July 15th, 2009
That’s a wrap…
For our Partners players, the World Series of Poker 2009 Main Event has come to a conclusion. It’s been a great WSOP with 2 of our Partners players finishing in the money for a total of $64,105!
It’s not always about the money though, as just being here in Las Vegas and participating in the WSOP Main Event is an accomplishment in itself. It’s impossible to not enjoy Vegas, and your blogger is confident that our Partners players will take many stories of their WSOP experience back home with them. Molle of RedKings mixing it up with the “Tiger Woods of poker” Phil Ivey, is a fond thought. A little sour perhaps that the Cowboys of the American sent Molles’ Big Slick to the rail, but hey…it was Phil Ivey. One for the Grandchildren I suspect. Railing Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson, when he eventually made the all-in call with Queens against Jacks was also a great memory from this event. That was a tense hand and even I nearly “fist pumped” the air when his Queens held up!
So congratulations to Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings for finishing in 425th position and taking $27,469 back to Sweden, and Christian Heich of RedKings for finishing in 166th position earning $36,626.
At the time of writing this, there’s still 28 players left in the Main Event fighting it out for a place on the Final Table in November. Phil Ivey is 2nd in the chip count…can you possibly bet against him winning?
July 14th, 2009Just one card…
With about an hour into Day 6, the prediction of early action was spot on. All those with weak hearts, I suggest you read no further.
Christian Heich of RedKings is the last player representing our Partners here at the WSOP 2009 Main Event. The German was in pretty bad shape going into today, but eventually found a hand and pushed with it. The RedKings player gets a call from Theo Tran and it’s the most important hand of the Germans first WSOP. Heich tables K♠ Q♠ and Tran shows 9♦ 9♥ . The RedKings player has to hit something…ANYTHING!! The flop comes out A♣ T♠ T♥ . It’s not exactly the perfect flop, but he’s got a fair few outs. The turn bricks. Reality kicks in hard as it’s all down to the river. Heichs WSOP 2009 dream will be over if he can’t find a river. Painfully, the river is another brick and the adventure of the World Series of Poker Main Event is over for the German.
Christian Heich finishes his first ever WSOP in 166th position and will take home $36,626. Finishing ahead of 6,328 other players isn’t too bad for your first WSOP! The RedKings player is obviously a little disappointed, but is amazingly still in great spirits and making jokes. Asking if he’s “going to play Blackjack now?” the German thinks a little and replies “Maybe. I wanted $8 million, and I don’t have that right now”. He gives the “Heich Smile” and your blogger knows everything will be alright tomorrow.
July 13th, 2009Another day of poker?…
Day 6 of the WSOP 2009 Main Event is underway. Christian Heich of RedKings has about a third of the average stack and will be looking to make big moves early on. The German is guaranteed $36,626 but when we hit position 162, the money will go up to $40,288. Heich is sitting on table 36 with the extremely useful, Theo Tran.
Seat 1: Hieu Luu – 2,181,000
Seat 2: Theo Tran – 1,205,000
Seat 3: Viet Nguyen – 363,000
Seat 4: Craig Boyd – 1,545,000
Seat 5: Owen Crowe – 640,000
Seat 6: Dag Palovic – 1,896,000
Seat 7: Tim Kahlmeyer – 1,315,000
Seat 8: Cristian Heich – 381,000
Seat 9: Ian Tavelli – 470,000
We’re at level 21 where the blinds are 8k/16k with antes of 2k. It’s pretty tense in the tournament area. Your blogger is approaching the stage where he can’t look anymore!
July 13th, 2009“9 out of 10″…
The last remaining player from our Partners has managed to make to through to Day 6!
Christian Heich of RedKings struggled through the later stages of the day, but will be returning to the felt in 14 hours to continue his WSOP 2009 Main Event dream! With 185 players making it through to Day 6, the average chip stack is now 1,050,000. Heich will be needing to come out the gates firing on all cylinders tomorrow.
Christian Heich of RedKings – 381,000
The German tells me that his table was “pretty tough” and he “wasn’t really able to play his usual style”. Towards the end of the last level, the RedKings player appeared to be enjoying a massage. Heich was relaxed and in good spirits as the day ended (no doubt thanks to the massage) and continued his great attitude towards participating in another major live event. Your blogger saved the most important question for last;
Blogger: So, on a scale of 1 to 10, what marks would you give your massage?
Heich: Probably a 9 (Trademark Heich smile)
There’s a hole in the boat…
The stack of Christian Heich just dropped under the average amount. I don’t need my “Spider Sense” to begin to tingle, to tell me that the German is having a cold run right now.
With a bet from the middle position of around 32k, Heich calls. The Big Blind then makes it 117k and gets calls from the original bettor and Heich. 3-way action. The flop lands Q♥ 3♦ 9♣ . Big Blind checks and the preflop bettor moves all-in. The RedKings player then tanks for a while and folds, as does the Big Blind.
In the very next hand the player in the hijack seat makes it 36k. Heich calls (on the cutoff), and the Small and Big Blind follow suit. The flop gets some light with 4♠ J♦ 6♦ turning up. With 4 people involved, no one wants to claim the pot and it’s turbo checked to the turn. When the 8♠ comes out, the Small Blind fires out 100k. Big Blind washes their hands of the pot, as does the hijack seat. The RedKings player asks the Small Blind “How much do you have?”. Heich gets his answer and calls. The river is a 3♣ and both players check it down. Small Blind shows 7♥ 7♦ for a middle pair and Heich mucks.
Christian Heich of RedKings – 735k
There’s an hour left of level 20 and 211 players remain in the WSOP 2009 Day 5, resulting in the average stack sitting at 923k. Unfortunately, Christian Heich is beginning to bleed chips. You’re blogger is off to find a Band-Aid!
July 13th, 2009Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?…
We’re currently plowing through level 20 where the blinds are 6k/12k with a 2k ante. With 36k in the pot before the cards are even dealt, everything seems to have value on it.
Christian Heich still floats just under the 1 million mark, biding his time to pounce. The RedKings player isn’t seeing a great deal of action, but at the stage where every decision could be costly to your stack, there’s no need to be a hero. He’s constantly stealing blinds and giving blinds back just to let the rest of the table know of his presence.
Christian Heich of RedKings – 970k
Only 225 players are still alive in Day 5 making the average stack around a massive 860k. For those interested in the chip leader, it’s a 3 way race between Matt Affleck, Tom Schneider and James Akenhead. Maybe we’ll see a certain German making a charge with those three players for the “3 million in chips” milestone? The RedKings player will be taking home at least $36,626.
Heich slows a little…
It appears that Christian Heich of RedKings isn’t seeing too much action right now. He’s dropped back down below the million mark, but still has a deadly amount of chips. There’s 50 minutes left of level 19 and only 258 players still in contention for the title. The average stack is now up to 755k. When play stops for the day the average stack will be over 1 million in chips!
Christian Heich of RedKings – 920,000
The field is thinning out at break neck speed, and there’s all-in’s left right and centre. Due to the amount of all-ins and the average stack creeping up on the RedKings player, finding a hand pretty soon could become important. He still looks relaxed and must have nerves of steel. However, you’re blogger doesn’t and every call, bet and raise lifts my eyebrows an inch above my head.
July 12th, 2009Everyone wants that bracelet…
The players have all returned to their seats after their 20 minute pause from poker. The smokers have had their fix, the caffeine lovers had had their hit and the famished have numbed their hunger.
There’s still quite a few “well-knowns” here as you’d expect. Here’s a few shots of those still chasing the WSOP 2009 bracelet.
