2.40pm: Break time

2.30pm: Folding from the blinds


Antonio Esfandiari has moved up to around 320,000 chips after a hand featuring Jason Mercier and Sandor Denjan.

On a flop of AJQ Denjan checked the small blind and Mercier, who when clean shaven bears a striking resemblance to Karen Carpenter, checked the big. Esfandiari checked in early position for a 9 turn card.

Again the blinds checked, leaving it to Esfandiari to bet 4,300. Denjan checked, as did Mercier for a 7 river. More checking form the blinds who then folded to Esfandiari’s bet of 15,000. – SB

2.20pm: Yes, Mrs Cunningham


Backing up the home game theme is the member of the tournament staff carrying around a tray filled with ice and cold drinks. Like the parent, hosting her son’s poker tournament friends, she drifts from table to table offering cans of coke, and ginger ale and the players politely ask for one or the other. But she won’t serve them beer. — SB

2.15pm: Smiling Frenchman


There are few things in this life more infuriating than a smiling Frenchman*, as Caio Pimenta just found out.

After spending a good couple of minutes with his head tucked into the crook of his elbow Pimenta had pushed his cards away with the heel of a clenched fist check-folding to a large bet from Benyamine on a 4KJ4J board. The card Benyamine turned over, and the reason he was grinning, was the irrelevant 3.

“How many diamonds were on the flop?” asked Justin Smith, suddenly interested in the hand. “One? Two?” Benyamine shrugged and continued to smile. — RD

*This is just a mildly xenophobic joke from a Englishman. We love the French. How can a nation of cheese and wine lovers be wrong?

2pm: In Bloom


The latest player to arrive is Viktor Blom who takes his place on table one to the left of Vivek Rajkumar.

“Good morning sir,” said Daniel Negreanu before asking about Blom’s trip to the Bahamas.

“Long travels,” is how Blom described it, having just flown from London to New York, to Miami, to Nassau five hours late and without his baggage. He’s now filling in waiver forms.

Negreanu looked over at Rajkumar who was disappointed the seat to his left was no longer empty. – SB

1.52pm: Unwanted rivers and fashionable late arrivals


Ashton Griffin opened from the button to 3,000 and was called by Negreanu in the small blind before Vivek Rajkumar three-bet to 16,000 from the big blind. Griffin quickly melted away. Negreanu decided to stay out in the sun a little longer.

Flop: 6109

Both players checked.

Turn: 61092

Negreanu led 20,000 and Rajkumar nonchalantly flipped in a green 25,000 chip to call.

River: 61092A

This was obviously not the river Negreanu was hoping for and he check-folded to a 60,000 bet. — RD

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 600-1,200, ANTE 200

1.40pm: Negreanu in action


As already mentioned, there’s a distinct home game feel to the Super High Roller. Egos may be everywhere but they’re all being good naturedly massaged. Some players are also being physically massaged, like Daniel Negreanu, whose iliac crests are being thumbed well, revealing Banana Republic underwear.

He was up against Ashton Griffin in the cut-off who, with a board of 358J, checked to Negreanu on the button who made it 35,000 to play. Griffin then raised to 83,000.

While Negreanu thought things through elsewhere players were being warned that no food was allowed in the tournament room. A hundred grand is one thing, but rules are rules. Justin Smith, busy eating a salad, didn’t take this too well.

Negreanu called for a 3 river card. Griffin checked, as did Negreanu, turning over KK to win the pot and move up to around 300,000. – SB

1.24pm: How much the price of water?


“Cocktails!” hollered Antonio Esfandiari. I was surprised that even a well known baller such as Esfandiari would want to start hitting the beers this early. It turns out that all he was after was some water. Not too much to ask for a $100k surely?

A tournament official indicated that someone had been dispatched to get some water. “Are they bringing it from the river?” asked Esfandiari with a smile.

“Maybe the desalination plant,” Scott Seiver suggested.

You’d expect a $100,000 buy-in to bring added gravitas to an event. No sir, that is not the case. It’s a little like a birthday home game at the moment, albeit one with a $4m prize pool. More tournaments should be like this one. — RD

1.20pm: Welcome to the PCA, in moving pictures

1.12pm: One down


Koen Berendsen is out. No detail as yet but it’s Nick Schulman who leaps into the lead with close to half a million chips. At least Berendsen has the rest of the day free.

Elsewhere Bryan Colin just took a pot from current World Champion Jonathan Duhamel. On a board of 577Q10, and with about 11,000 in the middle, Duhamel bet 8,700 from the cut off. Colin, who had just checked in the big blind, raised to 26,500. Duhamel laid it down. — SB

1pm: Speaking volumes


In a tournament full of personalities (and by that we mean loud people) it is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Mr Phil Laak is the one that we can hear above all. It’s all about the volume; number of words, not decibels.

