Cosic and Scatragli Lead WPT Baden Day 1B

Level 8: 300-600, 75 ante

(Photo: Day 1B Chip Leader Senadin Cosic)

If Day 1B of WPT Baden was a game of cards it would be ‘Dealers Choice’. We really have had eight levels of everything you could imagine. We have had entrances that would have made the Beatles blush, we have had players who go by the names of Attila and FlippetyFlop, we have had players dressed as bums, players dressed so sharp they could severe an artery and we have even had a Royal Flush.

150-players walked through the doors making a combined field size of 254-players (24-people fired two barrels). That created a prize pool of $1,031,041 with $271,258 reserved for the winner. If the tournament was to end today then that money would go to Kimmo Kurko, the Day 1A chip leader as he currently sits at the top of the pile with 149,700 chips. The Day 1B chip leaders were Senadin Cosic (135,800) & Daiele Scatragli (135,700)

Let’s have a look at some of the finer moments of today’s action.

A quick search on the Hendon Mob database draws a blank when we type in the name of Martin Sturc. So we are not dealing with a professional live tournament player. A quick search on the PocketFive database also draws a blank. So we are not dealing with an online phenom either. So the chances are that Martin Sturc is a recreational player. It’s an even bigger probability that taking part in a World Poker Tour (WPT) is a big thing. So he must have been exhilarated when he found pocket aces in the first few minutes of action, and a partner willing to play for stacks holding pocket kings. But even pocket kings wins 17% of the time when up against aces. If you didn’t know that then just ask Sturc. The Kings rivering a flush, and Sturc was the first player eliminated and we hadn’t even gotten started.

But it wasn’t just the recreational players who were suffering from premature exitulation; the pros were at it as well.

When Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi made his grand entrance we were half expecting Paul, John, Ringo & George to waltz in behind him. His entourage was bigger than a Floyd Mayweather ring party, and there was more camera lights than a Milan catwalk show.

Mizrachi – who was wearing more patches than Michael Schumacher – took his seat and set about his ways. The man who had just become the first player to win WSOP titles on three continents was in a rush.

“He made the table crazy,” Said Sergey Vasilyev who was seated next to the WPT Champions Club member.

Then no sooner had the cameramen packed away their tripods, The Grinder was gone. Daniel Scatragli was the man sat holding his scalp, and it all happened in a three-bet pot with the money going into the middle on a flop of K T 4. The Grinder was holding J T for the draw and Scatragu was holding the mighty Tx 4x for two-pair.  The spades stayed in the garden shed and The Grinder was gone.

That elimination thrust Daniel Scatragu into the top of the chip counts where Senadin Cosic and Bodo Sbrzesny joined him. You may remember that Sbrzesny was well on course to take down the WPT title the last time we were in Europe. It was during the Prague Poker Festival when an in form Sbrzesny headed into the final six with a dominating chip lead. But one mistimed bluff against Marcin Wydrowski meant a third place finish for our PartyPoker Team Pro.

Sbrzesny found his chips in a three-way pot against Besim Hot and Leon Louis. Two individuals who have found their own unique ways of winning money. Hot has incredibly won nearly $1 million playing $10k high rollers exclusively in the Czech Republic, including our very own in December. Leon Louis is known online as Flippetyflop and is one of the world’s greatest HU Turbo SNG players. But the German doesn’t care about all that old codswallop.  He got his money in good and came out of the other side with 80,000 chips. You can read all about the hand right here.

Hats off to the Casino Baden in terms of the way they are looking after both the players and the media. The food is out of this world and all of the soft drinks are free of charge. So when we resumed after the break the bellies of most of the players were a hell of a lot wider than they were before. That is everyone except Artem Litvinov, who seemingly just vanished. The man responsible for munching away at the Russian’s 180BB stack was Attila Zab, but it did take him two bites – well 180BB is quite a lot of chips to get through in one sitting. You can read all about the demolition job right here.

We also lost Leon ‘FlippetyFlop’ Louis just after dinner. It’s not often you see Louis outside of his four-walls as he is busy trying to make a million dollars. Aren’t we all, you may very well say? But when Louis says he is going to make a million dollars in one year, this boy means it. Louis is one of the world’s greatest heads-up sit n go players, but, as Bodo Sbrzesny so eloquently put it in an interview earlier, “ This isn’t heads-up.” Louis never really recovered from the three way action that saw Sbrzesny build his stack earlier in the day. His exit hand came at the hands of the impressive Italian Paolo Compagno who rivered a straight at the same time that Louis rivered a set. 

We had our usual collection of baseball caps, sunglasses and jeans that showed everyone the colour of people’s underpants, but there was one man who stood out from all the rest. Marcel Luske looked pristine. I swear there wasn’t a hair out of place on the man. It looked like he had been ironed wearing his full suit. He was in fine fettle, but just didn’t find the rub of the green when he needed it. We finally lost him in the final level of play. When his demise came it was two hands that did the damage. The first was against Tom Carpenter that can be read here, and the final nail in the coffin as against Andras Kovacs that can be read here.

