PMU Poker Pro Damien Lhommeau was involved in a hand on the 
board that saw him firing the turn as well as the river with the final bet being worth 3,200. His opponent called with 
for magic trips thanks to the final two community cards and the 
of the Frenchman ended up second best.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
27,000
-20,000
|
-20,000 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
82,000 | |
|
55,000 | |
|
53,000 | |
|
50,000 | |
|
||
|
45,000 | |
|
||
|
40,000 | |
|
||
|
35,000 | |
|
|
||
|
32,000 | |
|
19,500 | |
|
16,500 | |
|
12,000 | |
|
11,300 | |
Level: 5
Blinds: 150/300
Ante: 25
She may be the first person ever to buy only sliced apple from McDonalds, but that’s what makes Kitty Kuo one of the most original characters on the poker circuit, as the PokerStars Blog reports.
More often than not poker is about winning money, but every now and then it serves as a vehicle for something more altruistic. You see, Poker and charity have gone hand in hand for years. Tens of millions of dollars has been raised for various charities, from large-scale operations like the One Drop Foundation to smaller, localized programs like Tia's Hope.
On the European Poker Tour, one of their charitable endeavors has been the Helping Hands Charity Tournament, events that raises funds for PokerStars' charity partner, Right To Play. The events, which are held at various EPT stops, have proved so successful that it received a Charitable Initiative of the Year nomination in the 14th Annual European Poker Awards, which will be held on Wednesday. It really comes as no surprise as PokerStars' parent company, Rational Group, has a long and storied history involving charitable activities.
The latest Helping the Hands Charity Tournament took place on March 21 during the EPT Malta here at the Portomaso Casino in the Hilton Malta. The event, which boasted a €100 buy-in, began with a drink and canapé reception, which attracted a long list of poker luminaries including EPT President Edgar Stuchly; Head of Poker Communications at PokerStars Lee Jones, who was busy teaching newbies how to play at the training table; Miss Finland Sara Chafak and her better half Tuomas Varesvuo; and Team PokerStars Pros Liv Boeree, Theo Jorgensen, and Jake Cody, as well as PokerStars Sports Star Fatima Moreira De Melo.
"I think it's great for the image of poker," said Cody, who had flown in from the UK earlier in the day. "It definitely brings a lot of new people into the game by giving it a great image that brings people who might not have played before. It really gives them a chance to play for the first time."
Cody was one of 69 players to join in the fun that evening. Also in action were World Series of Poker bracelet winners Barny Boatman and Chad Holloway; Right To Play’s Neil Child-Dyer; Sue Hammett – Head of Corporate Giving at PokerStars; as well as the US ambassador to Malta, luminaries from the Maltese business world, and local politicians. As a result a total of €15,000 was raised for the PokerStars official charity, which as previously mentioned uses the power of sport and play to transform children’s lives.
As fate would have it, Cody made it all the way to heads-up play against UKIPT Brighton finalist Sin Melin. The two actually started at the same table, but took two very different routes to the final. Cody was short stacked right off the bat, while Melin chipped up and never looked back. In one hand just before the first break, she even scored a double elimination after hitting her gutshot straight draw on the river. She coyly checked, and Holloway bet with trip nines. Another player called, and then both ended up calling off when Melin check-raised all in.
"I had loads of chips, and he didn't have many chips," Melin told PokerNews about reaching heads-up play against Cody. "We only played one hand. I had queen-ten, and I think he had jack-six. He just went all in and I called. I don't even remember what the board ran out. All I remember is that I won the hand and got some bragging rights that I beat Jake Cody heads up. It was pretty cool."
For her efforts, Melin took home an iPad Air and had her victory immortalized with a winner's photo:
"It's helping children all across the world, so it's a good cause," Melin concluded. "It was really great. I met some really cool people — some people from PokerStars, some from the charity — and I had a lot Team Pros at my table, which wasn't easy but was good fun. I had a really good time, really enjoyed it."
According to their mission statement, Right To Play is a global charity using sport and play to educate and empower children and young people to overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease in disadvantaged communities around the world. For more information, click here.
For more on the Helping Hands Charity Tournament, check out PokerNews' highlight video:
Play will resume in 20 minutes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
51,000 | |
|
50,000
50,000
|
50,000 |
|
|
||
|
45,000 | |
|
|
43,000
9,500
|
9,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
40,000
13,000
|
13,000 |
|
|
||
|
39,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
|
|
39,000
-4,000
|
-4,000 |
|
|
||
|
36,000
8,000
|
8,000 |
|
36,000 | |
|
|
34,000
5,500
|
5,500 |
|
18,000
18,000
|
18,000 |
|
|
14,000
-6,000
|
-6,000 |
|
|
12,000
-13,000
|
-13,000 |
|
10,000
-19,000
|
-19,000 |
|
|
||
Sinem Melin registered late around 15:30 local time and is seated on table 1. In the last hand of the level, the Brit three-bet a raise from 500 to 1,100 and received two callers to a flop of 
. Her bet of 1,125 was called before the sole opponent checked the 
turn.
Melin checked behind and called a bet of 1,300 on the 
river to claim the pot with 
versus 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
21,000
21,000
|
21,000 |
A player raised to 450 and Davidi Kitai three-bet to 1,200 from the button. The player in the small blind, Domenico Campanella, called and the initial raiser folded.
The flop brought out 
and both players checked. On the turn the hit and Campanella bet 400. Kitai made the call and on the river the 
hit.
Campanella lead out for another 400 chips on the river and Kitai wasted no time raising things up to 5,200. Campanella looked back down at his cards and folded giving this pot to the Belgian all-time money list leader.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
66,000
29,000
|
29,000 |
|
||
Martin Jacobson opened with a 2.5 x raise from late position. His 500 raise got min three bet to 800 by his neighbor on the button. The big blind cold four bet to 2,700 and Jacobson paused for a long time, before calling. The button folded.
Remigiusz Wyrzykiewicz, the player in the big blind, bet out 3,100 on 
. Jacobson made the call.
The 
fell on the turn and Wyrzykiewicz, who cashed twice in small events here already this week, checked. Jacobson bet 6,500 with 18,325 behind and Wyrzykiewicz folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
37,550
4,550
|
4,550 |
