Over on Table 35 we just connected four players in a row. Fabrice Soulier, $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. winner at the WSOP, sat down as did EPT Talinn winner Kristijonas Andrulis. Add Steve O'Dwyer and Dominik Nitsche to this and this is just a monster clash waiting to happen.
Four players including PokerStars Team Pro Jan Heitmann invested 350 before the flop to see fall on the felt. The small blind checked and the big blind fired 1,150. The third player folded and Heitmann quickly cut out a raise to 3,100.
Both of the remaining players quickly threw away their cards and Heitmann dragged in the pot. He's currently sitting on about 36,500 in chips.
There was a raise, a three-bet, and before you knew it, five players, including Fabrice Soulier, Dominik Nitsche, and Matti Konttinen. The flop fell , the action checked to Nitsche, and the German fired 3,500. Only Konttinen.
The turn was the , Nitsche tossed out a blue T5,000 chip, and Konttinen tank-called.
The completed the board, and Nitsche examined Konttinen's stack before tossing out 7,500. Konttinen tank-called once again. Nitsche showed for queens and eights, and Konttinen showed for the same exact hand.
The two chopped the pot, but Nitsche is still above the starting stack with 37,000 chips.
Play started today just after 12:10 Noon and we will play eight 75-minute levels. There will be a 20-minute break after every two levels and a 75-minute dinner break after the sixth level. This means the dinner break will be around 8:20 PM and play will end around midnight tonight.
The European Poker Tour first rolled into Berlin on season six and immediately felt as if it was fully established. That's because the western city of Dortmund had previously broken the seal on major tournaments in Germany. PokerStars Blog looks back, and forward to this week too.
When we arrived at the table, Jon Warmerdam, Liv Boeree, and Huseyin Erbay were three handed on a flop of . Erbay led out for 1,500, and both Boeree and Warmerdam called.
The turn was the , Erbay tossed out a single red T1,000 chip, and Boeree quickly folded. Warmerdam thought for 30 seconds or so, then made the call.
The river was another jack - the - and Erbay tossed out another 1,000. Warmerdam raised to 3,500, and Erbay folded the face up.
Warmerdam checked his cards, then the Dutchman tabled for a lesser pair.
Ramin Hajiyev tried raising Rory Mathews a short while ago and didn't work out well for him. He just tried it against Guillaume Rivet and that didn't work out so well for him either.
The action was three-way to the turn of a board and Rivet led for 1,600 from the hijack. Hajiyev raised this up to 4,200 and that forced out the big blind but not Rivet who called after some consideration.
Both payers checked the river and Hajiyev opened for top pair and lost out to Rivet's . To be fair to Hajiyev he probably wouldn't have entered the hand with Rivet if he'd known he was from Quebec. Them boys can't lose.
Alex Bilokur raised to 350 in early position, Joao Ribeiro called in the hijack seat, Antoine Saout called in the cutoff, and a player defended in the big blind. The dealer fanned , the player in the big blind checked, and Bilokur continued for 625. Only Ribeiro called.
The turn was a repeat six - the - and Bilokur led out for 1,425. Ribeiro tanked for a bit, then committed enough chips to call.
The completed the board, and Bilokur emptied the chamber, firing 2,525. Ribeiro tank-called. Bilokur scrunched his face, then turned over , thinking his queens and sixes were no good. To his apparent relief, Ribeiro showed for the exact same hand.
We found Rupert Elder heads up in a hand with Daniel Ghionoiu. The flop read and Ghionoiu came out swinging for 550. Elder stuck around to see the hit the turn. Ghionoiu bet 975 and once again Elder called.
The board completed with the and Ghionoiu shot out 1,200. Elder called a third time and Ghionoiu showed for a rivered pair of queens. Elder rolled over for a pair of kings and he was able to take down the pot.
Elder is off to a good start here on Day 1a and he's looking to capitalize on the success he's already found here in Berlin. Just a few days ago Elder found himself heads up with Max Heinzelmann in Event 7: €1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo. Elder was able to defeat the German heads up to take down the €49,800 first-place prize.
German pro Moritz Kranich is not a flashy guy. He looks focussed and determined at the table and you might forget that he was really close to becoming the fifth Triple Crown winner back in 2011.
Kranich's first big success came back in 2009 when he won EPT Deauville for €851,400. In July of 2010 he added a WPT title to his resume when he took down the Bellagio Cup WPT for $875,150. About a year and a half ago he was three-handed for the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event title but he did not manage to take that one down.
Kranich won €550,000 for his third place finish and he's currently in eighth place on the German all-time money leader board with just under three million in career live earnings. Kranich is playing today and we will be following him closely throughout the event.
fall on the felt. The small blind checked and the big blind fired 1,150. The third player folded and Heitmann quickly cut out a raise to 3,100.
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, the action checked to Nitsche, and the German fired 3,500. Only Konttinen.
, Nitsche tossed out a blue T5,000 chip, and Konttinen tank-called.
completed the board, and Nitsche examined Konttinen's stack before tossing out 7,500. Konttinen tank-called once again. Nitsche showed 
for queens and eights, and Konttinen showed 
for the same exact hand.
. Erbay led out for 1,500, and both Boeree and Warmerdam called.
, Erbay tossed out a single red T1,000 chip, and Boeree quickly folded. Warmerdam thought for 30 seconds or so, then made the call.
- and Erbay tossed out another 1,000. Warmerdam raised to 3,500, and Erbay folded the 
face up.
board and Rivet led for 1,600 from the hijack. Hajiyev raised this up to 4,200 and that forced out the big blind but not Rivet who called after some consideration.
, the player in the big blind checked, and Bilokur continued for 625. Only Ribeiro called.
- and Bilokur led out for 1,425. Ribeiro tanked for a bit, then committed enough chips to call.
completed the board, and Bilokur emptied the chamber, firing 2,525. Ribeiro tank-called. Bilokur scrunched his face, then turned over 
, thinking his queens and sixes were no good. To his apparent relief, Ribeiro showed 
and Ghionoiu came out swinging for 550. Elder stuck around to see the 
hit the turn. Ghionoiu bet 975 and once again Elder called.
for a pair of kings and he was able to take down the pot.
