2017 Cash Game Festival Malta
Day 2 Started
2017 Cash Game Festival Malta
2017 Cash Game Festival Malta
Day: 2
Welcome to Day 2 of the 2017 Cash Game Festival Malta
Welcome to Day 2 of the 2017 Cash Game Festival Malta at Casino Malta by Olympic Casino.
With cash games running around the clock, it is difficult to put a line where Day 1 ended and Day 2 began. Many players were playing throughout the night with others playing for a bit before checking out the vibrant Maltese nightlife.
Others decided to get some rest in preparation for the second day of the poker festival. Those with the hospitality package met at 9 a.m. for a catamaran trip which we will have reactions about along with photos later in our coverage.
Yesterday's poker action was a huge success with six cash game tables full of action. Most of them went into the wee hours of the morning. Guts.com Head of Poker Eirik Thorvaldsen spiced things up on the first televised €1/€2 no-limit hold'em feature table by introducing a shot game. He was also the biggest winner during that session logging in a profit of around €400.
The game switched over to €1/€2 pot-limit Omaha for the second feature table of the day. To say it was an action table might be underestimating the amount of chips flying around. Finland's Petteri Vanhapelto, who was the commentator the last time the Cash Game Festival was in Malta in 2016, notched up the biggest win on the table after booking a profit of €1,200.
As will be the case during all five days of the Cash Game Festival Malta, Brandon Allen will host two televised feature tables with co-hosts popping in and out of the booth. The first table kicks off at 5:40 p.m. CEST and will be streamed on a 20-minute delay with stakes at €1/€2 no-limit on the Cash Game Festival Twitch channel as well as will be broadcasted across multiple media outlets including PokerNews.
Later in the day, there will also be a higher-stakes no-limit hold'em televised feature table on a 20-minute delay at 8:40 p.m. CEST.
The PokerNews Live Reporting is on hand to report on all the excitement during Day 2 starting at around 5 p.m. CEST complete with recaps, quotes, pictures and videos.
Early Action
Players that were on the catamaran trip are beginning to pop back into the poker room. There is currently a low-stakes no-limit hold'em table that has been running all day long with others soon to open.
Feature table coverage kicks off in about 40 minutes on a 30-minute delay. Head to the Live Stream tab to tune in.
Betsafe Ambassador Monika Zukowicz Competing at the Feature Table
The first feature table of the day has just begun. Although the limits are set for recreational players to join with the action at €1/€2 no-limit hold'em, there are some very familiar names and great players to watch. Impressively there are players from eight different countries at the table.
Here is a look at the players that have kicked off the action. You can check out the action by clicking on the Live Stream tab in our coverage, by heading to the Cash Game Festival Twitch channel or on the Cash Game Festival Twitch website.
Headlining the action is Betsafe Ambassador Monika Zukowicz from Poland in Seat 4. Yesterday, Zukowicz was in the commentary booth with Brandon Allen for a few hours announcing play and will now have a chance to prove to her fans that she is a skilled player on the poker table. Zukowicz shared with PokerNews that she had a great experience playing at a Cash Game Feature table a few weeks ago when the festival visited Sunborn Casino in Gibraltar.
Canada's Christopher Straub, in Seat 1, might find today's feature table short since he shared his best poker achievement was once playing for 55 straight hours in Las Vegas. He has little to worry about as he can still try to set a new record with games running around the clock for five straight days. Once the feature table is over, all he needs to do is move his chips to one of the side tables running.
United Kingdom's Peter Cox is in Seat 2. We learned he came to the Cash Game Festival Malta after watching Sin Menis Melin in the commentary booth when the festival was at Aspers Casino in London in February. He shared he is not nervous and loves getting pocket aces.
Latvia's Trumulis, in Seat 3, was on yesterday's opening feature table and is once again behind the lights and cameras. He has been to many Cash Game Festivals before including the last two that were held at Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn and is known to have a good time and not be afraid to be involved in huge pots.
Germany's Manuel Zapf, in Seat 5, has been playing poker for over a decade. He said he was not nervous despite this being his first time ever on a televised poker table. While this may be true, we weren't completely sure if we were being bluffed when he told us his favorite hand is queen-five, an obviously difficult hand to play.
Finland's Sami Kontio, in Seat 6, is making his Cash Game Festival debut after winning a package to Malta at Guts.com. He has been playing poker since 2005 and shared his biggest achievement is that he is not broke.
France is also represented at the feature table with Chevalier seated in Seat 7. This is his second ever feature table experience and shared he is a bit nervous. We may see him play a lot of hands as he shared his favorite one is eight-six suited.
Some might feel that the player in Seat 8, Sweden's Hasan Alexander Anter, might be a bigger name on the table than Zukowicz. Although he considers himself a recreational player, he is a former World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner. He also attended the last Cash Game Festival in Gibraltar and was mentioned as a force to be reckoned when he competed last month.
Christopher Straub Wins With Four High
Have you ever won a hand with four-high in a cash game and wanted to show it? That happened just a few minutes ago on the televised €1/€2 no-limit hold'em table.
The action began with Canada's Christopher Straub raising preflop to €6 with 
and Latvia's Trumulis calling from the big blind with 
.
Trumulis checked on the 
flop before calling his opponent's bet of €9.
The 
on the turn completed a straight for Trumulis and gave both players a flush draw. Straub bet €25 after the action was checked to him before he called a raise to €57 from Trumulis.
