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Title: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 01:05:18 PM Hello everybody!
Well, the long, winding path to find the champion of the EPT here in Dortmund is in its final stages as the last eight players gather to cross swords and match wits at the Final table today. It's anyone's guess who will emerge victorious and prevail as the latest EPT Champion, but the aggressive playing styles of the remaining contenders should make for an exciting climax to what has been an extremely high quality tournament. With Jen Mason hauled off early this morning to face an international tribunal demanding justice for her war crimes against the gummi bear populace, it will just be me, myself and I covering the final today. Good luck to all the players remaining, without further ado here are the chip counts and names of the eight players who will be harbouring visions of the glory, accolades and riches that lie in wait for the winner. Michael McDonald -- 862,000 Johannes Strassmann -- 827,000 Diego Perez Marco -- 744,000 Andreas Gulunay -- 560,000 Torsten Haase -- 364,000 Christian Harder -- 339,000 Claudio Rinaldi -- 266,000 Thibaut Durand -- 148,000 The action is scheduled to commence at 15:00 here (14:00 in the UK) and everyone is on tenterhooks waiting to see how this gripping finale will play out. I can't wait... EDIT: A couple of amendments have been made to the stack sizes... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: NoflopsHomer on February 02, 2008, 01:08:49 PM I think Mike McDonald will win this.
Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: Schaefer on February 02, 2008, 01:44:23 PM I think Mike McDonald will win this. ldo. Between him and Harder imo. Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 02:12:37 PM And we're off!
The very first hand, Thorsten re-raises a riase of his blinds ALLIN! "Hands off my blinds" he announces firmly as everyone, including the initial raiser folds. He shows a King but that's it... Thorsten continues the aggression with a raise, but Mike is no shrinking violet and reraises him. Thorsten is committed to pushing if he plays....but he passes ..."not this time..." Mike: "I had a hand anyway" chuckling as he nonchalently throws his hand at the muck... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 02:22:57 PM I have some pictures and bios of the players to follow...
I'll post them up shortly providing the action doesn't get too crazy! Diego and Johannes contest a raised pot. With 67k in preflop, the flop comes 5d 2c 8h. Johannes bets 45k...and Diego passes... Mike McDonald now opens up with a 27k raise, which Diego repops to 72k. Mike looks disappointed....before quietly 3 betting to 172k! Massive pot between 2 big stacked players here...but Diego folds! The young canadian's aggression works well for him again as he stamps his authority on the final early on... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 02:35:39 PM A raise from Strassmann to 27k is re-raised by the unpredicatable German Gulunay to 60k. Strassmann now 3 bets ALLIN!
It's a huge raise which puts Gulunay's tounament on the line...and he looks uncomfortable and passes... Strassmann and McDonald using their stacks to put maximum pressure on their opponents at the moment and are comfortably out in front now... Thorsten raises to 32k and is re-raised ALLIN...by Rinaldi! It's a big call for Thorsten to make and he buries his face in his hands and thinks and thinks and thinks.....BUT passes! Swiss Rinaldi receives a welcome boost to his stack. Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 02:47:50 PM WOW!
ENORMOUS POT ALERT! Mike McDonald and Andreas Gulunay tangle preflop... They see a Kc 3s 6d flop. Andreas bets out 40k or so and mike raises anohter 90k...Andreas thinks for aaaaaages and calls! The turn is the Js... Andreas now pushes for 275k!!! Mike goes into the tank and fires a few questions at Andreas. Mike: "I was bluffing the flop, but now I think my hand is good..." Andreas sits there, arms folded, trying to look confident.... It's a huge bet for Mike to call....BUT HE CALLS! He's made a great call with A-J as Andreas flips the behind but flushing and paired 5s 6s... The river is.... a 5c!!!!!!! Andreas has won the monster pot 911,000 with 2 pair! He high fives the cheering rail as Mike quietly licks his wounds.... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 02:52:56 PM Next hand , Christian Harder moves over the top of a raise from the aggressive Mike McDonald.
