WPT Amneville Main Event Day 1b Live Updates
22:31
Check out this video recap of Day 1b of WPT Amneville, starring our very own Lee Davy!
And here are the official chip counts;
21:21
Day 1b Completed
Day 1b has come to an end with 105 of the 203 entrants making it through to Day 2 relatively unscathed. A full recap can be found here.
21:09
Three More Hands
The tournament director has paused the clock and instructed his team of dealers to play out three more hands. Once completed Day 1b will come to an end.
21:04
Durand Continues To Climb
Arnaud Mattern raises to 1,400 from UTG+1 and the action folds to Thibaut Durand calls from the hijack seat. Kyrre Dyregrov calls on the button and Martial Blangenwitsch moves all in for 5,250 in the small blind. Mattern folds, but Durand re-shoves forcing out Dyregrov.
Durand: 
Blangenwitsch: 
The final board runs out 
improving both players to a flush but Durand’s jack-high one was best, sending Blangenwitsch to the rail.
20:45
Liv’s Dinosaur Powers Wearing Off
From the UTG+1 seat Sebastien Mineo raises to 1,200 and the action folds to Sandiep Khosa in the cutoff and he calls. “I want my chips back,” said Khosa. Damien Cayet calls in the small blind and Liv Boeree calls in the big blind.
Flop: 
– Each of the four players check.
Turn: 
– Cayet checks, Boeree bets 2,500, folding out Mineo and Khosa but Cayet is not scared of Boeree’s dinosaur and he check-raises to 5,350 and Boeree instantly folds.
20:39
For The Chip Lead?
Jamie Rosen raises from the hijack to 1,400 and Sandiep Khosa calls on the button. “This is for the chip lead,” he jokes with Rosen. The flop comes down 
, Rosen bets 1,700 and Khosa calls. The 
see Rosen check, Khosa bet 3,500 and Rosen fold.
“The chip lead is yours,” says Rosen, but he is incorrect as we believe Joseph Cheong or Edouard Sadoun.
20:23
PartyPoker Qualifier Flying High
Anders Rasmussen raises to 1,200 in middle position and Marvin Rettenmaier three-bets to 3,125 one seat to his left. The action folded back around to Rasmussen and he made the call. The flop was a lowly looking 
and Rasmussen check-called a 2,825 Rettenmaier bet.
On the turn we saw the and Rasmussen surprised Rettenmaier by taking the lead with a bet of 4,500 and Rettenmaier went into the tank. While Rettenmaier was having a deep think Rasmussen was giving him an ice cold stare. After a few minutes the clock was called on Rettenmaier and he released his hand into the hands of the dealer.
Rasmussen – 100,000
Rettenmaier – 115,000
20:19
Reporter’s Curse
It appears mentioning Brandon Cantu was a bad move by us as he has now been eliminated from the Main Event and can now devote even more time to playing Chinese poker. We do not have the details of the hand but it looks like Joseph Cheong could have been the person to eliminate Cantu judging by his stack growing even larger.
Sorry Brandon.
20:16
Cantu Claws In Some Chips
Brandon Cantu seems more interested in playing Chinese poker on his iPad than taking part in this tournament but he is still managing to accumulate chips.
In a hand just now he raised to 1,400 and after two players folded Joseph Cheong called. Ilan Rouah, in the cutoff, also called. The flop came down 
and all three players checked. The turn brought the into play and Cantu checked again, as did Cheong but Rouah spoiled the party by betting 1,600. Cantu then pounced into action and he check-raised to 5,000, which neither Cheong or Rouah were prepared to pay.
20:01
Faggioli Wins Bizarre Hand
Stephane Schaudel raises to 1,600 from early position and after one player folds Ugo Faggioli calls. The flop comes down 
and Schaudel checks then calls a 2,000 bet from Faggioli. The turn is the and it is checked by Schaudel, who quickly calls when Faggioli makes it 2,150 to play. The 
on the river is once again checked by Schaudel but he immediately mucks his hand when Faggioli bets 11,500.
19:53
Joseph Cheong Moving Up The Gears
Joseph Cheong seems to have put his foot on the gas and shifted his poker lever up a few more gears and now sits behind 110,000 chips.
