WPT Venice Day 4 live updates

01.15

The Final Table is Set

The Tournament Director had just announced that we were going to play four more hands and then the action would cease until tomorrow.

The short-medium stacks have been frozen with fear for the past four-five hours. The lure of the final table proving too much for them. In the end it was Max Lykov, David Vamplew, Szabolcs Mayer, Emmanuel Rodrigues and Alessio Isaia playing to win it and the rest were playing for a final table berth.

Then after more folds than an origami tea party Max Lykov raised to 80,000 and Paolo Della Penna moved his last 513,000 over the line. It was the last hand of the night and Lykov made the call.

Lykov:
Della Penna:

Board:

There was a round of applause from everyone in the room and Day four ended.

00.01

Quad Jacks!

We very nearly had a final table!

Szabolcs Mayer raised to 80,000 from the hi-jack position and David Vamplew three-bet to 216,000 from the cut-off. Everyone folded around to Mayer and he counted out 400,000 in blue chips and dropped them across the line.

Vamplew asked Mayer what his original chip stack size was before announcing he was all-in and Mayer instantly called.

There was an huge sigh of anticipation from the players and media and then they both turned over a pair of jacks – not the quad jacks we were looking for.

The board offered no magical four flush and we were back to square one.

23.00

Mayer’s Two Pair Gets Three Streets of Value From Vamplew

Szabolcs Mayer completes in the small blind and David Vamplew checks in the big blind.

The flop is and Mayer check-calls a Vamplew bet of 64,000. The turn is the and again Mayer check-calls a Vamplew bet. This time Vamplew bets 148,000. Then on the river Mayer checks for a third time and Vamplew fires his third barrel of 384,000 and Mayer called.

Mayer showed for two pair and Vamplew mucked his hand.

23.00

The Final Table Redraw

Seat 1: Paolo Della Penna

Seat 2: Szabolcs Sandor Mayer

Seat 3: David Vamplew

Seat 4: Emmanuel Rodrigues

Seat 5: Adrien Camille Garrigues

Seat 6: Luca Fiorini

Seat 7: Alessio Isaia

Seat 8: Maxim Lykov

Seat 9: Renato Paolini

22.27

We Are Now Nine-Handed

We are down to one table of nine and we will continue playing until one more person is eliminated and we will have our final table set for tomorrow.

Here is the biggest hand of the nine table action so far.

Max Lykov raised to 60,000 under the gun and Emmanuel Rodrigues called in late position. The action was on Alessio Isaia who squeezed from the small blind making it 193,000 to play. Lykov folded but Rodrigues decided he wanted to spend a little bit more time in this hand and called.

The flop was and Isaia maintained momentum by betting 227,000 and Rodrigues made the call.

The action ended on the turn. The dealer gave us the and Isaia bet 363,000 and Rodrigues decided it would be a good time to muck his hands.

22.15

Andrea Ferrari Has Been Eliminated in 10th Place

Andrea Ferrari has just driven into a brick wall called Szabolcs Mayer.

First Ferrari raised under the gun making it 65,000 to play and Mayer moved all -in from the big blind and Ferrari folded.

A few hands later and Mayer raises from the button and Ferrari moves all-in and Mayor calls.

Ferrari:
Mayer:

Board:

Ferrari receives €15,210 for his 10th place finish and Mayer moves into 2nd with 2,480,000.

22.00

Garrigues Has to Surrender Another 200k+ Pot

Szabolcs Mayer raised to 60,000 under the gun and Andrea Ferrari called behind. The action fell to Adrien Camille Garrigues who squeezed to 240,000 and Mayer moved all-in for over 2 million. Ferrari folded and the decision was for all of Garrigues chips.

“Wow!” Puffed Garrigues.

“I have a really, really, really, really..” said Garrigues before exhaling a stream of air.

He went into think mode, stared at everyone watching and then folded.

21.15

A Movie at Dinner Anyone?

The WPT main event at Venice is taking a meal break so in the meantime check out our gorgeous host Tatjana Pasalic as she interviews several of the main event players to discuss tells.

20.38

Vamplew Takes a Big Pot From Garrigues

We joined the action on a flop of . David Vamplew bet 86,000 and Adrien Camille Garrigues raised to 186,000 and Vamplew called.

The turn was the and both players checked.

