Day 2 here at EPT Tallinn was the definition of aggressive poker. The word call was way outnumbered by the word raise throughout our coverage. To look around the room though you wouldn’t think the players were enjoying this brand of poker as emotions were kept in check and it can be hard to tell, just from looking at players’ faces if they’ve won or lost a pot. With aggressive poker and ice-cold emotions it comes as no surprise to find out that Tallinn is in northern Europe. Here and EPT Copenhagen are the yang to EPT Deauville and San Remo’s emotional yin.

Day 1s of an EPT are about survival. You can’t win a five day tournament in nine hours of play but you only need a fraction of that time to lose it. Day 2s are a totally different animal and have to be treated accordingly. A lot of players refer to it as Moving day as it’s a time to up the aggressiveness, gather chips and move up the leader-board. Obviously if everyone’s trying to accumulate chips there will be casualties and the fact we only have 84 players remaining from a starting 210 is testament to that. The most successful mover of today was Jonathan Weekes who went from 145,400 to claim the chip lead with 751,900. Some distance behind him is Team PokerStars Pro Ivan Demidov who went from 80,100 to 480,000. Other players lurking near the top of the counts are Perica Bukara (336,100), Steven van Zadelhoff (312,400) and Mattias Jorstedt (310,100). Full counts for the day can be found on our chip count page here.

Poker is an individual mind sport and not a team game, let’s get that straight. There is a great amount of camaraderie amongst the Team PokerStars Pros but when they’re at the felt it’s everyman for himself. This was highlighted by the action surrounding Team Pro debutant Ville Wahlbeck. Firstly he eliminated Juan Manuel Pastor after the Spaniard attempted a squeeze play with [9c][tc] but the Finn went nowhere with his [ks][qs]. There was no suck-out. Wahlbeck himself felt the Team Pro force when he was eliminated by Demidov. Demidov held a jack-high flush and managed to get Wahlbeck to commit his stack on the river with an inferior holding (he mucked and left without showing his hole cards). Joep van den Bijgaart and Alexander Kravchenko followed these two out the door along with Alfio Battisti from Team PokerStars Online.

There are still four remaining members flying the PokerStars flag along with the already mentioned Demindov: Luca Pagano (263,700), Arnaud Mattern (152,700), Michael Keiner (52,800) and Katja Thater (40,800) who is also the representing female gender as the last woman standing.

The EPT likes to choose destinations that are nice places to visit so it’s not all about the poker. Along with historical landmarks Tallinn is famed for its nightlife with an abundance of bars and clubs. So if you like to party (and we do) there is no excuse not to hit the tiles. And tonight there really is NO excuse as PokerStars is hosting a spectacular party at Club BonBon to celebrate the launch of EPT Season 7. Its starts at 9pm, so if you’re in town you’ll know where to find us!

Tomorrow will be all about money for 56 of our remaining 84 players. The first aim will be to navigate the bubble to actually make the cash and make this trip a profitable one. Then it will be about how much money can be made. We will all be back at 12pm local time where we will play five more 75-minute levels or stop at 24 players remaining if that comes first. We will be here with heavy heads trying our very best to bring you the action.

To catch up on the action from the day click on the links below:

Level 10 & 11 updates

Level 12, 13 & 14 updates

If English isn’t your thing or you prefer a more efficient direct look at the day’s play I shall direct you to the German blog here.

Or if you want to try and decipher the ramblings of Lina Olofsson try out the Swedish blog, found here.

As always our thanks and credits goes to EPT resident snapper Neil Stoddart.

This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.

3.52pm: Michael Keiner wins a sizeable pot

I joined the action to see a board of [9h][6h][8c][3c] and Team PokerStars Pro Michael Keiner all-in for 46,000. There was about 35,700 in the middle and Attilio Donato deep in the tank, when he emerged he elected to fold. Keiner did not show despite the protestations of the table. —NW

3.50pm: New chip leader emerges

It’s been a pretty good day so far for Brit Jonathan Weekes and it’s just got even better as he took down a large pot to move to 410,000 to claim the chip lead. He eliminated Mikhail Mazunin in an 80,000 pot after an action flop saw the chips go flying. Weekes raised to 5,000 with [ac][3c] and the Russian flatted with pocket jacks. The flop came jack high with two clubs and Weekes managed to bink a club after the chips went in. —MC

3.45pm Casey Kastle trebles up

Sampo Löppönen opened to 6,000 and was flat called by Attilio Donato, behind them Casey Kastle moved all-in for 28,000, both players flat called the 28,000 and then checked all the way down on the [10h][2h][6d][2d][6c] board. Kastle showed [Ad][Ac], Lopponen mucked, Donato flashed the [8c][8d] and tossed them in the muck. —NW

