Main Event Day 1b | 2010 EPT Copenhagen

02-17-2010 17:56 UTC+2

Top Two-gaard

[user66118]

We joined this hand a bit late, but here's what we caught:

Thomas Holm was heads up with Jesper Hougaard, and the two men had built a pot of about 24,000 going to the river. We caught up live just as the dealer placed the river card down on a board showing {A-Hearts}

. Holm was leading the betting, and he fired out 12,900.

This last bullet really took Hougaard aback as he ripped off his headphones and leaned across the felt to get a better look. My Danish is a bit poor, so I can't translate the conversation that ensued for you. Actually, it was pretty one-sided with Hougaard mumbling away at himself. The only bit of understandable cognates I could glean was, "Flop two pair..." as Hougaard again trailed off. He cut down his own stack and shook his head at the little remainder he would have left should he lose this pot. Eventually, and reluctantly, he made the call.

Showdown
Holm: {K-Clubs}

Hougaard:

The result was predictably no fun for Hougaard, his top two no match for Holm's middle set. After dropping that big pot, a visibly frustrated Hougaard will have to work with a short stack of about 7,500 chips.

Tags: Jesper Hougaards Thomas Holm

02-17-2010 17:42 UTC+2

Scandi Civil War

[user66118]

In middle position, Toni Ojala opened to 525, and Viktor Blom made the smooth call next door. On the button, Juha Helppi bumped it up to 2,125, enough to quickly fold Ojala. Blom called again, though, and it was heads up the rest of the way.

The dealer spread the first three board cards: {9-Hearts}

. Blom checked, and he quickly called a follow-up bet of 2,000. Fourth street brought the {6-Spades}

and another Blom check. Helppi wasn't slowing down now, and he stacked out 4,300 chips and slid them across the line. Blom took pause for a minute before finally surrendering his cards and a few thousand of his chips.

Blom has slipped back to 18,500 after that pot, while Helppi is very comfortably up to about 46,000.

Tags: Juha Helppi Toni Ojala Viktor Blom

02-17-2010 17:27 UTC+2

Level 3, Here We Come

[user46392]

Players are back at the felt and cards are back in the air.

Level: 3

Blinds: 100/200

Ante: 0

02-17-2010 17:15 UTC+2

Break Time

[user46392]

Wow, how two levels fly when the tournament turns out to be actually very interesting.

We'll be back in 15 minutes.

02-17-2010 17:14 UTC+2

Your Semi-Hourly Viktor Blom Update

[user66118]

We picked up a heads-up pot as the dealer ran a flop of {10-Clubs}

. Steen Jensen was first to speak, and he led out with a bet of 1,300. Viktor Blom didn't waste too much time calling, and the turn revealed the {4-Spades}

. Jensen gathered chips and fired again, 3,300 this time. Once more, the call came quickly from Blom.

The river was the {Q-Clubs}

, and both players checked it down. Jensen showed up {A-Diamonds}

for the nut trips, and Blom sent his cards into the muck. He's down to about 18,000 after two levels of sliding.

Tags: Steen Jensen Viktor Blom

02-17-2010 17:14 UTC+2

Hougaard Relentless

[user66118]

Jesper Hougaard opened the pot with a raise to 375 for the second consecutive hand, and for the second consecutive hand, Mads Andersen made the call from the blinds -- the small one this time.

Heads up, the flop came out {8-Clubs}

. Andersen took the betting lead, flicking out a single red T1,000 chip. Hougaard took pause for a minute before announcing a raise to 2,600, and Andersen eventually made the call.

Fourth street brought the {Q-Clubs}

and a check from Andersen. Hougaard stacked together 3,400 chips and slid them forward, and Andersen reluctantly gave it up.

Hougaard is active in the early going, and he's plodded his way up to 34,000 as the first break approaches.

Tags: Jesper Hougaard Mads Andersen

02-17-2010 17:12 UTC+2

The Best Hand to Bluff With

[user46392]

"I was caught bluffing. With aces," explained Stuart Rutter. He's up to a shade under 60,000 already, while table neighbour Pierre Neuville is down to just a few thousand.

It turns out that this was the result of an ugly kings-v-aces situation with Neuville on the button and Rutter in the small blind.

"It is the game," said a circumspect and gentlemanly Neuville as he contemplated his tiny new stack.

Tags: Pierre Neuville Stuart Rutter

02-17-2010 17:06 UTC+2

We Have All the Tamm in the World

[user46392]

Sometimes it is a blogger's dearest wish that someone would equip a particular table with a fast-forward button. Such a thing has not yet been invented, though, and so there is nothing for it but to stand patiently by the table while endless difficult decisions are made with the absolute maximum of delay.

There were four players in the hand when we arrived to see a {5-Diamonds}

flop. The gentleman in the small blind had bet out 600 and Niels Jensen had called. Jorn Walthaus, however, had raised to 2,100. Erik Tamm on the button flat-called, the small blind passed, and Jensen called. Three players to the turn.

Turn: {6-Hearts}

Jensen and Walthaus checked, very slowly, to Tamm. Tablemate Freddy Deeb yawned while Tamm decided what to do. Eventually he bet 4,400, and following a period of expressionless tankage from Jensen and a similar period of squinting at the board from Walthaus, both players called. Three players to the river.

River: {3-Spades}

Again, Jensen and Walthaus checked. Tamm took his sweet time deciding what to do, while the other players at the table stared at the felt as if into the void. Finally he bet 8,500. Jensen insta-folded, the first time in the hand that anything insta had happened at all. Walthaus squinted for another minute or two, and eventually also made the fold.

This all took around 15 minutes to complete, but Erik Tamm picked himself up a very tasty pot at the end of it.

Tags: Jorn Walthaus

02-17-2010 16:54 UTC+2

Helppi Driving the Action

[user66118]

Juha Helppi has started his day off moving steadily up the scoreboard, and he's certainly using his chips here in the early going. We stood over Helppi's table for three hands and watched Helppi play all three from the three earliest positions.

On the first hand, Helppi raised to 400 and found four callers. One of them would bet out on a {6-Diamonds}

flop, and Helppi and the others passed.

The second hand saw Helppi make it 450 to go, and two players called this time, including Viktor Blom in the big blind. The flop came down {3-Clubs}

, and a leading bet of 1,025 was good enough for Helppi to take it down right there.

On the last hand before we wandered off, Helppi opened with an under-the-gun raise to 400. Two callers came along again, and the table checked through the flop of {Q-Diamonds}

. When the {J-Hearts}

hit the turn, Steen Jensen bet 900 and won the pot.

Not the most exciting stuff in the world, but we're certainly keeping an eye on the active Helppi as he splashes around in the pond. He's got about 42,000 chips to work with so far.

Tags: Juha Helppi