“Each toe is individually wrapped,” Laak told Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald. The young Canadian stuck his head under the table to look at, I believe, Scott Seiver’s feet.

“He tells me that they help to make you live longer,” Laak continued talking about shoes that have each toe sectioned off, a little like gloves. “There’s a lot of science to it. I was reading this book called ‘The brain that changes itself’ by Dr Norman Doidge.”

Seiver, if it was he, is no longer wearing said scientific shoes but that hasn’t stopped Laak. He was still talking about the benefits of walking around barefoot as I wandered away in ill-fitting squeaking footwear. — RD

12.55pm: All in and a call


No, not really, just the seat draw.

Table 1

Seat 1 – Caio Pimenta


Seat 2 – Justin Smith


Seat 3 – Bill Chen, Team PokerStars Pro


Seat 4 – Daniel Cates


Seat 5 – Humberto Brenes, Team PokerStars Pro


Seat 6 – Guy Laliberte


Seat 7 – David Benyamine


Seat 8 – empty

Table 2

Seat 1 – William Perkins


Seat 2 – Nick Schulman


Seat 3 – Sorel Mizzi


Seat 4 – Ashton Griffin


Seat 5 – Daniel Negreanu, Team PokerStars Pro


Seat 6 – Koen Berendsen


Seat 7 – Vivek Rajkumar


Seat 8 – empty

Table 3

Seat 1 – Antonio Esfandiari


Seat 2 – Shawn Buchanen


Seat 3 – Tobias Reinkemeier


Seat 4 – Eugene Katchalov


Seat 5 – Jason Somerville


Seat 6 – Sandor Denjan


Seat 7 – Jason Mercier, Team PokerStars Pro


Seat 8 – empty

Table 4

Seat 1 – Mike McDonald


Seat 2 – empty


Seat 3 – Phil Laak


Seat 4 – Masaaki Kagawa


Seat 5 – Andrew Robl


Seat 6 – Scott Seiver


Seat 7 – James Obst


Seat 8 – empty

Table 5

Seat 1 – Andrew Lichtenberger


Seat 2 – Bryan Colin


Seat 3 – Tom Marchese


Seat 4 – Matt Glantz


Seat 5 – Bertrand Grospellier, Team PokerStars Pro


Seat 6 – Hoyt Corkins


Seat 7 – Jonathan Duhamel, Team PokerStars Pro


Seat 8 – empty

12.45pm: And we’re off…


Play has begun.

12.40pm: About to start


We’ll be playing nine levels today, eight-max all the way, with a dinner break after level six. There seems to be a lot of jollity considering the size of the $100,000 buy-in. Come on, shove in your 250,000 starting stack blind on the first hand. — RD

12.35pm: Sliding scale


Is there a direct correlation between the size of the buy-in and the length of time allowed by tournament directors for late starts? I believe so. €5,000 EPTs are regularly delayed by 20 minutes and your local £30/$50 freezeout waits for no man – hardly surprising given the five-minute levels. On that pay scale it may mean we’re waiting around five hours for the shuffle up and deal*. — RD

*It won’t be that long.

12.25pm: All aboard


While the Super High Roller marks the start of our PCA live coverage it’s not the first event of the festival. That started about four hours ago when a small band of men and women set sail and plotted a course for the Fish and Chips Showdown, a unique event that combined deep sea fishing, poker and the suspension of credibility. As Hemingway once wrote; “Anyone can be a fisherman in May.” Let’s see how they fair in January. — SB

We’re going to need a bigger boat

12.17pm: A little perspective


The thought of spending $100,000 on entry into a poker tournament takes some getting used to. As Pete Latham, who works on the TV side of events like this, just pointed out to us, you can play a whole season of the European Poker Tour with today’s buy-in, including the main high roller events, then stop by the World Series of Poker, before playing the entire Latin American Poker Tour. At the end of that you’d still have change for your flight home. – SB

12.15pm: Another short delay


All right, we’re not going to be starting at the updated start time either. Players are still milling around outside. — SB

12.02am: Short delay


It goes without saying we’re not going to be starting on time. We’re told we’ll be under way at 12.15pm. — SB

11.45am: First through the door


Daniel Negreanu is the first player to enter the tournament. Right now there are five tables, with dealers and chips, waiting for them. We’re going to put out neck out and say we will not be starting on time. – SB

11.30am: Names on the list


We already know the identity of some of those registered to play today. They include the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Jason Mercier, Tom Marchese, Sorel Mizzi, James Obst and Nick Schulman. — SB

11.20am: Weather report


Despite an even 26 degrees of sunshine outside (79 degrees in Fahrenheit to our American friends) we’re been promised a storm today. Angry looking clouds were moving in over the Bahamas this morning, not enough to put off swimmers and drinkers looking for an early morning Bahama-Mama pick-me-up, but enough to rattle the palm trees and send the more hair conscious tourist running for cover. — SB

11.10am: It’s finally here


Well here we go. The first day of the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure at the beautiful Atlantis Resort, on Paradise Island, a mega-rich strip of real estate just a short swim away from the Nassau, principle town of the Bahamian Island of New Providence. And that’s the last time I’ll be typing out the full address.