The 
completed the board. Trumulis checked and found himself in a tough spot after Straub jammed for €130. Although Trumulis held a straight, he popped off the stream after the hand to share he was thinking about whether his opponent held a ten. After a few minutes, Trumulis tank-folded before Straub showed his four-high and began stacking his chips.
Hand From Last Night
A set doesn't always hold in pot-limit Omaha. Sometimes it does. Check out a hand from last night's stream to see which way this hand went last night between Sweden's Mikael Viggander who held a set of fives and Malta's Antoine Degiorgio who held top pair and chasing a flush draw.
Jostein Grødum Enjoyed the Open Bar
Nordicbet Head of Poker Jostein Grødum was one of the couple of dozen Cash Game Festival attendees to explore a bit of the Meditteranean Sea on a VIP catamaran trip. His face was a little red, but this is natural as he is from Norway. He assured PokerNews he was not sunburned.
Everyone that we asked about the trip said it was amazing. Grødum was no different.
The trip began out of Sliema before heading northbound on the east coast up to St Paul's Bay. Many on the ship went swimming and diving from the boat into the pristine waters.
Grødum shared with PokerNews that instead of swimming he like many others decided to relax and keep drinking from the free open bar on the catamaran.
Grødum shared that from there, the boat continued north to Mellieha where many enjoyed more swimming while others stayed on the boat to continue to soak in the sun and enjoy the drinks.
While some of the players were quick to return to the casino, some are yet to be seen. It is possible that they are resting and enjoying the town. Grødum fell somewhere in the middle where he didn't sprint to the casino but wanted to get here in time to play Sviten Special, which is expected to start momentarily.
"We were all having beers and wine all day in the sun," said Grødum. "While it was fun, it also was a bit tiring. I found time for a quick nap and am soon to get busy playing poker with my collegues."
Sviten Special Returns, Check Out How to Play
A €1/€1 Sviten Special table has just opened headlined by Betsafe Head of Poker Michael Robinson and Nordicbet Head of Poker Jostein Grødum. While the stakes may seem small, the game always plays much bigger with four-digit pots being common regardless of what the blind limits are.
Sviten Special is also known as drawmaha and has appeared at every Cash Game Festival. The game was invented in Sweden and incorporates both five-card draw and pot-limit Omaha in the same game.
The game begins with each player receiving five cards and a round of betting. A flop is dealt and players before there is another betting round.
Players are then allowed to exchange anywhere from zero to five cards. As a special rule, if one card is exchanged, the new card is face-up for all players to see. The person receiving the card can decide whether or not to keep it. If they exchange this card, the next one is face down and he or she must keep it.
The turn is dealt after the players have exchanged their cards, followed by a third betting round. The fourth and final betting round takes place after the river completes the board.
Half the pot is awarded to the player with the best five-card draw hand, while the other half of the pot goes to the player with the best Omaha hand.
If this doesn't explain it well enough, check out below Cash Game Festival regular Peter La Terra explain it with cards in the air.
Chevalier Narrowly Wins the Most Money on the Early Feature Table
It looked like it would be Latvia's Trumulis to win the most money on the early feature table, but France's Chevalier made a late run was the biggest winner on the first feature table booking a profit of almost €130.
The action will be bigger at the second feature table just being set-up with the game set to be €2/€5 no-limit hold'em. Chevalier confirmed he will be part of the line-up hoping for the bigger score as will Cash Game Festival regular Michael Fletcher. We will have a full line-up and a little bit about each player when the game is live.
Michael Fletcher Headlines an Impressive Late Feature Table
The stakes on the feature table have gone up to €2/€5 with mostly a new set of players. You can check out the action by clicking on the Live Stream tab in our coverage, by heading to the Cash Game Festival Twitch channel or on the Cash Game Festival Twitch website.
Cash Game Festival regular Michael Fletcher, in Seat 8, headlines the impressive group of players. Although Fletcher primarily plays cash games in his home country of England and while he is traveling to Cash Game Festivals, he has also held his own on the tournament circuit. He once took 18th place in the PokerStars Carribean Adventure Main Event and recently appeared on the final table in the Irish Poker Open Main Event.
Estonia's Andres from Estonia, in Seat 1, is a Cash Game Festival regular. Although he prefers not to disclose his surname, he is well-known in his home country and by Cash Game Festival regulars and loves the action.
Unibet Ambassador Espen Uhlen Joerstad from Norway is in Seat 2. He is not new to playing on feature tables and shared he isn't nervous. He also hopes to get plenty of pocket aces, his favorite hand.
Latvia's Trumulis, in Seat 3, who almost scored the biggest win on the last feature table before losing a big pot at the end of the stream will be hoping for better fortunes in the higher stakes game.
France's David is a bit of a mystery player in Seat 4 as he wouldn't share even privately his surname. He did share that he has played in the "beautiful cash games in Monte Carlo" in the past and that his favorite hand is pocket fives.
France's Chevalier, in Seat 5, will be trying to improve on his strong performance on the last feature table to win even more at higher stakes on this one.
Slovakia's Marian Murcek, in Seat 6, shared he wasn't nervous about appearing on the feature table despite this being the first time to play poker on the center stage. He plays poker for a living, which might explain his lack of stage fright.
Estonia's Urmo, in Seat 7, made his Cash Game Festival debut when the festival hit his home country in late April. He wasn't nervous on the feature table then, despite it being his first time, and shared he isn't nervous now either.