So that’s a few snippets of action during Day 1B. 

So get to bed because we certainly are. We’ll see you right back here at 14:00 (CET) when we bring you all of the action from Day Two of WPT Baden.

Kovacs Crushed

Level 8: 300-600, 75 ante

Andras Kovacs and Mahir Cakmak get their chips in preflop in one of tournament poker’s many coinflips. Kovacs holds JJ and is narrowly ahead of the AK of Cakmak.

Cakmak takes the lead on a A87 flop. The 3 turn prompts Kovacs to ask the dealer for another heart to split the pot, but although the river is red it is the 8 and Kovacs fails to make it to Day 2.

Salman Behbehani Eliminated by Alexander Stark

Level 7: 250-500, 75 ante

Salman Behbehani has just been eliminated as the Tournament Director announces the last five hands of the night.

He opens to 1,300, Artur Wasek three-bets to 4,100, Alexander Stark moves all in for around 30,000, Behbehani calls for 25,000 and Wasek folds ace-king face up. Behbehani shows pocket queens, Stark shows pocket aces and five community cards later Behbehani was out.

Stark ~ 90,000

Royal Flush for Sbrzesny

Level 7: 250-500, 75 ante

Bodo Sbrzesny has just hit the jackpot over on table 3, busting out Christian Golob with a royal flush.

Sbrzesny opened to 1,000 preflop and picks up three callers. The flop falls AK3 and the players check to Sbrzesny, who bets 2,200. Only Golob calls. The turn brings the J into play and it ignites a fire under the players.

Sbrzesny bets 3,600 only to see Golob raise to 12,000. Sbrzesny makes it 26,000 play then calls when Golob moves all in on him.

Golob turns over 33 for bottom set and is drawing completely dead as Sbrzesny holds QT for the royal flush! The A on the river improves Golob to a full house but it is not enough to save him from elimination.

Sbrzensy is up to 114,000 chips.

Elimination Miseration

Level 7: 250-500, 75 ante

Alexander Lakhov, Vili Ronkainen, Gad Morgenstern, David Gutierrez and Franco Cantarella have all fired duds at WPT Baden and will not we winning the first prize of $271,258.

The Flying Dutchman is Out

Level 7: 250-500, 75 ante

The sharpest dressed man in poker is out. Intrepid reporter Yorkypuds just informed you that Tom Carpenter had crippled Marcel Luske in a hand you can find here. We can now bring you news of his exit.

He put is last few chips into the middle holding Q 9 and was called by Andras Kovacs holding A 8. The board gave Kovacs top pair on the flop and the Flying Dutchman couldn’t recover. He pulled his well-ironed suit jacket from his chair, wished everyone well and wandered into the night.

Kovacs ~ 38,000

Carpenter Rebuilds His Stack, Cripples Luske.

Level 7: 250-500, 75 ante

Marcel Luske open-limps from middle position, Mahir Cakmak calls on the button, Tomaz Kogovsek completes his small blind and Tom Carpenter sees a free flop from the big blind.

The four players see the flop come down J55. Kogovsek checks, Carpenter checks, Luske leads for 1,500 and both Cakmak and Kogovsek fold. Carpenter, however, check-raises to 3,800 but Luske snap-calls.

The turn is the T and Carpenter keeps to his story and bets out 5,200 chips. Again, Luske beats him into the pot with a call. The river is the 9 and Carpenter picks up his remaining chips nd moves all in. The amount to call is 20,975, and call is exactly what Luske does.

“Five,” says Carpenter as he turns over 53 for trip fives. Luske shows the J and is left with just 775 chips. 

Wenigwieser Bluffs Berende

Level 7: 250-500, 75 ante

On a board reading 6J73A Paule Berende checks from the cutoff to Jurgen Wenigwieser on the button. Wenigwieser bets 7,200 and Berende goes deep into the tank. Berende is considering all of his options, trying to figure out what sort of hand Wenigweiser could be representing.

Eventually, after around two minutes of deliberating, Berende folds and shows the A. Wenigwieser proudly turns over Q9 for complete air. Nice hand.

Bongi Bounces Back

Level 7: 250-500, 75 ante

Remigio Bongi has just doubled up through Martin Sturc. The chips were already in the middle of the felt when we arrived at their table, Bongi was the all-in player though he ws in good shape with his QQ dominating the 99 of Sturc.

The ladies stayed in front as the board ran out AA6TJ, doubling Bongi up to 24,000.

Elimination Resignation

Level 7: 250-500, 75 ante

Laszlo Telek, Robert Gorodetsky, Derek Murray, Corc Ercin, Mazlum Acar, Alex Prendes and Gerald Karlic have all been banished from Baden.