Event 6 - €1,500 PNC Alpine Main Event Day 1 | 2009 PokerNews Cup Alpine

03-25-2009 13:01 UTC+1

Main Event Begins

Guten Tag and welcome back to the Alpine Palace Hotel and Card Casino in sunny, snowy Saalbach-Hinterglemm, where the €1,500 No Limit Hold'em Main Event is about to kick off.

There is as yet no sign of the players -- presumably they are sleeping, skiing or indulging in one of the many other pastimes available to the casual winter punter in this part of the world. However, come 2pm local time (around an hour from now) there will be somewhere in the region of 180 runners gathered in the cardroom to battle it out at the felt for a shot at the prestigious Pokernews Cup title. Please stand by...

Level: 1

Blinds: 25/50

Ante: 0

03-25-2009 14:23 UTC+1

Wise Words

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Just prior to those immortal words, Tony G jumped on the microphone to offer some words of wisdom: "Know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em, and keep going all in."

Bah. And I was hoping for some stand-up.

03-25-2009 14:33 UTC+1

Loudest Table in the Room

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There is only really one contender for the volume award so far, and it is the table that is currently home to Tony G, David Saab and Erich Kollmann. G and Saab are beating Kollmann on the noise stakes so far, but Kollmann has a cup of coffee in his hand, so presumably he'll be perking up soon...

03-25-2009 14:36 UTC+1

Table of Interest

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Another Table of Note, or Table of Doom, depending on how you look at it, currently features Liv Boeree, Michael Pesek and Markus Golser all in a row, as well as yesterday's PLO final tabler Peter Overdijk.

Incidentally, the bandage that Golser was sporting on his wrist yesterday has transformed overnight into a full-on splint after a trip to the hospital confirmed that his arm was broken. We are reliably informed that he was skiing, but fell into a hole that someone had inconsiderately dug out of the piste. Oops.

03-25-2009 14:39 UTC+1

Star-Spotting

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A quick scour of the cardroom unveiled a few familiar faces, the likes of Liv Boeree, Erich Kollmann and yesterday's Omaha victors, Mark Schouten and Markus Golser looking to make this a very intriguing day indeed. Also present are Team PokerStars pros John Duthie and Noah Boeken, as well as Flying Dutchman Marcel Luske, donning his trademark inverted sunglasses.

03-25-2009 14:40 UTC+1

Eights Lucky for Duthie

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An early pot for John Duthie, after he raised to 150 and then called a reraise to 400 from his immediate neighbor Rosario Scalia. Both players checked their way down the {10-Spades}

board until the river, when Duthie bet out 500. Scala called, but mucked when Duthie showed him {8-Clubs}

.

Tags: John Duthie

03-25-2009 14:49 UTC+1

Play Your Cards Right

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The players, dealers, staff, sometimes even the media - they all get credit, but often we overlook the most important part of poker... the cards.

Making their tournament debut here at the PokerNews Cup Alpine are the brand spanking new Angel Playing Cards. According to my secret source, the cards are made in Japan and utilize embossed printing which aids durability. A thin plastic coating on both sides of the cards helps to protect them from damage and also makes them a little faster on the felt.

Given this information, players should surely be asked to wear gloves out of respect for the cards.

03-25-2009 14:55 UTC+1

Slow Start

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With a rather generous 15,000 starting stack, it's of no surprise that we haven't seen any early exits. I did spot a couple of smaller hands on my travels, however.

With the board reading {8-Spades}

, Nik Lackovic bet 400 and Farhad Kia insta-called. Both checked the raggy river, Kia taking it down with {9-Spades}

.

I also spotted Dmitriy Golovin betting 2,000 on the river of a {9-Hearts}

board. Trevor Neufeld made the call and showed {A-Spades}

, but was pipped on the turn by Golovin's {A-Hearts}

.

03-25-2009 14:58 UTC+1

Saab v. Tony G; Tony G Not Actually Present

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David Saab has been turning on the aggression, but his motives are perhaps somewhat questionable.

Saab checked a {J-Hearts}

flop to Kenny Hallaert in the cutoff to his immediate left, and Hallaert bet 1,000. Saab immediately raised to 3,000, and stared at Hallaert intently through his shades as the hapless bettor squirmed for a moment and then folded. Saab looked extremely pleased with himself. "Tony's big blind, yay!" he said cheerfully as he raked in the pot, including the absent Tony G's measly 50 chips.

Tags: David Saab Tony G