Jump to content

Flintsword: Qualifies For Another Wpt


Recommended Posts

While the God of Poker (our fearless leader DN ...) wins the WSOP Europe High Roller & get a (totally deserved) 2nd POY for the WSOP, the rest of us poker foot soldiers have to do the best we can.

 

Last Sunday I won a seat in the WPT Prague in December :icon_mrgreen::icon_mrgreen: by besting 63 players to grab one of three $6,100 seats, so I am going.

 

After my cash in the WPT Paris 2011 I pulled off another qualification to the WPT Prague 2011 where I got handed my head by any number of hyper-aggressive eastern European players, scoring 50% in the tournament.

 

I get to go back to that great city and try again :icon_biggrin: ... looking forward to it with a year of studying my game.

 

2012 was a bit of a desert of poker for me. 2013 has been kinder and when I heard that Sam Trickett was going to play in the 400 pound Old Trafford poker tournament in Manchester this August I decided to try and qualify. I did and flew out to play, lucking out to get Sam Trickett at my table for all of day 1. Three of the original players were still sitting at the end of Day 1 and my carcass was one of them. I learned a lot at that tournament just watching the better players make moves on players. It was fun, the food in Manchester was insanely bad, and the poker was superb. I finished 25th in a field of 168 players.

 

Amateurs take these kind of qualifications seriously but after watching DN on live feed de-bone the final table of top poker players in the WSOP Europe High Roller to win another bracelet ... my news of qualifying for another WPT is pretty small beer :icon_neutral:.

 

So be it :icon_exclaim: ... It is a big deal to a poker serf like me and since the poker posts here at fullcontactpoker helped me become a better player, I`ll post commentary here and with a little skill plus a lot of luck: Cash, Final Table, or Win ... preferable all three :icon_biggrin:.

 

Playing at the WPT level has been an amazing experience every time I get there. More news as it develops ;)

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Good luck Flintsword.

 

I hope you get some time to see some of Prague while you are there even if you make the final table. It sure looks like there is a lot of interesting old buildings etc there and I hear the beer is good and cheap.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks Bob ... I got six days to play tourist during the WPT Prague 2011 since I got turfed 15 minutes prior to the end of day 1 and loved the city. Looking forward to the poker mainly, particularly dealing differently with the 3-bet artists from Eastern Europe that caused me a lot of operational problems in 2011.

 

The beer is amazing and it looks like I will be seeing some friends there.

 

Everyone seems happy to hear I qualified, except one friend (cough, cough ...) that took the time to email me *Just goes to show that a donkey can get struck by lightning multiple times* :icon_rolleyes: ... there is always one guy lol.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

gl and tid :)

 

 

you still trying for Montreal ?

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

glgl in Prague

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, I am here in Prague for the World Poker Tour Prague 2013.

 

Long trip but the new hotel (Andel's Hotel) is downtown, a stone's throw from the Charles Bridge and Prague castle. It is a full festival in a smaller but cool casino two blocks away. The lighting is excellent and organization looks good. I am playing on Day 1B tomorrow. Still a little jet-lagged today but there are a bunch of (1 rebuy and 1 add on) satellites for the WPT Prague for 100 euros which I might enjoy at 3 pm.

 

No name players yet but I have a friend in the media area so I can get the scoop on who's hot & who's busted. Everyone is wearing weird Christmas sweaters so it is very hard on the eyes walking through the tournament area. Best (worst ...) jumper / sweater wins an iPad. I should have brought my sweater with those elves with antlers which I mercifully buried in the back of a drawer at home
:P

 

At the WPT Prague in 2011 it was snowing and cold as hell but today it is "cool-to-cold" & sunny. So much for me packing my snow boots ... I am going to the casino now and will report on details. I intend to play Day1B (to get over the jet lag) tomorrow.
Link to post
Share on other sites

Walked over to the casino, a clean looks to be well-run establishment called Card Casino Prague and the registration was quick and fast.

 

I met veteran expert poker blogger extraordinaire Christian Zetzsche there and spectated Day 1A of the WPT Prague. There is a Day 1B and a Day 1C. I will play Day 1B.