The river was the and Vamplew bet a whopping 372,000 and Garrigues insta-called. Vamplew threw onto the felt, face up, and Garrigues looked like he had swallowed a bumble bee before mucking his hand and counting out the 372,000 for Vamplew.

20.29

Five Bet Bluff Anyone?

For most people, on and around the final two tables of the main event, the day will end when two more people are eliminated. You can sense that the players are desperate to get to that final table and as such the pace is slow and not many medium-short stacks are taking any chances.

So when we need to inject a bit of pace into the game why don’t we just let Max Lykov and Emmanuel Rodrigues take over?

Raise > Rodrigues 50,000

Three-Bet > Lykov 117,000

Four-Bet > Rodrigues 330,000

Five Bet > Lykov 1,500,000

Rodrigues thinks long and hard before eventually folding.

Lykov shows the !

20.17

Luca Fiorini Catches Alessio Isaia With His Fingers in the Cookie Jar

You can forgive Alession Isaia for opening with any two cards on the button because the two opponents to his left Luca Fiorini and Renato Paulino are folding liberally.

Alessio Isaia raises to 57,000 and up pops Luca Fiorini who moves al in for his last 233,000. Isaia looks to the heavens immediately and reluctantly makes the call.

Isaia:
Fiorini:

Board:

Fiorini doubles up to 466,000

20.01

Three Big Pots

Pot One – David Vamplew v Andrea Ferrari

Vamplew raised to 51,000 and Ferrari called in the big blind. The flop was and Ferrari took the betting lead making it 50,000 to play and Vamplew called. The turn was the and Ferrari again took the betting lead, making it 75,000 to play. Vamplew then three-bet Ferrari making it 105,000 to play and the Italian made the call. The river was the and Ferrari checked to Vamplew who made a massive bet of 465,000 and Ferrari folded.

Pot Two – Emmanuel Rodrigues v Alessio Isaia

Isaia raised from the cut-off making it 57,000 to play. Rodrigues was in the big blind and he had been three-betting with a high frequency – he didn’t disappoint making it 145,000 to play and Isaia called. The flop was a lowly and Rodrigues bet 115,000 and Isaia called. The turn maintained the low theme of the board when a came floating down from the dealers hand. Rodrigues made a huge bet of 500,000 and Isaia laid down his hand.

Pot Three – David Vamplew v Szabolcs Mayer

Mayer made it 50,000 from under the gun and Vamplew three bet to 126,000 from the button and Mayer called. The flop was and both players checked. The turn was and Mayer check-called a 139,000 bet by Vamplew. The river was the and both players checked. Vamplew mucked after seeing the over-turned of Mayer.

19.27

Nicolas Cardyn Has Been Eliminated in 11th Place

Nicolas Cardyn came in as the short stack and has remained short all day. He has probably been all-in more than anyone else at the table and finally someone called.

That person was Szabolcs Mayer who is quietly going about his business and moving up the leader board. Cardyn moved all-in from the cut off and Mayer called in the big blind.

Cardyn turned over and Mayer turned over .

We did not see the board but we know it didn’t help Cardyn and he was eliminated in 11th place and takes home a €15,210 consolation prize.

19.24

Level 23 Update.

We are six and five handed and the action has been very slow indeed. The flop activity has been kept to a minimum with most hands being sorted out pre flop. The general trend is for a raise to come in, followed by a three-bet and then quickly followed by a fold.

Emmanuel Rodrigues has played well all day as has Adrien Camille Garrigues. But it is still Isaia in the lead by a margin of 600,000.

Here is a hand.

Garrigues raises to 58,000 in early position and Paolo Della Penna puts his glasses on and calls. Szabolcs Mayer also calls on the button and when the blinds fold three people see a flop. The flop is [jh[ , Garrigues bets 85,000, Della Penna folds and Mayer calls. Then they both check the turn and the river and Garrigues wins with .

18.32

This Ferrari Has More Than One Gear

Andrea Ferrari has moved tables and now joins the likes of Paolo Della Penna and David Vamplew over on table one.

Ferrari was on the button and he raised to 48,400 and Vamplew called from the small bling and Nicolas Cardyn folded in the big blind.

The flop was and Vamplew checked to Ferrari who bet 50,000. Vamplew looked at the big Italian before thee-betting to 133,000. Almost immediately Ferrari announced 266,000 and Vamplew folded.

Ferrari then showed the table for a semi bluff.