He must've been sick when he saw that his range crushing Ahrt Ks was behind to Mike's bullets! Sick cold-deck. The flop comes Js 2h Kh...oooh he's got some outs! TURN: Qh ! OMG Is mike about to get unlucky again? any heart, any king for a win for Harder or any T for a split.... RIVER: 3c ! This blank on the river means Mike's stack is augmented once again after his beat in the last hand... This means Christian Harder is OUT, eliminated in 8th place, winning €85,500 So consecutive EPT finals for Harder but he is the first out today. I'm sure we will see the laid back American soon though... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 02:55:45 PM Thibaut has just moved allin with Ad Qh.
Thorsten called...with Ah Th. The cards appear 2s Kh 5s 2d Ac meaning let's (http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:tq11kW28E5O8EM:http://www.virgingames.com/poker/blog/Blogcontent/binary/chop.jpg) it up folks! ...lucky Thorsten.... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 02:58:05 PM Thibaut shoves yet again from middle position and AGAIN Thibaut calls!!
Thibaut shows Ad 5d and Thorsten shows Ah Tc Can he get revenge??? FlLOP: 9c 5h 7s Ac 4d !!! Indeed he can! He doubles up to some cheering from the crowd of supporters on the rail! He's up to 200k now whilst Thorsten is very short.... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 03:04:16 PM A quick bio of the players...
mike McDonald Mike "Timex" McDonald is a young Canadian player, who has carved out a reputation for himself online under the moniker Timex. Relatively new to the world of live poker, Mike has had an exceptional start to 2008, reaching three final tables at the recent Aussie Millions Championship, picking up over US$130,000 in prize money. His aggressive and fearless approach to the game gives him a big chance of picking up his first major title here. (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8884&g2_serialNumber=1) Thorsten Haas A gambler for well over 20 years, this EPT is his first major live event, but he is more of a backgammon player which he has played all over the world. He says that his backgammon background makes him good at reading opponents which understandably helps his poker game... (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8886&g2_serialNumber=1) Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 03:09:58 PM Andreas Gulunay, the new chip leader sees a raised flop with Mike McDonald and Diego Perez.
After the latter two check to him, he bets 50k and they both fold, letting him take down the 100k pot that buffers his stack even more.... After some confusion where Strassmann thought that the very short stacked Thorston had re-raised him allin, but in fact had some chips back, Strassman called and nearly turned his cards over...but didn't. The flop is Th 4s 8d and Strassmann now moves allin, Thorston calls his remaining few chips off, unsuprisingly since he had Ad Ac Strassmann shows 3d 3s, and needs to hit a 3 to win the pot... TURN: Qc RIVER: 9h No 3, so Thorston doubles up to keep himself alive... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 03:14:21 PM Christian Harder
Christian Harder, a student from Maryland USA has achieved the enviable feat of back to back EPT finals, following up his 7th place finish in the Caribbean EPT, which netted him a chunky US$200,000, with a well-merited final table berth here in Dortmund. Blonde's very beagle Snoopy described Harder as "the coolest of cucumbers with a sack of potential." Leaving aside for a moment the question of whether Snoopy's assessment of his sack is taking investigative journalism too far, it is clear Christian has the game to be a force for years to come even if his final ended early on today... (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8890&g2_serialNumber=1) Andreas Gulunay Andreas Gulunay is another local player who has enjoyed plenty of support from the Dortmund crowd. His unorthodox style has proved the undoing of many a player in this tournament. Although Andreas is lacking in big tournament final table experience, he does not shy away from big moves and sitting in 4th place at the moment, it will be interesting to see if he can use his 450k stack cleverly enough to hoist himself into EPT folklore by taking down the competition. EDIT: He's already moved to around a million chips so today at least his strategy is certainly paying off! (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8888&g2_serialNumber=1) Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 03:23:58 PM Mike McDonald raises to 32k before Strassmann makes an ENORMOUS re-raise to 180k!!!
There's a bit of thinking but Mike's not prepared to play that big a pot here and passes... Strassmann is on the march!! After a raise from Thibaut to 30k, Strassmann re-raises for the 2nd hand in a row to 90k... Thorsten now gets interested! He asks Strassmann for a count (he has around 600k back)...but passes... Thibaut, short with 140k ish back has a decision for all his chips. HE CALLS! leaving 83k back...Strassmann announces allin in the dark preflop! Jd 4s 6s Thibaut now checks... Johannes shoves in the dark... and Thibaut passes! suggesting to Strassmann that he read him for A-A or K-K. More chips pass to the aggressive german Strassmann who is now up to 750k + Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 03:29:30 PM An apt time for Johannes Strassmann's bio...