 

Some good laughs when Christian mentioned to me that Christmas had come early to the WPT Day 1A when a WPT player went all in with AA and got CALLED :icon_rolleyes: by 9 5 suited. The Aces held up and someone dryly remarked to me that the Aces holding up was the true Christmas Miracle :icon_smile: . Here is the official WPT Post on the incident by two WPT bloggers, penned by Lee:

 

Are You Feeling Lucky Punk?

Level 2: 75-150, ante

Quite remarkable scenes at Table 6 where Javier Gomez has just received an early Christmas present from Pal Koppegodt.

 

Kara Scott kindly informing us that Seth Berger opened the action, Javier Gomez made the three bet, Pal Koppegodt came into the action with a cold four bet, Berger got out of the way, Gomez moved all-in and Koppegodt made the call (both players were not that far off starting stack).

 

Gomez turns over Aclub.gif Aspade.gif, and was surely expecting no less than ace-king or kings, when Koppegodt pulled out the surprise package that is 9diamond.gif 5diamond.gif.

 

The board ran out Qdiamond.gif 8club.gif 3club.gif Kheart.gif Jdiamond.gif, a bashful Koppegodt left his seat and Gomez was left with the early chip lead.

 

In the WPT 100 Euro rebuy multi-table event, I noticed the stoic, concentrating players were staking chips while the sour-pusses were rebuying ... a lot! :icon_wall:

 

All the spectators were crying, their eyes watering from the many bright, weird Christmas sweaters being worn by players as part of a PartyPoker promotion (free iPad to the winner of best / worst sweater) which was pretty popular.

 

Watching the 100 Euro rebuy WPT multi-table qualifier and was amazed by some wild (& obvious) bluffs being run. I will play in this event on Day 1C either because I need to (not happening ... :icon_shhh: ) or to get the cash value.

 

Christian and his co-bloggers for the World Poker Tour are posting all the action here: http://bit.ly/WPTPragueXII

Link to post
Share on other sites

Playing With The Big Boys

 

Level 4: 100-200, 25 ante

Jason Duval finished 3rd in the PartyPoker WPT Canadian Spring Championship earlier this year and then also won a Bracelet at the WSOP 2013, not so good news for PartyPoker Qualifier Yves Farges then as he sat to his right.

 

After a raise to 500, Farges called and Duval made it 1,500, the original raiser folded and Farges called to see the Heads-Up Flop Qspade.gif 5club.gif 3heart.gif. Farges made it 1,400, Duval raised to 2,800 and the two Canadians went to the Turn Jspade.gif where Farges once again checked. Duval with not so many Chips behind led for 3,200 and that got Farges out of the way.

 

Yves Farges ~ 32,000

Jason Duval ~ 15,000

 

 

 

Where Did You Get These Chips From?

Level 6: 200-400, 50 ante

While watching Jason Duval get away with yet another four-bet to 5,500 after an open raise and a three-bet by Corbin White (2,000) as well as the call by Yves Farges, we noticed that Ilan Boujenah had a decent stack. The Frenchman was just tapping on his iPad and then filled us in what happened.

 

"Well, I had a quite bad table image and raised the Button with 6-9 off." This sounds like the start of a great bad beat story :) The Small Blind three-bet to 1,650 and Charlie Combes was involved as well to get to the three-way Flop 5x 7x 8x with two Spades. Ultimately a raising war broke out between Boujenah and Combes just before the end of the last level and Comes got it in with a Pair of Kings.

 

Charlie Combes ~ 12,000

Ilan Boujenah ~ 76,000

Yves Farges ~ 32,000

Jason Duval ~ 25,000

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

It is dinner break after six hours of fun play on a table that just got tougher as the loose guys are swept away. I have Jason Duval (WSOP bracelet, etc) to my left committed to ensuring that I have a real hand to win a pot.

 

I have an about average stack of 33,000.

