€7,700 + 300 German Open Main Event Day 1a | 2008 PokerStars.net EPT4 German Open - Dortmund

01-29-2008 19:05 UTC+2

Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

[user52009]

Gino Alacqua, runner-up in Prague in December, has been struggling from his seat between Juha Helppi and Alex Kravchenko. The Finn has built his stack to 17K and so has the Russian, who became European Player of the Year in 2007. Gino will have to be lucky and strong to come back and reach his second final table on the EPT.

Tags: Alex Kravchenko Gino Alacqua Juha Helppi

01-29-2008 19:45 UTC+2

Jelinek Wins Monster Pot

[user52009]

Refat Schuman from Malmo in Sweden flopped a set with {5-Clubs}

on a

flop, and Englishman Steve Jelinek, who raised from the button pre-flop, made an open-ended straight draw with {4-Diamonds}

. Schuman check-called Jelinek's 400 bet and then check-raised to 2,200 when the turn came {A-Clubs}

. Jelinek just called despite hitting the nuts. The river was the {9-Diamonds}

and Schuman bet 6,000, Jelinek went all-in for 11,000 and Schuman called after a couple of minutes in the tank, losing the pot to Jelinek, who is now up to 28,000. Schuman is still in okay shape with 9,000.

Tags: Steve Jelinek

01-29-2008 20:04 UTC+2

Minieri Eliminated

[user52009]

Poker prodigy Dario Minieri had a rough day and was eliminated after two hours of Day 1a. He was seated on a very tough table, with Thater, Mizzi and Eskilsson, and as there was a lot of action on his table, someone had to go.

Tags: Dario Minieri Hans Eskilsson Katja Thater Sorel Mizzi

01-29-2008 20:05 UTC+2

173 Players Left at First Dinner Break

[user52009]

25 players have been eliminated during the first three levels of Day 1a at the PokerStars EPT German Open. Half the field will enjoy some food during the one-hour break, and when they return, the other half will also get a well-deserved time-out from the intense competition.

01-29-2008 21:18 UTC+2

The Giant Slayer, Rinaldi

[user52009]

In a pre-flop battle, Claudio Rinaldi from Switzerland raised holding {K-Clubs}

, and Sorel Mizzi re-raised with {A-Hearts}

. Rinaldi made the third raise. After a couple of minutes in the tank, Mizzi went all-in and Rinaldi insta-called. The table showed {J-Clubs}

and Rinaldi more or less eliminated the player better known online as “Imper1um.” With 2,000 left in front of him we might see the well-known Canadian going all in pretty soon. Rinaldi has been tough on the stars today as he was the one to cripple Dario Minieri earlier, which resulted in the Italian's departure soon after. Rinaldi is now at a healthy 26,000.

Tags: Claudio Rinaldi Sorel Mizzi

01-29-2008 21:35 UTC+2

Marek Kolk Punishes Limpers

[user52009]

Estonian poker pro Marek Kolk was tired of seeing a table full of limpers and decided to make a move. One loose player raised, three players called behind him and Kolk re-raised to 2,300. The loose player called again, Kolk went all-in before the flop of {Q-Hearts}

had hit the table and the loose player folded. Kolk showed his {9-Clubs}

and he might get a call next time he makes a move. He now has 13,000 in chips.

Tags: Marek Kolk

01-29-2008 21:51 UTC+2

Finnish Stars Enjoy Their Dinner

[user52009]

The two big Finnish poker stars, Juha Helppi and Ilari Sahamies, are in Dortmund aiming for fortune. So far, it is Helppi who has been most "fortunate" and he is now up to 18,000. Sahamies is slightly lower. “I was down to 2,000, but now I am all the way back up at 3,200,” says Ilari, laughing out loud. In a few minutes they are back in the poker room, continuing their quest for poker glory.

Tags: Ilari Sahamies Juha Helppi

01-29-2008 23:04 UTC+2

Biggest Pot of the Day

[user52009]

Jens Voertmann from Germany was in the big blind with a nice stack, and he called a raise from an aggressive player in mid-position with {8-Clubs}

. The flop was {8-Hearts}

, Jens check-raised and the mid-position player went all in with {K-Hearts}

. No more kings on the turn or river and Voertmann won a 35,000 pot. He now sits with the biggest stack of all the players in the PokerStars EPT German Open – 48,000.

Tags: Jens Voertmann

01-29-2008 23:12 UTC+2

Jelassi's Full House Beats Thew

[user52009]

On a board showing {J-Spades}

, Ramzi Jelassi bets 3,500 into a 4,800 pot and Julian Thew goes into the tank. After four minutes, he finally calls. Jelassi shows {Q-Clubs}

for a full house and rakes the 12,000 pot. He is now up to 19,000. Thew drops back to 9,000.

Tags: Julian Thew Ramzi Jelassi

01-29-2008 23:29 UTC+2

Tough Table Just Got Tougher

[user52009]

Table 7 has been the center of attention throughout the evening at the Hohensyburg Casino in Dortmund. EPT Prague runner-up Gino Alacqua eventually couldn’t deal with the opposition and was eliminated 20 minutes ago. Even as the strong Italian left, the table got even tougher as Juha Lauttamus and two strong ladies, Christiane Klecz and PokerStars' Katja Thater, arrived at the table. Juha Helppi has the biggest stack with 26,000, Rob Hollink has increased his stack to 13,000, and Alex Kravchenko has dropped back to 8,000. No other table in the room has more spectators and probably we will soon have another elimination on table 7.

Tags: Alex Kravchenko Christiane Klecz Juha Helppi Juha Lauttamus Katja Thater Rob Hollink