Expekt.com Norwegian Poker Championships ME : Day One - At A Glance

[JungleCat03]

there and welcome from myself and Jen to DTD as we await the start of the Norwegian Poker Championships Main Event.

The dubious legal position of poker in Norway has resulted in the organisers of Norway's national poker event relocating to the more poker friendly environ of DTD in good ol' blighty.  Here the players can play without fear of police raids in the inviting, poker-friendly haven that was built by the determined hands and unshakeable vision of Rob Yong.

Apparently all week DTD has been rocking and a rollling to the sounds of excited Norwegians, creating quite a buzz with their sometimes unorthodox poker styles and Norwegian chatter. During the EPTs I have covered, players from Norway have proved to be a very interesting group, capable of some excellent poker and replete with entertaining characters.

As both Jen and I are only familiar with the bigger Norwegian names (eg WSOPE bracelet-winning Annette Obrestad and the  borderline insane but highly capable Johnny Lodden) we may struggle at first to identify players, but we will do our best to get names for you as soon as we can. (Over/under on 10% of the field being called Jan?)

To that end I have been fiercely brushing up my Norwegian to better communicate with the players and in that vein let me say "Ha det godt!" to all the players! (which hopefully means "good luck!", not "I laugh at your spiky hair and trendy t-shirt, prepare for battle my friend!")

I feel this will make covering this event extremely fun and I urge you to join us as we count down to the 3 o' clock start.

3.....................2........................1.......................

[Djinn]

It's heaving here at DTD, with a whole tent type thing outside adding to the space which is being mainly filled by Norwegians.  The queue at the front desk was approaching the chaotic, but the staff are gamely accommodating everyone and the tournament, somehow, kicked off on time.

Sellout?  YES for British players; NO for Norwegians.  It's only fair, they've travelled a little further...

Cash tables going to be totally full by 7pm?  Definitely.

Wifi going to reach to the buffet tent where we're currently perched?  Possibly not.

[JungleCat03]

Ok!

Short hiatus whilst I got my malfunctioning equipment to work (cue obvious joke!) over, let me bring you some shots of the action.

As Jen related, it is HEAVING out there, the sumptuous DTD surroundings awash with a sea of largely unfamiliar Norwegian visages. Peppered amongst these faces though, are some players more familiar to myself and it is these guys who have attracted my attention at this early juncture.

First off, there is fellow updater, local player and pretty lady Maria Demetriou, who told me she had been enjoying the juicy cash games this week. "Get a picture of Gunnar Obrestad please!" she requested of me, before swooning in dramatic fashion. He's obviously walked past her wearing Lynx today.

Here she is pre-swoon, still on 10k or so...

[JungleCat03]

Muscleman of the Uk circuit Des Jonas has hauled his rippling frame to DTD to join in the festivities and action.

Here he is early doors, looking watchful whilst his scandinavian neighbour regards me with a mixture of suspicion and interest...



Looking for an EPT and double GUKPT winner? Here's one for thew...



Dave Smith, poker player and renowned hat wearer, has turned up ina  menacing black ensemble today, with matching hat. Clearly designed to strike fear and terror into his opponent's hearts, the effect is somewhat diminished by the presence of a small yellow squirty-water style flower on his lapel. Scary!

Behold the behatted Dave, terrorising his fellow players with his acidic stare and tiny flower...

[JungleCat03]

Barry Neville won a big pot on level one, check raising a T hi board and betting big on blank turn, causing his fellow pot players, Spets Age and Kristoffese Bjorn Petter to give it up.

"I 'ad Jacks" Barry boomed in his deep Yorkshire brogue,  informing not only his table but all nearby tables within a 300 metre radius.

"I do not beleive you" countered Spets jovially in more hushed, reserved scandinavian tones...

"Beleive what you want kiddo, I ad em!" blasted Barry forcefully, shaking tables and cracking glasses, as geologists up to 3 miles away registered a tremor measuring 3 on the richter scale.

Here is the uncompromising but always entertaining character Barry Neville, enjoying himself early on with 18k or so...



And his disbeleiving table neighbour Spets, looking a tad shell shocked as Barry eats into his stack like a Yorkshire pudding smothered with onion gravy...

