought, Rumen went all-in.

Marcos tanked for several minutes and with a crowd building around the table, he eventually called with K♣K♠ and was delighted when his Builgarian foe showed 8♦8♣.

There has been a sense of inevitability about Nanev's big pots however and whatever favour he had put in for Lady Luck of late, it left him firmly in her good graces as the board ran 5♥10♦9♠ - 10♣ before timing the river 8♠ to its most painful moment.


Killer Kovacs

Kovacs now has around 900,000 chips
Having been a quiet presence at the final two tables for much of Day 3, Jozsef Kovacs turned on the heater to quickly take us to 10 players.

The Hungarian first eliminated Frank Van Spaandonk in a blind battle, limp-calling his pre-flop raise from the small blind before checking the AKJ flop.

Van Spaandonk fired out a 30,000 bet for around half the pot and added another 50,000 when the turn was a blank. Kovacs check-raised all-in and with the Spaniard committed, he showed the nuts Q10 to beat Frank's K7.

Not content with that, Jozsef then picked up Aces just a few hands later - calling the all-in of Diego Bermejo and holding off his 10s to claim another scalp. His stack has now swelled to around 900,000.

Van Spaandonk wins €2,400 and Bermejo  takes €2,800.

We'll be taking a dinner break once the final table is set, with one more player set to miss out on the showcase finish.

Prize pool reminder - 1st - €33,000; 2nd - €20,500; 3rd - €15,000; 4th - €11,500; 5th - €9,000; 6th - €6,800; 7th - €5,300; 8th - €4,450; 9th - €3,850; 10th - €3,300

13th unlucky for Zawadowicz

Nanev builds his chip mountain
Lady Luck turned on Pawel Zawadowicz and the Pole paid with his tournament life, as having had Aces cracked just a short time ago, he was outdrawn again.

It was another painful river for the young player, as having got all-in with A♠ K♦ on what looked a kind board - 3♥A♣9♠ - K♥ - he got a call from chip leader Rumen Nanev.

The Bulgarian flipped 3♥4♥ for a pair + flush draw and the 9♥ duly arrived to complete felt Pawel. The frustration evident in his response, it was the second time hearts had been his undoing.

His cruel exit leaves Pawel with the final €2,100 prize, but he will surely feel it could have been much more.



Galindo the bullet dodger

A life saved - the bullet-dodging hand
Jose Galindo is breathing a sigh of relief after dodging his tournament death at the hands of Pawel Zawadowicz's Aces.

The Pole had limped utg with a masterplan and it seemed Galindo would oblige as he shove with A♥10♠. The cherry on top was the call of big stack Rumen Nanev in the big blind, giving Pawel the chance to push all-in himself.

He couldn't get a call from the chip leader but he certainly got a fright from the flop, as it came a monotone 5♥J♥3♥. The 2♦ briefly has Galindo celebrating but his gasp of despair returned to joy when the 10♥ hit the river.

The incredible hand sees Galindo treble up to around 350,000 and the relief was plain to see as he celebrated the unlikely victory.

Montoro and Bertran take us to 13

Two more players have departed the PPT Main Event and it will come as little surprise, as the two of the shortest stacks to start the day have finally succumbed.

David Montoro had put up a fight but having shoved with A♦7♣ he would have despaired to see Pascual Gil come up with a call holding A♣King&clubs. The board ran J♠10♥J♦ - 2♦ - Q♠ for minimum fuss.

Before the PP blog had even had a chance to log this hand, it was Jaime Bertran's to risk it all and he came up short. Both men win €2100.

Short stacks in the centre

With thanks to Poker10.com
Twice we've seen our shortest stacks under threat in the lead up to our first break, but twice they have survived to keep us at 15 players after two hours of play.

First it was a battle of the shorties, as Frank Van Spaandonk got it in with A♠Q♣ and was snap-called by David Montoro, who started the day with just 44,800.

Montoro proudly showed his K♥K♦ and the cards were kind to him, barely offering a hint of drama as it came 893-5-2.

That left Van Spaandonk on just 64,000 but in the last hand before our breather, he doubled up with A♥ 6♦ vs the A♠5♠ of Pascual Gil.

The hand had seemed destined for a split when the dealer flipped 10♦J♦K♠ but a 6♥ on the turn revived Frank's stack to around the 130,000 mark.

Oliveira out as two more follow

Pic from Poker10.com
The Saperas exit seems to have sparked some action as Carlos Oliveira and Javier Piazuelo quickly followed him to the rail, with both taking €1800.

Carlos had been biding his time early on, barely entering a pot, but having set his table image he mistimed a bluff with A10. He had called a pre-flop raise from Pawel Zawadowicz and the flop fell 998.

Oliveira then check-called a c-bet, check-raised a 6 on the turn and having connected on the river with an Ace, he shoved his remaining 180,000 chips - only for his Polish opponent to snap him off with A9.

"I'm disappointed because I was playing for first place, but after starting Day 2 with so few chips it's obviously nice to be here.

