Selected approximate chip counts, updated throughout the day, are available on the chip counts page. The LAPT tournament structure can be found on the LAPT tournament structure page. The full payout structure is on the prize pool and winners page.

Previous coverage: Day 1 wrap | Levels 9 and 10

Blinds: 1,000-2,000 (200 ante)

3:20pm: Moving on up

We have now moved on to level 12 and 1,000/2,000/200 blinds and antes. Sixty-one players remain.

Blinds: 800-1,600 (200 ante)

3:48pm: J.C. Alvarado eliminated
Speaking of Fred Dykes, he is now likely the chip leader after sending Mexican Team Pro J.C Alvarado to the rail.

3:46pm: From 3,000 to 200,000 in less than 24 hours
Speaking of Mr. Chugga-Chugga, he just took a tour of the room and spotted his old tablemate Fred Dykes.

"Dude, you were down to 3,000 yesterday!" he exclaimed.

Dykes nodded humbly. So he was. Now he is among the top five in chips.

3:35pm: The Rory Graham Show, Part Dos
Rory "A.J." Graham just busted another player holding [as][8c] on an eight-high flop. For the past hour or two, he's been mimicking a train with his now infamous "Chugga-chugga, chugga-chugga" routine. Now that he has some chips, he has declared. "No more chugga-chugga! Now it's Whooooo-Hoooooooooo!" His train whistle is now the loudest thing in the room.

"I was quiet before," he said. "But you can't wake up a crazy man. I'm awake now!"

3:15pm: The Rory Graham Show
We meet a lot of characters in poker. Guys who wear funny hats, guys with superstitious rituals, heck, one of our own Team Pros puts on a helluva show with a menagerie of plastic sharks. Well, today, we met another. An American living in Costa Rica, his name is Rory Graham, but everyone seems to call him A.J.

Graham opened for 5,000 from under-the-gun. A middle position player raised to 14,000 and the button moved all-in. The blinds folded and with the action back on Graham, he slapped his entire stack into the middle, putting our middle position three-bettor to a decision.

"I go home now. You beat a damn good man. I'm done with it! I don't wanna see any more money! I want Drachmas. They're not worth anything anymore."

The middle position player made an anguished fold, showing [Qc][Qs].

"I got Aces!" Graham screamed.

"Yeah, I know," snapped the middle position player. "F**k!" he shouted, despite making the correct move.

Up against the button's [Jc][Js] Graham's [Ah][Ac] held on the [Kc][Ts][5d][3s][Ad] board.

"SHIP IT! SHIP IT!" he bellowed. "Every last ficha, SEND IT!"

"Man, I wanna smoke this now!" he shouted, chomping on an unlit cigar still inside its plastic wrapper.

3:08pm: Adios, Akkari
Andre Akkari's lengthy tableside massage just came to an abrupt end when the Brazilian Team Pro ran his pocket eights into pocket kings.

3:05pm: Bolivar Palacios Eliminated
Bolivar Palacios found himself on the wrong end of a coinflip to bring his tournament to an end. All-in before the flop, his [Js][Jd] fell to [Kd][Qh] when the board ran out queen-high.

3:02pm: The 200 Club
There are currently four players among the 65 remaining who have 200,000 or more chips in front of them.

Daniel Mar Palsson--290,000
Carlos Girou--220,000
Steven Merrifield--205,000
Fred Dykes--200,000

2:57pm: Iceland continues to roll
It's not that we don't know Daniel Mar Palsson's name, but among the media, he has simply become "Iceland." We could also continue to call him "chip leader." We just walked by his table again and picked it up on a [Jc][Ks][8c] flop. His opponent had check-raised all-in from the blinds. Palsson had to call 26,400 more and did just that.

"Do you have a king?" Palsson was asked. He nodded. "Then I lose," said his opponent, and turned over [Kd][2c]. Palsson had [kh][9h]. It held and he moved up to 290,000.

2:41pm: J.C. Alvarado flushes, then flips
J.C. Alvarado opened for 3,400 from the cutoff and Maximilliano Bassil defended his big blind. Both players checked the [Jd][4h][2h] flop. Bassil checked again when the [Ah] hit the turn, opening the door for Alvarado to fire out 4,800. Bassil called and they went to the river, which fell the [Kh], putting four hearts on the board. Bassil checked to Alvarado, who bet 12,800. Bassil used every trick in the book to try and get a read on Alvarado-- the ol' staredown, the "let me count out my chips like I'm making a call" fake-out, but Alvarado remained stone-faced. Finally, Bassil made the call, Alvarado flipping over his [Qh][Ts] for the nut flush. The hand took his stack up to 118,000.

Alvarado hadn't even finished stacking his chips when he made it 3,400 to go on the very next hand. Eduardo Hernandez three-bet to 8,500 from the button, Alvarado moved all in and Hernandez called. It was a classic race with Alvarado's [Ah][Ks] up against Hernandez's [Tc][Td], but Alvarado couldn't outrun him on the [Jd][5c][4c][4s][6d] board.

And just like that, Alvarado was back down to 69,000.

2:36pm: Netter nets nothing, apparently
American Tyler Netter looked good to go deep and at least cash in this weekend's event, but like overnight chip leader Rob Woodcock, it's not to be. We're not sure exactly what happened to Netter, but he is gone-daddy-gone.

2:34pm: Iceland grabs the chip lead again
After spending a good part of Day 1 with the chip lead, Icelander Daniel Mar Palsson gave it up before our night was over last night. Now, he's got it back. At this hour, he is sitting on 245,000. That's good for the chip lead and a bit ahead of Steven Merrifield's 210,000.

2:21pm: Alex Gomes doubles
We missed the action but our Brazilian colleagues have informed us that Alex Gomes doubled up on the last hand before the break, his pocket aces holding up against pocket nines. He's presently on 63,000 in chips.

2:20pm: Leo Fernandez eliminated
Down to 17,100, Leo Fernandez open-shoved from the hijack seat, and Ivan Freitez announced that he was all-in as well from the small blind. Freitez's [Kc][Qs] dominated Fernandez's [Qh][9d], the board running out [Kd][7s][2d][Ac][5d] to send him to the rail. Or the pool. Or maybe the bar.

2:17pm: Annnnnnd, we're back
Players are back in their seats and cards are back in the air. We hit the money when 36 more players find the rail.

2:10pm: Players finishing up break
The 76 remaining players are finishing up some chicken wings and hamburgers. They'll be back soon. While we're waiting, here's a picture of the always animated Maria "maridu" Mayrinck.

Yesterday we reported how Antony Lellouche and Jeff Sarwer were once again setting the benchmark for a successful day on an EPT, just as they had a few weeks earlier in Warsaw.

Well, not a lot has changed since then.

Tonight those two are still the leaders - all they did was swap places at the top. Yesterday it was Sarwer, today Lellouche.

Antony Lellouche

Jeff Sarwer

Lellouche (1,134,000 chips) and Sarwer (913,500 chips) were today's draw for reporters, and their progress seemed to directly affect everyone else. If either of them sneezed the players at their tables got colds and most of the time that meant another empty seat. By the whistle the closest stacks to them belonged to Ricardo Sousa (765,000) and the Team PokerStars Pro Ruben Visser (749,000).

Ruben Visser

Taking place around them was the process of going from 69 players to 24. It's often hard to predict how long that will take, but today it was as if the tournament floor had been lifted up at one end, sending players sliding uncontrollably towards the payout desk.

Within two levels we'd reached the bubble, the Russian player Sergey Lebedev claiming the dubious honour of bubble boy before the first hand-for-hand shuffle. With that popped we set a course for a final 24 and we reached that before 6pm, just half an hour after the sun set over the Algarve. There are still signs of daylight out there.

So who else got a pat on the back today?

Matt Johns had a breakthrough day at his first EPT event. The PokerStars qualifier finished on 374,000 after recovering from an earlier blow, and ultimately brought the day to a close when he busted Nicolo Calia in 25th place, flopping a straight against Calia's set of kings. Joao Barbosa secured his eighth EPT cash, bagging up 362,000 tonight. Team PokerStars Pro's new boy Jude Ainsworth continues his excellent debut. Ainsworth returns tomorrow with 491,000, joined by team mate Ruben Visser with 749,000. Jan Skampa is within sight of the leaders with 562,000, as is Claudio Coelho on 508,500.

