January 2007 Archives

A cool quarter million bucks. That's what westmenloAA took home for his first place finish in the PokerStars Sunday Million. More than 2,700 players showed up for the $530 event and WestmenloAA took it all down without a deal. Final table results are below.

PokerStars Sunday Million Results

1. westmenloAA (United States) $254,517.60
2. maxout12 (Russian Federation) $129,404.00
3. GB2005 (United States) $85,669.60
4. mylo (United States) $70,584.00
5. aboli70 (Italy) $56,744.00
6. dominospizza (United Kingdom) $42,904.00
7. DoctorIn2010 (United States) $30,171.20
8. Blom21 (Finland) $19,099.20
9. frankie810 (United States) $11,072.00

Once again, two people in the PokerStars Sunday Million won six-figure prizes for their efforts in the world's biggest weekly poker tournament. Once heads-up, the players cut a quick deal to lock in the big cash. When it was over, Mazinho1977 scored first place and more than $164,000! Final table results are below.

PokerStars Sunday Million Results
Based on finishing order and two-way deal that left $30,000 for first place

1. Mazinho1977 (Germany) $164,009.00
2. UMTerp (United States) $121,852.00
3. brsavage (United States) $67,420.00
4. SUGAR5892 (United States) $53,936.00
5. roni99 (United States) $40,452.00
6. Iberico (Spain) $29,664.80
7. Tango44 (United Kingdom) $20,900.20
8. pokiQQ (Faroe Islands) $12,135.60

EPT Copenhagen winner: Magnus Petersson

by Simon Young

Swede Magnus Petersson has won the EPT Copenhagen, beating Team PokerStars' ElkY heads up to win €550,000. "This is a very good feeling," he said. "I played tight early on and then changed gears when it mattered."

ElkY had a commanding lead when they sat down together, but two hands turned the tables. First Petersson rivered a full house to beat ElkY's trips. He pushed all in with the nuts, and ElkY had to call.

Down to 800,000 compared to the Swede's 3.2 million, the end was nigh, and it come just a couple of hands later. With blinds up to 15,000-30,000, ElkY raised pre-flop to 85,000, Petersson called.

The flop came Q-7-6, with two hearts. Petersson checked, ElkY bet 150,000 and Petersson re-raised all in. ElkY called with A-J hearts for the nut flush draw, Petersson showed Q-6 for two pair. A heart was needed badly by the Frenchman. The turn was J spades, giving him a pair, so now any heart, ace or jack on the river would do. None came, instead the 10 clubs hit the felt.

Petersson, 29, from Stockholm, and playing in his first EPT event, punched the air with delight. ElkY was gutted. He had played aggressively throughout the event, but fell at the last.


Delight: Petersson celebrates

Petersson, a financial advisor who qualified for this tournament in Denmark in a PokerStars cash satellite, picks up a huge pay day, but will not be considering playing as a pro. "I may play a few more tournaments now, though," he said.

"I have no real plans for tonight - maybe a drink. My girlfriend lives a couple of hours from Stockholm and bought a car today, a BMW. This money will pay for it. I am a financial advisor, so I will now advise myself to invest in some stocks and bonds.

"The standard here was very high. Richard Toth was one of my toughest opponents, but there are a lot of tough players. On Day 2 I was on the same table with Martin Wendt, Peter Eichhardt and Johnny Lodden, who all had position on me!"

He went to explain his 7-2 all in bluff - which worked when a two hit the flop. "I decided at that time to be more aggressive when we were down to three players and to use my tight image. Toth raised on the button, and as I needed to get chips I wanted to get them off him. ElkY would have called me, and I thought Toth would fold a lot of hands to my bluff. Unfortunately he called!


ElkY and Petersson heads up

"But I won the hand, and that helped when we got heads up and I hit the full house. When I went all in I am sure that earlier bluff was in ElkY's mind when he called me."

Petersson will now play in the EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final, and may take in the new EPT Poland event in Warsaw in March, too.

An entertaining aside is that he plays online poker five days a week, but keeps clear his Fridays and Saturdays to allow time with his girlfriend. Hang on, though, didn't he win his seat here in a PokerStars cash satellite played on a Saturday? "Ah, yes, but she was away that day... luckily."

ElkY, meanwhile, sloped off from the casino dejectedly musing about would could have been. At least he has €309,000 in his back pocket to console him.

It's been a great event here. 400 players started, and it is always nice to a see a PokerStars online player picking up the first prize, as well as a Team PokerStars player taking second.


Flying the flag: winner Petersson

Here's how the final table unfolded:

8th, Anders Wijk, Sweden: €50,000


Anders Wijk

Anders pushed with A-J but found a caller in Richard Toth holding K-K. The flop of 5-6-7 failed to help - and a K on the turn sealed the young pro online player's fate. Before sitting down, he told me: "I'm not very good at tournaments. I have been lucky here." Nice to see some modesty in the game, but believe me, he is a good tournament player.

7th, Thomas Holm, Denmark: €70,000


Thomas Holm

Richard Toth claimed another scalp - this time Thomas Holm was shown the door. After some raising, the pair settled on seeing the flop of 7-8-9. Toth checked, and Holm moved all in for his remaining 200,000 chips with A-Q. He met an insta-call, Toth's pocket sevens for the set explaining why.

6th, Alexandre Poulain, France, PokerStars cash qualifier: €89,000


Alexandre Poulain

He moved all in with K-7 and was called by ElkY with A-Q and Magnus Petersson with an ace and lower kicker. The flop, 3-8-6, turn and river were checked by the other two all the way. ElkY's ace high with best kicker won the pot.

5th, Samir Shakhtoor, Sweden: €113,000


Samir Shakhtoor

No sooner had the dust settled on Alexandre's exit, than Samir was busted by ElkY as well. He got himself all in with A-3, called by ElkY's Q-Q. The flop was dealt slowly, and the first card we saw as an ace. Brief cheer, followed by Samir's groan as the second card was a Q for ElkY's set. Nothing changed after that, and Samir goes home with loads of cash to invest in his new online dating business.

4th, Theo Jorgensen, Denmark: €137,000


Theo Jorgensen

The Dane pushed pre-flop with A-A and Richard Toth - who had just lost a huge pot to ElkY - called with Q-9 hearts "following my gut instinct". What followed was brutal - 10-4-7, one heart, turn J hearts, river 10 hearts. Quite a good gut instinct, that.

Now they were down to three:


ElkY, left, Petersson and Toth

3rd, Richard Toth, Hungary: €180,000


Richard Toth

Knocked out by ElkY following two brutal outdraws in previous hands, one by the Frenchman, the other ny Petersson. Here, he and ElkY went on a pre-flop raising war, ending up all in. Toth was the short stack by some distance, and flipped over A-5, gutted to see ElkY's A-Q. The flop of 3-6-7 gave Hungarian Toth the gutshot straight draw, but nothing happened to improve his hand.

2nd, ElkY, France, Team PokerStars: €309,000


ElkY

After having his chip lead reversed by Petersson when his trips were overtaken by the Swede's full house on the river, ElkY was fighting an uphill battle. The end came after some pre-flop raising and a flop of Q-7-6 with two hearts. Petersson checked with Q-6 for two pair and moved all in when ElkY bet with A-J hearts for the nut flush draw. ElkY called, no help, and is the runner up.

Swedish financial advisor Magnus Petersson, 29, takes the EPT Copenhagen title and the small matter of €550,000.


I'm off to the bank: Magnus Petersson

And I'm off to bed. Hope you have enjoyed the coverage from Denmark.

Magnus Petersson has won a massive pot to take control in the heads-up battle with ElkY in Copenhagen. The pot was building after a flop of 7-10-2, another 2 on the turn and more money went in. Then a 3 on the river saw Petersson bet 70,000, ElkY re-raise to 220,000 and Petersson move all in over the top. Call.

Petersson had pocket threes for the rivered full house, ElkY showed A-2 for the trip. A massive pot swung the Swede's way. As it did so he jibed: "You shouldn;t play bad aces."

Petersson now has 3.2 million chips, ElkY is down to 800,000.

Third place: Richard Toth

by Simon Young

We are heads up! ElkY has knocked out Richard Toth in third place. The two went on a pre-flop raising war, ending up all in. Toth was the short stack by some distance, and flipped over A-5, gutted to see ElkY's A-Q.

The flop of 3-6-7 gave Hungarian Toth the gutshot straight. Could he repeat ElkY's unlikely gutshot that won him that huge pot - and possibly the title - an hour before? No. Although the turn of 8 gave him more outs for a straight, the river was a J.

Toth, from Hungary, takes home an impressive €180,000 for his efforts. He had played with style, and was unlucky to lose not only that earlier hand to ElkY, but the one soon after when he called an all-in 7-2 bluff from Petersson, only to see his ace high outdrawn by a 2 on the flop.

Team PokerStars' ElkY now has comfortable lead over Petersson, who qualified in a PokerStars cash satellite. ElkY is on 2,675,000, and Petersson on 1,310,000. Blinds are still 10,000-20,000, 2,000 ante.

A reminder of what they are play for:
1st €547,000
2ns €309,000.

2nd

Magnus Petersson needed a double up, so what better hand to push with than 7-2 offsuit? Yup, Toth had raised to 55,000, so Petersson moved all in over the top for 429,000.

Toth went into the tank, and reluctantly called with A-9. Petersson was horrified and looked up to the sky. But wait, what's this? Ah yes, a flop of 2-5-Q putting the Swede ahead. The following K and J kept him there and he doubled up to more than 850,000, sending Toth down to less than a million.

Note: Do not generally go all in with 7-2, folks!