"If the Ace hadn't come I think I would have given up the bluff, so it was a bad card!"

Both players score Fantasy Poker points for their teams of course, with Oliveira taking 9 and Piazuelo 10.

First man down on Day 3

Picture care of Poker10.com
Bernat Saperas is the first man to fall on Day 3 after he finally succumbed in the battle with Santiago Soriano, running his pocket deuces into the bigger stack's Jacks.

Saperas had been damaged in their previous hand, so it was little surprise to see him make his move - and his long-running rival was only too happy to take him on pre-flop.

The flop brought a scare for Soriano, however, with A♠7♠Q♠ giving the shorty's 2♠2♥ a glimmer of hope, but the 4♣ and 8♥ ensured Bernat's fate was sealed.

Saperas wins €1,800 for his trouble.

On the other table, Marcos Paneque won a medium sized pot as his bluff came good. Having 3-bet pre-flop with 86, he led out for over 40,000 on the 5♦J♦4♥ flop and was again called by Pascual Gil.

The remaining hand was checked down and it was the 8& spades; on the turn that came to Paneque's rescue, beating his opponent's 33 and shipping the chips his way.

Cagy start at Gran Casino Barcelona

We're used to seeing players come out all guns blazing at the start of a new day, but not so at PPT Barcelona, where the start has been cagy to say the least.

Even the short stack of David Montoro has yet to be at risk, with the few hands worth mentioning seeing only medium size pots change hands.

Bernat Saperas levered a few chips from Josep Galinda early on, showing down a full boat after raising from the button. Galinda had defended his big blind and check-called a bet on the K♥A♦K♠ flop and again on the river after the A♣ and 2♠ had arrived.

Sporting a Superman t-shirt, Diego Bermejo squeezed a raise and call from Frank Van Spaandonk and Pablo Zaragaza to good effect, while Santiago Soriano resumed his battle with Saperas by dragging in a pot at his expense.

Day 3: Nanev leads the way

Day 3 has arrived and as hinted last night, Rumen Nanev is our clear chip leader with close to 1m chips as we prepare to battle for the PPT trophy and €33,000 top prize.

The Bulgarian is on something of a hot streak, having made five notable cashes since May including a €20,000 score at the EPT Barcelona in August, but he could could top the lot with a top two finish today.

Here's his breakdown care of the Hendon Mob DB:



Descending order DateCountryPlacePrize
21-Oct-2011ItalyEPT  € 4,600 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event
EPT San Remo, Sanremo
82nd€ 8,500$ 11,719
31-Aug-2011Spain€ 400 No Limit Hold'em - Turbo Bounty
EPT Barcelona, Barcelona
7th€ 1,800$ 2,593
27-Aug-2011SpainEPT  € 5,000 No Limit Hold'em - Main Event
EPT Barcelona, Barcelona
21st€ 20,000$ 28,813
26-Aug-2011Spain€ 300 No Limit Hold'em - Turbo
EPT Barcelona, Barcelona
6th€ 2,600$ 3,746
10-May-2011Spain€ 2,000 No Limit Hold'em
EPT Grand Final, Madrid
17th€ 2,500$ 3,711



Play is just a few minutes from starting so here's a quick look at how things stand:

Day 3 Chip Count

NANEV , RUMEN - 980,100
ZARAZAGA SANTOS, PABLO - 543,600
KOVACS , JOZSEF - 485,500
PANEQUE MATEOS, MARCOS - 466,100
GONTARCZYK , RAFAL - 462,200
SORIANO RAMOS, SANTIAGO - 417,800
ZAWADOWICZ , PAWEL - 412,400
GIL HERNANDEZ, PASCUAL - 396,200
GARCIA DUFFOUR, JORGE - 334,100
DE JESUS OLIVEIRA , CARLOS PEDRO - 315,000
GALINDO LOPEZ, JOSEP MARIA - 218,700
SAPERAS SANTOS, BERNAT - 196,200
VAN SPAANDONK , FRANK - 166,400
GONZALEZ DOMINGUEZ, MARGA - 157,300
BERMEJO DELGADO, DIEGO - 98,800
PIAZUELO FERRERO, PEDRO JAVIER - 79,400
BERTRAN MAINOU, JAIME - 77,300
MONTORO SANCHEZ, DAVID - 44,800

Double departure ends our day

We will return to the Gran Casino Barcelona with two tables after Carlos Vicente and Fabio Iovine both made their exits to end Day 2 a little early.

Both men win the last €1,500 prizes, with Iovine the last man to go when his AQ could not improve to beat the 10s of Rafal Gontarczyk.

Our million-chip man and undoubted leader has to be Rumen Nanev, but we'll have an official chip count ahead of the final day's play.

For now we're off to join the rest of the Main Event entrants at Carpe Diem - so it's not good night, it's party time!