Matt Johns

Jude Ainsworth

Flip the success coin for the list of today's eliminations, one that includes Andy Black, Alex Kravchenko, Johannes Strassmann, Johan van Til, Ljubomir Josipovic, Martin Wendt, Stefan Mattsson and Ross Boatman among others. You can find how much each of them cashed, if anything, at the prize winners and payouts page as well as all today's scores on the chip count page, which is the only place to find the official counts for all 24 remaining players.

Martin Wendt

In the meantime feel free to catch up on everything that happened today at the links below:

Level 14
Level 15
Level 16
Level 17

Our thanks to Neil Stoddart for the photography, including the three faces of Jan Heitmann, and you can find all the video blogs you like at PokerStars.tv. They're still celebrating the fact that the video blog curse has not struck Matt Johns.

That's it for today. Now it's on to day four, where we wrench up the excitement levels again and close in on the final table: from 24 players to a last eight.

Can Sarwer and Lellouche put their Warsaw demons behind them and reach that final? Or will a local man make a legend of himself in front of a home crowd? Find out when the action begins at noon GMT tomorrow. And if you need something for the time in between then there's action from the LAPT in Costa Rica right now.

Cheerio.

***
Here's something to ease you into the night. It's a football match between Germany and Spain, Team PokerStars Pro style:

Selected approximate chip counts, updated throughout the day, are available on the chip counts page. The LAPT tournament structure can be found on the LAPT tournament structure page. The full payout structure is on the prize pool and winners page.

Previous coverage: Day 1 wrap

Blinds: 600-1,200 (100 ante)

2:00pm: Players take a 15-minute break

1:59pm: Gomes on the short stack
The player in the hijack seat opened for 3,200 and Alex Gomes three-bet to 8,500 from the cutoff. His opponent called and they saw a [Ad][Qs][Js] flop. The action was checked to Gomes, who made a small bet of 6,800. His opponent called and both players checked the [4h] on the turn. The [5h] fell on the river and Gomes faced a 12,300 bet. After a solid three minutes of deliberation, he gave up his hand and is now left with 26,000 in chips.

1:57pm: Fabian Ortiz eliminated
The only Latin player to have ever won an LAPT event (not to mention, the only LAPT champion left in the field), Fabian Ortiz, has beenn eliminated. His pocket sixes couldn't stand up against James Mckeon's big slick.

1:50pm: Nacho cheesed
Jose "Nacho" Barbero just tried to steal the blinds with jack-six and ran right into pocket queens. He didn't suck out and the Argentinian Team Pro is gone.

1:44pm: Competing for the chip lead
The first two levels of the day have seen some massive swings. The overnight chip leader disappeared and Steven Merrifield took over that spot.

Coming up from a Day 2 starting stack of a little more than 60,000, PokerStars qualifier Fred Dykes is now sitting on 190,000. That's not the chip lead, but it's getting close to Merrifield.

1:33 pm: Roberto Brenes Eliminated
With the action folded to Kenneth Paul on the button, he made it 3,300 to go. Roberto Brenes moved all in from the small blind and Paul insta-called, turning up [Qh][Qc]. Brenes sighed and showed [Ac][5c] and began pleading with the dealer for an ace. No luck for the last Brenes standing as the board ran out [Jh][5s][3c][Kd][8c] to send him to the rail.

1:32pm: Victor Ramdin "Sick."
Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin just came out on the wrong side of a nasty cooler. He flopped the nut flush with [Ah][2h]. His opponent held pocket tens for a flopped top set. The board went runner-runner sevens to give the set a boat and put Ramdin out short of the money.

1:28pm: Andre Akkari straightens it out
Brazil Team PokerStars Pro just found his run good. He got pocket sevens in against pocket queens. The board gave him a straight and doubled him up.

1:23pm: Marcelo Dabus eliminated
We're not sure what Marcelo Dabus held, but it was no good against Mathis Nehring's turned set of fives.,

1:15pm: Rob Woodcock, overnight chip leader, gone in 85 minutes
Rob Woodcock knows how to be the Day 1 chip leader. He did it in Costa Rica in season 2 and he did it again last night. In seaosn 2, he went on to the final table. Today, he went busto in less than 90 minutes.

After giving half his stack to our new chip leader Steven Merrifield, Woodock got broken to a new table. We wandered by to see how was doing and found him involved in a pot with Canadian Francis-Nicolas Bouchard. With around 45,000 in the pot, Woodock checked and Bouchard bet 17,000. Woodcock thought for a long time before moving all in for about 30,000 more. It was Bouchard's turn to think, but it didn't take him as long to call with [kd][Ks]. Woodcock tabled [As][Qd]. The river was an irrelevant [jc] and Woodcock was gone.

12:50pm: Shirley Rosario Eliminated
Bolivar Palacios claimed all by 600 of Shirley Rosario's chips, his A-A holding up against her A-K. Rosario was all in for less from the big blind on the next hand and although she found a double-up when her [9h][Ts] flopped two pair against Palacios' [Ac][Kd], she busted only a few hands later.

12:47pm: Team Pros Rising and Falling
Humberto Brenes looked, well, a little sad as we passed by his table a few minutes ago.

"I lose," he said with a shrug, his chip stack down to 24,000 after dropping the first pot he played.

Brenes walked off his beat by checking on his son, Roberto at an adjacent table, then returned to his own seat only to find his table breaking.

"Necesito fichas!" Brenes boomed as he walked across the room to his new seat at Table 2.

Brenes wouldn't stay there long, as he quickly got the rest of his "fichas" in with A-Q only to run into pocket queens. Humberto's elimination leaves Roberto as the LAPT Playa Conchal's "Last Brenes Standing."

Victor Ramdin, however is enjoying an excellent start to his Day 2. On a [Ad][Kc][2s] flop, Ramdin check-called a 5,000 bet. Both players checked the [5s] on the turn and when the [5s] hit the river, Ramdin deliberated a bit before tossing out another 7,000. The bet was enough to shake his opponent and Ramdin raked in the pot, taking his stack just north of 50,000.

12:45pm: Maridu doubles again
After making ace-king beat kings earlier, Maria Mayrinck managed to have her aces hold against pocket fives. She is now up to around 86,000. Meanwhile, she explained tablemate Christian de Leon's day. "Like a roller coaster, up and down," she said. "I beat his kings, then he had jacks full, then a set into a flush. It's like sex. Up and down."

12:35pm: A bit more about our new chip leader
A few minutes after that huge hand with Rob Woodcock (see below) Steven Merrifield's table broke. I wandered over where he was still stacking around 200,000 in chips. He caught me looking and offered a Cheshire Cat grin.

"You're proud of that one, aren't you?" I said.

Still smiling, he nodded.

Merrifield has nearly $700,000 in live tournament winnings to go alongside his untold online winnings. The 24-year-old hails from Fairmont, WV in the United States. His biggest live cash to date is a $428,948 finish in the 2008 $2,500 NLHE event at the WSOP. He also had a final table finish at a $2,000 side event in this year's PCA for $42,650.

12:24pm: Early eliminations
Short stacks Alfredo "Obama" Vaz and Michele Sainz Castro were both eliminated within the first few orbits.

12:22pm: Maria "maridu" Mayrinck hits a lead-off double
Maridu earned a double-up on the first hand she was dealt, her A-K snapping off her opponent's pocket kings when an ace hit the flop. That ace was the last one in the deck, as two players announced that they had folded A-2 and A-4 respectively. Maridu is now up to 68,000 in chips.

12:18pm: Rob Woodcock is no longer the chip leader
We picked up the action on Table 15 with around 18,000 already in the pot and Woodcock looking at the flop of [6c][3c][4h] flop from the small blind. Woodcock set out a bet of 11,000 and got a quick call from West Virginia's Steven Merrifield. The [Kh] came on the turn and Woodcock bet 26,000. Again, an easy call from Merrifeld. The bet on the [8d] river was 42,000. The call showed Woodock turning up [Ah][td] for ace-high. Merrifield...[Kc][7s] for the turned pair of kings.