Now armed with chips, Petersson re-reraised ElkY all-in, pushing the Team PokerStars' Frenchman off the pot.

ElkY, Petersson and Toth

by Simon Young

The last three players are now on a one-hour dinner break. After just two hours, we have lost five of our final contenders, and you have to suspect it will not be long before we have a winner.

ElkY, after that amazing pot when he rivered the nut straight against Hungary's Richard Toth, is chip leader with 2,126,000. As the break started, he revealed his thinking when playing 7-5 offsuit: "We were both deep, so I thought he would fold when I re-re-raised to 285k. Two big stacks against each other is not nice. I did not like his call, but I thought I could bluff him. When that did not work, I had to get the nuts. LOL."

But despite that devastating hand, Toth's outright aggression has seen him creep back up again to within striking distance. He has 1,217,000.

Sweden's Magnus Petersson, a PokerStars cash qualifier, is the short stack on 442,000. When they come back, blinds will be 10,000-20,000 with a 2,000 ante.

Theo Jorgensen

Richard Toth has just recovered some of his chips by busting Theo Jorgensen of Denmark. The Dane pushed pre-flop with A-A and Toth, after much dwelling, called with Q-9 hearts. What followed was brutal - 10-4-7, one heart, turn J hearts, river 10 hearts.

Toth's runner-runner flush leaves Jorgensen as our fourth place finisher, collecting €137,000.

Since then, Toth has been picking up a succession of pots to keep his recovery going. Magnus Petersson is the short-stack of the last three. He's keeping away from the action at the moment, perhaps sensing that ElkY and Toth will have one last, explosive clash to get him heads-up.

ElkY shows his relief after winning the pot

ElkY has just won the biggest pot of the tournament with 7-5 offsuit after rivering a gutshot straight against previous chip leader Richard Toth. But the way it happened left Toth speechless, and his stack decimated.

Before the flop ElkY raised with his dreadful cards to 45,000, Toth reraised to 116,000, ElkY re-reraised to 285,000 and Toth called. The pot was getting large. The flop was 4-3-J, checked by both players. The turn was a Q. Toth checked, ElkY bet 250,000, a huge semi-bluff. Toth called. The river was the magical 6. Toth checked, ElkY moved all in and Toth went into the tank.

What now? ElkY sat sipping his water, Toth tried to work out where he was at. Eventually he called. To his amazement, ElkY turned over 5-7 for the rivered gutshot straight. Toth said nothing as he mucked his cards, but his face said it all. Later at the table he revealed he had A-J.

ElkY is now runaway chip leader after raking in a pot of about about 2.5 million.

ElkY on the up and up

Team PokerStar' ElkY has eliminated two players in successive hands. First Alexandre Poulain, a PokerStars cash qualifier from France, moved all in with a K high (we did not see his second card). He was called by ElkY with A-Q and Magnus Petersson with an ace and lower kicker. Flop 3-8-6 and checked all way to the turn (4) and river (3). ElkY's ace high with best kicker won the pot.

Poulain finishes in sixth, collecting €89,000.


Alexandre Poulain

No sooner had the dust settled, than Samir Shakhtoor of Sweden was busted by ElkY as well. He got himself all in with A-3, called by ElkY's Q-Q. The flop was dealt slowly, and the first card we saw as an ace, brief cheer, followed by Samir's groan as the second card was a Q for ElkY's set. Nothing changed after that, and Samir goes back to his online dating business with €113,000.


Samir Shakhtoor and EPT TV presenter Natlie Pinkham

Players are on a ten-minute break. Chip counts:

Richard Toth: 1,683,000
ElkY: 1,285,000
Magnus Pettersson: 588,000
Theo Jorgensen: 430,000.

Thomas Holm

Richard Toth has claimed another scalp - this time it's Denmark's Thomas Holm who has been shown the door. After some raising, they settled on seeing the flop of 7-8-9. Toth checked, and Holm moved all in for his remaining 200,000 chips. He met an insta-call, Toth's pocket sevens for the set explaining why. The turn of 6 brought hope a straight and a split pot for Holm, bu the river of a K put paid to that. Holm leaves with €70,000.

Richard Toth is now challenging ElkY for the chip lead, with the blinds at 8,000-16,000 and a 2,000 ante.

Anders Wijk

Sweden's Ander's Wijk is our eighth place finisher. He pushed with A-J but found a caller in Richard Toth holding K-K. The flop of 5-6-7 failed to help - and a K on the turn sealed the young pro online player's fate. He takes home €50,000.

Just two hands later, Denmark's Theo Jorgensen pushed all in for his remaining 85,000. That man Toth again called. Theo had A-K, Toth Q-10. The flop was K-3-4, no worries for Theo, but the turn was a Q, raising his heartbeat somewhat. The river, a 9, saved his Danish bacon.

Play on the final table up until then had been tight, a series of raise and then fold-all-round affairs. Any action had generally involved the aggressive Hungarian Toth, who twice pushed Thomas Holm off pots.

Waiting for the winner

by Simon Young

After three and a bit days, we are down to the last table of eight from the 400 starters. Top of the pile is our own ElkY but, as we have seen countless times before, anything can happen - and it probably will. Here are the finalists:


ElkY, 26, France (Team PokerStars): 1,086,000

ElkY was a highly successful professional gamer until a friend suggested he test his skills by taking up poker. He quickly proved just how skilful he was by qualifying for the WSOP two years running. He joined Team PokerStars last summer. Never without his trademark sunglasses, ElkY has an impressive gaming background (2nd in the first World Cyber Games) but poker has proved a lot more profitable. He cashed at EPT3 Baden in October, coming 16th for €12,578 and is a prolific online player. He said: "With gaming, I could practice 12 hours a day, but if I lost the game, the value would be zero. However, in poker every hour has some benefit."


Richard Toth, 24, Hungary: 814,000

Richard burst onto the scene in the last year, including a superb second in the World Series of Poker $1,500 No Limit event in the summer. That result got him $330,000, but he made another big cash by winning the Austrian Classics €3,000 European Masters Event in October, pocketing another €100,000. This is his third EPT - but the first time he has made it through the first day.


Magnus Petersson, 29, Stockholm, Sweden, (PokerStars cash qualifier): 622,000

Financial advisor Magnus has been playing poker for three years, mainly online, although he is planning to play in more live tournaments from now on. His biggest win to date was $35,000 online but he also cashed at last year's WSOP, coming 438th for $30,000. This is his first EPT - he qualified online with PokerStars in a $530 cash satellite.


Thomas Holm, 30, Copenhagen Denmark: 409,000

Thomas has been playing poker for three years but his final table appearance here in his home city is his biggest poker success to date. This is his first EPT - although he did qualify for last summer's WSOP. Since becoming a dad four months ago, Thomas has been based at home - but used to work as an IT salesman.


Samir Shakhtoor, 30, Malmo, Sweden: 367,000

Samir has only been playing poker two years but has already had some impressive wins including $209,000 in a Foxwoods WPT event in November 2005. He also cashed at EPT3 London, coming 29th for £5,940. His day job is running an online dating site he founded two months ago. He said: "It's actually in Denmark and I commute here from Malmo. No, I do not have a girlfriend but actually I do not date online - I'm still more of the bar type!"


Theo Jorgensen, 34, Copenhagen, Denmark: 305,000

Theo first came to the poker world's attention at EPT2 Deauville where he came fourth for a win of €118,300, showing not just his poker skills but proving he is one of the best chip rifflers on the circuit. He has been playing poker for ten years and turned professional six years ago. He is also distinguished by his famous mushroom-shaped beanie hat. He bought it in Switzerland and started wearing it in Deauville so it has become something of a mascot. He said: "I only wear it when I really need it, so I didn't wear it here for the first two days - but when skill goes out, and luck comes in, then I need my hat. So I'll be wearing it today."


Anders Wijk, 24, Stockholm, Sweden: 255,000

Pro for three years, mainly playing cash games online. Only recently started tournament play. One significant cash coming 7th at the Nordic master of Poker in Sweden last April for €24,000. This is his third EPT this season - he fell just short of the money at EPT3 Dublin, and went out in the first two hours in Baden. "I don't think I have the skills for tournament play. I've been very lucky here." A good player, but modest with it.


Alexandre Poulain, 31, Paris, France (PokerStars cash qualifier): 128,000

Alexandre rode the poker rollercoaster on Day 2 of EPT3 Copenhagen - turning a sickly pile of chips into a final table stack. When Alexandre is not running his discount electronics store in Paris, he - like everyone in his family - is a keen online player with PokerStars. He is also a regular at the Aviation Club which is where he won his first major tournament, picking up the Pot Limit Omaha title - and €25,000 - at the European Finals of Poker Masters last month. A huge football fan, he is wearing the French shirt for his final table appearance.


Ready for the players

Out in ninth: Cole Morrow

by Simon Young

PokerStars qualifier Cole Morrow has busted in ninth, one place off making the final table.

Canadian Cole, a communications student, won his seat here with his frequent player points and goes home with €30,600.

He was the day's short stack, but survived countless all ins and saw three other players eliminated before biting the dust himself. He found A-10 under the gun and pushed his last 94,000 over the line. Theo Jorgensen, a master of chips tricks, folded, but Thomas Holm called - after asking the rest of the table if they wanted to call, too.

No one replied, and Holm pushed his 94,000 in. Everyone else did pass, although Anders Wijk, on the big blind, seemed to have a tough decision before chucking his cards away.

Showdown. Over went Cole's A-10, and agonosingly for him, over came Holm's A-K. The flop came K-10-6, giving both the pair, but Holm was dominating the Canadian. He needed another 10 but the turn was a J, adding a Q to his wish list on the river. It didn't come, instead a 5 nestled next to the other cards.