18.25

Luca Fiorini Doubles Up

Luca Fiorini has just doubled up against Alession Isaia and this is how it happened.

The excellent Emmanuel Rodrigues opened the action with a raise of 40,000 and Isaia three-bet on the button making it 97,000 to play. Renato Paulino folded in the small blind and Luca Fiorini shoved from the big blind. Rodrigues folded and Isaia called.

Fiorini:
Isaia:

Board:

18.00

Alessandro Speranza Has Been Eliminated in 12th Place

It has not been a good day for Alessandro Speranza and it was eventually Max Lykov who put him out of his misery. Lykov needed the chips as well after losing a huge pot to Alessio Isaia earlier.

The action folded around to Speranza in the small blind who open shoved for 300,000 and Lykov called.

Lykov:
Speranza: [2ch]

The dealer provided no salvation for Speranza and he left the tournament area. Lykov is back up to 1,670,000

17.38

Riccardo Mazzitelli Has Been Eliminated in 13th Place

David Vamplew’s not so secret admirer, Riccardo Mazzitelli, has been eliminated in 13th place.

Mazzitelli’s raise was called by Adrien Camille Garrigues and they both saw a flop of before Mazzitelli moved all-in. Garrigues made the call and turned over and Mazzitelli turned over .

The turn was the and river .

The call by Garrigues was good and he now has 1,740,000 in chips.

17.35

Alessio Isaia Takes the Chip Lead

Alessio Isaia has been pretty quiet today but he is back in his familiar number one spot after winning a big pot against Max Lykov.

Lykov was seated in the small blind and when the action folded around to him he raised to 45,000 and Isaia called in the big blind. The flop was and Lykov bet 56,000 and Isaia called. The turn was the and again Lykov bet but this time it was 116,000. Isaia took a drink from his water bottle but then made the call. The river was the and this pot was already ~450k deep. Lykov fired his third barrel and it was for 225,000 and Isaia called without much thought and won the pot with his . Lykov had a bluff .

Isaia now has 2,840,000 chips.

17.10

Nicolas Cardyn Doubles Up Through Szabolcs Mayer

Nicolas Cardyn has just doubled up much to the annoyance of the short stacks who once were sharing the same territory as him.

Mayer raised to 40,000 and Cardyn moved all-in.

“I have to call.” Said Mayer.

Mayer:
Cardyn:

Board:

Cardyn doubles up to 418,000

16.48

The Short Stacks

There are a few short stacks on the two tables and it has been producing a few shouts of “all-in” from the dealers.

David Vamplew raised to 33,000 and Nicolas Cardyn moved all-in.

“Oh Crap!” Said Vamplew before folding.

“I thought you were committed?” Said Cardyn.

“I only had four high.” Said Vamplew.

In the next hand Cardyn again moved al-in but did not receive any invitations to his private party.

Then Aiden Camille Garrigues raised to 37,000 on the button and Szabolcs Mayer called in the big blind. The flop was and both players tapped the felt. The turn was the and Mayer bet 45,000 and Garrigues called. The river was the and both players checked.

Both of them had ace high but Garrigues won the hand with his bigger kicker.

Garrigues:
Mayer:

In the next hand Vamplew raised to 35,000 and Paolo Della Penna called and immediately put his hood over his head. The action was checked through to the river on a board of and Vamplew bet 45,000 and Della Penna made a good call.

Della Penna:
Vamplew:

16.15

Nicolas Cardyn Doubles Up Through Adrien Camille Garrigues

Cardyn raises from the button to 37,000 and Garrigues dumps a huge pile of blue chips in the middle worth 25,000 each. The bet is sufficient enough for Cardyn to be pot committed if he calls so he moves all-in. Garrigues adds some loose change and we have a showdown.

Garrigues
Cardyn:

Board:

Cardyn doubles up.

16.11

John Tabatabai Has Been Eliminated in 14th Place

Nothing to extravagant to report. There was a raise in early position and David Vamplew called before John Tabatabai moved all-in for his remaining stack and only Vamplew called.

Tabatabai had pocket sixes and Vamplew had pocket jacks. The board did not help the Welshman and he was eliminated.

Vamplew keeps extending his lead and we have 13 left in the tournament.

16.00

Speranza is Spewing Chips

Alessandro Speranza started the day with 1,235,500 chips but as the day progresses the stack just keeps getting progressively smaller as he seems to be losing hand after hand.