As you’ll know by now we’re about to embark on a 10-day, 48-event festival of poker, the largest anywhere in the world outside of the World Series of Poker. By the end of it we’ll have a new Main Event champion, a new World Cup of Poker champion, a new Bounty Shootout champion, a High Roller champion and a Super High Roller champion. And it’s this last one we’ll begin playing for today.

The marina at the Atlantis Resort. Our yacht is just out of shot

If, like my mother, you thought $100,000 was too much for anyone to pay to play a poker tournament you’d be wrong. With a refreshingly cavalier approach to life and the value of the dollar, more than 30 players have so far signed up for this opening Super High Roller barnstormer (pronounced in the same way that you’d sing Viva Las Vegas). That’s a Bentley Continental, with a full tank of gas, to play.

As usual the PokerStars Blog will be on hand to cover every aspect of the event from start to finish, complete with irreverence, correct spelling and grammar. Not only that but can have your say via the comments box below. Today we have an opening day special offer on comments; we’re allowing exclamation marks, text-speak and opinions based on nothing that would resemble fact. Let’s have it, we’re all ears.

Play starts at 12 noon. We’ve already been enjoying the magnificence of the Caribbean’s coastlines, the pleasures of strolling along the beach, being offered everything from banana boat rides to sunstroke. We’ve also got over the fact that we’ve arrived with suitcases full of clothes entirely unsuited to 26 degree sunshine. It’s now time for what we came here for and if you can’t be here yourself the PokerStars Blog coverage is the next best thing. — SB

PokerStars Blog reporting team in the Bahamas (in order of wins on the “Fast and Furious” video driving game in the Games Reef Arcade): Rick Dacey, 4 (he doesn’t even have a drivers license), Stephen Bartley, 0 (but will always get you to your destination safely).

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.

Let’s be honest. Going to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is not an experience for budget travelers. It requires a flight to the Bahamas, a room at the high-dollar Atlantis resort, and the buy-in for the event. It all adds up after a while. That’s why so many people (688 at this writing) are working to qualify on PokerStars.

Before you run off and hit a satellite however, you should know that no matter what you do, you’re unlikely to top the return on investment story of the PokerStars player known as tombala85.

I was perusing the PCA Facebook page today and saw that Mad Harper had posted something pretty fun at the top of the page. She wrote:

Two hundred PokerStars Frequent Player Points will get you a PokerStars window sticker, 300 FPPs will get you a T-shirt and 600 FPPs will get you a floatable PokerStars keychain. But back in August, “tombala85” spent just 5 FPPs entering a Round 1 PCA Mega Path satellite. Back in August, the PCA probably looked a long way away and thousands were entering the various PCA Mega Path satellites on offer. But tombala85 not only got through his Round 1 tourney, he then sailed through a further EIGHT rounds to win his trip to the Bahamas – a prize package worth more than $15,500.

You might want to read that again just to get your head around it. See, tombala was one of thousands of people who played in the Mega Path satellites (a multi-leveled qualifying system of satellite tournaments that start at five FPPs). There were several people who earned their PCA package for just a few FPPs, but no one except tombala85 who qualified for the PCA for the lowest possible amount: 5 FPPs. I don’t know the current FPP exchange rate, but it’s safe to say tombala85 has qualified for the PCA for less than 10¢.

All of the 30 Mega Path qualifiers will be looking to match or better Darren ‘Woodylord’ Keyes achievement from 2010. Keyes made it to the PCA after starting in a 75-FPP Round 1 satellite. He worked his way to the top and finished in tenth place for $150,000. His ROI was in the 12 million percent range.

With now less than two weeks until the PCA, your time to qualify is running out. Head on over to the EVENTS / PCA section of the PokerStars lobby and start hitting the satellites soon. There still qualifiers running for as little as $1 or 100 Frequent Player Points.

The Frequent Player Points you spend today could be memories of winning millions by the end of next month.

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.

9pm: Roberto Romanello wins EPT Prague and €640,000


Roberto Romanello opened to 575,000 from the button and Emiliano Bono three-bet to 2.475 million. Romanello quickly announced that he was all-in and his Italian counterpart made the call just as quickly.

Romanello turned over 1010 and Bono showed AJ to set up a huge race for the title. Romanello looked understandably apprehensive given how well Bono has flipped in the last couple of days. To be fair to Bono he had been a game opponent and had gambled when he felt he had to. This was to prove the biggest flip of all.

The flop dropped down 1044 giving Romanello tens full and the Italian Bono very few outs. The 5 on the turn sealed it and the Welshman burst into tears overcome with emotion, unable to see the 4 dealt to the river. It was a fair result and Bono gave Romanello a hearty handshake with a wide smile, as he should given that he takes home €435,000 himself.