So now we are down to the last eight. We'll have all their details and the final table chip counts just as soon as we can.

Jan Sjavik: Out in tenth

Norway's Jan Sjavik is out in tenth place. On the hand that blinds went up to 8,000-16,000 with 2,000 ante, he pushed from the small blind with K-5 spades. Only Thomas Holm in the big blind stood in his way, but he found 7-7 and called Sjavik's 95,000 bet.

Sjavik needed help, but the savage flop of 7-6-6 gave Denmark's Holm the full house. The turn and river were of no consequence, and Sjavik takes home €30,600 for his efforts.

2.50pm - local time

ElkY, France: 1,200,000
Magnus Petersson, Sweden: 800,000
Richard Toth, Hungary: 520,000
Theo Jorgensen, Denmark: 390,000
Samir Shakhtoor, Sweden: 250,000
Thomas Holm, Denmark: 225,000
Alexandre Poulain, France: 180,000
Jan Sjavik, Norway: 150,000
Cole Morrow, Canada: 150,000
Anders Wijk, Sweden: 140,000

by Simon Young

Twenty minutes in, and Team PokerStars' ElkY has just busted TWO players in one hand with pocket aces. Mark Petersen and Erik Lindberg, both from Sweden, got sucked in with Q-9 spades and A-K diamonds respectively.

He soars in chips, as has Theo Jorgensen who has doubled up and Jan Sjavik who did the same. Anders Wijk is now down on chips as a result.

Hold on to your hats, this is going to be a spectacular ride.

Looking strong: ElkY

by Simon Young

Welcome back for the final day of the EPT Copenhagen, when 12 players will return to try and reach the final table, and then push on to claim the first prize of about €550,000.

The weather outside here in Denmark is again wet and bleak. No better place to be, then, than inside the Copenhagen Casino for some of the best action in town.

Chip leader Richard Toth, from Hungary, will surely have slept well after the late finish last night. He has 611,000 chips, but is not that far ahead of Sweden's Anders Wijk with 562,000.

Team PokerStars' ElkY - Bertrand Grospellier from France - starts in third place with 455,000. He had one of those incredible "up and down" days yesterday after starting with only 14,000, well below the room average.

However, he shot out of the starting blocks and started rising through the field - first up to 25,000, then 50,000 and quickly to 185,000. Some setbacks saw him yo-yo down and up again before he used his aggression to take advantage of players looking to consolidate their cash positions. That late charge saw him end the night looking strong enough to mount a serious challenge today.


Chip leader: Richard Toth

Toth, however, will be a difficult nut to crack. He has burst onto the scene in the last year, including a superb second in the World Series of Poker $1,500 No Limit event in the summer. That result got him $330,000, but he made another big cash by winning the Austrian Classics €3,000 European Masters Event in October, pocketing another €100,000.

The Hungarian crept up almost unnoticed yesterday, as did Anders Wijk. He is more inexperienced, although he finished a credible seventh at the Nordic Masters of Poker in Sweden last April for a €22,000 pay day.

We have four PokerStars qualifiers still in this hunt. While Sweden's Magnus Petersson and Erik Lindberg are more comfortable in chips, France's Alexandre Poulain, on 166,000, needs to find some action.


Having a ball: Cole Morrow

Bottom of the pile, but having the time of his life, is Canadian student Cole Morrow. He won his seat here in Denmark in a PokerStars frequent player point satellite, so is effectively here for nothing. In return he will get at least €24,000 today.

With blinds starting at 6,000-12,000 and 1,000 ante, he does not have the luxury of waiting for a good hand. Looking relaxed and sipping coffee at the bar just now, he said: "I think you will see me making a move with any picture card quite early on. I had a great day yesterday - doubling up against ElkY at one point, and then winning a three-handed all in with my K-K.

"Whatever happens, I have had a great experience here."

This blogger's tip for the title at the start of yesterday's play, Norway's Jan Sjavik, is still in, but on 128,000. It looks tough for him get back in good shape, but Sjavik has had a run great result recently, including third in the London EPT last September, and a final table at the Masters Classic in Amsterdam.


Jan Sjavik


Magnus Petersson


Samir Shakhtoor


Erik Lindberg


Alexandre Poulain


Anders Wijk


Theo Jorgensen


Thomas Holm


Mark Petersen

by Simon Young

Play has now finished for the night, with 12 players coming back tomorrow. They will fight it out for the eight places on the final table later in the day.

It's been an exciting Day 2 of the EPT Copenhagen, with ElkY still in and flying the Team PokerStars flag. Not only that, but FOUR PokerStars qualifiers also remain in the hunt: Magnus Petersson, Erik Lindberg, Alexandre Poulain and Cole Morrow (who is here on frequent player points).

The first prize is a spectacular €550,000, give or take a few cents.

CHIP COUNTS:

Richard Toth, Hungary: 611,000
Anders Wijk, Sweden: 562,000
ElkY, France: 455,000
Magnus Petersson, Sweden: 428,000
Samir Shakhtoor, Sweden: 368,000
Erik Lindberg, Sweden: 344,000
Theo Jorgensen, Denmark: 339,000
Thomas Holm, Denmark: 299,000
Mark Peterson, Denmark: 195,000
Alexandre Poulain, France: 166,000
Jan Sjavik, Norway: 128,000
Cole Morrow, Canada: 91,000

And to view the cash placings so far, click HERE.

It looks like that with just ten minutes to go in this level, the tournament will be stopped and the 12 remaining players will return tomorrow to fight for the eight final table places.

If that is the case, then we will get you their chip counts, plus a full list of those who have made the money so far as soon as possible.

No one wants to make a mistake at this stage, with just 12 players left. PokerStars qualifier Alexandre Poulain was a relieved man, then, when his A-J overtook Anders Wijk's 9-9 on the river to double him up. He's on about 200,000 now.

It's still not clear if we can get down to the final eight tonight.

The good news for us hard-working bloggers is the party in the next room has finally finished. This sneaky shot I took of just a SMALL portion of the bar area may explain why it was such a noisy affair....

Shumthing tellsh me it was a good night

Out: T J Cloutier

by Simon Young

T J Cloutier has been eliminated in 20th place. Shortstacked after missing a flush draw (though he also had a pair), he pushed in a battle of the blinds with Jan Sjavik. T J, in the small blind pushed all in with his remaining 40,000 or so with K-3 hearts. Sjavik called with 3-3. The flop was 9-Q-7 rainbow, followed by a 5 and a 7. No help, and the legend departed with a 76,032 Danish Kroner pay day, about €10,000.

Sjavik, from Norway, who was my pick for this title at the start of the day (honest!), moves up to a menacing 190,000.

Meanwhile PokerStars qualifier Cole Morrow from Canada, who got here for free using his frequent player points, is having a fantastic run in his first ever major tournament. He started the day with just 14,000, but has grown in confidence, and just survived a three-way all-in pot with K-K against a A-J and A-Q to move up to over 160,000. Two more qualifiers took the hit - Peter Fischer, who was busted, and Anton Smolyanskiy, who survives comfortably enough.

ElkY is now up to 245,000 and looking reasonably relaxed in his shades, and toying with his little scorpion chip protector.


Huge pot: Magnus Petersson

PokerStars qualifier Magnus Petersson has just won possibly the biggest pot of the night against Simon Mycock. Petersson's Q-Q saw him all in on the 3-J-10 flop against Mycock's A-J. The turn of a K gave Mycock a few more outs, but the river 2 changed nothing. Petersson is now up to over 500,000. Mycock has shrivelled to 40,000.

Jonas Helness is OUT running his A-Q into fellow Swede Anders Wijk's Q-Q. It was a monster 380,000 pot that sent Wijk spinning to the top of the leaderboard.

We are now down to 23 players and may soon be without T J Cloutier, who has taken successive hits to his stack - now down to 60,000. He got in a huge tangle with PokerStars qualifier Anton Smolyanskiy that cost him just short of 180,000. Anton had A-Q against T J's A-4 with the flopped ace and a flush draw. T J has now been moved to ElkY's table.

The casino here in Copenhagen has to close by 3am under local law. It's nearly midnight and so touch and go that we will get down to the desired eight players before we are all kicked out.

In the press room, packed with about 30 assorted journalists and bloggers, there are green-with-envy eyes as a boozy party is being held right next door. Now that really is cruel.

We are down to 32 players and the last four tables. With the intention of getting down to a final of eight players, we could be in for a very long night.

So, with plenty of play left, and blinds at 3,000-6,000 with a 600 ante, there are plenty of chunky stacks, yet no one is running away with the lead at this stage.

Team PokerStars' ElkY continues his up and down day, and is now up to 230,000. He shot up again after his Q-Q not only held up against A-K, but improve further to a set on the flop. T J Cloutier is on 245,000 and looking as fresh as he did when he first walked into the room.

Lucky boy: Jonas Helness

One of the luckiest players still in is Jonas Helness, who faced elimination when all in on a flop with the UK's Iwan Jones. Jones had flopped a set of threes, miles ahead of Helness' pocket nines. As if by magic, the third nine came out on the turn, putting the Swede over 230,000. Jones, meanwhile, was left to reflect with his remaining 50,000 or so.

We have said farewell to PokerStars qualifier Harrison Williams, from Delaware in the US, who left us in 35th place, and a cash position. He had played superbly for two days, but got bogged down in the last few levels.

Gone, too, is England's Nick Slade, who lost that huge pot with Q-Q against T J Cloutier's A-A.

Others still with hefty stacks include PokerStars qualifier Magnus Petersson, from Sweden, and Simon Mycock from the UK. Both are on about 220,000.