3.40pm: Roder riding high

“I was totally not aware of where I am,” said Lorenz Roder when he tabled [ac][9s] to take a huge 150,000 pot against Perica Buraka and Pierre Neuville. It was Belgian Neuville that had bet 30,000 in position on the turn of a [qc][9h][9d][7s] board and had been called in two spots. All three checked the [2h] river. Buraka looked smug turning over his [9s][5s] but his smile soon turned sour when he saw Roder’s hand. Neuville mucked. — RD

3.25pm: An orbit with Ivan Demidov

For the first six hands the Team PokerStars Pro did little but look at his hand, fold and then look back at his Ipad on which he was reading cartoons. On the seventh hand he made it 4,200 from the cut-off and was called by the big blind Dylan Coady. The two players checked all the way on a [Kh][Qc][As][7h][Jc] board, Demidov showing [Ks][6c] to win the pot. The very next hand he was straight back in the action three-betting Juha Lauttamus pre-flop open of 5,100 to 13,100 and getting the Finn to fold. Demidov has around 145,000. —NW

3.15pm: Chip leaders

A sweep of the room has revealed our current top five chips leaders as:

1. Perica Bukara – 350,000

2. Jonathan Weekes – 335,000

3. Matvey Linov – 305,000

4. Ali Tekintamgac – 295,000

5. Santiago Terrazas – 285,000

3.05pm: Back from break

Players have returned to their seats and are ready to get back into it.

PokerStars Blog reporting team (in order of time since shaving): Simon Young (six days), Marc Convey (two days), Nick Wright (5am this morning) and Rick Dacey (11am today)

This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.

7.25pm: Bagging and tagging

Play has finished and players are counting then bagging their chips. It looks certain that Jonathan Weekes is our overnight chip leader with 751,900. We’ll have a full wrap with you shortly, and the full official chip counts will also be with you in a few moments. — SY

7.16pm: Three more hands

With ten minutes left on the clock, tournament staff have announced we shall be playing just three more hands at each table. We’ll have news of the chip leaders shortly. — SY

7.15pm: Weekes’ quads send him soaring

Friday 13th has been lucky for Jonathan Weekes. The PokerStars qualifier now sits on just below 800,000 chips thanks to hitting quads. On a [3h][4d][5s][2d][4h] board, Daniel Aldridge had bet 42,000 before Weekes fired it up to 150,000. Aldridge dwelled for a moment or call before making the call – only to be shown [4c][4s] for quads. That left Aldridge on around 185,000. — SY

7.10pm: Eight-handed

There’s just under 20 minutes of play left here at the EPT Tallinn and tournament staff have informed players that with 87 remaining, play will be eight hand from here on in. — NW

7.05pm: Making it against Markushevski

Vadim Markushevski had bet 8,000 into a [7c][3s][5c] flop and Nathanael Filskov raised to 22,000. Markushevski thought for no short amount of time before committing Filskov with a raise to 108,000. Filskov annouced all-in for 125,000 and Markushevski made the call.

Markushevski: [8s][8h]

Filskov: [ac][jc]

The turn instantly made the nut flush for Filskov with the [tc] and a further club with the [kc] simply acted to rub his victory in. Filskov is up to 250,000. — RD

6.55pm: Tilt!

Bassam Elnajjar just sent Robert Peltecci on tilt. Peltecci was the initial raiser making it 8,500 to play from middle position. Elnajjar, who was the cut-off moved all-in for 45,300. Peltecci, who is definitely a player who expresses his emotions at the poker table, cut out the call from his stack and considered what he’d have left should he call and lose. From this blogger’s perspective he’d have been left with about 40,000. He tanked for a solid three minutes before folding [Ac][9c] face up.

Elnajjar decided to show just the [As] as he folded. Peltecci said: “I saw the other one it was an eight, an eight,” Elnajjar then flipped his other card, not an eight but the [6s]. “I can’t believe it,” said Peltecci. He walked off head in hands to the nearest corner of the room, wondering what might have been. He was back at the table for the next hand though and the banter continued, “If I have more time to think I may call you,” muttered Peltecci. “I had no choice,” retorted Elnajjar. —NW

6.50pm: Another suckout for Demidov

The Team PokerStars Pro cracked aces with pocket sixes earlier but this time it was with a dominated [ac][5d] to ace-king that he binked this time. Demidov is now up past the half-million mark and looks unlikely to slow down. — RD

6.45pm: Salmi dodges kings

Perica Bukara raised from the cut-off to 7,500 and Ville Salmi decided to three-bet from the small blind to 20,100. If the raise was a question then the answer was definitive as Bukare reraised to 57,500. Salmi passed and Bukara showed [kd][ks]. Nice pass, Salmi. — RD