Cheong raises to 1,200 on the button and the small blind pops it up to 2,950 and after the big blind cold-calls, Cheong decides he fancies playing against the pair from position.
Flop: 
The small blind comes out firing with a bet of 2,600 and both players take the shots.
Turn: [Qx]
All three players check.
River:
Both the blinds check to Cheong and he bets 8,000, the small blind calls very quickly and the big blind folds. Cheong tables 
for the straight and the player in the small blind taps the felt in recognition before folding his hand
19:47
Khosa Coasting
Jamie Rosen raises to 1,200 from the hijack and picks up two callers, Sandiep Khosa (button) and Alain Roy (big blind). The dealer puts out the 
flop, Roy checks, Rosen makes a continuation bet of 2,100 and both opponents call.
The turn is the and all three players check. The river is the and again all three players check.
Khosa takes down the pot when he shows 
, and his two opponent’s muck.
19:42
Gerin Doubles Up
Raphael Capuano opens the betting with a raise to 1,200. Next to act is Philip Meulyzer to his direct left and he opts to call. one player folds but there is no such action from Stephan Gerin, instead he moves all in for 13,250. This is too much for Capuano but Meulyzer calls.
Meulyzer:
Gerin: 
Meulyzer rolls his eyes a little when he sees his knaves are up against an overpair but he still has more than a 20% chance of winning the hand. His odds diminish when the flop comes down 
and even more when the turn is the . The on the river completes the hand and Gerin doubles up.
19:38
Rettenmaier Rolling
Marvin Rettenmaier raises to 1,125 from the hijack seat and Bruno Fitoussi calls in the small blind. The flop is and The King check-calls a 1,425 Rettenmaier bet. The next card to face the world is the , once agin Fitoussi checks and a 2,825 Rettenmaier bet wins the pot.
The German is rocking and rolling with seemingly nobody wanted to mess with him at the moment. He is now up to 110,000 chips.
19:30
Payouts Announced
We have just received the payout information for the WPT Amneville Main Event. We will be paying the top 36 finishers, a min-cash being worth €8,518 with the eventual champion taking home €310,633 and a $25,500 seat to the WPT World Championship Event in 2012.
1st: €310,633 (plus $25,500 seat to WPT World Championship)
2nd: €170,365 (plus a €10,000 package to the 2012 WPT Grand Prix de Paris)
3rd: €113,580
4th: €80,640
5th: €60,196
6th: €47,700
7th: €35,780
8th: €26,690
9th: €19,310
10-12th: €13,061
13-15th: €11,926
16-18th: €10,790
19-27th: €9,654
28-36th: €8,518
19:12
Level Up
The players are back in their seats and Level 7 has begun. Blinds are now 250/500 with a running ante of 50.
19:07
Fish And Their Chips
- Sandiep Khosa 96000
- Paul Berende 62000
- Dominik Nitsche 6100
- Kevin Vandersmissen 28000
- Arnaud Mattern 65000
- John Eames 17000
- Catherine Hong 68000
- Tristan Clemencon 36000
- Basil Yaiche 11000
- Mario Adinolfi 44000
- Bodo Sbrzesny22000
- Marvin Rettenmaier 110000
- Joseph Cheong 100000
- Brandon Cantu 80000
- Liv Boeree 62000
- Roger Hairabedian 65000
- Joel Benzinou 63000
- Marcus Naalden 92000
- Antony Lellouche 85000
- Bruno Lopes 120000
- Nesrine Kourdourli 85000
- Mathew Frankland 85000
- Bruno Fitoussi 50000
- Davidi Kitai 94000
- Emile Petit 28000
- Ilan Boujenah 55000
19:00
Breaking Up
Level 6 has come to an end and the players have been sent on their last break of the day.
18:58
John Eames Eliminated
The frustrating day of John Eames has finally ended at the end of level six. His conqueror was the beautiful Natalie Hof and it was a simple blind on blind hand with a raise, shove and call. Eames was holding [Ax] [Kx] (suited) and Hof was holding [9x] [9x]. The board was aceless, kingless and now we are John Eameless.
18:54
Raphael Kroll Eliminated
The chair that once housed the behind of Raphael Kroll is now empty except for a WPT Marrakech flyer which is having a little nap on it. Arnaud Mattern helped us fill in the gaps. He told us that Kroll and Jean Daniel Truc pushed all the chips into the middle on a board of [Jx] [Jx] [8x] (containing two hearts) as they fought it out for a pot worth 50,000.