Ireland's Roy Brindley, who was up to 155,000 a couple of hours ago, is now stuck on the 80,000 mark. And John Shipley, who lost a K-K v A-A battle to leave him seemingly down and out, is creeping back up, now to 80,000.

by Simon Young

The bubble has burst, and the unfortunate player out in 41st place - the last before the money is paid out - was Norway's Hilmar Tveit. Short stacked, he looked down to find A-Q and decided it was "now or never". Called by an A-8, he had a great chance to double up and make the cash.

Alas! An 8 on the flop sealed his fate, and he was walking to the rail with sympathetic applause ringing in his ears. Some of the players clapping, however, may have been doing so relief.

I'll get my coat: Hilmar Tveit is off

Elsewhere, T J Cloutier has now got up to 215,000. A class act, and it is showing. And Team PokerStars' ElkY is causing this blogger all sorts of problems. No sooner have I reported his rise, then his quick fall, than I have to report his rise again. That's right, the yo-yo Frenchman is now back up to 180,000 once more.

PokerStars qualifier Branislav Pajic, here from Canada with his brother, fell soon after the bubble in 40th place, and collects 41,472 Danish Krona (about €6,000).

Congratulations to the remaining players.

I love a big pair: T J Cloutier

by Simon Young

T J Cloutier has just risen to the dizzy heights of 170,000 chips after finding K-K and then A-A in successive hands. The K-K saw off A-K, then the bullets allowed him to get all in with England's Nick Slade, who held Q-Q. Two huge pots, then, have changed the face of the big man's tournament.

Slade went from riches to rags - doubling up with aces an hour ago, then losing it to aces after being moved on to the TV table. "I couldn't lay down the queens to T J," he said, "especially as he had kings the hand before."

And now for the curse of the blogger. No sooner had I posted gleefully about ElkY's seemingly unstoppable rise - a bit like a container ship - he was, er, stopped. The Frenchman has now fallen back to about 90,000 after being up to 185,000 not too long ago. No details of his downfall yet.

PokerStars qualifer Magnus Pettersen from Sweden is joining the race for the top spots, and now sits on 130,000.


On a roll: Magnus Petersson

Players are now on a dinner break, and 44 remain. It's more or less bubble time, but there has been no sign of a slowdown in the pace of the knockouts.

Ship it: ElkY

by Simon Young

Team PokerStars' ElkY is on one of those hot runs poker players dream of. Starting today on just 14,000 chips, he has now soared to more than 160,000. The Frenchman, well known for his online game, has been splashing around in a succession of pots and, like a huge container ship, looks very difficult to stop.

One early gain saw him take a huge pot off Troels Berg. on a flop of 8-4-7 and turn of J, ElkY bet 7,500 and met a call. When the river came a 3, Berg bet 25 and ElkY made a great call, showing K-J for the winner. Berg muttered something and mucked.

Soon after, ElkY won another biggie, taking on a shorter stack pushing with 8-8. ElkY had K-Q suited and the queen on the flop sealed another win. A minor setback followed when his K-J was no match for A-10. Two aces on the board was a bit of overkill.

Another big winner was England's Nick Slade, he pushed with A-A and got a call from unlucky PokerStars qualifier John Shipley, holding K-K. No help, and a mountain of chips moved Slade's way, sending him to more than 130,000. Shipley's strangled cry of anguish was the most emotion he has shown in two days of play.


Man with the bullets: Nick Slade

Meanwhile PokerStars' T J Cloutier is still on the feature TV table, making it difficult for us to count his stack. But, reckon it to be about 59,700, give or take a bit. Another PokerStars high-flyer is Peter Fischer, who cash twice in last summer's WSOP. He's on 153,000.


Big stack: Peter Fischer

Blinds are currently 1,500-3,000 with a 300 runing ante. Some 50 players remain, and with the cash positions starting in 40th, expect a slight slowdown in the carnage as the bubble approaches.

by Simon Young

The end of another level, and the end of the tournament for another bunch of players. Now just 78 remain as we head for level 12, with blinds kicking in at a hefty 1,000/2,000 and a 200 ante.

T J Cloutier had continued to impress with his steady climb, losing the odd chunk of chips, but then happily raking them back in again just a few hands later. But he has just taken two big hits, leaving him with 30,000. In one hand the flop came Jd-6s-3s. His opponent bet 10,000, T J reraised to 20,000 - and then folded when when the other guy pushed all in. T J showed the table Q-Q, the other guy obligingly showed A-J spades. So T J had been ahead, but his opponent had a great draw to improve. Our man now moves to the TV feature table.

Simon Mycock

The lead is chopping and changing, but Simon Mycock, a Brit now living in Denmark, seems to have it at the moment after concocting a stack of 160,000. Ireland's Roy "The Boy" Brindley is also on the move, with 150,000 behind him. PokerStars qualifier John Shipley, who I have not seen say a thing in two days, remains in contention with 78,000.


Roy Brindley


Team PokerStars' ElkY has continued to improve and now has 80,000, but PokerStars qualifier, plumber Brian Cook, is sunk. He chased his first flush draw of the tournament and was flushed down the pan.


ElkY

Taking over: Anders Wijk

by Simon Young

It's utter carnage here in Copenhagen, with more than 60 playes walking the plank in the first two levels of Day 2, leaving 92 to fight on. It's the Scandinavian way, apparently, they are only interested in winning rather than settling for a cash place.

That makes for a chaotic room with huge pots moving around the tables, all-ins on a frighteningly regular basis, and cries and whoops as the move either works or falls flat on its face.

Among all the excitement, we have lost Team PokerStars' Tom McEvoy and Luca Pagano. Tom had been short-stacked and pushing all in for a while trying to find that elusive double up. Up to 16,000, he called an all in with A-K but could not improve against 7-7. Luca lost some momentum to lose a large slice of his stack before falling when his K-Q came up against J-J.

ElkY, however, is looking confident and guided his stack up from less than 20,000 to more than 50,000. He has now joined the table of overnight chip leader, Swede Bastian Landehagen, who has had a torrid start today, losing half his stack to Anders Wijk, who for now takes the chip lead.

Other players falling include Johnny Lodden, Peter Eichhardt, Martin Wendt and Dave Colclough.

PokerStars qualifier Harrison Williams, from the United Stars, is on T J Cloutier's table and up to 80,000. Other big movers are Cloutier himself, Denmark's Christian Grundtvig, PokerStars qualifier John Shipley from the UK, Simon Mycock and Ireland's Roy Brindley.


Harrison Williams


Christian Grundtvig

Stacking the chips: T J Cloutier

by Simon Young

T J Cloutier has had a dream start to Day 2, winning a huge pot when he got all in pre-flop with aces against his opponent's pocket jacks. No help on the board for the other guy, and T J, who qualified for this event on PokerStars, gathered in a huge pot to take him over 60,000. It's not the news other players in room wanted to hear.

Action in the early stages has been frenetic, with players fighting with each other like cats in a bag. In the first 15 minutes we lost 16 players as cries of "All in" rang around the card room. The number out soared to 40 after an hour.

Short-stacks finding anything half-decent from the dealer were pushing, hoping for the double up that would enable them to at least play some thoughtful poker.

For some it worked, like England's Nick Slade, whose Q-Q stood up against an up and down straight draw. And France's Patrick Bueno took his chance with 7-7, which held up against A-J. But for others, like PokerStars qualifier Boris Shostack, a mettalurgist from the US whom we first met at the EPT Baden in October, there was no such luck. With just 15,000 or so, he chose to push with A-Q but found a caller with the dominating A-K. A king on the flop sealed his fate.

The table-drawing Gods have construed to put chip leader Bastian Landehagen and second-placed Erlund Melsom on the same table. They spent the first few rounds of cards staring at each other, sizing each other up. No big clashes yet.


So who has been pinching the antes?: Luca Pagano

Elsewhere, there are contrasting fortunes for our Team PokerStars players. Italy's Luca Pagano is showing ruthless aggression, re-raising and leading out when he sniffs weakness. He is now up to over 30,000, and has a huge pile of black 100 chips - a sign that he is snapping up the table's 100 antes on a regular basis. On one hand he was raised in the big blind by Norway's Jan Sjavik - a dangerous player. Suspecting a simple steal Luca moved over the top and collected the pot.

ElkY has been busy, adding about 8,000 to his stack, and sits on 24,000 or so. But Tom McEvoy, who told me just before the start that he was desperate for some early cards, has not had his prayers answered just yet. He's down to 9,000 now and will have to make a move very soon.

On the Scandinavian Table of Death, Johnny Lodden, Martin Wendt and Peter Eichhardt seem to be avoiding each other, but taking every opportunity to attack the rest of the table.

Cards, please: Tom McEvoy

by Simon Young

Team PokerStars' Tom McEvoy sits down today with just 13,500 chips, and "wishing I had a few more". He sat patiently at his table throughout yesterday's Day 1B and was frustrated by a lack of decent starting cards.

And he is itching to get going today. First into the card room before play started, he was looking for his table to get settled before the others arrived. "Yesterday was a bit frustrating. I went up to 13,000 after level one but never went above 15,000 after that. So up in level one, but down up and down for the next seven." And he can be specific about these things - watch closely and you will see him write his chip count on a scrap of paper at the end of each level.

Tom is a world poker name. He won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 1983, and has been a prolific author, with T J Cloutier, of poker books. He is a class act, but everyone needs their fair share of cards to move up the leaderboard. Tom explained: "I had no cards all day, maybe three big pairs - tens, jacks and queens. I remember getting A-K once, maybe. I therefore had to make a couple of little plays to get chips, and did well on one hand where I flopped a set with a low pair.

"Now I have to get moving. The blinds are starting high today at 400-800."

