EPT Main Event Day 1a | 2007 EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final

03-29-2007 00:37 UTC+2

Thiago Carrico = 65K

[user22113]

The Brazilian Strongman Thiago Carrico is over 65K and among the chipleaders. He's had Greg Raymer and Rob Hollnik at his table the entire day. Talk about a tough draw, but Carrico has held his own today and has put on an impressive show.

Tags: Brazil Thiago Carrico

03-29-2007 00:30 UTC+2

329 Players Remaining

[user22113]

90 players are out with about 25 minutes to go in Level 5.

03-29-2007 00:15 UTC+2

Recent Eliminations:

[user22113]

Julian "Yo-yo" Thew, Ben Roberts, Luca Pagano, Marc Naalden, and Martin Wendt are all out.

Tags: Ben Roberts Julian Thew Luca Pagano Marc Naalden

03-29-2007 00:09 UTC+2

Comment of the Day: "He's not the fish..."

[user22113]

Two American internet players walked past me on the break. One leaned over to the other as he pointed to a Swedish player and said, "He's not the fish."

Tags: Comment of the Day

03-28-2007 23:38 UTC+2

International Bad Beats

[user22113]

Break times are excellent times to chat with players to get some interesting hands and chip counts. Usually you can smoke anywhere in Europe, but not in the tournament area at the Monte Carlo Bay Casino. Players have to go outside to the veranda. That's the best place to talk to players and I usually camp out there a few minutes before break time. Chris Moneymaker walked by me and shook his head as he lit up a Marlboro Light. He didn't have to say anything. I knew what he was thinking by his body language.

The hallways of casinos during breaks at poker tournaments are filled with chatter from players talking to other players or friends and family members. Some are updating their progress while others are complaining about bad beats they took in the previous round. At the EPT, there are conversations going on in twenty different languages. You can actually hear bad beats in Swedish, Danish, Spanish, French, German, English, Japanese, and Italian.

Doesn't matter what language you speak, a bad beat still stings whether you're from Copenhagen, Tokyo, Las Vegas, Paris, or Milan.

Tags: Chris Moneymaker

Level: 5

Blinds: 150/300

Ante: 0

03-28-2007 23:17 UTC+2

Players Are Currently on a 15-Minute Break

[user22113]

256 Players remain. Average stack is 19,277.

03-28-2007 23:06 UTC+2

Poker News Videos

[user22113]

Our crack video team, led by Justin Shronk, uploaded another video. This one is with Jimmy "Gobboboy" Fricke. He took second place at the Aussie Millions and is looking to take down the biggest tournament in Europe.

Click on the Video Gallery link/section to view today's videos.

Tags: Gobboboy Jimmy Fricke Poker News Videos

03-28-2007 22:31 UTC+2

Halftime; 271 Players Remaining

[user22113]

All 271 remaining players are back from dinner break. The average stack is 18,210, and there are exactly 45 minutes to go in Level 4. We are at the midway point for Day 1a and we will be playing three and a half more levels.

Only 58 players have busted so far. At this rate a little more than 200 will return for Day 2. More players should bust after the dinner break. I have an off-beat theory that players loosen up after the dinner break. Small stacks decide to make moves. Some players drink at dinner and get more aggressive, while other players lose their rhythm. Plus with increasing blinds, there's less incentive to sit back and fold.

Tags: Day 1a

03-28-2007 22:20 UTC+2

Dutch Masters

[user22113]

"I had 38K," Noah Boeken mentioned to me. "Now I'm down to 34K."

He picked up a lot of chips with Q-Q on a ragged flop.

His fellow Dutchman Hans Ritburg became one of the unofficial chipleaders when he pushed his stack to over 50K.

You can check out our video with Noah Boeken by clicking on the Video Gallery link/section to the right.

Tags: Hans Ritburg Noah Boeken Poker News Videos