Level 17 will be Day 2's last

D'Aniello wins €1,500 (pic from Poker10.com)
Level 17 - which is currently charging 3,000/6,000 blinds and a 500 ante - will be our last on Day 2 of the PPT Main Event in Barcelona.

Our players are eager to hit Carpe Diem for their Saturday night treat, so we will be ending play at the end of this hour - or if two further players bust to take us to two tables.

20 remain after Michele D'Aniello (22nd) and Florian Manz (21st) departed with a €1,500 prize. Talking of which, let's get a reminder of the prize pool...


1st - €33,000
2nd - €20,500
3rd - €15,000
4th - €11,500
5th - €9,000
6th - €6,800
7th - €5,300
8th - €4,450
9th - €3,850
10th - €3,300
11th - €2,800
12th - €2,400
13th-15th - €2,100
16th-18th - €1,800
19th-27th - €1,500

Quagmire laughs his last at PPT

No more Quagmire at PPT Barcelona
Jorge Diez Barrubes suffered a rapid decline as he exited in 23rd place for a cash of €1,500.

The first blow had been delivered by Santiago Soriano, who showed Aces to crush Quagmire's 10s, and just a few hands later Barrubes found himself all-in with A2o vs K10s.

The river made his rival a straight and though he didn't spot it at first, his tournament life suffered the same fate as Manuel Sanchez Cifuentes (24th) moments earlier.

Soriano meanwhile goes from strength-to-strength after a titanic tussle with Javier Piazuelo saw him drag in a huge pot.

At the time the PP blog stopped by the one-time chip leader had put his opponent to the test, raising his bet to over 120,000 on a 7♥7♠K♠-6♥ board.

The man known as Pizu eventually made the call, but when the river brought the 2♠, he insta-folded to Soriano's shove.

Bubble bursts behind our back!

Our bubble boy's identity is a mystery!
In keeping with ParadisePoker Tour tradition, our bubble has burst in quick time. Cue rounds of applause and much love between our 27 remaining players.

The PP blog has to confess that we missed the bubble boy, as having glued our eyes to exit 29, the unluckiest player was making his departure almost simultaneously.

We can tell you the final hand was AK vs 99 and that the big slick caught four flush cards to deliver the killer blow and ensure everyone left will at least treble their money.

It also means we're into the Fantasy Poker points, so congrats to anyone whose players got this far. We'll be keeping track of the names from now on, so you can count up the points as they come in.

Mario Fareri won't be able to help your team, had you picked him, as he was our 29th-placed finisher, running into Aces when he shoved with pocket fives.

UPDATE - First in the FP points are Marcos Paton Bao (27th), Andres Ribauta (26th) and Luis Dalman Baye (25th). Remember with 27 players in the money, 1st scoring 27 points, 2nd 26 etc. 

Saturday 26 November 2011

A gentleman's fold

Last woman standing - Marga Gonzalez
Marga Gonzalez is the last remaining lady in the ParadisePoker Tour Barcelona Main Event and her life was very nearly on the line.

One-time chip leader Bernat Saperas had raised from the button and from the small-blind, Gonzalez shipped her stack into the middle.

Saperas tanked for a tense few minutes, holding his head in hands and debating whether to call, but eventually folded.

That prompted Marga to flip 10s, but there was no indication from our gentleman what he passed.

UPDATE - Down to 29 players as we take another short interval. When our players return, we can prepare ourselves for the bubble.

27th pays €1500 so no player will want to go home empty-handed after two days grind.

A little luck builds a big stack

The chip lead seems to be changing hands more often as we approach the money positions and the latest player to find himself aloft is Rumen Nanev.

The Bulgarian player is sitting on 530,000 after gaining some momentum - with a little help from Lady Luck herself.

He claimed his latest scalp when his 77 found help on the river against a rival's 88 and that success put him clear of Pablo Zarazaga.

Pablo powers into chip lead

Pablo Zarazaga is our new chip leader after dragging in a series of pots at the expense of one-time monster stack Santiago Soriano.

The pair's rivalry has seen some one-way traffic as the chips crossed the table to Zarazaga, allowing him to accumulate a hefty 470,000 in all.

Another former chip leader suffering is Italian Michele D'Aniello a costly bluff cost him a big chunk of chips.

We're down to 34 players now and within touching distance of the money.

Brito goes bust

Our latest victim is a familiar face in Joao Brito, but we're used to seeing the Portuguese a little happier than he was after missing the money.

Brito had been sparring with one rival since moving tables and despite suffering damaging blows earlier on, he was in no mood to back off.

His final hand was certainly an eyebrow-raiser, three-betting all-in pre-flop with a mere Q2o and failing to improve when his regular rival called with pocket threes.

"I was a little bit crazy but I'd been fighting with the same player," Joao told the PP blog at the bar, "But I don't regret that, because I play better when I'm fighting with someone. I'm always like this, whether I'm playing live or online.

"At least Carlos is in my Fantasy Poker team," he added with a smile, "So maybe he's going to win it for me."