Merrifield stacked the monster pot and remarked, "Any two will do."

12:17pm: Alex Fitzgerald eliminated
With a sigh and expletive on his lips, Alex Fitzgerald has been eliminated. A cursory look at the winning board showed him running into two kings.

12:09pm: Lessons at Table 15!
Brazil Team PokerStars Pro Gualter Salles was forced into a early and tough laydown in the first few minutes of action. As he folded, he told his opponent, "Thanks for the lesson."

PokerStars qualifier Eric Levesque answered quickly, "It's free!"

Salles shook his head ruefully. "It's not free," he said. "It's going to cost...me."

Both Levesque and Salles are sitting at chip leader Rob Woodcock's table. They won't be there for long. Table 15 looks to be the first to break of the day.

12:02pm: Cards in the air
Day 2 play is underway. Tournament Director Mike Ward reports the 119 players will compete today until 32 remain. We're figuring that will take somewhere between six and eight levels.

11:46am: Another day in paradise
Players are slowly trickling into the poker room to play Day 2. With 119 players remaining out of the starting 259, the UK's Rob Woodcock leads the field with 147,600 chips.

Blinds: 3,000-6,000 (500 ante)

5.45pm: Action flop you think?
The flop was already out reading [ks][jh][qh] and in a flurry of action Matt Johns and Nicolo Calia had all their chips in the middle with the former just covering the latter. It was a cooler flop too as Calia held [kc][kd] for top set to John's [9h][th] for a straight with a re-draw to a straight flush. The turn came [4s] and river [2c] to bust Calia and give Johns a finishing stack of 374,000.

This exit means we're down to 24 players which is the magic number that ends today's play. A full chip count and a wrap of today's play will be on the way soon.

5.30pm: Sousa takes chunk from Johns
A sickener for Matt Johns. He has just doubled up Ricardo Sousa with [ac][kh] versus Sousa's [ks][kd]. Sousa raised pre-flop to 14,000 from the hijack; Johns made it 30,000 from the button, Sousa made it 74,000 and Johns shoved. Sousa called for his entire 316,000 stack and the board came [6d][4h][2h][3c][qh]. Sousa doubles to 650,000 approx, while Johns is down to around 180,000.

In better times, just before the bubble, Johns and his fellow American PokerStars qualifier Jim Collopy talked to the video blog team. Here's what they had to say:

5.25pm: Snap call
Dutch Team PokerStars Pro Ruben Visser opened with a raise to 14,000 from the button. Alexey Yuzikov was sat in the big blind and seemed to have a difficult decision but after a while decided an all-in push for around 120,000 was the right choice. Visser snap called him and quickly saw his [ad][9h] was in good shape against the Russian's [ah][4h] and it stayed that way through the [ts][8h][2h][3c][2d] board. Visser up to 760,000 now.

5.15pm: Heitmann out in battle of the Jans
It's time for Unhappy Jan, unfortunately, as Jan Heitmann has been eliminated by Jan Skampa. They got it all in pre-flop:

Heitmann: [js][qs]
Skampa: [9c][9h]

"That's better than I could have hoped for," said Heitmann, who was covered by Skampa. But the board ran [10d][4d][ks][kc][kh] and that was enough to bust him and shoot Skampa up to around 390,000.

"It's been a pleasure playing with and against you," said the German Team PokerStars Pro as he headed for the cash desk.

5.10pm: Back in the right direction
Jeff Sarwer has stopped the bleeding of his stack and is up to 620,000. Mohamed Razab started proceedings with a raise to 15,000 from early position, Luis Rodriguez then juiced it up a bit with a three-bet to 44,000 but it got even more interesting when Sarwer four-bet to 111,000. Razab moved out of the way but Rodriguez moved all-in for another 85,000 with [ad][qc]. Sarwer called with [ah][kh] and he was very happy to see it hold up through the [9c][kd][3c][8h][qh] board.

5.05pm: Pirbazari floored
Amir Pirbazari is out. Tome Moreira bet 15,500, and Pirbazari moved all in for around 160,000. Insta call from Moreira, and here's why:

Moreira: [ad][as]
Pirbazari: [ah][kh]

The board ran [9h][5d][4c][7d][6s] and we're a man down. Moreira is up to 360,000.

5pm: The Heitmann emoticon
As we've mentioned plenty of times before, but bears repeating, photography is prohibited in Casino Vilamoura, which means our photographer Neil Stoddart has had to grab players during their breaks to take portrait-style snaps. It unfortunately means we can't really get the flavour of the action in pictures, and we get no action shots. Undeterred, the Team PokerStars Pro Jan Heitmann has just helped us out by posing for three pictures: happy, sad and cool, allowing us to make sure we've got a picture for all occasions.

At the moment, he's still in the tournament, but keep an eye out for the changing Heitmann emoticon through the day to determine his current state.

Or, the smaller versions:

4.55pm: The short term
Tobias Reikenmeier's level 17 didn't last long. He got his 130,000 stack in pre-flop against Antonio Matias, but the German's [ad][kh] was in trouble against the Portuguese's [kc][kd]. He was left calling for a seven on the river when the board came [5s][8c][4c][6d], but the [8d] was not it. Reikenmeier is out and Matias is close to half a million.

4.50pm: Patriotic people
"Yes yes yes," came the cries from some of my colleagues. I already knew an Italian had won a pot before I reached the table to see for myself. Marco Della Tommasina 49,000 stack was over the line sitting along side his holding of [td][th] and the hand stood up against Amir Pirbazari's [kc][jc] on a [9c][5s][4d][qd][6d] board. Pirbazari stacked knocked a little to 195,000.

4.45pm: Franklin minted
Ryan Franklin opened for 15,000 on the button. Jeff Sarwer was waiting in the small blind and raised to 42,000. Franklin looked miserable, ummed and ahh'd before moving all in for another 120,000 or so. Sarwer called but didn't count on Franklin showing [as][ac]. Sarwer had turned over [ad][td].

"Oh really?" he said as Franklin showed his hand. "I didn't think you had aces."

The board ran out: [4c][6h][tc][2d][jh]

"Nice hand," said Sarwer. "Good time to get aces on the button. Oh well..."

Sarwer's earlier surge seems to have faded. He's down now to 460,000. Franklin on the other hand is back up to 340,000.

4.40pm: Rino Mathis takes down side event
New Team PokerStars Pro member Rino Mathis has taken down the €1k Pot Limit Omaha side event at EPT Vilamoura for a first prize of €15,932, writes Mad Harper.

Only an hour after busting out of the Vilamoura Main Event on Day 2, Rino - who joined Team PokerStars Pro just before EPT Barcelona - took his place for the two-day PLO event.

There were 45 entries in all and eight players made the money, including Dutch pro Marc Naalden and American Jonathan Aguiar. Rino, 37, a former chess and backgammon player, hails from Uster in Switzerland. His biggest result so far was third place at the 2002 Master Classics of Poker for €96,000.

Blinds: 2,000-4,000 (400 ante)

4.30pm: End of the level
That says it all.

4.25pm: Matt looking glossy
The PokerStars qualifier Matt Johns added a lot of yellows to his stack. On a board of [ad][3h][jh][9s] he made it 50,000 and was re-raised by Luis Rodriguez in the big blind who made it 120,000. Undeterred Johns asked how much he had and shoved all-in for another 103,000. Rodriguez thought about it, glancing occasionally at the clock showing 33 players remaining, but passed. Johns up to 460,000 chips now.

4.25pm: Boatman sunk
Ross Boatman has been riding some turbulent waves today but has now capsized. Aurelien Guiglini started it off, raising from early position, then Jude Ainsworth and Boatman renewed their acquaintance. Ainsworth re-raised, Boatman moved all in for about 120,000, Guiglini folded but Ainsworth called. The Irishman's A-K stayed good against Boatman's A-Q. Boatman is off to walk the harbour; Ainsworth is up to about 320,000.