The 1 Million Club…
…has just accepted a new member, RedKings player Christian Heich! The German continues to play his game and is accumulating chips from everywhere. I’m beginning to believe that he might actually final table the WSOP 2009…
The players are now on their first 20 minute break of Day 5, meaning that when the players return the blinds will be lifted up to 5k/10 with a 1k ante. That puts the average at an ever increasing 632k.
Christian Heich of RedKings – 1,025,000
There’s currently 308 players left in the battle for glory. That translates into the RedKings player leaving with at least $29,911.
July 12th, 2009Luck o’ the Irish…
That man Heich is giving off all the signals that he wants the WSOP 2009 bracelet!
Getting over to the table of the RedKings player, there doesn’t seem to be too much action. In fact, there’s more folding on table 16 than an Origami contest. But there was this one hand…
Heich bets 21k. There’s a couple of folders, then the Irishman in the corner announces all-in. Action’s folded around to the German who asks for a count. The RedKings player then calls and tables T♥ T♠ . He’s clear leader when the Irishman shows T♣ 9♦ . The flop is ripped open 6♥ A♠ 2♠ . All is looking well for Heich. The dealer then pulls out an A♦ on the turn. The Irishman is now drawing dead and the formality of the river brings a 9♥ . Heich collects the pot and stretches further ahead towards the 1 million mark! The Irishman turns to me and says in a broad Irish accent “Oh no. You’re not putting that in the blog are you?”, to which I reply “No no no, don’t worry”…
…Muahahahaha!
Christian Heich of RedKings – 935k
With 50 minutes of level 18 left, only 367 players are still involved in the chase for glory. The average stack is now 530k.
Too many days to count…
Day 5 of the WSOP 2009 Main Event has just begun.
Christian Heich of RedKings is the last remaining survivor from our Partners players. The German had a comfortable day yesterday and has put himself in good shape for Day 5. Heich sits well over the average stack and will be looking to maintain his momentum from that previous few days.
Christian Heich of RedKings – 830,000
We’re at level 18 now where the blinds are 4k/8k with an ante of 1k. We’ll be playing 5 levels today or until we’re down to 175 players. Which ever option comes first.
July 12th, 2009So close to Day 5…
Day 4 has ended with the conclusion of level 17 giving safe passage to Day 5 for 416 players, with the average stack around the 468k point. Unfortunately, only 1 player from our Partners has made it through to Day 5 of the WSOP 2009.
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings lost a huge pot with 9♣ 9♦ up against K♠ K♦ . That hand cost the Swede somewhere in the region of 300k. Things didn’t get any better and shortly before the break, Ramzi’s A♣ 3♠ was beaten by his opponents K♥ T♣ sending him to the rail. The details of how the hand played out are sketchy, but the result was the same. It’s heartbreaking news and your blogger is still in shock. The RedKings player finished in 425th position taking home $27,469.
So that leaves fellow RedKing player, Christian Heich, as the lone wolf from our Partners players who will return tomorrow with a chunky amount of chips in front of him. The German has looked relaxed as usual and has spent the day trying to inflate his already huge stack.
Christian Heich of RedKings – 830,000
Day 5 will begin at the usual time of 12:00 noon where the blinds will be 4k/8k and an ante of 1K. It poses to be another day of drama. You won’t want to miss the WSOP 2009 run in!
Day 5 nears…
Action with the RedKings players has eased off for now. Both Christian and Ramzi are sitting deep and letting their stacks run themselves for the time being. Both players will be taking home at least $25,027 with the next step in the payouts being another 35 positions away. Just 468 players remain now making the average stack a hefty 416k.
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 785k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 850k
Rumour has it that we’ll be playing down to around the 400 players mark or until the completion of level 18, which ever one happens first. With the end of level 18 almost 3 hours away, i’ll be putting my money on getting to 400 players before level 18 has even warmed up! In fact…I’ll bet that we’re done before the 18th level begins! You read it here first!
July 12th, 2009Big Blinds, Big Stacks…
We’re 30 minutes into level 17 where the blinds are now at a short stack killing 3k/6k with a 1k ante. The last hour has seen heavy losses to the field with only 567 players now. The average stack sits at 343k. Players are gauranteed $23,196 from this point onwards with the next jump in the money taking place in 504th position.
Christian Heich and Ramzi Jelassi are safely above the average count and don’t give any signs of relenting in their chase for Day 5. It’s no longer “Will they make it to the money?”, it’s become “How much can they take from the WSOP 2009?”.
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 710k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 770k
Suspicious Minds…
In the 12th hand of “hand for hand” play, we almost found oue bubble. Announced over the sound system, the all-in as A♦ A♣ against A♠ J♥ . Closely announced after the hands, was the fact that the all-in player had the Bullets. The restless crowd then started to chant “Jack! Jack! Jack!”. The aces held up as the board came J♣ 8♥ 5♦ … 7♣ … 7♥ . The railbirds sigh, the media sigh, and the other 648 players sigh. Following the conclusion of the hand, the voice from the sky stated “How does this guy feel? He has 648 players against his Aces!”.
In the 13th hand the Bubble finally fell on Kia Hamadani. All-in for his ante of 500, his 4♣ 3♥ never looked like doing anything against his opponents mighty hand of 9♥ 2♣ . The crowd erupts, everyone congratulates each other, and the media descend back onto the tournament floor. Hamadani does hear some good news though. WSOP commissioner, Jeffrey Pollack, announces that as Kia is the Bubble boy of the WSOP 2009, he will take home with him the knowledge that his WSOP 2010 Main Event buy-in has been paid for already, by the WSOP and the Main Event sponsors. Which then begs the question, was he really the Bubble boy or does that honour actually go to the 650th place finisher who really did leave the tournament with nothing?
July 12th, 2009651 left…
With 3 players needing to hit the rail before the money comes, play has slowed to a painful pace. There isn’t a player in the tournament area that wants to be eliminated now. The media are restricted from the tournament floor while hand for hand play is enforced, but that doesn’t stop your blogger from getting information.
Christian Heich still has around 730k, but Ramzi Jelassi has hit a streak. As the bubble approaches, the RedKings players fearlessly continues to play his style of poker with A♣ K♣ against his opponents A♠ Q♠ . Big Slick stands it’s ground and the Swede gathers a 640k pot! Not so long after this, Ramzi re-raises with 9♦ 7♥ and fortune flows his way as the RedKings player rivers a straight. He’s now got a monster of a stack!
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 800k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 730k
10 to go…
With 658 players surviving the first level of Day 4 and level 15 of the WSOP 2009 Main Event, 10 players from the remainder of the field will be going home empty handed. My heart already goes out to the “Bubble”. It can’t be a good feeling to play for 30 hours and then have nothing to show for it. Still, such is life! Ramzi Jelassi and Christian Heich are back on track after a worrying start for the RedKings players. Both players are smiling and seem in good spirits as they wandered off to enjoy their break.
Christian Heich of RedKings – 745k
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 315k
Play has just resumed now though, and the blinds have been stepped up to 2,5k/5k with antes of 500. Average stack is now up to 295k. Hand for hand play is enforced. The RedKings players are so close to cashing in the WSOP 2009 Main Event. Can they make it?
No hanging around…
Christian Heich isn’t here for the fun of it! The RedKings player has set his stall out early and just called a mega short stack all-in.
With the pot only in the region of 70k, The German shows Q♣ 4♣ and is up against A♣ A♥ . The flop arrives an unhelpful J♣ 6♦ 9♥ . Needing a runner runner to kill off the short stacks dreams, the turn bricks out a 3♠ . The Bullets hold up and the meaningless river is a 9♠ .