6.40pm: Follow us on your iPad

Russian Team PokerStars Pro Ivan Demidov has just been caught reading his favorite tournament updates on his iPad. His source? The PokerStars Blog, of course. There’s a man who knows good quality material when he sees it. — SY

6.35pm: Mattern aggression

On a [7d][4d][qs] flop, Heinz Kamutzki had bet 15,200, only for Team PokerStars Pro Arnaud Mattern to re-raise to 38,500. Kamutzki looked interested in taking things further and asked Mattern how much he had behind. It was around 90,000, and that was enough to force a fold. — SY

6.28pm: Mozdzden slips

Clayton Mozdzen, the Canadian PokerStars qualifier, has slipped to 70,000 after calling a 32,000 all-in shove from Mikhail Alexandrov. The Russian had [ac][6c] against Mozdzen’s pocket nines but spiked an ace on the flop to double up. — SY

6.20pm: Cagey at Keiner’s place

Team PokerStars Pro Michael Keiner is at a table that promises a lot, i.e it has Jeff Sarwer and fellow team Team Pro Vadim Markushevski at the table, but is delivering very little at the moment. There have been a couple of short stacked shoves and several raise and take them moments. — RD  

6.15pm:Finn vs Finn means a Finn’s going to win

Mikko Jaatinen and Vesa-Petri Juutilainen just played a 110,000 chip pot all of it going in pre-flop. Jaatinen got the action started raising to 7,200, next to act Juutilainen made it 20,200 total. It folded back to Jaatinen and he moved all-in for 53,000 total. Juutilainen riffled some yellow 5,000 denomination chips for a while, before making the call.

Jaatinen: [Ah][Qc]

Juutilainen: [Ad][10h]

Flop: [7d][As][4h]

Turn: [Qs]

Juutilainen tapped the table as if to say, ‘good hand,’ as he was drawing dead, the meaningless [10d] completed the board as if to rub it in slightly. —NW

6.10pm: Last level of the day

The players are back in their seats for the last 75 minute level of the day, 96 players are still in with a chance of winning the first prize of €400,000 and at least 56 of them are guaranteed a minmum of €6,350. —NW

6pm:Completely random picture

While the break is on, here’s a picture of one of our dealers here in Tallinn sporting a pair (of cards, boys, of cards).

5.50pm: Lykov licked

EPT Kyiv champion and player of the year Max Lykov is out. Facing a raise to 5,700 from Didier Erb, the Russian moved all in for 40,000 total Call.

Lykov: [as][js]

Erb: [10s][10c]

The board ran a blank [8d][7h][5h][2d][6s], and Lykov bit the dust. That’s also the end of level 13. We’re now going into a 15-minute break and will return to play out the final level of the day. — SY

5.48pm: Clock, yeah!

Mikhail Alexandrov raised from early position to 4,500 and was called in two middle position spots by Mark Dalimore and Clayton Mozdzen. Alexandrov bet 11,000 on the [ks][9h][as] flop and Dalimore moved all-in clearing Mozdzen out of the pot leaving Alexandrov to have dwell. Dalimore then asked the dealer: “Can we get a clock, yeah?” and indeed a clock was called. Alexandrov mucked shortly after. Dalimore showed [ac][kh] for top two-pair. Did he do himself out chips with his casual clock call? Maybe. — RD

5.45pm: Small one for Hakim

Jeffrey Hakim made a just over minimum raise to 4,900 from under the gun, he got one customer in the shape of big blind Maxime Conte. Both players checked the [4c][Ks][6s] flop, before Conte check-called a bet of 5,800 on the [2d] turn. The river was the [Qs] both players checked and Hakim’s [Qd][Jc] had rivered Conte’s pocket sevens. — NW

5.40pm: Neuville not happy

Pierre Neuville is usually a jolly type of person but right now he has quite a severe look plastered across his face. He was earlier on some 170,000 but now looks closer to 70,000. After losing a small checked down pot to Vesa-Petri Juutilainen – who got there on the river – he looked particularly frustrated. — RD

5.35pm: Debut ends in defeat for Wahlbeck

Ville Wahlbeck now knows how Juan Manuel Pastor felt earlier when the fellow Team PokerStars Pros went to battle with each other ending in the Spaniard’s elimination. This is because Ivan Demidov has just done the same thing to him. All the chips went in on the river of a [3c][9c][2s][6c][2d] board. Demidov revealed [jc][tc] for a flush and Wahlbeck mucked and left the tournament without showing his hand. Demidov up to 470,000 now. -MC