[Djinn]

Look who it is!  Blogger turned Gummy Bear Guerrilla turned Player turned all-round Norwegian poker ambassador BA Kildalen...

In his own words:  "There's this English gaffer on my table [imagine this in a unique accent somewhere between Norwegian and Cockney and Australian] and he has A-K.  I have pocket Sevens... [it appears the flop came J-high, two clubs...] followed by a Seven on the turn so now I know I am nice and ahead.  He calls the 1,500 on the turn and the river is a Queen.  Now the English gaffer thinks that the best thing to do is to push all in!  I think in an EPT I might have to fold there...but it's the Norwegian Championships...against and English guy...so I call and he instamucks!"



BA:  16,000 and several cards short of a deck

[Djinn]

This guy, Lasse 'awesomeness' Lien, I believe, is challenging tablemate Julian Thew in the running good stakes.  He's even got the confidence to prove it/preempt it.  This young chatterbox just knocked the more experienced, and no less golden Mr. Thew back to a dangerous(ish) <4k stack like so:

He'd moved all in preflop and when I arrived at listening-in distance, was in the process of full-steam-ahead call-inducing.  After urging an unknown third party folder to pass saying, "Come on, Sir, don't make a bad call," he was telling Julian, "You don't even have a hand.  I don't want to play this stack - let's just flop it!  I have a small pair."
"You have a small pair?" queried Julian...
"Yes.  I must warn you, I do run good.  When I'm all in, and can't play any more." 
"I'm going to be very upset if you're lying..."

Julian called showing
Lasse Lien showed

"Not exactly a small pair," nitpicked Julian... as the board came down .

"AWESOMENESS!" rejoiced Lien.  "I live another day!"



So he does.

Meanwhile Julian prepares to grind with his new shorter stack...

[JungleCat03]

Nick Gibson is sitting pretty on 15k or so at the moment...

...As I watch his table, his ipod makes a beeping sound. "Bluff alert!" he tells the table to some laughter.

...As you would expect with this being a primarily scandinavian event, there are a variety of interesting garments being paraded today.

This man, who Jen tells me is english, is sporting a snazzy tri-colour tracksuit top...

[JungleCat03]

This for me is the archetype of a scandinavian player. Young, blonde, square-jawed, incredibly spikey hair, bright electric blue shirt open at the collar with more subdued jacket in attendance.



I intended this photo to illustrate the man in the red top wearing imo "Slicked back hair of the day." Hoody of the day has however become a much sought after accolade and a spanner was thrown in the works of my photographic machinations by THIS man who though probably not a contender for hoody of the day is nonetheless wearing a pleasing on the eye grey number , adorned with shamrocks.

Very impressive sir, but please do not interrupt "Slicked back hair of the day" next time

[Djinn]

I realise that it's traditional to report hands in a linear manner through time, but I just deciphered my own writing concerning the hand prior to this all-in-pre one... again it was Lien and Thew in the hand, this time joined by Geir Lian and Jonas Helness.  It had been raised to 425 pre and picked up these gents along the way before dropping them at the foot of the flop.  Four checks.
Turn:   Now Lien bets out 700 into all the others, picking up one caller in the form of Geir Lian (I know this is confusing, but I think I have the names in the right order...).
River:    He now throws in 1,050 and picks up a quick call.  Opting to shy away from showdown, his opponent's picked up the pot.
"I just figured Jack high wasn't good..." he explained in a sprightly, unconcerned fashion. 

He kind of reminds me of a Scandinavian James Atkin who's had one too many red bulls and left his ipod at home.  Although it looks like he's just started drinking beer.  God help his table.

[JungleCat03]

Just heard over the intercom...

"Could the valets please report to table one, the Norwegians here aren't drunk enough yet!" 


Right, my ramblings so far may have led you to beleive this is as much a fashion show as a poker tournament so let me bring the focus sharply back onto the subject of poker. Although I didn't witness much of this hand, a combination of Barry Neville (circa 17k) and Jen Mason (0k - well she's not playing!) filled me in to the extent that I feel like I was there.