Over on table 27, Fellow RedKings player Ramzi Jelassi, has started the day bleeding chips. To cut a long story short, the action went along the lines of…Bet, Raise, Ramzi Re-raise, Call, Call. Flop. Bet, Raise, All-in, Ramzi folds. How’s that for turbo information? Unfortunately, the Swede was caught with his hand in the cookie jar and has now dropped down to around 200k.
Christian Heich of RedKings – 680k
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 200k
With half of level 15 completed, 88 players have already hit the rail. The average stack is at 277k. Just 53 players more before we reach the money. 648th place will get $21,365.
July 11th, 2009RedKings march on…
Welcome back to the World Series of Poker 2009! It’s Day 4 and two of our Partners players will be joining the 789 strong field in pursuit of glory!
Christian Heich of RedKings sits in 10th position with a mountain of chips totaling 735,500. Fellow RedKings player, Ramzi Jelassi, is currently in 109th position with 417,000 in chips. The average stack is close to 250k, so Christian and Ramzi are well on track to take their Main Event far. Chip leader at the beginning of Day 4 is Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier with close to 1,4 million in chips! The Frenchman has been busy!
The blinds are going to start at 2k/4k with antes of 500. Can the RedKings players turn up the heat today? It’s going to be awesome, so don’t go anywhere!
Day 3 ends…
Todays poker at the WSOP 2009 has officially ended. The players now have a 20 minute break while the chip race is conducted (the removing of all the 100 chips) and will then return to bag up their chips up for tomorrows action.
It’s been a day of glory and pain. Fortunately, the glory far outweighs the pain in losing 4 of our Partners players as Ramzi Jelassi and Christian Heich have created fantastic stacks to take with them into Day 4. The blinds will be 2k/4k with antes of 500. At 10,5k a lap, the RedKings players are safe for quite some time!
Christian Heich of RedKings – 735,500
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 417,000
The average stack is around the 240k mark, and the unoffical number (your bloggers guess) of players having to set their alarm clocks for Day 4, is 810. Remember 649th is the “Bubble”, everyone from that point on will be taking home some spending money.
It’s going to be great action tomorrow, so you don’t want to miss it!
German power…
Moments ago Christian Heich whipped up some drama here at the Rio. Betting 8k in early position, Carter King raised it to 30,400. Jason Alexander flat calls and Heich makes up the difference. The flop comes 6♥ 3♠ 4♦ and Alexander fires 25k. The RedKings player then pushes all-in and Cart King folds. Back to Alexander, who then takes his time about his decision. Eventually he calls and shows J♣ J♦ . Heich shows 5♥ 6♠ for a pair and an open ended straight draw. The German is going to need a hand within the next 2 cards. The turn refuses to help as it lands a 9♣ . He’s got quite a few outs and really needs one now. The river is a 6♣ giving Heich trips! The RedKings player knocks out Jason Alexander and now has an astonishing 710k chips! That moves him into 5th place and you blogger starts to feel déjà vu.
There 828 players left and the average stack is now 235k. Both RedKings players are above average!
Can the German go one better than the Aussie Millions finish of 14th?
July 11th, 2009Checkmate…
Ivo ‘The Chessmaster’ Donev has just been eliminated. All-in preflop with A♣ K♠ against T♣ T♥ the board read out 8♠ T♠ 7♣ … 4♥ … 5♣ sending the Austrian to the rail. Prior to Ivo’s all-in he told me he’s been losing every pot.
Fellow RedKings player, Ramzi Jelassi, has also been all-in. Small Blind bets and Ramzi fires back. Small Blind then pushes all-in and the Swede thinks for a while and then calls. The cards hit their backs and Ramzi shows A♣ K♣ against his opponents J♣ J♠ . The flop brings Q♣ 2♥ 2♦ . The Swede needs some help. That help arrives in the form of a A♠ on the turn. He’s just got to dodge a Jack on the river to double up. The river is a 5♥ and Ramzi collects the 300k pot.
Heich is still in charge of a rather hefty stack over on table 103. Less than 900 players now making the average stack around the 215k mark.
Heich takes a hit…
Christian Heich of RedKings just took a hit from Jason Alexander.
With the flop reading 6♥ 8♦ 2♥ Jason Alexander bets 20k and Heich pushes to around 60k. The Seinfeld actor then thinks a little and say “I think I might be going home now…I’m all-in!”. Heich goes way into the tank looking for a way to call the extra 132k. He’s gone for a while and then eventually folds. Both players muck and I’m none the wiser about what each player had. The mass of media begin to disperse and the railbirds go wild. Theres a “Go George!” and a “Yeah!” or two. I scowl at the crowd and it all calms down again. Heich is sitting around the 320k mark or so.
The blinds are now a stack crunching 1,500/3,000 with a 400 ante making it 8,1k an orbit. There’s 930 players left giving the average stack of 210k. Ivo is still surviving!
July 11th, 2009Famous faces…
So…want to see a few of the faces still in Day 3 of the WSOP 2009? I managed to get Jason Alexander to give us a smile. Didn’t want to break his heart and tell him that i’m actually only interested in Christian Heich on his table, so keep it quiet if you see him anytime soon!
Chip update…
The 3 remaining RedKings players are continuing to grind through the rest of Day 3. Christian Heich has improved on his already huge stack and is getting himself into great shape for Day 4. Ramzi Jelassi has been chopped down a bit since the last update, but still has a big enough chip count to make problems. Ivo ‘The Chessmaster’ Donev isn’t having the best of days and has been card dead since the beginning of the day. His situation is getting a little desperate, so the Austrian will be moving his chips into the middle soon enough.
Christian Heich of RedKings – 490k
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 141k
Ivo ‘The Chessmaster’ Donev of RedKings – 35k
Heich leads the way…
The players have returned from their dinner break now and level 13 has begun. Christian Heich leads the charge for RedKings with a huge stack in front of him. Just before the dinner break, the German used his pocket Kings well and made Quads by the turn. Jason Alexander then told him to “Go to dinner! Go to dinner!”. Ramzi Jelassi floats around the average. But Ivo ‘The Chessmaster’ Donev is in pretty bad shape with about a quarter of the average stack. To quote the Austrian “Next level I will go all in, I promise you!”.
Christian Heich of RedKings – 350k
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 190k
Ivo ‘The Chessmaster’ Donev of RedKings – 47k
Now down to 1,071 players battling it out. With blinds now at 1,200/2,400 and antes of 300, it’s a pricey sum of 6,3k a lap. “The Chessmaster” is going to have to keep his word!
90 minute refuge…
The players have all gone for their dinner break, well, the 1134 that are still in contention. When they return, the blinds will be 1,200/2,400 with an ante of 300 making the average stack just short of 172k.
Håkan Andersson of Betsson is gone but not forgotten. The Swede is updating me with pictures of himself lounging by the Venetian Palazzo pool drinking beer in the sun. It hurts each time I receive a message like that, but it’s nice to know that he’s still enjoying his time in Vegas, regardless of his earlier exit from the WSOP 2009 Main Event.
July 11th, 2009Dinner break draws nearer…
The blinds continue to run at 1k/2k with antes of 300. Our 3 remaining players from RedKings, are continuing to tough it out with the remaining 1278 players. The average stack is sitting at 152k right now and both Christian Heich and Ramzi Jelassi are well above that. Ivo is struggling a little on table 83 and has about half the average.