A very worthy winner, Romanello takes the trophy, glory and €640,000 – or will when he can dry his eyes. Amazing scenes.

A full wrap of today’s final will be with you shortly. — RD

8.50pm: Romanello wins


Romanello wins a race to take down EPT Prague – details to come! — SY

8.47pm: Bono bets for the pot


Roberto Romanello raised to 475,000 on the button and Emiliano Bono called to go to the 657 flop where he check-called the Welshman’s 625,000 continuation bet. Both checked the J turn before a 500,000 Bono bet on the 8 river was good to get Romanello to fold. — MC

8.38pm: No change in chips as blinds go up


As we go into the 100,000-200,000 level we find ourselves at pretty much the same spot as when the heads up began. Roberto Romanello is on just shy of 11 million and Emiliano Bono is on 6 million. Bono won the last pot before the blinds increased with 67 on a 57838 flop. Bono check-called 160,000 on the flop and a further 160,000 on the river. Romanello showed pocket deuces. — RD

8.30pm: Three-betting or no betting


Emiliano Bono treated Roberto Romanello to a bit of the old three-betting before the Welshman did it right back to him the next hand. Neither player had the goods to continue and folded.

The next hand Romanello limped in from the button and Bono checked. Both players checked down the Q510K2 board. Bono showed an ace but Romanello took the pot with 53. — MC

8.20pm: Another one for Bono


Emiliano Bono just three-bet Roberto Romanello’s 355,000 button raise to 855,000. Romanello dragged his cards towards him and looked at them again before tossing them towards the dealer. He never really looked like playing on.

Apart from that hand it has mainly been raise and takes. — RD

8.15pm: Romanello gets some back


Roberto Romanello has won his first post-flop pot of this heads-up duel. He raised to 370,000 from the button and Emiliano Bono called to go to the 862 flop. The action was checked to the 9 turn where Bono led for 420,000. Call. The river came A and the Italian check-folded to Romanello’s 1.135 million bet. — MC

8.10pm: Bono slowly catching up


Emiliano Bono is slowly catching up with Roberto Romanello. A few blinds have been traded with button raises and both post-flop pots being pushed towards the Italian. A simple 450,000 continuation bet on a 3A7 flop was enough to win one pot while Bono check-raised the turn of a 325A board from 175,000 to 420,000. Romanello passed. — RD

8pm: Bono wins the first pot


The first hand of heads-up play went to the Italian, Emiliano Bono. He raised to 380,000 from the button and Roberto Romanello called. There was no more betting until the river when the board read 4339K and Bono bet 450,000 when checked to him. Romanello folded quickly. — MC

7.54pm: Running


Heads-up play has begun

7.45pm: Heads up stacks


We’ve had a small break before the heads up with Roberto Romanello leading with 10.13 million and Emiliano Bono chasing with 6.8 million. — RD

7.40pm: Bono bounces Horecki


Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki has been eliminated in third place by the charmed Emiliano Bono. Bono raised to 385,000 from the button and quickly called once Horecki moved all-in for about 1.5 million chips. Romanello folded from the big blind in between.

Horecki: AK


Bono: AJ

The board ran 10A82J. There was a stunned silence rather than the usual raucous celebrations from the Italian. He offered his condolences to the understandably gutted Horecki before the reality that he’s heads-up for an EPT title set in. Horecki is €247,000 richer but he’ll just be think of what could’ve been for the moment. — MC

7.35pm: Horecki out…


… details coming.

7.32pm: Horecki in real trouble


Marcin Horecki is down to around 1.6 million, just ten big blinds while Roberto Romanello has regained a convincing chip lead. Horecki had limped from the small blind and Romanello had checked. Both players checked the flop before Horecki led 180,000 into the 910K4 board and Romanello raised it up to 595,000. Horecki made the call.

The Team PokerStars Pro checked the A river and Romanello slowly stacked out 1.495 million and pushed it across the line. While Horecki didn’t snap call he didn’t take long to push 15 green and black 100,000 chips forward. Romanello showed J3 for the flush. — RD

7.20pm: Romanello doubles Bono


Earlier on we saw Marco Leonzio snap call for his tournament life with queen-jack and now Emilliano Bono has done the same. He raised to 370,000 from the button before calling all-in when Romanello shoved.

Bono: QJ


Romanello: A10

The board ran J53K10 to double Bono up to just over six million. Romanello drops back to 7.5million. — MC

7.12pm: Horecki staying focused


Marcin Horecki looks like a man fighting the effects of final table frustration. The Team PokerStars Pro is in a horrible spot at the moment with Roberto Romanello on his left. While Bono seems largely content to pass a lot of hands their equal stack sizes means that the Pole has to be extra careful when raising from the small blind into Romanello’s big blind as the Welshman is more than happy to either apply pressure pre-flop with his monster stack or call in position.