4.20pm: Heitmann clubbed
Jan Heitmann got it in good with [as][js] against Guillaume Da Silva's all-in with [4c][10c]. Things are never that simple, however, and the [jc][8c][4s][qc][4d] board rather summed that up. Heitmann still over 120,000 though.

4.15pm: A new name
Andrei Vlasenko is regularly getting involved, taking down a small pot from Michel Abecassis, and then seeing off both Ricardo Sousa and Pierre Neuville on the next hand. That one was the more interesting: Sousa made it 11,500 from mid-position and Neuville called from his left. Vlasenko re-raised from the small blind, making it 8,500 more, which both Sousa and Neuville called. The flop came [2s][5h][4s] and Vlasenko bet 37,000, which was enough to get rid of Sousa. Neuville asked for a count, was shown that Vlasenko was playing something like 200,000 and made the call. The turn was [9d] and Vlasenko moved all in. Neuville folded.

4.10pm: Still sailing
Ross Boatman didn't wait long to get the last of his chips in. It was folded around to him in the cut off his moved all in for 27,000. Olaf de Zeeuw called from the next seat as did Aurelien Guiglini one more seat along. The flop came down [5h][7c][2h] before Guiglini led out for 38,000 forcing De Zeeuw to fold pocket sixes face up.

Guiglini opened [7h][7d] for top set and Boatman was in deep trouble with [jc][js]. He didn't have to fret for long though as the [jc] was the very next card out before the river came [2s] to triple Boatman up.

4.02pm: Ainsworth worth more
Jude Ainsworth just doubled up through Ross Boatman. Garcia Cayetano got things going, raising to 13,000 from the button. Ainsworth moved all in over the top from the small blind and Boatman then said he was all in from the big blind. Cayetano showed [10c][7c] for the steal gone awry, but he wouldn't have been in terrible shape against Ainsworth's [4h][4c] and Boatman's [ah][qh]. The flop came [2h][8s][3d] and the [10d] brought a small yelp from Cayetano. The river was [6h] meaning Ainsworth doubled up, plus a little bit more. The all in was for 92,500, so he has more than 200,000 now.

4pm: Franklin up, Sarwer down
The action was folded to Ryan Franklin in the small blind who bet a bit which Jeff Sarwer called in the big. The saw a flop of [8c][jd][2s] which Franklin checked. Sarwer went for his chips and made it 21,500 which Franklin called for a [ts] turn. Both checked that and on the [8h] river Franklin checked again. Sarwer made it 30,000 which Franklin called fast, showing [ad][tc] to take the pot. "Oh well..." said Sarwer.

3.55pm: Mattsson Busted
It was folded around to Stefan Mattsson on the button who pushed all in for his last 42,500. After a count Aurelien Guiglini called only to see Mohamed Razab move all in behind him for another 83,000, a move that prompted him to fold. Mattsson was in it deep as his [jd][2d] needed a lot of help against Razab's [kc][kd] and it didn't come on the [qc][ks][5s][4c][2s] board.

3.45pm: Pirbazari accounts for Wendt
Amir Pirbazari and Martin Wendt got it all in pre-flop. Wendt had about double Pirbazari's 110,000 stack, but was behind in terms of hands. Wendt showed [ah][js] but was behind Pirbazari's [as][ks] and the [7s][2s][6s] flop was emphatic. It got worse for Wendt soon after. He got it all in again with pocket nines and Pirbazari was the only called. Pirbazari had pocket fives but the flop came, well, it came five high. Wendt is gone.

3.40pm: Barbosa again
Messing with Joao Barbosa is not to be recommended. See xxpm post for proof and this little exchange for corroboration. Barbosa raised to 11,000 from mid position and Ryan Franklin re-raised to 31,000. Barbosa didn't take long to move all in over the top and that was too rich for Franklin, who let it go.

Two massive pots played out simultaneously in neighbouring tables. On the first, Berney Frankfort moved all in under-the-gun for 47,100 and Jan Heitmann called two to his left. It was folded around to Santiago Terrazas in the small blind, who moved all in over the top, for 140,000 more. Heitmann thought long and hard but folded, and Terrazas showed [10s][10c] to Frankfort's [7d][7c]. "That's the one hand I didn't put him on," said Heitmann, saying that he too had folded pocket tens. The board ran out [ad][qs][3d][6c][ac] to eliminate Frankfort and put Terrazas north of 200,000.

At the very same time all this was happening, Manuel Cadilhe was all in pre-flop and Michel Abecassis had already called, comfortably covering Cadihle. Johan van Til also had some money committed to the pot and he too eventually called, even though Abecassis also had him covered and he probably figured things were looking bleak. Indeed they were, Van Til had [ah][kh], Cadihle had [7d][7c] but the biggest stack also had the biggest hand: [ac][ad]. The board came [kc][5c][2h][8s][jc] and Abecassis sent two of them to the rail and brought his stack up to about 520,000.

3.35pm: Video!
Here's how the video blog team set up the day:

3.30pm: Lucky Barbosa
Chip leader Jeff Sarwer raised to 13,000 from early position before Joao Barbosa moved all in for 110,500 from the big blind. Sarwer snap called with [jc][js] and was in great shape against Barbosa's [kd][9s]. The board ran [qs][4s][7d][4c][ks] to see Barbosa spike a king on the river to double through.

3.25pm: Quick fire shoves
Ryan Franklin moved all-in, 46,000 in total, but got no takers while Patrick O'Connor, a PokerStars qualifier from Ireland, is on his way to the cash desk. Alexey Yuzikov tried an all-in with no takers while Javier Garcia did the same on a board reading: [9d][6d][td][7h][jc] Matt Johns had the decision, with 100,000 in the middle. It was 113,500 to call but Johns passed this time. More players are busting though, we're down to 40 and Jeff Sarwer's table is the next to break.

3.20pm: Facts
This appeared in the last level but it's still relevant now. Here are some notable observations now we're in the cash:

Sarwer, Tome Moreira, Lellouche, Alexey Yuzikov and Michel Abecassis have cashed in the two most recent EPT events having all made the money in Warsaw last month.

]]> Howard Swains http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/ept/2009/ept-vilamoura-day-3-level-16-updates-061471.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/ept/2009/ept-vilamoura-day-3-level-16-updates-061471.html European Poker Tour Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:01:32 -0500 Updates from level 15 of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Selected approximate chip counts, updated throughout the day, are available on the chip counts page. The EPT tournament structure can be found on the EPT tournament structure page. The full payout structure is on the payout structure page.

Previous coverage: Day 1a wrap | Day 1b wrap | Day 2 wrap | Level 14 updates

Blinds: 2,000-4,000 (400 ante)

3.05pm: Into the break
On a board of [qc][th][3s][5c] Alexey Yuzikov made it 50,000 which the Team PokerStars Pro Ruben Visser called. After the [6s] fell on the river Yuzikov checked to Visser who slowly assembled a bet of 102,500. Even slow than that was Yuzikov's response. With the break well underway he asked Visser how much he had behind. 170,000 was the answer. Yuzikov took a tower of yellows form his stack and called. Visser immediately said "two pairs," showing [qh][3h], and in a flash Yuzikov folded. 549,000 now for Visser.

Five minutes remain on the break.

3pm: Sarwer lets a big one go
Jeff Sarwer, who continues to impress with his aggressive style, has shown he can also let a hand go when it matters.

Marco Paulo Orlandi made it 9,000 under the gun, Gino Gabriel made it 24,000 in the next seat, and it's folded around to Sarwer in the big blind who makes it 62,000. Orlandi gets out of the way, but Gabriel then re-raises by another 100,000.

That's a big bet, and it send Sarwer into the tank for five minutes, long enough for the rest of the room to empty as everyone else goes on a break. "I'm right on the line here," said Sarwer, shaking his head. "OK, I fold. I fold eights." Orlandi does not declare his hand, but says only: "That's a very good fold."

2.55pm: What could he have?
It was folded around to Aurelien Guiglini who raised pre flop, bet the flop, bet the turn and then moved all in for his last 96,000 on the river. His opponent in the hand was Ismail Erkenov who called him all the way including the river even though he had only 16,000 more chips. The board ended up as [5c][5d][td][jd][9h] and Guiglini opened [ac][tc] and was getting out of his seat as he thought he was beat for sure. But no, to the surprise of everyone the Russian folded. King-ten or mid pocket pair? We'll never know.