Speranza raises to 32,000 from late position and Max Lykov calls on the button. The blinds get out of the way and we see a flop of and Speranza check-calls a 38,000 bet from Lykov.

The turn is the and both players check and the next card we see is the on the river. Speranza checks for the third time and Lykov bets 82,000 and Speranza calls. The Russian shows for trips and Speranza mucks another losing hand.

15.55

Paulino Renato Moves All-In

Paulino Renato just open shoved for 176,000 and Emmanuel Rodrigues called.

Rodrigues:

Renato:

Renato doubled up with he spiked his ace at the first time of asking.

Board:

15.50

Amore! Amore!

David Vamplew raised to 33,000 under the gun and Adrien Camille Garrigues called in the cut off. The action folded around to Riccardo Mazzitelli who also called in the big blind.

The flop was and Mazzitelli bet 66,000 and only Vamplew called.

The turn was the and Mazzitelli moved all-in immediately. Vamplew folded almost as quickly.

Mazzitelli, who only seems to play hand with Vamplew shouted.

“Amore! Amore! Oh, Harry!” Shouted Mazzitelli as he rounded up his chips.

15.42

Rodrigues v Speranza

Alessandro Speranza raised under the gun with a bet of 33,000 and Emmanuel Rodrigues called in the big blind. The flop was and Rodrigues check-called a 57,000 bet from Speranza.

The turn was the and this time Rodrigues bet 50,000 and Speranza called.

The river was the and Rodrigues bet 85,000 and Speranza called. Rodrigues showed and Speranza mucked his cards unseen.

John Tatatabai

John Tatatabai has moved tables and has lost 270,000 of his stack in the process but we are not sure how.

15.24

Christian Fabri Has Been Eliminated in 15th Place

We reported earlier that Christian Fabri had been crippled and then thought back to 100,000 chips; well he has now been eliminated.

Szabolcs Mayer raised on the button and Fabri moved all-in from the big blind and Mayer called.

Mayer won the 70,000 when his beat the of Fabri.

15.20

Joakim Jagerving Has Been Eliminated in 16th Place

The young Swede has been eliminated in 16th place at the hands of Adrien Camille Garrigues. Jagerving raised to 56,000 from middle position and Garrigues called on the button. The blinds folded and the two young players were seeing a flop together.

Flop:

Jagerving checked to the Cristiano Ronaldo look-a-like Adrien Camille Garrrigues. Garrigues bet 56,000 and Jagerving moved all-in and Garrigues called instantly.

Jagerving:
Garrigues:

Both players raised to their feet and the dealer dealt the turn of .

“No!” Shouted Garrigues

The river was the .

“Yes!” Shouted Garrigues.

Jagerving joined his friend and travelling buddy Max Stenberg in the bar and Garrigues moved up to 1,7600,000 in chips.

14.45

Christian Fabri is Crippled

Christian Fabri has just had his stack decimated by Szabolcs Mayer in level 20. Fabri raised from early position and Mayer three-bet from the small blind. Fabri shoved and Mayer called.

Fabri:
Mayer:

Board:

Fabri was not sure if he was eliminated or not and after the dealer had sorted it all out he was in fact left with 50,000 chips.

In the next hand Fabri moved the 50,000 all-in and was called by Joakim Jagerving in the big blind.

Fabri:
Jagerving:

Board:

Fabri moved up to 100,000.

In the next hand Nicolas Cardyn moved all-in but didn’t receive any callers and took down the blinds and antes.

Then the super tight Riccardo Mazzitelli raised to 30,000 and the action folded around to David Vamplew in the big blind. Vamplew folded and Mazzitelli looked at him and raised his hands in the air.

“Harry! Harry Potter!” He said.

The whole table burst out laughing – except Vamplew

14.25

Giuseppe Cucchiara Has Been Eliminated in 17th Place

Giuseppe Cucchiara is no longer seated at the table and his chips have vanished.

We have been informed that he moved all-in against Emmanuel Rodrigues and Rodrigues called.

Cucchiara held and Rodrigues . The Queens held up for Rodrigues and Cucchiara was eliminated.

Speranza Wins a Pot

Alessandro Speranza raised to 26,000 from early position and Max Lykov three-bet from late position making it 62,000 to play. The action folded around to Speranza who made the call.

The flop was and both players checked and the dealer gave us a turn. Speranza bet 71,000 and Lykov folded.