5.30pm: Huge laydown

Luca Pagano has just made a huge laydown dropping kings to a five-bet shove from Jonathan Weekes. Weekes had raised from middle position to 6,000 and Ali Tekintamgac made it 17,200 from the small blind. Luca Pagano then four-bet to 48,000 and Weekes moved all-in for over 400,000. Tekintamgac quickly passed and Pagano went deep into thought asking himself: “Can I fold my kings?” The answer was a resounding yes as he mucked them face-up. Weekes showed queens. Pagano drops to 170,000 and misses a good opportunity to double up to near half-a-million. —RD

5.25pm: Mozdzen at the double

From under the gun Robert Peltecci moved all-in for around 100,000. It was a large bet and it folded to Clayton Mozdzen who called all-in for 53,000.

Peltecci: [10c][10s]

Modzen: [Kh][Ks]

“I might hit a ten,” said Peltecci, but he didn’t as the board ran out [9d][2s][Js][6c][6d], "I’m not sure what else I could’ve done,’ he added. —NW

5.20pm: Joep van der Bijgaart is out

When a story starts with “The fish in the big blind calls” you know that you’re in for a bit if a bad beat story. Team PokerStars Pro Joep van der Bijgaart has just told me his exit story and it’s not pretty: “I raise to 5,200 from late position and the fish in the big blind calls. The flop is [9d][5d]² and I have [kd][kh]. I bet 6,800 and was raised to 15,000. I move all-in and he shows five-deuce offsuit.” Oucher. At least there’s the EPT Welcome Party to drown your sorrows at tonight. — RD

5.15pm:Touching half-a-million

Mattias Jorstedt has extended his lead at the top of the leader-board after winning a chunky pot without having to showdown. Four players made it to the [6c][jc][ah] flop but only two remained after Jorstedt led for 40,000 from the BB. Matvey Linov was that caller from under-the-gun to see the [3s] turn. Jorstedt though for about two minutes before betting 100,000 chips. Now it was Linov’s turn to think for two minutes and the decision he came to was to fold and conserve his stack that sits at 210,000. Jorsted looking good on 495,000. —MC

5.05pm: Monster pot for Pagano

Ali Tekintamgac raised from early position to 6,000 and was three-bet by Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano to 17,000. Tekintamgac made the call. Both players checked the [td][4c][ts] flop and Tekintamgac checked the [7c] turn as well before Pagano bet 17,000. The German then moved all-in sending Pagano deep into the tank. It was the rest of Pagano’s 85,000 stack to call after two minutes he did.

Tekintamgac: [qh][qs]

Pagano: [ac][ad]

Pagano faded the river and has doubled up to 240,000. Tekintamgac is on a downward spiral. — RD

5pm: Chip counts

During the last break tournament staff did a full chip count of the remaining players. Is your favourite still in? Find out by clicking onto our chip count page. —NW

4.55pm: Thater gains some much needed chips

Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater has been grinding the short stack all day but just gained some much needed chips and without going to showdown. She flat called a raise of 5,500 pre-flop from the big blind and saw a [2d][3h][6c] flop along with Danny Neess and small blind Ville Salmi. It checked to Thater who moved all-in for 24,200 total, both opponents folded. She’s still shortstacked as the average is 116,666.—NW

4.50pm: Weekes pushing on

Jonathan Weekes raised to 6,000 and got one caller before picking up yet another little pot on the [4d][ks][9d] with a 11,000 continuation bet. — RD

4.45pm: Stacked table

The already chipped-up table of Ali Tekintamgac (260,000) has groaned under the weight of chips from new arrival, and likely tournament chip leader Jonathan Weekes (400,000). Along with Tekintamgac there is Luca Pagano (130,000), Oleksandr Vaserfirer (220,000) and Brian Jensen (80,000). Phew! — SY

4.40pm: Off we go

Play has begun again. We have this level and just one more after that before we we’re done.

4.25pm: Demidov cracks aces

Ivan Demidov has just cracked aces with pocket sixes all-in preflop but any emotion still failed to crack his poker face. The aces opened for 10,600 and Demidov raised to 22,600. His opponent moved all-in and the Team PokerStars Pro called. A [6d][jd][5h] flop gave Demidov the pot and he’s up to 145,000.

