Main Event - Day Two Reports
Ace Speaks From Deauville - EPT Update No. 8
We are into the second day of the EPT Main Event in Deauville. Knowing that with 104 players left the average stack is about 23,000, a quick glance on the twelve tables we still have left leads to this short analysis:
Table 1
Many unknowns. Chip leader Mike Leumi is in seat 4 with 46,000 in chips, and the unpredictable Frenchman Antony Lellouche is not that far behind.
Table 2
Three big stacks: Mike Lacky 55,000, P. Eichhardt 62,500 and Ezra Galston (a good young player who doesnt like to fold easily) having almost as much, plus heâ??s got position on the two other big stacks
Table 3
An excellent draw for Bob Coombes. On a table with many short stacks, hes got the only other decent stack to his immediate right, with four short stacks to his immediate left.
Table 4
A table consisting of fairly short stacks, with lots of unfamiliar faces.
Table 5
A table that is not well-balanced, as the two biggest stacks are seated at the right end of the table, with Jeff Duvall having a 50,000+ stack.
Table 6
Lots of medium stacks here. Yesterday, young Luca Pagano was able to fight back from behind, and he now is the chip leader of table 6 with 35,000 in chips.
Table 7
John Galf with 71,000 in chips is the clear chip leader, but a few others have above-average stacks too. Steve Vladar and Xuyen Pham, partners for years, have drawn seats 6 and 7, meaning they are sitting next to each other.
Table 8
A table where lots of firework can be expected. Henrik Nilsson, Jerome Zerbib, Dam, Gilles Haddad, A. Poulain, Peter Dalhuijsen and Melanie Lofthouse all have over 26,000 in chips - meaning that it is not unlikely todayâ??s chip leader will come from this table.
Table 9
Lots of medium stacks. Dutchman Erik van den Burgâ??s 36,000 stack is in front now, and heâ??s got position on the only person who is close in chips.
Table 10
Another cracking table. All players have over 10,000 in chips, with lots of above-average stacks. The dangerous Rory Liffey and Dave Ulliott are holding decent stacks, and table 10 features the only player with over 100,000 in chips: Sam Orams.
Table 11
The person who broke Big Eddie yesterday with the nut flush, Howard Chow, is in good shape with 40,000, but Camel Keith Hawkins is in even better shape with 68,000.
Table 12
Another table with quite a few unknowns. Julian Fariolo is a clear favorite here with 50,000 in chips and not a single player on his table has even half of that.
Anyway, we are off to an exciting day 2. I will try to keep you up to date as well as possible about exits, upsets, hands, arguments and everything else that you may find interesting. From Deauville, I say: A bientot, and Ill see you guys later.
Ace Speaks From Deauville - EPT Update No. 9
With the blinds at 1,000-2,000 and a 200 ante, we are down to 45 players. We have lost Rory Liffey, Isabelle Mercier, Steve Vladar, his wife Xuyen Pham, Melanie Lofthouse and Dave Ulliott. With six players left, Keith Hawkins, sitting on table 4, has just busted out Bambos Xanthos in a massive pot, and has 165,000 in chips. On table 1, young Justin Bonomo is doing well with about 140,000 in chips, and on table 6 John Gale has a 164,000 stack. They are three of the biggest stack in this todays Main Event, where six tables are still remaining, the average chip count being just over 50,000. If my information is correct, we will play down until the final 27 players, and then tomorrow we will play down until the final 8 or 9. If this is not correct, or if any changes will be made, I will let you know. Iâ??ll be back in a little while with a couple of hands and some short stories.
Ace Speaks From Deauville - EPT Update No. 10
Things have been very hectic the past couple of hours. Because of the blinds increases, people could not afford to wait anymore. Now that we are down to less than 20% of the field, things finally seem to settle down a bit.
On table one, we have just lost the extremely shortstacked â??Bad Girlâ?? Xuyen Pham, who was forced to make a move with a king-five. Young Justin Bonomo is in great shape here. On table two, shortstacked Mike Lacky has doubled through with AQ vs. AT, but he is still well below par. P. Eichhardt is in charge here with about 85,000 in chips, but others are not that far behind. On table 3, chess master Ivo Donev has accumulated all the low-denomination chips, but still has no more than an average stack, while the calm and capable Bob Coombes was in a bit of trouble with only 20,000 just a few moments ago, but he is now in contention again with an average chip position. Table four has the monster stack of The Camel, but also has Jeff Duvall with 55,000 in chips, probably one of the favorites to win the title today. The shortstacked Morten Sembach has doubled his stack to around 55,000 on table five, and on table six young charmer Luca Pagano is struggling again with a below-average stack again, while Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure winner John Gale has more than four times his stack - 160,000 total. As I am writing this, The Camel has won yet another big pot on table four, calling a 20,000 river bet (and winning) with Ad3d on a QQ393 board for a small full. Keith has well over 200,000 in chips now, meaning he holds almost 10% of the chips in play. With the blinds now at 1,500-3,000 with a 300 ante, we can expect a couple more casualties soon - and I guess I will be the one dragging the corpses over to you. All in all, we are having a great tournament so far; now, I only hope that you guys at home are enjoying yourselves as well.