Truc:
Kroll: 
The board bricked off for Kroll and Truc now has a chip stack worth 93,000 and his bum is well and firmly rooted on a chair and he is not moving anywhere for the forseeable future!
18:39
Sneaky Roger
Two players limped into the pot in early position including Roger Hairabedian. Marcus Naalden decided everyone was acting a little bit soft and raised it to 2,000. The first limper folded his hand but Hairabedian called pretty quickly.
Flop: 
Hairabedian bet 2,500 and Naalden made the call.
Turn: 
“Big Roger” bet 4,500 and Naalden quickly folded.
Just as everyone was just about to forget about the hand Hairabedian flashed everyone a glimpse of his rosy red pocket kings.
Hairabedian – 65,000
Naalden – 92000
18:30
Boeree Wins Back-To-Back Pots From The Blinds
Even the best poker players lose money and chips from the blinds but someone should tell that to Liv Boeree as she has just won back-to-back pots from them. The first saw the action fold to Alain Roy who open-limps. Boeree is not in the mood for letting Roy see a cheap flop and she raises to 1,500 and Roy folds.
The very next hand Sebastien Mineo open-limps from under the gun and the action folds back around to Miss Boeree and she completes her small blind. Mehdi Mouhoubi checks in the big blind and the dealer puts out the 
flop. Boeree checks, Mouhoubi checks behind but Mineo bets 700. Boeree check-raises to 1,700, which folds out Mouhoubi but Mineo tags along.
The 
is checked by both players but Boeree fires another bet, this one worth 2,600, when the 
hits the turn. Mineo instantly calls and shows [Ax][9x] but he is beaten by the of Boeree.
Maybe her toy dinosaur is bringing her some luck?
18:18
PartyPoker Qualifier In Fortunate Double Up
PartyPoker qualifier Pim Van Wieringen has just been gifted a very fortunate double up after running his pocket queens into the kings of Armin Mette.
Tonio Roder opened the betting with a raise to 900 from early position. To his immediate left is Armin Mette and he three-bets to 2,325. Everyone folds to Van Wieringen in the cutoff and he four-bets to 5,100, folding out Roder but Mette is going nowhere and he moves all in. Van Wieringen calls off his last 28,000 and does not look impressed when he discovers his 
are up against the 
of Mette.
The dealer puts out the flop, catapulting the Dutchman into an unlikely lead and leaving Mette drawing to just two outs. The on the turn is not one of them and neither is the on the river, and with that Van Wieringen doubles up and Mette drops to 31,000.
18:09
Birthday Girl Raises It Up
Nesrine Kourdourli raises to 625 in early position and the player seated in the small blind three-bets to 2,650 and she makes the call. The flop is , the small blind bets 3,200 and and Kourdourli makes the call.
The turn is the 
and the small blind bets 5,300 from a stack of 13,300 but Kourdourli raises it up to 12,400 bringing the small blind to a stuttering stop. The hand hit the muck and Kourdourli was back to around 65,000.
18:01
Chip Counts From Around The Room
- Bodo Sbrzesny 9000
- Allain Roy 44000
- Edouard Sadoun 150000
- Davidi Kitai 74000
- Kevin Vandersmissen 28000
- Sandiep Khosa 76000
- Paul Berende 70000
- Dominik Nitsche 19000
- Arnaud Mattern 65000
- Raphael Kroll 20000
- John Eames 21000
- Joel Benzinou 56000
- Roger Hairabedian 50000
- Tristan Clemencon 37000
- Bertrand Grospellier 0
- Catherine Hong 74000
- Basil Yaiche 27000
- Mario Adinolfi 50000
- Joseph Cheong 67000
- Brandon Cantu 63000
- Liv Boeree 40000
- Marcus Naalden 110000
- Antony Lellouche 74000
- Nesrine Kourdourli 65000
- Bruno Lopes 110000
- Matt Frankland 84000
- Rebecca Gerin 35000
- Marvin Rettenmaier 88000
- Emile Petit 19000
- Bruno Fitoussi 47000
- Bruno Launais 30000
18:00
Level Up
The blinds have increased to 200/400 with a running ante of 50.