Johannes Strassmann Johannes Strassmann is a German player who has previous experience of EPTs, having last year final tabled in Prague and finished in the money in Monte Carlo. His prize money from this tournament is already guarenteed to exceed those results, but coming into the final table well placed in third he will have high expectations of clearing the final hurdle this time and sending the crowd into raptures by giving them a home grown EPT winner. (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8892&g2_serialNumber=1) Strassmann and Andreas see a flop of Jc 6d Qc 45k from Strassmann, called by Andreas! TURN: 6s "If you just call I have to bet again!" says Johannes. "En Deutsche" says Andreas to his compatriot as he only speaks German, but quickly shows he knows at least a few words of english as he comically bangs the table and says "come on johannes, come on johannes!" looking at him and urging him to bet... Johannes is not intimidated though and bets out again, before Andreas passes. The crowd applaud Johannes! Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: snoopy1239 on February 02, 2008, 03:31:29 PM Did Johannes final in another EPT, he looks familiar?
Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 03:36:25 PM Diego Perez Marco
Lesser known Spaniard Diego Perez Marco started day 3 as the chip leader and maintained this advantage going into the final table. He has played professionally for 8 months and is a big fan of online strategy games Warcraft and Starcraft. His well placed compatriots Aniol Alcaraz and Raul Paez Corral fell before the final hurdle, but Diego will be flying the flag for Spain as he looks to use his big stack wisely to secure him his first EPT triumph. (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8894&g2_serialNumber=1) Current chip counts... Johannes Strassmann 981,000 Andreas Gulunay 821,000 Mike McDonald 740,000 Diego Perez 657,000 Thorsten Haase 594,000 Christian Rinaldi 265,000 Thibaut Durand 62,000 ************************************* We are on a 10 minute break. Back soon guys! ************************************* Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: NoflopsHomer on February 02, 2008, 03:38:03 PM Did Johannes final in another EPT, he looks familiar? Prague. Went out 7th or 8th. And Harder finalled the PCA. Sick guys. Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 04:01:58 PM Back from the break and we have action already!
Thibaut shoves his microstack into the middle and Johannes re-raises to isolate, which is successful as everyone else gets out of the way. Thibaut shows Aspades 4d Strassmann: 8d 8c FLOP: Qs 4s Kd Thibaut needs an ace, a 4 or running spades... TURN: 8h ! This gives straussmann a set, ending Thibaut's chances of outdrawing him... ....meaning Thibaut Durand is OUT, eliminated in 7th place, winning €120,200 A great payday for the French player, who is applauded heartily from the rail... Thorsten Haas riases and Claudio Rinaldi shoves his 250k ish stack into the middle. Thorsten clearly isn't happy about this....and passes... letting the Swiss player Claudio sweep up the pot, pushing him past the 300k mark... A quick reminder of the juicy payouts awaiting the final six players... 1 € 933,600 2 € 528,500 3 € 307,000 4 € 234,200 5 € 193,000 6 € 152,000 7 Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 04:06:04 PM Claudio who has been quiet so far, but has increased his stack carefully without having to showdown a hand, gets yet a 2nd raise through in a row and chews his ever-present gum as he rakes in the pot...
Strassmann is now up to over a million chips after eliminating Durand... ...he wields his stack forcefully, re-raising a riase to 42k from Mike McDonald up to 100k... Mike is not 100% happy about this, but he does pass and Strassmann marches on relentlessly... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 04:13:20 PM The Canadian Mcdonald is not having a great time of it recently.
He limps in from EP now, only to see Perez, who has been relatively tight so far, raising his limp to 100k. Mike looks a tad dejected as he passes. I sense Mike may want to lay the hammer down on getting pushed around soon... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 04:16:55 PM A quick glimpse of the trophy and the money awaiting our lucky winner...