That’s the end of the level and a 15-minute break. — RD

4.15pm: High stakes railer

Scott Montgomery made the final table at the WSOP Main Event two years ago and has managed to bag himself a top class railer in Annette Obrestad. The action passed to the Canadian in the cut-off and he mucked. I could be wrong about this but I think I caught a look of ‘Eh? Never pass the cut-off!’ on Obrestad’s face. — RD

4.10pm: Jordst joins the 300 club

Swede Mattias Jorstedt has just broken the 300,000 chip barrier in a simple raise and take pre-flop. He’s at a tasty table though as he is sharing a table with Matvey Linov (260,000) Perica Bukara (270,000) and Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater (35,000). —NW

4.05pm: Sarwer doubles

Jeff Sarwer’s tournament is back on track with a double-up to 110,000, just above the average. He told us that he opened the pot with ace-queen and then snap-called when Nathanael Filskov moved all-in from the next seat. Filskov only had ten-six and failed to catch up. —MC

4.00pm: “Wanna bring me some luck?”

That’s what Joep van den Bijgaart asked me as I approached his table. The Dutch Team PokerStars Pro is running short on 41,000 and is looking for goods spots or good cards – preferably both. He’s still in good spirits despite being way under average. — RD

3.55pm: Arnaud Mattern likes cowboys

He’s up to 187,000 after getting kings in pre-flop against pocket eights and holding. —NW

3.52pm: Michael Keiner wins a sizeable pot

I joined the action to see a board of [9h][6h][8c][3c] and Team PokerStars Pro Michael Keiner all-in for 46,000. There was about 35,700 in the middle and Attilio Donato deep in the tank, when he emerged he elected to fold. Keiner did not show despite the protestations of the table. —NW

3.50pm: New chip leader emerges

It’s been a pretty good day so far for Brit Jonathan Weekes and it’s just got even better as he took down a large pot to move to 410,000 to claim the chip lead. He eliminated Mikhail Mazunin in an 80,000 pot after an action flop saw the chips go flying. Weekes raised to 5,000 with [ac][3c] and the Russian flatted with pocket jacks. The flop came jack high with two clubs and Weekes managed to bink a club after the chips went in. —MC

3.45pm Casey Kastle trebles up

Sampo Löppönen opened to 6,000 and was flat called by Attilio Donato, behind them Casey Kastle moved all-in for 28,000, both players flat called the 28,000 and then checked all the way down on the [10h][2h][6d][2d][6c] board. Kastle showed [Ad][Ac], Lopponen mucked, Donato flashed the [8c][8d] and tossed them in the muck. —NW

3.40pm: Roder riding high

“I was totally not aware of where I am,” said Lorenz Roder when he tabled [ac][9s] to take a huge 150,000 pot against Perica Buraka and Pierre Neuville. It was Belgian Neuville that had bet 30,000 in position on the turn of a [qc][9h][9d][7s] board and had been called in two spots. All three checked the [2h] river. Buraka looked smug turning over his [9s][5s] but his smile soon turned sour when he saw Roder’s hand. Neuville mucked. — RD

3.25pm: An orbit with Ivan Demidov

For the first six hands the Team PokerStars Pro did little but look at his hand, fold and then look back at his Ipad on which he was reading cartoons. On the seventh hand he made it 4,200 from the cut-off and was called by the big blind Dylan Coady. The two players checked all the way on a [Kh][Qc][As][7h][Jc] board, Demidov showing [Ks][6c] to win the pot. The very next hand he was straight back in the action three-betting Juha Lauttamus pre-flop open of 5,100 to 13,100 and getting the Finn to fold. Demidov has around 145,000. —NW

3.15pm: Chip leaders

A sweep of the room has revealed our current top five chips leaders as:

1. Perica Bukara – 350,000

2. Jonathan Weekes – 335,000

3. Matvey Linov – 305,000

4. Ali Tekintamgac – 295,000

5. Santiago Terrazas – 285,000

3.05pm: Back from break

Players have returned to their seats and are ready to get back into it.

PokerStars Blog reporting team (in order of time since shaving): Simon Young (six days), Marc Convey (two days), Nick Wright (5am this morning) and Rick Dacey (11am today)

This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.

2.52pm: BREAK TIME

Two out the five levels for today are completed. The players are on a short break.—MC

2.50pm: Really bad timing

Fabian Quoss should have worn a watch today because his timing was completely off. He raised to 3,300 from the button and was raised by Andrea Benelli to 10,100. Quoss moved all-in for around 40,000 and Benelli instantly called.