Ace Speaks From Deauville - EPT Update No. 11
One quick correction, guys. Melanie Lofthouse is still in; in fact, she is even in fairly good shape. On table 1, she is sitting next to Ivo Donev and John Gale, and she has 64,000 in chips - slightly above average.
Ace Speaks From Deauville - EPT Update No. 12
We are in the money! We have reached the final 27 after a lot of tense moments. First, all players were happy to see player no. 29 exit, a flamboyant Frenchman who raised the 4,000 big blind all-in to 20,400, but who got a call from 77 and then failed to improve. And then player no. 28 went out on table 4, and in spectacular fashion to say the least. Jean-Claude Perrera had kings under the gun and made a standard raise, and then on the button it was Keith Hawkins who had aces and moved in on him. Jean-Claude had to think for quite some time to call the Camels reraise (total about 55,000 or 60,000 all-in for Jean-Claude), and up against the Two Eyes of Texas it looked like it was all over for him. But then the flop came K73, giving the Frenchman top set! Just when it seemed The Camel would finally face some adversity, the turn brought an ace for set over set - to the dismay of the French crowd of course, but all remaining players could not be happier, probably. Either way, we are down to 27 with Keith Hawkins having a massive chip lead, holding way over 250,000 in chips, and the big favorite to capture the title and the 144,000 Euros first prize.
After a short redraw for seats, play has resumed. I donâ??t know exactly for how long we will be playing today, so I guess there is only one way for you to find out: by checking out this blog. According to Warren Karp, we may even play down to the final eight players today! I will try to have the names and nationalities of all players who are in the money, and in addition to that I will also try to provide you with all details as quickly as possible. On my next update, I will give a short description of the new situation we have now, with the players, chip counts, and the position the big stacks have in relation to the other stacks. Until then, it is bonjour from me - see you around shortly.
Ace Speaks From Deauville - EPT Update No. 13
Exits:
27. Mika Tapio, Finland
26. Jeff Duvall, UK
25. Ezra Galston, U.S.
24. Morten Sembach, Denmark
Developments:
Big stack Jeff Duvall suffered a huge blow, when he lost almost 100,000 after the flop
Ace Speaks From Deauville - EPT Update No. 14
Exits:
23. Jean Pierre Petroli, France
22. Joseph Mejren, France
21. Ivo Donev, Austria
20. John Gale, U.K.
Developments:
Bob Coombes has accumulated a huge stack of way over 300,000. The inexperienced Sam Orams, chip leader at the beginning of the day, has won a very big pot with a slightly overplayed KT, having paid off a large reraise with his problem hand and then beating his opponents AQ. Peter Eichhard wins a massive pot with 7c5c. Having called John Gales 20,000 raise before the flop from the big blind, he bets all-in on the flop 832 with two clubs, and John calls this huge bet with unimproved overcards - that are indeed good right now. The king of clubs on the river sends the capable Gale home packing though. Keith Hawkins loses a big pot against Lucky Blind Mike Lacy. Having just limped before the flop with what looked a whole lot like aces, he bet and got called on the flop Qc Qs 7c, and then bet again 40,000 on the turn Jc. Mike raised 120,000 all-in and Keith had to fold, Lacy showing the queen of hearts. (I asked later if Keith had aces on that hand, and he said he had kings with the bare king of clubs.) Keith has lost his chip lead but is still in fairly good shape - as is my webmaster, young Dutchman Peter Dalhuijsen. I will have the exact chip counts for the end of day 2 in about an hour probably.
Ace Speaks From Deauville - EPT Update No. 15
Last exit today:
19. Frank Bastow, England
Chip Counts after Day 2 (18 players left):
Table 1
Seat 1: Keith Hawkins, 191,500 (button)
Seat 2: Carl Olson, 82,500
Seat 3: Eric Vandenburg, 133,000
Seat 4: Brandon Schaeffer, 200,500
Seat 5: Bob Coombes, 345,000
Seat 6: Tony Kendall, 55,500
Seat 7: Mike Lacey, 246,000
Seat 8: Luca Pagano, 138,000
Seat 9: Peter Eichhardt, 249,000
Table 2
Seat 1: Peter Dalhuijsen, 172,000
Seat 2: Justin Bonomo, 105,000 (button)
Seat 3: Willie Tann, 51,000
Seat 4: Mark Ristine, 52,000
Seat 5: Jeremy Tuckman, 60,000
Seat 6: Torbey Sami, 91,000
Seat 7: Jerome Zerbib, 99,000
Seat 8: Melanie Lofthouse, 57,500
Seat 9: Sam Orams, 134,500
With the four biggest stacks all on one table, table 1 proves to be a true slaughterhouse tomorrow, with the possibility of one player getting 25% of the chips way before the event will be down to one table. All in all, I hope you liked todays coverage. Good night, and I see you all tomorrow.
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