(http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8896&g2_serialNumber=1) Barry Martin and EPT supremo john Duthie are doing the commentary on the EPT live feed and are amusing the press room with their comments. "Don't you think Straussmann has the look of a Matt Damon about him?" Barry asks John... ......"No." is John's terse and fairly accurate response! "Well Thorsten looks like Christopher Biggins!" comments Barry, desperate to get validation for one of his lookylikeys. Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 04:22:52 PM Diego Perez raises from the cut off and Strassmann lays the hammer down yet again, reraising from the button to 130k. Perez considers for a while, looking at Strassmann calmly leaning back and sipping his water....before announcing ALLIN!
WOW...2 big stacks going at it here... BUT....Strassmann passes... So far Strassmann has been the most verbal player at the table and he has some words for Perez after being shoved off his hand ....."I can't call you this time, but next time I will..... very very probably" comments Strausmann looking directly at Perez as he lays down! Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 04:25:58 PM Almost to prove a point, Strassmann raises the very next hand from the cut off aggressively.
All pass to Rinaldi who....PUSHES ALLIN for 300k! Strassmann is NOT happy about this, but again quickly passes, wrinkling his brow in annoyance and Rinaldi's strategy of re-shoving versus the aggressive players' raises is working beautifully at the moment! Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: NoflopsHomer on February 02, 2008, 04:27:31 PM It wouldn't be a bad idea for the EPT to actually ask random pros to come and do some commentary as some of the guys doing it often put all the players on very narrow ranges, (like that K-9 vs A-7 hand yesterday LOL). At the PCA, Ricky Fohrenbach who finished 7th or 8th (and actually cashed in Dortmund) and Ryan Daut (the PCA's previous winner) both came in and did excellent commentary.
Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 04:30:19 PM There's a riase from Andreas, and he is re-raised by Thorsten to 170k or so.
Andreas is very unorthodox and he FLAT CALLS oop to Thorsten's big raise... The flop comes Ac Jc 3s... ...Andreas checks the flop, prompting Thorsten to push allin for 350k or so... Andreas is not happy and thinks for a while before passing K-Q face up. Thorsten shows Q-T!!! Superbly timed bluff from Thorsten has moved him up to 700k or so and into contention. Well played Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 04:32:31 PM Mike McDonald raises to 70k or so...
And Thorsten, perhaps bhoyed by the last hand RERAISES ALLIN!!!! Mike is being shoved about so much, but if he calls it will be for all his chips...He blinks and blinks and thinks and blinks some more...BUT he passes... You can sense the steam building within the youngster and it won't be long before he makes a stand I sense... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 04:48:51 PM McDonald raises to 42k and Johannes Strassmann chews his gum before flat calling in position...
The flop comes Tc Aspades 9c Mike bets out 65k and Johannes re-raises to 150k, Mike considers for a while before finally laying the smack down as he was surely going to sooner or later and pushing allin! Insta-pass from Johannes, showing he was making a move and Mike McDonald moves above Johannes in the leaderboard... This actually means the chip lead is now with Thorsten Haase who has timed his few moves very welll so far. Johannes has had a bad time of it recently and is now under 600k after hitting the million mark earlier... There's a raise from Andreas now, which is called by Thorsten. Claudio Rinaldi now moves ALLIN for 350k, not for the first time today! The blinds pass, as does Andreas and Thorsten now tanks for a few minutes..... Illuminating commentary from the live EPT feed ..."Thorsten has a pair here...minimum" lol. It's keeping everyone entertained! ....but ultimately Thorsten folds Aspades Td face up, enabling Rinaldi's squeeze-looking manoevre to get through! Incredibly Rinaldi gets yet another re-shove past the initial raisers... The play thus far has been exceptional. Very aggressive, chock full of steals and re-steals, it has made for very exciting viewiing... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 04:59:30 PM Claudio Rinaldi
(http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8898&g2_serialNumber=1) Claudio Rinaldi, 22 from Rancate in Switzerland is a former croupier who has been semi-professional for the last 3 years. This is his third big tournament, his only previous cash of note in the 2007 Pokerstars Caribbean adventure where he finished 18th for $36,000. He is assured a much bigger payday on this occasion and if he continues to build on his early success on the final table and wins, who knows, he could be nicknamed the Federer of Swiss poker! Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 05:04:32 PM Andreas raises to 55k preflop and Thorsten, in position, calls as he has done several times now when Andreas has raised...