2.45pm: A few facts
Some notable observations now we're in the cash:

Sarwer, Tome Moreira, Lellouche, Alexey Yuzikov and Michel Abecassis have cashed in the two most recent EPT events having all made the money in Warsaw last month.

2.35pm: Bubble bursts before it's inflated
Two off the bubble Sergey Lebedev opened for 9,000 and was called by Jeff Sarwer next to him, Santiago Terrazas in the small blind and Andrei Vlasenko in the big. The flop came [9h][9s][qd] which was checked to Sarwer who made it 26,000. Everyone folded except for Lebedev who moved all in for 57,000. Sarwer didn't like it, and talked to himself for a bit, reluctantly calling and showing [ks][ts] to Lebedev's [as][qh]. The turn came a [2s] helping no one but the river card [jd] gave Sarwer the straight and more importantly made Lebedev today's bubble boy.

Just seconds before another elimination had taken place on the adjacent table and Thomas Kremser announced that the next hand would be dealt hand-for hand. No need. We just had the shortest bubble play you can get.

2.30pm: Non-existent bubble
We got to the bubble and we burst it without even knowing we were there. Four players were all in on four different tables and although two survived (one of whom was Ross Boatman) two did not, bursting the bubble between them. Full details of the bubble hand are on their way.

2.25pm: That damn river
Santiago Terrazas opened for 11,000 from mid position. Jan Heitmann was on the button and re-raised to 26,500. The action was folded back to Terrazas who called for a flop of [kd][4s][8h]. Terrazas checked but Heitmann made it 32,000. Terrazas gathered his chips and held them ready to move all in. Eventually he did, Heitmann insta-calling and with good reason, showing [as][ad] to Terrazas [7h][7c]. The turn [3c] the river [7s]. Cue sharp inhalations, noisy exhalations and Heitmann took it with minimum wince. Unlucky though. Down to 230,000.

2.25pm: Visser
Anxious times as the bubble approaches with the short stacks hoping it's not going to be them bathed in bubble goo. At the same time, the big stacks can get involved and Ruben Visser and Jim Collopy just got about 22,000 in pre-flop before it came down [10s][js][3c]. Visser checked, Collopy bet 16,400 and Visser called. Then they checked the turn [5h] and the river [6h] and Visser's [ac][qs] was the best hand.

2.20pm: Bad timing
Luis Rodrigues is our 51st place finisher. Desperately short he pushed all in from the button with [jd][9d]. How bad was this for timing though? Marco Della Tommasina, who didn't have that much more, woke up with [ah][as] and called. The board ran [7d][3c][th][tc][3h] to confirm his exit.

We're just two of the money now.

2.15pm: Heitmann v Sarwer... twice
Jan Heitmann and Jeff Sarwer are getting busy with each other. First hand Sarwer makes it 9,000 from early position and Heitmann calls from the big blind. On the [2d][8c][5h] flop Heitmann checked, Sarwer made it 12,500 and Heitmann re-raised to 32,500. Fold.

Next hand Sarwer makes it 9,000 from under the gun, it's folded around to Heitmann in the small blind and he calls again.

"I see something of a theme developing here," said the German.
"Another check-raise on the flop?" asks Sarwer.
"I don't know yet," Heitmann said.

The flop came [3h][4c][9d] and both checked. But on the [5d] turn Heitmann bet 13,500 and Sarwer folded.

"I think I like this theme," said Heitmann.

2.10pm: Man down
PokerStars qualifier Dominykas Karmazinas is out. We did not catch how the hand played out, but Johan Van Til was raking in the pot showing [ah][10h] on a [9d][6c][4h][9h][kh] board. The nut flush does tend to win these things.

2.05pm: Luck of the Irish?
Whoever penned the term "Luck of the Irish" might have to withdraw the term forever after events of the past few days. Patrick O'Connor would certainly agree with the sentiments. We reported how he doubled up a short stack just a short while ago (see 1.45pm update) while being ahead, well now he got the last of his chips as a favorite only to lose again and be eliminated.

The action folded around to Guillaume Da Silva in the small blind and he put O'Connor all in. O'Connor looked down at his cards and called quickly with [kd][qs]. Da Silva tabled [jh][7s] and duly made a full house on a [3c][7d][6d][6c][6h] board.  

2.02pm: You lose some, you win some
Michel Abecassis just moved up to 250,000 in chips. He opened for 10,500 in late position and was called by Ricardo Sousa in the small blind. On the flop of [kc][6h][5s] Sousa checked before Abecassis made it 14,500, enough to end the hand there.

On the next hand Sousa got his chips in, raising all in behind a bet of 102,000 from Johan van Til. It was 13,000 more for the Dutchman to call, which he did, showing [9d][js] to Sousa's [ac][as]. An ace on the flop was enough. Sousa back up to 230,000 while Van Til slumps to 106,000.

2pm: Cheese
He's known as Mr_BigQueso online, abbreviated to plain Queso among his friends. Queso means "cheese". I wonder where the name came from:

Jim Collopy

1.55pm: Full chip counts
The full counts from the end of the last level have just reached us and are now on the chip counts page.

CLICK HERE FOR CHIP COUNTS

1.52pm: Hit for Heitmann
Jeff Sarwer has kept up his habit of relentless raising, knocking Jan Heitmann from a hand and taking his own stack further towards the stratosphere. On a board of [ah][4c][jd][3h][7c] Heitmann had made it 22,500 to Sarwer from the button, who had checked from the big blind. Sarwer simply raised it up to 53,000, forcing Heitmann to fold.

1.50pm: Double up
Anton Bertilsson was staring at a cruel exit just ahead of the bubble when he moved all in with [ks][5s] and was called by Manuel Cadilhe with [kc][jd]. That was before the flop and turn came [4s][6c][2d][3d] to fill the straight to the five and give Bertilsson a double up to around 90,000.

1.45pm: Hanging by a thread
Being so near to the money we are seeing a lot of players willing to let their stacks dwindle to life threatening levels in an attempt to sneak a payday. Jamel Maistriaux
had just 36,000 left and when Patrick O'Connor raised to 10,000 from the button Maistriaux put them all in and was called. Maistriaux was live with [ks][2h] against O'Connor's [ad][td]. The first card out was [ks] providing much the very much needed double up for Maistriaux.

1.30pm: Back
Players have returned to their seats after the first break of the day. There are 54 left, which means five more will depart without any dough and 30 need to depart before day is done. The bubble is likely to float into sight in this level.

]]> Howard Swains http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/ept/2009/ept-vilamoura-day-3-level-15-updates-061465.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/ept/2009/ept-vilamoura-day-3-level-15-updates-061465.html European Poker Tour Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:22:09 -0500 Updates from level 14 of EPT Vilamoura, brought to you by Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Howard Swains and Simon Young.

Selected approximate chip counts, updated throughout the day, are available on the chip counts page. The EPT tournament structure can be found on the EPT tournament structure page. The full payout structure is on the payout structure page.

Previous coverage: Day 1a wrap | Day 1b wrap | Day 2 wrap

Blinds: 1,500-3,000 (300 ante)

1.28pm: Break time
That's the end of the first level of day three. Players get a fifteen minute break.

1.27pm: Choppy waters
Team PokerStars Pro Johannes Strassmann was down to around 60,000 and looking to get busy. He bet 7,700 pre flop and only the chip monster that is Antony Lellouche from the small blind looked interested. So much so that he re-popped to 20,500. Strassmann moved all-in, Lellouche called, and the result was a bit of a let down:

Strassmann: [ad][kh]
Lellouche: [as][kd]

The board failed to produce one of those horror flushes, running a harmless [8c][7s][7d][jh][5d].

1.26pm: Another one bites the dust
This time it's Vishal Pundjabi who got his marching orders, accounted for by PokerStars qualifier Pierre Neuville. Neuville had raised pre-flop, Pundjabi moved all in for his last 50,000 or so, and Neuville called.