Pole apart

One man still fighting for his Fantasy Poker teams - and of course for the looming cash - is Rafal Gontarczyk after he condemned a Spanish rival to the exit in a huge hand.

Five FP teams feature the Pole, so there should be a few happy readers out there as we approach the points.

The PP Blog came across the hand as Sergio Fernandez was pondering his move on a 10♣2♦5♠-A♠ board and when he eventually announced all-in, Gontarczyk snap-called and showed 3♥4♥.

Fernandez headed for the rail, following the likes of Ruben Setien and ex-tennis pro Sergi Bruguera.


Stacks assessed at latest break

Pic from Poker10.com
Looking at the stacks around the empty cardroom as we take another quick break, it seems Bernat Saperas could well be our chip leader as he sits on around 280,000.

With Carlos Oliveira taking a small hit to be left with 225,000 and Santiago Soriano Ramos slowly rebuilding to  the 200,000 mark, the latter's table mate has seized the initiative.

Joao Brito meanwhile has been reduced to 50,000 chips after coming out on the wrong end of two big battles.

First the Portuguese suffered a bad beat in a 100,000+ pot, his tens losing out to a rival's set of nines, and later he found himself in another losing race holding K10 vs A3.

UPDATE - we have since found Michele D'Aniello can better even Saperas, boasting 290,000 at the last interval.

The final 50

In times past we would have been toasting the start of Fantasy Poker points, as we've reached 49 players, but those of you with the likes of Carlos Oliveira, Joao Brito and Christos Xanthopoulous must wait a little longer.

In case you missed the rule tweak, only ITM players now score FP points, so there's now double the bubble for players in the room and blog competition entrants alike.

One man who won't be scoring any points this time around is Gabriel Costas, who bowed out after battling with a short stack for some time.

As reported, the Spanish player had been crippled by a classic bad beat earlier and Lady Luck was feeling equally cruel when his 88 took on AK for his tournament life. 

She waited for the river to deliver the knockout blow, the A♠ looking and less than pretty to Costas as it ended his Day 2 run.

Also missing out on the money is Jandrulo - aka Alejandro Rodrigo Gutierrez. We checked his Twitter feed a few moments ago and the ParadisePoker pro hit the rail when his 88 was busted by Q10 around an hour ago.

We're closing in on another break in play, after which blinds will increase to 1500/3000 with 300 ante. The average stack is approx 119,000.

Quagmire celebrates a score

Gi-ga-de gi-ga-de gi-ga-de! Barrubes adores Family Guy
Jorge Diez Barrubes broke out the celebrations in the Gran Casino cardroom after he doubled up through chip leader Santiago Soriano Ramos.

Barrubes - whose obsession with the Family Guy character has earned him the nickname Quagmire - showed down J♥Q♥ on a K♥2♥A♠-7♥-J♠ board.

The PP blog missed how the hand actually unfolded, but the consequences surely include the rise of Carlos Oliveira to chip leader status.

Also worth reporting is the thus far unexplained departure of Bastian Bluem, as the German was nowhere to be found amongst the Main Event field.

We'll try to track him down so his nine Fantasy Poker owners can at least know how his fate was sealed.

Oliviera closes the gap

Close to elimination at the start of Day 2, the Carlos Oliveira revival continues - and the Portuguese pro has closed the gap on leader Santiago Soriano Ramos.

As is his style, much of the growth since dinner has come courtesy of smaller pots, but he eliminated one player for a 70,000 pot holding KK vs his rival's AK.

Having made the final table in Madrid back in May, Gabriel Costas had less luck, cutting a frustrated figure after having his big slick cracked by AQ.

Facing an opening raise in middle position, the young Spaniard had raised and called a four-bet all-in from a player to his left. The original raiser had passed and as if expecting a race, Costas reluctantly pushed his chips over the line.

Hands face-up, the good news didn't last long, as the flop came A♣Q♦8♠ and the turn (8♦) and river (Q♣) couldn't turn things around either.

Big stack passes the quarter million mark

A quick count of some of the biggest stacks around reveal our overnight chip leader, Santiago Soriano Ramos, remains the man to beat after three and a half levels.

The Spaniard has 259,000 chips to put into the action which we believe puts him close to 80,000 clear of his closest rival. 

Also in contention are Michele D'Aniello (182,000) and Sergio Fernandez Bernal (147,000) along with Portuguese duo Joao Brito and Carlos Oliveira

Frank Van Spaandonk is also thriving on approximately 130,000, though one big pot can turn fortunes at this stage. 

School is out

Fernando Martin made his exit
ParadisePoker's own Spanish poker school manager Fernando Martin is among the first exits on the return from dinner, running his relatively short stack into a set of 8s.

The tutor had opened from the button holding Q♥9♣ and opted to call when the big blind launched his defence with a three-bet. 

The flop seemed to favour Martin when he shoved over the top of his opponent's c-bet, but he was quickly called on the K♦-8♠-Q♣ board.