 

After releasing a pot where I had top pair top kicker due to serious action from Duval, I noticed he has a real love of suited cards such as 43s, 98s, etc ... willing to bet all the way to the river chasing runner runner to turn a second pair into a flush. Sick but I was not the guy scalped by his 98s that time. The table is aggressive as hell.

 

I had a lot of fun representing a busted flush on the board with an overbet, when in fact I had made the gutshot on the river. My opponent did not credit me with the gutshot and called, causing the migration of 14,000 chips into my stack. I need pots like this because I want to stay active enough to get action on my big hands.

 

Playing this WPT is a real rush :icon_smile: . Back to the salt mines!

 

 

Playing this WPT is a real rush wink.gif

Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice pic of you and Jason Duval

 

gl on day 2 , short stack Ninja play in effect :)

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Late in Day 1B of the WPT Prague 2013 I had built up my stack from 30K to about 39K and the seat on my left, next to me, was taken up by Jason Duval (WSOP bracelet 2013) who was a little short stacked with about 20K ... but not for long since he finished as chip leader with 152K+ by the end of the day. 30K of that came from me in what I found to be a fascinating hand.

 

Jason Duval quickly proved that any two cards were good enough, winning pots with small suited connectors and gapped cards. As pointed out by a few friends, I was clearly giving this guy too much respect.

 

Then comes the hand. The blinds are 200/400, ante 50. I had folded to aggression from Duval and my stack had dwindled to about 28,000 from 39,000. Duval had a roughly equivalent stack of 45,000 healthy from skinning players left and right with wild and wooly hands. I am not frustrated but clearly I have tighteded up my range to stop getting 3-bet off by Jason Duval.

 

In EP I get AKo and bet 900. No surprise here is that Jason Duval calls the "tight white old guy" (me) and I already know he could call with anything. The rest of the table flees the scene and we are heads up with the pot at (200 + 400 + 8x50 + 2x900) 2,800.

 

The flop is Jh 5d 4s. I put a continuation bet of 1,400 and surprise surprise, Jason pops it to 2,800. I give it some thought and call. The pot is now (2800 + 4x1400) 8,400. The turn is ... J s. I check and Jason fires out a bet of 6,300. I just cannot believe he has a J here and call. The pot is now (8,400 + 2x6300) 21,000 and the table is paying attention ... so am I. The river is the 4 d so the board is showing two pair.

 

Although Jason plays small cards I just could not put the guy on a 4 or a J but I could put him on a small pair such as 66, 77 and perhaps 88. Maybe even 56. I think higher pairs would have triggered a raise earlier but this is a guess at this point.

 

Soooo ... I am first to act and decide I have to bet something that looks like a value bet. I have 18,000 odd left in my stack and made in retrospect too small a bet putting in 4,000. Jason thinks a little while then drops a mixed bag of chips totally some 9,500+ into the center as a raise.

 

I did think about it but not enough (clearly). Jason must have put me on exactly what I had to put most of his stack at risk with this move. I reluctantly fold and Jason shows 63o for the busted str8 draw.

 

Strangely enough I smiled and admire the play and I left behind getting angry at moves like this years ago. Hands like this remind me that I have a very very long way to go before considering myself a decent poker player.

 

So somewhat crippled I manage to finish the day second from the bottom with 14,000 chips heading into Day 2. No one particularly likes having the "Look, it's a donkey!" sign hung on them but I am in fact grateful that Jason showed the bluff, teaching me a rare lesson in how to play a deeper game, how to snatch victory from literally the jaws of defeat.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, Day 2 is about to start. The WPT is accepting entries today so I do not have final numbers for the WPT Prague yet. Day 1A had 40 players, Day 1B had 73, and Day 1C had 92 making a total of 205 players entered so far. The seat draws for Day 2 are set and 20 tables are ready to go. I am on table 12, Seat 1. Blinds are 400/800 antes 100.