Pundjabi: [ac][qc]
Neuville: [10h][10c]

The board? [3c][kc][8d][2d][jd]. Neuville up to around 250,000.

1.25pm: Get it quietly son
Claudio Coelho has been very vocal throughout the tournament and he was no different after he went all in for an over raise of 70,000 from under-the-gun and was looked up in the next seat by Dutch Team PokerStars Pro Ruben Visser. Visser tabled [jc][jd] and this prompted Coelho to shout "Vamos, vamos" as he tabled [qc][qd]. A little premature celebration maybe but his hand stood up through the [2h][3h][9d][kd][9c] board. Cue more and loader cries of "Vamos".

1.22pm: Collopy wallops Lebedev
Jim Collopy raised to 7,200 under-the-gun and Sergey Lebedev, in the hijack, made it 17,200. It was folded back to Collopy, who asked for a count and then called when Lebedev showed him two towers of yellow chips. The flop was [ac][10d][as] and both players checked. The [3h] turn was checked too, as was the [kd] river. Collopy showed his hand first: [kc][jc] and Lebedev peered skyward and mucked. Jacks?

1.20pm: Despair for Jesus as arch rival Gabriel casts him out
Jesus Sanchez bet pre-flop and was called by Gino Gabriel for a flop of [qs][9d][ah]. At this point Sanchez pushed in with [8c][8s] for the remainder of his stack, now less than half of the 170k he started with. Gabriel called showing [ad][8d]. A [9h] on the turn, [9c] on the river. Sanchez out.

1.16pm: Sarwer soaring
Jim Collopy opened for 7,200 from early position getting calls from Jeff Sarwer in the small blind and Marco Paulo Orlandi in the big. The flop came [8s][ks][4c]. Sarwer checked, as did Orlandi. Collopy then threw out 10,700.

"You were supposed to check that back," said Sarwer smiling, before re-raising to 27,200. Collopy said nothing, but was grinning. Orlandi folded, so did Collopy.

1.15pm: Heitmann slays Slotboom
Team PokerStars Pro Jan Heitmann picked up 140,000 chips by eliminating Rolf Slotboom. The Dutchman made it 7,000 from the cut-off, but Heitmann made it 25,000 from the big blind. Slotboom was having none of it, re-re-raising to 69,000. Heitmann quickly announced all-in having Slotboom well covered. He counted his remaining chips - 66,200.

"Kings are winning," he said. "Mind you, queens are winning too," he added to laughs all round, more or less confirming his hand was jacks.
Heitmann replied: "I'm feeling even more confident now!"
Slotboom made the call, turning over [jd][js] and begging the dealer to produce at least one more jack because Heitmann tabled [ac][as].

The board ran dry: [kc][8h][2c][7h][4h], and Slotboom, after shaking the hand of all those at the table, was out. Heitmann, meanwhile, moves up  to a menacing 230,000.

1.10pm: Bullies
This is the day when the big stacks become the bully boys - and tend to get away with it. Jeff Sarwer, who has the biggest of them all, raised to 7,000 under-the-gun and picked up Jesus Sanchez on the button. The flop came [7c][3c][5h], which they both checked. Then the turn was [7d]. Sarwer bet 7,000, Sanchez called, and the river was [jh]. Sarwer bet 21,000 and Sanchez let it go.

Jeff Sarwer

Across the room, Ruben Visser was playing a similar game. Santiago Terrazas was his sole opponent, with the turn already out. The board read: [3s][kc][ks][3h] and after Terrazas checked, Visser bet 35,000. Terrazas called. The river was [10c] and now Terrazas checked again. Visser moved all in, covering the Spanish player by the odd 200,000. Terrazas didn't fancy putting his tournament on the line and let it go.

1.06pm: Drescher downed
Daniel Drescher didn't manage to get two double ups in a row and therefore has been eliminated. Joao Barbosa was the man who took care of him after calling the all in bet of 17,700 with [qh][th] from the big blind. Drescher had pushed with [as][9d] and the board came [7h][2d][tc][7c][5c] to pair Barbosa's ten.

1.01pm: Up and down for De Zeeuw
Alexandre Brail just doubled up, getting it all in pre-flop with [qc][qh] against Olaf De Zeeuw's [3d][3s]. A queen flopped and although back-door diamond flush potential appeared on the turn, it didn't fill on the river and Brail feels his way to about 90,000 with De Zeeuw clinging onto about 20,000.

Actually scrap that, De Zeeuw got his short stack in moments later, with [ah][qd], called by Ross Boatman and his [6h][6d]. An ace flopped, doubling De Zeeuw back up.

1pm: Jesus wept
Sergey Lebedev just doubled up against Jesus Sanchez. Lebedev had pocket deuces and had called Sanchez's shove with [4s][ts]. The board ran out: [qd][5d][5c][6s][8h].

12.58pm: Stand clear of the keyboard player
Filipa Lemos, singer in Portuguese band Santamaria, which we're reliably informed are massive this side of the Portuguese border, just doubled up also. Again, this is based on the man identified as her keyboard player, leaning over the rail to rub her head in delight.

12.57pm: Cheery Garcia
Javier Garcia just doubled up, nay, tripled. We missed the action but were able to piece things together based on how happy or how sad the players involved were looking. There were queens, kings and nines turned over on the table and a queen on the flop. Garcia looked really happy, Goncalo Santos really sad and Ryan Franklin annoyed. He'd had the kings.

12.56pm: Positive thinking
Thomas Kremser was standing alongside Jeff Sarwer's table where the Canadian has around 600,000 stacked up in front of him on three levels. "Just one day to have that many chips," said Kremser, who can play a bit. "One day..."

Sarwer's only problem when he woke up this morning was how to stack so many chips.

"That's the dream," he added. "To make a bet like this..." At which point Kremser mimed reaching up above his head to take chips from a stack seven feet tall.

12.55pm: The shorties do battle
Daniel Drescher moved in for his last 10,200 from under-the-gun and managed to make all fold except Ryan Franklin who felt he was priced in to call even though it represented a bigger portion of his stack than he would've liked. Dresher tabled [ts][8s] and was up against Franklin's [5s][2c] and the board ran [as][4s][8s][4c][th] to double Dresher up to 25,000. Franklin has little more on 29,000.

12.45pm: I've got nothing, what about you. Oh, nothing too
Jan Skampa and Luis Rodriguez got to a flop of [2h][2d][kd], with Skampa in the cut-off and Rodriguez on the button. Skampa bet 8,000 at it and Rodriguez called. The turn was [js], which both checked, and the river was [8h] which Skampa also checked. Rodriguez bet 13,500 and Skampa called quickly. Rodriguez tapped the table and mucked his cards. Skampa mucked too. So no information for patient reporters, but a pot of around 40,000 for Skampa.

12.40 pm: Slow then fast
A four-way limped pot brought a [3c][6s][4s] flop. The blinds checked to Garcia Cayetano in the under-the-gun-seat who led for an over bet of 23,000. Olaf de Zeeuw was next to act and made his move with an all in bet. The blinds quickly folded and Cayetano called all in with [9c][9d]. De Zeeuw opened the very drawing [as][5s] but it failed to hit through the [jd] turn and [3h] river. The Spaniard is up to 150,000, the Dutchman down to 52,000.

12.30pm: Too cute
Ruben Visser opened pre-flop to 7,000 and Alexey Yuzikov and Rumen Nanev both called. The flop was [10c][5d][5c] and they all checked. Things got a little suspicious on the [6c] turn as Nanev bet 10,200, Visser called, as did Yuzikov. The river was [ks] and Nanev bet 25,000, which was enough to get rid of Visser. But Yuzikov was going nowhere and moved all in for about 140,000 more. Nanev called, as well he might with [5s][6h] for the turned full house. But he was sent spinning out of the tournament when Yuzikov showed his [10d][10h] for the bigger boat.

Ruben Visser

12.32pm: Blackout
Andy Black is out. Nobody actually saw how it happened and even the accounts from players at the table were sketchy, but by and large Black was moving in hand after hand, trying to recover some of yesterday's momentum, but came up short.