The flop comes ks Jc Td There is roughly 150k in the pot and Andreas bets close to a pot size bet, but is met by an allin bet from Thorsten! Andreas has 450k or so back....but he passes! Another big pot for Thorsten who is in control at the moment, leading the way with what is now close to the one million mark... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 05:19:57 PM Diego hasn't said much during the tournament so far but he makes a raise which gets through and his stack is moving steadily upwards...
Mike McDonald now makes it 55,000 and Andreas calls in position. POT: 152,000 3c Qd 2h No continuation bet from mike for once, he checks, as does Andreas. TURN: Kh 60,000 bet from McDonald, and Andreas furrows his brow...before calling, not leaving tooo much behind. RIVER: 9c 100,000 bet on the river from McDonald, Andreas shrugs and goes allin for not that much more... Mike looks like he might throw up, but ultimately he throws his hand away. "Definitely had T-J" thinks Lee Jones. We'll see on the feed i guess but I tend to think he may be right, although you never know with Andreas Here are some of the chip counts... 970,000 Thorsten Haas 906,000 Diego Perez 717,000 Johann Strassmann 699,000 Andreas Gulunay 466,000 Mike McDonald 443,000 Claudio Rinaldi 8s Qd 9c 5s Mike bets the turn, after limping in preflop. He is called by Diego. The pot is 240k going into the river... RIVER: 2h It's a blank river but Mike keeps up the aggression, betting 140k on the river... Diego... CALLS! Mike shows Q-9 for 2 pair...Diego Mucks without showing! The young Canadian FINALLY takes down a pot of note which will encourage him no end I imagine... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 05:23:07 PM As the picture of Mike on his biography was from an earlier stage of the tournament, here's a more recent shot of him from the final table...
(http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8900&g2_serialNumber=1) Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 05:29:19 PM Andreas Gulunay makes a big raise to 140k (!) and it is called on the button by Diego Perez
Flop: Aspades 3s Jh Andreas bets out 200,000... ...If Perez calls then this will be his tournament on the line... BUT, he passes after a while and the vocal supporters that have supported Gulunay cheers loudly and clap wildly from the rail. Here's the chip counts as they atand after that hand... Torsten Haase 962k Andreas Gulunay 947k Mike McDonald 710k Johannes Strassmann 619k Diego Perez Marco 487k Calaudio Rinaldi 395k Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 05:40:14 PM Interestingly in the EPT live feed commentary, Elky commented he thinks that Mike McDonald is the best and most experienced player on the final table.
When you think that McDonald is only 18 years old, this just highlights the way poker has changed over the years! Perez raises to 50k or so and is re-raised by Johannes Strassmann to 140k. They played this situation out before and AGAIN after a short period of thinking, Perez pushes ALLIN!! 338k more for Strassmann to call! Cue some chewing...more chewing...more chewing.. finally Strassmann starts talking... Strassmann "Why have you pushed?? Maybe you are feeling lucky??" Perez: "What do you think??" (It's like a Spanish-German version of Dirty Harry on the tables) He loves his re-raises does Strassmann but once again he can't find enough to call so he passes and Perez receives a few cheers from his supporting contingent. Strassmann shakes his head, disliking having to pass AGAIN to Perez's 3 bet... Rinaldi shoves over the top of a button raise from Gulunay... Gulunay tanks for a while but passes an Ace face up. "SHOW IT SHOW IT!" say the crowd. Rinaldi feels a bit of the showman about him this time, after not having shown down a SINGLE HAND all final. This time he shows... Qd 6d ! Deafening shouts of support from the rail as his fans go wild at his beautiful re-steal! Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: George2Loose on February 02, 2008, 05:55:35 PM Interestingly in the EPT live feed commentary, Elky commented he thinks that Mike McDonald is the best and most experienced player on the final table. When you think that McDonald is only 18 years old, this just highlights the way poker has changed over the years! Perez raises to 50k or so and is re-raised by Johannes Strassmann to 140k. They played this situation out before and AGAIN after a short period of thinking, Perez pushes ALLIN!! 338k more for Strassmann to call! Cue some chewing...more chewing...more chewing.. finally Strassmann starts talking... Strassmann "Why have you pushed?? Maybe you are feeling lucky??" Perez: "What do you think??" (It's like a Spanish-German version of Dirty Harry on the tables) He loves his re-raises does Strassmann but once again he can't find enough to call so he passes and Perez receives a few cheers from his supporting contingent. Strassmann shakes his head, disliking having to pass AGAIN to Perez's 3 bet... Rinaldi shoves over the top of a button raise from Gulunay... Gulunay tanks for a while but passes an Ace face up. "SHOW IT SHOW IT!" say the crowd. Rinaldi feels a bit of the showman about him this time, after not having shown down a SINGLE HAND all final. This time he shows... Qd 6d ! Deafening shouts of support from the rail as his fans go wild at his beautiful re-steal! Yes 18 but some net players do start earlier..... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 05:58:35 PM Andreas raises the next hand and YET AGAIN Rinaldi pushes ALLIN!
