2009 PokerNews Cup Alpine

Event 2 - �55 No Limit Hold'em w/Rebuys
Day: 1
Event Info

2009 PokerNews Cup Alpine

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
ak
Prize
€3,183
Event Info
Buy-in
€50
Prize Pool
€10,623
Entries
63
Level Info
Level
13
Blinds
5,000 / 10,000
Ante
700

Clubbed Down by the Board

With almost a full level gone, play is beginning to get a little friskier, but not always with the desired results.

Thomas Wagermaier managed to get it all in on a {9-Clubs} {J-Clubs} {3-Clubs} flop holding a rather esoteric {4-Hearts} {4-Diamonds} and got himself called by Achim Grimm holding a rather better {J-Spades} {10-Diamonds} -- but the turn and river came down the club-ulous {K-Clubs} {4-Clubs} to split the pot. Gentle mirth followed.

Level: 2

Blinds: 50/100

Ante: 0

Poor Start for Abbassi

Ramazanali Abbassi
Ramazanali Abbassi
It's a sea of unfamiliar faces out there, but one buoy I did recongize bobbing about the surface was fellow Midlander Ramazanali Abbassi. Swapping the bright, sunny shores (ahem) of Walsall for the cold, snowy mountains of Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Abbassi was all in on a {9-Spades}{2-Spades}{7-Diamonds} flop just moments ago with {K-Spades}{10-Spades} versus {10-Hearts}{7-Hearts}. The {8-Clubs} turn provided more outs than a Wimbledon final, but to no avail as the river bricked out with the {Q-Clubs}.

Not wanting to spoil the party, Abbassi quickly dipped into his pocket and requested a rebuy.

Tags: Ramazanali Abbassi

Gandrup Doubles Through

Considering it's a �50 rebuy, play hasn't been particularly manic, but it's early yet, and as we approach the end of the rebuy period, I'm sure we'll see players gambling like there's no tomorrow. One player, however, who has enjoyed a fruitful start is Rasmus Gandrup - his stack is now hovering around the 4,000 mark.

Tags: Christian Kleiner

No Salopettes Here

The atmosphere is somewhat subdued in the card/ballroom, with the seven tables' worth of keen rebuyers going about it in a most civilized manner.

The only notable who we can 100% verify spent this morning out on the slopes was the UK's own Ramazanali Abbassi. Sadly neither he nor anyone else has turned up in full ski gear today, but we have high hopes for the rest of the week.

Event #2 is Officially Underway!

Thomas Lamatsch has been appointed the head tournament director for the 2009 PokerNews Cup Alpine Series, and he's just delivered a brief set of instructions to the players before giving the command to get the cards in the air.

In lieu of the customary "Shuffle up and deal" decree that we're accustomed to hearing out on the tour, Lamatsch employed a more straight-forward approach, instructing the dealers to "Start, please."

Tags: Thomas Lamatsch

Level: 1

Blinds: 25/50

Ante: 0

Orhan Kemal Wins Event #1 (�2,654)

The eagle-eyed viewers out there will have noticed that we're kicking off blogging procedures with event #2. Now, this doesn't mean that the organizers of the event are dyslexic, rather that event #1 took place yesterday evening, and was a �100+10 No Limit Hold'em freezeout.

The winner of this event, and the player responsible for the first round of drinks, was Orhan Kemal from Germany who took home �2,654 worth of bacon. The full results were as follows:

1st Kemal Orhan (Germany) -- �2,654
2nd Salvatore Cundari (Italy) -- �1,600
3rd Yordan Mitrentsov (Bulgaria) -- �1,080
4th Nicholas Van der Marel (Netherlands) -- �900
5th Stephan Innester (Germany) -- �720
6th Yoeri Van Erp (Netherlands) -- �620
7th Erik Mertens (Netherlands) -- �540
8th Runnar Indepuu (Estonia) -- �440
9th Christoph Berti (Austria) -- �370

Tags: Orhan Kemal

On the Piste

A distant shot of the Alpine Palace
A distant shot of the Alpine Palace
Greetings, and welcome to the Saalbach-Hinterglemm, the toughest stop on the poker calendar to say after a couple of beers. However, there's more to this picturesque location than just tying intoxicated tongues. A municipality in the Austrian state of Salzburg, S-H (as it shall now be known) is a skier's haven with slopes galore and a ski shop on every corner. Take it from me, it's a surreal experience peering through your hotel window of a frosty morning and seeing a random Austrian whoosh passed your balcony.

Naturally, your intrepid update team of Dana and myself will be nicely tucked up in the warmth of the luxurious Apline Palace Hotel, keenly keeping our eyes peeled on the second event of the PokerNews Cup Alpine, a �50+5 no limit Hold'em rebuy.

There are plenty of unfamiliar faces looking to make a name for themselves this week, but among the rabble are a selection of immediately recognisable figures, including Tony G, Liv Boeree and bracelet winner Mark Vos, the latter of whom last spotted downing something that resembled toilet cleaner in his room yesterday afternoon.

It's currently 11am here in Austria, but play doesn't officially commence until 2pm, so please consider this your complimentary warm-up and we'll see you in a few hours time. Until then, enjoy your central heating! Brr.

Tags: Alpine Palace