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Level 7
: 400/800, 100 ante
Isaac Haxton will be re-entering straight away after he busted to Mike Watson.
Haxton's big-slick failed to hit against Watson's 
on a 
board. All the chips went in preflop.
2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 11 Malta
€25,500 High Roller
Day: 1
Event Info
2015 PokerStars.com EPT Season 11 Malta
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Buy-in
€25,000
Prize Pool
€2,156,000
Total Entries
88
Level
25
Blinds
25,000 / 25,000
Ante
5,000
Players Left 1 / 88
Filter
Level 7
: 400/800, 100 ante
Salman Behbehani is known for many things - mostly good - but is also known for being a serial slow roller, albeit always in jest . He most famously did it to Daniel Negreanu at EPT London in Season 10.
The problem is that when you gain that kind of reputation, you become a target. Behbehani just busted to Igor Kurganov in a pretty standard pot with a little twist.
The two were heads up to the river of a 
board and Kurganov checked to face a bet of 7,500 from Behbehani. He took his time and then check-raised enough to put Behbehani all in for his remaining 23,000 or so. Behbehani wasn't too happy but made the call all in and when he did, Kurganov flinched as if receiving bad news.
"Flush?" inquired Behbehani.
"Damn, you called it!" responded Kurganov as he opened 
.
"So bad!" said Behbehani, pitying his opponent's efforts as he opened his 
.
"Called it too good," Kurganov came back.
Behbehani and Kurganov were giggling through this whole exchange and former is contemplating re-entering.
Level 7
: 400/800, 100 ante
While the €25,000 High Roller continues, there's another tournament going on today, Day 1a of the €1,000 IPT Main Event . On the PokerStars Blog, they've been searching for a chip leader...
Level 7
: 400/800, 100 ante
There are a few subtle differences at IPT and EPT Malta compared to other stops on the tour. The destination is a brand new one for the EPT, the GPI’s Global Poker Masters will be taking place before the Main Event kicks off, and a whopping 68 events are scheduled over 12 days. Another change has seen a "special" €25,000 High Roller event added that’s running alongside the IPT Main Event. The 25Ks are normally reserved for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and EPT Grand Final in Monaco, so what’s the thinking behind this new, special addition?
PokerNews caught up with the man responsible for scheduling the EPT stops, PokerStars’ Neil Johnson. He was asked to explain the logic and thinking behind holding this special event and his thoughts on the tour’s high roller tournaments in general.
"We believe we have enough super high roller events," Johnson started. "We really like the flow of an EPT Season, opening with the €50K in Barcelona; then what used to be the £50,000 in London, now the €50,000 in Prague; then the $100K at the PCA and the €100K at the Grand Final. We don’t want to saturate with super high roller events, so there was never a thought of putting in a €50K or a €100K, but in previous instances where we didn’t have a 50K, we ran a 5K [pot-limit Omaha], which was fairly successful. It was very good in Prague, but then didn’t go as well in Deauville or Sanremo."
Johnson continued, "When we sat down to do the [Malta] schedule, we had the 5K PLO in where a super high roller would normally go. But then Toby [Stone], Thomas [Lamatsch], and I decided that there was no real reason we couldn’t run a 25K. The 10K and 25Ks have done really well and we know those players will be around, and we know it’ll achieve a better number than a 5K PLO. We talked to a few people at the end of last year, and it seemed to be really well received so we dropped this special high roller in."
After the original schedule was announced, the €25,000 High Roller had to be moved, and Johnson gave some insight into that decision.
"It then had to be moved from its original slot due to the Global Poker Masters," he said. "If that event didn’t exist, then it would’ve started Friday (two days before the EPT Main Event). It’s going all right as well today. It’s not the number we expect for Monaco and won’t get near the PCA number (269 entries in 2015), but for a starting event — especially before all the package winners arrive — we’re relatively happy."
Johnson warned, "We also didn’t want to spoil the 10K (scheduled for next week), as that event has become a really important part of the EPT. This is just a special event that we’re happy to include where there’s no 50 or 100K, besides the Grand Final and PCA. It fits that time slot well and if it draws 100 players and the €10K draws in 300, then we can say it fit in really nicely. It’s important to note that this is a special event though, not the EPT Malta High Roller. The €10K is the official Malta High Roller and we have SLYDE watches sponsoring that event, where the winner gets a watch."
There's always the danger that a poker tour operator can get carried away when a tournament has been a real success, like the super high roller events have been. As Johnson indicated though, saturation is a bad thing, so it’s safe to say that the future of the EPT is in very good hands. The EPT has always been innovative and never afraid to change and adapt when necessary, but also resists temptation to jump on moneymaking bandwagons, like excessive reentry events.
Level 7
: 400/800, 100 ante
After the player on the button raised to 2,000, 2013 PCA champ Dimitar Danchev three-bet to 6,000 from the small blind and Mikita Badziakouski four-bet to 11,500 from the big. The original raiser folded, and Danchev thought for about 45 seconds before moving all in for 39,000. Badziakouski, who didn't have much more than that, snap-called.
Badziakouski: 
Danchev: 
Danchev had some kicker issues, and things only got worse on the 
flop as Badziakouski paired up and had a flush redraw. The turn was of no consequence, and neither was the 
river. With that, Danchev hit the rail and Badziakouski essentially doubled up.
Level 7
: 400/800, 100 ante
Level: 7
Blinds: 400/800
Ante: 100
Level 6
: 300/600, 75 ante
Players are now on a 75-minute dinner break. When they return, they will play four more levels before bagging and tagging for the night. Stay tuned for plenty more High Roller action.
Level 6
: 300/600, 75 ante
On the newest episode of the Remko Report, host Remko Rinkema welcomes Mike Leah. The two talk about Leah's runner-up finish in the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic, a recent downswing, his love for mixed games, and more.
You can subscribe to the entire iBus Media Network on iTunes here, or you can access the RSS feed here. The PokerNews family of podcasts is now available on Stitcher.
Level 6
: 300/600, 75 ante
Dzmitry Urbanovich opened for 1,200 under the gun only to have Vladimir Troyanovskiy three-bet to 2,900 from the hijack. Action folded back to Urbanovich, and he four-bet to 5,800. Troyanovskiy called and then both players checked the 
flop, which brought about the 
on the river. Urbanovich bet 4,200, Troyanovskiy called, and the 
completed the board on the river.
Urbanovich paused for a minute before coming out with 11,000, and Troyanovskiy thought equally as long before conceding the hand.
