Tournament Trail Q and A Part I -- Arnaud Mattern

Young Frenchman Arnaud Mattern has made a strong and impressive impact on the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Polish Open throughout. With charisma, aggression, skill, and an instinctive way of reading people, Mattern is attempting to do something that has never been done before — he is determined to win another EPT. He took down first place in last season's EPT Prague for $991,760, and now will leave Poland with at least €21,114 depending on what happens tomorrow. He, however, will sit down at the final table fourth in chips with 328,000 and will try ceaselessly to accomplish a double whammy and take down the top prize of €367,141. In Part I of this interview, he tells Card Player exactly how he got to the final table.

Rebecca McAdam: Tell me about your journey to the final table; the highs, the lows, and the key pots that got you there.

Arnaud Mattern: On day 1, I had a really good table, not a lot of really dangerous players. I mean, Kara Scott was on my left and she was the only known player. I managed to build up to 32k very fast without very big set ups or by just picking up pots. After that, I played a very big coinflip with queens against A-K off, when I had a crazy image, so I knew that I was going to get paid off anyway. That was for around 42k in the fourth hour, it was a massive chip lead pot. It didn’t go my way so I went a little down and that’s how I finished — 27k, average was 18. No big deal, but I felt that was such a good opportunity for me to finish the day with 80 or something very big. Anyway, I started back with 27k and I had a more difficult table with “Elky” on my left, Sebastian Ruthenberg on my right, and another player who was pretty good, the rest I didn’t know. They were not that great. I didn’t know them too well, which is usually a good sign.

One guy was raising a little bit, and I could feel he was tight, but the thing is the frequency of his reraise — I thought something was wrong, he has to hate me or something [laughs]. So, I made a move and actually the first read was right, I should have waited because I had 6-7 suited on the button, he reraised on the small blind again so I shove, and he calls ...whoops! He had aces which is ok... 6-7 suited is the best hand against aces so it’s not too bad, I can suck out. But I didn’t, and I could have waited longer. I was not sure about who this guy was and how he plays ... so the pattern was good, but it was not the right moment to do it. I went down slowly, and then after I doubled up twice with A-K against K-10, and queens against eights.

Day 2, I was feeling better, I changed table — when I knew everybody on the first one — now you change so you don’t know anyone anymore. I doubled up with queens against eights at this moment, so I got pretty comfortable with about 33 or 34k. Afterwards I got transferred to the table with Antony Lellouche. I bet a hand from the blinds where it didn’t go very well. I had 7-8 suited and the guy hit a nut straight on the river. So, I had like 10 or 11 big blinds which isn’t great. I had to push with deuces. I got called by Antony with eights, and I spiked a deuce on the river. Phew! After that I won a big coinflip. A guy raised from late position and I shoved all in. He called with nines, I had A-10 of spades and I flopped a straight, so that makes life easier. From then on, I was big, so I played more pots.

On the final hand ... easy poker. I got kings on the big blind, waiting for someone to do something stupid, and the bubble was about to burst. One guy shoves 20k which was like 10 big blinds, and another guy flat calls. I shoved the kings, and that was it against A-9. So, I began day 3 with 140k, the number four biggest stack which was really good out of 24. The table at the beginning was ok, there was only Dario [Minieri], but he was sitting directly across from me so we didn’t really go at each other. We just avoided each other pretty much. I managed to stay at the same level but my timing was pretty bad. I raised a couple of hands on Isabelle Mercier, blinds against blinds, and she reshoved every time, and I think she reshoved with something most of the time. The timing was a bit off, but I still managed to stay at 140, which was a good result.

After this, I raised pocket jacks under the gun seven-handed, and an Italian guy who was a bit tight-ish, but sometimes made some moves, reraises and I cover, and I can still push. That was my plan because I thought that jacks were above his range. But now the small blind, the Russian guy, he calls, so it was like “raise, reraise, call.” Sick! He covers obviously which makes a big decision, a very big headache. So, I took an aspirin, thought a little bit, and I just called. It was a three-way pot, it was massive like 80k. The flop came king high, and now the Russian guy checks pretty fast, and the Italian looks at the king, and looks like he’s going to collapse. I know he doesn’t like this king too much, so I just bet 23k which is a pretty small bet, and he mucks instantly. Now I just have to get rid of the Russian guy. He calls, so I know I’m pretty much behind, unless he has a draw, which was unlikely. The turn comes, it was a blank, he checks, I check. The river comes a 10, which is a big part of his range if he has two tens— I don’t beat anything, two queens I’m beaten, K-Q, A-K, aces, I lose to everything. Now he bets 25k on the river. It’s pretty sick odds, like 5-1, because it’s a 125k pot. I just made the fold to keep 82k. The average was like 115. The guy showed K-Q off-suit. That was a good fold. I don’t understand how he’d call this preflop but still it’s ok.