Quoss: [ad][3h]

Benelli: [ah][kc]

The board paired both players’ ace but no miracle three-outer came for Quoss who will be regretting that shove intensely. — RD

2.45pm: Another scalp for Wahlbeck

Ville Wahlbeck has taken another big scalp. It’s big because the player is NBA star and PokerStars sponsored player Martin Muursepp. The pot was opened by a third party under-the-gun raise to 4,600 that Wahlbeck treated to a 12,000 three-bet. Muursepp then moved all-in for 35,000 and was called quickly by the Finn after the original raiser folded. Showdown:

Muursepp: [qh][qd]

Wahlbeck: [kd][ks]

The board ran low to hand the pot to the Finn who has 175,000 chips now. —MC

2.35pm: Pro on pro action

Team Poker Stars Pro Ville Wahlbeck has eliminated fellow Pro Juan Manuel Pastor after a squeeze play went wrong. Wahlbeck raised to 4,700 from the cut-off and was called by the next two players before Pastor moved all-in for 36,500 from the BB after a long think. Wahlbeck then moved all-in too and isolated his team mate as the two other players folded. Showdown:

Pastor: [9c][tc]

Wahlbeck: [ks][qs]

The board ran [as][6h][5s][ad][jh]. The Spaniard seemed very disappointed (maybe at himself) as he left the room. Wahlbeck’s stack is touching 130,000 now. —MC

2.30pm: Big chick beats big slick

From under the gun Alessandro De Michele made it 3,800 to go, then from middle position Maxime Conte popped it to 20,100 total. It folded back to De Michele who had perhaps 26,000 in total. He eventually moved all-in and was called.

Conte: [Ah][Kc]

De Michele: [As][Qs]

The board: [8s][6h][10s][Qc][8d]

De Michele doubled through and Conte was left with around 60,000. —NW

2.28pm: He just can’t miss

Ali Tekintamgac that is, he just amalgamated Martin Green’s 76,800 stack into his own. Green raised to 3,800 from under the gun 2, Tekintamgac three-bet to 10,000, Green moved all-in and Tekintamgac tanked for two to three minutes, during which quite a crowd gathered, before eventually calling.

Green: [As][Kc]

Tekintamgac: [Qd][Qs]

Flop: [Kd][8c][3d]

Turn: [Qh]

River: [9d]

Green made a swift exit.—NW

2.25pm: Russian smash up

Artem Litvinov has just won a 50,000 pot from Team PokerStars Pro Ivan Demidov with pocket jacks. It was a cagey pot that led to some heated words in Russian afterwards. My Russian isn’t so good but it’s something along the lines of “Why didn’t you believe me?” “Well, you may have been bluffing.” Okay, that’s entirely fabricated. They could have been talking about the state of Brazilian volleyball for all that I know. — RD

2.17pm: Alex not great

Team PokerStars Pro Alex Kravchenko busted a short while back. We don’t have all the details but he got it all in pre-flop with pocket threes and was called by an opponent with pocket jacks. The Russian failed to find the two outer he needed to survive. —MC

2.10pm: Big double up for Donato

Attilio Donato let out a large shout as he doubled with [ad][kh] through Eliran Argelazi’s pocket queens. It’s fair enough really as the hand puts him on 160,000 which is way above average at this stage in the game. — RD

2.05pm: Sherwood bests Bilyaver

Rob Sherwood opened to 3,700 and was flat called by Ali Tekintamgac, next to act was Konstantin Bilyaver and he moved all-in. Sherwood asked for a count and after being informed it was 39,600 the Brit announced he was all-in (Sherwood had 88,000) Tekintamgac quickly folded, showing the [Ah] as he did so.

Sherwood: [Jh][Jd]

Bilyaver: [10s][10c]

The board: [3h][2d][Kh][8h][4c]

Sherwood is now up to around 130,000. —NW

2pm: Epic tank

Manuel Bevand folded to Jussi Jaatinen after a ten minute tank. He might’ve taken another ten minutes too if the clock hadn’t been called on him. He opened the pot with a raise pre-flop and was called by the Finn who also called a c-bet on the [qh][8c][ah] flop. The turn came [7c] and Bevand continued to be aggressive with a 16,000 bet but was soon raised up to 38,000 by Jaatinen. Cue the think tank! Javed Abrahams eventually called the clock and Bevand waited until he had two seconds left before folding, leaving himself with 150,000. —MC

1.55pm: Bukara boats up

Perica Bukara entered the day as chip leader and it’s a position he’s just re-assumed after winning a 140,000 chip pot against Christopher ‘Noel’ Murphy. I didn’t witness the hand myself but Murphy filled me in as I passed his table. Murphy held ace-king and Bukara King-two, the flop contained a king and a two, Murphy turned an ace, but Bukara rivered a two to make a full house. Murphy is still in with 35,000, Bukara has around 370,000. -NW