17:54
Five Times The Big Blind
From UTG+1, Nicolaas Van den Bosch makes an extremely large raise of 1,600 (5.33 times the big blind) and unsurprisingly the next three players fold. Joseph Cheong puts in 800 chips but is informed the bet is double that! He tries not to look like he did not mean to call and puts the extra 800 in. The action then folds to Ilan Rouah in the small blind and he three-bets to 5,100. Van den Bosch snap calls but Cheong folds.
The flop comes down , Rouah leads out with a 5,800 and before his chips have hit the felt Van den Bosch’s cards are in the muck. He claims to have had pocket queens, which prompted a few quizzical looks from some of his table mates.
17:52
ElkY Busts
As we were walking towards his table Bertrand Grospellier got up and walked away with his bag in tow. When we arrived we deduced that it was Bastien Faessen who eliminated him and this is what happened.
Faessen raised in the small blind and ElkY moved all-in from the big blind and his opponent called. It was a classic coin-flip situation with ElkY’s not fairing to well against Fassen’s . ElkY stopped only to say goodbye to his girlfriend Catherine Hong. Hong is fairing much better with a stack of 74,000.
Faessen – 60,000
17:48
Liv Boeree Talks About The Playboy Club and Dinosaurs!
Our camera team caught up with Liv Boeree and asked her about her recent magazine interview, The Playboy Club and why she has a dinosaur as a card protector.
The Playboy Club is the venue for the upcoming PartyPoker Premier League Mixed Game Championship.
17:34
Dan Carter Eliminated
Earlier we brought you a video with British trio John Eames, Mathew Frankland and Dan Carter well the latter has just busted out of the Main Event.
We did not see the hand but Carter recalled for us. According to Carter a loose player raised to 700 from the hijack, and the cutoff flat-called. Carter was seated on the button with [Kx][Kx] and he three-bet to 2,200 and both player called.
The flop came down 
, the hijack checked, the cutoff checked and Carter made a continuation bet to 3,600. This got rid of the hijack but the cutoff stayed in the hand. The turn is the 
and the cutoff checked, Carter moved all in for his last 9,000 and was snapped off by the [Tx][Tx] that had made a set.
17:16
Ugo Faggioli raises to 700 first in from the hijack seat and to his direct left is Damien Cayet and he three-bets to 2,000. Mathew Frankland folds his button, the blinds get out of the way but Faggioli makes the call.
Flop: – Faggioli leads out with a bet of 2,600 and he is quickly called by Cayet.
Turn: – Faggioli bets again, this time 5,500 and after 30 seconds Cayetr calls, causing Faggioli to take a glance at his opponent.
River: 
– With his head tilted to the left Faggioli bets 6,400 and he is quickly called.
Faggioli:
Cayet:
Faggioli looks disgusted with something, we are not sure if it is with himself or with the fact Cayet slowplayed his set of aces.
17:02
Level 5 Begins
The cards are back in the air and we have started Level 5. The blinds are 150/300 with a running ante of 25.
16:45
Break Time
Level 4 has come to an end and the players have gone on a 15-minute break.
16:35
Mattern Folds a Street Too Late
Thibaut Durand checks to Arnaud Mattern on a board that reads 
. Mattern, seated on the button, makes it 3,275 to play only to see Durand check-raise to 12,000. Mattern studies his opponent before making the call.
The river is the and now Durand bets into Mattern to the tune of 17,500, sending Mattern deep into the tank. He counts out the 17,500 needed to call and places it in his left hand. With his right hand he counted out the rest of his stack before putting the 17,500 chips back with them. After almost 90 seconds he folds his hand.
Durand shows the 
but Mattern asks if he will show the other and he reveals the , meaning Durand had hit his flush on the river but was almost certainly beating Mattern on the turn because he had a straight.
16:25
Birthday Girl Kourdourli
Nesrine Kourdourli finished 4th in this event last year and today she is celebrating her 21st birthday (what do you expect me to say!) Julien Bigeard has just provided with her with what she hopes to be one of many birthday treats today.
