Short stacks ready to attack

The players have returned to the felt following a dinner break and with 139 players remaining, and only around 30 likely to survive the day, it's a crucial time for those coveting the PPT Bulgaria crown.

The average stack stands at 15,107, a 50% increase on the starting count, but most players still have plenty of big blinds to work with as we enter the next level.

With blinds at 200-400 with a 25 ante, there's still plenty of play even for those considering some short stack tactics.

They include Swedish player Tommy Ahmedof and UK player Ed Frost, who both confessed to being card dead when they caught up with the PPT blog.

"I've had very little in the way of cards in the last two hours," revealed Ed, "Every time I've tried to make some moves without them, it's been a case of bad timing and I've been three-bet."

All change from earlier on, when Ed show his fearless style in a big pot: "I three-bet pre-flop with suited connectors and got called.

"I continuation bet when the board paired on the flop and he called again, but I fired again when an Ace hit the turn and got him to fold Queens!"

Tommy was feeling a little more cautious, despite facing a "super-tight" table, and revealed he would be upping the aggression from the restart.

"I wanted to have a stack in this tournament but it just didn't work out that way," he explained, "It's time to play short stack poker now as I only have 7,500.

"There are a few short stacks at my table though and they're ready to do the same, but that means I can call with quite a wide range of hands."

Loose, Aggressive and Laughing

There's been no shortage of entertainment at the PPT Bulgaria, especially when it comes to Johnny Jensen's table.

The Dane (pictured) has arrived determined to enjoy his seemingly inevitable ride to the ParadisePoker Tour League victory, although there are still one or two players who could spoil his fun.

When being labelled a LAG becomes an understatement, you know you've a player intent on playing a big part in the action, and Jensen has his table seemingly running scared as he gets his way time and again.

The ParadisePoker-sponsored player accumulated one of the biggest stacks in the room early on and can be heard intermittently calling out 'pay me, pay me' or 'easy money!'

The catchphrases have bought him quite the table image, but it's certainly been working for our man so far!

Finding the positives

Having finished 52nd in the WSOP Event #45 with ParadisePoker, you'd think Didier Erb would be a man on a hot streak, but the Frenchman admitted to feeling frustrated at the break.

His chip count reduced to around 7,000 after running into a set, Didier was still bemused by the hand, yet grateful he had lost the minimum.

"I had a couple of bad reads that cost me a few thousand chips," he said, "But to be honest I could easily have lost a lot more in one of them.

"Two players limp-called after I raised with KQs; I c-bet the flop and got one caller and hit my King on the turn, only for him to lead into me on the turn and river.

"He had flopped a set of threes, but he only bet small and my value bets probably would have been bigger, so calling him down cost me less!"

Another player down on his starting stack was Portuguese Hugo Almeira (pictured), but he was keeping a more positive perspective after making a big fold with 10s.

"I lost a few chips but I'm still in the tournament!" he smiled, "It was a good fold on a 622-7-x board as I read my opponents for big hands and got shown KK and A2.

"I'm just glad nobody c-bet the flop because I probably would have raised and been out right now."

His 6,500 stack still gives him over 30bbs to work with; a similar situation to the one facing compatriot Joao Costa.

Luidgi to his friends, Joao made two exceptional lay downs with big pocket pairs, spotting two pair or better in the eyes of his opponent when he had KK on a positively soaking wet Q-10-8 flop, before getting away from QQ when it ran into a set of 7s.

The party never stops with Paradise!

As we approach the first break, the PPT blog would like to strike up a tune and sing the praises of the night life lurking just beyond the Crystal Crown Casino's red carpet.

ParadisePoker laid on a lavish party at the Champagne Bar within the casino walls last night, but inevitably the revelry spilled on to the strip and lasted until the wee hours.

This particular blogger would like to confess a sore head today, and it seems I'm not the only one feeling the effects of the Sunny Beach spirit.

Our very own Johnny Jensen is certainly playing with a smile on his face (and so he should be with the Tour League top prize - €10,000 plus free entry into all our 2010/11 events - within his grasp) and there are suspicions his Saturday night may have started early!

The party potential should prove some comfort to those players unlucky enough to miss out on Day Two, with the bright lights ready and waiting around the corner.

For now the focus remains on the cards however. Playtime can wait, at least until the sun sets...

Recognise anyone?

The final head count was 202 and though we have already lost a ten players, there are a few familar faces putting their chips to work in the Crystal Crown Casino.

Clearly a trip to Vegas courtesy of ParadisePoker wasn't enough for Didier Erb (pictured) and Tommy Ahmedof, as the Frenchman and Swede have both anted up here at Sunny Beach.

After the success of the Madrid leg, a number of players have followed us across the continent, with online pro Zoltan Kapitany and countrymen Emil Hegedus, Istvan Szolosi and Tibor Boros among them.

Marko Batki has even recommended the event to family - bringing his brother Bence to the action this time around! Thumbs up for that, spread the word folks.

Inevitably Johnny Jensen is also in attendance with the ParadisePoker Tour League in mind, but can the Dane wrap up the season's overall crown? Only one place to find out eh...

Update: We've since spotted Madrid's 8th and 13th-place finishers, Sunny Khosla and Felipe Carreño.

Season finale underway...

After the inevitable dose of technical delays, your PPT blog is up and running alongside the final instalment of the ParadisePoker Tour, Season 1.

As is the custom from London, Prague and Madrid, our 200 entrants start with 10,000chips and face a 40 minute clock for the first three levels.

The slow structure, which only moves up a level every hour beyond that, kicks off with 25/50 blinds.

Best of luck to all our players - let battle commence!

PPT 4 - heading for Sunny Beach

The ParadisePoker Tour is heading for the final leg of it's inaugural trip around the continent and our poker players can expect the season to end with a bang in Bulgaria!

The usual mix of online qualifiers, ParadisePoker pros and local players will be treated to a Friday night party in the Champagne Bar at Crystal Crown Casino, Sunny Beach.

The Black Sea resort bathes in thirty degree temperatures at this time of year - and our players will be hoping to feel just as hot at the tables once we shuffle up and deal.

You can follow the race for that €100,000 guaranteed prize pool right here, as the PPT blog soaks up the atmosphere, gathers the players thoughts and sticks with the action until the winner is crowned on Sunday night.

The added twist is the ParadisePoker Tour League, which draws to its conclusion this weekend.

Danish pro Johnny Jensen is sure to be present to defend top spot but he may yet face a challenge from the likes of Toni Merivuori or Lim-wai Cheung.

Join us this weekend as the PPT plot twists and turns to another exciting climax!