1.50pm: Sarwer plays it tight

Jeff Sarwer has just insta-checked behind on the river with the queen-high flush. “Full houses and not the nut flush, you know,” said Sarwer with a smile. He had called preflop with [jh][qh] in the cut-off after Eliran Argelazi had opened from middle position and called 4,400 on the [4h][5h][5c] flop. Argelazi shot out another bet on the [jd] turn, 10,600 this time, and again Sarwer called. A [7h] on the river slowed the Israeli down and he checked. Sarwer checked firmly behind him and showed the flush to take the pot. — RD

1.45pm: Tekintamgac on a tear

The German now has a stack approaching 300,000 after eliminating an unknown player. His ³⁷ connecting better than his unknown opponent’s [A]⁸ on a [3s][8d][3d] flop. The [9d][2s] turn and river changing nothing. Tekintamgac is likely the chip leader at this point. — NW

1.30pm: Qualifier of the year

EPT Qualifier of the Year Pierre Neuville was happily stacking chips as everyone around him started leaving for break. He told me that he’d won a couple of nice little pots and is now up to 175,000 – over twice the chip average.

As you may have noticed from the first sentence it’s a 15-minute break. We’ve lost 36 players in the first level. — RD

1.25pm: Patrioism fails to pay

Alessandro Meoni is wearing a rather fetching hat, the Italian obviously feeling some love for Estonia. However the poker gods are not smiling on him as he just exited the tournament, here’s the hand that did him in. On the river of a [6d][2c][4s][Ac][8s] board Kevin Stani had moved all-in for his last 28,100 into a pot of around 39,000. Meoni had barely 30,000 himself and took his time: “You have six-five,” he asked of Stani, although it was as much to himself as to the Norwegian. Eventually he announced call.

Stani: [8c][6s]

Meoni: [Jc] [Js]

A frustrated Meoni said: “Nice hand,” he was out shortly afterwards. —NW

1.15pm: Neuville flushed out

Pierre Neuville is down to a still very respectable 149,000 after losing a pot to Martin Papiernik. Papiernik opened pre-flop with a raise from mid-position and was called by the Friend of PokerStars in the hijack . The flop came [2d][qh][jh] and Papiernik check-called a 6,000 bet to see the [4h] turn where he check-called an 11,000 bet. The river came [ts] and both players checked. Papiernik tabled the nuts with [ah][th], beating Neuville’s [ks][qd]. —MC

1.10pm: Nice flop to raise

Tomer Berda raised under to the gun to 3,000 and was called by Mattias Jorstedt on the button. Berda led out for 6,000 into the juicy [ah][qh][5s] flop and Jorstedt opted to calmly raise to 16,000. It was enough to take the pot. — RD

1.08pm: Perica pads his stack

And the rich get richer. Perica Bukara just eliminated Tuomas Jalonen and added another 25,300 to his stack in the process. Jalonen’s pocket twos were way behind Bukara’s pocket jacks, Bukara flopped a set and that was that. —NW

1.07pm: Flush over flush over flush

Sort of… by the river the board was [Ac][2c][9c][7c][4c] and three players were contesting a near 9,000 chip pot. Ignacio Palau, Ali Tekintamgac and Marc Naalden all checked and Naalden’s [3c] was enough to earn him the pot. —NW

1.05pm: Top pair good for Sarwer

Jeff Sarwer is up to 110,000 after winning a heads-up pot against Eliran Argelazi. The Israeli opened to 2,700 from the hijack and was only called by Sarwer on the button to go to a [2d][jc][9d] flop. Argelazi continued with a 4,800 bet. Call. The turn came [4c] and Argelazi upped the ante with an 11,600 bet but it didn’t scare off the Canadian who called again.

That was all the betting, though, as both players checked through the [7h] river. Argelazi opened [kc][9h] for a pair of nines, losing out to Sarwer’s [jd][tc] for top pair. —MC

1pm: Pretty as a picture

For those who would like to know what Tallinn looks like, rather than the inside of a poker room, here’s a scenic shot taken by our resident snapper Neil Stoddart this morning. This place is rather pleasing to the eye. It has cheap beer trees, spires, sea, nice people… everything. — SY

12.55pm: Nice man out

He became Team PokerStars Blog’s super hero at EPT Berlin, where he finished runner up, but Ilari Tahkokallio is out with nothing to take to the bank here in Tallinn.

After the drama of the robbery, Tahkokallio famously allowed his hand to be played out hours later, despite him being well behind to an all-in player. That good sportsmanship won him many friends, but counted for nothing this morning.

Having started with a decent stack today, but lost a huge chuck and then finally succumbed to Team PokerStars Pro Arnaud Mattern.

Mattern opened for 2,800 and it was folded around to Tahkokallio in the small blind. With just 3,410 remaining, he made the auto call with [7d][4c], up against Mattern’s [ad][9d].

