[Live Ticker] - PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Prague

So far 214 players registered for Day 1A, and amongst them is the PokerStrategist maddyhh.

Also Martins Adeniya is here.

Player number up to 225, and I have spotted a couple of more PokerStrategists at the table, like philgruissem and FA_Morgoth.

Other players spotted is Marvin Rettenmaier and Steve O'dwyer.

Spoke quickly to FA_Morgoth who was a little annoyed that even though not even half of the tables were in use, they where playing 9-handed. He was already getting bored.

A few pictures from the first walk around the tournament area

maddyhh

Stephen O'Dwyer and Martin Staszko right next to each other

Defending champion Roberto Romanello

November Niner Eoghan O'Dea sporting a colorful outfit

Team PokerStars Sports Star Fatima de Melo

After some hassle I have finally managed to get ahold of a "Very early Day 1A players list", which I'm gonna browse through right now to see if I can catch some more names that would be interesting to follow through out the day.

I'm sorry for the long time between the posts in these early stages, but as usual there is a lot of stuff to sort out, and the arrangements are not as smooth as you would expect and wishes them to be.

So, some players from the list that I will try to keep an eye on during the day:

The known PokerStrategists so far:
Philgruissem
FA_Morgoth
maddyhh
Schmette

And some other names that I will try to keep track of:
Fatima De Melo
Eoghan O'dea
Chris Moorman
James Akenhead
Michael Keiner
Roberto Romanello
Marvin Rettenmeier
Martin Stazsko

I have got some chip counts for you, and it's good news:

philgruissem: 46k
FA_Morgoth: 45k

maddyhh and Schmette are both at startingstack of 30k.

One thing, which surprised me a little was that Gus Hansen just showed up! He was seated on the same table as FA_Morgoth. Morgoth in seat #8, and Hansen in seat #2.

The third level of the day just started, with blinds 100/200. The number of players are now up to 243.

gl everyone today. im gonna play tomorrow.

one question: did the tournament start at 12 CET or 13 CET? in the stars lobby its written 13, on the ept site 12.

Original von Seb1986
gl everyone today. im gonna play tomorrow.

one question: did the tournament start at 12 CET or 13 CET? in the stars lobby its written 13, on the ept site 12.

laut stars blog 12 cet gl

Originally posted by Grindithard
The third level of the day just started, with blinds 100/200. The number of players are now up to 243.

It actually starts just now, there was just a break that I was not aware of.

Just a few more pictures of the most notable players...

Gus Hansen is here and bought in!

Daniel 'jungleman12' Cates tries his luck, too

Team PokerStars Pro Theo Jorgensen

philgruissem

FA_Morgoth aka Florian Langmann

Schmette

Gus Hansen just lost some of his chips, when his opponent bet 6,600 on the board of KT3-2 and Gus had to fold.

Another Dane found in the field is Theo Jorgensen.

Also, Suppenkasper has been spotted at the tables, so we are now up to 5 PokerStrategists.

FA_Morgoth is down to 24k, after losing with A-Q vs J-K in a 4-bet pot, and the board came JJQ - x - x.

Kent Lundmark is up to 48k
Gus Hansen is down below 20k

I got to table #4 where both maddyhh, Schmette and James Akenhead are seated, just in time to see 5 players limp in to the pot, giving maddyh a free flop from the BB.

Flop was 4:d 6:s 7:d, and SB checked to maddyh who bet out 600. One player called before it was back to SB who also made the call, so three players to the turn: K:h.

SB checked again, and maddyhh now made it 1,300, and both players called again.
River J:s, and it was checked around.

maddyhh turned over K:d 9:d for a missed flushdraw but the top pair, which was good enough to take down the pot. He is now up to over 40k

Schmette has 32k
Suppenkasper is down to 15,5k

James Akenhead was sitting with a healthy stack of 46k

We are now playing level 4 - 100/200 and ante 25.

Here is a little overview of the playing area:

Overview by PokerStrategy.com, on Flickr

Right now I will attend a press conference with Pius Heinz, so the next update might be in a little while, but I'll be back as soon as the press conference is over.

love the coverage!!! thx guys

Players are now on a short break, and level 5 - 150/300/25 will start in a few minutes.

A recap of the press conference will be posted shortly!

PLEASE NOTE: This is not an interview made by me, but a collection of some of the questions that were asked during the press conference today.

Pius Heinz during the press conference:

Pius Heinz in press conference by PokerStrategy.com, on Flickr

Pius came in to the conference looking very relaxed and in a good mood, and at first it seemed like the press only wanted photos, but as time went by the questions started kicking off, here are a few of them:

What are you going to do with the money you won:
- Invest them wisely and conservative, not gamble or put in money in unsecure investments.

Whats your favourite sports?
- Basketball, Football and Cycling.

How many EPTs have you played?
- Two with this one, the other one was Barcelona this year where I did not cash, but won a €500 side event.

Do you have any idols in poker?
- No, not proper idols, but of course there are players who I look up to and like a little extra, like Phil Galfond.

How did you start to play poker?
- I watched the Main Event on TV and liked what I saw, so in the beginning me and some friends started having home games once a week playing like €1/2 games, and then it has continued from there.

How much value and status would you put in to winning another bracelet, compared to winning other tournaments?
- Of course it would be sweet to win another bracelet, and I have also always liked mixed games, and since it is easier to win or at least final table a tournament like the Stud Hi/Lo during the WSOP, because of the smaller starting fields, I will definitely focus on that and do my best to win one of those kind of tournaments.

What about travelling, where will you focus on playing in the future?
- I have never been to the caribbean, so it will be cool to go there in January for the PCA, but I will focus on playing in Europe since I don't like too long flights, and there are definitely enough value in the tournaments here in Europe.

For how long do you think you will be playing poker?
- I think I will always be playing poker in some way, but not for more than 2-3 years as a proper professional player. After those years I will probably look at going back to some kind of studies, while at the same time playing some events now and then.

So, that was what I managed to pick up during the press conference, and now it's back to the tables to see what has been going on during the last level that was played before the break.