Ari Engel has massive stacks of chips in front of him, which was a surprise considering he only had twice the starting stack the last time we checked on him. Engel got up from the table to stretch his legs and we asked him what we had missed. Engel told us that he had played a big pot against his former neighbor.
Engel held kings in a hand and got five bet preflop. When that flop came eight-high, Engel bet and called his opponent's shove that followed. Engel's kings proved good against his opponents tens. That 100,000 pot went to Engel after blanks on both the turn and river. We're not a hundred percent sure yet, but it appears that Engel is the chip leader with just half a level to go for the day.
Jeff Sarwer had previously opened for 1,100 and folded to a raise to 2,700 from Georgios Zisimopoulos, a PokerStars qualifier from Greece. This time when the exact same dynamic happened a few hands later Sarwer made the call. They saw a flop of . Sarwer checked and Zisimopoulos bet 2,500. Turn card again Sarwer checked and Zisimopoulos now bet 4,700. Sarwer called and the last card was the seemingly innocuous . Sarwer checked for the final time and Zisimopoulos reached for chips, betting 19,000 leaving just 10,000 behind. Sarwer smiled at the situation he had got himself into. Way ahead or way behind it seemed. “Too expensive.” Sarwer eventually declared and folded. Zisimopoulos decided to show him his prized possessions, for quads. Sarwer refused to tell his hand but moments later admitted to “Ace Queen or Ace Jack.”
With the board already totally out there, three players were mingled in a not too big a pot. On the table laid five cards on their backs: | | . Wigg and another player had checked to Max Silver on the button who had bet out just 2,400. Wigg made the call and the other player folded after some moments of thinking.
"I couldn't help myself" said Silver as he showed his for king-high. That wasn't good enough as Wigg showed his for ace-high. The third player just laughed it off, did he fold the winner?
One question that is often asked is, "What's the difference between poker in America and poker in Europe?"
Ari Engel just said something to us that sums it up nicely. He said, "I've got more cold four-bet today than I have the last six months playing in America."
PokerStars Team Pro Vanessa Selbst had just led out from under-the-gun plus one into two opponents for 1,500 on a board of and got two folds. She stacked her chips, and with perfect timing two glasses of red wine appeared. One for her and one for the player sitting to her right, Walid Bou Habib. They clinked glasses took a sip and got back to business.
Veteran German player Manfred Sierke opened for 1,500 and faced a raise from Habib to 3,000. Action folded back to Sierke, he folded, and an exuberant Habib declared, “This was the one.” Selbst playfully told him to show his cards but he refused. It all got a bit more serious for Selbst a few minutes later though when she was the one tangling with Sierke.
Selbst had defended an open from Sierke and now faced a bet of 800 from the German player on a flop of . She called and then led out on the turn for 1,500 only to have Sierke raise it to 4,200. A puzzled look crossed Selbst’s face, but she made the call and checked the river . Selbst checked and Sierke took his time counting out another 4,200. Selbst really took her time now, puzzling it out. A couple of minutes ticked by and she flicked the required chips out in front of her to call. Sierke turned over his for flopped trips and Selbst mucked.
Tobias Peters has had a pretty swingy day so far. After an hour of play he was down to just 6,000 in chips. He made swings back to starting stack, 38,000, back to 14,000 and is at 27,000 right now. Peters just told us he had aces twice, kings once, queens twice and jacks once today. None of those hands he won, having set over set twice. If you hear the story like that, it's almost unbelievable he's still in it. Peters is still sitting at the table he started this morning and has almost as many chips as he began with.
One name that keeps popping up here at the EPT Prague is Skrill – which isn’t a player, but rather an online payment solutions company that aims to evolve “the way people pay and get paid globally.” Skrill is branded throughout the venue and also have a booth where players can sign up for their popular "Last Longer Competition."
The Skrill Last Longer competition will be held at each stop on this season’s EPT, of which they’re an official sponsor. The promotion is simple – players sign up for the promotion either online (preregistration is available) or at the Skrill booth (which will be present at each stop); don a Skrill patch; and then aim to be the last man or woman standing. The last player remaining will then receive their buy-in back via their Skrill account.
While Skrill is upping the ante for Season 10 with a bigger branding initiative, this isn’t their first appearance on the EPT; as a matter of fact, they were a sponsor of Season 8 and have held previous “Last Longer” promotions.
The company’s website provides a bit more information on Skrill, which rebranded from Moneybookers back in 2010:
“Skrill has been moving money digitally since 2001. We offer online payment solutions for businesses and consumers, allowing them to pay and get paid globally. Over 36 million account holders already trust Skrill. Our customers can send and receive money worldwide in 200 countries and 40 currencies, securely and at low cost, without revealing their personal financial details. Your business will benefit from our worldwide payment network with over 100 payment options. Whether through a simple one-step integration or a fully-tailored payment solution. Whoever you are, however you like to pay or get paid, trust Skrill to make your online payments simpler, faster and safer.”
Headquartered in London, Skrill is looking to make their presence known in the poker world with a commitment to customer satisfaction through innovation and service. Not only that, they’re looking to be more than just a company by becoming a trusted and respected member of the poker community.
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be keeping an eye on the latest incarnation of the Skrill Last Longer throughout the duration of the EPT Prague Main Event.
. Sarwer checked and Zisimopoulos bet 2,500. Turn card 
again Sarwer checked and Zisimopoulos now bet 4,700. Sarwer called and the last card was the seemingly innocuous 
. Sarwer checked for the final time and Zisimopoulos reached for chips, betting 19,000 leaving just 10,000 behind. Sarwer smiled at the situation he had got himself into. Way ahead or way behind it seemed. “Too expensive.” Sarwer eventually declared and folded. Zisimopoulos decided to show him his prized possessions, 
| 
. Wigg and another player had checked to Max Silver on the button who had bet out just 2,400. Wigg made the call and the other player folded after some moments of thinking.
for king-high. That wasn't good enough as Wigg showed his 
for ace-high. The third player just laughed it off, did he fold the winner?
and got two folds. She stacked her chips, and with perfect timing two glasses of red wine appeared. One for her and one for the player sitting to her right, Walid Bou Habib. They clinked glasses took a sip and got back to business.
. She called and then led out on the 
turn for 1,500 only to have Sierke raise it to 4,200. A puzzled look crossed Selbst’s face, but she made the call and checked the river 
for flopped trips and Selbst mucked.
