2018 Cash Game Festival Bratislava
Day 5 Completed
2018 Cash Game Festival Bratislava
2018 Cash Game Festival Bratislava
Day: 5
Cash Game Festival Co-Founder Martin von Zweigbergk Wins the Trophy
The 2018 Cash Game Festival Bratislava at Banco Casino Bratislava has been a massive success with records broken including one for the casino with 11 cash games running simultaneously at peak times. This decimated the previous casino record of eight tables.
Cash Game Festival Co-Founder Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk won the coveted trophy of the event by winning the most big blinds at any of the televised feature tables after he won €1,563 or 781.5 big blinds at a €2/€2 pot-limit Omaha table.
Von Zweigbergk had the trophy on his mind ever since the festival introduced the concept at the Cash Game Festival in September. He watched in envy as Jon Kyte (London - September) and Kevin Malone (Ireland - October), Heiti Riisberg (November - Tallinn), and Gang Wang (January - London) all win the trophy he was after.
For a while it was looking like the trophy would wind up elsewhere once again with Russia's Vladimir Demidov heading into the final table with the lead in the trophy contest after he won €4,614 at a €5/€10 no-limit hold'em table or 461.4 big blinds on the late Day 4 feature table on Saturday.
However, von Zweigbergk appeared determined and shared with PokerNews before he was at the table that his heart was set on winning the trophy.
Von Zweigbergk could have actually wrapped things up early as he was ahead more than €1,000 or 500 big blinds which would have also been good enough for the trophy. As the gentleman that he was, he decided to not only stay at the table but play in high variance spots just as often as he was before.
The crowd watching let out a loud cheer for Franke when he wrapped up the contest. Franke then said his famous catch phrase that anyone that knows him would have heard before to PokerNews.
"I am the bestest," von Zweigbergk proclaimed.
He then sent a small jab to his friend and the first-ever Cash Game Festival feature table winner Jon Kyte.
"Get on your bike, Jon Kyte," said Franke who once dashed the dreams of Franke winning a trophy in September.
While Kyte did not win his second Cash Game Festival trophy, he did extend his own record for the most feature tables won at the festival. On Day 2, Kyte won €3,736 or 373.6 big blinds at a €10/€10 pot-limit Omaha feature table to be the biggest winner at a Cash Game Festival feature table for the sixth time.
Cash Game Festival Bratislava Feature Table Winners
| Day | Player | Game | Profit | Big Blinds Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | David Lappin | €1/€2 NLHE | €651 | 325.5 |
| Day 1 | Luca Sebastiani | €2/€5 NLHE | €1,688 | 317.6 |
| Day 2 | Paolo Caverzaghi | €2/€5 NLHE | €1,182 | 236.4 |
| Day 2 | Jon Kyte | €10/€10 PLO | €3,736 | 373.6 |
| Day 3 | Edgars Armans | €1/€2 NLHE | €224 | 112.0 |
| Day 3 | Karol Masarovic | €5/€10 NLHE | €4,558 | 455.8 |
| Day 4 | Eyal Bensimhon | €2/€5 NLHE | €1,760 | 356.0 |
| Day 4 | Vladimir Demidov | €5/€10 NLHE | €4,614 | 461.4 |
| Day 5 | Ed Furniss | €1/€2 NLHE | €327 | 163.5 |
| Day 5 | Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk | €2/€2 PLO | €1,563 | 781.5 |
The feature table is just part of he draw of the Cash Game Festival. As is always the case, there were games available for everyone with players enjoying no-limit hold'em, pot-limit Omaha, pot-limit Omaha high/low, Sviten Special, super dealer's choice, and more at stakes low and high.
The Cash Game Festival is also more than just about poker. Every festival also features amazing activities away from the tables where players with similar interests can bond. Old friends met and bonded and new friends were made on and away from the tables. In addition, the festival collaborated with the MPN Poker Tour running one floor up from the casino which brought many people to the Cash Game Festival that don't normally expose themselves to ring games.
Also, players that won packages to Bratislava and those that purchased the hospitality package were invited to enjoy themselves in organized activities with other poker players including welcome drinks, a VIP dinner, a players' party, a wine outing and a guided tour of the Slovakian capital.
Don't Miss Tallinn
If you were unable to make it out to Bratislava, rest assured you will not have to wait too long to enjoy the next festival.
On April 25-29, the Cash Game Festival heads back to where it all began to the majestic Estonian capital of Tallinn on April 25-29 at Olympic Park Casino for another five days of nonstop cash game action. The festival is expected to attract many players from around the globe, especially from the nearby Scandinavian and Baltic countries.
Sweden's Peter La Terra, Ireland's Kevin Malone, and Slovakia's Alan Sabo are three of the players expected to attend as they each won Cash Game Festival packages, each valued at €1,500, to the event after winning high hand raffles.
As usual, the PokerNews live reporting team will be on hand to report on all the events both on and away from the tables.
Franke Wins the Trophy!
It came down to the last feature table and Cash Game Festival Co-Founder Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk called his shot saying he wanted to win the trophy badly before it began.
Franke was up early and kept on the aggression to book a massive profit of €1,563 or 781.5 big blinds. This easily eclipsed the Ukraine's Vladimir Demidov, who was previously in the lead for the trophy after he won €4,614 at a €5/€10 no-limit hold'em table or 461.4 big blinds.
Franke is busy celebrating and promised the table he would play with them more on a side table.
There are still a handful of tables running but it is now more or less a wrap for a successful first-ever stop to the Slovakian capital for the Cash Game Festival and Banco Casino Bratislava. Stay tuned as we will shortly recap the entire festival.