Either way it’s not great for Horecki.

Here’s a quick video update from the man himself… — RD

7pm: Off again


Three-handed play has restarted and we’re now on huge blinds of 80,000-160,000 and a 20,000 ante. — SY

6.42pm: Break


That’s the end of the level. We’re now on a 15-minute break. — SY

6.38pm: The scores on the doors


A quick appraisal of the chip stacks shows that Roberto Romanello is leading with around 10 million chips to Horecki’s 3 million and Emilliano Bono’s 3.6 million. If Romanello should be the next player to win a large all-in he would have an almost unassailable lead in the heads up. Should Horecki double through he stands a great chance to take on Romanello. If it’s Bono who makes it to the heads-up he will have to open up his game, he’s been playing incredibly tight and has been managing to find hands when absolutely necessary. — RD

6.25pm: Great call by Romanello


Roberto Romanello just made a great call against Marcin Horecki to seize firm control over this finale. He raised to 245,000 from the button and Horecki defended from the big blind to see the Q67 flop where the action went check-check. The turn came 5 and Horecki took over the initiative with a 265,000 bet was soon facing a raise to 575,000. Call.

The river came an interesting looking 2 and Horecki led for 680,000. This sent Romanello so deep into the tank he needed a special blind of nitrox to keep breathing. He emerged and made the call. “Nice call,” said Horecki as he slid his cards into the muck. Romanello tabled 97 to take the pot and move to over 11 million in chips. Horecki was left with 3.2 million and Bono is still singing with 3.8 million. — MC

6.15pm: Three, two, one…


We’re still waiting for that car crash to take place with the last six pots being settled pre-flop. Roberto Romanello has taken three post, Emilliano Bono two and Marcin Horecki just one. — RD

6.12pm: How do we get home


Team PokerStars Blog is starting to get seriously concerned about how we get home, with snow causing chaos at airports back in the UK. I don’t want to spend Christmas in Prague. — SY

6.10pm: Romanello gets value


Roberto Romanello managed to get some value out of Marcin Horecki on the river with a sneaky little bet. The pot started with a Horecki small blind completion and a Romanello check to a 2510 flop. Horecki check-called a 180,000 bet here and a 335,000 on the 8 turn. The river came 9 and Romanello bet a relatively small 205,000 prompting the Pole to say: “Why so much?”

Romanello didn’t respond and Horecki made the call after thinking for another minute. Romanello tabled Q9 for a rivered pair and it was enough as Horecki folded. — MC

5.57pm: Nothing to see here


After pointing out that more people were watching the €300 Random Bounty tournament a few feet away, Marcin Horecki made a bet that stuck, the first in a while, getting a call from Emilliano Bono in the big blind. The flop came J108 which both players checked for a9 on the turn. Again Bono checked to Horecki who bet 330,000. Bono passed. – SB

5.52pm: Dynamics


It’s an interesting three-way dance here with Marcin Horecki and Roberto Romanello both seeming to be chasing the win more then Emilliano Bono. It makes for some interesting dynamics, particularly between Horecki and Romanello.

Romanello opened for 300,000 from the button and was called in the big blind by Horecki. The Team PokerStars Pro led 305,000 into the 533 flop and Romanello grabbed two large stacks of orange 25,000 chips and raised to 1.275 million. Horecki passed. Romanello is on a little over 7 million now. — RD

4.42pm: Cagey play


The first few hands of three-handed play has been a cagey affair. No flop has been seen and only one raise was put in. The other three hands were all walks for the big blind. It won’t stay that way for long. — MC

5.37pm: Down to three


Scratch another. Peter Skripka is our fourth-place finisher, calling the all-in move of Marcin Horecki. Horecki, in the small blind, showed K10. Skripka in the big blind showed 7K.

There was no messing around with the board, a straightforward flop of 10102 to give Horecki a set. The turn A[ and river J made no difference. Skripka out. Horecki up to around 5,500,000. — SB

5.34pm: Man down, man down!


Details to come, but his first name is Peter. His last is Skripka. — SY

5.30pm: Players are back from break


The four remaining players are back in their seats after the short break. Check the chip counts here. With just under 17 million chips in play we have 140 big blinds left on the table. — RD

PokerStars Blog reporting team at EPT Prague (in order of what type of cake they would be): Rick Dacey (Cheesecake), Simon Young (Currant bun), Marc Convey (Fishcake) and Stephen Bartley (Gingerbread). Photos by 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.