Is this his first European poker experience? "Well it's my first EPT event. I have played in the Aviation Club in Paris, Dublin and the Isle of Man before, but this is the first actual EPT event.

"I found the play early on a little tighter than I expected, but late in the day the Scandinavians were playing much more aggressively which, of course they are known for. I really wished I had the hand to catch one of them out!

"I may not have finished yesterday with as many chips as I would have wished, but it has been great fun."

Chip leader: Bastian Landehagen

by Simon Young

The fighters are heading to the card room for the bloody battle that awaits. Day Two of the EPT here in Copenhagen will see the gladiators using their fearsome skill and weapon of choice - the huge chipstack. The victims? The shortstacks, thrown into the arena with little protection, and apparently no hope of survival. But, as Martin Wendt from Denmark showed yesterday, anything can happen. He was down and seemingly out with just 1,800 at one stage before fighting gallantly to finish on a healthy 47,400. He is one to watch today.

Chipleader is diminuitive young Swede Bastian Landehagen with 98,400. Although he undoubtedly has the skill, and his armoury is the biggest of all, you would not back him in a real life fight. In fact, I don't think he'd last five minutes.

PokerStars qualifiers are doing us proud. Brent Wheeler, from Illinois, is starting in third place with 74,000, while Italy's Marco Lucidi (he should be good at gladiatorial contests) is fourth with 69,700 and Anton Smolyanskiy from the US is not far behind in fifth.

Team PokerStars' Luca Pagano, Tom McEvoy and ElkY also safely through. Luca, from Italy, is bang on average in chips, but the other two need to find some early cards to get going.


T J Cloutier

We have one special PokerStars qualifier who quietly moved up the field yesterday to finish with just under 40,000. Mr T J Cloutier won his seat here in a PokerStars cash satellite and showed the young guns of Scandinavia just how to play well with little fuss. He has a future in this game, that lad.

The table draw has been made there is one intriguing Scandinavian Table of Death. Facing each other will be some big-hitters - Norway's Johnny Lodden, Martin Wendt from Denmark, Sweden's Peter Eichhardt and fellow Swede Magnus Peterssen, a PokerStars qualifier who played well yesterday to finish with 39,400.

Play is due to start at 2pm local time with blinds at 400-800 and 100 running ante. Some 154 players are left to enjoy the hour-long levels, but with the shortest stack on just 3,300, that number will reduce fairly swiftly.

We'll bring you all the action as it happens.

Gus Hansen is the new Aussie Millions champion, with Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke in second place. The heads up battle ended at 9pm.

1st place $1.5 million Gus Hansen
2nd place $1 million Jimmy Fricke
3rd place $700k Andy Black
4th place $500k Julius Colman
5th place $400k Hans Martin Vogl
6th place $ 300k Marc Karam
7th place $220k Kristy Gazes

by Alison Lightman.


Gus Hansen is the new Aussie Millions 2007 champion. He has knocked out Pokerstars' own Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke with pocket Aces, claiming the title and the $1.5 million dollar first prize.


Jimmy earns $1 million dollars for his absolutely superb performance in only his third major tournament, and he certainly made the feared Danish player, who counts four WPT titles among his string of multi-million dollar major tournament victories, work very hard for his money.
It happened at 9pm.

Jimmy limped on the button and Gus made it 350k more. Jimmy called and they saw the flop come down, Q 8 6 with two diamonds.
Gus led out for 400k, and Jimmy pushed all in, instantly getting a call.
Gus turned over (nearly) everyone's favourite hand, AA, and the look of disappointment on young Jimmy's face was heart-breaking. He turned over 7c 9c, giving him an up and down straight draw and a back door flush draw.
The crowd went beserk in the poker room, cheering as if the players could hear them all the way from the bar to the tv studio table.
The turn came the 2c, increasing Jimmy's outs and prompting a wry smile as if he hardly dared to hope.
The river card was a spade, the 9, and it was over.
Still, there can't been too many nineteen year old poker players with a story to rival Jimmy's - engaging one of the world's most feared poker legends in a two-hour heads up duel, and being busted to the rail by his opponent's pocket Aces.
**update**8.47
Another million chips have moved from Jimmy Fricke's stack into Gus Hansen's. Gus called the blind and Jimmy checked to see a flop, K 2 Q, rainbow. Jimmy checked and Gus bet 125k. Jimmy paid the extra and the turn was 9d. Jimmy bet 400k and Gus called to see the river, Ah. Jmmy checked again but called Gus' bet of 1.1million. Gus showed J 10 for an Ace high straight, Jmmy mucked.
**update** 8.46pm
Jimmy Fricke has lost 800k to Gus Hansen. Jimmy raised 350k from the button pre flop and Gus called. The flop was A A 3, with two hearts. Gus checked and Jimmy bet 400k and Gus called. The turn was a third heart, the 10, and both players checked. The river was Kc and both players checked again, Gus showing 4h 2h for a flush. Gus has about twice Jimmy's stack.
**update**8.38pm
Jimmy Fricke has taken a 3 million dollar pot from Gus Hansen. Gus limped and Jimmy checked to see a flop which came 5 5 K. Jimmy led for 175k and Gus called. The turn was a 9 and Jimmy bet 400k. Gus called. The river was a 7, Jimmy led for 1 million chips and, after some deliberation, Gus called. Jimmy showed trip 5's.

**update**8.28pm
They've been all in again and the chip lead has returned to Gus Hansen. Jimmy limped and called Gus' bet of 375k. The flop was 6 K J rainbow, and Gus led for 450k. Jimmy re-raised all in with a gutshot straight draw and Gus called with K 10 leaving Jimmy, with Q 9, three outs. The turn was a 5, and the river a 6, and Gus now has more than 10 million chips.
**update**8.15
A moment of high drama in the heads up battle with young Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke doubling
up against the ferocious Dane Gus Hansen.
Gus bet 425k from the button and Jimmy called. Jimmy check-raised all in when the flop came 10 10 J, with two diamonds, and Gus called him.
The 19 year old's composure didn't slip even when he saw how far behind he was, as Gus flipped AK, to Jimmy's KQ. Jimmy had plenty of outs when the 10 repeated on the turn. When the river card fell, a 9, giving Jimmy the straight, the crowd watching on the poker room monitors erupted. Jimmy is now firmly back in the driving seat with 10.5 million and Gus 4.4 million chips.

**update**8.10pm
Jimmy Fricke has clawed back some of his chips from Gus Hansen. Gus made it 350k to go from the button and Jimmy called. The flop was A 7 rag, Jimmy checked and Gus fired 450k at the pot which JImmy instantly re-raised all in, forcing the Dane out of the hand.

**update**7.45

Gus Hansen is consolidating his chip lead over Jimmy Fricke heads up. Jimmy has 4.8 million and Gus has 10.1million. Gus Hansen has taken another huge pot from Jimmy, with an all in re-raise over the top of Jimmy's pre flop 1.5million bet forcing the youngster to put down his hand.

**update** 7.38pm
Gus Hansen finally has room to breathe after doubling up against Jimmy Fricke early in their heads up battle.
Gus raised re flop and was called by Jimmy. The flop came 7 A K. Jimmy checked and Gus bet 350k. Jimmy called. The turn was an 8 and when Jimmy checked again Gus moved all in for his last 3.1 million.
Jimmy called with K Q but found Gus holding A 2. The river was a 5.
Moments later Gus took another pot from Jimmy and has edged into the chip lead.

**update 7.30pm
The duel for the Aussie Millions 2007 title and $1.5 million dollar payday has engaged in earnest between Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke and the vastly more experienced Gus Hansen, who has struggled to make any headway against the softly spoken 19 year old from Mahomet, Illinois.
Jimmy is already a millionaire after busting Andy Black.
Gus is a huge underdog with a quarter of Jimmy's stack. The chips are moving back and forth across the table with post-flop raises taking down the pot for both players. Second place takes $1 million dollar prize money.

**update**7pm
Jimmy Fricke has busted Andy Black to the rail in third place of the Main Event, and we are heads up.
Jimmy led for 350k prompting Andy to push all in. Jimmy had AhQh and Andy showed KQo.
The was 3 7 7 9 10 and JImmy's Ace high was all he needed.

After raking in Andy's chips Jimmy Fricke has a huge lead over Gus Hansen.

Moments earlier Andy had doubled through Jimmy in a rare change of direction for the table chips.
Jimmy led from the button and Andy pushed for a total just more than a million chips. Jimmy who may have been priced into calling turned over 5 6o and Andy had K 10 suited. Jimmy flopped a 5 but Andy flopped the 10.

**update** 6.58pm
PokerStar's new superstar Jimmy Fricke, who has nigh on eleven million chips and has been dictating the terms of poker to pro's Gus Hansen and Andy Black all day long in the final table.

Among the crowd watching his sensational performance in the tv studio is Lee Nelson, the 2006 tournament champion, and fellow PokerStars player, who spoke very highly of young Jimmy.
"He's pretty much the favourite with most of the chips" said Lee. "He's made Gus and Andy play conservatively because they're frightened of the re-raises he makes, he's playing fearlessly."
Official chip counts at the last break were Jimmy Fricke with 10.895 million, Gus Hansen with 2.84 million, and Andy Black with 1.21 million.

The blinds are hurting, 50k / 100k with 10k antes, so we can expect some all-in fireworks in this Level.

**update**6.30pm


**update**6.18pm

For the first time today it looked like final table short stacks Gus Hansen and Andy Black had a chance to double up - against each other. Gus made it 250k under the gun, and Andy raised all in. Gus called, and when they flipped he was in front with A 8 against's Andy A 3. The board was 2 4 Q 4 and it looked like Andy's Aussie Millions was about to end, when the river came a 10 for a chopped pot.