Christian Heich of RedKings – 345k
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 205k
Ivo ‘The Chessmaster’ Donev of RedKings – 74k
By the way, thought you’d like to know that Christian Heich is sitting 2 spots down from Jason Alexander (George Costanza from Seinfeld), and he’s not a bad player! Alexander sits just shy of the average.
The “RedKings” push on…
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet has just hit the rail. making it 7k with A♦ 9♦ his opponent (on Big Blind) pushes all-in. Lars makes the call and his opponent shows Q♦ T♣ . The Eurobet player hits a 9 on the flop, but his opponent rivers a straight. It’s crushing to see. Lars looks a little disappointed and understanbly so, but he’s still smiling as we talk.
Only 3 players representing our Partners are grinding it out in Day 3. Christian Heich, Ramzi Jelassi and Ivo “The Chessmaster” Donev. All remaining players hail from RedKings and have the potential to take the WSOP 2009 bracelet. Could it happen? Christian Heich is making a move on it already. The Germans stack is incresing everytime I pass his table!
Christian Heich of RedKings – 320k
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 140k
Ivo ‘The Chessmaster’ Donev of RedKings – 115k
Level 12 arrives…
The blinds have just gone up to 1k/2k with antes of 300. Using calculating powers known only to the likes of Einstein and Pythagoras, I have single handedly calculated that it will be costing the players a hefty 5,700 per lap! Expect the field to be cut down considerably within the next period.
Our Partners players have just returned from their break and all is looking steady.
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 73k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 114k
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 125k
Ivo ‘The Chessmaster’ Donev of RedKings – 154k
More pain…
Toni Ojala of RedKings just got involved in some action over on table 42.
With a bet of 3200 from early position, the Finn sits on the Big Blind with A♣ A♦ and raises it up to 12k. His opponent makes the call and the flop comes 9♣ T♠ 7♦ . Toni bets out 15k and his opponent calls. The turn is a Q♥ and Toni pushes all-in for his last 35k. His opponent makes the call and flips over K♣ Q♦ for top pair and a gutshot straight draw. Toni just has to dodge any Jack, Queen or King to double up and command a very healthy stack. The dealer then painfully slips the river out in the form of a J♣ and Toni is sent to the rail. It’s painful to see the friendly Finn exit in such a way. He’s played great poker and really had to tough it out up until this point.
Blinds are still on level 11, costing the players 800 for a small blind and 1600 for the big blind. With antes of 200 asked for every hand, it’s not getting any cheaper.
July 10th, 2009Blogger jinx…
No sooner had I said it was going to be a great day, we lose a player.
The constantly happy Håkan Andersson of Betsson has hit the rail. The Swede tells me he lost a chunk of change with K♣ J♣ cutting his stack down to around the 30k point. He then lost his remaining amount of chips with A♣ Q♠ against 7♦ 7♥ . The Betsson player obviously isn’t over the moon, but continues to be content with his time in the WSOP 2009. He tells me that he’s now “going to spend the rest of the day by the pool drinking beer”. Personally, that sounds like a fantastic idea!
Christian Heich of RedKings has also been getting involved and has now pumped his stack up to 220k thanks to flopping a set of Kings against his opponents Bullets.
The break approaches and once the players return, the blinds will be a costly 800/1600 with antes of 200.
July 10th, 2009Solid start…
Day 3 has begun strong for our Partners players with big stacks continuing their growth. Håkan Andersson of Betsson is maintaining his WSOP pattern by continuing to wear the same “lucky pants” and remains unshaved. Every little helps! Ivo “The Chessmaster” Donev of RedKings is in great spirits and has inflated his stack nicely. Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet has come out the gates flying and has triple the amount of chips he began the day with. In fact, everyone is getting into the action straight off the bat and pumping life into their stacks. It’s going to be a great day!
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 76k
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 73,3k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 148,5k
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 130k
Ivo ‘The Chessmaster’ Donev of RedKings – 165k
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 73,4k
Day 3 kicks off…
In the baking heat of Las Vegas, Day 3 of the WSOP 2009 has just begun with 6 of our Partners players in pursuit of Day 4. It’s a scorching 42°C today, but the action inside will surely top that! With people feeling the need (and urge) to inflate their stacks early, it’s going to be fast paced from the off. 2,044 players began today…i’m going out on a limb and saying that we’ll be left with 704 players.
The blinds are at 600/1200 with an ante of 200, which will cost the players 3600 a lap.
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 23,100
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 73,500
Christian Heich of RedKings – 88,000
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 78.000
Ivo ‘The Chessmaster’ Donev of RedKings – 85.000
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 48.500
Day 2B passes by…
After a lifetime of poker crammed into one day, Day 2B has finally come and gone.
Only 3 players managed to survive the crazy day of poker. Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet told me that he’s not exactly had the best days. Being down to 11k at one point The Dane informs me that his chip stack was so low, that all he could do is “wait for a hand and then push”. His stack was at such an amount, he was restricted from playing poker. He’s still smiling though, so I’m sure he’s happy to make it through to Day 3. Håkan Andersson of Betsson told me that he had a “tough table” and that he’s had to “fight for every chip constantly throughout the day”. The Swede is looking forward to his day off tomorrow, and understandably, is glad to be coming back on Day 3. He’s been “all smiles” during the entire day and is in great spirits. As he made it to Day 2B, he mentioned he wasn’t going to shave for luck. Will we see a fully grown beard by Day 3? Christian Heich has been the Christian Heich that we all know and love. The German’s stack has been up then down, then up then down and has finished the day with around the average stack. He’ll be joining the 3 other RedKings players on Day 3, making a total of 7 players from our Partners in action in 2 days time.
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 23,100
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 73,500
Christian Heich of RedKings – 88,000
With a day off tomorrow for everyone involved in the WSOP 2009 Main Event, it’s about time that your blogger topped up his tan! It’s only going to be 41°C…
The bad news just doesn’t stop…
Haavard Sørensen of Casino Euro has busted. The Norwegian had been short stacked all day and had managed to cling on to the bitter end. Unfortunately, he never quite had the endurance to last it to Day 3.
Even more horrific news, Asmo Votkin of PAF has somehow been sent to the rail despite having over 100k in chips. Details of the hand are unknown, but the Finn tells me that he made a “stupid move in making a big bluff”. Sometimes the go the right way, and sometimes they don’t. This is one of the occasions when it went horribly wrong. The PAF player played some great poker today and was in control right up until the point of his elimination.
There’s about 15 minutes left of Day 2B. With 3 of our Partners players still fighting it out, can they survive and move on to Day 3?
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 22,8k
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 69k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 62k
Heich strikes back…
Christian Heich of RedKings just got back to doing what he does best and put his stack to good use.
Pushing all-in preflop, the German gets a caller and shows K♠ K♣ against his opponents Q♥ Q♦ . The board manages to put any evil thoughts at bay when it comes 4♣ 6♣ 7♣ . The dealer gives the turn some air and shows T♠ . The RedKings player only has to dodge a Queen on the river to double up. The dealer unleashes the final card… 2♥ . Heich collects the 96k pot and now has a more managable stack suited to his style of play.
It could be an interesting race to the Day 2B finishing line.
July 9th, 2009Chip update…
Finally a post where I’m not talking about one of our Partners players being eliminated!
The blinds are getting to that stage where every decision is vital. We’re at level 9 and the blinds are 500/1000 with antes of 100. The average stack lays aroung the 80k mark and we have 3 guys below this amount. Can the remaining 5 players hold on for the last 90 minutes?
Asmo Votkin of PAF – 105,6k
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 28,2k
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 87,9k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 48k
Haavard Sørensen of Casino Euro – 32k
Will it ever stop?…
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings and Gabriel Gouttiere of Winamax have gone. The crazy day has continued and players are dropping like flies at the moment. From our Partners players, only 5 remain battling away with the hope of moving on through to Day 3.
