The European Poker Tour made a little side step to the beautiful Bahamas for the PCA last month, but now it's back on European Soil. The Deauville stop at the end of January has been a fixture in the schedule for years, and Season 11 is no exception.
The Main Event will start at 12 pm local time, so in about 90 minutes. The Main Event may just start today, but they have been playing poker here for days now. The €1,100 French Poker Series Deauville Main Event is down to its final day now with Argentina's Ivan "Negriin" Luca leading the final 22.
With the FPS High Roller on to Day 2 (144 remain, Cyrille Dupessey leads) and the €300 FPS Deauville Cup down to 33 players as well, it's going to be a crowded day here in Casino Barrière de Deauville.
A total of 119 players already registered for Day 1a. They include Christophe Ducrot, who won Season 4 of the French TV poker show Maison du Bluff, international chess master Gaby Livshitz who was runner-up in the Eureka Cup at EPT Prague in December, Kamel Tir who won last year's FPS High Roller, EPT Madrid champion Frederik Jensen, WSOP-E winner Adrian Mateos, EPT4 Prague winner Arnaud Mattern and EPT9 Deauville runner-up Walid Bou Habib.
In 2014 Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov finished runner up to Sotirios Koutoupas. What will 2015 have in store for us? Let's find out!
PokerNews.com will be here from start to finish for the Main Event and the €10,000 High Roller Single Re-Entry "8 Handed". The Main Event will start with 75-minute levels today, switching to 90-minute levels on Day 3. The plan for today is to play 8 levels:
Ognyan Dimov and Pascal Aznar: At it first hand (photo: Neil Stoddart)
Most players hadn’t even taken their seats at EPT Deauville when Ognyan Dimov picked up aces on the very first hand of the day. He raised, was re-raised, and then what happened? PokerStars Blog watched every players dream (or nightmare) play out and you can read it right here.
Whilst the EPT Main Event gets under way today there’s enough on Sunday’s schedule to fill a football team. From satellites to seniors via the conclusion of the FPS Main Event and High Roller here’s what’s happening today.
Martins Adeniya opened to 400 from early position and got Quentin Lecomte in the cutoff, and David Haroune
in the big blind, to come along for the ride.
Haroune checked to Adeniya on and the initial raiser bet out 800. Lecomte made the call but the big blind had bigger plans. Haroune raised to 2,200 and both Adeniya and Lecomte made the call.
The big blind bet out 6,300 on the turn and Adeniya didn't waste much time before calling. Things were getting a little too expensive for Lecomte and the Frenchman folded.
The completed the board and Haroune shoved all in for a whole tower of (big denomination) chips. Adeniya glanced at his cards one more time, before open mucking his .
We ran into Arnaud Mattern in the hallway, not a good sign when a new level just started and no break is to start for over an hour. Mattern told us he had a brutal day and followed up that statement with a series of hands that eventually resulted in him being knocked out.
In one hand he called a middle position raise from the small blind with . Mattern explained that his neighbor in the big blind was a very novice player who literally didn't knew the hand rankings, and so Mattern did anything to get into a pot with him. The big blind folded unfortunately so Mattern was heads up. Mattern flopped gold on and check raised the 500 continuation bet to 1,500. His opponent called and called the 2,600 bet on the turn as well. The river was the and Mattern bet 4,600. His opponent called with and so beat Mattern's flush with a slightly higher flush.
Another hand saw Mattern cold call with tens from the small blind after a raise and three bet to 1,000. The initial raiser called as well and Mattern was the only one check calling another bet on with two hearts. Mattern check folded to a second barrel on the turn and his opponent claimed to also have tens.
A third hand that helped eliminate Mattern's stack was one where the Frenchman called three barrels with on a board of . His opponent had jacks and Mattern was left with just about 12,000 after that hand.
With that stack Mattern finally found a big hand. Mattern opened with queens on the button for 400. Frederik Jensen made the call in the big blind and check called a bet of 500 on . Jensen checked called another 1,200 on the turn after giving it some thoughts first. The river came the and Jensen checked a third time. Mattern bet 3,000 with just a small stack behind, and Jensen pushed all in. Mattern was convinced Jensen had something like , or at least a better hand than queens, and mucked.
With just 4,800 remaining, Mattern squeezed all in with after a 500 raise and call. "This was just one of these days where the guy had aces" said Mattern who couldn't out draw his opponent despite turning a gut shot.
"Maybe better luck in Malta" Mattern concluded. See you there Arnaud!
What do you get when you cross Big Brother with The Big Game? In France, they found out and came up with La Maison du Bluff. PokerStars Blog learns more…
It’s been a good month online for Daniel Charlton, who won the Super Tuesday for the second time in January. But, as he freely admits, he’s taking his shot here in Deauville. PokerStars Blog reports.
On a board of there was already 6,425 in the pot and Gilles Huet from France checked from the big blind. Nitsche bet 4,200 from the cutoff and Huet raised to 9,500. Nitsche called.
The on the river made Huet bet out 6,500 with 4,925 behind. Nitsche announced all in and Huet almost instantly called.
Nitsche showed but would soon land that hand in the muck as Huet tabled .
PokerStars Blog takes a look at the men who continue to insist on playing in the women’s events, and the youngsters who have started showing up in the seniors’ tournament. Read allabout it here.
Quentin Lecomte, who's on the cover of the French poker magazine 'Poker52's latest issue, has been eliminated from the tournament.
We asked former table mate Jonathan Little if he knew what happened. And wouldn't you know it, we were once again talking to the guy responsible for the knock out we were inquiring about.
Little told us that his left neighbor had opened under the gun for 1,100, and that Lecompte had shoved all in for 8,400 in late position. Little woke up with queens in the big blind and made the call, the player under the gun folded.
Lecomte had jacks and came up short, no miracle for the French poker player on flop, turn or river.
and the initial raiser bet out 800. Lecomte made the call but the big blind had bigger plans. Haroune raised to 2,200 and both Adeniya and Lecomte made the call.
turn and Adeniya didn't waste much time before calling. Things were getting a little too expensive for Lecomte and the Frenchman folded.
completed the board and Haroune shoved all in for a whole tower of (big denomination) chips. Adeniya glanced at his cards one more time, before open mucking his 
.
. Mattern explained that his neighbor in the big blind was a very novice player who literally didn't knew the hand rankings, and so Mattern did anything to get into a pot with him. The big blind folded unfortunately so Mattern was heads up. Mattern flopped gold on 
and check raised the 500 continuation bet to 1,500. His opponent called and called the 2,600 bet on the 
turn as well. The river was the 
and Mattern bet 4,600. His opponent called with 
and so beat Mattern's flush with a slightly higher flush.
with two hearts. Mattern check folded to a second barrel on the 
turn and his opponent claimed to also have tens.
on a board of 
. Jensen checked called another 1,200 on the 
turn after giving it some thoughts first. The river came the 
and Jensen checked a third time. Mattern bet 3,000 with just a small stack behind, and Jensen pushed all in. Mattern was convinced Jensen had something like 
, or at least a better hand than queens, and mucked.
there was already 6,425 in the pot and Gilles Huet from France checked from the big blind. Nitsche bet 4,200 from the cutoff and Huet raised to 9,500. Nitsche called.
on the river made Huet bet out 6,500 with 4,925 behind. Nitsche announced all in and Huet almost instantly called.