**update**6.14 pm
On the final table it looks increasingly like Gus Hansen and Andy Black are in a contest for second place, as Jimmy Fricke continues to eat them alive. He's taking down pot after pot with pre flop raises and has more than two thirds of the 15 million chips in play. Andy Black made it 250k to go and was called by Gus Hansen, then Jimmy came over the top with a $1.5 million re-raise and forced them yet again to give their chips to him.


**update**5.50pm
Youth continues to dominate age guile and cunning on the final table. Jimmy Fricke's taken yet another family pot of 780k, being first bet to bet on a Queen high flop and getting no callers. Team Hansen is in overdrive; with Gus Hansen's brother in law recording the complete hand histories and every bit of action. Information is power in poker. But then there's Jimmy Fricke. No laptop, no notepad, just about 10 million in chips and absolute control of the Aussie Millions.

**update**5.44pm

In the first 'family' pot of this level Gus and Jimmy called Andy's raise with 780k in the middle. On a flop of A Q 7, Jimmy bet half a million chips and, took it down. The tournament commentator was moved to say" Jimmy's chips are like boomerangs, every bet is coming straight back to him."
Both WSOP 2005 Champion Joe Hachem and Aussie Millions 2006 Champion Lee 'final table" Nelson are in the tv studio, watching fellow PokerStars player Jimmy in absolute control of his much older and more experienced table mates.

**update**5.27
Jimmy "gobboyboy" Fricke is terrorising the poker Hall of Fame superstar Gus Hansen. He re-raised Gus' 300k pre flop raise up to 1.1 million, forcing Gus to go away, again.
Seasoned pro and 2005 WSOP final tablist Andy Black is looking fairly grim on the final table with huge chip Jimmy and Gus ramping up the aggression in the 40k / 80k with 10k ante level.

**update**5.15pm
Confirmed chip counts at the break were Jimmy Fricke, 8.115 million, Gus Hansen 4.5 million, Andy Black 2.3 million.

**update**5pm

Jimmy Fricke's dominance of the Aussie Millions Main Event continues with the 19 year old PokerStar's player pushing Gus Hansen and Andy Black around the table, asserting control with a chip mountain that just gets bigger and bigger. Players have just taken a short break and we'll update chip counts as soon as they are available.

Andy Black bet 220k pre flop getting a call from the teenager in the big blind. It was checked through to the river, the board was J 9 8 5 Q. Jimmy showed pocket deuces and Andy Black just smiled, before chucking his hand to the muck.

**update **4.32pm
Another million dollar pot has been shipped across the felt to Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke, the 19 year old PokerStars sensation, who is using his monster chip stack, 8 million, to push around Andy Black and Gus Hansen, who is currently the short stack with around 3 million chips.
Jimmy has successfully raised the last 4 hands in all positions, and is making the pro's look defenceless against a nineteen year old who had his first cash finish only 7 months ago.

**update** 4.20
Jimmy Fricke now controls almost half the chips in play after taking down a 3.7 million dollar pot from Gus Hansen.
Jimmy made it 175k from the button and Gus pumped it back up another 500k from the big blind. Jimmy called. On a flop of 6 10 A, rainbow, Gus led out 800k and Jimmy re-raised to 1.6 million. Hansen was forced to put it down, visibly unhappy about it.

**update4.10**
Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke is extending his lead over the three-handed Main Event final table and as of a couple of moments ago, had 6.5 million chips, with Gus Hansen and Andy Black pretty evenly stacked with 4 million and change.

Andy Black has busted out the only remaining Australian player, Julius Colman. The money was in pre-flop, with Andy holding QQ and Julius A6. First card out was the Ace Julius wanted, but cruelly it was followed by A Q, filling Andy up.


**update**3.58pm

Jimmy Fricke has busted out Hans Martin Vogl, and added more than a million chips to his lead. Hans and Jimmy got the chips in pre flop and with Hans turning A9 and Jimmy KJ. The flop was 9 8 5, giving Hans the lead, but the turn was a Q giving Jimmy a straight draw. The river was a Jack and Jimmy's pair was enough to send the German player to the rail. He collects $400 000, and there are four left, Jimmy steamrolling the table with 6.5 million of the 15 million chips in play.

Australian Julius Colman has dodged a bullet, all in against Gus Hansen. Julius pushed with Ah3h getting a call from the Dane who had K 10. When the flop came J 10 8 Hansen looked set to take his third scalp of the day, but then the turn came a 9 and the river a 7, and a miracle straight on the board kept Julian in the game.
**update**3.40pm

At the first break for the final table Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke had the definitive chip lead with 5.72 million chips. Gus Hansen is second with 4.5 million chips. Next is Andy Black with 3.1, and Hans Martin Vogl has 955k. Australian Julius Colman, who had to serve a ten minute penalty for acting out of turn, twice, is the short stack with 570k.

19 year old Jimmy this morning with his friends, before commencing battle for the Aussie Millions title. Two from the right is Adam Junglen, a fellow PokerStars player who also finished in the Main Event money, winning $20 000. Adam and Jimmy are sharing a room at the Casino, as well as this incredible adventure Downunder and what one imagines to be endless hours of poker strategy discussions.





The poker room crowd watching Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke in action.

**update** 2.50pm

Gus Hansen has busted out another final table player, Marc Karam, and everyone has moved up a money spot.
He called Marc's all in with A 9o, against Marc's K Jo, and Gus hit a nine on the turn to eliminate the Canadian. Marc takes home winnings of $400 000. We are down to five.

**update** 2.40pm
Jimmy "gobboyboy Fricke has won a blinds confrontation with Andy Black and now has 5.6 million. Gus Hansen has 4.5 million, Julius Colman 1.8 million, Andy Black 1.6m Marc Karam 600k and Hans Martin Vogl 450k. The blinds go up next Level to to 20k/ 40k with a 5k ante.

**update** 2.23pm

Jimmy Fricke has taken down a monster pot by rivering fellow big stack Gus Hansen and is the chip leader again.
Gus made it 105k to go under the gun, and Jimmy called from the button. The flop was 3 4 8 rainbow, and Gus led for 140k. Jimmy called and the turn was Qd. Gus led for 330k and was called again. The river was an Ace. Gus bet out 770k, and Jimmy called the extra. Gus showed 2 3 for bottom pair and Jimmy showed that he'd caught the river, with A J. There was 2.5 million in that one pot.
While play is taking place around a tv studio table, railbirds are following the action on tv monitors on the poker room floor.

**update**2.10pm
Gus and Jimmy Fricke have chopped a pot. The both had K8 and the board was K Q 4 6 7.

**update**2.03pm
Kristy Gazes has been busted out by current chip leader Gus Hansen, leaving six still in the fight. The money was all in pre flop with Kristy holding Ah Qh, and Gus pp9's and the race was on once again.
The board came J 8 5, turn a 2 and the river a 4, and with Kristy drawing only to an Ace or Queen, Gus' pair held up.
Kristy wins $220 000.

**update**1.50pm
Gus Hansen has moved into the chip lead in the opening round of play, taking down a pot from our Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke.
Jimmy bet 90k from middle position and Gus called from his small blind. The flop was 2 10 10, with two clubs. Gus checked and Jimmy bet 150k. Gus re-raised to 350k and Jimmy called. The turn was the King of clubs. Gus bet 465k and Jimmy folded his hand.

Moments later Jimmy doubled up short-stack Julius Colman. Gus raised from the cut off to 110k, and Julius pushed from the small blind. Jimmy, in the big blind, asked for a count and it was 725k total. He called, and Gus folded, and Jimmy saw he was in a race. He had pp’s 10 and Julius was holding AQ.

The flop came Q 8 3, all clubs, giving Julius more outs as he held the Ace. The turn was the Js, giving Jimmy a straight draw, but the river was the 6c and Jimmy lost another huge chunk. Julius has around 1.6 million in chips, Jimmy around 4 million.

Apologies for the late post, Blogger has been down for maintenance.

Battle is about to commence on the final table of the Aussie Millions Main Event, with our Jimmy "gobboboy" Fricke chip leader. There are 7 remaining from the original field of 747 battling for the title of Aussie Millions Champion 2007 and $1.5 million dollars.
Jimmy is feeling confident, saying "I have one third of the chips, which is a pretty big lead. I feel I have the best chance to win it."
He says he has a good read on the ferocious Dane, Gus Hansen, who has most of the other chips. "I know what he will be doing on the final table."

Here are the seat positions and starting chip counts.

Seat 1. Hans Martin Vogl 455k
Seat 2. Gus Hansen 4.845 million
Seat 3. Marc Karam 535k
Seat 4. Julius Colman 785k
Seat 5. Jimmy Fricke 5.175 million
Seat 6. Andrew Black 2.1 million
Seat 7. Kristy Gazes 1.05 million

Here is the chip count for day two.