The action folds around to Kourdourli in the small blind and she makes a standard raise and Julien Bigeard calls in the big blind. The pair of them share a flop of 
and Kourdourli bets 500 and Bigeard snap-calls. The turn is the and Kourdourli fires a second barrel of 900 and Bigeard once again snap-calls. The final card is the and this time Kourdourli bets 1,600 and for the third time in succession Bigeard snap calls. Kourdourli confidently flips over and her opponent confidently folds!
16:20
Big Stacks And Notables
Here is a selection of chip counts from the biggest stacks and the biggest names in the rrom.
- Edouard Sadoun: 153,000 chips
- Marcus Naalden: 98,000
- Marvin Rettenmaier: 88,000
- Catherine Hong: 79,225
- Arnaud Mattern: 79,200
- Sandiep Khosa: 78,000
- Bruno Launais: 52,000
- Roger Hairabedian: 52,000
- Paul Berande: 47,000
- Dominik Nitsche: 46,000
- Liv Boeree: 44,000
- Bruno Fitoussi: 39,000
16:05
Dominik Nitsche Talks About Doubling Up
15:55
Rettenmaier Wins Huge Pot
Marvin Rettenmaier arrived a a couple of hours late but that has not stopped him sitting behind a pile of chips worth around 60,000.
We joined the action with the board reading 
and PartyPoker qualifier Kevin Green all in. Rettenmaier was agonising over his decision because calling and losing would see him busted out of the Main Event. Almost three minutes had past before the German asked, “Do you like your hand?”A few moments later he made the call and showed 
for trip sevens, enough to win the pot.
After the chips were counted Green was left with just 4,900 chips, but they are still the equivalent. of 24.5 big blinds
15:49
Official Attendance Figures
Registration is closed and the official number of runners has been calculated. Two hundred and three people have entered today meaning the total number of runners for the WPT Amneville Main Event is 379.
15:40
Bueno Four-Bets Cheong
Fresh from defending his blind against Joseph Cheong with just 
, Patrick Bueno has just four-bet Cheong preflop and taken down a pot.
Gregory Hairabedian raises to 400 from the cutoff, Cheong three-bets to 1,200 from the button only to see Bueno make it 3,200 to play. Neither of his opponents were prepared to match his bet and they quickly folded.
15:19
Bueno Defends With Eight-High
Patrick Bueno just showed why poker tournaments are so popular in France after he tangled with former November Nine member Joseph Cheong.
The flop reads and Bueno checks from the small blind and Cheong, on the button, checks behind. The turn brings the into play and Bueno checks again. Cheong takes this as an invitation to take a stab at the pot and bets 1,800 and Bueno snap-calls. The river is the and Bueno checks again. Cheong pauses for a couple of moments before betting 4,400 only to see his opponent instantly call.
Cheong turns over for top pair whilst Bueno proudly shows that he defended his blinds with and had rivered two pair.
“Nice catch on the river,” says Cheong as Bueno begins stacking his new found chips.
“Nice Catch” For Bueno
15:12
The Board Is Bleeding
The flop reads and Stephan Gerin checks from the big blind seat and Phil Meulyzer checks behind on the button. The turn sees another heart show up, the and again both players check. A fifth heart, the lands on the river and Gerin checks once more. Meulyzer does not check behind this time, instead he bets 1,100 and Gerin folds.
“Nearly,” says Meulyzer with raised eyebrows.
The Belgian is now up to 46,000.
15:00
Vaneenoo Adds To His Stack
From under the gun Jerden Vaneemoo raises to 600 and finds two callers, Rony Halimi (small blind) and Julien Robert (big blind). The flop comes down , Halimi checks, Robert bets 800, Vanneemoo calls but Halimi folds.
The turn sees the make an appearance, Robert checks, Vanneemoo bets 1,100, which is enough to pick up the pot.
14:48
PartyPoker Qualifier Watch
There are a number of PartyPoker qualifiers in the field, here is how they are getting on.
- Vasili Firsau: 75,150
- Erik Von Buschoeveden: 49,150
- Kai Kassebaum: 43,800
- Kevin Green: 37,200
- Raymond Church: 33,500
- Orjan Sundqvist: 33,175
- Artem Khudaverdiev: 33,100
- Pim Van Wieringen: 31,375
- Anders Bisgaard Rasmussen: 29,700
14:44
We Are Back!
The players are back in their seats, the cards are in the air and Level 3 has begun. The blinds are now 100/200.