Walking through the floor checking on our Partners players progress, I witnessed what has to be the sickest hand of the day. It’s 3 way all-in action with K♥ K♠ and K♦ K♣ totally dominated by A♦ A♣ . The flop landed 2♣ Q♥ 7♥ . The turn slid out a 4♥ . The rail birds were multiplying and a few “Ooh’s” and “Aah’s” could be heard. Surely the river wouldn’t be a Heart and crack the Aces? Poker isn’t that cruel is it? Sure enough, the river landed an A♥ giving one lucky player the nuts. To round off the hand, pocket Sevens and pocket Jacks were also folded!
Like I said, it’s a crazy day…
July 9th, 2009Close your eyes…
…there’s more bad news on the way!
Lassi Simola of BestPoker has hit the rail. The Finn only had around 16k at the last count, and with the tables breaking faster than you can say “Would you like that super-sized sir?”, I’d been hoping that he’d just been moved. No such luck.
Molle of RedKings just got involved in some action with Ivey. Ivey fires 2200 and Molle pushes back to 6700. The Swede has been firing like this all day against the American with a great deal of success. Ivey then makes a stand and re-raises to 20k. The RedKings player then moves all-in and Ivey calls right behind him. The RedKings player show A♠ K♠ against Ivey’s K♦ K♥ . The board totally bricks out and Ivey collects a 220k pot. Molle hits the rail.
Asmo Votkin of PAF – 88k
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 47k
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 89,3k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 17k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 62k
Gabriel Gouttiere of Winamax – …
Haavard Sørensen of Casino Euro – 50,5k
Gabriel Gouttiere of Winamax appears to have gone too. More on that soon.
180 players per hour…
I know it feels like there’s more bad news than good news, but I’m afraid that’s just the way it is right now. Brace yourself, there’s more disappointment to come.
Bad News 1 – Timo Annala of RedKings has gone. After losing a hefty sized pot with K♠ J♠ (Full house, Jacks full of Kings) against A♥ A♣ (Full house, Aces full of Jacks), he was then eliminated when his 7♠ 7♦ ran up against 8♥ 8♦ . The Finn gave a smile whilst telling of his exit, so I’m sure he doesn’t think it’s the end of the world.
Bad News 2 – Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers is gone. Unfortunately, I have no idea how this came about, but the Dane had been short stacked the entire day. I can only assume that he just couldn’t shake his cold streak.
Perhaps you’ll be interested in a WSOP 2009? The pace of today has been relentless with 1 player getting eliminated every 20 seconds on average. Crazy eh?
July 9th, 2009Dinner approaches…
As the dinner break draws ever closer, more bad news. Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson has been eliminated. Speaking to the Dane, he tells me that he lost a big pot and was tilted from that. Not too long after, the Betsson player admits to making a bad move that resulted in the end of his tournament life.
Good news though, Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet has been found! He’s pretty short stacked, but his WSOP 2009 is still alive. Also Haavard Sørensen of Casino Euro has been found. The Norwegian is also shortstacked. Unfortunately, Lassi Simola of BestPoker has now vanished as has Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers! I wish the tournament directors would stop breaking tables.
Asmo Votkin of PAF – 104,5k
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 23k
Jonas “Molle” Molander of RedKings – 83,5k
Timo Annala of RedKings – 10k
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 69,4k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 20,6k
Lassi Simola of BestPoker – …
Christian Heich of RedKings – 58,9k
Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers – …
Gabriel Gouttiere of Winamax – 31k
Haavard Sørensen of Casino Euro – 21,4k
Level 7…
The players have just enjoyed their first break of the Day 2B and are now back at the felt. Now, a post wouldn’t be a post if I didn’t tell you about the bad news.
Christian Heich of RedKings has had a bit of a setback, and now sits with a third of his starting stack. As with Day 1D, Lars Oerskov Jensen of Gala Coral is in hiding somewhere. The search parties have been sent out and will report back once they’ve found him.
Molle of RedKings informs me that he “likes his table, with the exception of 1 player…Phil Ivey”. I totally understand where the Swede is coming. Regardless of position, sitting at the same table as Ivey can only be an intimidating experience. The RedKings player is still grinding away though. Rumour has it that Asmo Votkin of PAF is now in the region of 100k.
Asmo Votkin of PAF – 100k
Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson – 34,2k
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – …
Jonas “Molle” Molander of RedKings – 57,9k
Timo Annala of RedKings – 10k
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 65k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 22k
Lassi Simola of BestPoker – 16,5k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 32,2k
Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 16k
Gabriel Gouttiere of Winamax – 36k
Rough start
Day 2B hasn’t exactly started in the best possible way. Short stacked Ville Ruuhonen of PAF has busted. Details on his exit are unknown, but with such a low amount of chips, the Finn was under pressure to make somehting happen. Martin Bjerring Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers has also hit the rail. With the board reading 4♥ K♠ J♣ … 6♦ , the Dane had all his chips in the middle with Q♣ K♦ for top pair. Unfortunately, his opponent had flopped middle set with J♦ J♠ . Practically drawing dead, Martin couldn’t catch a a King on the river and was sent to the rail. We have a few of our Partners players on the short side, and the blinds aren’t kind to those guys.
On a lighter note, magic has happened over on table 304. Molle of RedKings has position on poker god, Phil Ivey. It’s fantastic to see, and I’m beginning to fantasize about the Swede sending Ivey to the rail!
July 8th, 20092B or not 2B…
Day 2B of the WSOP 2009 has just begun with over 2,900 players here pushing for a place in Day 3. Speaking to Håkan Andersson of Betsson last night, the Swede tells me he’s “a little nervous about today”. The Betsson player played solid poker on his first day, and will be looking to settle the nerves quickly.
Only 4 levels will be played today (which results in all players having played 9 levels come Day 3) and the blinds will start at 250/500 with an ante of 50.
Ville Ruuhonen of PAF – 9,850
Asmo Votkin of PAF – 26,825
Martin Bjerring Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 25,500
Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson – 52,050
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 78,100
Jonas “Molle” Molander of RedKings – 53,900
Timo Annala of RedKings – 39,625
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 68,550
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 34,375
Lassi Simola of BestPoker – 20,075
Christian Heich of RedKings – 91,050
Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 24,450
Gabriel Gouttiere of Winamax – 36,050
RedKings March on…
Day 2A of the WSOP 2009 ended in glory for our Partners players.
With a skeleton crew of 3 players participating, the day ended with a 100% success ratio, as all 3 RedKings players pushed on through to Day 3. With chip stacks rising and falling constantly, all the scares and all-ins went the way we like. It was a tough day with 5 levels being played, but the experience of the RedKings player shone through.
Somewhere in the region of 630 players made safe passage to Day 3, making the unofficial average stack around the 94k mark. I’ll leave you with the quote of the day from Ramzi Jelassi…”My arm hurts after all the raising I’ve done today…seriously”.
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 107,300
Ivo Donev of RedKings – 116,500
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 60,700
Interview with Ramzi…
Live event regular, Ramzi Jelassi, continues to catch the eye of players and media alike with his typically aggresive style of play. After making it through Day 1A, here’s an interview with the RedKings player giving us the lowdown on his tournament play.
Ramzi Jelassi: 2009 WSOP Main Event from PokerListings.com
The RedKings guys are currently on their lunch now, but the good news is that all 3 players will be returning to the tournament area.