Rinaldi's taking Gulunay apart with his re-steals and after sitting at the bottom of the leaderboard for most of the final Rinaldi is now inching up on the leaders, up to 5th now with 550k or so... Mike McDonald raises to 60k, Strassmann re-raises ALLIN for another 500k or so...massive raise... INSTANT CALL FROM MIKE! Mike shows Ks Kh, finding a hand at last he can call one of these re-raises with... while Strassmann is caught with one hand in the till, the other in the cookie jar and his pants well and truly down as he tables... 7h 8h ! They call suited connectors the big hand crackers but will we see a bad beat here... FLOP: Kd 2d 3s A set for Mike Mcdonald leaves Strassmann drawing dead though and he is already reaching for the players hands to shake as he departs the table, meaning Johannes Strassman is OUT, eliminated in 6th place, winning €152,000 One more hand is played where a 55k raise by Rinaldi is shoved by Haase, and he insta folds. ***************************************************************** After that hand, we are now on a one hour break for dinner. We'll be back shortly ***************************************************************** Here are the chip counts as it stands at the dinner break.... Mike McDonald 1,179,000 Torsten Haase 998,000 Andreas Gulunay 804,000 Diego Perez Marco 654,000 Claudio Rinaldi 480,000 Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: NoflopsHomer on February 02, 2008, 06:53:44 PM Hahahaha, I spam your thread with live updates from the DTD £300 event here:
http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=30973.0 Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 07:04:43 PM During this short hiatus, I can bring you important intelligence regarding the Press- Gummi Conflict.
I pass you over to General NewKemAll "Thank you. Following the loss of our leader Jen "The Gummi Gobbler" Mason earlier in the day, we expected the Gummis to launch a counter attack whilst our defences were weakened. We thought they would attack us on the usual fronts of the Silver Platters, but we received intelligence reports they had taken advantage of the earlier blizzards to launch an offensive through the snowy wilderness leading to the press room. Satellite pictures were circulated, showing a crack group of snow commandoes moving in on the base. They may look like small, inoffensive creatures composed primarily of sugar and gelatin, but make no mistake, these little commandoes have all been trained to kill and are VERY dangerous( especially the yellow ones...) Here is the footage we received along with closeups. (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8904&g2_serialNumber=1) And in close up, we can see some of the bears are showing such confidence, they are even standing on their heads... (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8902&g2_serialNumber=1) If these killing machines had reached the press room, the war would have been lost. They would have wiped out the assembled press in moments, leaving no one to cover the EPT. The press were facing this threat with a brave face however... (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8912&g2_serialNumber=1) Luckily, we anticipated their movements and launched "Operation Kick-some-gummi-butt" We showered the attacking unit with a bombardment of weaponry, causing massive casualties. We have footage of the aftermath, but be warned...it is NOT a pretty sight. Women and children look away now... (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8906&g2_serialNumber=1) We beleive we wiped out the entire invasion force. Gummi reports have been circulated suggesting there was a lone survivor who buried himself in the snow to protect himself form the onslaught and could still pose a threat but we beleive this is just gummi propaganda. [is it?] That is all for now. You are safe people. We are winning the war!" (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8908&g2_serialNumber=1) Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 07:08:40 PM We have resumed playing poker after the dinner break.