2.05pm: And relax…


That’s the end of level 27. Level 28 is up next, but first it’s a 15-minute break. — SY

2pm: Skripka poker


The level looks to be running down without further eliminations. Skripka and Romanello flirted in the blinds, Skripka completing, Romanello raising and Skripka re-raising to take the pot. Five minutes left on the level. – SB

1.55pm: Not a good flop for queens


Peter Skripka opened for 160,000 from the hijack and Roberto Romanello three-bet to 560,000 from the cut-off. Skripka made the call. Both players checked down the AK326 board at an incredibly fast rate with Skripka tabling AJ to trump Romanello’s QQ. It was pretty far from being the perfect flop for pocket queens. — RD

1.45pm: Leonzio loosens up


Marco Leonzio started the day as chip leader but he’s hardly put his stack to work at all today. That just changed, though, as he played two hands in a row.

Firstly, he raised to 180,000 from the cut-off and was called by Roberto Romanello. There was no more betting through the Q68710 board and Leonzio took the pot after he revealed ace-ten.

That might have upped his confidence as the very next hand he raised to 180,000 from under the gun. Marcin Horecki called from the big blind to see the 63J flop where he check-called a 220,000 continuation bet from the Italian. Both players checked the 8 turn before Horecki led out for 430,000 on the 4 river. Leonzio thought for 30 seconds and slid his cards into the muck. — MC

1.40pm: A flop


A flop of 77A and Marcin Horecki bet 65,000 from the small blind which Marco Leonzio called in the big blind. They both checked the 10 turn for a 10 river, at which point Horecki bet 275,000 to win the hand. — SB

1.35pm: More for Wales


Roberto Romanello has extended his lead a little further after taking a pot off Peter Skripka. Romanello raised to 135,000 from under-the-gun and Skripka defended from the big blind to see a 2J5 flop. It can’t have suited him, though, as he check-folded to a 175,000 bet from Romanello. — MC

1.31pm: Double for Bono


Emilliano Bono has just doubled through Marcin Horecki. Bono is the tightest player at the table and has been a short stack for the majority of the last two days. He’s certainly been flipping well and that trend didn’t change when he flopped a set with his pocket fours.

The action passed to Bono in the small blind who shipped it in for 850,000. Horecki looked at his first card and didn’t look too interested but as he peeled the second his jaw dropped open a little; a sigh perhaps? The total shove was for 850,000, around a quarter of Horecki’s stack and the Team PokerStars Pro obviously had a decision in front if him.

Against some players I think Horecki would have snap called with his A6 but Bono had been showing down bigger hands only. “You want me to call?” asked Horecki. Bono shrugged.

“Do you want me to call or not?” he asked again. “So sick.” Horecki made the call.

Horecki: A6


Bono: 44

The door card was the 4 and Bono leapt to his feet and started shouting in Italian (this has proved to be standard procedure for the player from Rome). The board ran out 4QAK9 as Bono doubled to 1.7 million. Horecki down to 2.5 million. — RD

1.25pm: Rolling Romanello


Roberto Romanello has never sounded so sure of a call. After Peter Skripka opened from the button for 170,000, Romanello raised to 605,000 from the small blind. When Skripka moved all-in Romanello looked up to the floor staff calling the hand and in his clearest voice said: “Call.” Then, fearing this might be misconstrued, he said call again.

Romanello turned over KK to Skripka’s 33. Breathing heavily, suspended in a black and white world of win or lose, Romanello waited for the board. First a flop of 758. Then a 4 turn to give Skripka chop options. Then a 10 river card to double up the Welshman.

Romanello made no victory noise. Skripka tapped the table. Romanello up to around 5,500,000 chips now to Skripka’s 2,600,000, and now takes the chip lead. — SB

1.20pm: Chip leading double up…


… for Roberto Romanello. Details coming soon. — SY

1.18pm: Horecki lets one go


Peter Skripka is back into the chip lead after forcing Marcin Horecki off a hand. The Polish pro raised to 140,000 from the button and Skripka called to go to the 77A flop where the action went check-check. The turn came A and Horecki faced a check-raise up to 275,000 after he bet 105,000. Call. The river came 2 and the Russian led out for 925,000. Horecki thought for a long while but folded. — MC

1.15pm: Skripka on top


Peter Skripka has inched into the chip lead with more than five million. — SY

1.10pm: “Don’t bluff the Romanello!” – part two


It’s not the first time that we’ve heard Roberto Romanello talk about himself in the third person and, in fact, it’s not the first time we’ve heard him utter these words: “Don’t bluff the Romanello.”

Romanello opened for 155,000 and was called by Marco Leonzio in the big blind. Both players checked the 2A10 flop before Leonzio led 230,000 into the 6 turn. Leonzio made a large 700,000 bet on the 10 river, asking a question for over half of Romanello’s stack. The Welshman slowly but surely made the call and Leonzio quickly mucked his hand. Romanello said: “Don’t bluff the Romanello,” and showed the 9.

