Saturday, 8 May 2010

It's not all brotherly love, however


Lest we forget our competitive edge, here's a tale of sibling rivalry that's a little less loving.

Brothers Jozsef and and Zoltan Heygi have previously called a truce when they have met heads-up, but according to the latter, blood will be no thicker than water should they both reach the final table here in Madrid.

"My brother is playing in this event too and last time we met at a final table, in Budapest, we made a deal but we won't be doing that here!" insisted Zoltan.

"This is my first live event outside Hungary but if we go heads up, we'll play to the end.

"I have played many tournaments at home and I love playing tournaments, either online with Paradise Poker or live," he continued.

"Generally it's been going ok but I had to lay down Queens earlier. I need to be more aggressive now because the blinds will keep increasing and they’ll make me push more often, but there are only two players on my table playing great poker, so I’m not too worried about the rest of them!

"There are so many movements from people that help you make a read on them; I’ve seen plenty of tells already so I’ll be putting those to good use."

Can he spot his brother's weaknesses, however?

It’s a family affair at the PPT


Making sweet music at the table tonight is Antonio "TonyL" Lemos, who is now sitting on a hefty 50k stack.

He was joined by sister and fellow band member Filipa in the starting stacks, and is a dab hand on the keyboard accompanying his sibling's vocals. And it seems neither is too shabby at the poker table either!

A Portuguese pro and sponsored by yours truly, Paradise Poker, Antonio is another player we're keen to continue recent favour at the felt; not that we're biased of course.

Having taken down around 15,000 euros at a recent EPT, he has every right to feel confident of further success - especially with the family backing him up.

Unfortunately for Filipa, whose husband Jose made it tuneful trio tonight, her swansong came a little too soon courtesy of a cooler. Holding Queens full of tens, she ran into quads to end her challenge, but here's to an encore in Bulgaria!

Another Classic moment in Madrid?


We're all heading for dinner here in Madrid and my stomach for one is grumbling with anticipation at the prospect of yet more Casino Gran Madrid cuisine.

I'm wondering whether the 217 remaining players can sit round a table together without a deck of cards... guess I'm about to find out!

One man sitting comfortably on the back of a recent victory in the WPT LA Classic is Andra Koroknai of Hungary. The well-respected card player revealed a few secrets after a decent session so far.

"The table is quite comfortable because I’ve been able to pull off some bluffs," he explained, "I was able to three-bet in position with good effect.

"I didn’t have to go to a single showdown which is really positive because my table image is quite mysterious, but there is one German player I need to keep my eye on.

"He knows me from previous games but he’s on my right so that should be ok. He’s the most dangerous player at the table because the others aren’t as experienced.

"I have a few chips so I’ll keep playing solid poker until the antes come into effect. Then it comes down to good bet sizing, raising more often pre-flop and trying to make sure I take down those raised pots."

Solid advice indeed, but will we see a repeat of his WPT success this weekend?

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!

Paradise Poker's own seeking three in a row


Paradise Poker sponsored Johnny Jensen has enjoyed playing on 'home turf,' having made the PPT final table in both London and Prague.

The Danish pro has an aggressive style that makes him a tough opponent wherever he stacks his chips, and when the PPT blog caught up with him pre-tournament, he was in the mood to continue his hot streak.

"I made the final table at the last two PPT events so I’m hoping to make it three out of three so I can be top of the leaderboard," he grinned.

"I put some success down to playing loose-aggressive, but I think the main thing has been my ability to read my opponents. I’ll be using the same tactics today, playing at a lot of hands and outplaying the other players on the flop.

"I’m very tough to play against because you never know whether I’ve got a hand or not.

"When I play online with Paradise I tend to play tight, but when I’m playing live I can loosen up because I can see the players and rely on physical tells."

Go Johnny go!

After a few technical issues...

The chips are in the air!

We had a few connectivity problems here in Madrid, but fortunately for you we're not so disconnected from our players. Over 245 of them registered for the third leg of the PPT with some notable names among them.

Here are just a few to whet your appetite:

WPT LA Classic winner Andras Koroknai
Johnny Jensen, going for his third straight PPT final table
Alexander Hanell
Alvaro "Varico" Ballesteros
Arguably Spain's best Oscar "La Pua" Blanco
2007 Spanish champion Fernando Martin
Luis "Repicas" Rufas

PPT Madrid closing in...

There's just a few hours to go until we shuffle up and deal in the plush surroundings of the Casino Gran Madrid.

There's a distinct touch of the Vegas about tonight's venue, with fine dining circling the gaming floor, shapely waitresses flashing you a smile and stakes to make the layman's eyes water.

There's a choice of French and American Roulette (though thankfully without a Double Zero in sight) Caribbean Stud Poker and Blackjack on the side, with another corner reserved for Baccarat and Punto Banco.

Tonight's main dish however, is poker, so get ready for another helping of top notch action... We'll be bringing all the latest news as the action unfolds, so if you can't make it in person, you can still follow the fall of the chips in the third leg of the Paradise Poker Tour.

See you at the baize folks!

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