1 Bastian Landehagen 98400
2 Erlend Melsom 80000
3 Brent Wheeler 74000
4 Marco Lucidi 69700
5 Anton Smolyanskiy 68500
6 Jan Olav Sjåvik 67400
7 Kenneth Gregersen 59800
8 Peter Fischer 59400
9 Thomas Holm 53800
10 Stefan Maglicic 53200
11 Jonas Helness 53100
12 Philip Hilm 51600
13 Jeppe Mikkelsen 51000
14 Ghassen Yafaoui 49800
15 Anders Berg 48600
16 Johnny Jensen 47700
17 Iwan Jones 47500
18 Martin Wendt 47400
19 Jan Richard Johannessen 47200
20 Erik Lindberg 46400
21 Roy Brindley 45900
22 Atle Walgren 44100
23 Troels Berg 43200
24 Guido Meacci 42400
25 Patrick Kortsen 41400
26 Bernard Boutboul 40100
27 Magnus Petersson 39400
28 Carl Nilsson 39000
29 TJ Cloutier 38900
30 Donny Morris 38400
31 Tune Seidelin 38200
32 Richard Toth 38000
33 Flemming De Hoog 37500
34 Williams Harrison 37200
35 Jacob Rasmussen 37100
36 Ben Johnsen 36900
37 Samir Shakhtoor 36300
38 Eirik Bjørklund 36100
39 John Shipley 35400
40 Simon Mycock 34900
41 Morten Sivertsen 34325
42 Thomas Ostervold 33800
43 Peter Hardgrove Hansen 33400
44 Ricki Nielsen 32100
45 Uffe Holm 31600
46 Theo Jorgensen 30800
47 Lars Hoe Madsen 30700
48 Birgitta Johansson 30600
49 Robert Olsson 30400
50 Andy Goetsch 29500
51 John Conroy 28900
52 Karsten Schou 28800
53 Anders Wijk 27600
54 Daniel Raymon Bodin 27600
55 Eoghan Arthur O Dea 27300
56 Branislav Pajic 26900
57 Peter Eichhardt 26700
58 Marcin Horecki 26500
59 Ola Petter Bremer 26400
60 Andreas Elofsson 26000
61 Alexandre Poulain 25700
62 Brian Andrew Cook 25600
63 Kim Berntsen Vevle 24700
64 Nils Chr Paulsen 24300
65 Pernille Ravn 24300
66 Torben Sneibjerg 24200
67 Peter Roche 23900
68 Ingemar Jönsson 23800
69 Ulf Steringer 23800
70 Age Spets 23300
71 Chrsitian Grundtvig 23100
72 Steven Ronald Heard 23000
73 Claus Nielsen 22500
74 Luca Pagano 22500
75 Patrick Bueno 21800
76 Steven Mitchell 21800
77 Thierry Van Den Berg 21800
78 Gitte Andersen 21500
79 Vitaly Lunkin 21400
80 Emile Petit 21100
81 Erik Nicklelson 20800
82 Arve Leikarnes 20200
83 James D Campbell 20200
84 Soren Knudsen 20100
85 Dave Colclough 19800
86 Michael Bjørn 19500
87 Jan Wronowski 19400
88 Johnny Lodden 19300
89 Michael Naughton 19300
90 Gary Haglund 19000
91 Jens Kläning 18900
92 Zlatan Musa 18600
93 Christoffer Sonesson 17800
94 Colin Ogden 17800
95 Kim Hemmingsen 17500
96 Rehne Pedersen 17200
97 Gert Anderson 16800
98 Martin El-Kher Cook 16300
99 Nick Slade 16200
100 John Baarstrøm 16000
101 Mark Secher Petersen 16000
102 Jason Cheng 15800
103 Tyrone Kerrigan 15800
104 Daniel Philips 15700
105 Henning Granstad 15700
106 Paul Linton 15700
107 Sumen Saha 15600
108 Hilmar Tveit 15400
109 Morten Lund Jensen 15100
110 Henrik Engsig 14900
111 Torstein Iversen 14700
112 Cole Morrow 14600
113 Boris Shostak 14500
114 Betrand Grospellier 14400
115 Mike Borgesi 14400
116 Erik Roos Afhjelmsater 13800
117 Thomas Peterson 13600
118 Tom McEvoy 13500
119 Allan Nilausen 13300
120 Paul Hersleth 13100
121 Tobias Persson 13100
122 Halldor Mar Sverrisson 13000
123 Andre Alcaria 12700
124 Anne Gro Løvmo 12400
125 Terje Kvistbråten 12300
126 Janne Helen Overå 12200
127 Patrick Fredriksson 12100
128 Bo Knii Jensen 12000
129 Marko Rajaniemi 12000
130 Lotte Kalland 11700
131 Lars Storkehave 11600
132 Bent Mortensen 11200
133 Daniel Thunvik 10900
134 Robert Norberg 10600
135 Henrik Witt 10500
136 Stein Erik Ulekleiv 10400
137 Guenther Hornung 10100
138 Kerry James Kerrigan 10100
139 Peter Jepsen 10000
140 Trond Aanensen 8900
141 Nicolai Vivet 8800
142 Mikael Lindbäck 8300
143 Alexander Stevic 8200
144 John Persson 7900
145 Runar Pedersen 7600
146 David Berggren 7500
147 Michael Frandsen 7200
148 Martin Flint 6500
149 Yuri Ten Bokkel 6000
150 Maarten Meijer 5900
151 Olav Haugen 4400
152 Ken Gamskjaer 3800
153 Michael Melin 3700
154 Tobias Nebel 3300

Here you have the chip count after day 1B:1 Bastian Landehagen 98400
2 Erlend Melsom 80000
3 Jan Olav Sjåvik 67400
4 Kenneth Gregersen 59800
5 Thomas Holm 53800
6 Jeppe Mikkelsen 51000
7 Ghassen Yafaoui 49800
8 Iwan Jones 47500
9 Martin Wendt 47400
10 Roy Brindley 45900
11 Atle Walgren 44100
12 Guido Meacci 42400
13 Patrick Kortsen 41400
14 Magnus Petersson 39400
15 TJ Cloutier 38900
16 Donny Morris 38400
17 Flemming De Hoog 37500
18 Jacob Rasmussen 37100
19 Ben Johnsen 36900
20 John Shipley 35400
21 Simon Mycock 34900
22 Thomas Ostervold 33800
23 Peter Hardgrove Hansen 33400
24 Birgitta Johansson 30600
25 John Conroy 28900
26 Karsten Schou 28800
27 Anders Wijk 27600
28 Ola Petter Bremer 26400
29 Brian Andrew Cook 25600
30 Kim Berntsen Vevle 24700
31 Nils Chr Paulsen 24300
32 Torben Sneibjerg 24200
33 Ingemar Jönsson 23800
34 Age Spets 23300
35 Steven Ronald Heard 23000
36 Steven Mitchell 21800
37 Gitte Andersen 21500
38 Vitaly Lunkin 21400
39 Arve Leikarnes 20200
40 James D Campbell 20200
41 Soren Knudsen 20100
42 Michael Bjørn 19500
43 Michael Naughton 19300
44 Gary Haglund 19000
45 Zlatan Musa 18600
46 Kim Hemmingsen 17500
47 Rehne Pedersen 17200
48 Gert Anderson 16800
49 Martin El-Kher Cook 16300
50 John Baarstrøm 16000
51 Mark Secher Petersen 16000
52 Jason Cheng 15800
53 Tyrone Kerrigan 15800
54 Paul Linton 15700
55 Sumen Saha 15600
56 Hilmar Tveit 15400
57 Morten Lund Jensen 15100
58 Henrik Engsig 14900
59 Thomas Peterson 13600
60 Tom McEvoy 13500
61 Halldor Mar Sverrisson 13000
62 Andre Alcaria 12700
63 Anne Gro Løvmo 12400
64 Janne Helen Overå 12200
65 Bo Knii Jensen 12000
66 Lotte Kalland 11700
67 Lars Storkehave 11600
68 Robert Norberg 10600
69 Henrik Witt 10500
70 Guenther Hornung 10100
71 Kerry James Kerrigan 10100
72 Mikael Lindbäck 8300
73 Alexander Stevic 8200
74 Martin Flint 6500
75 Olav Haugen 4400
76 Tobias Nebel 3300

Dream day: Bastian Landehagen

by Simon Young

Play at the entertaining Day 1B of the EPT Copenhagen is finished for the night, with Swede Bastian Landehagen seemingly topping the pile with a massive 98,500 chips.

He soared through the last couple of levels, while previous leader Morton Lund Jensen, from Denmark, fell the other way, losing one big pot and then a monster to Norway's Jan Sjavik, who ends up on more than 60,000. Q-Q v K-K did that particular damage.


Jan Sjavik


Ben Johnson

New Yorker and PokerStars player Ben Johnson, who finished second in Austria in October, had been sitting in mid table for much of today, but burst into life late on to finish with 40,000 or so.

Another PokerStars qualifier, no less than T J Cloutier, had a great EPT debut, finishing with 38,900 having survived the day's table of death, including at times Marcel Luske, William Thorsson, Juha Helppi and Alexander Stevic. Stevic is the only one of those who will see Day 2.

Team PokerStars Tom McEvoy has 13,500 and will look for some decent action as survivors from the two Day 1 fields come together tomorrow. And qualifier Brian Cook, a plumber from Illinois, who was the first chip leader after doubling up with quad kings in level one, has made it through the minefield to finish up on 25,000.


The chips Wendt - and came back again

Comeback of the day must belong to Danish star Martin Wendt, who had less than 2,000 chips at one stage before firing back...and back, and back, to end up with an excellent 47,000. Ireland's Roy Brindley also survived a few set backs to finish on 45,800.

Play starts at 2pm local time tomorrow, when ideally tournament director Thomas Kremser would like to whittle the field down to the last eight to play Saturday's final table with a first prize of €550,000 on offer to the winner. The cash is paid down to 40th place.

We'll get you the day's official chip counts as soon as we can, but in the meantime, from a wet and windy Copenhagen, goodnight.

On the up: T J Cloutier

by Simon Young

T J Cloutier has seen it all in poker - World Series bracelets, final tables galore and top-selling books co-written with Tom McEvoy to name just some. Now he is enjoying his visit to Copenhagen, and starting to build a nice stack.

