DAY 5 CARIBBEAN POKER CLASSIC

---------------------------------------------------

It was the fifth day at the Caribbean Poker Classic. The game we were playing: Hold'em Blackjack. An interesting combination of poker & blackjack, where unlike regular blackjack we are playing against each other, with a dealer button and blinds, and where bluffing and betting for value is a big part of the game.

The tournament had a $1000+100 buy-in. Seduced by the no less than $50,000 added money, 65 players put up that amount. And yes, this included yours truly, who didn't want to miss out on the chance of winning the first-ever brick and mortar Hold'em Blackjack event, and who was obviously seduced by the great value. (Of course, this was only until he realized that he could not play a lick...)

We had started out with big stacks & deep money, but with the blinds & antes slowly rising, more and more players were starting to run into danger. And yes, obviously this again included... yours truly. 

In all honesty, this Hold'em Blackjack turned out to be a quite remarkable event. Played six-handed, it was clear that aggressive play would get rewarded. But being fairly new to the game, most players had trouble releasing marginal hands, and quite a few players were willing to call raises & reraises with just a picture card (worth ten points) face down. Coupled with the often aggressive play early in the hand, this meant that especially at the later stages of the event the luck factor would be fairly high - as opposed to the highly skillful situation we had earlier on.

As it happened, the representative for the dealers, Troy Somers, got to the final table as the chipleader. Having won the "dealer satellite", all dealers from this satellite had a share in him - and they could be proud about Troy's performance. He played solid-though-aggressive, and was very keen when it came to good deal-making. Especially Paul Zimbler seemed very eager to make a five- or six-way chop "so he could prepare for tomorrow's Main Event", but  chipleader Troy simply said: "Let's play." This changed once Chistopher Coleman had taken over as the chipleader, at Troy's expense. At that stage, a deal was struck after all.

But that didn't change the nature of the game much - it stayed an exciting to watch, though at times somewhat erratic final table. The chipleader Christopher, being "drunk as skunk" (end of quote) kept playing well despite his many Johnny Walker Black Labels, and seemed to have a good feel for the game. The strong Troy had been a bit unlucky, and had become the shortest stack, but winning two all-ins (the first one with blackjack against 20 for Paul Zimbler) he was back in the saddle. He was clearly, and correctly, trying to take advantage that Christopher would play more and more hands, and play them more and more aggressively - where at the end of the tourney he was even betting & raising in the dark.

The heads up stage between Troy & Christopher started about even in chips. Troy played excellently, and did his best to take advantage of the fact that his opponent would sometimes indicate his actions way in advance. On the final hand, he had jammed the pot with either an ace or a ten down, against Christopher who had raised without looking at his hand. After a 4 for Coleman and a 6 for Troy (one of the worst cards to catch as open cards, though in heads up play not that awful maybe), the Englishman said: "Let's see what I have." He turned out to have a 9 as his hole card, asked another card, and got a 5 for 18 total - choosing to stand. Troy judged that his opponent could have a busted hand though, and decided to stand on either 16 or 17. (16 the much more likely possibility of course, as with an ace down, Troy could have risked taking another card without the possibility of ending up with more than 21.)

And that was that - the first Hold'em Blackjack tournament ever was decided. An interesting game, no question, and many players seemed to enjoy it - so we will see whether or not it will catch on some more. It may very well, and the organizers have clearly shown their willingness to make it succeed - as is proved by the whopping $50K added to the prize pool.

So all in all, the title went to the likeable and sympathetic Christopher Coleman, who dedicated his title to no other than Johnny Walker. His price: The $20K that Paul, Troy and he had negotiated during the second deal (three-way), plus an additional $3500 or so for him as the winner. All in all, a very nice payday, and, again quoting the winner: "the honor of being the first-ever Hold'em Blackjack Champion." 

Official results:

1. Christopher Coleman, England, $32,650
2. Troy Stromer, USA, $22,500
3. Paul Zimbler, England, $16,900
4. Jon Kalmar, England, $12,350
5. Todd Witteles, Canada, $9,000
6. Bjorn Emberg, Sweden, $5,650
7. Franck Bensimon, France, $2,250
8. Peter Jepsen, Denmark, $2,250
9. Kathy Liebert, USA, $2,250
10. Arnaud Nattern, France, $2,250
11. Robin Abrey, Antigua, $2,250
12. Rakesh Gupta, Scotland, $2,250    

At the same time, there was also a $500+50 no-limit hold'em freeze-out going. As most of the attention today went to the Hold'em Blackjack, and I didn't get to see all that much of the action myself, here are simply the results. (Prize pool $28,000 / 56 entrants / names as provided to me by casino management.)