The turn offered some hope, bringing the Q♠ to add some outs, but the river was a blank that ended Fernando's day.

No less than 13 Fantasy Poker entrants had picked him, so there will be plenty of readers sharing his pain tonight.

Big stacks gobble up rivals before dinner

Overnight chip leader Santiago Soriano Ramos continues to eat up opposing stacks and must be closing on a quarter million in chips after dispatching yet another rival as the PP blog passed by.

The Spanish player raised from early position and faced with a re-raise, decided to put his opponent to the test with 10s. The call came but no help was forthcoming for his latest victim's AKs.

Meanwhile Bastian Bluem is still alive and keeping close to the 78,000 average. He won a pot just as the break arrived, four-betting all-in with QQ and earning a call from a pot-committed A9s. The ladies held.

75 players remain and now is time for the dinner break, so here are a few chips counts for familiar faces:

Fernando Martin - 30,000 approx
Carlos Oliveira - 153,000
Joao Brito - 155,000
Bastian Bluem - 75,000




55 places until the money

82 players are still battling for Main Event glory in the Gran Casino Barcelona, so let's take a moment to remind ourselves what they're working so hard for.

The 292-player field produced a €146,000 prize pool, with the eventual winner set to take €33,000. The average stack stands at 71,000 with 750/1500 blinds and a 100-chip ante operating right now.

Prize Structure
1st - €33,000
2nd - €20,500
3rd - €15,000
4th - €11,500
5th - €9,000
6th - €6,800
7th - €5,300
8th - €4,450
9th - €3,850
10th - €3,300
11th - €2,800
12th - €2,400
13th-15th - €2,100
16th-18th - €1,800
19th-27th - €1,500

Can't beat Brito

Joao (pictured in Madrid) is holding up well
The bad beats may be impacting players all around us but when you're sitting on over 200,000 chips, the pain of a little rough luck hardly applies.

Joao Brito had continued his steady progress into monster stack territory in the early stages of Day 2 and though the PP blog witnessed his first real setback, he was still able to wield 180,000 by the end of the hand.

Brito has three-bet Pedro Piazuelo Ferrero pre-flop and earned a call by the time the dealer flipped 9♥6♣8♣. Both men checked the flop and it was the K♣ on the turn that prompted the action.

Ferrero led out and Brito shoved over the top, but his rival insta-called and showed 10-7s for a flopped straight. It left the Portuguese drawing dead, but he seemed untroubled as he re-counted the tower.

Alright for some!

You've been Spaandonked

Many a player is departing the Gran Casino card room with a bad beat tale to tell, as the chips continue to fly on Day 2 of the PPT Main Event.

Of course winning a big tournament such as this requires a fair share of good fortune and it seems Lady Luck is siding with the likes of  Frank Van Spaandonk, who swelled his big stack further with one notable suckout.

Van Spaandonk had driven the action on a Jack high board, raising all-in against a medium-stacked opponent, only to have his AQs called by KK. An ace duly arrived on the turn to win Frank the hand.

The PP blog has also tracked down Steve Hill's executor-in-chief - and it was none other than Christos Xanthopoulous, PPT London 2010 champion! Christos is no on around 44,00 chips.

Heading for the Hills

Hilly's Main Event adventure has come to an end
A despondent Steve Hill saw his ParadisePoker Tour dreams come to an end in the last few minutes as despite entering the day on the average stack, he came off the worse for a duel with one player.

Hilly the Fish - as he is known through his work for Poker Player magazine - had won the key battles on Day 1 despite admitting to being on the outskirts of much of the action.

Each time he had entered a pot, he had almost always come out with a stack enhancing outcome, including a big call with TPMK for half of his chips and a number of short stack eliminations.

Day 2 was far less kind, as having opened with AK Hill called a shove and found himself a big favourite vs AQ,  only for a river Queen to rob him of most of his chips.

His nemesis was not done there, however, as a shove with 10s a short time later earned a call from the same villain, whose QQ then proceeded to hold up.

Steve will be writing about his experiences on the PPT in an upcoming edition of Poker Player magazine, so be sure to order a copy if you can get your hands on one.

Carlos steals an early march

Oliveira is sitting on around 100k
Popular Portuguese player Carlos Oliveira has made early strides in the first level at the Gran Casino... and that's something of an understatement when you consider he now has around 100,000 chips.

Among the shortest stacks overnight, with just 13,700 to work with and sitting in 118th position, it was inevitable that the pro would have his stack in the middle within a short time of the restart.

He found few willing callers however, and with the antes and blinds making for sizeable pre-flop pots, he soon found himself closer to the average stack before picking up KK.

With his table image allowing him to make maximum value, he shoved once more and was called by AJ, with the villain finding now help on the board.

That will please his Fantasy Poker owners!

UPDATE - A little misinformation as to the order of events going around, but what is fact is that Carlos was on around 130,000 chips when we last spoke. The Portuguese is having a good day.

Fantasy Poker Update

Fantasy Poker has produced some fine performances so far, with six teams bringing all three of their players back to the tables for Day 2.