Andy Black

12.30pm: Collopy moving up
Vishal Pundjabi opened for 8,000 which Jim Collopy called for a flop of [jc][tc][js]. Pundjabi checked to Collopy who made it 9,500. That was called and a [ks] fell on the turn. Again Pundjabi checked, as did Collopy before the [th] river card. Check again from Pundjabi before Collopy bet 12,700. Pundjabi called but got nothing for it when Collopy turned over[kh][8c]. He's up to 220,000.

12.25pm: Pay up
Rolf Slotboom just doubled up with aces against the pocket sevens of Rogerio Sousa. There was nothing on the board to improve either hand but things weren't quite that straightforward. Sousa had been told it was 41,000 to call when in fact it was 43,000. This involved the floor being called and a long explanation from Thomas Kremser. Sousa wasn't happy but had to pay. Slotboom up to around 150,000.

12.20pm: Vamooooos!
We're getting near the money which means the volume has been turned up a massive amount. André Moreira was the first to give himself a celebratory "Vamooos!" when he called with [4s][4d] on the board of [6h][5s][5h][jc][9d]. His opponent, Amir Pirbazari, had been caught at it with [2h][3c], betting about 20,000 into a pot of at least double that.

Moments later, Claudio Coehlo scaled similar volumes with his celebration after taking a pot on Ruben Visser's table. I'm hoping it wasn't just the blinds and antes otherwise it's going to be a loud day.

12.15pm: Kravchenko's day is done
Another one of the overnight short stacks, Alex Kravchenko, got it all in pre-flop with king-queen. Ross Boatman called with A-K and the board offered no help to the Team PokerStars Pro. Kravchenko is the first player to bust today; we're down to 68.

12.10pm: Back to Black
Andy Black left the casino last night after losing almost everything he'd had, from more than 200,000 to 19,000 in one potentially glorious last hand. He's back today though, his war face on, and just got the start he wanted, and needed. He open shoved with [th][9d] getting called by Manuel Cadilhe with [kd][ts]. The board ran: [ks][8s][js][8h][7c] giving Black the straight and some welcome chips.

12.05pm: Bubble business
Of course, one more thing to keep us entertained today: it will be bubble time this afternoon in Vilamoura. Forty-eight players will be paid, which means we'll be going hand-for-hand at 49. Take a quick glimpse at the prize structure over at the prizewinners and payout structure page.

12pm: New day
Welcome back everybody to Vilamoura and day three of the inaugural EPT event on the Algarve. Today's target is very simple: we need to cut the remaining 69 players down to the 24 who will sit around the final three tables.

Leading the charge are Jeff Sarwer and Antony Lellouche, who each bagged close to 500,000 chips last night and are ahead of the Team PokerStars Pro Ruben Visser, Ljubomir Josipovic, Martin Wendt and Luis Rodriguez.

We've seen countless times how quickly things can change. Stick with us today. We're expecting the usual fireworks, suckouts, bust-outs, beats and MS Paint.

]]> Howard Swains http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/ept/2009/ept-vilamoura-day-3-level-14-updates-061461.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/ept/2009/ept-vilamoura-day-3-level-14-updates-061461.html European Poker Tour Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:50:30 -0500 Rob Woodcock has history here in Costa Rica.

It was just last year that the British PokerStars Supernova came to San Jose and ended Day 1 as the chip leader. He went on to finish in 9th place for $17,098. While a good finish, he certainly hoped for more. Now, he's apparently decided to go for the final table again.

In a day that saw the chip leader change like the Costa Rican breezes, Woodcock has emerged again as the Day 1 chip leader. After starting the day on 20,000, he beat Brazilian Marcelo Dabus in a 120,000 pot and ended the day on 147,600. He will lead the other 120 players left in the field as Day 2 begins tomorrow.

Rob Woodcock, Day 1 chip leader

Playa Conchal, this beautiful place along the Costa Rican Gold Coast, forces people to confront an age old issue. Although poker is as fun a game as we've found, it's nearly impossible to concentrate on flops and rivers when there is a beautiful ocean just yards away from the poker room. Among the 259 starters today, at least half the field found themselves thinking more about the beach than poker. They are all now free to enjoy the beach, pool, fruity drinks, and the ubiquitous pineapple plates around the resort. The other half will come back tomorrow to fight toward the money.

Today, the LAPT was full of Team PokerStars Pros, including the likes of Andre Akkari, Angel Guillen, Alex Gomes, Jose Barbero, Christian de Leon, J.C. Alvarado, Leo Fernandez, Gualter "stockcar99" Salles, and Maria "maridu" Mayrinck. We were also happy to see Veronica Dabul and local godfather Humberto Brenes. Of all the Team Pros in the field, we only had to bid goodbye to Dabul. She took down Brenes' Shark Hunt Charity tournament last night and must have used up all her run good.

Chasing Rob Woodcock for the chip lead is American Tyler Netter who held the top spot for most of the day and finished the day with more than 120,000 chips. Sitting on almost an identical stack is Icelander Daniel Mar Palsson.

Daniel Mar Palsson

Those players and about ten dozen more are now free to enjoy a good dinner before bedding down for the night to dream of making the money.

And what will they be playing for when the come back on Day 2? Well we've detailed that over on our LAPT Playa Conchal prize structure and winners page. If you don't feel like clicking through, here it is in brief: The top 40 players will get paid. The player who makes it to the end will cash for $172,095. Not bad for four days work.

We've posted a short list of selected chip counts over on our LAPT chip counts page. When the tournament staff provides a full list of counts tonight, we'll post a link to it in the little black box at the top right of this page.

If you're into reading this coverage in the language in which the LAPT might imply, feel free to head over to PokerStarsBlog.la for coverage in Spanish and PokerStarsBlog.net/br for coverage in our Brazilian's version of Portuguese.

Or, if you'd prefer to stick to English, you'll find a complete list of our coverage from Day 1 at the end of this post.

We'll be back at noon Central Time on Friday to start Day 2. In the meantime, have yourself a good night.

Easing into it
Shaking off the morning
Wipeout for the surfer boy
BrenesWatch Part 1
Adios, Maria
Ramdin needs a new belt
BrenesWatch Part Two, Alex vs. "Obama"
I'll follow the sun
Tres reinas
They've been there before
Gomes flushes Lerner
Better to be Netter
BrenesWatch Part 3

]]> Brad Willis http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-woodcock-reprises-chi-061452.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-woodcock-reprises-chi-061452.html Latin American Poker Tour Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:14:33 -0500 Eric Brenes has been eliminated and his son Eric Jr. departed shortly thereafter, leaving us with three Breneses among the 143 remaining players. It was only a matter of time before two of them ended up at the same table. Sure enough, Roberto Brenes ended up moving to the two seat at the same table where his uncle Alex was seated in seat seven.

Alex and Eric Brenes

It was time for some Brenes-on-Brenes violence. And the Breneses like to play each other. Hard. Just ask Roberto, who just told us the story of how his older brother busted Alex out of a Season 1 even on the LAPT with a full house over full house. Their family home game (yes, they have one!) has to be one of the world's toughest.

With the board reading [Ks][As][Th][4d][3s] on the river, Alex checked to Roberto, who carefully counted out a 7,000 bet. Alex looked at the pot, at his nephew, and back at his cards. With the number of chips in the middle, it could have been a value bet, it could have been a bluff. Alex was genuinely puzzled. And after several minutes in the tank, he mucked his hand.

Roberto flashed the [9s][Ts] for a flush as the dealer pushed him the pot. Uncle Alex smiled and nodded, mumbling a bit in Spanish to the player on his left. The hand put uncle and nephew nearly even in chips, Roberto holding 32,500 to Alex's 30,000.

Across the room, Humberto wasn't looking nearly as exuberant as his usual self. Folding hands all day can do that. However, once his wife and daughter arrived to check on his progress, Humberto noticeably perked up. Once up to 40,000, then hovering around his starting stack for several hours, he's now on 37,500 in chips, good for the Brenes family chip lead.

]]> Change100 http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-breneswatch-part-3-061448.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-breneswatch-part-3-061448.html Latin American Poker Tour Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:52:39 -0500 Earlier today, we were remarking on how nice it would be to be Icelander Daniel Mar Palsson. That guy came down here from Iceland and spent the first few levels quintupling his stack. Since then, the ice has melted a bit and he's back down below 100,000. And so we posit that it may be better to be Tyler Netter.