14:23
Break Time
Level 2 has drawn to a close and the players are now on a 15-minute break.
14:15
A Nice Spot For Kings: Nitsche Eliminates Gibert
Yohann Gibert raises to 425 in the hijack, Dominik Nitsche three-bets to 1,100 in the cutoff and Gibert decides to see a flop out of position against a very good player…we smell danger!
Flop: 
Gibert checks to Nitsche, who is riffling his chips faster than Sonic the Hedgehog, and he bets 1,350. Gibert makes the call and the dealer prepares to give us the turn.
Turn:
Gibert once again checks and Nitsche asks to see his stack before betting 2,850. We sensed that there may well have been some previous action between the two with the way Gibert moved all-in for 9,200. Nitsche knew exactly what was going to happen and he called instantly and Gibert was in trouble.
Nitsche:
Gibert:
The river held no surprises for Nitsche and Gibert was a goner. Nitsche meanwhile was cuddling his new stack of around 55,000
14:09
Bluffing Berende
There is an early position raise to 400, a call from mid-position and then Paul Berende also calls from the cutoff. The flop is and the action checks through to Berende who bets 600. The initial raiser folds but the player in middle position makes a very quick call. The fourth community card was the and once again it was left to Berende to take the betting lead and the price was 1,200, a price his opponent very quickly paid. The final card was the and the middle position cold-caller changes strategy and bets 2,400, Berende starts laughing.
“Are you bluffing?” Berende chuckles to himself before making the call.
His opponent mucks his cards unseen and Berende tables 
to pick up the pot.
Berende – 42,000
14:02
Ombrouck Rivers a Set
The action is on Antony Lellouche in the cutoff seat and he raises to 325. Karl Ombrouck is sat on the button and he calls. both blinds fold. The dealer gets busy putting out the flop, a flop that both players seem disinterested in as they both check.
The on the turn is greeted by a 500 bet from Lellouche and a call from Ombrouck and the dealer puts the out on the river. Lellocuhe bets again, increasing the amount to 1,500. Ombrouck sits staring at the board for close to 30 seconds before raising to 3,500. Lellouche instantly calls but we will never know what he had as he mucked when Ombrouck turned over for a set of jacks.
Lellouche: 28,000 chips
Ombrouck: 45,000
13:53
Corduan And Vandersmissen Clash
Everyone folds around to Kyrne Dyregrov in the hijack seat and after taking a peek at his cards he makes it 400 to play. To his direct left is Fabien Corduan and he obviously likes his hand because he three-bets to 1,500, which is enough to fold out the small blind but Kevin Vandersmissen makes the call. Dyregrov also calls and it is three-handed to the flop.
Vandersmissen checks, Dyregrov checks but Corduan fires a bet of 4,000 into his opponents. Vandersmissen sits and studies Corduan for a while before flicking a solitary 5,000 chip over the betting line to make the call. Dyregrov folds and the dealer puts the out onto the turn. Vandersmissen checks again and Corduan asks him how many chips he has. “28 or 26. Something like that,” comes the reply. Corduan then bets 10,000 and Vandersmissen folds, showing the as he does so.
Vandersmissen: 27,200 chips
Corduan: 57,000
13:49
Easy Game
Gregory Hairabedian open limps from early position, which starts off a limpers paradise! Next to act is Joseph Cheong and he calls, next to him is Patrick Bueno and he limps, to his direct left is Kevin MacPhee and he also limps but Nicolaas Van Den Bosch makes it 1,000 to play from the big blind and amazingly everyone who initially limped folds!
13:28
Level Up
Level 2 has now started and the blinds have increased to 75/150.
13:27
Vasseur Aggression Pays Off
Raphael Vasseur opens the betting with a raise to 250 from under the gun and the action folds to Dan Carter on the button. He calls, as does the small blind and Olivier Hegy in the big blind. The flop comes down , both blinds check, Vasseur bets 650, Carter re-checks his cards and then folds. The small blind also folds but Hegy makes the call.
The dealer puts out the on the turn and Hegy decides to bet into Vasseur to the tune of 1,300 but Vasseur is not buying his opponent’s story and he raises to 3,500. Hegy must have been bluffing because his cards hit the muck in record time.