1. Yucel Eminoglu, Turkey, $9,230
2. Allan Johns, England, $4,620
3. Bjorn Gustafsson, Sweden, $3,530
4. Andreas Forsgren, Sweden, $2,720
5. Mike Redivivo, Canada, $2,170
6. David Demmett, Scotland, $1,630
7. Matt Tyler, England, $1,360
8. Martin Wiklund, Sweden, $1,090
9. Michael Birt, Ireland, $810

DAY 4 CARIBBEAN POKER CLASSIC

---------------------------------------------------

Some of the favorites in the $1000+100 no-limit hold'em freeze-out started their tournament in a rather unfortunate manner. For instance, yesterday's winner James Akenhead was out early. Holding AK, he tried to represent aces by reraising a late-position raiser. Ram Vaswani called on the button, and then the original raiser reraised again. As James told me later: "It looked like a bit of a feeble reraise to me, so I decided to reraise him once more. And then, when he flatcalled and checked to me on a flop with small cards, I moved in. He beat me to the pot with aces. I was down to just 150 then, and even managed to work my way up to 3K again. But unfortunately, I got eliminated anyway."

That was the strong and James Akenhead's story, who was unable make a back to back win here at the CPC. But as interesting as his story was, fellow Englishman Simon Nowab's story may be even more spectacular. I had been seated next to him myself at the Master Classics of Poker Main Event, last week in Amsterdam. Within just an hour of the first day in that four-day event, Simon had already been eliminated from my table. Holding queens against a very loose-aggressive player back then, he gave a (to me) not unreasonable amount of action in a reraised pot where the loose-aggressive reraiser happened to have aces - and that was that for the likeable Nowab. Now, here at this Caribbean Poker Classic $1000+100 no-limit hold'em freeze-out, he walked in late and then started bringing all the players at his table drinks as if he were a waitor. I said: "Simon, don't you have a tournament to play?" He replied: "Well yeah. But I guess I simply want to survive the first hour this time, haha!" He then sat down and as the big blind, the first hand he saw was pocket rockets. It got raised, and he decided not to get fancy - making a solid reraise with his aces. He got called by the initial raiser, and the two of them saw the flop. On the flop J42, Simon then checked, and when his opponent bet 1K, he simply check-raised all-in. His opponent beat him to the pot, showing JJ for top set. Down to 150, Simon then went all-in the next hand, lost that hand, and again had been eliminated from a big event - even before it had actually started. Ah, well...

Other favorites even clashed in a head to head battle. For instance, the defending Main Event champion Bjorn Wiik played in this event, and was seated next to the strong Carlo Citrone. Bjorn went off to a flying start, and took quite a bit of chips away from Carlo by getting a bit lucky. Being in the 300 big blind, he bet out 1200 on the turn J53T with just a 97, trying to bet under the gun player Carlo off his hand. But the Englishman called, so then Bjorn had no other option but for plan B: simply hitting his gutshot. And indeed: An eight came on the river so that Bjorn didn't need to bluff but in fact could value-bet. Bjorn bet 2500 now, and Carlo paid off, shaking his hand in disbelief after seeing the (weak!) hand that the Scandinavian had been betting with on the turn.

But as it happened, neither one of these players actually made it to the final table. This final table had big names like Tony Cascarino, the man who seems to be at every final in St. Kitts, and a possibly even bigger name as chipleader, Kevin O'Connell.

But Kevin lost his chiplead in two big all-in confrontations with the young Markus Truedsson, both time when he was in the small blind against a - suspicious - button raise from the Swede. Kevin was unlucky that with his pocket pairs he seemed to be up against a bigger pair all the time (99 vs. KK for Markus, 55 vs. QQ for Tony, who actually rivered top full and eliminated the Irishman). And when Markus, who had won many all-in confrontations, was finally eliminated, Tony started the heads up stage trailing 133K-297K against Brian Jensen from Denmark.

But this didn't stop Tony from turning things around. At this extremely tight final table, he was simply the most aggressive player. He also got lucky a bit when he first limped with a 5 2, then called a 30K raise with that hand, and then flopped a straight with a 643 flop. Brian was good enough not to go broke on that hand, but Tony was clearly in control from then on. The former soccer player was even unlucky once, when with middle pair / decent kicker he made a good call against Brian's middle pair / smaller kicker, and the Dane survived by catching a running pair for a split pot. But in the end, this event got the winner it deserved - the man who seems to make it to every final here at the CPC, both this year and last year: Tony Cascarino. After collecting a whole wad of $100 bills, he took them all together, put them in his pocket, and said jokingly: "Good I got all these dollars. Now I can simply blow 'em in Vegas."  