Currently he sits on 27,000, and is engrossed in a cheery, chatty table. That's not difficult when England's John Kabbaj and Kevin O'Connell are sharing the felt with you. When I dropped by, T J and Kabbaj were rather morbidly talking about people they knew in poker who had died. At the same time, some poor chap in seat 10 saw his tournament expire when his turned set of sevens were beaten by a flopped set of nines.

How long the banter will continue will surely depend on how the cards fall. A bad run, and any of these guys may retreat into a shell, which would be a shame for the crowd, who are lapping it all up.

Meanwhile, chip leader seems to be Bastian Landehagen, from Norway, who has just soared to 70,000 chips after taking a big pot off Morton Lund Jensen from Denmark. Jensen still has 50,000 chips behind him.


Danish charge: Morton Lund Jensen

PokerStars qualifier Magnus Petersson is doing very nicely. The Swede, who won his seat in a cash satellite, is on 40,000 and looking threatening.


Chip building: Magnus Petersson

Play has just moved on to the last level of the night. Blinds are 300-600 with a 75 running ante, and little over 100 players remain, all vying for that place in the official Day 2 tomorrow.

Set to go: John Shipley

by Simon Young

William Thorsson is OUT after his aces were cracked by John Shipley's flopped set of jacks. The Scandinavian Live Player of the Year, who came 13th in last summer's WSOP, had just lost half his stack when he found the bullets.

With the blinds at 150-300 with running 25 ante, England's Shipley raised pre-flop to 900. Thorsson re-raised to 2,400. Shipley raised again to 6,500 total,which was called by the Swede. The flop came 10-J-3, a nice flop for the aces, so when Shipley moved in for his remaining 6,000 or so, Thorsson called.

He flipped over the aces, and to his horror found himself staring at Shipley's pocket jacks, with the flopped set. The turn and river - 9 and 4 - made no difference, and Shipley, who won the Season One EPT London, rockets up to more than 30,000.


Down and out: William Thorsson

There are now 130 players left, but expect that number to start tumbling now the antes are kicking in. Already absent, presumed out, are last year's Copenhagen winner Mads Andersen, Erik-Bjorn Glenne, and Erik Friberg.


Big deal: Anthony Holden

Still going strong is PokerStars qualifier and serial WSOP bracelet winner T J Cloutier, who has now moved up to 17,000 after flopping trip nines. Team PokerStars Tom McEvoy is still there with 14,000 or so, and British author Anthony Holden, who wrote The Big Deal and is soon to publish The Bigger Deal, is on just under 10,000. He is flying the PokerStars flag at this event.

The UK's Iwan Jones still looks like the chip leader, with 47,000, all neatly stacked with the white marks on the chips lined up beautifully.

I'll get my coat: Marcel Luske

by Simon Young

Just when our Table of Death looked like getting even more dangerous with the arrival of William Thorsson, we have lost Marcel Luske. Then tournament director Thomas Kremser spoilt the fun and broke up the table, scattering the remaining players around the room.

Luske's exit was inevitable as he was down to his last 1,575 chips. With the blinds at 150-300, he found 9-10 clubs in the cut off and put in 1,200. T J Cloutier folded, but Brian Cook called in the small blind, and William Thorsson - Scandinavia's Live Player of the Year - called in the big blind.

The flop of 2c-Js-3c saw Thorsson put in 2,500. Marcel, with the flush draw, emptied the rest of his chips on the table, and Cook folded. Showdown, and Thorsson showed the A-J both clubs, giving him top pair - and the nut flush if another club were to come. It did not, and Marcel was off to the rail, giving a polite handshake to the rest of the table before he left.

Players are now coming back from their dinner break, digesting the news that the prize pool here is a mouth-watering 13,824,000 Danish Kroner, which is about €1,855,000. Out of that little lot, the winner will pick up a tasty €550,000, and the payout will go down to 40th place.

by Simon Young

Friends Charalampos Tsaoussis and Maximilianos Trigas, both from Greece, have had terrible luck here in Copenhagen. They would certainly empathise with William Shakespeare, who wrote in Hamlet: "Something is rotten in the State of Denmark."

The pair, who both qualified in the same PokerStars cash satellite, played on separate day ones. Yesterday Maximilanos, a serial EPT qualifier, was dumped out of the tournament when his J-J was overtaken by 5-6.

Then today it was Charalampos' turn to curse the poker Gods, when his A-A was beaten cruelly by Q-Q, a flopped queen doing the irrepairable damage.

Meanwhile, one of our PokerStars plumbers has been moved next to T J Cloutier and Marcel Luske. Brian Cook from Indiana, now sitting on a healthy 30,000, may soon get fed up with Marcel's singing - and tell him to "put a plug in it". Marcel is still on 3,000 or so, but T J has got himself up to 12,000.

by Simon Young

PokerStars qualifier Martin El-Kher (pokerbody) from Denmark has stood up to the perils of the Table of Death - and is enjoying being table boss. He now has about 22,000 and is showing no respect for the likes of Marcel Luske and T J Cloutier.

Luske, still bursting into occasional song, is down to 3,200, but as we have seen before, he is more than capable of turning it around in a hurry. Neighbour Cloutier is faring better, but still stuck on about 8,000. With Juha Helppi moved, only Alexander Stevic remains of the "Big Four" - and he is languishing on 4,400.

Team PokerStars' Tom McEvoy continues to build slowly, sitting on 15,300. He is on one of seven tables in a side room to the main casino, a by-product of the continuing popularity of the EPT.

Tom McEvoy

Bouyed after overdoing the plumbing jokes in a previous post - with no apologies - we have only gone and found another PokerStars qualifier who is a plumber. Or at least training to be one. He is Dennis Pedersen (DnP!) from Denmark, who is here after winning a satellite costing just 10 frequent player points! It's his first ever live tournament, and he is treading the water (sorry, another plumbing joke) on about 12,000.

Another local PokerStars qualifier, Michael Moehl (detlimegetjo), is being cheered on here by seven of his mates. But they are not urging him on to win - they want him to get busted so they can go out into the Copenhagen night and party. Some friends they are!

Michael, who is a student, is on 13,100 chips and this is his first big live event.

Blinds are now 100-200, and we still have 180 of the 200 starters left in. One of those struggling is last year's winner Mads Andersen. Nothing is going his way today and he sits on 4,400.

Flood of chips: Brian Cook

Plumber Brian Cook is awash with chips after finding quad kings. He hit the monster and trap checked before moving all in - and getting the magical call.

Brian, 32, from Indiana in the United States, qualified for this event in a PokerStars 40 frequent player point satellite. He began playing about five years ago after seeing Chris Moneymaker win the World Series and thinking: "Hmm. I can do that." Now he is following in Moneymaker's chip-building footsteps, and is up to 24,000.

He's here with his brother, Robbie, while his wife waits at home, apparently hoping he wins some cash so she can go shopping. It is safe to say the plumber will find it a wrench to leave here empty-handed.

Elsewhere, Team PokerStars' Katja Thater is OUT in the cruellest of circumstances. She got all in with top two pair - and was called by an unknown player on a Gutshot straight draw. Agonisingly for Katja, he hit, and she was out of the door.

Another early faller was French singer Patrick Bruel, whose A-Q looked good on a Q-10-rag flop - except his opponent had made the set of tens.

Shall I run this table or you? Luske and Cloutier chat

by Simon Young

The two giants of poker sat down together and greeted each other like old friends. Which, of course, they are. Marcel Luske and T J Cloutier are neighbours on today's EPT Copenhagen Table of Death, so called because sharing the felt with them are Juha Helppi and Alexander Stevic.

One poor player, who met Marcel in the lift on the way to the card room, told him: "It's not good - I have been drawn on the same table as you." Quick as a flash, Marcel replied: "I am afraid that is the least of your worries."

Early hands on this table, currently with 25-50 blinds, went to Sweden's Stevic, who was raising and collecting many pots uncontested to add to his starting stack of 10,000. Then the first big clash of the day occured.

Helppi and Luske faced each over a rainbow flop of K-5-A. Helppi bet 200, Marcel called. The turn was a 7, apparently no help and both players checked. The river was another king. Marcel seemed to like it and bet 500, but Helppi rerasied another 1,500.

Marcel went into the tank before folding - flashing a KING for the laid-down trips. A genius fold, or duped Dutchman? We will never know, as Helppi put his cards in the muck without showing.

Cloutier, sporting a neat PokerStars jacket, has been playing tight so far, something noticed by Luske, who teased him: "You've only played three hands in the first 90 minutes." Marcel then burst into song, as he tends to do at the table. His choice of music? "That's What Friends Are For."

Table of Death Chip Stars: Helppi 12,000, Luske 11,000, Cloutier, 11,000, Stevic 10,000.

Meanwhile, an incredible hand on neighbouring table 10. Three players saw a board of 7-K-Q-6-9 ALL diamonds. Now Mark Petersen bet 1,000, Ireland's Roy "The Boy" Brindley folded, but Allan Aspholm raised to 3,000. Petersen moved all in over the top. Called. Showdown. Guess the hands? Aspholm had A-A with the diamond for top flush, but Petersen had 5-8 diamonds for the straight flush. He doubles up and is early chip leader. Aspholm is clutching at thin air.


Petersen: Straight Flush

Not so much good fortune for well-known Swedish player Per Ummer. Raising on the button, he was then re-raised all in by the big blind. He tried to talk himself out of calling, but failed. His chips went in, and he showed K-K. His worst fears were realised when the other player - Steven Mitchell - flipped over A-A. No help for Ummer and he was, um, out.

Finally, just as a bonus, here's another pic of Marcel Luske and T J Cloutier, showing that poker really is a thinking man's game:


Lost in thought: Luske and Cloutier