 

12 1 Yves Farges 14,000

12 2 Maxim Lykov 36,400

12 3 Lasell King 89,100

12 4 Eddy Maksoud 51,000

12 5 Ognjen Sekularac 40,400

12 6 Salvatore Bonavena 29,400

12 7 Andrew Hulme 20,300

12 8 Jose Malek 48,600

 

So I have some serious players WITH big stacks to my left but it could be a lot worse considering the 100,000+ stacks floating in the tournament hall :P

 

The average stack is about 50,000 so a double up is going to be mandatory in the first hour given each cycle will cost 2,000 chips. It really is amazing to play in the WPT ...

Link to post
Share on other sites

gg Yves, you will get them in Milton Keynes :)

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...

glgl Yves at the WPT National UK

 

Off to the World Poker Tour UK London to play against the best.

 

I will sit down for some serious poker in Day 1A. I play in Day 1A, Day 1B, & Day 1C, then you add up all the chips to sit down in Day 2.

 

 

he won 3 seats and is able to play all day 1's

Link to post
Share on other sites

http://www.partypoker.com/blog/partypoker-wpt-aspers-accumulator-flight-3.html

 

 

Day 1A: Start w 20,000 chips ... finish with zero ... Jet-lagged.

 

Day 1B: Start w 20,000 chips ... finish with zero ... played too tight.

 

Day 1C: Start w 20,000 chips ... finish with 85,200 ... played like a Boss.— in London, United Kingdom.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for posting info from the WPT National UK London 2014 that I qualified three times for via PartyPoker. I didn't start a separate "flintsword Qualified for the WPT UK London thread" because it is starting to look like a brag post (really) but the fact of the matter I qualified via the $1.65 ReBuy qualifiers and bagged three (3) 210 pound entries for about $40 :D :D

 

As Rose posted above, Day 1A I was jet-lagged (great excuse ;) ) ... and Day 1B I was playing the part of the "old tight guy" grrrrr ... so no chips for this FCP. On Day 1C after a few doppio espresso & an Italian chicken sandwich I felt back in form, loosened up just a bit and paid better attention.

 

The result is I bagged a few bluffers, made one uber thin call (& won), & wrestled a few pots away from a table of - I kid you not - complete unbelievers.

 

I also bagged 85,200 chips (started w 20,000) which I think is good enough for slightly higher than average.

 

Kara Scott is in the chip lead currently and playing great. She knocked me out Day 1B when she defended her Big Blind with Kc Jc against my raise in late position with As 2s. The flop was the delightful Ks Js 2h giving Kara two pair but handing me fourteen clean outs twice to the nuts (nine spades, three aces, & two deuces) not counting the runner runner Q T which would give me Broadway :D

 

I missed all of my outs and the river was a K sealing the deal by giving Kara the boat. Given the stacks what is interesting is that even if either of our hands were face up, the play would be unchanged.

 

Still alive and still firmly declaring the reality that the only reason I am surviving relatively deeply in these WPT tournament is because of the forum posters at FCP that take the time to comment constructively hands posted by other FCPers.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Average chip stack is 55,461 (!!) with 260 players still in the event with between 50 and 60 places paid.

 

My chip stack is 85,200 so I am 46th

 

 

 

glgl Yves tid this

Link to post
Share on other sites

139th / 726 players ... Out after my 77 beaten by 44 ... Twice on the river Best result in Britain so far.

 

gg Yves

 

 

The article in the PartyPoker Blog:

 

 

"Have Sword, Will Travel

 

Not many of our online qualifiers have traveled as far as one of our players tonight. Yves Farges (below) is known as ‘flintsword’ on partypoker, and he qualified for this WPT UK National event in London as he did for the Milton Keynes leg – by playing a $1.65 satellite event. We’re just bringing in a new, larger abacus to try and work out if this could be the biggest win for the smallest buy-in in partypoker history – but as we discovered, Yves could do with a little luck.

 

“It was going great until I ran my kings into that guy’s aces…” he gestured, remaining cheerful. In a battle of the air miles, we think Yves is first class, and might even put our own Kara Scott in economy!

 

Yves has 13,075 from his 20,000 starting stack, so it could be worse, and he’s confident he can get right back in the mix." A gracious post ... thanks PartyPoker Blog Team ! — in London, United Kingdom.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...