Final results:

1. Tony Cascarino, England / Ireland $28,400
2. Brian Jensen, Denmark $14,200 
3. Markus Truedsson, Sweden $10,800 
4. Kevin O'Connell, Ireland $8300 
5. Daniel Samson, England $6670
6. Fraser Macintyre, Scotland $5100
7. Jon Watkins, England $4150
8. Kevin Moore, England $3300
9. David Tighe, England $2500

While the $1000+100 freeze-out took a very long time to conclude, the supersatellite took very long as well - mostly because of long, heated deal talks. Five-handed, with a total prize pool of $27,600 (51 players / 57 rebuys / 30 add-ons) it was not easy to reach an agreement. In the end, Torben Reinke and the "drunk as hell" (end of quote) Dave Colclough ended up with a ticket. The other three, Paul Gardiner, Danny Wu & James Gardiner, would take an undisclosed amount of cash, according to some kind of calculation system that was too hard for yours truly to understand. Anyway, as always the official results will be here just before the start of tomorrow's event.

What about tomorrow's tournament?, you may ask. Well, we are going to play a New Game tomorrow: Hold'em Blackjack. In short, we are playing blackjack, but with blinds, a dealer button and three betting rounds, meaning that there's bluffing, value-betting etc. Quite interesting I would say - even more so because tomorrow's $1000+100 freeze-out has no less than $50,000 in added prize money. A more than decent overlay especially for those who have already had some practice through the satellites here, or through online play at the WagerLogic sites William Hill, Inter Poker, Sun Poker, Poker Plex, UK Betting Poker, Littlewoods & Classic Poker. For rules and strategy tips on this game, just check out www.holdemblackjack.com.

Anyway, play will start at 2 p.m. As always, I will be there for you - seated front row.    

DAY 3 CARIBBEAN POKER CLASSIC

---------------------------------------------------

The second no-limit hold'em freeze-out of this Caribbean Poker Classic was perfectly characterized by TV presenter Norman Pace, better known as being one half of the successful British comedy duo "Hal & Pace". Norman, being an avid and quite skillful poker player, remarked: "It is a suckout evening" - and that's exactly what it was. After all the Stars that I mentioned in my previous update had long been eliminated, we had a final table where the money was relatively shallow - and where winning or losing one pot could thus make all the difference.

The person involved in most of these high-risk showdown situations was Tony Cascarino. Having won a massive pot with K Q against an AQ by catching a king on the turn, he then lost these chips to Andreas Forsgren with QQ versus TT. Being a big favorite with his bigger pair, Tony saw the Swede outdraw him by flopping a ten. And having gotten shortstacked after that pot, Tony then survived when again the best hand got beaten. Having reraised all-in with an A 3, button Andreas Forsgren turned out to have a real hand with an AQ, a hand that dominated the former Irish soccer player. So much for theory - a trey came on the flop to again let the worse hand win, and to keep Cascarino in the saddle.

The only person at this table who wasn't involved in all that many high-risk all-in-before-the-flop situations was the stong James Akenhead. He played good and aggressive poker, and when he needed to show a good hand, he usually did. Despite losing a massive pot with A J against an AK, all the money in before the flop (a flop that came with two hearts, just to build the suspense a little), the Englishman kept his cool. Supported by his equally cool fellow countrymen Paul "Actionjack" Jackson and Peter Gould, he did what he was supposed to do. Despite the fact that at the start of three-handed play it was Andreas who had more than half the chips in play (estimated chip count: Andreas 162K, Tony 38K, James 92K) and the blinds were already 3K-6K with a 500 ante, James never pushed the panic button. Quite the contrary: He first reraised Andreas to make him lay down, and then won a small blind / big blind confrontation against the same player, to take over as the chipleader. Andreas started losing pots just when it mattered most, and was taken out by Tony Cascarino, whose A8 and the A86 flop matched perfectly. But then on the final hand Tony got eliminated by the strong Akenhead, who - basically for the first time this final - needed a little luck to win the pot. Having started with J4 for the worse hand, he rivered a straight - to be crowned the well-deserved champion of this $300+30 freeze-out.

Final results:

Results for the supersatellite:

All in all, another good result for Samuel Lehtonen, who had already made quite an impression last week at the Betfair Asian Poker Tour in Singapore - the event won by no other than Tony G.

Tomorrow at 2 p.m., we will have the first major event at this Caribbean Poker Classic - the $1000+100 no-limit hold'em freeze-out. And of course, at 8 p.m. there will then also be another supersatellite for the Main Event. For me, it is time for bed now - I hope to see you all again tomorrow.  

The third day of the Caribbean Poker Classic has started. Right now, we are playing a $300+30 no-limit hold'em freeze-out, with 96 entrants. Among the participants Martin Wendt, Kathy Liebert, Tony Chessa, Carlo Citrone, Paul Zimbler, Peter Gould & Robert Varkonyi - so this is not just an average small tournament that we are playing here.

At 8 p.m., we will have our third supersatellite this week for the $600+300 Main Event. More information about this event, including the exact structure, can be found at www.caribbeanpokerclassic.com.