13:23
Boeree Fast Out Of the Blocks
She may have turned up fashionably late but it certainly has not done her any harm as she is sat behind a pile of chips totalling 56,300. She joked with Joseph Cheong, who is seated on the table directly behind Boeree, that he may as well pay up their last longer bet now, which we believe stands at €3,500.
13:15
Cayet and Faggioli Getting Involved Early
Ugo Faggioli raises to 300 from the button and Damien Cayet three-bets to 825 in the small blind. Faggioli gives Cayet the stare and makes the call. The flop was and Cayet bets 900 and Faggioli makes the call. The turn another seven and Cayet bets 1,600. Faggioli ponders his decision for a while before raising to 3,200. This hand was getting interesting and it became even more interesting when Cayet re-raised to 8,000. Faggioli took off his shades, shook his head in disgust and folded his hand
13:10
ElkY Under Pressure
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier makes a standard raise from middle position and Tonio Roeder defends his small blind. The dealer gives us a flop of 
and Roeder checks to ElkY who splashes three black 100 chips into the pot. Action back to Roeder and he check-raises to 800. He receives an ElkY stare before the enigmatic Frenchman makes the call.
The turn is the and Roeder bets 1,300 and ElkY calls. The final card in this interesting hand is the and Roeder continues to pound on ElkY with a 2,100 bet and ElkY eventually folds his hand.
13:07
How To Gain Maximum Value From Pocket Queens
There are two ways of looking at a World Poker Tour (WPT) event. In one sense you can be in awe of it, after all there is a €3,500 price tag and a field full of famous faces. In another sense you see hands like this.
A player who will remain anonymous raises to 450 (Blinds are 50/100), everyone laughs and folds and he very proudly shows everyone pocket queens before collecting his prize of 150 additional chips.
If you ever wondered how to steal the blinds and antes with pocket queens you now know.
12:58
Two Pair Good For Cristi
John Eames opens the betting with a raise of 250 from the cutoff and Antonio Cristi smooth calls on the button. Next to act is the partially sighted Frederic Grosjean in the small blind and he checks his holecards with a special magnifying glass before three-betting to 950. The big blind folds, as does Eames but Cristi comes along for the ride.
Flop: – Grosjean leads out with a bet of 1,100 and is check-raised to 3,000 by Cristi. Grosjean instantly calls.
Turn: – Grosjean checks in the dark then snap-calls when Cristi bets 2,100.
River: – Grosjean bets 8,600 and after a minute of thinking time Cristi calls.
Grosjean taps the table and mucks as he is shown
Cristi: 45,600 chips
Grosjean: 14,250
Eames: 29,750
12:43
Famous Faces
The players are busy riffling chips and trying to figure out who the mark is at their table. Some of those who we will sure to be keeping an eye on ourselves include;
- Brandon Cantu
- Dan Carter
- Guillaume Darcourt
- John Eames
- Bruno Fitoussi
- Mathew Frankland
- David Kitai
- Ludovic Lacay
- Antony Lellouche
- Arnaud Mattern
- Dominik Nitsche
- Marvin Rettenmaier
- Kevin Vandersmissen
12:28
British Trio John Eames, Mathew Frankland and Dan Carter
Lee Davy speaks with the British trio John Eames, Mathew Frankland and Dan Carter about their road trip from the UK to Amneville.
12:26
Shuffle Up And Deal!
The cards are in there air, a little later than expected, and Day 1b of the WPT Amneville Main Event has kicked off.
12:10
The players are currently taking their seats and we expect Day 1b of WPT Amneville to be under way shortly. Stay tuned!
Hello and welcome to Day 1b of the WPT Amneville Main Event at the Seven Casino. Today we are expecting a bumper field to exchange €3,500 for 30,000 tournament chips and the chance of becoming a World Poker Tour champion.
Amongst those already registered to play are Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, “Mad” Marvin Rettenmaier, John Eames and Dominik Nitsche. The man they have to catch in order to become the overall chipleader is Nicolas Babel who yesterday turned his starting stack into a most impressive 163,600 on Day 1a. Can anyone match or even beat this total? Stay tuned to find out.
Play is scheduled to kick off at 1200 CET and we will play eight 60-minute levels, so the players will be bagging up chips around 21:15 CET. Join us for live updates of all the action here in the WPT Amneville Main Event.
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