All of the players have started to leave their tables and head for their much earned 15 minute break. In between the empty tables and scattering earphone clad people, Ruben Visser stares deep into his opponent. We catch up to the action on the turn. The board is and the recipient of the Visser stare has just bet 1,500 on the turn of the . Visser makes the call and his eyes do not leave his opponent for a second. The river is the and this time Visser's opponent makes it 2,000. For a second Visser's eyes leave his opponent flick to the and straight back to his opponent before making the call.
Visser's opponent shows for a rivered top pair. Visser's stare now turns from a concentrated fact finding stare to a stare of disgust before throwing his two cards into the muck. Ruben Visser heads off to the break with a stack of 24,475.
There will now follow a short intermission as the players head off for 15 minutes to get some goulash soup, stretch their legs in the frosty afternoon air of the park or just hover outside smoking cigarettes. We'll be right back.
Polish Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki had a bit of a cold deck disaster just before the break. He found pocket kings and improved to a set on the flop against one opponent. The chips all went in on the raggy turn, and Horecki discovered that his oponent had flopped a set of aces.
"He might have had ace-king..." he reasoned afterwards, but speculation couldn't alter the fact that he was left with just 5,000 chips.
Such was the joyous exclamation from Marcin Horecki as his came good against his opponent's . The chips had gone in preflop, and the board had come down to double him up to around 12,000.
Horecki had the good manners to follow his first statement with a second:
Recent WPT London Champion Jake Cody is currently treading water over at table 24. He is currently sat on a stack of ~33,500 after getting to showdown in this recent hand.
The most active player at the table in seat four opened for 600 and Cody made the call in the next seat. They were both joined at the flop by the button and small blind. The flop was and the action checked to Cody who bet 1,400. Only the button called and there were two going to the turn. This is where the action stopped as they both checked the turn and river. Cody showing and the player on the button showing which was enough to take down the pot.
Chip leader, we believe, at this early-mid stage of Day 1A, is Jan Skampa, winner of EPT Prague in '09 (the same year in which he finished fourth at EPT Vilamoura). 71,000 sounds like a lot and it is - especially considering the blinds are just 100/200.
The numbers haven't yet been officially processed and confirmed, but Day 1a registration is now closed and the number on the board at the moment is 234. With the numbers expected to be much higher tomorrow (today is a public holiday in Austria, which we suspect will have made many people opt for tomorrow instead), this is looking as though it's going to be a pretty chunky EPT field.
The Team Pokerstars Pro Arnaud Mattern could do with a little help after his stack has shrunk to ~12,000 after this hand. The player in seat five made it 500 to play from early position and ended up with six callers. The flop was and everyone checked. The turn was the and the original raiser bet 3,000 and Mattern made the call. The river was the and the initial raiser declared "I give up - I will check to you." Mattern also checked and the initial raiser took down the pot after showing a pair of eights in his hand.
and the recipient of the Visser stare has just bet 1,500 on the turn of the 
and this time Visser's opponent makes it 2,000. For a second Visser's eyes leave his opponent flick to the 
for a rivered top pair. Visser's stare now turns from a concentrated fact finding stare to a stare of disgust before throwing his two cards into the muck. Ruben Visser heads off to the break with a stack of 24,475.
flop against one opponent. The chips all went in on the raggy turn, and Horecki discovered that his oponent had flopped a set of aces.
. The chips had gone in preflop, and the board had come down 
to double him up to around 12,000.
which was enough to take down the pot.
and everyone checked. The turn was the 
and the original raiser bet 3,000 and Mattern made the call. The river was the 
and the initial raiser declared "I give up - I will check to you." Mattern also checked and the initial raiser took down the pot after showing a pair of eights in his hand.