There are a couple of players that represent a common theme, with Alejandro Rodrigo Gutierrez - aka Jandrulo - picked by three of the teams, while Spanish Poker School guru Fernando Martin was also a popular choice.

The key perhaps are the players unique to each team, so much rests on the shoulders of players like Steve Hill, Michal Biegala, Guillermo Fernandez Rodriguez and David Montoro.

Plenty of teams still have two players in the game, it must be noted, with as many as 40 still hoping their men can help overtake the early leaders.

Here are the six teams with three players still in the game:


Day 2; shuffle up and deal

Day 2 is just moments away and our 124 remaining players will be contending with 500/1000 blinds + a 100 ante.

With the average chip count standing at 47,096, expect many of the short stacks to start fast as they look to double up or get ready for tonight's party at Carpe Diem!

Chip Count, Fantasy Poker implications

Leading the way as we head towards Day 2 is Santiago Soriano Ramos, a local player who boasts over 150,000 chips with just 124 players remaining.

No Fantasy Poker team was lucky enough to bag the Spaniard, but 8 TEAM was smart enough to pick the man who sits some 2,300 chips behind in Francisco Comesana Blanco.

Four teams backed the talents of Joao Brito, one of our regular Portuguese players on the PPT circuit, but the owners of Carlos Oliveira and Guillermo Fernandez Rodriguez will be praying for a poker miracle as their men teeter on the edge of the exit.

One casualty from last night that we missed was the considerable scalp of Zoltan Kapitany, meaning the three most popular picks have all been eliminated.

Play restarts at 4.30pm local time here (3.30pm GMT) and we're looking forward to whittling the field down to the money - and perhaps even the final table - by the end of of Day 2.

