€8,300 EPT Barcelona Main Event Day 1a | 2009 PokerStars.com EPT Barcelona

09-04-2009 14:44 UTC+3

...And More Again

[user46392]

- friendly Bulgarian Atanas Gueorguiev sitting directly to the right of Joe Serock and sharing a table also with Jesper Hougaard

- Garrulous Brit Mark Teltscher

- PCA final tabler Benny Spindler

09-04-2009 14:43 UTC+3

Mercier Has an Up and Down Beginning

donpeters

Jason Mercier can be seen seated next to fellow team member Macin Horecki towards the back corner of the tournament room. Just recently Mercier was involved in a couple of hands.

First, on a board of {A-Diamonds}

, Mercier checked to his opponent. The player fired a bet of 1,225. Mercier made the call. The river brought the {5-Hearts}

and Mercier checked. His opponent quickly checked behind.

"Nuts." announced Jason, as he turned over the {4-Diamonds}

. His opponent shook his head in disgust as he saw Mercier missed his flush draw but backed into a wheel.

On the next hand, Mercier opened with a raise to 250 from early position. His opponent from the previous hand called from the cutoff seat and the player in the big blind called as well. The flop came down {Q-Spades}

and action checked to the cutoff. He fired a bet of 1,200. The big blind folded, but Mercier came along.

The turn brought the {5-Spades}

and Mercier checked. His opponent fired 2,550 this time and Mercier again made the call. After the river fell the {2-Spades}

, Mercier checked once more. The cutoff seat fired a small bet of 1,000 by tossing a single red chip into the middle. Mercier tossed in one of his own red chips to make the call.

The cutoff tabled {K-Spades}

and Mercier mucked his hand. Mercier dropped to 23,000 chips on the hand.

Tags: Jason Mercier Marcin Horecki

09-04-2009 14:41 UTC+3

Wolfe Chop

[user76023]

On the river of a {A-Diamonds}

board, Roland De Wolfe raises a 1,500 bet to 5,000 against his opponent. After a long think, his opponents makes the call and De Wolfe flips {A-Hearts}

and gets shown {A-Clubs}

.

The hint of a large pot going to the former EPT and WSOP bracelet winner is dashed and he's forced to settle for a split.

09-04-2009 14:23 UTC+3

Also Here

[user46392]

...And some more names you might recognise.

- William Reynolds
- Almira Skripchenko
- Freddy Deeb
- Michael Keiner
- Jorn Walthaus
- Irish international footballer Tony Cascarino
- stylish Italian and serial EPT casher Luca Pagano
- young American Joe Serock
- Pierre Neuville
- Katja Thater
- both Hougaards, Jesper and his brother Lars

09-04-2009 14:17 UTC+3

Still Registering...

[user76023]

Registration is still open for the first two levels, so if you're in Barcelona and have a spare €8,300 that would otherwise remain in your piggy bank then feel free to come down and sign up now.

Note, please don't try and buy-in using coins only, they probably won't like that.

09-04-2009 14:11 UTC+3

Wooden Spoon Already Awarded

[user46392]

Wow, barely 10 minutes into play and we've already had an exit. The details are a little hazy, but we understand that a nasty set-over-set cooler of a hand has already sent one unfortunate to the rail.

09-04-2009 14:09 UTC+3

Who's Here So Far?

[user46392]

The casino floor is peppered with well-known faces, a light seasoning of EPT regulars in the tournament soup.

Tables of particular note right now include:

- Roland de Wolfe, sitting next fellow EPT winner Arnaud Mattern. They're sharing the table with former EPT San Remo finalist Dragan Galic

- Multiple event winner Jason Mercier sitting directly to the right of Polish pro Marcin Horecki

- November Niner Joseph Cada sharing with British actor turned poker pro Michael Greco and EPT regular Faraz Jaka

09-04-2009 14:03 UTC+3

Shuffle Up and Deal!

donpeters

The final announcements have been made and the cards are in the air!

Level: 1

Blinds: 50/100

Ante: 0

09-04-2009 14:00 UTC+3

Notables Roaming Around

donpeters

The start time of the event has been slightly delayed, but the tournament players are finally beginning to take their seats. Some of the players roaming around the tournament area are Jonathan "FatalError" Aguiar, Carlos Mortensen, Jason Mercier, and Roland De Wolfe. Also in the field today is the last woman standing from this summer's WSOP Main Event, Leo Margets.

The champion of EPT Barcelona last season is in the room as well. Sebastian Ruthenberg will be taking to the felt to defend his title beginning shortly.