He is up to 2,800,000 now and has a favourable seat draw with Peter Skripka, arguably the other most aggressive player at the table, directly on his right. — RD

1.05pm: Marco the man


Flashes of action, sparked mainly by Marco Leonzio. After Marcin Horecki bet 120,000 from the cut off Leonzio called on the button for a flop of 725. Horecki threw in another 115,000 which Leonzio bumped up to 410,000. Horecki paused for a moment but then passed. Leonzio took the blinds and antes on the next hand with a cut-off raise that went uncontested. — SB

1pm: Has he found what he’s looking for?


Emilliano Bono seemed like he wanted to continue further in a hand versus Roberto Romanello but folded rather than pulling the trigger. Romanello raised to 145,000 from the cut-off and Bono was the only caller from the button to go to the A8K flop. Romanello continued with a 180,000 bet causing Bono to tank. The man from Rome kept looking back at his cards but ultimately folded to leave himself with just over one million chips. — MC

12.54pm: Post-flop poker


Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki had raised and taken the blinds on the previous hand when he opened for 115,000 from the hijack. He found call from Marco Leonzio in the cut-off and Peter Skripka on the button. Leonzio was the only player who claimed to like the 9510 flop and bet 350,000. Skripka quickly mucked and Horecki took a little longer to do so, but pass he did. Leonzio scooped 450,000. — RD

12.52pm: Level up


That’s the end of level 26. We move straight into level 27 without a break. Blinds are now 30,000-60,000 with a 5,000 ante. — SY

12.51pm: Another one gone


Jan Bendik has become the sixth-place finisher at EPT Prague after he was eliminated by Peter Skripka. Bendik, with AK, bet 150,000 from early position which Skripka raised to a little more than 2,000,000 from the big blind with 99. The flop was kind to Bendik, landing as it did JK10. But the 9 turn changed that, and the 4 river card confirmed the man from Slovakia’s elimination. Skripka up to nearly 5,000,000. — SB

12.50pm: The storm before the calm


A quiet patch after two early eliminations. Raise and take being the order of the day, the only flop seen in anger came after a bet of 115,000 from Marcin Horecki on the button which was called by Marco Leonzio in the small blind.

The flop came 8Q5 at which Horecki bet 135,000 to win the hand. – SB

12.37pm: Bevand out in seventh for €71,000


Manuel Bevand has just been busted by Roberto Romanello who has now chipped up to around two million. Bevand shoved his remaining 500,000 into the middle from early position and Romanello announced all-in from the small blind. Jan Bendik passed in the big blind.

Romanello: 1010


Bevand: K2

“King!” pleaded Bevand, half-jokingly it seemed, as he stood and pumped his arms out wide. The Frenchman knew only too well that he was a dog to Romanello’s pocket pair and the 873 flop did him no favors. The A turn failed to help either, and as the 7 river fell the Frenchman nodded as if to acknowledge his solid run – and that today was not his day. Bevand scores €71,000 for his seventh-place finish. — RD

12.30pm: Video

12.28pm: Nulli and void


Roberto Nulli is the first player to be eliminated from this final table. He open shoved for 700,000 from under the gun. Bevan tank-folded what he later said to be king-queen, and it turned out to be a good fold as Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki flat called one seat later. Another player to wisely fold was Roberto Romanello in the big blind who open folded pocket nines.

Nulli: A10


Horecki: QQ

The board ran 10Q34J hitting top set for the Pole to take us down to seven players. Nulli takes home for €54,550 for his efforts. — MC

12.22pm: Good hand for Bevand


Manuel Bevand just moved all-in on the button, getting called by Marcin Horecki and Marco Leonzio in the blinds.

They checked down the board of 455JJ and Bevand tripled up, showing JQ to Horecki’s Q3 and Leonzio’s AK. – SB

12.18pm: It’s Thomash Kremsher


Shocking evidence here of hard boozing by Thomas Kremser and his tournament team. It was only noon and already they were chucking it down their throats.

Actually, Kremser had just kindly bought Christmas champagne for his whole team, including dealers, as a thank you for their hard work this week. Team PokerStars Blog is still waiting for its bosses to buy them a Christmas drink. It may be a long wait…

12.16pm: The Bendik double


PokerSars qualifier Jan Bendik was the short stack at the start of play and got it all in on the very first hand. He shoved on the button and was called by Manuel Bevand in the big blind:

Bendik: A6


Bevand: KQ

The board ran AQJ9J to double up Bendik but leave Bevand on around 130,000. — SY

12.13pm: Off we go


The final table at EPT Prague is under way. Sounds like we have a double up for Jan Bendik on the first hand. Details to come. — SY

11.55am: Any minute now


There’s a raised stage at one end of the tournament room and players are taking their seats. We should be under way shortly. — SB

11.50am: Final table day


Welcome to live coverage of the final table of the European Poker Tour in Prague. A total of 563 players has been reduced to just eight who return today to play to a winner who will walk away, or be carried away if he’s Italian, with a first prize of €640,000.