DAY 2 CARIBBEAN POKER CLASSIC

---------------------------------------------------

Our first final table has been concluded. Just 30 minutes ago, Matthew Hogger from England beat young Dane Martin Clemmensen heads up. Hogger had been holding on to a big stack for quite some time, while Clemmensen had been pretty lucky to even stay alive - for instance, surviving an all-in with QJ vs. AT with about six players left. Despite the fact that Martin had started the heads up stage leading by 160K to 105K, Matthew was able to turn things around. Having won two pots uncontested with massive raises, the third time Matthew came over the top, Martin decided to make a stand. He called with a A4, a strong hand in heads up play, but he was dominated by the Englishman's AT. A ten on the flop secured a massive pot for Matthew, who now had 90% of the chips in play and could afford to call all-in the very next hand with the T 6. He outdrew the Dane's K8 by flopping a six, and thereby secured the first title here at the Caribbean Poker Classic. 

For this $200+20 no-limit hold'em, we had 134 entrants, which is quite good for a small tournament this early in the tournament week. And also the turnout for the secons supersatellite seems was quite good. Results for this event:

So all in all, this Caribbean Poker Classic seems to be off to a good start. For me, it is back to bed now - and only after a nutricious breakfast and a little sunbathing, will I be at your disposal again. From a sunny & warm St. Kitts, I say: Take care - see you all tomorrow!

DAY 1 CARIBBEAN POKER CLASSIC

---------------------------------------------------

The first 'real' tournament here at the Caribbean Poker Classic has just started here at 2 p.m. local time, the $200+20 no-limit hold'em freeze-out. Despite the fact that I expected action to start off rather slowly, we have no less than 15 full or almost full tables here at the start.

While enjoying the pleasant secondary working conditions in the Caribbean (things like the lovely breakfast, or the ideal combination of sun & swimming at the outdoor swimming pool and the adjacent beach), I ran into some of our returning customers over here. Just like last year, we have a large contingent of British players including Dave Colclough, Ram Vaswani, Kevin O'Connell, Nick Gibson and Carlo Citrone, to name but a few. And America is again represented by no others than Kathy Liebert, Pete "The Beat" Giordano and Rob & Olga Varkonyi - also all rerturning visitors. Of course, not all of them are participating in what they probably consider the 'small' tournament that is going on right now, but you can rest assured they will be in action at Wednesday's $6000+300 no-limit hold'em Main Event. 

Every day at 8 p.m., there will also be a $200+20 supersatellite for the Main Event. The first one has been concluded yesterday night, with the following result:

All in all, with also the juicy cash games and some sit'n'go tournaments going on, one can say that the action  is heating up considerably. Even more so because of the introduction of a (to many) new game called "Hold'em Blackjack". Many players have already been able to play / practice it on sites like William Hill or Littlewoods. But this Tuesday we will have what I believe to be the first ever major Hold'em Blackjack tournament in brick and mortar setting. At 2 p.m. this $1000+100 event will start, with no less than $50,000 added to the prize pool by the sponsor. Now, I expect that many players will find this interesting enough to leave the Sun & the Beach for what it is - in favor of this new game. Because not just does this event have $50,000 added - those who take their time analyzing the strategic & mathematic fundamentals of this game, may find they are playing with an edge that is unheard of in events of this size. Ah well, that's in a few days from now... for now, let's just focus on what's happening Right Now. And with an estimated prize pool of over $25,000 or so in today's no-limit hold'em, I guess it is fair to say that the 2006 Caribbean Poker Classic has gotten under way in a quite successful manner.

Once we are down to or close to the final table, I will be back with some updates, stories and of course photos.

Just like last year, lots of well-known pros have gathered in the Caribbean. Not just to enjoy the sun, the luxury of the Marriott Resort, or to just have a nice holiday (even though many players will be here for exactly these reasons), but also to actually play some high-stakes poker.

Just yesterday night, I bumped into Ram Vaswani for instance. And I've been told that no other than Phil Ivey will be here as well. Even though I tend to take rumors like this with a grain of salt (players of his calibre are often said to come to special events, but then in the end they are often are unable or unwilling to show up), Phil is said to have checked in here yesterday night.

Actually, a whole bunch of players is expected to arrive here in St. Kitts at this very minute, including many big names. Of course, many of these people will perform in the $6,000 Main Event. Because of the recent developments in the US, we don't expect to have as many entrants as last year (249, if I remember correctly), but neither I nor the organization over here have any doubts that again this Caribbean Poker Classic will be a great success.

In about five hours from now, the first supersatellite will be under way. Once I have gotten the names of the qualifiers, I will put them here in this blog. And once the actual poker action starts, I will keep you up to date on a regular basis - with of course live updates during the crucial stages of the Main Event.

From sunny St. Kitts, I say: I hope you will follow the action along with me. Take care - and I'll talk to you guys later.