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 78.000
Ivo Donev of RedKings – 85.000
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 48.500
Day 2A Surprise!…
As a special treat, your blogger has jumped into the Rio to check up on the action of Day 2A of the WSOP 2009. The starting field was 1,476 players all battling it out in pursuit of Day 3.
Ramzi Jelassi, Ivo Donev and Toni Ojala of RedKings are in action today and are hoping to make it through to Day 3 on the 10th July. Their latest chip counts are below;
Ramzi Jelassi of RedKings – 78.000
Ivo Donev of RedKings – 85.000
Toni Ojala of RedKings – 48.500
Biggest Day 1 ever finally ends…
Day 1D of the WSOP 2009 has just ended and 6 of our Partners players have made it through to Day 2B. Lars Oerskov Jensen of Gala Coral tells me that the last level of the day he was pretty much folding every hand. Hopefully it’ll warm up for Day 2B. Martin Bjerring Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers didn’t enjoy the last level of the day and has been seriously chopped down in stack size.
Ville Ruuhonen of PAF – 9,850
Asmo Votkin of PAF – 26,825
Martin Bjerring Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 25,500
Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson – 52,050
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 78,100
Jonas “Molle” Molander of RedKings – 53,900
Around 900 players fell victim today of “bad beats, bad hands or bad play” and will not be continuing their WSOP 2009 dream. Our Partners players are still in contention for the bracelet and will only have a short rest before they’re back in action. If our Partners players are in action, your blogger is in action. Until then, I’m off in search of Elvis!
July 7th, 2009Another double fault…
Following in the footsteps of the last post, Rasmus Kordelin and Marko Kannusmäki of PAF have just been eliminated. Rasmus’ hand was decided on the river and sent him to the rail. Marko’s hand was a little different. Sitting with only 3 Big Blinds, the Finn finally pushed with 4♠ 4♦ and was called by A♦ K♠ . The flop came 8♥ Q♦ T♦ making things a little nervous. Tournament life on the life, the turn and river were always going to be crucial. Whe the turn landed a J♦ and his opponent hit the nut straight, it left the PAF player drawing dead. The formality of the river brought a T♠ but Marko was already out of his seat and walking away before it hit the felt. A “Well played buddy” came from the table, but I suspect the Finn was too far away by that time to hear.
There’s about 40 minutes left of Day 1D and 6 of our Partners players are chasing entry into Day 2B. Ville Ruuhonen and Asmo Votkin of PAF are relatively shortstacked with 16k and 29k respectively. Martin Bjerring Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers still leads the charge from our Partners players and even though French poker player Brice Cournut sits with a 100k+ stack a few spots to the right of the Dane, his pursuit for a monster stack marches on!
July 7th, 2009Get the tissues ready…
Petteri Häppölä and Timo “lapikas” Isotalo of PAF have both fallen in this last level. Petteri’s elimination is unknown at this point, and to be honest, you really don’t want to here about Timo’s…but I’ll tell you anyway. After pushing in on the turn with K♣ K♦ and getting called by 4♦ 4♥ all was looking well until an evil river delivered a fatal blow. His opponent hit a solid 2 outer for a set and sent the Finn to the rail.
That leaves 8 players from our Partners still involved in todays action. Unfortunately, 3 of those 8 are pretty short stacked and will need to make something happen if they want to survive the last 90 minutes of level 5, where the blinds are 200/400 with an ante of 50. Martin Bjerring Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers, Lars Oerskov Jensen of Gala Coral and Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson are all going strong though!
Ville Ruuhonen of PAF – 16k
Rasmus Kordelin of PAF – 10,5k
Marko Kannusmäki of PAF – 6k
Asmo Votkin of PAF – 29,1k
Martin Bjerring Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 100k
Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson – 60k
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 78k
Jonas “Molle” Molander of RedKings – 44k
Big Fat Day 1D…
For those interested in the finer details of the WSOP 2009, you’ll be interested to know that 2,809 players played Day 1D. A statement form Harrahs informs us that this is the biggest number of participants on Day since the beginning of time! That makes a grand total of 6,494 players for the World Series of Poker 2009. With a total prize pool a whopping $61,043,600 there will be 648 players cashing in the Main Event. I already feel sorry for player 649.
If any of our Partners players make it to the Final table, this is the information they’re most interested in;
1st — $8,546,435
2nd — $5,182,601
3rd — $3,479,485
4th — $2,502,787
5th — $1,953,395
6th — $1,587,133
7th — $1,404,002
8th — $1,300,228
9th — $1,263,602
Things are on the up…
The 90 minute dinner break seems to have done wonders for our Partners players, with 9 out of the 10 remaining contenders improving on their stacks upon returning to their tables.
Ville Ruuhonen of PAF – 22,3k
Timo “lapikas” Isotalo of PAF – 36,4k
Rasmus Kordelin of PAF – 19,4k
Marko Kannusmäki of PAF – 47k
Asmo Votkin of PAF – 28,5k
Petteri Häppölä of PAF – 21k
Martin Bjerring Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 64k
Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson – 35,8k
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 64,2k
Jonas “Molle” Molander of RedKings – 48,8k
The blinds are at 150/300 with an ante of 25. Will all ten of our Partners players make it through the immense field? Only a few hours left to survive Day 1D, so it’s going to be an action packed finish!
July 7th, 2009Take me to the river…
Shortly after our Partners players returned from their lunch, RedKings player “Molle” was moving his chips about with confidence.
With the pot at around the 4200 mark and the board reading out J♣ 9♠ A♠ … A♥ , it’s checked to the Swede who checks then checks behind his opponent. The river is fired out and a Q♠ is shown. Another check to the RedKings player who bets 2550. His opponent gives the bet some thought and calls it down. Molle shows T♥ 8♥ for a Queen High straight and his opponent mucks. The pot is slid over to the Swede who begins to stack it up.
July 7th, 2009Missing In Action…
As the players are about to head off for their lunch, I’m afraid I have to deliver some bad news. Dave Hudson of Gala Coral and Jesper Petersen of Bet24 will not be returning to the action. They’re currently “MIA” and are nowhere to be seen. The rest of our Partners players are grinding onwards though!
Ville Ruuhonen of PAF – 19k
Timo “lapikas” Isotalo of PAF – 16,9k
Rasmus Kordelin of PAF – 17,3k
Marko Kannusmäki of PAF – 26k
Asmo Votkin of PAF – 24,4k
Petteri Häppölä of PAF – 11,8k
Martin Bjerring Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 46,5k
Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson – 30,4k
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – 62,7k
Jonas “Molle” Molander of RedKings – 69,7k
Kallenbach tanks…
Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson was just forced to make a “life or death” call to keep his WSOP 2009 dream alive.
There’s a bet from the cut-off to 800, against the Danes Big Blind. The Betsson player then raises to 2400. His opponent doesn’t take too long to decide and slides his stack all-in. Daniel then goes into the tank…and sits there for a while. Time continues to pass on while Daniel goes through a million thoughts. Checking his cards over and over, I can see he’s the holding Ladies. Eventually calling and flipping over his Q♥ Q♦ , his opponent understandably doesn’t look too happy when he shows his J♦ J♣ . The Betsson players stands up and fist pumps the air and accompanies his actions with a “YES!”. He’s ahead, and the flop is shown some light. 8♣ T♠ 2♠ . It’s a good flop for the Dane and the turn is quickly sent out in the form of a 3♠ . It’s a great turn for the Daniel. If he dodges one of the 2 Jacks left in the deck, he’ll knock out a player and inflate his stack. The river lands 9♦ and the Betsson player moves up to 39,3k.