I didn’t have that big of a stack. The Italian on the big blind had about 12 big blinds, and I raise on the button with K-J suited, and I cover him. I know that if he reshoves, or tries to steal, I’m going to cover him no matter what. So, I make it 12,500 to clearly send a message — I’m commited and I’m going nowhere — and he has 52k and the blinds were 2,000/4,000 and he calls. The flop comes 8-7-5 with one diamond, so I had the backdoor straightdraw, the backdoor flush draw, and two over cards, and he checks. There’s 31k in the middle, and he has 40k remaining, so I just shove and he calls with 9-6 for the nut straight. That was pretty bad to call with only 12 big blinds. It doesn’t make too much sense. The turn was full of suspense, because it was the 10, so I need a nine to win the pot, or all the diamonds. That was a funny card, probably the best card for me, and the river was an awful 3 — very crappy. A lot of emotions were there. I got pretty crippled on this hand.

Then, I got moved to the other table and I had like six big blinds, and the button is two to my right, so I’m going to have two hands before I can shove with fold equity, otherwise the blinds are going to eat me up and I can’t make anyone fold anymore. The first hand I see is Q-4 off-suit which with six players isn’t that great. So, I took the gamble to play the next one all-in blind. I folded it and it got raised, reraised, shove ... I was like, “Damn! Good fold! Great instinct!" I was lucky. The next one was 9-5 off-suit, it’s more connected so it’s good. I ship it all-in and Isabelle Mercier called from the cut-off and she had eights, and I got lucky and found a nine ... oops!

I doubled up and after I have 11 and a half big blinds and I’m on the cut-off. I shoved from the cut-off with A-J off-suit and Isabelle insta-called on the big blind. I think she was a bit frustrated, because the first hand was obviously very important — whoever wins is going to double up and whoever loses is going to go out of the tournament. So, that was pretty unlucky for her. She had K-Q off-suit, and she found the king, but I made a back-door straight.

In the last very big hand, one guy raised in late position, he just lost a very big hand against Ludovic [Lacay] but he was not the type to tilt. I’m on the big blind, I’ve K-Q suited, he has 90k, he makes it 15. I don’t think he’s tilting, I think his range is very tight. I decided to defend because they were suited, and broadway suited are good, otherwise I would have probably folded against this guy. I don’t think I would have committed on just a one pair hand, I would have got rid of it. The flop came Q-Q-5 ... which usually helps ... that’s called running hot! I check, he checks. The turn is the jack, which is not the perfect card but it’s ok, so I bet 18k so he can shove the 75k remaining, and he just calls, so I know he has something, probably aces or kings. Maybe he has a jack but I’m not sure. The plan was to shove any river which was not an ace or a king, because even a king is giving me a full house, but I think it’s going to give him a better full house. So, I shoved for value and he called with aces. That was it for his tournament. I finished with 328,000. I’m in the middle of the pack, there are four or five people with pretty much the same stack, and one or two short stacks.

RM: Who are you intimidated by on the final table, and is there anyone you will try to stay clear of?

AM: I’ve no plan, I’ve a very nice position on the table because the only bad point is I’ve Ludovic on my left and he has a good stack, but other than that I’ve all the short stacks on my left and all the large stacks on my right. So, basically I’m going to beat the crap out of the short stacks and play the big stack in position which is everything you can dream of. Dario is going to be on my right, we know each other, so we’re probably not going to tangle if we don’t have to, but other than that the level of the final table seems very, very high, from what I saw. Maybe one or two guys who got lucky a little bit, but the rest of them, it seems everyone knows how to play. It’s going to be a very very tough table. I’m going to need to run even hotter...

Join us tomorrow for part II of Mattern's interview where he speaks about trying to win EPT's, his friendly rivalry with Bertrand "Elky Grospellier, representing France, his backround in backgammon, and lots more. Also join the Card Player reporting team for live updates of the EPT Polish Open final table and follow how Mattern is doing in the last battle.

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