The players were showing lots of aggression pre-dinner when they were 6-8 handed. Now there are only 5 players remaining, will the players increase their aggression yet further? Mike McDonald and Torsten Haase have the upper hand as it stands but all these players have a great chance of taking down the title. Let's get back into the action... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 07:21:03 PM Andreas Gulunay has been pushed about by Rinaldi's reshoves on his raises so far.
Once again he raises it up and ONCE AGAIN Rinaldi pushes over the top... ....Gulunay huffs and puffs and doesn't like it BUT....finally he decides to look RInaldi up and HE CALLS! Cards on their backs... CLAUDIO RINALDI: Ad 9d ANDREAS GULUNAY: 7s 7h It's a 900k flip and a crucial pot... FLOP: 4d 3s Kh A good flop for Andrea's Sevens... TURN: Kd ! Rinaldi picks up a flush draw to go with his overcards. Can he hit a card he needs on the river?? RIVER: 5s ....NO! Gulunay's pocket pair holds, propelling him into the chip lead, meaning... Claudio Rinaldi is OUT, eliminated in 5th place, winning €193,000 He did well to get himself into contention having started the final relatively short. A great result for the young Swiss player... Perez and Thorsten see a flop after some raising preflop. With 277k in the pot, the flop comes.....8s 5s 7c. Perez checks and Thorsten bets out a whopping 300,000. Perez eyes him dubiously BUT folds. "Push and I call" says Thorsten. "Next time, next time" says Perez as the verbal sparring grows apace, as the tension rises! Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 07:33:10 PM Mike McDonald raises to 75k and faces a big re-raise from Diego, around 600k more...
It's half his stack to call...AND HE CALLS! Mike has 2d 2s Diego: Tc Jd WOW! What a call from Mike!!!! Amazing! It's a 1,200,000 flip! The flop comes..9h 4h Ac 6h Qc Such drama, such a sick call from the young Canadian but he is rewarded by winning this crucial coin-flip. Diego cannot believe that he called there but it's too late as he missed all his cards meaning... Diego Perez Marco is OUT, eliminated in 4th spot, winning € 234,200 Such a cold blooded call from Mike McDonald, he is really not fazed by the situation, money at stake, pressure of the cameras. That's some moment! Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: George2Loose on February 02, 2008, 07:35:45 PM Sick call- good point JC not worried about looking silly on TV calling with deuces went with his read and called
Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 07:51:55 PM The final three payouts will be as below...
1 € 933,600 2 € 528,500 3 € 307,000 That knockout leaves us three handed, with Andreas Gulunay, Mike McDonald and Thorsten Haase all battling it out for the title. That sick pot a moment ago puts Mike in the drivers seat Three handed all 3 players see a riased pot preflop.. The flop comes Q-5-3 Thorsten bets out 150k and Mike moves in! Thorsten....CALLS!!!! Mike shows Q-K for top pair and Thorsten...A-5 for 2nd pair!! The turn and the river blank out, meaning... Thorsten Haase is OUT, eliminated in 3rd place for €307,000 A great result for Haase. Good game. But that knockout leaves us heads up...the aggressive canadian Mike "Timex" Mcdonald versus the local German player Andreas Gulunay. Who will win the coveted prize? Mike has a 3-1 chip lead with over 3 million chips...what will happen next! Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 08:01:42 PM Here is 3rd place finisher Thorston Haase leaving the final table to pick up his massive cheque for €307,000...
(http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8923&g2_serialNumber=1) Here are the final two players Timex and Andreas preparing to play heads up... (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8927&g2_serialNumber=1) Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 08:02:02 PM I'm off to snap the heads up battle, but just for you guys (cos I know you love your ladies) here's some beautiful girls to keep you going! Dealer norkage (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8925&g2_serialNumber=1) The beautiful Kara Scott, kindly posing for me (with a little bonus in the background) (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8929&g2_serialNumber=1) Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: NoflopsHomer on February 02, 2008, 08:02:37 PM Timex FTW.
Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: George2Loose on February 02, 2008, 08:07:04 PM Timex FTW. Standard... anyone else following this or have they all gone to DTD??? Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 08:25:56 PM The opening few hands of the heads up have been played out, with pots swapped, but Mike just getting the edge over Andreas so far.
