For the first time at the Master Classics of Poker, a live progressive bounty event. After a successful test run in Rotterdam last year, the unique format has now been implemented in many local poker series in the Netherlands. And now, upon request by the players, a €1,600 version at the MCOP.
The concept is widely available online, but live some logistics had to be figured out for it to work. Holland Casino found a simple but good solution, and players seem to enjoy it a great deal.
Players buy in for €1,500 + €100. €1,000 of that goes to the regular prize pool, and €500 is put on players' heads as a bounty. If you knock out a player, you pocket half of the bounty, and the other half goes on top of your own bounty. That way, the more people you knock out, the more you're worth yourself. It goes without saying that this alters the game's dynamics drastically.
The event gets underway at 4 p.m. with 80 seats available. Players start with 20,000 in chips and no option to rebuy or to reenter. Levels are 40 minutes long. Day 2 starts at 2 p.m. tomorrow as the tournament plays till the inaugural Progressive Bounty champion is crowned.
1) After an open to 300 and a 3-bet to 1,000, Minten made it 2,800 from the hijack. Both of his opponents called so it was 3-way to the flop of . It checked to Minten who bet 1,200. One fold, the other player check-raised to 3,800. Minten called in position.
The on the turn saw Minten's opponent bet 10,000, more than enough to put Minten all in. Minten called for 7,500 and showed . His neighbor had for a flush draw and missed with the on the river.
2) The next hand, Minten opened for 300 from the hijack. The button 3-bet to 1,000 and Minten called. Minten check-called 600 on and another 1,800 on the turn. Minten then lead out for what seemed 1,250 on the river. His opponent called, but mucked upon being shown by Minten.
The player under the gun opened and Michiel Brosky, seated in the cutoff, called. The initial raiser continued to bet 400 on and 2,025 on the turn. Brosky called in position both times.
The completed the board and the initial raiser shoved all in, putting Brosky to the test for his last 6,125. Brosky contemplated what to do for just a bit before he called.
The initial raiser showed for not much of anything. Brosky collected the pot showing for 2nd pair.
We got there on the flop as Doug Roberts had bet 1,000 from the big blind with a board of in front of him. Bartel Kars, seated in early position, called. Ron Spronk in late position squeezed to 3,025 and both Roberts and Kars called.
Roberts and Kars checked on the turn and Spronk bet 5,025. Roberts called, Kars called.
The completed the board and again Roberts and Kars checked. Spronk shoved all in for a ton of chips, though we're unsure how much it was exactly as Roberts instantly called and Kars instantly open folded his , so the dealer never needed to do a count.
Roberts showed , the "big blind special" as he called it, and Spronk mucked .
On a board of , we saw Wim Anne Wesselink call someone's all in for 10,000. A third player folded. Wesselink was well behind with as his opponent showed . The river , though, helped Wesselink collect another €500 bounty, €250 ending up in his pocket.
The next hand, Wesselink opened the hijack for 1,300. Dieter Victor in the cutoff called, and so did the big blind. The big blind checked on and Wesselink bet 2,200. Both of his opponents called.
As the hit the turn, the big blind checked again. Wesselink bet 4,100 and his neighbor shoved for 12,425. The big blind folded, Wesselink called.
Dieter Victor:
Wim Anne Wesselink:
The river improved Wesselink to trips and he took down Victor's €1,340 bounty. Wesselink is worth €2,310 himself now.
Raul van Boxtel opened the hijack for 2,700 and the player on the button called. From the big blind, Noah Boeken shoved for 29,500 - putting his €500 bounty together with his chips over the line.
Van Boxtel tanked for a bit, later telling the table he had . The button called instantly.
Button:
Noah Boeken:
The flop came , helping the button in front. The on the turn gave Boeken a flush draw and he got there with the on the river.
The Master Classics of Poker debuted a new format of poker today, the Progressive Bounty. Holland Casino had experienced with the game before in Rotterdam, but this was the first time the game was introduced on the biggest stage in the small country of the Netherlands. The popular online game, frequently offered on most sites, attracted an enthusiastic field of players to Amsterdam. While the event originally had 80 seats available only, the tournament organization quickly decided to welcome more players, eventually getting 131 stacks out.
After 12 levels of 40 minutes each, Spel Sah Hwan came out on top with 27 players left. He had successfully turned his 20,000 starting stack into 244,000. Close on his heels is American player Doug Roberts. The former MCOP side event champion ended the day with 239,800. Wim Anne Wesselink completes the top 3 with 215,700 in chips.
Having mastered the procedures of organizing the progressive bounty, everything ran smoothly. Players all started with a white slip of paper with their id on it and their bounty, which was €500 for every player to start. When players busted someone, half their bounty was paid out in casino chips right away, while the other half was added to the victor's bounty. The organization updated the slips of paper and kept track of all of it in an Excel sheet. At the end of the day, some players had a bounty in excess of €2,000, while others still "only" had €500 in front of them.
Dutch pro Joep van den Bijgaart, who made final tables at both the EPT and WSOP and won an event at the MCOP before, was one of the earliest casualties. He didn't believe his opponent when a move was made and called with his over pair of jacks. Unfortunately for the amicable Van den Bijgaart, his opponent had a set of deuces and no jacks were seen on the turn or river.
While Raul van Boxtel was first to acclaim a big stack and Doug Roberts was also building, Rembert Net suffered the ultimate beat. While we had seen a 2-card ace-high versus a 2-card straight flush in the Main Event already, his beat might have even been a bit worse still. He got it in with quads sevens only to run into quads kings. There was no poker in the deck as no jokers were available, so that meant he had to leave the tournament with hanging shoulders, a photo of the board as the only thing in return for his €1,600 entrance fee.
The 27 remaining players return to action at 2 p.m. on Monday. With 17 players in the money, it won't take long for the bubble to be reached. By then, however, some bounties might be worth more than the €2,796 min-cash. The winner will lift a cheque with €29,900 on it tomorrow.