July 7th, 2009Lars is alive!…
Your blogger has obviously spent too much time in the sun, because Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet is still playing! Flying high with a nice chunky stack approaching 50k. If we can find the Dane, who knows, maybe your blogger will bump into Elvis somewhere? We can only hope!
A few of our Partners players are a little on the short side, but overall everything seems to be on track for a big Day 2B presence. Not wanting to start a trend here, but it now appears that Dave Hudson of Gala Coral has been eliminated.
Ville Ruuhonen of PAF – 30,9k
Timo Isotalo of PAF – 18,6k
Rasmus Kordelin of PAF – 30,2k
Marko Kannusmäki of PAF – 29,2k
Asmo Votkin of PAF – 19,3k
Petteri Häppölä of PAF – 23,8k
Dave Hudson of Gala Coral – …
Martin Bjerring Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 59,7k
Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson – 15k
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – …
Jonas “Molle” Molander of RedKings – 28,9k
Jesper Petersen of Bet24 – 17,3k
Viva Lars Vegas…
The players have just enjoyed their first break of the day. Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson tells me that he has a “tough table”. The Dane isn’t too keen on it, but seems content with his day so far. Rasmus Kordelin of PAF informs me that he “likes his table, but there’s 1 or 2 aggressive players” keeping the table on their toes. Jonas “Molle” Molander of RedKings is, as always, very happy and smiley. It seems like nothing will ever dampen the young Swede’s mood.
Just in case you think it’s all going to plan. Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet is definitely not in the building. The details of his elimination have not been uncovered, but I’d bet Grandma that he’s no longer in contention for the WSOP 2009 Maine Event bracelet!
Level 2 has already begun with the blinds costing 100/200.
2 hours in…
Our Partners players have just enjoyed their first break of Day 1D.
There’s a couple of early movers with Marko Kannusmäki of PAF leading the charge. Dave Hudson of Gala Coral is also close behin the Finn. The rest of our Partners players are still floating around their starting stack. With a lot of the day left, there’s not exactly a sense of urgency around the tournament area.
Unfortunately, there’s some early news that may disturb some readers. Lars Oerskov Jensen of Gala Coral seems to have hit the rail early. More on that to come.
Ville Ruuhonen of PAF – 35,7k
Timo Isotalo of PAF – 30k
Rasmus Kordelin of PAF – 34,2k
Marko Kannusmäki of PAF – 49,2k
Asmo Votkin of PAF – 27,7k
Petteri Häppölä of PAF – 31k
Dave Hudson of Gala Coral – 42,2k
Martin Bjerring Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 34k
Daniel Kallenbach of Betsson – 29,7k
Lars Oerskov Jensen of Eurobet – …
Jonas “Molle” Molander of RedKings – 24,3k
Jesper Petersen of Bet24 – 22,1k
Hangovers and power naps…
The first hour has passed and as you can imagine, the action has been intense! Or perhaps not…
Very much in sync with yesterdays start, the action and drama hasn’t arrived yet. However, your blogger is eagerly awaiting for it to kick off! The mass of players involved today means that play has been spread to three rooms here at the Rio. The atmosphere is still well preserved though.
Our Partners players all look ready for the day ahead and seem in good spirits. The “Vegas Experience” has been kept to a minimum with only a handful of players carrying a hangover after only a few hours sleep. And before you ask, no…your blogger isn’t in that category! I am getting a little tired of the endless supply of Beef Jerky in the Media room though…
Chip counts coming soon so don’t go anywhere!
July 6th, 2009It’s that time again!
Day 1D of the WSOP 2009 has just begun and the players only have to survive for approximately 12 hours to make it through to Day 2B.
Our Partners are represented in force today with players from Bet24, Betsson, Gala Coral, Scandic Bookmakers, RedKings and PAF all making a charge for Day2B. The blinds are once more 50/100 and the starting stack is again 30k.
Rumour has it that todays play has reached it’s cap and there’s no more space left. Walking through the tournament registration area, potential players are offering registered players $15,000 for their seat. To say it’s busy, may well be the understatement of the year!
July 6th, 2009The Magnificent Seven…
That’s it for Day 1C!
Only a few casualties have fallen from our Partners players. There was a starting field of 1696 players today, but that has been cut down considerably going into Day 2B. Christian Heich has maintained his presence over on table 44 and takes a mammoth amount of chips with him onwards to the next day of play. Unfortunately, short stack Jens Jacobsen of Bet24 has been eliminated. He was facing a task and a half to survive the end of Day 1C, so it hasn’t come as a shock to your blogger.
It’s been a hectic day, and seven players of our Partners (at least) live to fight another day!
Timo Annala of RedKings – 39,625
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 68,550
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 34,375
Lassi Simola of BestPoker – 20,075
Christian Heich of RedKings – 91,050
Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 24,450
Rémi Castaignon of Winamax – 36,050
Tomorrow will be a little bit of “same same but different” with fresh faces from our Partners battling it out for the WSOP 2009 glory! Set your alarms!
Almost there…
Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Getting to the table at the turn, the board reads out J♠ 9♣ 6♣ … 9♦ . Jesper checks, and there’s a bet of 6500. The Scandic Bookmakers player calls. The river arrives in the form of a K♦ . The early position checks and Jesper bets 13k. His opponent goes into the tank. It feels like he’ll never leave it, but eventually calls showing 9♠ 8♠ . The Dane reluctantly turns over his A♠ Q♠ for Ace high. Your blogger grimaces and wanders off muttering words of dismay under his breath. Jesper still has about 22k left after the hand, but with the end of Day 1C fast approaching and an orbit costing 1050, he’s not exactly in “great shape”.
July 6th, 2009Poker is easy…
…if you’re Christian Heich! The German is tearing it up on the felt and is fast approaching the 100k mark. Can the RedKings player go one better than his Aussie Millions finish, and final table the WSOP?
The stacks of our Partners players are covering just about every point of the spectrum at the moment. Jens Jacobsen of Bet24 and Rémi Castaignon of Winamax are on the short side currently, and will need to pull the rabbit out of the hat to make it through to Day 2B.
Timo Annala of RedKings – 31,3k
Jens Jacobsen of Bet24 – 10,5k
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 58,7k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 44k
Lassi Simola of BestPoker – 25,3k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 95k
Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 52,6k
Gabriel Gouttiere of Winamax – 20k
Mads Smith Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – …
The blinds are at 200/400 with an ante of 50. A quarter of the starting field has hit the rail leaving the average stack at 39,6k.
Level 4 ends, Level 5 begins…
Level 5 has just begun on a sour note. Lars Tofte of Betsafe just put his chips to use over on table 19.
With the pot over 2k and the flop showing Q♦ 4♦ 6♦ , there’s a bet of 1300. The Dane calls it and the turn is whipped out A♣ . His opponent bets 2100 and after counting his stack the Betsafe player sticks it all in the middle. He’s quickly called and the cards get some light. The Dane shows A♠ 4♠ for two pair, but he’s up against it when his opponent shows J♦ 9♦ . Only 6 cards left in the deck can stop Lars from being eliminated. The Dane is already preparing to stand up as the river is spat out 5♦ . He’s gone. The Dane doesn’t hang around and crosses the rail.
While I’m on the subject of bad news, Mads Smith Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers has vanished! I fear the worst, and am pretty sure the Danes dreams of taking home the WSOP 2009 Main Event bracelet are over.
Not wanting to be all doom and gloom, event #1 winner at the Aussie Millions 2009 Christian Heich, is romping through the field and has a monolith of chips in front of him. The German is showing the same form that took him to 14th place in the Aussie Millions six months ago, and floats around in the top 10 for the day. Håkan Andersson of Betsson and Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers are also running well and both are over the 50k mark.