The board was a French friendly [ah][jd][10s][2c][as], and Tahkokallio was on his way home. — SY

12.50pm: Some short stacks surviving

As is tradition at the start of day twos there’s a rash of all-ins. Hannu Peltola just moved his micro stack of 6,500 in from the cut-off, next to act Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano briefly considered the call before returning to perhaps the biggest coffee we’ve ever seen, it’s definitely bordering on a pint. The small blind folded and then big blind Robert Peltecci folded his [Kc][7s] face up. Peltola showed [Qh][Qd] and Peltecci said: “I know that I call.” — NW

12.45pm: Some short stacks busting

It folded to Pat Carron in the small blind who moved all-in for his last 18,000, Team PokerStars Pro Arnaud Mattern swiftly called.

Carron: [10s][8c]

Mattern: [Ks][Qs]

The flop of [8s][Kd][3s] was pretty good for Mattern and the [4h] turn and [7d] river changed nothing. Mattern is now on 117,000. —NW

12.40pm: Those with shattered dreams

Out already today are:

Thomas Mühlöcker

Simao Barbosa

Hamid Nateghi Baneh

William Ross

Vasily Fursov

Christophe Castin

Zennawi Petros

Alfonso Amendola

Alexander Lukyanov

Mikhail Glushankov

Liutauras Armanavicius

Jukka Moilanen

12.35pm: Easy for Vadim

This post was initially going to read ‘Team PokerStars Pro Vadim Markushevski hasn’t got off to the best of starts’ as he had lost a substantial pot to Steven van Zadelhoff after being forced to fold to a check-raise on the river of a [3h][ac][8d][3s][6h] board. However the very next hand he opened from the cut-off for 2,700 and was three-bet to 7,000 by Mikhail Glushankov. Markushevski waited a short while being four-betting to 14,500 and Glushankov moved all-in for over 50,000. The PokerStars Pro insta-called.

Glushankov: [ah][tc]

Markushevski: [as][ad]

The flop delivered suck out potential with [qc][jh][2h] but a [2d] turn and [js] river saw it all going to Markushevski who chips up to 120,000. — RD

12.30pm: Set over set

Jukka Moilanen has more than doubled-up to around 28,000 with pocket queens. Konstantin Bilyaver opened the hand with a raise to 1,700 from under-the-gun and was called by Brian Jensen in mid-position before Moilanen moved all-in from the BB. Bilyaver then re-shoved to isolate and it worked as Jensen open folded pocket jacks.

Moilanen: [qh][qc]

Bilyaver: [td][th]

The board ran [qs][6s][7d][ts][4h]. —MC

12.20pm: That’s the trouble with random table draws

Sometime table draws can be, dare we say it, a bit boring, still they’re random after all and this time the computer seems to have spread out the notables and chip leaders well, pretty randomly. There is though one table that jumps out that is table 12. Two players there had to un bag a whole truck load of chips Ali Tekintamgac (203,800) 

and Oleksandr Vaserfirer (136,900) are both in the top ten entering day 2 and they’re joined by the sole remaining female in the field Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater and Johan van Til. —NW 

12.15pm: Seat open

Awe, you gotta love Day 2. Cries of “Seat open” are ringing around the room as the short stacks desperately get their chips in the middle. For many it ends badly and they exit stage left, leaving an empty chair and their dreams in tatters. — SY

12pm: Why would you no show?

I’ve never quite understood it. Why would you not bother coming back for the start of a tournament with €400,000 up for grabs when you’re short stacked? Kristaps Andersons has just 12,000 (ten big blinds) and isn’t in his seat. It might be the lift situation here at the otherwise wonderful Swissotel. They are bloody awful. — RD

11.50am: Welcome to Day 2 of EPT Tallinn

For some, the real EPT tournament starts here on Day 2. All the survivors from Day 1A and Day 1B combine in the same room so every player can look around and see who they have to defeat to become the inaugural EPT Tallinn champion. Our chip leader from yesterday, Perica Bukara, is actually the chip leader for the whole tournament with 210,600. He’s closely followed by his friend and chip leader from Day 1A Ali Tekintamgac with 203,200 for a Germany one-two.

We’ve got five 75 minute levels to get through to today before everyone heads off for the first EPT party of the season. For now though players are ripping open their chip backs and formulating a plan for the day. Some call this moving day where the aim is to move up the chip leader board and position one’s self for an attack at the money. We’ll be back in ten minutes for the start of play to see who can implement this plan this best.

PokerStars Blog reporting team (in order of arrival time this morning): Marc Convey (11.30am), Simon Young (11.31am), Nick Wright (11.45am) and Rick Dacey (still dreaming about bingo we think)

This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.

This EPT is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at Europe.