€5,300 EPT San Remo Main Event Day 1a | 2009 PokerStars.com EPT San Remo

04-18-2009 22:47 UTC+3

Souvenirs

[user66118]

There's a new fashion craze sweeping through San Remo tonight. As the players have been trickling back from their respective dinner breaks, a few dozen of them are now sporting a thin, poorly-sewn, old-school red hat. It says "Casino Sanremo EPT 2009" across the front, and it seems to be quite a hit with the tournament population.

04-18-2009 22:36 UTC+3

Bari Gettin' By

[user66118]

From early position, a young player opened with one big move, sliding his remaining 3,350 chips into the middle. Action passed all the way around to Allen Bari, and he took his time debating his options before eventually electing to call. The rest of the table ducked out. The at-risk player tabled {A-Diamonds}

, a slight favorite against Bari's {K-Hearts}

.

The flop was {4-Hearts}

, which pulled Bari into the lead. He fell behind on the turn though, as the {A-Hearts}

allowed the all-in opponent to exhale and take a new breath. He wasn't out of the woods yet. The forest came crashing down on fifth street. The {5-Hearts}

peeled off the deck, re-improving Bari to the winning heart flush and sending yet another player to the exit here late in Day 1a. With that small pot, Bari has chipped up to about 17,000.

Tags: Allen Bari

04-18-2009 22:31 UTC+3

Kang Fights Back

[user46392]

A few hands after folding to Marcin Horecki for that massive pot, Benjamin Kang clawed back a few chips from another player. His opponent pushed for a mere 2,500 or so and Kang called, picking up a broadway straight and the pot for his trouble.

Kang: {K-Spades}

Opponent:

Board:

Tags: Benjamin Kang

04-18-2009 22:28 UTC+3

"It's Confusing, but It Works"

[user46392]

Though we are now into the third of the various dinner breaks, player concerns have not diminished. EPT floor-meister Thomas Kremser, in his best tableside manner, was overheard reassuring a couple of particularly anxious players, "I make sure everyone plays the correct levels. It's confusing, but it works."

04-18-2009 22:25 UTC+3

Some Chip Counts

[user46392]

Doing well:

Mikael Johansson: 28,000
Juha Helppi: 29,000

Doing less well:

James Akenhead: 5,350
Peter Hedlund: 4,600 (and drinking fine wines)

Doing somewhere in the middle:

Almira Skripchenko: 10,000
Joao Barbosa: 14,000
Alex Kravchenko: 13,000
David Saab: 10,850

04-18-2009 22:17 UTC+3

Massive Pot Alert

[user46392]

With over 20,000 in the pot by the {7-Hearts}

flop, Benjamin Kang bet 5,100 -- only for Marcin Horecki to push all in for another 13,000. The Wall Of Media closed in around the table.

Kang dwelled up for a really unreasonable amount of time and the clock was called; he was still dwelling when he timed out and his hand was folded for him.

Kang dropped to 21,000 while Horecki is up there with the chip leaders on 38,000.

Tags: Benjamin Kang Marcin Horecki

04-18-2009 22:13 UTC+3

Dinner!

[user66118]

Your time has come, group three. After enviously watching the entire rest of the field chow down, they have now received the call. With the other two thirds of the field back in their poker chairs, the final corner of the room has gone for grub.

04-18-2009 21:59 UTC+3

Chartier Still on Top

[user75032]

We've been trying to watch Sam Chartier to see how he has accumulated a stack of more than 40,000 chips, but every time we go by his table he is folding. He tried raising a recent pot to 1,100 after the under-the-gun player limped in. The small blind and the under-the-gun player both called to a flop of {7-Spades}

. Everyone checked to the turn, which came {5-Hearts}

. Chartier, and then the small blind, laid down their hands to a bet of 1,700 from the under-the-gun player.

Tags: Sam Chartier

04-18-2009 21:45 UTC+3

Matern Falters

[user66118]

Arnaud Mattern just had his table broken, and he was moved to the very last seat all the way in the extreme corner of the room. After picking our way through the crowds, our reporters found him quickly involved in another pot. With the five board cards reading {10-Clubs}

, there were about 11,000 chips already piled in the center of the table. Mattern was first to act, and he checked to his lone opponent. The young, blond-haired player stacked out a technicolor bet of 9,500 chips, drawing a long pause from Mattern. "I feel like something was weird on the turn," he pondered. After two or three minutes, Mattern dropped in the calling chips, only to see his opponent turn over {K-Hearts}

for the winning Broadway straight. Mattern simply nodded knowingly and slipped his cards back to the dealer. He has taken a step back to just under 12,000 chips now.

Tags: Arnaud Mattern

04-18-2009 21:23 UTC+3

Horecki Giving Away Chips?

[user75032]

Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki is up to 27,000 in chips, but he is offering to give them to his opponents. Horecki was the first preflop raiser in a recent hand, making it 725 to go. The player on Horecki's immediate left called; the next player to act folded.

"You won't get them if you don't try," Horecki told the folder, pointing at his chips. One of the other players at the table must have taken that to heart; he made the call. All three players checked a big flop, {K-Hearts}

. On the turn {A-Diamonds}

, Horecki and the middle-position player again checked, but this time the player in late position bet 2,000. He showed one of his cards, a jack, after everyone else folded.

Tags: Marcin Horecki