Main Event Day 2 | 2011 PokerStars.com EPT Prague

12-07-2011 19:55 UTC+3

Timex's Good Decision Goes Unrewarded

[user66118]

We missed the preflop action, but we walked up to a heads-up pot between Alexander Kuzmin (button) and Mike "Timex" McDonald (small blind). The dealer was rolling out a {8-Hearts} {A-Diamonds} {3-Hearts} flop as we approached, and McDonald had fired out into the pot with 6,200. That leads us to believe he may have been a three-bettor preflop, but we can't say for sure. Either way, Kuzmin made a raise to 12,800, and McDonald carefully stared him down. After a couple minutes, he raised it back to 22,200, and now it was Kuzmin's turn in the tank.

During this series of action, there was a cocktail server standing behind Timex waiting to deliver a sandwich. McDonald broke his steely gaze to turn around and apologize to her for the wait, then returned to his eye-to-eye staredown with his neighbor. One deliberate blink every 5 seconds, staring directly at Kuzmin the whole time.

For his part, Kuzmin was cutting down the last ~35,000 chips he had left, and he rested his hand behind them for a while longer before shoving them in. McDonald didn't love it, but there wasn't much choice now. As it turned out, his call was very much the correct one.

Showdown
McDonald: {A-Hearts} {10-Spades}
Kuzmin: {A-Clubs} {6-Clubs}

The {8-Diamonds} on the turn brought a chop into play, and the river {K-Diamonds} meant the players would have to share the pot. McDonald couldn't help but let out a bit of a frown, but he quickly gathered back his bet and exchanged some friendly small talk with Kuzmin.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mike McDonald	82,000 32,000	32,000

Tags: Alexander Kuzmin Mike McDonald

12-07-2011 19:56 UTC+3

Break Time

donpeters

Level 12 : 800/1,600, 200 ante

We'll be back in 15 minutes, and you should be, too.

Level: 13

Blinds: 1,000/2,000

Ante: 300

12-07-2011 20:10 UTC+3

Getting There

[user66118]

Level 13 : 1,000/2,000, 300 ante

A quick head count finds us with less than 200 players remaining as we return for the fifth of six levels today.

12-07-2011 20:32 UTC+3

Updated Chip Counts

[user66118]

Player	Chips	Progress
Jude Ainsworth	280,000 156,000	156,000

Liv Boeree	260,000 -10,000	-10,000

Martins Adeniya	240,000 10,000	10,000
Rupert Elder	225,000 162,000	162,000

Max Silver	175,000 -20,000	-20,000
Andrey Saenko	175,000 -5,000	-5,000
Nicolas Levi	165,000 90,000	90,000
Narendra Banwari	160,000 -35,000	-35,000
Joe Serock	155,000 20,000	20,000
Jean-Philippe Rohr	148,000
Ramez Haddad	140,000 5,000	5,000
Jonathan Duhamel	135,000 50,000	50,000

Kevin MacPhee	130,000 10,000	10,000

Salman Behbehani	130,000 83,900	83,900
Anton Wigg	120,000 15,600	15,600

Ari Engel	115,000 26,000	26,000

Martin Staszko	110,000 70,400	70,400

Vitaly Lunkin	110,000 -35,000	-35,000
Johnny Lodden	95,000 55,900	55,900

Juan Manuel Pastor	90,000 49,000	49,000

Dermot Blain	75,000 30,000	30,000
Chris Moorman	69,000 -130,000	-130,000
Ville Wahlbeck	68,000 -86,000	-86,000

Luke Schwartz	64,000 2,800	2,800
Gus Hansen	61,000 19,000	19,000

Read full

12-07-2011 20:35 UTC+3

Lechich Goes (Down-)Under

[user66118]

It's always nice to see the Australians turn up at an EPT, but we've unfortunately just bid farewell to one of them, Tino Lechich.

It was Konstantin Puchkov who opened the pot with a raise to 4,400, but he would be forced out on the turn. A gentlemen behind him three-bet to 11,200, and Lechich called all in for his last 9,900. Puchkov called, too, and he called a bet on the {K-Hearts} {2-Diamonds} {3-Diamonds} flop before folding on the {9-Clubs} turn.

Lechich was at risk, but he turned over a not-too-shabby {A-Clubs} {K-Diamonds} . What looked like a dream flop was a nightmare, though, as his opponent showed up {A-Diamonds} {A-Spades} to leave him dead to two outs. The river was the {J-Spades} , and that's all she wrote for Lechich.

Player	Chips	Progress
Tino Lechich	Busted

Tags: Tino Lechich Konstantin Puchkov

12-07-2011 20:42 UTC+3

Updated Chip Counts

donpeters

Player	Chips	Progress
Mads Wissing	520,000 193,000	193,000
Garry Tevosov	360,000 -20,000	-20,000
Sharon Volfer	322,000
Max Silver	220,000 45,000	45,000
Artur Wasek	207,000 17,000	17,000
Filip Verboven	180,000 69,500	69,500
Nicolas Chouity	162,000 58,000	58,000

Salman Behbehani	147,000 17,000	17,000
Grayson Ramage	137,000
Max Greenwood	85,000 55,000	55,000
Jason Gray	82,000 22,600	22,600
Dermot Blain	80,000 5,000	5,000
Mike Watson	57,000 10,900	10,900

David Peters	50,000 -11,000	-11,000

Mohsin Charania	45,000 -4,000	-4,000

Vinny Pahuja	40,000 -36,500	-36,500
Ilan Boujenah	17,000
Mustapha Kanit	Busted

Tino Lechich	Busted

12-07-2011 21:00 UTC+3

Ainsworth to the Front!

[user66118]

In a huge preflop pot, Jakub Dobias, Jude Ainsworth, and Mohsin Charania got it all in with Dobias having Ainsworth just barely covered. All the action put a pot of more than a half-million chips up for grabs, and the cards were soon on their backs with two men at risk.

Showdown
Dobias: {Q-Hearts} {Q-Diamonds}
Ainsworth: {K-Spades} {K-Diamonds}
Charania: {A-Clubs} {Q-Clubs}

There was no funny stuff on the {5-Clubs} {2-Diamonds} {6-Hearts} {10-Spades} {4-Hearts} board, and Ainsworth drags the biggest pot of the tournament. Well covered, Charania quickly headed for the rail. When Dobias counted out his debt, he was left with just one single T1,000 chip. He was eliminated on the next hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jude Ainsworth	510,000 230,000	230,000

Mohsin Charania	Busted

Jakub Dobias	Busted

Tags: Jakub Dobias Jude Ainsworth Mohsin Charania

12-07-2011 21:03 UTC+3

Cavaller Climbing

donpeters

From middle position, Filip Verboven raised to 4,200. He was called by Ozcan Barut in the hijack seat, Guillem Cavaller in the cutoff seat, Sergey Prochny in the small blind and finally Haykel Cherif Vidal in the big blind.

With five players in the hand, the pot stood at 23,700 and the dealer ran out the first three community cards. After the {K-Hearts} {9-Spades} {4-Clubs} were placed in the middle of the felt. Action checked to the preflop raiser, Verboven. He fired a continuation bet of 11,600 and Barut called. Cavaller put in a raise to 33,500 and play folded back to Verboven. He took a minute before sliding his cards into the muck and then Barut tanked. Eventually, he folded as well and Cavaller picked up the pot.

Cavaller's up to 365,000 in chips after picking up this pot. Prior to getting moved to this table, Cavaller sent Mustapha Kanit to the rail in a queens-versus-aces situation where all the money went in preflop and Cavaller spiked a queen on the flop.