If you don't know Netter (that's tnetter on PokerStars), you probably don't ever play tournaments online. The kid puts in some volume. Just counting his online cashes in November, we saw more than 30 in-the-money finishes in the last 19 days. That includes two fist place finishes in the high four figures and a massive fifth place finish in the Sunday Million for $63,000.

Now, he has spent most of Day 1 quietly eviscerating his opponents and at this hour sits on 130,000 from the starting 20,000 stack.

Netter, apparently is the real deal. That's how he ended up representing his country in poker's biggest national battle. A couple of years back, Netter represented Team USA in the World Cup of Poker. And, as expected, he and his team won.

Now he's on the LAPT and working on a title here. If the way he's been running in November is any indication, we might be using the old "better to be Netter" line more than a few times.

]]> Brad Willis http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-better-to-be-netter-061443.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-better-to-be-netter-061443.html Latin American Poker Tour Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:41:43 -0500 Alex Gomes spent much of the afternoon with a frown on his face. Though his chip count never reached the critical level, Gomes is a man who loves playing an aggressive style with a deep stack. So when he found his first double-up, taking him north of 50,000 in chips, it didn't take long for that frown to turn upside-down.

Alex Gomes

On the last hand before the break, Gomes and Aaron Lerner saw a [Tc][3c][2d] flop. Gomes tossed out 20,000, enough to set his opponent all-in. Lerner didn't waste any time making the call, his [Ts][Th] having flopped top set while Gomes held [Ac][Kc] for the nut flush draw. The [9c] on the turn left Lerner drawing to a trey, a deuce, a nine, or the case ten to make a full house or quads, but the river card didn't help him, the [6h] falling to send Lerner to the rail.

Alex Gomes stacked up 79,000 in chips before leaving the room with a pack of friends for what was left of his break. And this time, he couldn't hide his smile.

]]> Change100 http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-gomes-flushes-lerner-061441.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-gomes-flushes-lerner-061441.html Latin American Poker Tour Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:49:43 -0500 The LAPT fields are still what we like to call "manageable." With 259 players in the field, it's easy to see a lot of familiar faces. What makes them all the more familiar is the fact we have seen a number of today's players on the final table of other LAPT events.

Perhaps the most recognizable of the players in the field is local favorite Alex Brenes. His record on the LAPT, at least in terms of final tables, is unmatched. In the first two seasons of the LAPT, Brenes has made two final tables. Both happened in season 1 when he took fourth in the now-defunct event in Rio and then placed runner-up in Punta del Este, Uruguay. Those two cashes earned him around $200,000.

The same year Brenes made the final table in Punta, he was up against now-Team PokerStars Pro Alex Gomes. The Brazilian placed fourth that year for a $68,000 win. Since then, he's signed on with Team Pro and won big just about everywhere he's been.

The only LAPT champion in today's field is Fabian Ortiz. In the Season 2 event in Vina del Mar Chile, Ortiz came back from a single small blind at the final table to win the entire thing for more than $141,000.

We also have the possibility of some final table rematches. The starting field today included players who have met before on previous final tables. Last year in Costa Rica, Brent Sheirbon and Jesus Bertoli placed third and fourth respectively. A few months later in Punta del Este, Mexico's Angel Guillen took third and Bolivar Palacios placed seventh. Finally, at the season 2 grand final in Argentina, we saw Leo Fernandez (6th), Derek Lerner (7th), and Jose Barbero (9th).

Jose Barbero

Finally, we can't let this list of notables end without mentioning the man with the most creative hair stylist among LAPT final table players. That, of course, is Steven Thompson who made the final table of the Costa Rican event in season 2.

Who's to say we won't see these guys meet again at a final table. After all, they've been there before.

]]> Brad Willis http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-theyve-been-there-bef-061440.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-theyve-been-there-bef-061440.html Latin American Poker Tour Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:45:18 -0500 With the early exits of Maria Stern and former Costa Rican first lady Doris Yankelwitz, five women remain among the 171 players still in contention for the LAPT Playa Conchal title. Two of those five are South American-based Team PokerStars Pros and one is 3,000 miles from home, exchanging the sunny shores of Southern California for the tropical paradise of Guanacaste.

PokerStars player Shirley Rosario is no stranger to the LAPT. She made the trek to Costa Rica last season and was positioning herself for a deep run in Vina del Mar, Chile when her pocket queens were cruelly cracked by A-7. Rosario got off to a rough start this afternoon, losing about half her stack when she flopped top two pair, only to have her opponent catch a straight on the river. However, she was a able to climb back up to 17,000 after doubling through the player on her right, serial qualifier Aaron Lerner. Since then, she's been steadily building her stack and is presently up to 26,000.

Aaron Lerner and Shirley Rosario

Maria "Maridu" Mayrinck is experiencing an up-and-down day. Her pocket queens were cracked early on by a short-stacked player who pushed in with pocket eights and flopped a set. Then, with her stack whittled down to under 10,000, she moved in on a 4-4-3-9 board and got her opponent to fold, taking her chip count back into safe territory with 18,000.

Maria "Maridu" Mayrinck

A short time ago, Maridu was sitting in the big blind when she faced an opening raise from a middle position player. With the action folded around to her, she made the call, drawing a strange look from her opponent.

"I'm only calling! What, you just want the blinds and antes every time?" she laughed.

An [As][Qd][Tc] flop fell. Maridu checked to her opponent, who put out a continuation bet.

"No thank you," she said, opening up pocket fours and pushing them toward the muck. Her opponent showed [Kh][Jd], having flopped the nut straight. She can dodge bullets, baby.

Team PokerStars Pro Veronica Dabul

Veronica Dabul's PokerStars screen name is "Princesa" and it's easy to see why. The perpetually tan Argentine beauty is always one of the most fashion-forward players in the room and today she is sporting some animal-print sandals that could drive this writer to thievery. Although Dabul took some hits early on, she's back up to 19,300 and cheerfully bantering with her tablemates.

As Level 6 draws to a close, 171 of our 259 runners are still alive and kicking and after two more levels of play, the survivors can bag up their chips and head to the bar.

]]> Change100 http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-tres-reinas-061437.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-tres-reinas-061437.html Latin American Poker Tour Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:26:51 -0500 At this moment in Iceland, the temperature is coming in at a balmy 6° Celsius (42.8º F). Meanwhile, here on Costa Rica's Gold Coast, we're shivering through a 30° day. For those of you who read a thermometer like me, that's 86º. We literally broke a sweat on our five-minute walk to the poker room this morning.

So, it's not as if three guys from Iceland would need much reason to escape their icebox so far north of here. Frankly, there are probably some people in Minnesota right now who wouldn't mind being here, too.

Still, weather aside, we've discovered there's a reason Gardar Geir Haukson, Daniel Mar Palsson, Hilmar Solvensson all showed up here this morning. Apparently the Icelandic trio knows how to play cards.

Just last week, they all played in the World Poker Showdown and Solvensson managed to walk away with the win and $30,000. So, he's freerolling the LAPT, not having to freeze his chips off in Iceland, and still has a shot at an LAPT title.

To grab first place, however, Solvensson will have to fight through his buddy Palsson. In just the first four levels of play today, Palsson managed to turn his 20,000 starting stack into a staggering 120,000. It the past little bit, he's fallen back below 100,000, but if you take a look a the photo below, you'll see that he doesn't look too worried.

At this hour, Palsson is among the chip leaders on Day 1. He's joined at the top by Brazil's Marcelo Dabus and American Tyler Netter.

We're just past the midway point of Level 5 with 192 of the initial 259 players left in the field.

We're expecting to play two or three more levels before breaking for the night. At that point, it should still be pretty warm outside, so we're not expecting the Icelanders to button up their shirts anytime soon.

]]> Brad Willis http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-ill-follow-the-sun-061434.html http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/lapt/2009/lapt-playa-conchal-ill-follow-the-sun-061434.html Latin American Poker Tour Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:11:04 -0500