Official Chip Count
SORIANO RAMOS, SANTIAGO - 150,600
COMESAÑA BLANCO, FRANCISCO - 148,325
RODRIGUEZ SIERRA, DANIEL - 142,750
ZAWADOWICZ , PAWEL - 136,000
PIAZUELO FERRERO, PEDRO JAVIER - 135,450
BRITO , JOAO - 109,350
COSTA RIBALTA, ANDRES - 104,850
VAN SPAANDONK , FRANK - 101,200
D ANIELLO , MICHELE - 100,250
PATON BAO, MARCOS - 99,100
SANAHUJA FUENTES, IVAN - 87,650
VICENTE LANZAROTE, CARLOS - 80,950
FRESNEDA PIÑA, DANIEL - 78,800
BLUMLEIN , FRANK - 78,775
GIL HERNANDEZ, PASCUAL - 78,250
MONTORO SANCHEZ, DAVID - 75,200
RADLER DE AQUINO, RINALDO - 74,100
BANK , GABOR - 73,950
SOLER PULLES, ALEX - 72,400
BERMEJO DELGADO, DIEGO - 72,250
GARCIA DUFFOUR, JORGE - 71,325
SAPERAS SANTOS, BERNAT - 71,150
FRANCO , SONNY MARCEL - 70,500
VENDRELL SCHWAIGER, JOSE MARIA - 68,850
MESAS COLLADO, JOSE MARIA - 68,100
CZARTORYSKI , PAWEL - 66,350
ANTAS PEREZ, JUAN CARLOS - 65,250
GALINDO LOPEZ, JOSEP MARIA - 64,550
BEL ROIG, JOAN FRANCESC - 64,450
TONIN , PAOLO - 64,300
HERRANZ GIMENEZ, GREGORIA - 63,425
ASENOV , ALEKSANDAR - 60,300
BALLESTEROS BLANCO, ALVARO - 59,875
ALONSO DE VAL, JORGE - 58,900
LORENZO MORENO, MIGUEL ANGEL - 57,700
TRUJILLO GONZALEZ, JOSE - 57,000
GONTARCZYK , RAFAL - 56,975
CHERIF VIDAL, HAYKEL - 53,725
FARERI , MARIO SALVATORE - 52,600
DIMITROV , DIMITAR - 51,875
DALMAU BAYLE, LUIS - 51,475
IOVINE , FABIO - 50,925
ABOVYAN , ALEKS - 50,625
WINK , ANTHONIE - 49,650
BONDOR , LASZLO - 48,750
BALLESTER ARMERO, HECTOR JOSE - 47,700
HILL , STEVE - 47,100
KOVACS , JOZSEF - 46,900
NISKI , MARIUSZ KAMIL - 46,825
BATALLA MUÑOZ, RAMON - 46,600
KULLENBERG , SIMON - 46,500
BRUGUERA TORNER, SERGI - 46,400
PANEQUE MATEOS, MARCOS - 45,600
PUJANTE ALARCON, ANTONIO FRANCISCO - 45,300
NANEV , RUMEN - 44,750
MURIA ARRUFAT, JUAN FRANCISCO - 44,075
COROMINAS LOPEZ, SERGIO - 43,525
OLIVAN PARDILLOS, ANTONIO - 43,225
ZARAZAGA SANTOS, PABLO - 43,200
BERTRAN MAINOU, JAIME - 41,100
GONZALEZ DOMINGUEZ, MARGA - 40,825
RODRIGUEZ LAFARGA, RAMON - 40,350
DOLADER RETAMAL, CARLOS - 39,875
BONACHE CASAS, FERNANDO - 39,300
STIKL , GABOR - 39,075
LUBCZYNSKI , RAFAL - 38,975
SINNOS , ELEFTHERIOS - 38,350
DIEZ BARRUBES, JORGE - 38,300
PUKHOV , MARK - 37,550
GAROÑA ESPINOSA, PABLO JAVIER - 36,550
KRASTEV , TEODOR - 36,500
CONTRERAS MARIN, ELENA - 35,950
SCHACHINGER , VALENTIN - 35,650
OSNS , JURIS - 35,475
ANDRES SANGROS, ALFREDO - 35,050
SIBACHVILI , MICHAEL - 35,000
MARNEROS , IOANNIS - 34,750
GOMEZ LLORENS, IVAN - 33,925
COSTAS PERAL, GABRIELJOSE - 32,875
GONZALEZ OLAECHEA, ALEJANDRO - 32,250
FRESNEDA JARO, DANIEL - 32,150
BERGMANN , MIKKEL - 31,750
KATAI , DAVID - 31,075
HANAUER , BEASHA - 30,525
SETIEN HERRERA, RUBEN - 30,475
NUÑEZ CELA CORTES, PEDRO JOSE - 30,000
FERNANDEZ BERNAL, SERGIO - 29,375
MOLNAR , FERENC - 29,375
RODRIGO GUTIERREZ, ALEJANDRO - 28,775
MANZ , FLORIAN DANIEL - 28,425
RAMOS SANCHEZ, JONATAN - 28,000
MUCHA , MARCIN - 27,675
GARCIA FREIXA, EDUARD - 26,125
REAL GARRIDO, JUAN MANUEL - 25,250
KRABER , JENNIFER - 25,025
MARTIN BLANCO, FERNANDO - 24,750
XANTHOPOULOS , CHRISTOS - 24,400
BORG , SIMON RAVNHOLT - 24,375
ESTEFANIA LUMBRERAS, RAFAEL - 23,775
BLANCO JIMENEZ, MARIELA - 22,650
BLUEM , BASTIAN - 22,450
LOPEZ MENENDEZ, IÑAKI - 22,400
FERNANDEZ MARTINEZ, JORGE - 22,175
MADER , MAXIMILIAN - 22,100
BIEGALA , MICHAL - 21,850
BACHMANN , JUFRGJEN - 20,175
KRISTJANSEN , MARK HEDEGAARD - 19,750
BRU SAMPER, JAIME - 18,500
BOENDI , BRIGITTA - 18,050
TARACENA DE LAS HERAS, JAVIER - 17,625
CARMONA LUNA, CRISTIAN - 17,450
SANCHEZ CIFUENTES, MANUEL - 17,200
TAJADA SALCINES, RICARDO - 17,150
JAMROZ , KAMIL - 16,575
GARCIA GABARRI, JOSE MANUEL - 15,200
MAZUR , LUKASZ - 13,800
HURNI , MARCEL PASCAL - 13,750
DE JESUS OLIVEIRA , CARLOS PEDRO - 13,700
GRAELLS THONE, DIRK - 12,925
MAJA , OSKARI - 12,400
FERNANDEZ RODRIGUEZ, GUILLERMO - 11,125
PICAÑOL PUJAL, ROMA - 11,000
BATALLA PUIGNOU, ALEXANDRE - 10,625
FLORES MATA, DANIEL - 8,300

Day 2 beckons ...and so does bed

Our dealers are shuffling up four more times this evening before the chip-bagging begins so we rushed round the room to give you a selected chip count.

The official chip count will be posted on the blog tomorrow morning, so for now here are some of the familiar names in your Fantasy Poker teams:

Selected Chip Count
Bastian Bluem - 32,000
Joao Brito - 90,000
Fernando Martin - 25,000
Carlos Oliveira - 15,000
Christos - 24,000
Steve Hill - 47,000
Lukasz Gebica - out (TBC)
Aleksandar Abutovic - out (10s run into AA)

See you tomorrow!

Over the hump, Hill heads for Day 2

Steve Hill has been feeling the burn of a gruelling Day 1 for some time but there's nothing like eliminating an opponent to add spring to your step.

Hilly the fish has certainly been more shark-like today, lying in wait for long periods before gobbling up another stack from across the felt, and he just added another name to his victim list as the clock counts down.

The poor villain was already clinging to his tournament life by the time he shoved his last 10k with AQ, only for Hill to peek at QQ in the hole. A set of Queens on the flop all but ended the contest within a few moments of his snap-call.

