2010 PaddyPowerPoker.com Irish Poker Open

Main Event
Day: 1
Event Info

2010 PaddyPowerPoker.com Irish Poker Open

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a8
Prize
€600,000
Event Info
Buy-in
€3,200
Entries
708
Level Info
Level
29
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
4,000

Skalie Scalded

Former WSOP Main Event finalist John "Skalie" Kalmar has been knocked out by Andrew O'Flaherty. All the money went in on a {7-Clubs} {2-Diamonds} {2-Spades} flop, Kalmar holding {9-Clubs} {9-Hearts} but was pipped by O'Flaherty's {10-Diamonds} {10-Clubs} which stayed ahead on the {Q-Hearts} turn and {7-Hearts} river.

Level: 6

Blinds: 150/300

Ante: 25

Drum Roll Please

Jerome Bradpiece has just eliminated an opponent with kings versus queens, meaning he now has a grand total of... drum roll please, maestro... 5,500. Ah.

Yes, it's been a torrid day for the former GUKPT Walsall Champ, Bradpiece unable to truly get going and missing flops left, right and centre.

Meanwhile, Marty Wilson is cheering up/driving the table wild with his usual banter, even triggering a neighbour to sigh, 'You remind me of this woman I know, she just never stops talking either.'

Tags: Jerome Bradpiece

Barny Trouble

Barny before he was dealt kings...
Barny before he was dealt kings...
Barny Boatman has been frequenting the commentary box of late, which either means he's chip leader and has time to burn, or is out. Sadly, it's the latter, Boatman seeing his stack go south with the same encounter that has haunted him three years in a row: kings versus aces.

"I keep getting this hand, and now when I look at, I think, 'OK, how many chips am I going to lose this time,' especially here."

Ultimately, he played his kings rather slow this year, and ended up checking it down on the river of a queen high board to lose just a third of his stack.

Instead, it was left to fellow Londoner Richard Ashby to pick up the pieces, queens holding up against Boatman's jacks to send the Hendon Mobber home.

Tags: Barny BoatmanRichard Ashby

More For Mattern

Arnaud Mattern has just added a bit more to his stack, he called a reraise in position against the big blind and instantly called the push on a {10-Clubs} {6-Clubs} {6-Hearts} flop. His opponent showed {A-Clubs} {K-Clubs} but was drawing to running aces or kings as Mattern had {10-Diamonds} {10-Spades} for a flopped full house.

Predictably there was no miracle and the Frenchman took a sizeable pot.

One Gone; One Survives

Rene Brazda has hit the deck, {A-Clubs}{K-Clubs} in piping hot water against {Q-Spades}{Q-Hearts} on a {6-Diamonds}{Q-Clubs}{K-Spades} flop. The {10-Diamonds} turn created four outs, but to no avail as the river came {6-Spades}.

Meanwhile, Aron Gustavson just doubled up, in somewhat clinical style, {A-Hearts}{Q-Hearts} making a full house on the turn against {10-Clubs}{10-Spades} on a {A-Spades}{7-Diamonds}{A-Clubs}{Q-Diamonds}{5-Spades} board.

Mason-ry Stack Building

Occasional Pokernews blogger Jen "Djinn" Mason has 36,000 after making a good call on the river.

She raised to 800 preflop receiving one caller from the big blind.

Mason bet 1,200 on the {J-Clubs} {8-Clubs} {8-Spades} flop and got called. On the {4-Spades} turn, the big blind lead out for 2,200 and Mason made the call. The river was the {Q-Spades} and the big blind fired once more to the tune of 3,400.

Mason made the call with just {A-Clubs} {4-Diamonds} but it was good as the big blind just mucked.

James & the Giant Stack

"Yeah, you know it, baby"
"Yeah, you know it, baby"
James Mitchell is wearing a grin the width of the equator, predominantly due to his newly acquired stack.

Most of that ascent was due to a well-timed bluff. Picking up {A-Diamonds}{3-Diamonds} in the blind, Mitchell three-bet an initial raise of 900 to 2,800, which was subsequently called. On the {J-Diamonds}{9-?}{3-?} flop, Mitchell led for 3,600, his opponent made it 8,000, and Mitchell jammed.

"He thought for a while, but eventually folded," reported a relieved Mitchell.

Tags: James Mitchell

Cowboy Spells Danger for Mark

Mark Spelman has been eliminated from today's event, {4-Spades}{4-Diamonds} no good against Ola Brandborn's {A-Clubs}{K-Hearts}, all in preflop and with a king high board.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that early pace setter Brandborn had more chips than Harry Ramsden's after his out-of-the-blocks stack, but the Swede's stack has been up and down like a kangaroo on a bungee, and he still has 30,000, despite taking the most recent scalp.

Tags: Ola Brandborn

Raising and de Wolfe

A player opened to 675 and Anthony Romanello min-reraised to 1,350 at which point Roland de Wolfe thought this was wrong. He was told by the dealer as well as some of the Irish players including Alan Smurfit that in the Irish Open the min-reraise rule is different (as opposed to EPT's and most other tournaments in Europe). So in an EPT you could min-raise at 150/300 to 600 but a min-reraise would be 900, here at the Irish Open the min-reraise would have to be 1,200.

This did seem to irk de Wolfe somewhat but he immediately min-raised the next hand and took it down with a 600 bet on the {A-?} {K-?} {6-?} flop against the big blind.