July 6th, 2009There’s a casualty…
Moments ago Kari Somer of BestPoker was eliminated. The shortstacked Finn obviously wasn’t over the moon about it, but with his small amount of chips, it was always going to be an uphill struggle to get back on track. Fellow BestPoker player Lassi Simola, has pumped his stack up to a very healthy 66k and that man Christian Heich of RedKings, has been using his aggresive style of play to nurture his chip count up to 50k.
Lars Tofte of Betsafe – 27k
Mads Smith Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 35k
Timo Annala of RedKings – 36,3k
Jens Jacobsen of Bet24 – 16k
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 53,2k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 25k
Lassi Simola of BestPoker – 66k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 50k
Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 37k
Gabriel Gouttiere of Winamax – 28,7k
90 minutes of refuge…
Our Partners players have now played 3 levels and are now on a well deserved dinner break of 90 minutes. Håkan Andersson of Betsson will no doubt enjoy his lunch after inflating his stack up to 52k. Kari Somer of BestPoker is on the short side with only 13,4k.
Lars Tofte of Betsafe – 26k
Mads Smith Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 20,8k
Timo Annala of RedKings – 36,8k
Jens Jacobsen of Bet24 – 22,4k
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 52k
Kari Somer of BestPoker – 13,4k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 28,2k
Lassi Simola of BestPoker – 26,1k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 31k
Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 37k
Gabriel Gouttiere of Winamax – 30,5k
When the players return, the blinds will be 150/300 with an ante of 25.
Everybody’s at it…
They must be putting something in the drinks, as the players seem to have woken up and are beginning to fight for chips. Shortly after the action over on table 15, Lars Tofte of Betsafe stands his ground in Day 1C of the WSOP 2009.
Limping in UTG (Under The Gun) there’s a chunky raise to 1200. Folded all the way around to the Dane, the Betsafe player calls. Out comes the flop T♠ 5♠ Q♥ . Lars Checks and his opponent fires 1200. The Dane wastes no time and raises to 3600. His opponent thinks for a while and asks for a count. The count is made and then the 3600 is called. The turn comes 4♠ and both players check in turn. The river is dealt 3d and Lars launches a 5300 bet. Eventually his opponent folds and the Betsafe player collects the pot. He then shows T♥ T♣ for a flopped set. Nice!
The lunch break is just a matter of moments away now.
July 6th, 2009Action builds…
Moments ago, Kari Somer of BestPoker and Mads Smith Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers (seated on table 15) got themselves involved in some action.
Getting to the table with a pot of over 2k already built, the flop reads 8♣ 2♣ 4♦ , Kari checks to Mad, Mad checks it around to late position, and late position comes out with a 2800 bet. Kari and Mads both call the bet and the turn lands a T♥ . It’s check Kari, check Mads…and then another bet from the late position of 7300. Kari wastes no time in folding, but Mads thinks briefly before calling. The river gets some air and comes a K♥ . Mads checks once more, and his opponent now shoots out an 8000 bet. The Dane thinks for a while before calling. His opponent shows A♠ A♦ and the Scandic Bookmaker mucks. It’s not the end of the world as the Dane still has about 21k in front of him.
July 6th, 2009Slow motion at the Rio…
Level 2 is now in full flow and the players will be off for a break soon. As you may have guessed, with the blinds so low and the players sitting fairly deep, the action is pretty sparse. It’s not a sombre affair, but it’s not exactly the livliest party in town yet. So with little action to report, here’s some chip counts;
Lars Tofte of Betsafe – 21k
Mads Smith Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 33k
Timo Annala of RedKings – 27,2k
Jens Jacobsen of Bet24 – 30,7k
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 30,5k
Kari Somer of BestPoker – 23,5k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 30,5k
Lassi Simola of BestPoker – 27,8k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 30k
Jesper Birger Kristensen of Scandic Bookmakers – 37k
Gabriel Gouttiere of Winamax – 29k
“Playa’s say what?”…
Catching Timo Annala of RedKings during the break, the Finn tells me he’s “quite happy with the first level”, although just before the break he did come off the wrong side in a 20k pot. He appears quite content and i’m sure it’s just a minor set back. Kari Somer of BestPoker tells me his “table is a bit tight, but it’s going ok”. It also has to be mentioned that the Finn has an awesome set of poker glasses. I’m thinking of offering him money for them! Jens Jacobsen of Bet24 qualified online for only $10 and informs me that his table doesn’t have too many fish. He says it’s getting hard to steal pots. The Dane is in great spirits and smiling form ear to ear!
The second level of the day is now underway and the blinds have been raised to a mere 100/200. With 2 hours of the second level to be had, there’s bound to be some chip movements from our Partners players.
Steady as she goes…
The first 2 hours of Day 1C have come and passed without “trouble” making an appearance.
Our Partners players have guided themselves safely through the first 2 hours of play, amongst a throng of other poker players all chasing their WSOP 2009 dream. Not a great deal of action has happened in all fairness (with the exception of Daniel Negreanu’s early exit) and the majority of our Partners players are all floating around the 30k starting stack still. Lassi Simola of BestPoker has started well and now approaches the 40k mark.
Here’s a selection of players for you to peruse over;
Lars Tofte of Betsafe – 27,3k
Mads Smith Hansen of Scandic Bookmakers – 28,5k
Timo Annala of RedKings – 27,2k
Jens Jacobsen of Bet24 – 30,7k
Håkan Andersson of Betsson – 28,7k
Kari Somer of BestPoker – 27,3k
Stephan Kjaerstad of RedKings – 34k
Lassi Simola of BestPoker – 39,7k
Christian Heich of RedKings – 30k
And they’re off!…
Day 1C of the WSOP 2009 is upon us!
Our Partners are represented in force today with players from BestPoker, Bet24, Betsafe, Betsson, Casino Euro, Scandic Bookmakers, RedKings and Winamax all here in chase of the prestigious gold bracelet.
The players will start with a 30k stack and the blinds begin at 50/100, so there’s plenty of room for some loose play and wild calls…which I’m sure we’ll see.
PS – For those of you who are interested, Elvis is playing Day 1D
July 5th, 2009Day 1C closes in…
“Bright light city gonna set my soul, Gonna set my soul on fire”
The WSOP 2009 has begun and Day 1C is just around the corner! Three RedKings players have already made safe passage through to Day 2. Toni Ojala of Finland takes just under 70k with him after a solid days play. Ramzi Jelassi of Sweden also takes a hefty stack into Day 2, after accumulating 66k. The third player of RedKings, Ivo “The Chessmaster” Donev, has kept true to his RedKings counterparts, and takes 51k into Day 2.
Can the rest of our Partners players follow suit today?
June 28th, 2009The Final Countdown…
Hold on to your hats folks…the World Series of Poker 2009 is finally here!
In less than a week, Event 57 will be underway and our Partners players will be battling it out amongst thousands of other players, all hoping to win the prestigious WSOP Main Event bracelet. With 6,844 players in attendance last year, the hefty 1st place prize of $9,152,416 was taken home to Denmark by the 22 year old, Peter Eastgate.
As with every WSOP, the field is going to be extremely tough and pretty much every poker player you can think of will be there in pursuit of the bracelet. Our Partners players will need patience, endurance and of course, a little bit of luck to make it through the 8 days of play needed to reach the final table in November.
How many of our Partners players will make it to the money? Will one of those players manage the herculean task of final tabling the WSOP 2009? And more importantly, will the blog team meet Elvis during their time in Vegas?
