2008 World Series of Poker Europe

£10,000 WSOP Europe Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info

2008 World Series of Poker Europe

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k6
Prize
£868,800
Event Info
Buy-in
£10,000
Prize Pool
£3,620,000
Entries
362
Level Info
Level
28
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
10,000

How Did the Pot Stay So Small?

In the first hand back from break Karl Mahrenholz raised it up to 750 and the only taker for flop action was Erik Sagstrom in the small blind.

The flop came {A-Hearts} {6-Hearts} {A-Clubs} and Mahrenholz continued his aggression with a 700 bet when checked to him. The turn came {2-Diamonds} causing both players to check.

The river {Q-Spades} saw Sagstrom lead out for 1,700 and Mahrenholz call after a small deliberation. Sagstrom turned over {A-Spades} {J-Diamonds} for trip aces but surprisingly Mahrenholz tabled {6-Clubs} {6-Spades} for a full house!

Tags: Karl Mahrenholz

Level: 4

Blinds: 150/300

Ante: 25

Dominic O-Kay

An interesting pot just took up around ten minutes, resulting in a little boost in the stack for British player Dominic Kay. Now sharing a table which bears little resemblance to its starting lineup, Kay now has a new end of the table inhabited by Chris Moorman (now with a 67,000 stack) and Joe Hachem. It was Hachem who played this hand to its conclusion, betting 1,800 on the {A-Spades} {9-Hearts} {Q-Hearts} {6-Clubs} turn, called by Kay. The river brought the {5-Hearts}, and a bet of 3,225 (exactly) from Kay. Hachem, motionless, considered for a very long time, before calling, but mucked with slight irritation on being shown the {7-Hearts} {8-Hearts} flush.

By the Numbers

With five minutes to go before the dinner break, there are 126 players remaining in the tournament across 14 tables and the average chip stack is 25,200.

Fischman Unlucky with Kings

Scott Fischman has just doubled up another short stack while holding pocket kings -- this time, two red ones.

The beneficiary this time around was Daniel Alaei, who, luckily for Fischman, was even shorter than Linda Lee.

Holding pocket queens, Alaei managed to hit a {Q-?} {5-?} {5-?} flop for the double-up. Thus Fischman's bad luck continues, and he's now sitting with 12,300 in chips.

Stack to Stacked Flack

After that unfortunate literal coinflip with Andy Bloch, his last 5,000 went on {A-Hearts} {K-Clubs}, vs. {A-Clubs} {10-Spades}. Standard, except for the fact that most of it went in on a flop of {10-Clubs} {9-Clubs} {10-Hearts}. "I'm drawing dead," Flack announced on the {8-Clubs} turn, stood up and cheerfully left the tournament area.

Tags: Layne Flack

Three Pair FTW!

In a multi-way limped pot, there is a {10-Clubs} {9-Hearts} {7-Diamonds} flop which is checked to Jac Arama who bets 1,000. Isaac Haxton calls from the big blind and Barny Boatman also calls. All the other players fold and we go three-handed to the turn which is the {A-Clubs}. At this point, Haxton bets 4,000 and Boatman and Arama call and the pot is really swelling.

The river is the {A-Hearts} which could kill or create action either way. Haxton thinks for a good couple of minutes before checking, Boatman checks behind and Jac Arama gesturing towards the river says, "Horrible," as he turns over {10-Diamonds} {9-Clubs}. Boatman quickly turns over {10-Spades} {9-Spades} as Haxton mucks and the two Englishmen split the profits.

Heads I Call...

Flack: Wished it was tails
Flack: Wished it was tails
Layne Flack and Andy Bloch just got to the river, with around 4,000 in the pot. Some commotion attracted my attention; Bloch was staring at a 5,000 chip which Flack had thrown in as the river came down. The diamond-heavy board read: {8-Diamonds} {Q-Hearts} {7-Diamonds} {3-Diamonds} {A-Diamonds} and Bloch was debating whether to call him -- it turned out his bet was just 3,000.

"It's 50/50 whether I call you or not," mused Bloch.
"Want to flip a coin?"
"OK."
"Heads I call," announced Bloch, promptly flipping heads and looking a little bit reluctant. But he gamely threw in the chips.

"You win," announced Flack immediately. "An ace is good."
Bloch showed {A-Spades} {J-Hearts} and Flack threw the offending coin into a corner of the room.

Tags: Andy BlochLayne Flack