Both players are so aggressive though, this may not last long... Mike has just edged a little further into the lead with 4,200,000 compared to Andreas' 850,000. Some photos of the action... Here they are shaking hands at the start of their battle... (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8933&g2_serialNumber=1) Here's a shot of the final table with Gulunay and McDonald heads up... (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8931&g2_serialNumber=1) Lee Jones, the pokerstars supremo is up in the gantry doing commentary (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8935&g2_serialNumber=1) Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 08:29:51 PM There's a raise form Mike to 80k...
FLOP: Kh 7c Jd Mike bets out over 100k... Andreas raises to 300k... MIKE CALLS! BIG POT BREWING... TURN: Kc Andreas Gulunay bets 300,000 Mike....CALLS! 1,400,000 in the pot...it's a belter Andreas doesn't have much behind now... RIVER: 2h Andreas moves ALLIN! Mike CALLS and shows A-K for trip Kings! AND IT'S GOOD AS GULUNAY MUCKS! Mike McDonald is the CHAMPION! I'm off to grab some photos...what a moment! Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: George2Loose on February 02, 2008, 08:34:04 PM Well done Mike..... twas neve rin doubt
Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: boldie on February 02, 2008, 08:41:26 PM great updates JC!..(See? even his initials are the same!)
Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: LLevan on February 02, 2008, 08:47:00 PM Agreed, fantastic updates as we have come to expect from the Blonde updaters................a big thank you to both JC & Jen for their sterling work this week.
:respect: :respect: :respect: :respect: ;kneelsucker; Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 08:47:33 PM Yes, jsut to clear up the details...
Plucky German player .. Andreas Gulunay is OUT, finishing as runner up in the Dortmund EPT, winning €528,500... which means... MIKE MCDONALD is the CHAMPION of the EPT DORTMUND, winning €933,600, the beautiful trophy and the acclaim of all around... some photos to follow... Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: taximan007 on February 02, 2008, 08:51:11 PM Well done JC great updates, thank you very much.
Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: vodka fairy on February 02, 2008, 08:52:39 PM Well done JC great updates, thank you very much. I agree! Well done Mr Cat! Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 09:10:16 PM I had to battle through this lot to get there...flashbacks to london welsh rugby training sprung to mind...
(http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8959&g2_serialNumber=1) First off we have Mike's winning board and hand... (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8951&g2_serialNumber=1) Canadian superstar Mike McDonald with his winning hand and his briefcase of cash. Forget the hot girl to my left. I'm more interested in giving the cat a good shot for blonde, he might have said at this point. (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8953&g2_serialNumber=1) Welll.....maybe the girl's more interesting after all.... (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8961&g2_serialNumber=1) Look at all this cash I've won...wahoo!!!! (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8955&g2_serialNumber=1) Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: JungleCat03 on February 02, 2008, 09:25:42 PM (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8963&g2_serialNumber=1) Andreas Gulunay shows he's a good sport as he shakes Mike's hand heartily after their heads up battle and tells him he was the best player... What a day! Wowzer. I'm exhausted but thrilled for Mike, who becomes the youngest EPT champion by a long way, having only turned 18 in September. The guy has elevated himself into poker history and deservedly so, as his brand of fearless, aggressive poker got the great reward it deserved. A new star is born.... I'm off to join the troops celebrating so thanks for following myself and Jen. It's been a memorable event from an wonderful location here at teh Hohensyburg casino with the most exciting poker I've ever witnessed. Thanks to Pokerstars.com and Madeleine Harper for making us feel so welcome! Mike is such a popular champion that even the a peace treaty has been negotiated between the gummi bears and the press. They're so happy they're dancing! Wahoo! (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8965&g2_serialNumber=1) Although some have take the celebrations too far....what are these guys up to???! (http://blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8967&g2_serialNumber=1) That's it folks. Thanks for following. It's goodbye from me and goodbye from the gummis. Seeya soon but for now... ;stickaforkinme; Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: ripple11 on February 03, 2008, 06:11:18 PM Just read thro'..........great stuff Jungle and Jen ;applause; ;applause; 18 years old.....unreal !!!...vwp. Title: Re: Pokerstars.com EPT Dortmund: FINAL TABLE Post by: Djinn on February 03, 2008, 06:36:42 PM A thousand thankyous for your sterling solo effort today - great crowd-dodging skills in the crowds at the end. Ty ty ty (pretend these fill the screen).
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