Live on Facebook With Unibet Poker's Ian Simpson
Side Bet Table Opens
A new €1/€2 no-limit hold'em side table just opened up.
While this isn't necessarily newsworthy by itself, the starters of the table Monika "HeyMonia" Zukowicz, Oli Bass, Ed Furniss, and Christoph Rueegg decided to spice things up a bit by introducing a side bet.
Each of the four players picks a specific card and they can win money from all of the other players depending on what cards hit the board.
As an example, let's say one player picked as his or her card the three of hearts. If the three of hearts hits the flop each player will give that person €3. If the other red three, the three of diamonds hits the flop they would get €2 from each player, and if it is any black three it would award €1 from each player.
The side action gets bigger on the later streets with it doubled on the turn and tripled on the river.
A few more players just joined the table and aren't participating in the side bet. To make everyone happy, the players participating in the side bets are keeping a small stack of chips away from the table so they aren't altering their stack sizes that are on the table.
Jan Packa Explains That the Cash Game Festival Has Been a Huge Success for Banco Casino
The Cash Game Festival at Banco Casino is almost in the books. The five days went fast with players grinding nonstop.
This marked the first time the Cash Game Festival visited the Slovakian capital and according to both the festival organizers and casino representatives, it has been a resounding success. We sat down with Banco Casino Director of Marketing Jan Packa to learn more about his thoughts.
"I think the festival provided a great opportunity for local Slovakian, Czech, Hungarian, and Austrian players to fight at the tables against players they don't typically see from around the world," said Packa. "Also, the festival improved the level of cash games available for the local market."
Packa's expectations were just what the Cash Game Festival typically promises. In other words, lots of fun and action.
"My expectations of the festival was to provide a great atmosphere for the players with a great service and make the festival a showtime both on and away from the tables." shared Packa. "Cash game players typically can't be as famous as tournament players. So basically I felt the festival was important to make something to bring cash game players some recognition."
Packa explained to PokerNews that the festival not only met these expectations but far exceeded them. Part of the reason is that some casino records were broken.
"We had 11 tables open at one point," said Packa. "Our previous record was eight tables."
This wasn't the only new aspect the Cash Game Festival brought to Banco Casino Bratislava.
"For the first time our cash game players were able to play under the lights and camera on a poker stream," said Packa. "The experience proved to be great for our players and they left the experience wanting more."
"For sure," Packa said when asked if he wanted the Cash Game Festival to return to Banco Casino before he added, "and I hope it is going to be soon."
Quad Fives Lucky for Both Malone and Sabo
Andro Loos just announced the winners of the high hand jackpot draw.
Cash Game Festival Dublin winner will now be attending his fifth straight Cash Game Festival at Olympic Park Casino in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on April 25-29 after his name was selected.
Joining him will be local player Alan Sabo.
The key for both players was getting quad fives as this was the hand both players had to get their tickets into the draw.
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?
Epic story developing on the last day of the Cash Game Festival Bratislava at Banco Casino.
Cash Game Festival Co-Founder Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk's goal was to win enough big blinds at the last feature table to win the trophy.
Ukraine's Vladimir Demidov, who won €4,614 at a €5/€10 no-limit hold'em table or 461.4 big blinds, was in the lead before the last t.v. table began.
If he left now, Franke would most likely would clinch the trophy thanks to being ahead over €1,000 or more than 500 big blinds at the €2/€2 pot-limit Omaha feature table.
Franke faced an internal dilemma and we went to speak with him about it. He said, "If I leave now, I almost certainly will win the trophy."
We asked Franke whether he built his stack through luck or skill. The entire table laughed including Franke.
"All skill," said one of the players. That comment also got a laugh from many at the table.
Franke followed this up by saying, "I've been so lucky," before adding privately without the rest of the table hearing that he is playing well.
It is a situation of epic proportions. Never before has there been a trophy on the line with a player knowing he could walk away and claim it and keep playing. It is similar to playing hands unnecessarily in a satellite when you have clinched a seat but for this time it is for the coveted trophy of the Cash Game Festival Bratislava.
Anyone that has met Franke knows he is about having a good time. This doesn't mean just for him, but everyone around him as well. He is also known as a true gentleman.
Instead of walking away certain to be a happy man with a four-figure profit and the knowledge he most likely would win the trophy, in "Franke-style" he was a true gentleman and stayed at the table.
Mario & Franke Want the Trophy
The €2/€2 pot-limit Omaha feature table is currently being set-up. Among the players at the table are Austria's Mario Langer and Cash Game Festival Co-Founder Martin "Franke" von Zweigbergk.
They both separately shared with PokerNews that they going to play hard for the coveted Cash Game Festival Bratislava trophy which will be awarded to the player that wins the most big blinds during any of the ten feature tables this festival. This could lead to tons of gambling involved that they wouldn't normally do.
The man to beat right now to win the trophy at the last feature table of the festival is Ukraine's Vladimir Demidov, who won €4,614 at a €5/€10 no-limit hold'em table or 461.4 big blinds.
You can watch the stream in about 15 minutes by clicking on the Live Stream tab in our coverage or by heading to the Cash Game Festival Twitch channel
Ed Furniss Wins Big at Feature Table
Ed Furniss is no stranger to being the biggest winner at a feature table. He did it again and booked a tidy profit of €327 at the early €1/€2 no-limit hold'em table.
He could have won more, but he got into a big hand near the end of the stream with his friend Oli Bass and his top two pair lost to a flush.