On the downward slope now, surely only disaster would prevent our poker writer from continuing his tale into Day 2.

Late night takes its toll

One more level until Day 1 is complete and the long day has seen a slight acceleration in the number of exits in the Gran Casino Barcelona.

Tibor Boros shoved his 25bbs pre-flop with KQ only to run into AKs; the rest, as they should say, is what you expect from an 80-20 match-up.

Also missing out on the chance to return is Paul Senter it seems, after the Englishman's chair was ominously vacant on our last skim around the cardroom, while blogger/player Alexander Kraiczy concluded his "roller coaster" day earlier than planned.

Fantasy Poker fairytale?

The PP Blog has just tracked down our latest Fantasy Poker winner, Stefan Uhrinak, who claimed his package after FP victory in the Vienna event.

His Team Best tied for first place back in October so Stefan had to square off with 'Craslorg' for his seat, coming out on top in the heads-up battle.

Currently sitting on around 28,000 chips, he is a little short of the average, but what a story it would be if the Hungarian lifted the PPT Barcelona crown.

Just another fantasy that could be reality...

Gabor banks the chip lead

Bank in Vienna
The average stack standing at 33,800 and the blinds are taking 300/600 +50 ante, but neither will worry Gabor Bank who must to be our chip leader.

The man known as 'Gabriel' has approximately 100,000 chips with which to boss his table and there looks to be little stopping him of late.

The Hungarian pro, who has long plied his trade on ParadisePoker, cashed at PPT Vienna when he finished 4th in the PLO side event - and now has his sights set on a bigger score.

Back in 2007 Bank wore PP colours to the Budapest Open and cashed for $6,200, but even that success would be beaten by a top 10 finish here in Barcelona.

News of his Day 1 success will please the seven Fantasy Poker entrants who picked the big stack - but will be deliver the points?


173 remain at penultimate level

Level 8 is here which means we're in touching distance of Day 2, with less than two hours on the clock and 173 players intent on returning to Gran Casino Barcelona tomorrow afternoon.

One man who won't be among them is PPT regular David Pishvafar, after his earlier defeat proved his undoing in the long run.

The German had been left with around 15 bbs after his JJ ran into trouble and it left him little room to manoeuvre. Inevitably he had to take some risks and having picked up A9 he promptly shipped his chips into the centre, only to be called by AJ.

Compatriot Bastian Bluem has enjoyed a little more success, having battled his way back up to 27,000 chips.

Quick chip count

A few chip counts for you blog readers...

Aleksandar Abutovic - 15,000
Carlos Oliveira - 19,000
Tibor Boros - 25,000
Lukasz Gebica - 30,000
Zoltan Kapitany - 28,000
Fernando Martin - 21,000

Other available on request!

Swimming against the tide

UK player Paul Senter confessed to finding Day 1 a struggle as the PPT blog caught up with him at the close of Level 6.

With the blinds increasing to 200/400 with a 25 ante, the Brit was left with just 8,500 chips after a gruelling test of both his patience and poker skills.

"It's been a tough day," he wryly smiled, "I play professionally online but live events tilt the hell out of me! I've just had to fold Jacks pre-flop, been rivered and turned by the same guy twice and couldn't get a call when I flopped a set of deuces."

Senter, who gave up a budding swimming career for the card table, has the backing of some Olympic hopefuls - with the likes of Thomas Haffield and Rebecca Adlington among his followers (and friends) on Twitter.

"I used to swim but when I found poker, it started to take over to be honest. I was at uni at the time and was playing a lot so I'm giving it a year to see if I can make a living.

"I love live events and have played in the GUKPT and UKIPT and this is a better structure than both. It's a great tournament - I just wish I was running a little better!"

Friday 25 November 2011

PPT2 Ace cracked

Ronnie Espensen at PPT London
Cue the groans from 19 Fantasy Poker entrants - PPT2 League winner Ronnie Espensen just busted out of the Barcelona Main Event after his Aces ran aground.

The Dane had been below the average stack for some time but must have thought he was set to double up after finding a caller on a Q75 rainbow board.

Having raised pre-flop and c-bet for 1,100, he was check-called all the way by the villain in question. The 2 on the turn seemed harmless enough, but by the time he was snap-called following a river shove, it was clear things were not as straight forward as they appeared.

Ronnie's opponent rolled pocket deuces for a turned set and duly sent him to the rail.

Meanwhile the previously red hot David Pishvafar and Bastian Bluem have also run into a measure of trouble, with both men shorn to far shorter stacks.

While Bastian revealed his reverse in fortunes was due to a series of small pots gone wrong, David had one big hand to bemoan. The German semi-pro had raised pre-flop with JJ and found little respect, having been heavily involved in a number of recent hands.

He led out on 7♥-8♥-4♠ flop with vs two callers and when one rival all but shoved for 11,000, Pishvafar weighed up the call before eventually committing the chips.

He was up against a multi-way draw as his opponent showed K♥6♥ and a river sucker punch came in the shape of a King.

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