Joining the flop of a re-raised pot preflop of , a player in seat 7, who may not be named, but has an affinity with tractors, dogs and potatoes bet out 1.5k, which Bjorn Erik Suhr raised to 3k, only to find the aforementioned potato-phile shoving for 11k more...

There was a long pause whilst Suhr considered his options...eventually tablemate Barry Neville called the clock after 4 minutes or so. Suhr instantly passed, leaving our potato-fixated friend to mick the pot. Suhr showed he had passed Q-Q and was rewarded as he was shown K-K by his opponent, who murmured his appreciation... "good pass..." as he dreamed of purchasing that shiny new combine harvester he's had his eye on.

[Djinn]

Barry's Bust-out Brunch Baguette Brings Book Blogwards

Barry:  AQ.  Ace on the flop.  vs. AK.  That's all she wrote.



The one good thing to come out of this is my new Norwegian phrasebook!!! 



Hvorfor ler du?      Oh, it's Barry in the background...

[JungleCat03]

it says on DTD finishing positions that maria is out...is this correct?

Sadly yes! She was a relatively early casualty. I assumed she had merely moved but no.

She was undone by the work of fellow blondite Daniel "UpTheMariners" Rudd, who flopped a straight versus her two pair  to deplete her to 6k and the rest of her chips disappeared as she turned a 9 high flush with versus the bigger flush of Ah of her opponent. Nasty coolers for Maria there...

...She is not too dismayed though for several reasons.

1) she is playing the cash games and has already almost made her buyin back...
2) they are serving some juicy slices of cake at the buffet, and Maria could barely contain her enthusiasm at the prospect of some cake...

[Djinn]

It's now the (split) dinner break, incidentally, and so some recappage courtesy of the wonderful DTD player positioning and tracking service:

Players who are Busted:



209   Ingar Melby
210   Ismail Yusuf
211   Fredrik Stenrud
212   Eirik Kolaas
213   Barry Carter
214   Parham Alavi
215   Mohammed Khalid
216   Ben Callinan
217   Joakim Svindland Reistad
218   Arnt Ola Viken
219   Espen Uhlen
220   Jan Magnus Brevik
221   Arshad Hussain
222   Erling Hartviksen
223   Michael Jones
224   Steve Watkin
225   Spencer Lawrence
226   Arne Aarskog
227   Gunnar Øverberg
228   Jan Erik Iversen
229   Knut Arne Frøyen
230   Knut Rysstad
231   Andreas Bergh
232   Dag Martin Mikkelsen
233   Lucienne Rokach
234   Maria Demetriou
235   Andrew Andreou
236   Reyaaz Mulla
237   Paul King
238   Kjell Hanssen
239   Hans Thomas Karlsen
240   Kent Richard Bratvold
241   Joakim Prine Frogner
242   Kim Daniel Granneman
243   Fred- Bore Johannesen
244   Jan Svendsen
245   Farhad Amirzahiri
246   Jakob Brekken
247   David Johnson

[Djinn]

I am learning the names of hitherto unknown Norwegian players with the speed of one of those clever squid which learn mazes faster than human children (don't pretend you haven't ever watched a squid maze before).  Sooooo how about some CHIP COUNTS:

Daniel Steine -- 15,000
Mazhar Latif -- 36,300
Angelika Szlufarska -- 12,500
Andreas Hagen -- 7,800
Knut Petter Ryan -- 8,000
Fredrik Helness -- 11,000
Kjetil Kemi -- 6,100
Frode Lyhold-ronning -- 3,075
Lars Heldal Bakkevig -- 4,900
BA Kildalen -- 14,800
Acid Nilsen -- 9,800
Alf Brathen -- 4,700
Nick Gibson -- 21,000
Jorund Berstad -- 25,000
Jon Somby -- 7,000
Stephen Best -- 5,100
Knut Oddvar Silseth -- 8,350
Daniel Gulaker -- 11,000
Jan-Erik Sorensen -- 18,900
Askild Sjoeng Hansen -- 4,500
Kristoffer Ustad -- 12,375
William Bugodt -- 8,400
Per Erik Loff -- 8,500
Des Jonas -- 7,650
Karl Inge Skogholt -- 21,300