14.14

Vamplew and Fabri Again

We will keep our eye on this little battle.

Fabri raises to 30,000 on the button and Vamplew calls from the small blind and the big blind folds. The flop is and Vamplew bets 57,000 and Fabri stares into his soul. Me mutters a lot of words in French, points to Vamplew, stares a bit more and mutters some more French.

Vamplew is like a block of stone.

Fabri makes a 114,000 raised and Vamplew bursts out laughing and folds. Fabri saw the funny side too.

14.00

Michal Polchlopek Has Been Eliminated in 18th Place

Michal Polchlopek has recently had a six figure score in a big European tournament but he was not able to add a WPT Venice title to his trophy cabinet after being the first person eliminated today.

Szabolcs Mayer raised to 25,000 from middle position and David Vamplew called in the small blind. Polchlopek moved all-in for around 190,000, Mayer folded and Vamplew called.

Vamplew:
Polchlopek:

We didn’t see the board but apparently both players flopped their sets but the quads did not arrive for Polchlopek and he was gone.

13.50

Vamplew and Fabri Clash

We missed the post flop action but when we arrived at the table we were staring at a flop of and so were Christian Fabri and David Vamplew.

Fabri had checked, Vamplew had bet 48,500 and Fabri had chec-raised to 102,000 action back to the Scotsman. Vamplew thought for a while, his neck reddening all the time, he then retrieved his 48,500 and replaced it with 198,000!

Fabri decided his pocket jacks were not going to be good enough to go to war with vamplew and he folded them face up.

The First All-In of Many

Luca Fiorini and Alessandro Speranza have just been involved in our first all-in of the day. It all happened pre flop and Fiorini held and Speranza had .

Fiorini doubled up when the board ran out

13.20

Day Four Begins

Nicolas Cardyn is walking around the room on his own. He tells us he is slightly nervous about today. It isn’t the money, he already has two six figure scores to his name, he doesn’t like playing the short stack.

Alessio Isaia is also pacing the halls but we have noticed that he likes to take a little break away from the tables at regular intervals.

The rest of the players are breaking open their chip bags and are building their own little chip sandcastles. The intricacy of some of the designs deserve a place in some of the galleries of Venice itself!

At 13:20 the button is placed in seat five and the dealer flicks out the first array of cards. Cardyn shakes off his nerves and makes a raise and takes down the blinds an antes. Then Joakim Jagerving raises to 25,000 on the button and we have our first three-bet of the morning; Christian Fabri making it 52,000 from the small blind.

Jagerving calls and we have our first flop. It is and Fabri makes a bet of 62,000 and Jagerving folds.

Over at the other table Max Lykov, who wins the award for the chip sandcastle design competition, raises to 25,000 under the gun and Luca Fiorini calls in middle position as does Andrea Ferrari in the big blind. The flop is and everyone checks. The turn is the and everyone but Fiorini checks who takes it down with a 45,000 bet.

12.55

Buongiorno, benvenuti a Venezia!

We have reached the penultimate day of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Venice. 18 players from around the globe have their eyes set on fighting and scratching their way to tomorrows final table.

We will be re-setting the clock and starting play back at level 20 and action kicks off at 13:00 (CET). Here is the table draw for today.

Table 1

Seat 1: Nicolas Cardyn 251,000 chips

Seat 2: Adrien Camille Garrigues 950,500 chips

Seat 3: Paolo Della Penna 678,500 chips

Seat 4: Szabolcs Sandor Mayer 1,282,000 chips

Seat 5: Riccardo Mazzitelli 615,000 chips

Seat 6: Joakim Jagerving 623, 500 chips

Seat 7: Christian Fabri 861,000 chips

Seat 8: David Vamplew 1,178,000 chips

Seat 9: Michal Polchlopek 208,000 chips

Table 2

Seat 1: John Tabatabai 1,143,000 chips

Seat 2: Alessio Isaia 1,900, 000 chips

Seat 3: Renato Paulino 321,00 chips

Seat 4: Luca Fiorini 172,000 chips

Seat 5: Giuseppe Cucchiara 530,000

Seat 6: Emmanuel Rodrigues 1,167,500 chips

Seat 7: Alessandro Speranza 1,235,500 chips

Seat 8: Andrea Ferrari 1,235,000

Seat 9: Maxim Lykov 1,534,500 chips