Rytis Praninskas opened the hijack to 1,000 and Julian Thomas on the button was the first to call. Olof Haglund came along from the big blind as well and the three of them saw a flop.
Haglund checked to Praninskas who continued his preflop agression with a 1,500 bet. Thomas was quick to fold but Haglund made the call. EPT London 2013 third place finisher Haglund checked again on the turn and Praninskas bet 3,200. Haglund called and the fell on the river.
Haglund checked for the third time but wouldn't be calling this time. Praninskas bet 8,500 and Haglund didn't waste much time before folding.
On a board Antoine Saout was taking the betting lead. The WSOP Main Event 2009 third place finisher bet 5,500 from the small blind. His opponent, German PokerStars qualifier Marc Siebtroth, was seated on the button and thought about it for quite some time. He had all the reason to, the 5,500 Saout asked of him was a significant part of the stack he still had left.
After some time Siebtroth put the 5,500 in the middle. Saout immediately waved the white flag and mucked his cards. Siebtroth did the same but he collected the chips in the pot.
There are lots of interesting dynamics now we are down to the last two levels of the night. Some players will have been playing at the same table as each other all day and some will have table breaks where they have pitched into a new situation. Many of the most obvious strategy changes are how different stack sizes are exploiting the approaching end of day as this hand illustrates.
Yordan Georgiev had a stack of 15,000 and opened on the button for 600. In the small blind was Yaki Hevron who had him covered and raised to 3,250. The big blind, PokerStars player Lasell Marvio King, had them both covered and cold four-bet to 7,600. He got two folds and showed the table the
After Simon Deadman opened for 1,000 and another player called, Jack Salter raised to 4,450 from the cutoff. The other two players made the call and it was three-way action to the flop. Two checks saw Salter bet right around 4,000, and then Deadman sprung to life with a check-raise to 8,425.
The third player folded, and then Salter thought for around 30 seconds before relinquishing the hand.
Simon Ravnsbaek , a Danish PokerStars player, checked the flop and called a bet from UK qualifier Ryan Spittles of 2,900. The turn card was the and both players checked. The river card was the and Ravnsbaek checked once again. Spittles now bet 12,700 and a look of surprise shot across Ravnsbaek’s face. He thought about it for a while, the call would cost him about a third of his stack. In the end he made the fold and Spittles added another pile of chips to his growing stack.
Before the break Spittles tweeted in his characteristic understated style.
One name that keeps popping up here at the EPT Vienna is Skrill – which isn’t a player, but rather an online payment solutions company that aims to evolve “the way people pay and get paid globally.” Skrill is branded throughout the venue and also have a booth where players can sign up for their popular "Last Longer Competition."
The Skrill Last Longer competition will be held at each stop on this season’s EPT, of which they’re an official sponsor. The promotion is simple – players sign up for the promotion either online (preregistration is available) or at the Skrill booth (which will be present at each stop); don a Skrill patch; and then aim to be the last man or woman standing. The last player remaining will then receive their buy-in back via their Skrill account.
While Skrill is upping the ante for Season 10 with a bigger branding initiative, this isn’t their first appearance on the EPT; as a matter of fact, they were a sponsor of Season 8 and have held previous “Last Longer” promotions.
The company’s website provides a bit more information on Skrill, which rebranded from Moneybookers back in 2010:
“Skrill has been moving money digitally since 2001. We offer online payment solutions for businesses and consumers, allowing them to pay and get paid globally. Over 36 million account holders already trust Skrill. Our customers can send and receive money worldwide in 200 countries and 40 currencies, securely and at low cost, without revealing their personal financial details. Your business will benefit from our worldwide payment network with over 100 payment options. Whether through a simple one-step integration or a fully-tailored payment solution. Whoever you are, however you like to pay or get paid, trust Skrill to make your online payments simpler, faster and safer.”
Headquartered in London, Skrill is looking to make their presence known in the poker world with a commitment to customer satisfaction through innovation and service. Not only that, they’re looking to be more than just a company by becoming a trusted and respected member of the poker community.
As we entered the tournament area the ever smiling Steve Watts wasn't smiling all that much for a change. His face told us enough, he had just been eliminated.
Former table mate Eoghan O'Dea told us that Watts had three bet the buttons open from the small blind with . The big blind cold four-betted to 9,000 and called Watts' shove for 13,000 total. The big blind had and would win the hand. "He was dead on the flop" O'Dea told us.
O'Dea is still doing fine, the WSOP 2011 November Niner (6th for $1,720,831) has about 75,000 in chips.
turn and Praninskas bet 3,200. Haglund called and the 
fell on the river.
board Antoine Saout was taking the betting lead. The WSOP Main Event 2009 third place finisher bet 5,500 from the small blind. His opponent, German PokerStars qualifier Marc Siebtroth, was seated on the button and thought about it for quite some time. He had all the reason to, the 5,500 Saout asked of him was a significant part of the stack he still had left.
flop. Two checks saw Salter bet right around 4,000, and then Deadman sprung to life with a check-raise to 8,425.
flop and called a bet from UK qualifier Ryan Spittles of 2,900. The turn card was the 
and both players checked. The river card was the 
and Ravnsbaek checked once again. Spittles now bet 12,700 and a look of surprise shot across Ravnsbaek’s face. He thought about it for a while, the call would cost him about a third of his stack. In the end he made the fold and Spittles added another pile of chips to his growing stack.
. The big blind cold four-betted to 9,000 and called Watts' shove for 13,000 total. The big blind had 
and would win the hand. "He was dead on the flop" O'Dea told us.
