Vilamoura Championship Main Event Day 1a | 2009 PokerStars.com EPT Vilamoura

11-17-2009 14:00 UTC

Deeb's Nuts

[user66118]

Shaun Deeb opened the pot to 375 from under the gun, and both Cristiano Blanco (button) and Pierre Neuville (big blind) came along with the call.

Three handed then, the flop came out {6-Clubs}

, and Neuville checked. Deeb continued out with a bet of 725, and Blanco was the only caller this time.

The two men went heads up to see the {10-Clubs}

land on the turn. Deeb fired again, 1,600 this time, and Blanco again called. The river was the {4-Spades}

, and Deeb slowed down. Or did he? After letting Blanco bet 2,300, Deeb stuck in a healthy check-raise to 13,600 total. The Italian pro mulled it over for several minutes before splashing in the call.

Deeb tabled {7-Spades}

for the stone-cold nuts, and Blano mucked his cards, showing no reaction whatsoever. Deeb has been active in the early going, and his stack has reaped the benefits. He's up to 58,000 already.

Tags: Cristiano Blanco Pierre Neuville Shaun Deeb

11-17-2009 14:07 UTC

Casualty #1?

[user66118]

We haven't seen anyone eliminated so far today, but the last walk past Allen Bari's seat finds him conspicuously absent from his starting spot. He's easy to find too, always sporting his standard orange New York Yankees hat.

At a nearby table, Jason Mercier confirms that Bari has indeed been relegated to the beach before the first break.

Tags: Allen Bari

11-17-2009 14:16 UTC

Double or Nothing for Van Zadelhoff

[user66118]

In early position, Steven Van Zadelhoff made a raise to 600, and he found action from PokerStars qualifier Dominykas Karmazinas in the big blind. The two men saw the flop bring {6-Diamonds}

, and Karmazinas led out into the pot with a bet of 3,000. Van Zadelhoff moved all in for a total of 5,750, and his opponent quickly called to put him at risk.

Showdown
Van Zadelhoff: {J-Spades}

Karmazinas: {7-Diamonds}

Van Zadelhoff was ahead, but he would need to fade a ton of outs to survive. The turn {7-Spades}

gave Karmazinas even more outs to make trips or two pair, but a blank {4-Hearts}

filled out the board.

There was some serious confusion when it came time to pay the pot, and everyone at the table was involved in trying to sort out the math. We think they got it eventually; the pot was pushed to Van Zadelhoff, and he's picked up a much-needed double.

Tags: Steven Van Zadelhoff

11-17-2009 14:18 UTC

Maceiras Bolnicked

[user46392]

"I give everybody two cards, every time," dealer Shawn was explaining, perhaps because some of the players had forgotten which game they were playing. "But cards are irrelevant in this game anyway, aren't they?"

Either way, he indeed proceeded to distribute two cards apiece to the players, and they all folded except Maria Maceiras on the button who raised, and Joe Bolnick in the small blind who reraised. Call.

Bolnick check-called 1,700 from Maceiras on the {Q-Diamonds}

flop, and they checked down the {6-Clubs}

turn and

river. Dealer Shawn ordered Maceiras to show her hand first, but she folded instead. The pot was Bolnick's, and he flashed the {K-Clubs}

at Maceiras, presumably just so she would know that he was not messing about.

Maceiras slips to 27,000.

Tags: Maria Maceiras

11-17-2009 14:21 UTC

Hold the Clock

[user66118]

We've got two full levels in the books, and the players are on a 15-minute break.

11-17-2009 14:25 UTC

Dias is King of the Kastle

[user46392]

Casey Kastle seems to have checked the {A-Diamonds}

flop; either way, he was facing a 2,100 bet from Andre Dias -- the latter clearly hoping to do well here after taking down this year's Unibet Open in this very room for over €150,000.

Kastle dwelled for a remarkably long time before folding. A very slight expression of smugness crept over Dias' face as he showed Kastle {K-Hearts}

for the bluffiest of bluffs.

Tags: Andre Dias Casey Kastle

Level: 3

Blinds: 100/200

Ante: 0

11-17-2009 14:35 UTC

Play Resumes

[user66118]

We're back in action with Level 3.

11-17-2009 14:40 UTC

Martins Draws a Blanco

[user46392]

Just before the break, António Martins (cutoff) and Cristiano Blanco (button) saw a {J-Hearts}

flop and Martins string-bet 400; there was a brief pause while the floor was called over. The 400 bet was allowed to stand, though, and Blanco called.

Martins bet again on the {7-Clubs}

turn and once more Blanco called. Come the {K-Clubs}

river, though, Martins' 1,100 bet was met with a raise to 6,000 from Blanco. Call.

Blanco: {K-Hearts}

for a full house, putting him back up to 25,000
Martins: {A-?}

putting him down to 10,500 with a sigh

Tags: Cristiano Blanco

11-17-2009 14:52 UTC

Time Out

[user66118]

Shaun Deeb and Mike "Timex" McDonald have been chatting it up all day, but the conversation was recently put on hold as the two men played a big pot against each other.

First into the pot, Shaun Deeb completed from the small blind, and Timex made it 625 from the big. Deeb quickly called. The flop came out {J-Diamonds}

, and Deeb checked. When McDonald bet 700, Deeb stuck in a check-raise to 2,025. After a long session in the tank, McDonald three-bet it up to 3,325, and Deeb grabbed a big stack of yellow chips and plunked them into the pot. Facing a bet for his tournament life, McDonald committed his last ~10,000 chips to the pot, all in and at risk.

Showdown
McDonald: {A-Diamonds}

Deeb:

McDonald was ahead with top pair, but Deeb was open ended for the knockout. The turn {9-Hearts}

was a blank boardpair, but the {8-Diamonds}

that hit the river was no blank. Deeb's straight earns him the pot and the added benefit of removing a dangerous player on his immediate left.

McDonald is out, and Deeb's stack has now grown to about 75,000.

Tags: Mike McDonald Shaun Deeb Timex