Who are these noble gladiators? We’re glad you asked. Details of all the finalists, their likes and dislikes, or thereabouts, is all detailed below. — SB

Seat 1: Marco Leonzio, 38, Pineto, Italy – 5,075,000 chips


Leonzio, 38, has played poker for many years but only took up Texas Hold’em three years ago. The real estate agent, from Pineto on the Adriatic Sea, is usually a cash game player who uses his winnings to play live events.

The EPT Prague final table is by far his best result, although he has two previous EPT cashes, finishing 16th in Vilamoura earlier this year and 118th in San Remo last season.

Seat 2: Peter Skripka, 24, St Petersburg, Russia – PokerStars player – 4,010,000


Skripka has been playing poker for six years, mostly as a professional, and usually focuses on multi-table tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $200 to $500.

The PokerStars player has cashed online for $100,000, form he has brought with him to live poker in Prague. Skripka, a keen FC Zenit fan, said: ‘I will try to play some good poker at the final table, not just fold.’ It’s a mark of modesty from the Russian, who has impressed many people on his way to the final.

Seat 3: Roberto Romanello, 34, Swansea, Wales – 1,220,000


Romanello is a well-known figure on the international poker circuit, and has played numerous EPT events. His best result on the tour to date came in Copenhagen in February, where he finished sixth. He also cashed in Barcelona last month.

Roberto Romanello

Since turning professional in 2005, Romanello has made nearly $900,000 in live tournament earnings. Romanello took up poker while convalescing from a sports injury and in the first two weeks of playing qualified for a WPT event. He also enjoyed a deep run at his first WSOP in 2006 and final tabled the £5,000 WSOP Europe pot-limit Omaha event last year.

Romanello, who comes from Swansea, in Wales, still helps his family run their chain of up-market fish-and-chip shops.

Seat 4: Roberto Nulli, 35, Italy – 745,000


Nulli began playing online poker in 2005 and plays at PokerStars.it under the name ‘nemo33838’. His best result to date is a 13th place finish at EPT London worth £30,000 and he’s now in the money again.

This is his second live tournament final table, following his runner up finish in February at a €1,500 no-limit hold’em event in Portomaso, in which he earned €17,900.

The father of two prefers to play live cash games, principally pot-limit Omaha and 2-7 lowball. Nulli also loves to travel and while his prize money from Prague will go towards more poker, some will be used for a non-poker holiday.

Seat 5: Jan Bendik, 46, Poprad, Slovakia – 445,000


Bendik, who owns an electricity company, has been playing poker for six years now as a hobby, which now dominates his free time.

Poker has been a very fruitful for Bendik and he’s amassed more than $600,000 in tournament winnings up to this event. This is his first EPT main event cash but he has finished in the money in three side events, including victory in the EPT Barcelona €1,000 event three weeks ago, worth €68,860. Jan is being vocally supported by friends on the rail.

Seat 6: Emilliano “MiloRomaAA” Bono, 35, Rome, Italy – 1,530,000 chips


Bono started playing poker live in 2007 and online a few months afterwards. Poker is still just a hobby for Bono, who works as a real estate agent, but he is a regular on PokerStars, mainly playing multi-table tournaments.

The married father-of-two won his seat in the EPT Prague Main Event in a live satellite and this is by far his best live result to date, although he nearly made the final of the IPT Venice Main Event in January, where he finished ninth for €9,000. Bono loves fitness and travel and is excited to make the Prague final.

Seat 7: Manuel Bevand, 34, Paris, France – 615,000


Manuel Bevand played his first EPT in Warsaw in 2007 and since then has cashed six times, including in 23rd at last season’s Grand Final. Prague has been particularly good for Manuel. He finished 19th in Season 5, 22nd in season 6 and has now reached the final – his best live result to date.

Originally from Lyon, the 34-year old turned pro in 2006. Bevand has always enjoyed games, programming video games on the family computer at age eight and becoming a noted computer game designer for a big French studio. Bevand also excelled at the card game Magic : The Gathering.

After cutting his teeth playing cash games – live and online – Manuel is now focused almost exclusively on multi-table tournaments. He has written an advice manual for aspiring poker professionals and is the founder of the popular “Club Poker Radio” show.

Seat 8: Marcin Horecki, 33, Warsaw, Poland – Team PokerStars Pro – 3,290,000


Born in Poland, Horecki is a former member of the national alpine skiing team but was forced to quit the sport due to injury. Horecki studied for BA and MA degrees and then worked in corporate finance. He also began playing Magic: The Gathering around this time, a game that would introduce him to the poker tables at PokerStars.

In 2006, he came close to making the final table of the €1,000 NLHE event at the Barcelona Open and this gave him the confidence he needed to turn pro. He has a total of six EPT cashes to date including his career-best third place finish at EPT London in Season 5 earning £303,439.

Horecki joined Team PokerStars Pro during the WSOP in July 2008. He is currently leading the Polish All Time Money List.

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.